thirty thankful days-day 3--a tile floor

Every day in November I am posting something I'm thankful for, and I would love to have you join me!  Link to your thankful post below, or write about it in the comments.  Let's be thankful together!


A tile floor...really?  Dawn, yesterday you posted about your son, and today a tile floor?  Yes, I swung to the mundane.

Almost two months ago, in the last minutes before our small group arrived at our home, I discovered a mess.  I was doing the final wipe down in the bathroom, and the floor seemed wet.  I went to wipe it up and the floor squished down.  Water seeped up through the vinyl tiles we had there.  Uh oh.

My hubby was wise enough to call our insurance company before a plumber to see if it warranted a claim.  They sent someone out to access the damage and discovered black mold!  Apparently, it only takes 72 hours to develop.  So they sealed up the room and began a mold remediation process.  When that was done, we began to get estimates for the rebuild.

here is our bathroom all sealed up...

I don't know why, but this process has involved a whole lot of waiting.  Wait for this guy, that guy, that phone call, to pick this, to pick that, to figure out who will do the work, etc. etc. etc.  And we are without the bathroom on the main floor.  No matter how long it had been unusable...we all still manage to walk in there to use it before we remember the room is empty.

(Can I take a moment aside here and express my gratitude for the THREE other bathrooms in our house?--I'm such a whiner...)

Finally, last week, thanks to a dear semi-retired contractor from our church, work began on our bathroom.  Yesterday he finished tiling our floor.  We had trouble finding tile we liked, but I think I'm pleased.  I may be mostly pleased that it's done, but I think I'm also pleased with the way it looks.

What do you think??

Even though there is still painting, and all sorts of installing to do, the floor represents progress.  One of these days soon, we are going to have a bathroom there again.  And I'm thankful for progress.

Cause, Lord knows we can hardly survive on only three bathrooms around here...

What are you thankful for today?  Link up or comment!  Let's fill up blogland with thankfulness!

A few simple instructions for the link up:

-please link to your specific thankful post--not just your blog

-please link back to theGoodlife in your post so others can join the fun!
-feel free to grab the 30 thankful days graphic--I haven't figured out how to make it a button yet.  I'm such a techy, huh?

you are what you eat--a journey

If you are what you eat, then I have often resembled a bag of peanut m and m's with a diet coke on the side.   (I call that my breakfast of champions.)

me.

I have (obviously) not been one of  those "healthy" people.   I always thought those people were a little extreme and needed to relax a little.  Let your kid have a happy meal.  Eat the cupcake.  Don't obsess.  Stop drinking vegetables and seaweed and pretending you like it.

Well, life lately has me eating my words.  Something has happened over here in the food department since Christmas.  I didn't plan it, but we've totally altered the way we eat and think about food.  Let me see if I can describe the way a candy-as-a-food-group girl has changed her ways.  My boss likes to talk about "data points" that get filed away...here are some of mine.

Years ago, Pickle was struggling with school, sleep and life.  We were at our wit's end, as was she.  Through the grace of God, and the strong influence of my mom, we consulted a nutritional/educational consultant.  This woman spent an entire day with us and came up with a plan for Pickle that included some therapy to help her "educational glitches" as well as many nutritional changes, including multiple supplements to treat low seratonin.  It was during this time that I started reading labels and realized how much sugar was in EVERYTHING.  Pickle was significantly helped by the regimen--and although we eventually fell off the no-sugar wagon--we were amazed to learn how food makes such a marked difference.  Data point.

Hubby has been frustrated with the many meds he takes to manage depression and ADD and we started researching natural ways to treat mental health issues.  We poured through tons of information, bought a book or two... and became overwhelmed.  Yet, we felt like we were on to something to explore in the future. Data point.

I gained weight.  Weight has not been a major issue for me (aside from the eat-to-stay-awake college years) and so it came by surprise when 15 pounds arrived and my normal "eat a few less m and m's" plan didn't touch it.  Hello middle age.  Blech.  After lamenting a bit, I followed the weight watchers plan that has worked for my mom and sis.   Guess what?  I was reading labels again.  I was choosing higher fiber, higher protein foods and way less sugar.  And, I lost the weight.   More importantly, I felt a ton better.  More energy.  I wasn't riding the sugar roller coaster every afternoon.  I felt more satisfied.  Hmmm...data point.

