View Full Version : Cleaning/purging the inside of dressers!
This BY FAR is one of my all-time DESPISED domesticities! Hate it, hate it, hate it!
If I could get it together, I'd do an annual cleaning of all dressers in the house, but as it stands, dressers, in our house, take a backseat to everything else. Back in the Spring, I purged and cleaned-out the two youngest boys dressers, aside from that, I haven't touched one since!
How about you? Do you get around to mucking-out dressers in your home (annually)? If not, how often?
SteveinMN
10-10-12, 2:45pm
How about you? Do you get around to mucking-out dressers in your home (annually)? If not, how often?
The trigger for me is not finding something I was sure I still had. This often is when I buy something to replace the "lost" item or work around it (clumsily). That's when I know I need to straighten things out.
Miss Cellane
10-10-12, 3:01pm
I can't believe this, but I think we have finally found a household chore that I do more often than Mrs. M! Please pass the smelling salts.
I go through my dresser drawers at least twice a year, when I change winter clothes for summer clothes and vice versa. At those times, I go through all the drawers and pull out worn, stained clothing and make rags of it. Then I organize everything neatly, fold it all nice and tidy and put it all back.
Sporadically throughout the year, I'll find a drawer that is over-stuffed or always messy and I'll go through just that one drawer to figure out what should stay, go elsewhere or leave the house entirely. If I think it's messy because of the way I organized it, I'll try a different method--sorting by color, or sleeve length or work clothes and at home clothes--to see if that will help things stay neater.
It's a task I don't mind because a) my hands stay dry and b) I love to work out the best system for organizing things. So much housework involves getting wet and dirty and messy. I like the nice, tidy chores best.
BayouGirl
10-10-12, 4:02pm
I declutter throughout the year and do 2 major cleanings in spring and fall. During the year, I keep a box or large garbage bag to put things in that we no longer need and then drop it off at the good will go give it to whoever we know could use it. It's a constant process of decluttering in my house because when you only have 600 sq ft to live in, everything has to justify the space it takes up. So if it ain't useful and is just taking up space - it outta here!!
Our lovely little 20 x 30 wood frame house was indeed the deal of a lifetime when we lucked upon it. It cost us less than $5000 (but we had to move it and it is a house, not a trailer). The other drawback of our sweet little home is no closets. Imagine the horror of living in a house where you can't hang clothes. I have a dresser and an over-the-door rack to hang things on. That's it. Luckily I have my tiny house/playhouse/guesthouse (196 sq ft) that I can use to hang clothes in and other things that I need to store.
Every once in a while, I get into a wild frenzy of cleaning and go non stop for about 24 hours till I drop. I'll stay up all night, finally go to bed when the sun comes up and then I get the joy of waking up later to a really clean and spacious house cuz the clutter is gone.
Gardenarian
10-10-12, 4:10pm
Oh, I love cleaning out dressers - even going through junk drawers. I find it very satidfying to put the old stuff in bags and neatly fold everything back.
Tell you what, I'll do your dressers if you'll clean out my fridge!
Oh, I love decluttering clothes (well, except for the baby's--that overwhelms me, as I stated on another thread!). I like to clear out the things that are ratty or unworn. I love a clean, well-organized dresser/closet with only the things I love and wear! My problem is that I am in a child-bearing season of life. I feel like I have every size of clothing right now--skinny clothes, fat clothes, maternity clothes, in-between maternity and fat clothes. The simple part of me wants to dump it all...the frugal part of me can't because I know I will probably need them again! ;-)
I'm constantly cleaning out drawers. It is just DH and I but DH doesn't like to let go of things. So I have to be tactful about it. Like the time I threw out all his ratty underwear and called him at work and told him that if he wanted underwear to wear to work tomorrow, he'd better stop at Sears and get some new cause the trash collectors came this morning. I have a tactful, gentle way with words, don't you think??
Originally posted by SteveinMN.
The trigger for me is not finding something I was sure I still had.I second that. I'm good with things like purging holey-socks and things, but as far as actually getting to the bottom of things, as in pulling everything completely out of drawers and vacuuming and wiping the insides out, me bad!
LOL, Miss Cellane! Actually, your homemaking/domestic skills nothing but impress me. You always have excellent insight, advice, and hints and tips, when posting about thread topics such as this. I do like your method, and how right you are Re: most housework involves getting wet, dirty, or messy!
