52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week 13 Update

This week I decided with the downstairs bathroom done I would move on to an area of the home that has been bothering me for quite some time, our upstairs hallway and linen closet.

(Links in this post are affiliate links. I will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking those links. See my disclosure page for more information)

This is the top half of the linen closet. I had to do the picture of it in two photos as it is off a narrow hallway and so I couldn’t get far enough away with the camera to show the beauty of our mess in one shot.

This is the bottom half which is worse than the top half.

Notice all the empty bins in these two photos. Those empty containers are a frustration of mine. You see years ago I redid this linen closet to make it easier for the children to put away the sheets after they finish folding the laundry.

That is their chore. I wash and dry the laundry, and they fold it and put it away. I thought giving each sheet set its own bin would make things so easy for the children. All they had to do was take off the lid and put the entire sheet set inside. I didn’t even care if it was folded well. I just didn’t want to face a jumble of sheets when I went into the closet.

Well, you can tell from the before picture that my system was an epic FAIL.  Apparently, the same children who have no problems opening similar bins up in the kitchen and emptying them of all the snacks cannot fill open these style of containers to fill them. (yes there is a lot of sarcasm in that sentence). 🙂

I emptied out the entire mess onto my bed and was so frustrated about the state of the closet that I forgot to take pictures.

I did, however, take a picture of all the sheets I threw away. I had never tried t-shirt style sheets ( I believe people call them jersey cotton sheets)  before moving into this house seven years ago, and I have to say I am not very happy with how they held up. All of them have holes and runs where as the cotton sheets I bought at the same time are still going strong.

 

I did find something in the closet that lasted way longer than those jersey sheets. These Playskool flashlights are the best flashlights we have ever had. I picked them up at yard sales when my children were toddlers. My kids are 12, 14 and 19 now and their toddler flashlights are still going strong. I keep them in the closet in case of a power outage. Any other flashlight I stick in this closet goes missing, but not these! Probably has something to do with the fact that it would be kind of embarrassing for a teen to take one of these to camp or a sleepover :).

Now that is better.

The containers at the bottom are empty. I did add Egyptian cotton sheets to my list to buy with my next Amazon gift cards earned through Swagbucks & InstaGC.  So a few will be filled with those when they come

What did you declutter this week

Don’t forget to join the Snail Pace Clutter Removers  Facebook group, where you can share your progress, and receive encouragement.

A few great posts to help you with your clutter roadblocks…

• How To Start Decluttering When You Feel Overwhelmed By It
• How To Declutter When You Just Don’t Feel Like It
• 4 Essential Items For Efficient Decluttering

View the plan and grab your free 52-week planning sheet here

Update: I finished this challenge so below are the links to all my weekly updates showing my progress.

1. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week One
2. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Two
3. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Three
4. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Four
5. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Five
6. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Six
7. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Seven
8. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Eight
9. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Nine
10. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Ten
11. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Eleven
12. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twelve
13. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirteen (you are here)
14. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Fourteen
15. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Fifteen
16. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Sixteen
17. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Seventeen
18. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Eighteen
19. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Nineteen
20. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty
21. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-One
22. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Two
23. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Three
24. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Four
25. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Five
26. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Six
27. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Seven
28. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Eight
29. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Twenty-Nine
30. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty
31. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-One
32. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-Two
33. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-Three
34. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-Four
35. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-Five
36. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-Six
37. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-Seven
38. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-Eight
39. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Thirty-Nine
40. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty
41. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-One
42. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Two
43. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Three
44. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Four
45. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Five
46. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Six
47. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Seven
48. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Eight
49. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Forty-Nine
50. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Fifty
51. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Fifty-One
52. 52 Weeks To A Simplified Home: Week Fifty-Two

Save