Then we watched a few documentaries on Netflix.  Supersize Me--so disturbing.  Food, Inc. left us absolutely disgusted with the food industry.  Food Matters was very, very interesting--regarding supplying our bodies what we need to heal rather than just popping pills.  Data point.  Data point.  Data point.

Our good friends began juicing--and it has made a huge difference for them to get all of those nutrients every day.  They have lost weight and have noticed a enormous gain in energy.  Data point.

We were past the point of no return on this food journey.  We decided we needed to change the way we eat.  Considering that three out of the four of us are on daily medication for our brain chemistry, and my hubby's back continues to confound medical solutions, and we already KNOW food makes a difference for our family--it was obvious.  Change was necessary.

We came to the conclusion that our convenience based way of eating was not best for us.  We ate too much fast food, too much processed food, too little vegetables and fruits, and were getting way too little of the nutrients we need to be healthy.  Basically, from a health perspective, we were falling apart.  So, I started reading like crazy--books, blogs, etc.

And then I panicked.  I work outside the home.  Hubby being laid up often left me without his usual help around the house or in driving kids around.  I already needed a personal assistant or a housewife or something to survive--and now I need to rethink the way I cook, shop and feed my family?  And I knew I didn't know half of what I needed to know.  AAAH!

Deep breaths, Dawn.  If this is where I feel God is leading us as a family (and I do for many reasons not even mentioned) then He will provide and grant wisdom.  One way He has provided has been through my mom and sister, who are on this same journey.  We compare notes, and they have a bit more time to do research, scout stores, etc.  They have been a huge  help to me.  Another way He has guided is by providing perspective (this recovering perfectionist needs Divine help when it comes to perspective!).  I don't have to get it all right from the beginning.  Any changes we make in the right direction will help our family.  One step at a time.

So where are we on this journey now?  We are focusing on eating "real food".  Some call it "eating clean".  We have tried to eliminate processed foods.  I try to cook everything from basic ingredients.  We are trying to get to the point where we only eat meat from sources where the animals are fed the diet they were meant to eat, and where they aren't pumped up with hormones and other artificial stuff.  We already were a mostly whole grains family--I haven't bought white bread or crackers or regular pasta or white rice in a long time--but or resolve has increased.  Now we are making sure our treats are also whole grain, and without much sugar.  We are trying to eat more fruits and vegetables.  I am learning about oils and which are best to use and which I need to dispose of.  And I'm becoming interested in things like GMO's (google it) and the benefits of fermented foods.  Wow--who am I??  Pass me a diet coke!

We also decided that at this point we were going to focus on controlling what we eat at home, and the food we prepare here.  We are trying to do this about 80% of the time.  We are cutting way down on eating out, cause it's hard to find places where you can eat real food, prepared well.  However, when with friends who eat differently, we will too.  We are not going to force our convictions on everyone.  My kids can eat junk at birthday parties and friends's homes.  We allow ourselves to eat outside of our guidelines a little, and don't freak out about it.  We absolutely do not judge what others eat or the choices they make.

And, while I'm trying to cut way down, you may have gathered, I still drink diet coke.  I know--hypocritical.  However, I can imagine the day where it's gone or mostly gone.  It's coming.  You wait...

So that's where we are.  On a journey.  Doing the best we can.  We have lots to learn.

If any of this interests you--you may enjoy reading blogs of folks who have had their own food journey:  Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Heavenly Homemakers, Musings of a Housewife, and Nourish MD.  You may also enjoy this short, easy read:  Food Rules by Michael Pollan (your library should have it).  Feel free to send any resources that have helped you my way--I'll have my mom read them and tell me what they say!  {heehee}

And if you are looking for me today, I hopefully will resemble a bowl of oatmeal instead of a bag of peanut m and m's.  And maybe a diet coke...

I've been mistreatin'

Have I told you about my blog friend, Dawn?  I am not talking about myself here, bloggies.  Dawn blogs at Beyond Grace and she and I connected early on in my blog-life.  Somehow I managed not to tell you all that she and I got to meet in real life this Christmas!  She lives in FL, and we were just a few hours apart while we visited Dave's folks--so we made it happen!   We had a grand time--Dave and I and Dawn and her family.  We ate lunch at a restaurant and laughed our heads off.  What a treat! 

