(Brace yourself for a series of scintillating pictures of my broom closet…)
One of my Old Year's traditions is to make sure the house is nice and clean when we greet the New Year. I like to start things off with everything neat and tidy and in its place.
On the surface our house already looks tidy and organized. It's not until you start opening doors and looking in cupboards the ugly truth starts to surface.
Exhibit A: My broom closet.
Seriously. Could I jam anthing else in there? It's a nightmare every time I open it up and try to pull out the broom. Eight other things come tumbling out with it.
The broom closet is in my laundry room which is between the kitchen/eating area and the garage. It has a door to the deck and is quite the thoroughfare.
Yesterday I pulled everything out and swept it (the irony is not lost on me). I went to the hardware store and bought eight different hooks. Four regular hooks and four the kind you hang long handled things (like brooms and mops).
The ironing board can go – we have a new one that doesn't fit in this closet. There are also 87 variations of the Swiffer mop. I weeded them down to four. A regular broom, a dusting Swiffer and two hardwood floor mops.
Now everything is off the floor and easy to retrieve.
Simple pleasures for sure but how nice to open that door and see everything in its place. Very Martha-esque.
I only wish I had time to tackle the garage before the 31st….
What about you? Do you have any end of the year rituals?
I’m doing the same! (In fact I’m here – because I’m taking a break. . .) I just cleaned out my office, & now i’m working on the studio. I did the kitchen the day after Christmas. . . after all the cooking & baking it needed it so!
I agree with you. . . I love starting the new year with things more neat & tidy. . . (now if I could just *keep* them that way!)
Hope you have a great start to 2012
xo, Bren
Oh lord. I am trying to clean but baby demands attention. My new years resolutions include the south beach diet, accompanied by our new greenhorn creek pool and gym membership, reading a book about stock investing and being more positive. 🙂 body mind and bank account. Still working on the soul part.
I generally feel pretty good if I get my piles straightened up. Or at least getting things into the room that they belong in. Mostly I have one foot nailed to the floor. I didn’t think your broom closet looked that bad…but the redo looks great..now you have room to put more “stuff” on the floor under the brooms!
Oh, I wish I had a broom closet! I claimed a little piece of wall in the garage just outside my laundry room for my ‘broom closet’. I have the hooks and hangers to make it work. I love what you did with yours. You’ve inspired me to keep working at my cleaning and decluttering! Wishing you a wonderful New Year filled with sweet surprises and dreams come true!
~Adrienne~
OMG! That is brilliant! My brooms are always bent because I store them leaning against the wall. After a while, gravity makes the bristles curve and they look like a windblown cypress tree. The hooks are a great idea.