It's been a while

Well, things have been very busy around our house. We went on vacation after that last post, and then we all have been sick at various times since then, we bought a rental property and have been trying to rent it, so I have been in survival mode on the organization since then. Now that we are almost through all of the craziness, it's time to get back to the monstrous task of decluttering our home. I guess at this point I can officially say I am "Spring Cleaning". So, since it if officially Spring (although the weather hasn't gotten the memo) I am going to add deep cleaning everything to the agenda. You know, under beds, behind furniture, kitchen cabinets, etc. It just needs to be done. In the process I will hopefully get rid of lots of stuff! I also have a garage sale coming up in May that I will gather things for. Yes! Back to my plan!

Catching Up

So, I am way behind on recording on the projects I have done lately. Last week I:

Got the house ready to have the carpets cleaned (I love this! There's nothing like clean carpets - especially with 3 kids running around making messes)
Cleaned out and organized the linen closet
Went through all of the kid's books and organized them
Went through more kids clothes
cleaned out the car - now I just need to vacuum it before it gets messy again
and
My husband worked on all of the electronic stuff and his papers in the office

All in all, not a bad week.

Control

Ok, so yesterday I had one of those moments where you realize why the house organization has become such a problem. One of my issues is that I just can't let go and let someone else help with the organizing. I am the type of person that likes for the organizing to be done "right" more than quickly. My husband is more of a "quick" organizer. Mostly his organization consists of throwing things away without thinking too much about them. I, on the other hand, have to think every single thing through. If there is an item that I'm not sure what it belongs to, I set it aside and think about it until I can figure it out. My husband will just toss it in the garbage if it is not immediately evident as to where it belongs. This drives me crazy because then you end up with items with pieces missing. His solution to that - throw it away.

So, I find myself going through the garbage after every time he "cleans up" around the house. I know I should not do that, but I can't take that he doesn't think about things. Yesterday I peeked in the garbage while he was cleaning and found an entire sewing project that I was in the middle of working on in the trash. It just happened to be in a plastic Target bag, so he assumed it wasn't worth keeping. I was really grateful that I rescued my hard work from being thrown away, but this did not help my control issue with the home organization. It just confirmed that I need to make sure he is not throwing important things away. And it fueled my need to do it all myself, the way I want to do it. I feel this constant panic to get through everything quickly myself so he won't want to suddenly "help" me with it.

I gotta get through the house quick. So I don't have to feel like such a control freak.

The paper mountain

I worked on the paper mountain today. Went through all of the school papers that come home each day. They had worked themselves in to quite the pile.

I also gave a huge bag of clothes to my sister in law for her son to use now that my son has grown out of them. I like giving things to people that I know. Somehow that makes getting rid of things easier for me.

Good day.

Yesterday

I forgot to post yesterday, but I kept with my cleaning plan and I was able to go through a bunch of clothes to give away. I also dropped off 2 bags and a box of previously gathered clothes, shoes and books to donate. It felt good once I drove away, but I still had that paniky feeling as I was unloading them, wondering if there was something in there that I might be able to use and might want at some point. Hopefully this will get easier with practice.

I'm still working

Ok, so it's been a few days since I have posted, but I have still been working on some things. I have been tackling the never ending stacks of paper that seem to accumulate around the house, and doing some deep cleaning projects. I'm making progress.

Yesterday, since it was Sunday, I wrote in journals.

I'm also really committed to sticking strictly to my cleaning schedule this week. I'm hoping I can have a perfect week on that.

Back in the Groove

Today the kids and I went through all of the toys in the toy room and put together a big box of toys to donate. I think the toys are down to a manageable size now.

I also started cleaning and organizing the office closet today. I think that project will take a few days, and it will require help from my husband, but I'm excited to get the office to a point that I'm happy about.

Heading in the right direction!

Yesterday's fun

Oops I forgot to post what I did yesterday. And I worked hard, so I had to do a post to reward myself. I went through all of the clothes my daughter has grown out of and put them in the appropriate bins to be stored for if we ever have another girl. And I went through my jackets and got rid of ones that I don't use anymore.

Best thing about yesterday - I got my daughter's room to a point where I am really happy with the organization and cleanliness of it. I can't say that about really any other room right now. But I will get there eventually. I'll just keep taking my baby steps, and one day I will find I'm there, right?

A change of plans

One of my goals in doing this is to be a better mother and to enjoy life more. So today, instead of doing an organization project, I made plans to go to Disneyland with the family! So excited! It took a while to get it all worked out, but it's done. Then I hit the gym for a bit. That was great too, after a solid week of being at home with sick people. The weather was beautiful today (a rare treat during the winter) and I took the kids to the park where I taught my son to shoot a basketball. Tonight we played a game as a family. Joyous times!

Even thought I didn't get some great project done, I still feel completely happy with what I accomplished today.

Back on Track

So I had a few sick days. I had to just get by on keeping up with dishes and laundry on those days. But Friday I got back on track. I went through all of my sweaters and shoes and put 2 huge bags in the minivan for donation. Felt good. Also went through my nightstand and my "skinny" clothes and got rid of things there. It was a good day.