I tell you this as a prelude to my Life Lately post.  I bring Dawn up, cause I had to laugh when she commented on my last post about the needles, that she hoped my next post would be more "smiley".  So, for you Dawn, a much more smiley post:

I knew since before Christmas that I wanted to make a little color update in my family room when the holidays were over.  That room has had a navy couch, tan chair and dark red accents for a long time.  I had really cute window treatments my mom made--and I'm sorry I can't find a picture--but imagine valances with two fabrics, one floral and one ticking.  The colors were muted and I loved 'em for a decade.  And then, all of a sudden, I was done with them.  I wanted to add a fun color to the room--something I could mix with the dark red ( the room opens to my red kitchen) and that would work with the navy.  I chose one of my favorite colors these days--aqua/light turquoise/robin's egg blue.

I was inspired by the nester's window mistreatment ideas, and by my mom and sis who had already mistreated some windows in their homes.  I decided I could make me some curtain-like mistreatments.  With my mom's help, I bought some fabric on sale the first day I looked.  (Can I just say that is a miracle for normally-indecisive me?!?).  The next night, I did it!  No sewing, just folding and ironing and hanging and fiddling.  All by myself--like a big girl!

Ta-da! Here is how they look in my little family room.  Yes, you can still see the spots where we took the old valances down.  We'll get to painting that soon.    A very different vibe than I had before...but I like it.  What do you think?

I then (of course) needed to replace the valance in the kitchen.  I took some scraps of the fabric from the family room, and a piece of a canvas dropcloth, a little help from my mom and Pickle, and voila!--a little kitchen valance!

I'm fairly proud of myself--mostly cause it all happened within a few days (that's unusual for me)--but also cause they don't look half-bad.  I'm no nester, but it still works.  And I bought all the fabric, the rods, brackets and clips on sale and the whole project was under $90.

How's that for smiley, Dawn?  :0)

still festive...

Even though we didn't put up our tree, we did decorate for Christmas.  The nativity set sits prominently on a table in the living room.  A collection of stars are on the mantle.  Our shelf is filled with our many Christmas books.  New red and white snowflake pillows are on the couch (got them at Target--have you seen them?).  You can't miss Christmas at our house, even though we are missing that tree. 

So I thought I would show you a few pictures of festivity.

Bubba and I filled a leather chest we normally keep CDs in with some greenery and berries we had in our Christmas boxes.  We added some stars ( I get a little obsessed with stars at Christmastime...) and an adorable bird I received as a birthday present.  I think it looks cute sitting in the midst of all that Christmassy stuff.

Last year, I was given this cool jewelry tree as a gift.  At Christmastime, I think it looks great showcasing some beautiful ornaments...a Christmas tree of sorts.  What do you think?

I saw this at my doctor's office the other day, and I must admit I am tempted to buy one for the kids...isn't it cute?

charlie brown christmas tree

I hope you are enjoying the signs of Christmas around your place too--even if you're a tree-skipper this year like me.

no tree??

We put the Christmas decorations up this weekend.  I love Christmas decorations.  It is always fun for the house to be decked out with symbols of the joy we feel because God came to be with us.  But guess what?  We didn't put up our tree this year.  I know, I know...that qualifies me as some sort of a scrooge.   We have reasons.  Traveling schedules, hubby's back issues, and mostly a desire to simplify--all played into our decision.

me??  

Plus, I have an ornament thing.  I LOVE Christmas ornaments.  Many of ours are gifts from loved ones or attached to memories of each year.  We have ornaments to remember vacations, every Disney trip, babies, new homes, our dog, and other family milestones.  We have precious homemade ornaments from the kids.  We have special ornaments in honor of the special babies that live in heaven:  Earl (Dave's sister's firstborn-1992), Aidan (our little guy-1999) and Sadie (my sister's sweet girl--2009).  We also have many ornaments that point us to Christ's birth that are special to us.  Almost all of our ornaments are packed away with care in their own wrapping, many in their original boxes.  I even have written the dates and the gift givers on most of the boxes as well.    {OK, maybe I'm a little uptight about the ornament boxes...} And we have tons.  We can't even get them all on the tree anymore.  But I love our full, eclectic, tree.

our tree last year

We watched a decorating special this weekend, and I am sure our tree breaks many of the holiday decorating rules...but who cares?  It's ours, it's special to us, and we love it.

