Tips from a sentimental basurera

Finally, a place for everything and everything in its place. Well, almost. For the longest time it was a struggle to organize everything in the house the way I wanted to. I had all these grandiose plans of giving myself a timetable to follow which I wanted to accomplish in two weeks and which I wanted to be over and done with a week after… you get the picture. Well, as fate would have it the weeks turned into months, months into years and before I knew it I was no better than when I started.

But I think I found the secret (if you can call it that) to progress in this area of housekeeping. It is being able to deal with mess as it comes given whatever time you have at your disposal. Organizing our things should be part of our lifestyle. If you can clean up the mess at once, well and good. If not, then there’s always tomorrow. Don’t sweat over it (for OC’s like me that might be easier said than done). It is not something you set aside to do once a week or twice a month for that matter. There must be a system that you follow for it to be significant and effective, and the only way this can be achieved is to hurdle it everyday.

My greatest mistake back then was, I guess, foregoing a task because I was pressed for time. I was too hard on myself. I imposed a rule that went if-you-can’t-finish-it-now-don’t-even-bother-starting-it .

I have always been a stickler for details and I remember when I would lovingly and painstakingly arrange all my photos in scrapbooks, complete with doodles, pressed flowers, tickets, receipts – all things important to a sentimental basurera like me. That was therapeutic for me. Then one day I realized that I had two huge storage boxfuls of pictures and mementos waiting to be properly exhibited in albums. All of a sudden the prospect of attacking the seemingly gargantuan task was everything but fun. If I had done it a little at a time, I would not have been faced with something that seemed so time-consuming. Since then I have made it a point to arrange photos in albums as they come – never mind if I sometimes have to do so on installment basis. I am happy to say that loose photos have never piled up again.

The same is true for housekeeping. By some stroke of serendipity I realized that even when I went about my daily activities I accomplished more when, faced with some spare time, I fixed and organized around a little here and there. I realized that I was more productive that way. By making every organizing activity a habit, no matter how miniscule it may have seemed at that time, order and system were unintentionally fulfilled.

It could be as simple as putting things back in their proper places or arranging a section of the closet while the baby is asleep. It could also be as planned as setting aside a whole afternoon to re-arrange the books on the shelves or as scheduled as having all the windows washed at the end of the month. No matter how you do it, the key is remaining consistent. Just keep at it, even if you sometimes have to do so in bits and pieces. You will soon realize that you have already completed the task without obsessing too much over it.

Recently, I decided to take on the task of finding enough storage space for the many books and magazines Richard and I have between us. It was such a shame to have all these nice books stored in boxes because there simply was no more space on our bookshelves. The logical thing to do given the situation was to have a huge bookcase installed against the wall on the second floor of our home. And the only person we wanted to execute it for us was Claude Tayag 3 whose work we stumbled on in Greenbelt III a little over a year ago. Richard fell in love with one of Claude’s round cabinets and though we had no need for it at the time, he could not shake the design off his mind.

This time around we needed something minimal but not bulky yet totally functional to keep all our books. Claude made and designed a leaning bookcase for us made of three sections of solid narra that could hold more than I thought it could. The beauty of it is that the shelves are adjustable, allowing me to play with different heights and levels and making it flexible enough to house some of Richard’s art pieces.

We are so happy with our bookcase and how well it works in terms of giving us more space. Claude has a treasure trove of wonderful design ideas and should you need his touch in your home, he can be reached at 0917-535-5163.

Another guy who is indispensable for me and my unending quest for organizing is George Goyena. I lost touch with him for about two months and I panicked! I kept on bugging Richard to look for him so that when Richard saw George while on his way to the airport he literally jumped out of the car to call him and secure his new mobile number. George made all of our closets and cabinets – all of which have worked wonderfully for us through the years. He makes modular cabinets (meaning they are all easy to assemble and install) that look like those Italian designer ones. His workmanship is excellent, quality great and service fast. The best thing about this is that he can customize the cabinets to fit your needs and requirements. George is the best thing that has happened to my storage and housekeeping needs. The cabinets that he makes come in a wide range of colors and finishes to match any room in the house and are definitely for keeps because with just slight adjustments they can be converted into something else. Just recently, I decided I wanted to recover the space I was using for shoes and he did that for me in a jiffy. He has since converted hanging clothes space into drawer space, and what used to be another clothes cabinet he has customized into my very own bag cabinet. I love it because I have all of my bags within easy access and those I forgot I had are now in clear view. George has also made cabinets with wave-design doors that are cut with computer for precision. I love the fact that they can be decorative and functional at the same time. Call George and watch your mess melt beautifully into the walls. He can be reached at 0918-941-6720.

I did not ask permission from both gentlemen if I could publish their mobile numbers and I really hope they will not mind my doing so. I cannot help but share their craft with you.

I may not yet be 100 percent organized but I am well on my way to getting as close to that as I possibly can. Many thanks to Claude and George!