Saturday turned out to be another sick day. I even managed to take a long nap, and felt so much better after. I think I have finally kicked the sickness. Yes! I hate it when things that are out of your control derail your good efforts and determination.

Today I wrote in journals and corresponded with some old friends.

Back to work tomorrow!

Another One

So, another sick day today. Did a bit of laundry, took my son to get some new shoes (his were falling apart) and made dinner for a friend that just had a baby, but other than that, I didn't do much streamlining. I'll do better tomorrow.

Sick Day

So, I got my husband's sickness. And I rested a lot today. I figure the more I rest, the quicker I will get better so I can get to work on my goals! Here's hoping that works out for me.

Today I took on part of the paper mountain while I laid on the couch. (you know, all those papers that come into your life and live and breed around the house?) I got rid of 80% of the stack. The rest were filed in their proper places. I feel good about that. Not what I had planned for the day, but I am ok with what I accomplished.

Survival Sunday

I love Sunday because it is different than all of the other days. Today was a bit more difficult because my husband was sick, but then again, when does everything go smoothly anyway? Given the fact that hubby was sick, I took it easy today on my goals. In fact, I haven't done anything YET today. So, I will be writing in a journal tonight before bed and then calling it a night. I guess they all can't be super productive days....

To the dump!

Today's project was to take a minivan load of stuff to the dump. It almost didn't happen since my husband is sick today (and I needed help lifting things) but I managed to get him up and out the door anyway.

Am I the only one that feels a little weird about throwing stuff into that big pit? I was thinking the whole time, "I wonder if someone would still find this useful?" Then I had to bring myself back to reality. If the donation place won't take it, it's not very useful. I feel better now that it's gone, a little liberated too, but I have to admit that my heart was racing the whole time during the actual dumping. Seriously, how can I be attached to things that aren't useful anymore? I'm just keeping my eyes on the prize... a streamlined life!

I did a bonus project today. I cleaned out the refrigerator too! Yay me!

Goals, Rules, and Action

Last week was my 35th birthday. As with all birthdays I end up doing some soul searching and reflecting on my life. And then I think about the things that I want to accomplish in the next year of my life. Usually the items revolve around some sort of unique experience or are some general goal like "lose weight". Well, I decided that this year I want to simplify my life. What does that mean? Let me explain.

I am a collector. I collect "stuff". Most of it is very useful, some of it not so useful. Why do I collect it? For various reasons. Like I said before, most of it is useful, and I want to have it handy when I need it once in a blue moon. Who wants to go buy or borrow something that you already had? What a waste of time and money. So I keep it, whatever it might be. And it takes up space in my home and in my life.

I am also very sentimental and I have a great memory. I look at things, random things, and it brings back memories or reminders of people that I love, and that have played a special role in my life. I can't bear to let that thing go because it brings me warm feelings, even though it doesn't really serve a useful purpose in my life.

I love garage sales and getting a good deal on something. I love clearance sales. I can think of very few things in my life that I have paid full price for. I don't buy things that I don't have a use for, but I do buy things that fall into that category of being useful only once in a blue moon.

Now my husband, in contrast, hates stuff. If it were up to him, he would throw everything away except his computer and pocket knife and live day to day off the land... and the electrical grid of course. He can't stand anything that is annoying to deal with. In fact, if he pays cash for something and gets back change in coins, he will actually throw the coins in the garbage can so he won't have to deal with them. Luckily our kids have piggy banks that he can feed his change to now, instead of throwing out the money.

I am admitting here and now that I have gathered too much stuff in our house. Not all of our stuff has a home, and it gets moved from one place to the next in an effort to clear out a particular area. This is not a good way to live. And it brings great anxiety into my life. And with that anxiety comes my stressed out eating habits which sabotage my weight loss efforts. And then my self esteem takes a hit. I don't need that.

I have a hypothesis that if I can streamline my life, it will be a much happier place for me and my family. So, this year I am committed to putting this hypothesis to the test.

Here are my goals for my simpler life:

1. I want my home to look the way I have envisioned it in my head.
2. I want to be able to clean my home without it being a major undertaking.
3. I want to feel comfortable inviting people over so we can make some friends.
4. I want to get rid of all the baggage that is holding me back from real weight loss.
5. I want my children to learn to manage stuff better than I did.

So, with those goals in mind, here are some rules that I will live by in this process:

1. All "stuff" must have a permanent home.
2. Stuff can only come into our home if we really and truly love it or need it.
3. All mail will be sorted and dealt with as soon as it comes in the door.
4. I am only allowed to buy one "goal" clothing item for when I lose the next 10 lbs. All other clothing must currently fit me. (with the exception of the maternity clothes I have boxed up in storage)
5. I will let my children be accountable for their own stuff.

And these are my action items for streamlining my life:

1. Monday through Saturday I will do some small project to organize our home.
2. Twice a week I will take on a large project to organize or beautify our home.
3. I will follow my cleaning schedule.
4. Sundays I will write in my kids journals or do some sort of family history project or scrapbooking.
5. I will do some sort of deliberate exercise every day.
6. I will blog about what I have done each day and my current feelings about my progress.