And we didn't put it up this year.  In our {my?} desire to simplify our holiday season a bit--it was the thing if we eliminated would have the greatest impact on our time and on our energy.  As you can imagine, all that ornament abundance makes for a time consuming endeavor.  Especially on the put-away end of things.  And somehow, no one is as excited about that part...

Christmas isn't a tree, right?  I'm ALL about traditions, but am trying to learn not to put them ahead of sanity, peace and health.  I can get a little perfectionistic in my expectations.  My desire to simplify this season comes from a desire to leave space for some other traditions...celebrating advent with story and togetherness and peaceful waiting.  Those things get crowded out pretty easily when I am busy with all the have-tos and all the make-it-wonderfuls.

I'm sure none of you are scroogy-tree-skippers like me, but I love to hear creative ideas on making the season more than just a bunch of to-dos, enjoyable as they might be.  So, are any of you trying to simplify this year?

the wise bathroom owl

I definitely don't have of those crafty DIY blogs that I love to look at.  I don't post about that kind of stuff.  Oh wait, that's cause I don't really do that type of stuff--just admire what others have done, and imagine having the time, creativity and talent to do the same.

Every now and then you need to shake things up a bit though.  And guess what?  I made something.

You see, we painted our kids' bathroom and got a new shower curtain in an attempt to make it a bit more fun.  I liked the direction we were heading but could not think of ANYTHING to put on the wall in there.  I kinda wanted some super casual artwork--but finding something in the right colors and price range?  I might as well have been trying to like sushi--it wasn't gonna happen.

So in a rare moment of DIY ambition I took a leftover canvas my daughter had and painted my own little picture.  The kids like owls these days, so we went with that.  They really like the finished product:

The word "clean" is made from chipboard letters I had, painted the color of the bathroom walls.  I coined the clever phrase myself (pretty profound, huh?)  I bet owls think that, though.  At least the bathroom owls...

For more creativity, visit Gitz (one of my favorite blog-people).

choosing to celebrate laundry?

Celebrate laundry?  Really?  Have I completely lost it? (don't answer that.)

As I look at my day ahead, it is full.  Lots to do at work, meeting a friend, rush home to cook dinner, help Pickle get caught up on homework..and then I saw it.  Mt. Washmore.  I mentioned it yesterday.  Never was home long enough to make a dent in it yesterday.  I hate when I let it pile up.  Ugh.  And now, when will I get to it today?  I can get my normal load in, but not sure I can do more than that.  That overwhelmed feeling starts to set in...cause the laundry is staring at me, telling me that it represents all the things I am behind in.  I think it's mocking me.

And then I realize I have a choice.  Not whether I do the laundry or not (darn).  I have a choice in the way I think about it.  I can choose to get down on myself for letting it pile up.  I can get frustrated that I don't manage my time well enough to keep up with my housework all the time.

OR.

I can choose to be thankful for the laundry.  Or at least be thankful people who have dirtied that pile of stink.  I could have hardly any laundry if I didn't have a family.  Each sock, each t-shirt, belongs to someone I love and get to care for.  I can be thankful that my getting-old-too-fast body is physically able to bend and carry and fold.  I can even be thankful for the full life I lead that keeps me from staying on top of it sometimes.

The alternatives to not having piles of laundry--I don't want to think about them.

I'm choosing to be thankful today for my laundry. And my family.  And my health.

...and my washing machine!

I'm hoping...

...to finally cross some to-dos off of my home list today.

... to be productive and energetic enough to clean more than just my main floor before the groupies come tonight.

...to tackle mount washmore.

...to not be too distracted by the fact that Bubba has a day off of school (well maybe just enough to have a bit of fun with him).

...to have a longer quiet time than I do on my regular rushed days.

I hope to find that balance I always strive for--to be disciplined without being neurotic. To not be lazy but to rest.

Even though I have the day off from work, that is still a lot to hope for. Yet, God is Good. I can trust Him with my day. If I surrender it to Him--it's His. And that's all I really want it to be anyway.

