Cristians Room and Glass Cabinets

Both yesterday and today were days for working on Cristian's room. A lot is gone! Although, I didn't take any pictures. I was too tired from cleaning! I guess, I actually started it Thursday, because we took a tall kitchen bag stuffed with clothes to the Goodwill that day. I worke at weeding out toys on Friday, and Mo helped me when I thought I was done - - still filled more bags to go! I think all in all there were about 3-4 black lawn trash bags that left (some garbage and some Goodwill), and I know there are 3 FULL tall kitchen bags in the back of the van to go tomorrow morning to be donated after church. Additionally, another 2 almost full black lawn trash bag went to the neighbor's, and there is one that isn't quite full, but is getting there, in my bathroom (it wasn't full, so I decided to work on my bathroom drawers to get it there - - still working, as the drawers are done but tomorrow I'll get to the "under the cabinet" space).

I hope I'm getting better habits. As I fold wash, and even as I put it away, I'm trying to pull one more thing out of each drawer to go. !!!!! Even hand-me-downs we got this week, I sorted before putting them away either in drawers or the "grow in" pile. We are so blessed with hand-me-downs, and Tori looks forward to the bags coming. Still, I realize if we won't use it, it probably makes sense to gift it to someone else rather than storing it and then passing it on. A bag of really nice dancewear went to a friend (Tori isn't dancing at present) . Shared blessings!

Living in clutter is serious business, and it is outright seriously depressing. Having it leave is an uplift! I realize, truly, that we've only scratched the surface on this stuff, but I will push on.


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I, by the way, AM very serious about the "bigger barns" thing. I WILL NOT move anything I don't intend to have as an integral part of our lives!

Remember my post about the glass cabinet doors, last weekend? Well, we looked at a "bigger barn" that has ALL glass upper cabinet doors. Now, isn't that ironic? If we should move to a kitchen like that, I want to be READY!

Laura

Cleaning Lady Days

A year ago, when we were potentially moving and showing our house a lot to potential renters, Todd and I hired a cleaning lady (actually 2-3, depending on the day, they come together and blow through here fast). We chose to keep them on even after we decided not to move because it was so nice to have a reason to have the house picked up every 2 weeks, and it was also so nice when we were so busy with Ana and her post surgery care not to have to worry about whether the house was scrubbed.

The drawback though, is that we tend to "stash" rather than putting things away properly, because we fear we don't have the time to put it away the right way, and still have everything picked up so the "ladies" can clean.

My goal now is to not have to do anything the night/morning before the "ladies" come. I so desire things in this house to be put away all the time, enough that we don't have a mad dash of stashing things every other "night before" in order to be ready for them to come scrub. I remember the saying "Everything has a place, and is in its place," but right now 1) everything doesn't have a place, 2) everything that does have a place is not in its place, and 3) If everything were in its place there wouldn't be enough place for the things.

Time to press on, and get rid of more...

Laura

Another link at the bottom

At the bottom of this LONG page of posts I added a link to another blog, made with similar goals. Enjoy! It is the link that is titled "Jenni's Blog".

Laura

Maybe a bigger barn?

OK, after vowing to enjoy my "barn" and make life simpler here, it is possible that it might be time for a bigger barn anyway, however, NOT for the STUFF. There are many reasons, being in part the economy, what's financially best for our family, etc... too many to go into right now. However, we're in prayer and know God will guide us. In the meantime, I will be working away at this. I am committed to not moving ANYTHING I don't need to. Either way, life still needs to be simplified and restored to the order that we as a family crave, and thus I am pressing on! :-)

Today is picking up and putting away day - - probably not a lot will get cleaned out, but I hope a lot will be picked up.

Blessings - - Laura

Pantry Photos

Here is a photo of the pantry... all clean! There are a few extra items in it - - I am storing the dish towels in there for now, because the drawer they are in is unavailable for a week or two (long story) but otherwise, it is clean. :-) That empty shelf will be filled with ONLY the canned groceries we need for a week at a time. Yes, you might be able to save more by buying in quantity when it's on sale, but not when it gets pushed to the back and forgotten about, and then outdates so it has to be thrown away...

By the way, I DID take yesterday as a day of rest! My friend Nancy from Oklahoma is here (she arrived about 2 hours earlier than I expected her, which was even more of a bonus!) and we went shopping at the mall. Fun! Ana now has new bras that fit, Tori and Cristian each a new outfit for spring, and I bought a baby present for a dear friend whose Chinese daughter is finally about to come home - - after I think about a 4+ year wait.

