Renewed Vision

We are wanting to move again, so for the month of February, I want to get tidy so packing will go more smoothly! Still some areas haven't been mastered, but I have come such a long way! I actually was able to help a friend brainstorm about some of her tough items and feel inspired with a March 1st deadline.

I want to focus on a new vision which includes:
-being able to have friends and family over at a moment's notice
-all rooms being functional, not used as storage
-having the kitchen be as manageable as when we go to our favorite cabin (I always keep the kitchen tidy when we're away!)

Going back to June 2013, defining freedom:
Freedom is:
-knowing what I have and where it is (I feel really good about this one!)
-when this is true, daily maintenance will be simple with a pick-up and quick tidy (this has been very true except for the living room, which has been storage since we moved in)
-embracing "what's next" for my own self-education (I would like to overcome and BE tidy)
-being completely free to assist my kids with moving their education forward (this needs to happen at a new depth)
-completing long term dangling projects (I completed all of these)

I know what to do. I'm going to schedule 2pm everyday to meet with my professional organizer (ME!) and make headway in February, that's my new goal!

Overcoming the Stronghold

Truthfully, I've been completely discouraged the past few months. I've tried to blog a few times, but lacked the motivation to say anything worthwhile at all. My husband has helped me with a few tasks and projects, but I'm not making the headway needed. I need to OVERCOME.


It's pretty easy to see other people's strongholds, but not my own, so I've been thinking about that. My stuff and lack of action seem to be the areas where I'm not growing. I've been giving my weight loss journey a lot of attention the past three months and I'm good and strong in a losing pattern. As I continue that focus, I want to have victory in the tidy house area of my life.


I spent some time this afternoon evaluating what's not working (um, I'M not working)! So simple enough-lack of action! WHY? My pattern is to do my morning routine (sometimes into the afternoon) and then reward myself by sitting at the computer...and I often stay there all day accomplishing little to nothing.


I'm wasting time. I don't want to do that any more.


It helped me today to write down (I'm very visual) each and every tiny step for my morning routine and other systems so I could SEE them. My plan is to change my "stuck to my computer chair" habit over the next month. Tomorrow is day one and what I need to do is take my afternoon and NOT sit at the computer. I can do it with the Lord's help!


This is my focus...everything needs a place and when it has a place, it will be easy to put away. I'm excited for THAT!

Once I Start to Slow Down-I Stop

This seems to happen whenever I take a break from the normal routine...I just STOP. Here we are, post-Christmas, looking at the New Year, and I don't even know what day it is. My routine and tidy house are in dismal shape. My husband is off again tomorrow and I'm eager that we don't have anything planned but some family time.

One of the reasons I started this blog, was so I wouldn't FORGET what I was supposed to be doing. Visiting here today is a big reminder!

The house is in complete disarray, every room seems to suffer from lack of anyone actually picking anything up off the floor! Yesterday, I thought, "I ought to pick up some things off the floor", yet I totally lacked the desire or discipline to do so. My motivation to do anything remotely related to normal life has momentarily vanished. I'm wading through empty boxes and the cats toppled all the delicates off the mantel at 2am this morning, creating the loudest crash I've ever heard! I thought it was a million Legos breaking on a tile floor.

All I want to do is take a nap.

And so for the 64th day, I have failed. Since failure is unacceptable, I'm failing FORWARD. It's OK to continue pressing on toward my goal even if it's oozing into 2014, because that's the only option I have at this late hour. I'm trying (sorta) to get a grip on how things should go as we crossover into 2014. There's today, tomorrow (we're putting away the Christmas decorations tomorrow, I can't wait!) and then Thursday and Friday. I'm seriously considering taking Thursday and Friday OFF and doing something fun. What would a day OFF look like, exactly? That's an interesting thought. That would then bring the weekend and then Monday plans and my Mom has surgery on Tuesday. Then possibly the next Monday, we could get back to routine, even though it will already be January 13th.

We did install Sarah's plushy shelves this past weekend and put up the shower caddy, both long term residents of the "to-do" list.  This is good, for Sarah's room, providing a place to put the plushies! That in itself could be inspirational!

So as I consider the next few days and weeks, I think it is going to be OK to pace myself and focus on what I can do to find my way back to my normal routine and my tidying schedule. I also feel anticipation that 2014 is going to be a wonderful year for us, full of love and purpose.

Freedom is...starting again to complete the tidying process in 2014.

These Dark Gray Days

The last sunshine I saw was on December 23rd (see above)...it is now December 30th. I'm sooooooooo happy we're on this side of winter solstice! Though the days are getting longer, I won't really start to notice until the first of February...and these dark, gray days grate on my soul through the new year. Sun, sun, come out and play today...

My New Disciple

Now that the master bedroom is blissfully finished along with the office, attic, back patio, barn and shed, I'm moving on to the last of the last.

This afternoon I finished what I do believe is MY LAST BOX. (deafening applause) !!!

