Day 101: The Room of S.I.N.

As a neat freak who loves neatness and who spends most of my "free" moments cleaning, straightening and organizing, it's very difficult for me to admit this. BUT, I'm going to choose to confide in y'all: I have a room of S.I.N.

That's right. A room of S.I.N! And I bet you, too, have somewhere in your home where S.I.N. takes place... on a daily basis! ;)

What I am talking about here could be considered a dirty, little secret, but it's probably not as bad as you might be thinking! The S.I.N. I'm referring to is that room, drawer, cabinet, closet or ANY place you use to "Stash It Now!"

Whatever and wherever that is in your home... that is YOUR place of S.I.N! :) When things don't quite go anywhere else in the house, you stash it there. When company is coming over unexpectedly, this is your go-to place (AKA "dumping grounds") for the mail, homework, coats, shoes and toys that have mysteriously taken up residence all over the house. This is where random odds and ends and other junky bits and pieces end up when they just don't have a spot of their own, when you don't have time to put them in the correct place... OR, when you just don't really know what in the world to do with it!

And, believe it or not, this neat freak uses our laundry room for all of our S.I.N. stuff! And for the longest time (perhaps 3 years or so?!?!) the laundry room has been the bane of my existence, with its stacks of boxes and non-matching piles of everything, everywhere!

Don't believe it?!?! Well, here is photo proof:


In addition to the clothing (that has every right to be in there), you can also find mailing boxes, bags, crafting tools, photo albums, business supplies, catalogs... and things that would go perfectly (and preferably) in an office or in a "craft room," if we had those!

Of course, this is not a TERRIBLE, unusable space. And I have made many attempts to corral some of this stuff. As the pictures show, there are some baskets and bins and even a little dresser in there! And there is an overflowing -- but still handy -- laundry caddy (which currently serves as my baby boy's "closet," since it's SO much easier to get his clothes from the laundry room than to go upstairs to his room!) It just wasn't working. And it was making me crazy. So my wonderful, handy hubby put up some simple, floor to ceiling shelving for me all along the small wall right by the door!

Here is the NEW, improved space!


The washer and dryer stayed put, obviously, but we moved everything around a bit, and I was able to put items in more logical places -- and get them out of the middle of the floor!

Granted, it's not perfect. My son's clothes are still taking up the caddy. I will probably reorganize the shelves and move things around here and there. And I will still need an emergency "S.I.N." space at times. But, that will probably end up being a cabinet. (And I will ONLY use it for the temporary stashing of items!)

For now, I'm quite happy to be able to put things in their place. And I'm very pleased that I can actually open the laundry room door without making excuses... or cringing in disgust -- even when company is around! ;)


Now, THAT's neat!