Today will be busy, lots of appointments and such, but I'll get back on the clearing out wagon again tomorrow and throughout the week.

Blessings on your Monday - - Laura

Another Photo, and The Pantry

Here is another photo of stuff that left my kitchen cabinets yesterday. Additinally, I was able to clean the pantry enough to put a plastic bin in for breads. That means, NO MORE BREAD BOX ON THE COUNTER! Our house has plenty of counter space in the kitchen, but it is so much easier to wipe counters down, etc... when there is less sitting on them. Oh, and that bag on top of the box - - Scott's torn jeans. 3 pair. He's getting into it a little bit, too.

I decided to tackle the pantry last night, before dinner. The dinner I'd planned was a simple but yummy and healthy one, so I figured I'd just quickly go through it. Well... it was 8pm when I actually finished and got dinner on, but our family didn't mind, and now it is DONE too! Two big black garbage bags later, the pantry is CLEAN. I used to keep my cookbooks on a shelf of the bookshelves in our bedroom. Now they're in the pantry. Also, the bread is in the pantry, and the bread box GONE. :-) Our pantry is deep, and stuff gets shoved to the back. Thus the garbage bags filled.

It felt good to eat dinner (even late) knowing that there is no "yuck" in that big cabinet (the pantry is right next to the table). In addition to that, I cleaned out the garage fridge yesterday (we need it for "overflow" groceries - with the size of family we have). Tori went out to get a soda for Todd and was SO excited! So now, we've got Tori getting into the fun too!

Today I will try to make it a day of rest. It is hard to stop though... but that was the plan and it is God's plan.

Laura

Jane's Idea in the Tupperware Cupboard...

I just finished two more lower cupboards. One was particularly a challenge because I had to rewash everything in it. It's done and put away now. The other was the nightmare tupperware cupboard (tupperware being used to explain any storage container). A year ago I got rid of half of the stuff that filled that space, and still, it is an absolute disaster again. Because of stuff I cleared from another cabinet, I shifted some things, and then spent some time down on the floor making sure all the containers had lids, and vice versa. Well -- I have about 10 extra lids. Since sometimes the kids take containers to their rooms and such, I finally decided that for the next month, the extra lids will live in another place (Jane's idea, but with the cutlery) and if I don't find their mates, they LEAVE! The bag they're in is tied at the top and marked "Lids, to leave 2/24" and I will hold to that!

Another box has been filled from the kitchen to leave (later, I'll take a photo!). I have two more upper cabinets to do, another to finish, and the DREADED pantry but Ana is here chomping at the bit to help me with that one. God is good to bless me with such a sweet and eager helper!

Laura

More to go, and more cabinets...

You know, I have always thought those houses with glass doors on their kitchen cabinets were really really ridiculous... after all, how on Earth would one find room to put everything away in those cabinets if they couldn't be stuffed, yet the glass would mean things would have to be arranged neatly. Cabinet doors are to hide the mess inside, right?

I'm having fun trying to do things otherwise. I really want ALL our cabinets to look neat enough to have glass doors... seriously... why not have them look neet for my family and I when WE go to get stuff out of the cabinets?

Thus, the pics I'm posting. One is DONE, and the other is well on its way today. Plus, I vacuumed out all the drawers, then only put back in what I wanted and was pretty sure I'd use. We're moving right along here... Oh, and I'm also showing two LOADED boxes for Goodwill, which will leave as soon as I am ready to go get Tori from her sleepover (it's near where the Goodwill drop-off is).

Ana is dying to donate much of the stuff in her bedroom, now. This is infectious!

Laura

Metal Spatulas and Mo's House

I started going through my cooking utensils the other day, and realized I have three metal spatulas. Not a big deal, seems like I have three of everything (sadly), but I rarely use them since most of my cookware is teflon coated. I only use them when making cookies or using a metal pan, and then lets face it, I only have two hands, one to hold the pan and one to hold the spatula... so why three? I picked the nicest of the three and put the other two in the Goodwill box. That led me to going through the rest of the utensils and pairing down on those too.

Then today - - I was cleaning a nasty spill off a refrigerator shelf (finally took it and soaked it in the sink, but then the one below needed cleaning too I noticed) and needed something to scrape with. Thus, I grabbed the metal spatula. Then I got "that" feeling - - OH no, what if I am making cookies and need to clean a shelf, should I have more than one of those??? Of COURSE I need to clean the fridge every time I am making cookies (NOT!) Oh my, what an Aha moment for me! This is the kind of thinking that got me into the clutter I am up to my chin in, in the first place!!! So NO, I didn't go and get another spatula back out of the Goodwill box (yeah!!!).

