Saturday, April 23, 2011

I'm a Mess!

My life is so filled with stuff....and more keeps coming in each day!

My current issue stems from a step at organization...I started creating a Home Management Binder.  It had divided sections for important areas in my life that I need to get organized...Tastefully Simple, Landmark, Cornerstone, Finances, Contacts, Calendar, etc.

Well, due to my lack of organization and life of chaos, I have LOST my binder.  Along with a few bills that needed to be paid last week! :-(  I've been looking for it for about 3 weeks now...I am about to give up and begin a new binder.  It'll probably show up as soon as I get a better one made!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Bathroom Linen Closet Organization

                                               BEFORE                                       AFTER


I pulled everything out and only put back in what I want in there!  Now, what to do with the rest of the stuff?! Hmmm....

The Family Closet

I heard about an idea from http://www.michiganmomma.blogspot.com/ about a "family closet".  When I can building my own house or expand this one, I am going to create one of these.  Basically, it would be a laundry room/closet in one room.  Wouldn't that be a dream...no carting clothes from the washer/dryer to the living room or bedroom to fold/hang, and then from room to room to get all the clothes put away in each person's closet/dresser.  One room with everyone's clothes, clean and dirty...organized, of course (a girl can dream, right?)

Well, since I couldn't do that, I came up with the next best solution for us!  My husband bought me a rolling closet that we can have in our bedroom.
Jenna's school clothes are on the top rack & shelf, and all of Aren's clothes are on the bottom.  It has been so nice to only have to put away Jenna's non-school clothes in her room.  Really saves a lot of time!  And when we don't want to see their clothes...just zip it closed, as you can see below!

A thing of beauty! :-)

Weekend Projects

So here are a few of the projects I have accomplished this weekend:

 
I've been wanting to clean this medicine cabinet out, and to make labels so it can stay organized.  So glad I finally got around to doing it!

The bathroom counter was so cluttered with stuff you could hardly tell there were sinks there.  Now, if only I could get rid of that rust stain from our well water!! yuck!

I had cleaned off my dresser a few weeks ago, but it sure doesn't take long to get stuff on it again.  Most of the time it's piles of clean clothes that I don't want to hang up or take to the Jenna's room right then.  I need to work on that procrastinating problem!


Saturday, January 22, 2011

Uncluttered and it feels so good!

Last night several miracles happened.  First, the children were very well behaved...not one fight all evening!  Second, I had been doing some de-cluttering at work and the motivation was still moving me!  So, I spent some time working on the living room and dining room, since these are the rooms that we spend the most time in.  After getting all of the stuff moved out (put away, packed away, or just plain out of sight), I was able to sit down in my recliner to enjoy some conversation with my husband and some quiet reading time.  It was just such a great experience that I rarely experience, but would sure like to keep having!!  But, since I have been raising 2 clutterbugs, that will probably not happen (tonight, the living room floor is covered in Hot Wheels & tracks, DVDs, blocks, puzzles, and more. *sigh*

Friday, January 21, 2011

Clutter Costs Cash

Every driver knows that the joy of your birthday is annually derailed by the required trip to the Secretary of State.  I know, thanks to the internet, it is now a much simpler process...unless you are covered in clutter as I am.  Last October when I received my renewal notice, I wrote out a check for the amount desired, sealed the envelope, and just needed to wait until I had the money in the bank. 

Days before my birthday, I kept thinking about that envelope that I had not yet mailed...too late now, guess I will need to do it online...oops, my birthday came and went.  The day after my birthday I went online to the Secretary of State, knowing that I would need to pay the $10 late fee...no biggie.  What?!  I can't renew online cause it's late?!  Great, now I need to find that envelope...got it (miracle).  Put in a new check that includes the late fee...oops, not enough money in the checking account...already late, no need to hurry...I have til the end of the month! 

October turned to November, turned to December, turned to January...I kept thinking about it.  Wondered where the envelope had gotten to, and kept moving the amount in my Quicken checking register.

So, other than the $10 late fee, how has this clutter cost anything??  Well, a couple of days ago, I was pulled over for having expired plates...$105! :-(  Not my best day, but when you live in clutter, it's a risk you take!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Cluttered Spirituality?

