Inspiration for living a luxuriously and balanced life

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Keep it organized = to remember ...

Helping the Brain to help itself (and you)...

Everyone from time to time looks at the state of their bathroom drawers and cabinets and wonders "What tornado went through them". The answer is simple Tornado (fill in your name here) is a slow acting tornado, moving one or two things out of place at a time - only over time will you notice it has struck (most likely when you are in a hurry and can't find the tweezers to get the stray hair on your chin that appeared out-of-nowhere).

Once the realization occurs the aftermath of the clean up begins and before you know it all is good in the land of bathroom drawers and cabinets. However, if you are going through any emotional turmoil, anxiety or have experienced traumatic physical or brain injury; this otherwise mole hill becomes a huge Mont Blanc. So huge, rather than deal with it~ you stop opening the drawers and cabinets, because when you do, you can't recall what it was you needed from in there and frustration sets in.

For me it is very important that things are visually accessible, thus acting as  reminders for things such as tooth paste = brushing teeth; face cleanser = washing face etc. Sometimes without these visual reminders these simple everyday things can be easily overlooked (thankfully I have Mr. G who is great at asking about and reminding  me of these simple,basic things). 

Recently, it seemed that I was forgetting basic things ALL the time. Worried that things were getting worse with my brain [due to brain injury] I discussed the concerns with a close friend. When we went upstairs and looked at the drawers and cabinets we discovered....
my bathroom drawer was over flowing with items ... most of which I didn't even need/use...

and the cupboards, wow ~ where to begin...

Of course I had no idea how it became this way ...
everything was emptied out of the drawer and cabinets.

There was even a basket (nicely packed/organized) with hair styling gadgets. Unfortunately I'm no longer able to use these gadgets because of my arm movement limitations and energy required to blow dry, flat iron, or curl my hair. So this basket and its contents was occupying valuable storage real estate. 

There was even a huge bag of items - remnants of a possible earlier attempt to bring some organization to these cabinets.

After everything was sorted into ... daily need/use, discard and store elsewhere piles, the task to put things back was made easy with drawer organizing plastic containers.

In the drawer only daily use items ~ otganized to be seen and easily accessible. 

The under sink cabinet was relieved of non-use items and only items that are used went back in.

Do you find items build up in your drawers and cabinets? Have you streamlined products to keep things accessible and organized. Hope this inspires you to get organized, so you can have a great start to your day!

Note: This may seem like a very staright forward solution but for us with brain injuries ~ though we may be aware that clean up, organization is required; the thought and process can become not only overwhelming but a trigger. Offer to help a friend or family member if you notice that things are needing a little organization.



12 comments:

  1. Wow!! It all looks so organised now!Well done! I should take a leaf out of your book haha! I have so many products and only use a handful but never get rid of any 'just in case'.

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  2. I'm impressed by your de-cluttering exercise. We live in a two-bedroomed apartment and it often feels like all our drawers and cupboards are jam-packed! So I've been trying to streamline all summer.

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  3. Being organised and sorting out your stuff is so therapeutic.. and everyone benefits as you find what you need and can give away what you dont .. xx

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  4. looks super organized!! And yes my drawers in the bathroom are a hot mess too!

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  5. You did a nice job. Organizing is tough...even for me and i had no injuries!
    Hugs

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  6. Is that a big bottle of booze on the bottom shelf?

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  7. Dearest Celia,

    Wow, that was a terrific job done by your close friend! I sure can see your dilemma in not being able to use certain items. For quite a while I could not even lift my arms due to extreme weekness after being paralyzed. But you even have more dilemmas and such friend is a blessing!
    With our many travels we kind of kept our bathroom drawers and cabinets organized very well. So you could find things and we kept even a special toilet bag with items to take on travels. It takes organizing to have it stocked up well. Now we're not that much in the air, I tossed out a lot of items which I have not used in a long time. That tells us we don't need them anymore but it seems each of us has a tough time for actually 'acting on the toss out'... Ha, ha.
    Hope many readers will get your gentle nudge for helping others with a health issue, for making this daily toiletry spot easy to use. KISS = Keeping It Sweet & Simple...

    Lots of love,

    Mariette

    PS did you have a chance to see us on video (today's post) with a TV interview?

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  8. I know the feeling--I think it happens to all of us! Doesn't it feel great, though, when you get everything cleaned out and organized??

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  9. Oh how I love a good organizing party! I JUST did my bathroom drawers on Saturday. I was thinking of tackling the kitchen next... but then again... ;-)

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  10. I love it when I get in an organizing mood ... I'm ruthless!

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  11. I'm terrible about letting things stack up and become a huge hodge-podge of stuff. I organized my kids' rooms this past weekend, tossing out garbage, boxing up items to give away and neatly putting items away (with their help where possible). Doesn't it feel great afterward. Love what you did with your cabinet.

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  12. Oh my gosh! I came over here because it was on the other post page - and wow. Have you been looking in MY cabinets??? I cleaned off my makeup table but my cabinet - phew. It has all sorts of crazy stuff in it, and piles and stuff I don't use - so OK you have now inspired me to clean it out and give stuff away! Once again, inspiration!!

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