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The other thing, unrelated somewhat to the spatulas, was what we did for lunch yesterday. We went to a friend's house, a friend who is extremely organized and lives simply. God is good. He didn't leave me feeling envy, but rather feeling motivated and with a clear vision of what I need to strive for. Today I'm working towards that. Slowly, as with my kiddos there is always something; we spent the morning taking Ana to the doctor because of sore throat and sore breathing (she has the "flu") and I wanted to rule out anything that needed antibiotics, being that it is the start of the weekend and it would be hard to get in Sat/Sun. But, I am working.

Some days, the job seems like a mountain way too hard to tackle, but when I think of Mo's house, it motivates me to keep on. In fact, there is an item on my kitchen cabinets (we have open tops, and I have decorative things there) that always needs dusting, and isn't even that pretty. Goodbye to it, as when I click "publish post" in a second, I'm getting up there and getting it down to go in the box. The bye-bye box.

Here's a photo (to the left, above) of one cabinet that looks now more like one of Mo's than one of mine. Praise God! OK, it is the cabinet where we keep all medicines taken on a daily basis, and the "electrical" stuff for cooking. It is MUCH improved (Mo, did you by chance see it when you were here at Christmas? It's the one in the corner, in the kitchen.)

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One more thing, if anyone else (I know my friends who read this are mostly also working on the un-cluttering of their homes and lives) has any "aha" moments to share, like the spatula one, would you please, by leaving comments? Maybe we can motivate each other some more!

Laura

The best of plans...

OK, so the good news is there is ONE BOX of stuff packed from the kitchen cupboards tonight. The bad news is, I didn't get that 4 hour time block I thought I'd have. We had to run to the local hospital (where the lab is) to turn in stuff for the GI testing, and that took longer than I'd hoped, and then the optometrist called because my new contacts (long awaited!) came in, so we went to get those... so the 4 hours turned into 1/2 hour. But one box isn't bad!

Tomorrow, I'd planned to take all the kids to a local pool to swim (4 are off school for the day) but they've all agreed to entertain themselves at home instead, letting me clean out more stuff. I hope it will be a peaceful, serene, and PRODUCTIVE day!

Laura

Some Days...

You know, there are just some days. Yesterday was one. Up at 6am, and going nonstop until 8pm. I literally was home for 1/2 hour at noon, but needed to use that time to fill out paperwork for a doctor's appointment for 4 kids, in the afternoon. Here was the day -- up at 6, showered, and dressed, getting kids up and out the door until 9am and during that time also cleaning up the kitchen some more, and making frosting, and frosting cupcakes for Cristian to take to school, Bible Study at 9, Help in Tori's Classroom at 10:30-11:30, home to do paperwork until noon, out to pick up kids from 3 schools for GI doc appointments (one of my kids has an H Pylori infection and we believe more may), done with the appointments at 2:30 but then off to the lab to get the testing materials per the doctor, to the grocery store with 4 kids who are all acting weird (something about going to a GI doc and discussing poop really set Damon's "special needs" giggles and silliness going, and then everyone else either jumped in or objected - - neither being fun for Mom), and finally home to pick up Cristian from the bus, get Ana's voice materials, and take her to voice. During voice, we gassed up the car and ran a few more errands (the kids REALLY weird by now) and then came home where I made dinner, served it, cleaned up, etc.... I went to bed at 8:30 an the bad news is nothing new got packed up to leave this house yesterday, at all. Good news though, I have about 4 hours right now that will be partially used for that! Yay! I do have to run the lab stuff back to the lab, but after that it will be thinning out time for my kitchen cupboards... wish me luck!

Not all days go like yesterday, but in our family, with all the kids special needs, there are many more days like that than anyone can believe (including me!).

