Week 10 of the Clever Girl Organizing Challenge: Wining and Dining Items

It’s Week 10.  TEN!!!  Can you believe it? What a tremendous effort you are making to reclaim your home and your life, one week at a time!

We’re heading back to some of the items we intentionally glossed over in the early weeks, even though we may have been very near by. We’re going to focus on the items we use for entertaining, or even every day items that we use to entertain, serve, or just plain enjoy our great meals and drinks!

Week 10:  Wining and Dining

Level 1 Challenge: Everything Beverage-related. This week, we go back to the kitchen or into the dining room, wherever you have beverage holders…  glasses, mugs, shot glasses, water bottles, 

• Glassware – Let’s start with just the basics — water glasses, juice glasses
• Mugs – Talking coffee mugs and travel mugs. 
• Specialty Glasses – These can include wine glasses, shot glasses, champagne glasses, glasses for different kinds of beer, brandy snifters, etc. 
• Straws, Wine Charms and Beer Koozies  (and yes, I’m talking to you…  you know who you are 🙂 ) – All those great serving and sipping accessories
• Openers –  Cork Screws, Wine Bottle Openers, Beer Bottle Openers
• Large Serving Vessels – Pitchers, carafes, decanters, urns

How to tackle this one:  Some of these categories are “How many of each of these types do you really need?” Some of them are “Do I even need ANY of these?”  Some of these items, we’ve grown in a collection, either because we’ve acquired things on our own, or other people have added to our collections for us.  If that’s the case, you might consider reviewing your collections to determine which are your favorites, which are most meaningful, and which you’d let go and never miss…  And then let go of them. 

Level 2 Challenge: Entertaining Dishes and Accessories. We are expanding this week into the other items that you might use for entertaining / dining that you haven’t already touched. You might not have touched them already because you don’t keep them in the kitchen, but rather the dining room or even storage elsewhere.  Or maybe because we just haven’t specifically focused on them yet.  But here are things that come to mind:

• Platters
• Cake plates
• Serving bowls
• Cheese boards
• Appetizer dishes
• Salt and Pepper shakers
• Candlesticks
• Trays
• Fondue Pot
• Sushi sets
• And so on….

How to tackle this one:  Not surprisingly, I’m going to tell you to try to clear out the cabinets and make really critical decisions on what really deserves to go back in.  You’re going to come across items that were wedding gifts (that you maybe haven’t even used), items you acquired for one particular event, and haven’t used it since.  Remember some of the key questions:

• Is this part of my current life or likely near future?
• Do I own something else that could serve the same purpose?
• Is this something I could borrow from someone else if I needed it? 

How The Challenge Works:
As With Every Week, Your mission:

1) Take on Level 1, and if you’re feeling up to the challenge, Level 2. If you’ve already got those covered, identify a challenge for yourself that you know you should be tackling.

2) Whenever possible, take BEFORE and AFTER pictures. You don’t have to share them with anyone but yourself, but it is a fantastic way to (a) identify clutter that’s become invisible to you over time and (b) truly measure and appreciate your progress. 

3) We’re all about letting things go…  be critical about what you’re keeping and why you’re keeping it.  Always ask yourself these critical questions to help decide if you should hold onto items: 

• Is using this item part of my current life or likely future?
• If I didn’t have this item and needed it for some reason, is it easily replaced or borrowed?
• Can someone else use this more than I seem to be using it now? 
• Am I keeping it for a “maybe some day” or a “just in case” option? How likely is that situation? And am I keeping more in that category than I should, given the space constraints I have?
• Is it part of my past, and holding onto it reminds me of a former self? And am I keeping more in that category than I should, given the space constraints I have?

4) Stay FOCUSED on this task.  Know what FINISHED looks like, and don’t get distracted by other projects or areas of attention that cross your path while you’re on this assignment.  

5) Have a plan on where things will go — give away to someone you know, donate, sell, recycle or trash.  This Challenge isn’t just about creating new piles that don’t have a future!

6) Work in manageable chunks of time and energy. It’s a marathon, not a sprint! 

7) Celebrate and reward yourself for a job well done!