Linking up with The Company Girls at Home Sanctuary today--and wishing them all a terrific Friday! If you girls want to read a highlight of my week--check out my post on Bubba's chapel service. I would love it if you would consider clicking the banner below and learning more about how you can help the children who are victims of the Haiti earthquake...this is an organization I truly trust.

do you know what this is?

Yes. this.

You're right. It's pine garland. Christmas pine garland. Hanging outside our window. On January 8. Now, I know many of you embrace the whole enjoy-it-as-long-as-you-can thing. I'm not one of you. I'm done on about December 28. Maybe the 29th. I hang in there til New Year's Day for my kids. But then I want it down. And away. And being the leader-type I am, my usual mode-o-operation is to lead our family in all pitching in the get it done.

You know what happened this year? Noone was able to help. Pickle had spent the night at her friend's not-sleeping so she was konked out on the couch. Hubby had work stress and was in no shape to do anything other than zone out to football. Bubba was at a friend's. So it was just me. So I got to it. And refused to be frustrated or angry or overwhelmed. I would get done what I could. After a few hours, hubby did pitch in. We got the tree undecorated and down and ornaments boxed up.

Normally I would have spent that time feeling all martyr-y. I would be so frustrated that my deadline of getting it done all in one day was not met. But I realized that the deadline was mine alone. I had a choice to make--use my influence (read here: nagging) to make sure it got done, drag sleeping-pickle-beauty off the couch and guilt my hubby into pushing to get it all done. So my deadline could be met. And in my brain, it would be because that was what was best for us all. Yikes. OR I choose to do what I could and be OK with the outcome. The new 2010 way.

The 2010 way was better. Noone felt nagged or abused or guilty. And guess what? It all got done anyway!!

NOT.

But, most of it gone done over the next few days. And this whole week I've been looking at this:

and it's not even driving me (too) crazy. It will get put away. There is no deadline--just my own. It's not Easter yet, right?

I'm sure it will get wrapped up this weekend. And what price was paid for not meeting my deadline? The house is in a bit of transition, and everyone around here is happier. They may not realize that I've been fighting the urge to nag and take over every day...but they are appreciating the chill.

This is just one example of how I'm trying to figure out the balance...or median...or difference... between being lazy and just relaxing. I know I can be lazy, and it's rarely a good thing when I am. However, chillin' is good. My family REALLY appreciates it when I can relax my standards. My fear (yes, it is a fear) is that if I am not driven then nothing will get done. And certainly not done according to my timetable. I don't want us to get nothing done. So I drive us.

right to the funny farm.

I hope that I can continue to learn that relaxing the standards now and then is not the same as being lazy. And learn to let my need for completed tasks weigh in with the needs of my family to not feel pushed and nagged.

This whole Christmas decor thing has been a good practice session--and it's worked out pretty well.

Unless that garland does not come down tomorrow... :0)

Linking up with the Company Girls today...

Taking Steps

On New Year's Day I posted about being a woman of resolve. That sounds good...but I also realize I need to take specific steps towards those things I want to be resolved about. Practical steps.

SO. For example...

In order to take a step toward drinking more water and less diet coke...I need to find my favorite water bottle (somewhere in the car?) and keep it with me all the time. Cause honestly, when I get the slightest bit thirsty...my mind says...mmm. diet coke. over ice. yes. So I need to pour some water in my mouth to shut up my mind some of the time.

I love this water bottle--got mine at Target.

In order to take a step toward feeding my family, you know, at home--I need to do something I have been meaning to do for a long time. Organize my recipes so I can find them easily. Right now most of them are in this:

They need to be sorted and categorized. I plan to make a dinner list of all the dinners I make...and make a month or more of a menu plan. When it comes time to go grocery shopping, I can look at that week's menu and quickly make a list. Cause I realize that's where I get hung up when it's a busy week...deciding on meals and finding the recipes to make a shopping list. That takes mental energy I don't always have. (I know I sound pathetic right now--but it's true). So I'm hopeful this will help. It's a starting point at least...then I can get creative as energy allows.