I.AM.SO.GOOD.AT.THIS.NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I rocked that box...and it was a toughie! Lots of paper and random stuff. Just started sorting and delivering the sorted stuff to where it belongs. I only had two items that went to giveaway, the rest was relocate and trash. Whooooh!

It is now time to put my education to the test...I've gone through all the steps in my learning process except for the last step...training someone else. But alas, I don't have to wait long for a new disciple! My daughter needs my help and now that I am a PRO, I truly can be of help to her.

Here's what we're up against:
Like me, my daughter has too much stuff. As I've been purging stuff and growing my soul, she has stayed pretty much the same. Now I can help her purge and grow! She LOVES to sort and organize and I am so full of hope for her...I know with a little bit of help, she'll be off and running with the tools she needs to limit her stuff and keep it organized. We'll all have a new life of freedom in this area of tidiness!

Her bedroom needs to be emptied. We intend to use her room for "storage" and the playroom (which is really the living room), for her "play" space. There is an "extra" room, which we call "Fred". It contains my husband's books (aka-library). Unfortunately, Fred has been overrun with bags of Sarah's stuff. So we have three rooms that need attention...Sarah's room, Fred and the playroom.

When this project is finished, the only areas remaining to clean will be: all the bookshelf cubbies (I've made great headway!) and the pantry. I think I'll do some fine tuning before I close out this blog, identifying any areas where I don't feel freedom, making sure that I am indeed free-and finished with this project (not including maintenance).

So, tonight I stepped into her room...when we moved in March, we got rid of her dresser. We need to first get really solid on where her clothes go. Then I think we need to actually remove everything from her room and sort through her books and what she wants to keep on her shelves.

We looked online for some ideas on organizing stuffed animals. I had a new thought while standing in her room tonight...why not use clear bins that can be stacked and stored in her closet? Then she'd be able to see what she has, the boxes help us put "like" things together and maximizes space. Hmmmm.

The goal is for the playroom to be EMPTY. That means dealing with the Lego collection and clearing the rug and eventually making sure the cubbies are purged and pretty.

We are so close! Yet we still have a lot to accomplish.

Next steps:

1-decide where her clothes go
2-remove everything from her room (except her clothes)
3-decide on some things that go back in her room and place them conveniently

She wants a bean bag for her room so she can have a "reading nook". If the bean bag comes as a Christmas gift, we'll have to make sure that the space on the rug stays clear so she can actually enjoy her nook. Since she uses the Kindle a lot, I don't know that we'll even have to put up a light. I'm starting to get vision for what things are going to look like in there and I've been preparing her for months for the reality of having to get rid of a lot of stuff. She'll be so relieved and happy to know what SHE has and where it is!

We're also planning to put shelves up around her ceiling for her plushies...can't wait, I think that will be awesome storage! She doesn't like the idea of her plushies being squished in a box...they can't breathe in there, you know.

GOAL:
-empty playroom, no boxes hanging around, all storage in kids' rooms
-tidy bedroom with ALL her stuff stored in her room
-Fred will contain only books

HOW TO GET TO GOAL:
-rearrange and relocate the Legos
-clean mantel
-purge and organize all the plushies and various accessories strewn all over rug in playroom
-empty bottom cubbies (10) so they are ready for plushy play
-sort through bags in Fred and relocate
-empty Sarah's room
-put all of her stuff in her room (no storage allowed in Fred nor playroom, must all fit in her room)

AH. I can see it and taste it. Here we go!!!

FINAL TIDY Master Bedroom

WOW! I did it! I thought it was going to be really hard finishing up the master bedroom! I know what I have and where it is! Fantastic! We are loving all the FLOOR SPACE now that totes and tubs have been gone through and removed. I never took before nor after photos of the master, oh well, sure wish I had photos!

Two Step Process Day 4 of 64

I'm doing what I don't want to do and it is exhilarating!

Today I worked in my bedroom...so surprising, there's still a bunch of stuff to deal with! I got together a trash bag, giveaway bag and a relocate box. My goal is to have it tidy enough to vacuum all the carpet at any time!

I had a revelation...once the box was gone through, only HALF the job was done. The relocate box needs to be "relocated", taking all those things out of the bedroom and taking them to where they really belong. Funny how I never realized this is a TWO part process! I think I've been going through stuff for a long time but I've been sorting through and then NOT putting some of the sorted stuff AWAY!

I wanted to stop after about an hour. My endurance is low. So I'm pressing on to do MORE HOURS. I've been disciplining myself and now is time to strengthen myself and go deeper, taking on much more so I can get to freedom with this tidy business.

I kept going and going and did way more than I planned and was also surprised that it took so long to do so "little"!

Of course, somehow, things get MESSY while CLEANING UP!

The pantry is right outside our bedroom, and some groceries got dumped in our bedroom since the pantry isn't organized! We have canned food on the floor! I took on too much, because when John came home, we worked on the pantry together (and now there's a bunch of stuff all over).  I needed help and he got a little "possessive" of "his" pantry!!! We accomplished a lot working together, though!