To aid in my goal of deep cleaning/decluttering/organizing/ redecorating each room/space in our home this year, I'll be focusing on accomplishing small tasks each week. I decided to begin by decluttering and re-organizing my collection of bags and totes. I store most of these in our guest room closet, however they were beginning to take up quite a bit of space and weren't really convenient to grab quickly at times.
I decided to gather all my bags & totes in one place so I could decide which ones to keep and which ones to donate. (I did not include purses, backpacks, briefcases or computer bags in this project.) Here's a tally of what I found:
22 - guest room closet
6 - stored in bins on the Launch Pad shelves
3 - master bedroom closet
9 - garage
5 - Suburban
3 - Robbie's car
I know we do not need 45 bags and totes, so I started by sorting these by size and type and ended up with six in the donation pile. Yep, only six . . . did I mention that I really like bags (sigh)!
However, I re-evaluated each bag and how it would be used and finally ended up with 13 bags for the donation pile. I placed the remaining bags in locations where they would be most convenient based on how I'm most likely to use them: 6 larger bags in the guest room closet to be used for travel or weekend getaways, 5 cute bags in the craft room closet to be pulled out when I'm corralling supplies for a crop or inspiration outing, 7 bags in a bin on the launch pad to be grabbed when I'm headed out the door, 10 in the Suburban and 4 in Robbie's car ready to be filled with groceries at any time. One small project completed . . . a whole bunch more to go!
Do you like bags and totes? Where/how do you store them?
TSO has a closet which looks just like this. Ever since she was a little girl she has collected bags and filled them with treasures. It's definitely fun to see the enjoyment she gets from them!
ReplyDeleteoh you know I do. right now they are in a heap in the master bedroom closet. sigh. now you have motivated me to straighten them out!
ReplyDeletethis made me chuckle, you certainly do like bags!
ReplyDeleteGood for you for moving the additional ones to the donate pile. I find that when I purge I often do it in a 2 step process as well. We don't have that many tote bags - I bet I have less than 10. Each new one we get tends to have a separate purpose so they get used over and over again - and I often let do of one as soon as I get a suitable replacement. The same, however, cannot be said for wallets or handbags - these I have too many cluttering my closet.
ReplyDeleteWell done on this first task. I tend to do the same as you ... First sort out and then on my second sort through more get relegated to the charity shop pile.
ReplyDeleteThat is some total :). But they make a beautiful rainbow ... My aim is to get down to one!
ReplyDeleteI keep the ones I use for groceries and shopping all neatly folded inside of one bag in my car trunk. The ones for everything else I have folded and stacked inside the Thirty One large market tote in the guest room. Good job on project 1 ;)
ReplyDeleteI have a bag obsession too. I keep the cloth grocery bags in my car as well as a few in the pantry. I have quite a few in my closet for travel purposes. They'll get cleaned out soon when I do my closet. I also have a couple in my scrapbook room for carrying class kits. One thing I do with the bags I'm getting rid of is to pass them along to anyone I'm giving something too. Then it becomes their problem!!
ReplyDeleteThis got me thinking...how many tote bags do I have? I have about a dozen for grocery shopping (so those don't count). I have many "gym" bags and "dressing up bags" and then some others that I can think of too. Maybe it's time for me to purge that area. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't have a massive collection of bags....but tend to use the same ones all the time....so really don't need the few that I have!!
ReplyDeleteApart from the ones I use for shopping I only have two....I feel very saintly having read your posts and the comments!! Xx
ReplyDeleteWe have about 10 totes in the hall cupboard for taking shopping, I have 3 in the car and then there is the one I use for work every day and the one I use when I go crafting. So yes, I like them!
ReplyDeleteI love totes and bags, too, but your collection is surely a lot bigger than mine!
ReplyDeleteI am getting a collection of tote bags, as we are now charged for plastic bags in all shops not just supermarkets here. I love handbags and have a larg-ish collection - although when we moved I had to get rid of some!
ReplyDeleteWay to go! Bags can become overwhelming! I seems to collect a bag nearly every week even if I don't buy it! LOL
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on sorting and purging. I like to fill such bags up with stuff and donate the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteWe have jute, canvas and other grocery bags - I fold them up and put them in a larger tote. One of which lives in the car, another in the porch ready to be accessed as you leave to go shopping or take things to someone. Then there are the very thin parachute fold up into a pocket type bags that live in pockets and handbags.
Wow! This is me and shoes :)
ReplyDelete