In order to take a step toward getting our finances better managed, I had to have an attitude adjustment (oh...those are the hardest). Confession: I really, really, wish hubby would handle the day to day managing of our checkbook, receipts and bills. Cause I like to live in denial that money has limits. (Just sayin.) However, he doesn't like doing it either--he does numbers and budgets all day at work. Many times we have come up with a plan to each take a part of it and it sounds easy enough to follow through...but either one or both of us drops the ball...and we can easily wait for/blame the other. So, for 2010 I am going to take over this part of our life and rely on hubby only for the big decisions. Hubby was quite agreeable to this plan. And I will be happy about it--it frees him up, and I'm serving our family. And our bills will get paid. Cause I'm thinkin' that would be good, huh?

There are other steps I need to think through to make it easier to make some of the other right choices day in and day out. I am working through those too. I'm setting myself up as best I can to be a woman of resolve.

Of course, even with the best-laid plans...trying harder doesn't work. Besides practical steps and resolve, I need empowerment. I need the power of the Holy Spirit. It comes from daily asking Him to fill me, and to guide me. To interrupt my agenda when it's not God's. I rely on HIM, not me. I need to be a woman resolved to rely on Him for all I need to do what's best. To obey. To hear from the Father. To not be lazy, but to rest in the good-enough.

I'd love to hear some of your practical steps toward your new year's resolves...let's inspire each other!

If you'd like to read an incredible post on steps to real change in your life...you should read Ann's post here. Incredible.

It's big and shiny...

Well...as is tradition in our family, Black Friday is a day to avoid the stores and put up the Christmas decorations! We put on the Christmas music, light the Christmas candles and make a big mess! We got the tree up and made decent progress on the rest...but hubby's shoulder was hurting and he had to take several breaks. During one of those breaks he perused the Black Friday ads. And he saw IT. The deal he couldn't pass up. The Christmas present that had been offered by his folks for our family...

A new TV.

See, we are (were) one of those families with the old school super deep box TVs--the HDless, Blue-Rayless, small-screened ugly type. We've had it forever, and it's saving grace was that it was hid away in a media cabinet whenever we weren't watching. Cause, in my humble opinion, TVs are U.G.L.Y. However, hubby had been hearing the siren's call of a flat screen TV for a while. I had many objections...but did finally acknowledge that it was getting hard to see/read things on the TV since everything seems to be made for the large TVs they assume we all have. And I stink at MarioKart on the Wii...cause I can hardly see the road in front of me. :o)

So I gave in. And it was announced pretty early on in my generous in-laws visit with us that if we wanted one, it would be our gift. And now we have a big (by my standards) TV. And a small room. And an awkward corner to put it in. And a cute piece of furniture from Target shoved back in that corner for it to sit on.

And hubby is putting it all together right now. I KNOW I'll enjoy it. We all will. And I'll get used to the way it looks. I'll get used to the fact that it is right out in the open--no cabinet to hide all of it's media-ness.

But all I can think right now...is that it is BIG and SHINY. Two things our home isn't. I seriously want to weather its shiny base with a brillo pad.

Think that would fly? :o)

Not Me! Monday

Today I am participating in Not Me! Monday inspired by McKmama's site, where we are brutally honest and live to tell about it. I'd like to tell you what I didn't do this weekend.

I did not procrastinate away too many hours doing nothing important Friday morning and leave all of my busy day stuff until the afternoon. Not me!

I did not go shopping for my sister and friend's birthdays on the day of and the day after said birthdays. Nope--not me, I plan ahead.

my sweet friend Beth, whose birthday I did not shop a day late for

I did not leave my house messy for a full week after our bout with swine flu--even though I was feeling better. I was not overwhelmed by the disaster left in the piggy's wake.

In the mad rush to get our house somewhat presentable for friends to come over Friday night (after I did not cause myself to be in a rush by the nothing-doing in the morning and did not leave my house a disaster for no good reason), I did not, I repeat did NOT, scoop up the mess and put it all in a rubbermaid tub in my bedroom rather than putting things away. I did not forget to run the dishwasher the night before and this did not cause me to take a bucket of dirty dishes upstairs and put them in my tub (a first, honestly!) right before friends came over. Not me! I am more together than that.

I did not tell our guests what I had done with the dishes. :) That would be embarrassing.

I did not laugh until my sides hurt with my friends on Friday night. I did not get such a kick out what some would describe as jr. high humor. Not me--I'm too mature.

On Sunday morning, I did not get to church (where I work) 10 minutes later than I require my teachers to be there--even though I planned to be there 45 minutes earlier. I did not try to make it seem like my daughter was solely responsible for my being late. That would be exaggerating. Not me.

