Chaos then Calm (hopefully)

We are in the process of cleaning out our attic and closet.  Right now the house is a mess.  The guest room is filled to the top with stuff.  Other areas have extra stuff as well.  We have discovered all sorts of “treasures” that we forgot we had.

Right now it feels like a disaster.  Good news is an old Christmas tree and bed frame are now gone.  I also found some shirts that I forgot about or lost.  Hopefully when its all done we will have less stuff and more functional spaces.     We are at the point of no return and have a lot of work ahead of us.

New Purse!!

I found a new purse!   I am so excited.   I found it at a used clothing store after unsuccessfully trying to find pants that fit.

Reasons I love it!

• Durable
• Long handle
• Zipper closure
• Big pockets
• Fits big new blue wallet and epi pens (for allergies)
• Only $25
• Big enough to fit what I need, but doesn’t look like a beach bag
• Feels grown up
• Neutral color

I don’t care if it’s designer or a knock off.   I don’t care how much it was originally worth.  I don’t care that it was used.   Hopefully I can keep it from being a catch-all and cluttered.  I’m trying to keep things I don’t want to put away right away or random receipts in the outer pocket so that it doesn’t clutter the inside.  I’ve found a home for cell phone, keys, gym card, and other key items.  Any tips for keeping purses neat?  Or finding the balance between having what you need and keeping random stuff that will never get used?

Have a good day!

Weight lifted

 

I checked out the book “Lose 200 LBS. This Weekend” by Don Aslett.   The book describes the risks of clutter, the benefits of de-cluttering, types of clutter, strategies for de-cluttering, and success stories.  The book is well-organized and easy to read.  There are lists, bullet points, headings, and quotes which makes the book easy to scan and find what you are looking for.

I read a total of maybe 20 pages out of the 176 pages.  Paging through and reading a little bit from each section.   The book helped me to find the why of organizing and permission to throw away some of the items that I was holding onto.

The result??

• Put new books away
• Take out infant/toddler books from main shelves
• Remove baby toys from main level and basement play areas
• Sorted some catch-all toy bins
• Started de-cluttering the garage (increase from 0 to 2 cars in garage)

I would say that I (with help from my husband) met the 200 LB Weekend.   The house looked nice for my husband’s family.  I still have probably 600 LBs left, but that will have to wait for another day.

One box done

I sorted through one box of random papers and junk.   I’m trying to stay positive and tell myself it’s a step in the right direction.  It’s nice to have it out of the way, but it feels like such a minor step.  I still have other boxes and items that need to be dealt with.  I tried not to spend too much time debating items or creating a photo album instead of de-cluttering, but the flip side of that is that it felt like piles were moved rather than conquered.

I always have visions of grand organizational changes.  If I only had a few hours, my fill in the blank (closet, paperwork, mail, books, photos, etc) would be beautiful.  Sometimes it feels like it takes forever to see any noticeable progress.  Usually these urges to tackle big projects happen when it’s time to tackle the basics and make the house presentable for visitors.

 

Off to get something done rather than think about getting something done.

Quote of the Week

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

Stephen  R.  Covey

Due Dates

I decided that I love due dates.  It helps me prioritize and get things done versus waiting until some random time in the future.  The proximity of a due date gives me an added boost to get the job done.  I hate being late and missing deadlines even if they were soft deadlines.  If someone says they will be here at 5 and it’s 5:15, it bugs me.  Rationally, I know 90% of the time it will be fine, but  there is a part of me that just goes crazy.  If they say they will be here between 5 and 6.  I am cool with them coming at 5:15.

I’ve had about 5 different people at work say some variation of me being detail oriented and rule bound.  I never necessarily saw myself that way, but the odds of that many people commenting on it and ALL OF THEM being wrong are slim.  I told my husband that and he was surprised.  At home, I don’t have the same sense of productivity and drive that I do at work.  It got me thinking about the difference and how to make myself more productive at work.  The chores that I like the best are the ones with some sort of natural cause and effect.  No laundry—-no clothes.  No cooking—-no eating.  No grocery shopping—no food.

So I’m trying to thinking of ways to make my housework more structured.  I do well with trying to get a certain task done before X happens.  I’ve tried setting up a schedule like Mondays I clean bathrooms, but I know it’s contrived and so it’s easy to make an excuse (kids, tired, etc).   I’m off to tidy the kitchen and start sorting through either kids books while their sleeping or start on sorting through summer clothes to see what I need.  Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions.

Quote of the Week

“Bloom where you are planted”

A radio station recently asked people for their mantra and someone called in with this saying.  I loved that it referenced spring.   It kind of mixes the whole live in the moment and make lemons into lemonade philosophy. 

Quote of the Week

“Life is one big transition.”  Willie Stargell

At times, it feels like I’ve been waiting for my life to stabilize.   One more step and life with be stable.  If I don’t have to deal with (fill in the blank),  my life would be easier.  Clutter accumulates because I hold on to what was, what is now, and what might be later.  Depending on the day, I can see this quote as wonderful or frustrating.

 

Off to turn on music and paint my girl’s nails.

Graph Paper Progress

I am trying a low budget low maintenance tracking of goals at work.  I took a sheet of graph paper (or in my case an intelligibility form) and divided it into two parts.  The plan is to take a highlighter and highlight boxes when I take steps towards my goal.

The top part of the paper is being used to track my fling.  Writing papers—can take time, but not that hard.  Printing papers—easy.  Putting the papers into the hanging filing cabinets in another room is my nemesis.  So every time I put a group of papers (one report etc) into the file room.  I color in one box.

The bottom part of the paper is being used to track my efforts towards using positive reinforcement strategies with students.  I have recently had several trainings regarding positive language related to dealing with behaviors and building rapport.  This part isn’t as cut as dry because there can be a grey area of what I could count.  I’m counting conscious decisions to build rapport with difficult students or situations where I used some of the  behavior strategies.

There will be no fancy graph, dates, or data points,  but there is an odd sense of satisfaction that comes with coloring in the boxes and seeing that visual of progress.

I’ll let you know how it’s working.  Maybe I’ll start one for flossing.  What simple ways have you used to monitor progress.

Quote of the Week

“I am a slow walker, but I never walk backwards.”  Abraham Lincoln

I liked this quote for today.  I’m having a kind of slow moving day.  Getting stuff done, but nothing is being done quickly and I’m loving it.  I like the freedom of having time to get stuff done without a huge time crunch and enjoying a slow pace.  I have mellow Pandora on in the background and sipping tea.  I will likely not have a huge to do list done, but I’m okay with it.

I also like the quote because it speaks to long term goals that I may be working towards, but not seeing dramatic changes.  The gradual lifestyle changes are sometimes the ones that are most likely to stick around.  As long as I don’t use this philosophy to avoid making changes, I think it can be very comforting and motivating.