BayouGirl, Your home sounds so warm and cozy and quaint.
Originally posted by BayouGirl.
Every once in a while, I get into a wild frenzy of cleaning and go non stop for about 24 hours till I drop. I'll stay up all night, finally go to bed when the sun comes up and then I get the joy of waking up later to a really clean and spacious house cuz the clutter is gone.That's that good ol' Louisiana go-go juice! LOL! I need a little of that.
LOL, Gardenarian! This must be the "shame on me" thread, because when it comes to the refrigerator, that, too, is another of my least favourite domesticities. Shame, shame, double-shame...
Kat. Well, that does it, I'm going to have you, along with SteveinMN, Miss Cellane, and BayouGirl, to visit me and take control of the dresser issue in our house! ROTFLMAO!
ROTFLMAO, Florence! What are we to do with you! :)
Ratty underpants and socks are a major pet-peeve of mine, and I, too, am quick to purge such eye-sores from clothing stock.
Mighty Frugal
10-10-12, 10:01pm
I usually purge my closet twice a year (more if I find a spider in there;) )
Ditto for my drawers-when they get so full I can't close them or if Mercury is in retrograde (so I KNOW I shouldn't be talking to anyone-may as well clean out the knicker drawer!)
For my kids-at the change of seasons, or when they outgrow something I will dig through to see what else is that size. Dh takes care of a lot for the kids too.
Mighty Frugal (and all), I'm hoping to garner a little energy from you Re: dresser drawer cleaning/organizing. You are all such an inspiration.
I know when I do decide to get busy, seriously busy, I really know how to bust-loose! LOL! Cleaning, wiping, polishing, organizing... it all happens with a whirlwind of excitement!
pony mom
10-10-12, 11:46pm
I like going through the drawers when switching my seasonal clothes. All of mine are lined with wallpaper and have a favorite Yankee Candle votive inside for a nice scent. When the drawers are removed, I vacuum/dust the inside of the dresser, especially the runners, which are usually kinda dusty.
In total, I have only seven drawers, but one of them is for non-clothing "stuff", things that I don't know where to put. One drawer has only things I wear around the house, like ratty sweats or old shorts. Only two of them actually change with the seasons.
I actually don't have a dresser! There are several shelves (aside from clothes rods) in my BR walk-in closet. I got two large canvas bins at Target and they hold small items (socks, underwear) and the other folded pants. I go through the underwear/socks one maybe every few months.
Float On
10-10-12, 11:58pm
DH and I are the only one with a dresser. Its a high boy style with 4 big drawers and 2 little drawers. We each use a big drawer for our underware/socks but the rest are full of his CD collection. Doesn't take me long to sort and reorganize my drawer. Its about time for me to move my winter socks back into my drawer.
The boys actually hang everything of theirs in their closet and grab underware/socks from their clean laundry basket in the laundry room.
I don't do it on a schedule, but usually when I read threads on these forums about decluttering and purging old crap, it motivates me to do something. I can't tell you how many boxes of stuff I've gotten rid of, simply because I was encouraged and reminded by people posting about their successes here. However, we are living in an apartment with no closets and only one wardrobe that I share with my husband, so it's physically impossible to let too much clothing clutter build up, as there isn't an inch of extra room available.
It took me a while to reply to this thread, because I had fainted after discovering I do something more often than Mrs M. :laff: Usually I find on these forums that there are a whole host of things I never thought to clean or maintain, but I do love organizing things. Not so good on the wet, messy aspects of housecleaning. I do the clothes twice a year as many others do. Also in the spring and fall, I go through all my "gadgets"- in the spring its getting all the picnic gear together and in the fall its more the preparedness stuff in case the power fails, as well as the emergency supplies in my car. And I do drawers pretty regularly when they overfill or I'm having trouble accessing the stuff in the drawer. My office is our dining room (we normally eat in the living room), so whenever we have guests over I go through all my office stuff when I'm putting my office stuff back.