In ABF yesterday morning, we were challenged to look at ways that we "complicate" our relationship with Christ.  For me, everything stems from clutter.  I find that my clutter is what interferes with my spirituality.  When I try to spend quiet time with God, my mind wanders to all of the things on my to-do list and my eyes see all the stuff around that needs to be dealt with, so my prayers then become consumed with me...help me de-clutter, help me get control of my life, help me to find ways to teach the kids not to be like me, etc.

I also find that the clutter in my life tends to be what brings my bad character traits to the surface.  I get upset with the kids for not cleaning up their stuff.  I get irritated at my husband when he wants to talk about why the house is such a mess.  Clutter is the nemesis of the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.  Maybe rather than focusing on removing the clutter to see the fruit, I should focus on the spirit and the fruit will help the clutter dissipate....hmmm?! Interesting thought!

Friday, January 7, 2011

Christmas Clutter

Well, I finally decided I was ready to down-size my Christmas stuff.  As I've implied, I'm a packrat...inherited and learned this bad habit from my mother.  However, I am serious about this de-cluttering so as I started to pack up my Christmas decor, I laid it all out around me and sorted through it all.  Lots of memories...homemade ornaments from my kids, ornaments received from my preschool students over the years, collectible ornaments from special occasions, random ornaments from gift exchanges, white elephants, etc.  Thankfully, I made it through the pile with a box of ornaments for Goodwill.

Unfortunately, in my quest to downsize, I ended up adding to my Christmas collection.  After Christmas, I purchased a pre-lit tree on clearance for next year with the plan to donate my current difficult to assemble and light tree to Goodwill.  The unfortunate part is that Dave and Aren both are adamant that we keep both...in fact, Aren says we can buy more and have a Christmas forest in our house (even so far as moving our couches outside!) Dave packed up "his" tree and took it to the basement.  We'll see if he actually gets it out next year...in our 10+ years of marriage, he has never put the Christmas tree up!

But I am thankful that our Christmas decorations are finally boxed up and ready to move back to their home in the basement so that I can have some more room...that in itself makes me feel like I'm making some progress in de-cluttering my life!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Life Coaching

I recently had the opportunity to spend an hour talking with a life coach.  What is a life coach, you may ask?  A life coach is a person that helps you talk through an issue that is keeping you "stuck" in an area of your life...kinda like a therapist, but better!  Anyways, when I first asked to meet with Kym, I was in one of those "treadmill" moments...you know those, when everything in your life is making you feel like you are running but not getting anywhere.  By the time our appointment came around, though, I was feeling more like myself and wasn't really sure what our meeting would hold.

Anyways, our time together was amazing, to say the least.  It was really very hard to look into myself and "feel" what my subconscious inner thoughts did to my body.  I discovered that the root of my issues stemed from a very important person in my past inadvertantly (I hope!) planting the thought "I'm not good enough" and me believing it!  It was this thinking that got me "stuck"...not good enough as a parent, wife, friend, employee, even housekeeper.  But as I have discovered this lie deep within, I have been able to consciously think about the many ways that I AM GOOD ENOUGH! And how this truth changes everything!!  I don't have to be perfect, but I AM GOOD ENOUGH!!!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

My Cluttered Life

If there was one word to describe my life, it would be cluttered!  Everything in my life is cluttered...my home, my van, my office, even my mind!  I've been told that I learned to be a "clutterer" by my mother, as she was a born pack-rat.  But there is so much more to my clutter than just "stuff"...it's a lifestyle.  A lifestyle that I am determining to change.

But how do you begin to change a near 40-year lifestyle?  I believe that it has to start in the mind.  I have begun to make more lists...shopping lists, to-do lists, goal lists, cleaning schedules, and more.  If it's in my mind, I'm gonna write it down. For two reasons: first, so I don't forget and second, so it's not cluttering my mind anymore.

I can already see an improvement, slight but still, improvement!  And that's what it's going to take...baby steps. But I am thankful that I am making steps, no matter how small they are!