The Garage

This past Saturday, my neighborhood hosted its annual Yard Sale. I did ok. The extra cash is nice, but what I was really excited about was getting rid of All. That. Stuff. The last hour of my sale, I had cheap garbage bags and told people to fill 'er up, all for $5 a bag.

You know what this means? Well, first, I cross one item off my Doozey List: Yard Sale. Ha. But it also means I'm even closer to being able to actually park in my garage!

This photo probably looks more like a "before" rather than an "after." But people, y'all have no idea just how jam-packed this garage has been. Friends, it was shameful. Just ask my neighbors.


Now. The See the Rubbermaid container near the bottom of the photo? Yeah, THAT little baby is leaving my house at 5 pm today. (Yay!) And see those boxes over there to the right of the photo, just in front of the white wooden nativity? Those are leaving today, too. (I'm just about clapping my hands with excitement.)

I interrupt this post to wax eloquent about Free Cycle. You must check this site out! It's great for those odd pieces you want to get rid of, or perhaps you have some things you want to get rid of, but it's not enough to warrant a garage sale or a pick-up by your local charity.

Those boxes are full of Christian books that some gracious soul has offered to take off my hands, bless her heart, and I used Free Cycle to advertise the FREE books to anyone who would come pick them up.

Anyway, back to the garage. Oh, before I forget... all those clear Rubbermaid containers? See how they're EMPTY? Yeah. I can hardly stand it!

The garage will be completely finished once my Hubby can go through some boxes full of electronic stuff that I have no clue about. But! I'm giving him a month to do it. After that, they're going to File 13. Maybe that sounds a bit mean, but the way I see it, I can't stop the momentum now. I must finish the garage. I mean, it's almost compulsive at this point. But given that my poor garage has been junked up for about 4 years and that for the past 4 winters, we've had to scrape the car windshields when the snow came, my excitement is totally understandable.

My other Doozey List item: Garage, thisiclose to being finished!

This post is linked to Anti-Procrastination Tuesdays at New Nostalgia.

It's Yard Sale Week

'Nuff said.

Hoping and praying that I get rid of lots of stuff and make some money to buy new (and sorely needed) curtains for the entire house.

So, bloggie friends, I'm not blogging this week. I hope to post about the sale this weekend. Wish me luck!

The Laundry Room

Help me, Jesus! This is the thought and prayer I had every time I thought about cleaning out and organizing my laundry room. It became the catch-all for dirty laundry, cleaning supplies and mate-less socks.

I cringe as I post my "before" photo:

Note the piles of stuff all over. What you can't see is, in front of the dryer, there's a large hamper full of clothes. It actually blocked the back door.

I mean, really? Wow. I can't believe I'm putting this out there. But I am.

Partly because I'm proud of what I've accomplished. Partly because I think there might be just one more person out there who has a piled up laundry room and maybe they need to be encouraged that it doesn't take all that long to clean it out.

First, I started with clearing out all the clothes. Dirties went into the washer. The clean clothes were folded and put away. Then I had my Hubby pull out the dryer and I vacuumed the vents and floor. I wiped down the washer and dryer. I organized my laundry supplies and put away cleaning supplies that weren't laundry related.

It took me only a little bit of time, actually. I was interrupted by my two-year-old several times, but it took me a total of only a couple of hours, maybe, to get my laundry room straight. And as you can see, it really needed it!

This is my "after" photo. My washer and dryer are actually running as I took this photo. All supplies, including hangers, are within arm's reach.

I am embarrassed to admit that the first day or two after my laundry room was clean, I kept bending over to pick up the laundry detergent from the floor to do a load of laundry. I had gotten so used to it being on the floor, instead of on the shelf as it should be that I instinctively bent over to get my detergent.

Also note that the hamper is gone. The floors are clean. We can actually walk out our back door. Will wonders ever cease?

I can't tell you how happy I was that our Fly Lady missions last week included cleaning the laundry room. Mine needed it so badly! And I'd already decided to work on it, so having actual Fly Lady missions to help was just icing on the cake.

I have had this antique wash board for years, always with the intent of hanging it in my laundry room. And now it finally has a home on my wall!

I also have two little signs to make me smile. One says, "Laundry Help Wanted" and the other says "When I said I do, I didn't mean Laundry."