When I grew up, my mom was big on making sure the rooms always looked perfect, but don't dare open a closet because all sorts of random things would fall out. I put my emphasis on having a system where I can find what I'm looking for, so my closets are pretty organized but the rest of the house is sometimes cluttered until I can put it all away in the right place. I get annoyed with my husband who when pressed to clean up, will put anything anywhere he finds a spot, and then asks me where he could find x or y because there is no logic to his system. Well I get annoyed if he expects me to help him find stuff, otherwise I just let him be if it doesn't impact me. Occasionally I will find a trash bag in our shed - that means he's cleaned out his car and put everything in the bag, both useful and trash. Then he forgets about the bag until the useful stuff has /become/ trash. Sigh.
Since herbgeek brought up 'office area'....yesterday I crawled up the stairs to my office to work on quarterly taxes and was thrilled to find my desk so clean...just like I'd left it Sept 5 (I happened to clean my office the morning of the day I had the carwreck). I had the boys bring up the dishpan tub that was full of 'office papaers' I'd been collecting downstaiars. Got everything filed within minutes and taxes done in record time. Still need to crawl back up there and enter a lot of sales invoices but that can be done another day.
I'm going to have to enlist the boys to help me with my closet. I need to unpack my boxes of fall/winter clothes and put away some of the summer stuff.
goldensmom
10-11-12, 10:34am
I do all the laundry in our home so I purge regularly (ratty, frayed underwear gets tossed, ‘undersized’ clothes get given away). Our closet system has shelves that my husband uses for all his clothes and I keep it neat because I see it. My husband has a dresser that he uses for storage, not clothing and I’ve not looked in it for over 20 years. My dresser drawers are neat and organized and I’ve never purged them because of my laundry system. I do go through our closet (8 x 16 walk-in) in the spring and in the fall when I check seasonal clothing and get rid of clothing we haven‘t worn in years. It’s easy because it’s just 2 of us.
decemberlov
10-11-12, 10:44am
I do all the laundry in our home so I purge regularly (ratty, frayed underwear gets tossed, ‘undersized’ clothes get given away). Our closet system has shelves that my husband uses for all his clothes and I keep it neat because I see it. My husband has a dresser that he uses for storage, not clothing and I’ve not looked in it for over 20 years. My dresser drawers are neat and organized and I’ve never purged them because of my laundry system. I do go through our closet (8 x 16 walk-in) in the spring and in the fall when I check seasonal clothing and get rid of clothing we haven‘t worn in years. It’s easy because it’s just 2 of us.
I do much of the same thing. I have a large tupperware container next to my dryer in the laundry room and when it comes out of the dryer and I know it is too small for the little one or just something that I really don't wear I fold it up and put it in the donation bin. I've found this is the best way to get things out of the house. I use to procrastinate with sending things to GW because they needed to be washed and I just didn't have time to do a whole load of goodwill stuff so now it just gets gradually done and when the bins close to full it goes.
As far as the dressers go...usually just a quick through when we switch the clothes from summer to winter and then back again.
Holy smokes! All the new entries! Thanks everybody. :)
Pony Mom. Love your scented candle idea! Licking finger and dashing into air. (making a mental note of this for tomorrow, my shopping day).
Tradd. I have always admired the clean and neat and organized way you live.
Float On. I've always wanted a Highboy Chest! That, or a large antique armoire. One day...
Selah. I also find certain thread topics have a way of inspiring me, like this one, :)
LOL, Herbgeek! Between you and Miss Cellane, I think I'm slipping in my old age! ROTFLMAO!
Goldensmom. Ah yes, the joys of being the laundry queen in the house.... being able to carefully critique the condition of all things washable. I should have a pair of special glasses, with the thin chain hanging from them, that I can don on laundry day while I go through socks and underpants, stretching waistbands and checking toes and soles for holes! It's not that I need the glasses to see, just that the chained-glasses would give me a more astute look! LOL!
Decemberlov. Love the large Rubbermaid tub idea you use!
Whenever threads like this come-about, I never walk-away from them without learning something, this thread topic being no exception. Thanks so much everybody for sharing!
Great idea re: the tupperware by the dryer, decemberlov. Will have to remember that after we are done having kids and the baby outgrows stuff.
Half of our drawers and closets in the house are empty, as it is. In fact, when we take over the headboard/bed to the cabin, we'll actually have a completely empty room in this house (plus the rest of it). My husband does not use his dresser, so it's just a tv stand (the next time we move, it will be donated - oversized for our cabin's bedroom), my dresser only has two drawers filled and that is for small items, 2 sets of loungewear and 2 sets of workout clothes.. all that could be, I guess, put in a basket in the closet where my small amount of year round wardrobe hangs. So, I guess next time we move, we'll be down to a bed, nightstand, and need for a small closet with organizers/hangars.