I did not forget to take attendance, or make arrangements for the church's older kids to join in the missions children's church, or check on the nurseries cause my nursery director had a death in the family. Not me--I am on top of things.

I did not forget to refill my prescription until I was completely out of pills...necessitating a last minute trip to the store. While I was there, I did not buy tissue paper for my sister's gift on the way to her party because my storage room is so messy I couldn't get to the tissue paper I have there. Not me--that would be ridiculous.

Whew! I feel better now. As my 3 year old nephew says, "oh well, maybe next time".

What didn't you do this weekend???

Operation Organization--Week Seven and counting...

I have been organizing with Melinda for several weeks...tackling one small project each week. It's been fun and it's almost done (the challenge, not all the chaotic spots in my home)...maybe we need another 8 weeks, Melinda??

This week (actually today) I tackled my nightstand, which I had let explode all over the place the last few months. Once again, the sorting revealed too much stuff for the space (sensing a pattern here). So once that stuff was taken to it's new and more appropriate home...and a container or two were added from around the house...voila!!

Much better, oui? (throwing a little french at ya today apparently).

This week is full and I'm not going to be around next Friday or Saturday to post...so I considered not commiting to a project this week...but why stop now, right? So I picked something small...my medicine cabinet. Things regularly fall on me when I try to extract a package of medicine...and when you aren't feeling well, who really needs that??

Here is what it looks like now:

and I really want to replace it of course...but for now, I'll focus on straightening it out.

That's all for now my organizing friends...if you are playing along, keep up the good work! If you want to check out some other organizing befores and afters click here.

Week Six Done--Operation Organization

I'm still hanging in there with Melinda's Organizational Challenge. This week I tackled our coat closet. (When I say this week, I mean yesterday morning ). And now I'm finally posting after a very full day.

Here is the closet before:

And now:

It may not look different, but I feel much better. :)

I've started to notice a pattern with my little organization projects. The most unorganized spots simply have too much stuff in them!! So far, each of my projects has involved a lot of tossing, as well as a lot of "reassigning homes" for things. Once I sort things out...I realize that half the mess doesn't even belong there! I think Flylady says "you can't organize clutter". Oh, so true bloggies. I need to stop trying to fit too much in one spot! I need to be realistic with how much stuff can fit in a space and make choices if I have too much--it's our only hope of keeping it semi-funcitonal.

In our coat closet, I got rid of a few coats that were too small or out of style, and moved a bunch more that are only used occasionally to our guest room closet. We had way too many crammed in there. The drawers you see on the bottom left are for hats and gloves. The bottom drawer for bubba, the middle for pickle, an the top for hubby and I. The thing is, if the drawer is stuffed full...it can't be organized. Searching for things in the mess just creates more mess.

So...a bubba hat and pair of gloves were moved to his soccer bag for cold games, a few pairs of gloves to the car glove compartment (ooohhh, that is why it's called that) for those days we didn't bring any. Several extras to GoodWill. And hubby and I no longer share a drawer...it was too crammed...so he now has his very own bin on the top shelf just like a big boy. :) I also took all of the scarves out of the drawers and hung them on a hook we had on the door. I bought two more hooks to use there too, so we can spread them out. Just haven't had a chance to stick em on yet. And lastly, made sure everything was hung with full-size sturdy hangers. We had winter coats on wire dry-cleaning hangers and plastic store hangers in there...bent, broken, the whole deal.

So that's it. It took 45 minutes. WHY did I wait months to do this?

Okay bloggies, I must really trust you not to judge...cause my next before picture isn't pretty. It is my nightstand. Seriously....I know.

Can't blame the kids or hubby for the mess that has exploded there over recent weeks. It comes from my love for being in my bed and having lots of things near me, and that I mean to read tons of books, and that I store travel toiletries stuff under my bed...and they never made it back there after our summer trips. And that apparently, I'm a slob. SO, this week it is getting fixed. I think I'll need to make some choices again...there is no way all of that stuff can fit there neatly. So, here's to organizing--more than straightening--and a neat functional nightstand to come!

If you want to see other week six organizational victories...hope over to Melinda's post here. Happy Weekend!

Operation Organization--Week Five. Check.