Blessings to you today - - Laura

Wall Clutter

Some clutter doesn't leave the house in huge trash bags to go to the Goodwill, or to the trash, but it still is an accomplishment to have it gone anyway. Tonight I tackled wall clutter in Tori's room. Let me explain - - Tori and Ana used to share a bedroom, and when I decorated it prior to Tori's arrival, I was very detailed... it had two tone paint, with the top being rag-rolled (so I guess that would make the overall wall 3-toned...), and a beautiful cutout border that matched the bedding in the room, perfectly. A Waverly deal. (photo below - - my how the girls have grown! But, the photo is more to show the border, which is in the background...) Now we've traded rooms and Ana and Tori don't share that room anymore. On top of that, Tori is ready to have the walls be her own style, which would mean light purple. I had to take that border down, and being that it was a cutout, when I put it up I used LOTS of border glue. Tonight I tackled it. I LOVE the tip I saw on HGTV to use fabric softener to remove the backing/glue. It worked! This clutter won't look like a huge pile on the sidewalk, but it does make a difference to have it gone. And, I LOVE to paint (seriously!) so I guess that will be my reward for taking it down.

Tomorrow, sometime, somehow, I hope to continue tackling Cristian's room. Somehow I think I might just be avoiding that a bit. :-) Laura

Cristian's Room

Today after I scrubbed down the kitchen (yes, those articles I posted yesterday really spoke to me - nothing new, but good reminders!) with bleach and did a lot of laundry, I ventured into Cristian's room. Because of his fairly severe reflux problems of late, we had to take his top bunk off of his bed, and put blocks under the two legs of the head of the bed so he can sleep on an angle. Todd and I did this, and then put the top bunk mattress under the bed for friends to sleep on (and also because it is a cleaner place to store it than the basement or other...). All those toys in bins under that bed now have to go somewhere! I worried at first about his reaction, but he was so good about sorting through stuffed animals with me to say goodbye to many. He is the ultimate pack rat, but he has also shown me today that he is willing to part with things to live in a simpler, more organized world. I look forward to digging deeper into his closet, and toy bins, later in the week.

So far, one tall kitchen bag of stuffed animals, and another half full of throw pillows and some odds and ends of toys have been put in the car to go to Goodwill. We also so far removed one bag of garbage (mostly empty toy boxes from his last birthday toys!).

I think the biggest challenge I am seeing with this is that with everything else we have going (yesterday afternoon was all doctors appointments for Ana - post orthopedic surgery girl, and Cristian, Mr. Reflux/ears) I am really going to have to plan so that I can keep my house momentum going without letting anything else go. I was SOOO late on forms the school needed for Damon's upcoming special ed meeting, and it was simply because of my focus on this stuff. So, I'm going to have to learn to keep ALL the balls in the air.

Link to a thought-provoking article

I happened upon this article last night. With the number of people and animals in our house, I am always trying to elminiate the germs (and with less stuff, there will be less places for them to lurk!). Anyhow, when I read this, though there was nothing that was truly news, I did enjoy having all the information in one article... here is a place you can read it too.

http://www.healthmad.com/Home-Health/Top-10-Places-Germs-Lurk-in-Your-Home.284171

Of course, when I pulled up the link to share it, I also found this:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ColdandFluNews/story?id=6106018

There is a lot of info to digest on the second site -- links galore to more info. All good advice.

Laura

The Desk

As I sit and type, I realize my first cleaning out project is now a mess again. Just a couple of weeks, and one thing, then one more, then just one more... and now the kitchen desk has stacks of stuff on both sides of my laptop again. UGH. It looks like tomorrow morning, I have a project all ready to go. I hope... You know, it is so easy to get things messed up again. I feel like I am defending my turf in a war on clutter! :-)

Better!

Having that cold last week, I didn't feel like I was getting enough done. Today, however, I did get to more. Tori's room is sorted, for the first phase at least... to the right is a photo of the pile at the top of the stairs tonight, to "leave" here. Yay! I labelled the 3 piles as to what they are...

While I'm doing this, Todd, who is off, has been restoring. He's changed out all the bathroom lights in the last couple of weeks! Now he is doing ditsy things but that need done and take time, like redoing Tori's bedroom window screen, redoing wiring so we can move a computer in the house, etc.. All contribute to progress!

When Toys are No Longer Fun

Tori loves her toys... and plays a lot in her room. However, they aren't fun anymore. There are too many of them, and just keeping them sorted would make a PHD in Organization frightful. I've spent today simplifying the toys, and still have quite a ways to go. So far, one stuffed black trash bag is ready to go to goodwill, full of toys. I have a bag of garbage from in the toy bins, and behind her bed. Finally, as I put clothes away, I loaded a bag of things for a friend we give handmedowns to. I have a feeling this bedroom is just at the starting point (sort of like peeling layers off an onion!). Photos later...

You find the weirdest things...

