It’s nine days into April and I’m just now getting started with my challenge. I tried to start it last weekend but instead stabbed myself in the thumb and ended up in Urgent Care instead. My limited willingness to take the extra time required to do things like cook and clean while being one thumb down has left me frustrated as dishes piled slowly in the sink, and clutter appeared around my normally clean house. All of this has made me more impatient to begin my April Challenge.

Background for those not currently in my condo as I write this (so that’s everyone):

• My condo is small and has no extra storage. Everything I own (except my car and canoe) is in here with me
• Papers and mail clutter most surfaces
• New curtains I ordered and put up look nice. The old ones are somewhat folded and are safely resting (unnecessarily) on the floor in the living room. Likely, I felt they needed a slow transition between the living room and the real storage closet
• Over the past few years my extra room has become my storage room
• March brought the closing of the company I worked for the past 4 years. Not only do I have the paintings and two bags of stuff from my office now stacked in the extra room, I also need to try carving a space out for me to work
• My workout clothes no longer fit in my dresser
• Even with all of the ebooks I’ve purchased the past few years, my books somehow no longer fit in my bookcases
• The frames I purchased for pictures from my last few international trips are also stacked in the extra room

Last year I went through Marie Kondo’s book, “The LIfe-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”, and cleaned out my closets, my kitchen, bathroom, and part of my extra room. Everything was checked for the level of joy it sparked and the purpose in my life. Everything had it’s place in my closets and dresser drawers. The extra room was supposed to be tackled, but more exciting things came along and I left the “storage room” to its own devices.

I can’t take it any more. Therefore this month challenge is:

Using Marie Kondo’s books, The LIfe-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and “Spark Joy,” I’m going to tidy and organize the hell out of my life. This includes:

• Clothes
• Shoes
• Costumes
• Stuff for hobbies (art projects, writing, etc.)
• Books (sad face)
• Kitchen/storage closet
• Extra room
• Back of car that is haphazardly filled with beach towels, stuff for my canoe, and stuff for work

Goals

• Create a space that makes me happy
• Provide organization to my life in the main area I can control, my home environment.

My goals are simple, but they will take hours of work, focus, and staying indoors on the weekend.  Those things are what makes this a “challenge”.

So yeah, basically this month, my goal is to clean and organize. Should be a blast. Right? Yeah, I don’t think so either.

This is one project where the journey is going to be painful, but the destination will make me happy.

Wish me luck!