Week five of Melinda's Operation Organization Challenge is complete and I'm still on board. I think the reason I've been able to stick with it is because I've picked really reasonable projects. Not whole rooms. Not file cabinets. Just little drawers, closets, messy spots.

Last week I planned to do my linen closet, and I'm tickled to say I did it. It wasn't hard, because it has been organized before--so I went with a similar arrangement. AND, it gave me another opportunity to use my beloved label maker with hopes of the whole family knowing where things go. One can hope, right?

Here it is:

No major discoveries in there, except several duplicate cleaning supplies I didn't know I had, and enough "plug-ins" (fragrance makes me happy) to fill a shoebox. Labeled the shoebox too. Yippee!

I didn't work hard to make it perfect--just GOOD ENOUGH. Good Enough. Something I've been working on saying to my perfectionist self. Something I've learned to be OK with. Cause I've learned from Flylady and others that sometimes my perfectionism keeps me from doing anything at all. Cause I don't think I the have the time, the creative ideas, the cute container, whatever I think I need to make it PERFECT. So I don't bother to do anything. Good enough is way better than not done at all, and almost as good as perfect. I mean, I'll admit, there is a part of me that wants to go out and buy all new towels and color coordinate the closet and put things in size order. But this is good enough. Good Enough is good enough for me. At least I want it to be...

This next week I plan to take on our coat closet. Since it's the summer, we haven't been using it daily, but all sorts of things have been shoved in and thrown on the floor. Time to straighten and purge and be ready for the season of coats to come. Again, not a big project...but this way I know I'll get it done...and a good-enough-straightened-closet will make me happy. :)

Here it is today in all of it's glory...

It's never to late to join in and take the challenge to organize one spot in your home each week. You don't have to make it perfect. Just good enough, baby.

Operation Organization--on to week five!

I have loved the Operation Organization challenge that Melinda started several weeks ago. It makes me focus on one area besides my regular cleaning (I'm chuckling, cause "regular" is just a wee bit of an overstatement these days). Knocking off these little areas one at a time (and they are little--I don't pick "clean out the basement" cause it wouldn't get done) has a spill over effect. Makes me feel a small sense of accomplishment...like I'm getting somewhere. The "regular" cleaning gets undone almost right away...these tasks have potential to stick around for a while. Love it!

If you are following along on this spine-tingling adventure, you'll remember that I've already tackled the paper baskets, the junk drawer, and the mess-o-jewelry. This week I chose this little area right outside my house/garage door where mess piles up...cause I was starting to trip on everything. Here is what it looked like last week:

and now:

Taa Daa!! Hubby helped a bunch (thank you hubby! cause it had the potential of all kinds of creepy...) and half the stuff there was trash or in the wrong place. We got the storage cubes at Tar-jay on sale this week. We needed a place for wet boots, muddy shoes, etc. There is one for each of us. We don't have a mudroom...

(Aah, wouldn't that be nice? You'd think my dream home would have a spa or a two-story fireplace...I'd take those too, but my dream home has a mudroom! That would be awesome...a place for backpacks and snow pants and ball caps and gardening shoes and one of those cute benches with hooks above and cubbies below pieces of furniture...oh, I digress. I bet if I had that mudroom it would be my next operation organization task...but one can dream, right?)

Anyhoo, you'll also notice a red bin which is my attempt at corralling all of those stuff-mart bags that we need for disposing of doggie's business. You'll also notice it's in one of the cubes. That cube is supposed to be for my boots, etc, but mine actually are put away for the summer...cause making a snowman is not on my summer to do list. They will go there eventually and the red bin will go on top.

Note the hand sanitizer--we must find a way to de-germ...the swine flu is already here in our area. Here is my attempt--thought it would make us do it on our way in if nothing else. We'll see on that one.

Basically, that's all it was...pick up trash, sweep, and cube the boots. Don't know why I was putting it off! And now I won't trip on the way out! I will have to find another way to know I've got the car in far enough though...the boots won't stop me now!

This week, I've gotta go with the linen closet. It's making me nuts. It's been organized in the past, but my labels have come down and lots of stuff has been shoved in. Time to redo! Looking forward to it! (what's wrong with me?).

It's not too late to join in on all of the organizing hoopla! Click here for more info.