Nothing is safe when spring fever takes hold. I go into a cleaning frenzy. The men in the house are used to it by now. After all, I organize other people for a living. My family is not immune.

With my oldest son away at college, his room took a minimum of fuss. He’ll be home tomorrow for spring break, so I made a few adjustments to his room and that was that. I’m excited to have him home for a week.

My youngest son entered his teen years and forgot all about his tidy ways. We’ve tried to negotiate (keep my door closed, he says) but I still go in there to fetch laundry and to air out the house. Clutter makes me uncomfortable. I need to work on my boundaries and he needs to work on the tidy factor. We’re both a work in progress.

My husband usually dreads the annual closet sort, but this year was different. He recently lost almost twenty pounds, so he was happy to give away all the clothes that no longer fit. He looks and feels terrific. We’re on the same eating plan, but he’s lost almost twice the weight. Men. What a lucky metabolism.

My husband’s side of the closet

My side of the closet

Once I get going, I don’t want to stop. After sorting out the clothes in our shared closet, I got out the duster and the vacuum and cleaned the mysterious cobwebs at the top of the closet, and the shoe dust below.

When I say “shared closet” I should also add that Lindy likes to spend her big sleep of the day in our closet. I’m storing a scrap-booking cart for my sister in there.  Within days Lindy claimed it as her own. Oh my goodness though, all that fur.

Here’s what I did. I folded a small, soft blanket to the size of the cart, then attached it at the top using a trouser hanger. It makes the spot even cozier, while helping contain the fur. It’s easy to wash and put back as well. For added measure, I hung an old vinyl suit cover, the kind that comes free with a man’s suit, on the other side to minimize the flying fluff.

Lindy’s napping spot (my side of the closet)

Lindy is wondering when she can have the closet back

I should probably vacuum in there more often, but there are five million things I’d rather do.

With the closets sorted, I moved on to my toiletries. I moved them into our bedroom to make more room for the boys in the hall bathroom they share.

My crafting area also needed some TLC. It’s amazing the disarray one creates from making a single project. It’s all about experimenting. I’ll take out my acrylic stamps, then the stamp pads, paper and more paper, scissors, adhesive and on it goes. When I’m done, the piles in my limited space have accumulated.

Craft Closet: Organized ribbon and Washi tape

Crafting tools and supplies

Years ago I converted the small closet in our home office into a personal crafting area, but it didn’t last long. Believe it or not, the place where I once sat now houses the cat’s litter box.

Please don’t judge.

Organizing the cat box

It’s a long story, but the abbreviated version is this: Slinky moved into the house but was afraid of all the other cats. This was the only place to put an out-of-the-way litter box. Soon the other two cats adopted this litter box, too. They no longer used the boxes in the bathrooms. I prefer cleaning one box over three, but I do miss the leg room. The cats run this place.

It feels great having the closets sorted, along with my crafting materials. I continue to store my crafting materials in the top half of the closet, while the kitty facilities remain below.

Hiding the cat box

It’s all about compromise, right?

I’ve been in a cleaning frenzy outdoors as we get things ready for spring planting. I’ll save those details for another post.