My youngest is a creative girlie. I'm still working on her room, but stalled a bit yesterday because I instead chose a NAP. :-) The cold is improving but needs sleep to heal. Anyhow, we did unearth this dolly - - Tori wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up, she says. Here is her holiday creation... note the hair, along with the outfits. Cleaning is fun!

Back to not doing too much yesterday, I have to say I am tempted to try and do double today. I don't think I will, though... or I will burn out and not have the energy to work tomorrow...

Blessings - Laura

Juggling Schedules

Now that the kids are back in school, and all their activities, appointments, etc.. are in full swing, I am realizing that the juggling of activities that got me into this state of too much stuff is still there, and it is something I am going to have to work hard to manage, to get my time in for clearing out. It'll be a challenge, but I'm up for it! Yesterday I did get into my youngest's closet and room for some time, and got a full bag of goodwill stuff (tall kitchen sized, not lawn trash sized, YET) but then was interrupted by my oldest needing to go to the doctor. She had surgery on her leg a week ago and it was just killing her with pain. Turned out, it was just a cast/splint issue, and now with a new cast and more time off school ordered by the surgeon, she should be fine.

Thursdays, every other week, my housekeeper comes and scrubs. Normally Wednesdays before she comes are stressful days of picking everything up so she CAN clean. Today will be no exception, but I do look forward to the Wednesdays when things are less cluttered and hopefully it won't be such a mad dash to unearth the surfaces so she can clean them.

More later - - pray I get mountains moved today, but keep the schedule too...

The cold is improving, finally. YAY! Laura

Monday...

The kids went back to school today, and I had great plans to do a lot, but am stuck with the nastiest headcold I have had in ages. Ugh! However, I did get into Ana's room to put her laundry away and managed to get a bag of stuff out of her drawers... then started uncluttering Tori's room - - I got a bag of garbage out of her closet, and a bag of toys for goodwill, yet am barely getting started on that room. WOW! Tomorrow I'll get going on it again.

Also today I did drop the box for my sister into the mail, and had a son deliver a bag of nice hand-me-downs to a neighbor. Progress! The goodwill stuff will be added to tomorrow's loot, and dropped off when I take Tori to gymnastics tomorrow night. Wow! I CAN do this.

Oh - - and one more thing, I made a bunch of appointment calls, etc... that I've put off during Christmas.

Hugs, Laura

Yesterday and Today

Yesterday my son had his buddy over, and while they cut out cookies to decorate, I cleaned out the cookie cutters and got a bagfull to give away. :-) Before bed, I made myself load another tall kitchen bag - - oldest daughter was willing to let me go on her closet. We filled the bag!

Today was packing up day with the Christmas decorations. I packed them super-organized this year (yay!) so that all the stuff for each tree (we do two) is in bins together , by tree. Additionally, I filled a 24 x24 in box FULL and overflowing, with decorations we didn't even put up this year. It leaves in the morning!

This is fun... and life is going to be so much more to my liking without all the "stuff" to deal with.

First Drop-off at Goodwill...

I took all yesterday's "goodies" from yesterday's clean-out to Goodwill today. Here's the load, in the back of the car... ALL of this is from half of our Master Bedroom closet (my half), my dresser, and the bookshelf in our room. When we emptied the back of the van, it filled the bin (with stuff sticking up too!) that they rolled out from the donation center. I'm off to a start! Today I am going to attack all the stuff I just took out of the laundry room, as my washer needs repair and so I unloaded that room so the repair man could get to the washer. I think most of this stuff doesn't need to go back in. :-) Wish me luck!

Laura

Oops, I listed everything too soon!

Please add to my list another bag of trash, more books, and the other half of the lawn bag FULL now. Man, is the Goodwill guy going to be busy tomorrow morning!

Laura

Today's List...

Today, in JUST the Master Bedroom closet and bookshelves, the following has left our house:

2 1/2 lawn trash bags STUFFED with clothes, one bulk rate mailing box stuffed (for someone I know who would like these things)

1 lawn trash bag plus 3 tall kitchen bags of GARBAGE

1 lg "apple box" sized box of books

2 closet rods not being used (the kind to "double" closet space, i.e. allow you to stuff more in)

They are all going into the back of the Suburban to be driven to Goodwill first thing in the morning. I'm happy! This is a good start... Laura

Happy New Year, Happy New Blog!

This is my blog to journey my path to simplifying and restoring order (and more!) in my home. Read on to see how things go... Laura