Daughter also does not have a dresser and we organize her clothes in a hanging organizer in the closet. Brother has the dresser and honestly, they both would not even fill it up. Yet, they do have really nice clothes, I'm just very methodical in what I purchase for them (and what tops will coordinate with what bottoms).
Our typically ladies dresser is our sideboard in the dining room. Right now, it only has some small things (functional/decorative) on top and one drawer with a couple serving platters and my non-Autumn placemats/napkins. When I do have parties (because I don't care to have a ton of dishes), I try to make small bite appetizers, fruit, desserts.
Another dresser (ladies vanity) is also in the dining room with empty drawers. Guess it's just a lamp/picture frame/flower vase holder.
It really is a process. And one person's intreptation of what is scaled back will not be anothers. I've been on some minimalist websites, where clearly I have a ton of stuff in comparision (then again, did they have children, a spouse?, pet not sure/can't recall). But I'm really comfortable with where we are at - stuff wise. The decor I have, is meaningful in some way (I love my hand carved flower vase, clock from Switzerland, Didgerdoo and boomerang from Australia, Tiki guy from Hawaii, inlaid jewelry box from Italy.. husband has brought really nice things back as a gift per time he's been overseas. So, I choose to just decorate briskly throughout the house with those. So.. really, not much in drawers and husband carries most of his 'stuff' with him when he is out of town.
Tip regarding clothing. I have x # of hangars. If something becomes so worn or I've honestly been wearing it for 4 years and can't stand to look at it one more day, then it's donated or consigned (or used as a rag, if it's no longer wearable). Then, I have a freed up hangar and will address my wardrobe, the seasons, what I really need to replace it with. Sometimes, it's something of similar style. I try to dress classic/simple and still look like I care, but I have my own style.
I do have this really crazy curiousity factor to box up absolutely everything (non furniture) in the townhouse and see where it would fit in the cabin. Maybe that will be a challenge for the next time kids have a break from school that coincides with husband being out of town. I'll have to blog about it and post here. I'm betting I could do it.... :)
Mrs. M I also check for holes. Husband hates holes in his socks or when the band gets stretched out (he has to wear steel toe flight deck boots and they're uncomfortable if the sock doesn't go slightly over the top of the boot). Think we've found a good brand/type of sock that won't do that. However, he's still working through approx 4 more pair. Once they have holes, those bad socks will be gone for good.
I go through the drawers and closets twice a year. Once in the spring and once in the fall. I empty out everything, purge what is no longer wearable, repair what is in need of mending and make a short list of items that need to be replaced. Since it's part of my spring/fall cleaning routine, I do enjoy it. There is something to be said for the sense of accomplishment that comes from cleaning the entire house.
My big "don't like it much" cleaning/decluttering" task is doing the attic storage space above the garage. I go through each box and get rid of stuff, organize what I'm keeping, and sweep the floor. It's hard to let go of things sometimes, but our goal is that we will have no more than a few rubbermaid containers. Most of what we do have now is stuff that belongs to our college aged son that he's not willing to let go of.
Thanks for the posts, SimplyL, and Artist!
I happened upon this thread yesterday in my forum travels and meant to respond, but got wrapped-up visiting a few other threads and forgot about this one. Shame on me!
Anyhow, love, love, love your ideas!
Every 3 months..but we don't have that much. My son grows like a weed, so I have to keep up with him a lot more than my husband and myself. Hubby has a bad habit of shoving things back into drawers all willy nilly, so I keep him in check.
This also helps me figure out what needs fixin' and tossing or replacement.
We have no drawers in our house for anything. We put our nonhanging clothes on a board above our hanging clothes. In one house we had shelves in one side of the closet. This is due to my hating drawers, where things end up on the bottom forever and never thought about or used and some places I lived they got moldy.
Ohhh... wow... what a great surprise seeing this thread again! Great entries MamaM and Larknm!
What a great reminder this thread is, too... because it's that time where I like to move dressers away from their spots, vacuum under them, then move back again. Such a nice way to welcome Spring!
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