Fall Behind

It's been a huge rush of organization here at the Costa Casa. I have a deep rooted hatred for clutter. I despise it. My husband, on the other hand, is a hoarder and packrat. He can't help it, it's in his genes. It makes for difficult situations at our house, as I find things we no longer use and set them aside to recycle, freecycle, or donate.

We have two main problem areas - One is the utility room. It's a roughly 12x12 unfinished room in our house. It's where we keep our deep freezer and miscellaneous tools, etc. Since it is filled almost entirely with stuff that isn't mine, I generally close the door and keep my mouth shut. But when it gets so chaotic that I can't make a clear path from the door to the freezer, it's time for intervention. We spent two days this weekend decluttering, donating, sweeping, and organizing. It looks lovely.

Today I moved on to cabinets upstairs. I could hear the dismay in his voice as I called him at work*

Saki: I found this old Apple laptop. it's in like twelve pieces and all the wires are snipped. We get get rid of this, right?

The Hubbin', clearing his throat: Are you uh, organizing?

Saki: Yes. So. Trash?

The Hubbin': Well. I mean....

Saki: If you have a legitimate reason to keep it, we can keep it

The Hubbin': Well, i'd like to keep it.

Saki: What are you going to do with it?

The Hubbin': Fine. Get rid of it

I'm now in the process of moving on to the hall closet, which is the second of our major problem areas. It's a closet that homes all of the homeless stuff in our house. And our coats. Too much stuff in too little space. To give you an idea of the sheer volume of brick-a-brack in this closet, see exhibit A and B:

Oh. My. God. I can't believe I actually posted pictures of that mess on the internet. See the lengths that I go to for you, blogfans? Don't say I never did anything for you.

*My husband loves when I call him at work, and usually responds with great enthusiasm**

** This is a lie.