One Small Step At A Time

My girlfriend was lamenting to me last night on the phone that she felt her life was spinning a little out of control. Chaos, clutter, an undisciplined lifestyle these things can all attribute to that feeling of lost control. I know for me the dirtier my house becomes the more I feel on edge. And so challenged by this recent post on the Coming Clean blog, I have unofficial joined the ranks to get some of my small spaces organized. My first task was the entry closet, which had become the dumping ground for shoes and jackets. A total mess. Here are the before pictures:

While Olivia took her morning nap, I decided on a 1/2 hour time limit to get this clean (why a 1/2 hour so I could spend the other 1/2 hour posting the finished project) Here's the finished photos. I basically took out all the coats and rearranged them. The shoes got organized into 4 groups. The round and square basket are the kids shoes, the top shelf is mine and my husband has the corner area. I found a see through bag with zipper (a comforter bag) to store all our baby paraphernalia and mittens and gloves. Voila, it was done.

In every article I read about organizing, I hear a recurrent theme: "take small steps". My advice is the same. Don't overwhelm yourself. What small space in your home challenges you?