True confession:
Not all that long ago I had kind of a bad rep. My room’s carpet wasn’t recognizable. It didn’t see the light of day for, like, years.
Funny story actually, on my wedding day, my father walked in my room. The first words out of his mouth were, “Your floor! I didn’t know you had a grey carpet?! It’s nice! I don’t think I’ve seen it before. (turns and yells down the hallway) Hey! Guys look! Mindy’s floor!” Ummmm…. Hi there father! I’m your first born in her wedding dress! That’s what you’re excited about?! My floor?!
I used to have various piles around my room. One of which resembled Mount Vesuvius. It was referred to by my family and close friends simply as “The Ramp”. Rocco used to run up the mountain of clothes and shoes in order to get onto my bed, hence the name “The Ramp”.
Needless to say, organization has never been a strong suit of mine (to put it mildly).
When Mr. FSL moved into our house with me, I’m sure that he was unaware that he married Pig Pen. He heard a few rumors, but never saw the elusive Ramp.
I had a clean slate moving in. Literally. We really had nothing. When we bought our nightstands for our bedroom, they were empty.
One year and 2 months later, his top drawer had a few important papers in it. Mine looked like this:
Old habits die slowly, what can I say. Nobody’s perfect.
This past weekend, something came over me. I cleared out so many parts of our house that clutter started popping up in. I saw on some blog (so sorry I can’t remember which one!!!) last week that this woman put only things she used right before bed and in the morning in her nightstand. Genius I tell you.
Here’s a list of some of the crazy things I found in the black hole top drawer:
Old catalogs
Rocco’s toothbrush (!)
Expired coupons
My wisdom tooth in a tooth fairy box (ew)
Never before worn underwear with tags on them still
A picture frame My birth certificate
Memory cards for my camera
24 birthday cards from August
Ticket stubs
Receipts CD’s Chargers to phones that I no longer have
I am a complete weirdo. If I was to be mentally evaluated base solely on the contents of my nightstand, I’d be locked up. C’mon, ticket stubs, underwear & a tooth?! I can’t believe I publicly am admitting to any of this, but hey, It’s my blog.
Most of the junk was tossed. I put only things I’d use in bed in it ( I’m a copycat).
The new contents of my top drawer:
A vanilla cookie scented candle
A lighter
Mints
Emergency chocolates
Chapstick Nail polish
Kindle & charger
Phone & charger
Oh Em Ghee.
That’s ah niiiiice!
I actually rigged it so my kindle & cell phone charger wires come through the back of the drawer so they charge while tucked away!
Pshhhht…. Who you calling Pig Pen now?
Anyone doing any Spring cleaning in the Winter like Backwards Mindy? What’s in your nightstand? Be honest. I showed you my tooth fairy box for crying out loud!
I don’t have a drawer to hide things in, but on the top of the stand by my bed is a photo of my fiance and I, the engagement ring and it’s box, my phone, face creams, usually a book, oh and a mirror and tweezers just in case I need to touch up my eyebrows lol! My dad was a massive hoarder, so I try to live as minimalistically as possible…. That doesn’t mean I’m not messy! The way I see it there is a multitude of ways a room can be messy and only one way it can be clean, so by the laws of physics and maths, it is most likely a room will be in one of the many variants of a messy state, rather than the one clean state… Ahhh… that makes me feel a bit better!
Mathematically the odds are stacked towards my messy tendencies. I’m telling my husband it’s not my fault, it’s math
Ooh love it! Good job 🙂
I just found your blog! Love this post. Sounds kind of like me. I don’t have anything in my nightstand now but we’ve only lived here a few months. Give me time. I’ll start collecting the most random stuff in there.
-Diana
hahahaha! emergency chocolate stash! love that! i have a night “table” mine is overflowing with makeup, nail polish, lotions… i may have to clean it up when i go home! 😉
Love how you rigged the phone card. That is effing brilliant. We don’t have a drawer in our nightstands, but we usually only have books on the nightstand, so it hasn’t become a problem. The coffee table and end table in the living room, on the other hand? Junk-collectors.
Ha when I clean out random things-I am forever finding the most unusual stuff. I’m really glad to know I’m not the only one. 😉
I’m a pig pen at heart too! My husband is a total neat freak so we’ve had to meet in the middle in order to happily live together. I’m allowed a stack of books and magazines but no piles of clothes…he gets to organize the closet till his heart is content but can’t randomly put away my piles in places I will never find them again.
I think I actually have the same mirrored nightstand as you haha. It is full of random junk…but no teeth.
-Paula
MIndy,
I am DYING DYING at your wisdom tooth in a box. What the heck woman.. LOL!
Great job with the organizing! Keep up the good work!
You just made me feel 100% better. I too am a ramper! I was living out of my suitcase from my honeymoon and then my trip home for Thanksgiving until last week!!! My bedside drawer is a wreck.. I will have to clean it and report back to you!!! Thanks for the inspiration and making us Pig Pens feel better! ox
Wow. You totally sound like Mindys twin!!
Mindy, I loved this post! Just plain honest bloggers are my fave. 🙂 I need things to be where they belong, but my hubby is in a constant search for his wallet, keys, sunglasses, head, etc. Perhaps I should make him read this!!
love the secret stash of chocolate!!!!!!!!!!!
Well done on the organizing! My boyfriend has a whole cupboard that I call the black hole… Been working on it for the last few months so we’re starting to be able to find things in there now though 😉
I’m kind of disorganized too though. On my nightstand I have books, loads of earrings and every jewellery I have worn for the past five months, my phone, an alarm clock and used tissues (eww)
Um yeha… I think we have something in common here ahahah When I moved it was SCARY cleaning all the crap I had laying around. oops
Zee remember just before the big day i came to help you clean the piles,little pig pen? how come i didn’t make the blog??? love you anyway!
This is a brave post!
I honestly am not sure what is in my nightstand. I don’t really use the drawer. I have my Kindle and my Journal-A-Day book. Boring.
Ok, I think I might have this weird piece to put on my front two teeth during times that I clench my jaw. It’s disgusting.
I am still trying to sort through things after our big move, but I know what is in my nightstand. It has nothing to do with night, because before we moved I was using it for something else and it was in a closet. So, my nightstand has electronics in it!
love this post! it has inspired me to clean out my bedside table drawers too! Mine aren’t as extreme as yours, but they sure aren’t as clean as your after! I love how you have your chargers go through the drawers!! genius. thanks for the inspiration 🙂
I love this! I used to be very disorganized, but I’m telling you, it gets quite addicting! I have similar things on my nightstand as well. It’s so nice when things look clean and organized!
that is one hell of a hilarious assortment of “stuff” in your nightstand drawers! gotta love shear honesty! 🙂
BUT, now you’ve seriously made me jealous! I want all my electronics to plug in inside my drawers too! I’m telling Eric… this needs to happen! 🙂
It keeps everything streamlined. Just run the cords over the top of the backside of the drawer.
you saved the teeth! i can’t believe you still have them!