Thirty Days of a Clutter-Free Dresser

I did the A to Z Challenge in April. In June, I will challenge myself to (insert amplified voice here) THIRTY DAYS OF A CLUTTER-FREE DRESSER!

Our dresser is normally the go-to place with all the items that need to be brought to the top level of our two-story home. The dresser is directly across from our bedroom door, so it is an easy first stop. Often I ascend the stairs with a pile of crap–toys, laundry, books–that need to be put away, but instead, I set it all down. Then, I am promptly interrupted, distracted, deterred to the kids who want a bath, to the kids screaming downstairs, or to the kids doing nothing, really, I’m just NOT IN THE MOOD.

And so, I leave the stuff there, and there it remains. Another day arrives, and I bring more stuff to sit on top the other stuff. And, well, you get the gist. This dresser, the longest, flattest, most opportune place to set stuff, gets set upon until I can taketh no moreth.

If you’re thinking, what is so hard about keeping the top of the dresser clutter-free? You ain’t wrong to wonder. I wonder it myself. Why can’t I keep this darned thing empty? It is not a shelf or a closet or a storage unit. And yet, that is how we treat that space.

IMG_5179It is a flat open surface over 60 inches in width. It is like a counter top in the kitchen. I haven’t been inspired to hang anything over the dresser like shelves or pretty art work, since that corner of the room is cluttered enough with stuff and cluttered often enough to be considered decor.

It is time to grow up, I say. Stop this silly behavior. Stop this crazy dependence on 60 inches of flat space that could beautify the room with proper decor displayed or with its empty space. So, for the next thirty days, I want to look at the wood and not my stuff. I want to resist setting items down. I want to stop the procrastination and put those things away right away.

(insert more amplified voice) CAN SHE DO IT?

We’ll see.

And now, you, fellow reader, you’re welcome to join me in this June challenge of keeping a particular space clutter-free. Tell me about it below.

7 thoughts on “Thirty Days of a Clutter-Free Dresser”

  1. LOL, your story is the same as the end of my kitchen counter. How about a basket next to the dresser to temporily drop the items into? I look forward to reading the challenges to this idea with having 3 kids, ages 10 and under, who are still into trinkets, and bits and bobs 🙂

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  2. My spouse is known to take up every open square inch of open counter and table space with his effluvia. And then he’ll go on a spree and clear everything off. Kind of like a reverse volcano. Don’t fret too much about your challenge. It sounds to me like you have a full and wonderful life, and sometimes that is delightfully messy. But that is a lovely dresser.

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    • Thank you for the compliment and wonderful reminder of how its all right to be messy (I do have plenty of messes). Love the reverse volcano image! Ha. Glad your hubby at least clears the slate. My hubby is good at not noticing clutter, ever.

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  3. I don’t really struggle with clutter, as I can’t function in clutter….BUT I still have a terrible time maintaining my laundry in the tiny, ugly laundry room — and though I strive, it’s a constant battle, because I can shut the door and forget about it.

    I don’t know that the dresser thing is really any more trouble than my laundry room — I mean, if that’s the worst of it, meh, lol, better things to do in a day! 🙂

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