Just a lil' laundry humor here, folks!

Because I don't know many people who just love to do laundry. If you find anyone who does, send 'em my way!


Fly Lady suggested hanging a nice picture in our laundry rooms to give us something pretty to look at. I've had this for a long time, and I'll soon change the decor in my TV room, so it wouldn't have anywhere to hang. I hated getting rid of it, but the bucket is blue and I'll be using greens, so it would be out of place.

It's actually quite perfect for my laundry room. It's fresh but winks at the past, with the weathered boards and antique bucket. I love it. And keeping with the theme of keeping only what I love or what is useful, this little baby fits the bill! Because I do love it and it blesses me and makes me smile as I do our laundry.

In the spirit of Anit-Procrastination Tuesday, I also have a few items from my Doozey list that aren't fully complete, but are in progress:

* Having a set time for email, Facebook and blogs (mostly finished, but I need to check it twice a day for church nursery updates, etc.)
* Preparing for yard sale on May 1st. My local charity is already scheduled to come pick up unsold items.
* Reorganizing laundry room - DONE!
* Reorganizing Master Bedroom

Progress is slow and steady. This isn't a sprint; it's a marathon, but thankfully, it IS getting done, one job at a time.

I LOVE Consigning!

I think I've mentioned here before how much I love a good consignment sale and/or shop.

As a seller, it's a great way to make money. Clean out all your closets and look at what you are not using. Someone else may be able to use it. What I have learned is that it's best to take your better brands & labels, as far as clothing goes. You can ask a higher price at a consignment sale compared to what you can ask for at a yard sale. This spring, during The Great Purge 2010, I took all the Gymboree and "better" brands of clothes that Abbie has grown out of to sell at the consignment sale. I knew I couldn't ask too much because those items wouldn't sell. For those items, and most being in great condition, the price range was $5-$8. The church that hosted the sell got 30% and I got 70% of the cost. I still made more money this way, because at yard sales, people don't care so much about the brand. They see a shirt or a pair of shorts and want to pay you $1, period.

I also took one of our old Boppy pillows, a play yard gate and the highchair that is no longer being used, plus clothing to total about 40 or so items. All but 4 sold. I was so excited!

As a consignor and volunteer, I was able to shop early. I've also learned that if you are able to shop early, you need to get there early to be one of the first people in. This time, it really paid off! I scored a head board, foot board and bed frame for Abbie, because she is ready to move from the crib to a "big girl" bed. Yes, we have to buy the mattress and box springs, but we are one step closer to getting that taken care of, and I am so happy that I was able to find something she really needed at a great price ($60).

Hannah really needed play clothes for the summer, as well as a few outfits to get her through the end of school, so I picked up some stuff for her, too. My rule of thumb is that I never pay more than $2 for a t-shirt or more than $5 an outfit for play clothes. I saw a few things that would work for Abbie and at those prices, I went ahead and got them.

I knew how much I would make if everything sold, but you usually don't get that lucky, so I figured that I'd make just under that, which I did. Basically, with the bed and clothes, I pretty much broke even. Though I would have preferred to have made money, being able to get Abbie's bed--a one time expense--is worth it.

If you have things you'd like to get rid of and would like to make some extra money, I highly suggest trying consigning.

A Month's Worth of Thoughts

On Cleaning Out and Organizing My Home

Oh, wow. I've been really busy this month. I've been doing my Fly Lady missions. I made HUGE progress in our master bedroom and Abbie's room. It's looking a lot better, but I still have a long way to go. I still say there is a black hole somewhere that spills out more stuff after I've cleaned out and given away those items. Seriously! :-) My goal is to completely declutter and clean out unused things, then paint and re-do it. I can hardly wait!

I've been trying to give myself these types of goals to keep myself motivated. The "reward" for getting a room completely uncluttered and cleared out is re-doing it. For example, in our formal living room, my reward will be new drapes (badly needed!), paint and new throw pillows for the sofa and love seat. The master bedroom needs it all: bedding, curtains, mini-blinds and paint. The TV room needs paint, curtains, new ceiling fan and, eventually, a new couch. Eventually, we need to replace the carpet in the entire house. Following Dave Ramsey's teaching, we are saving up for the couch and carpeting, rather than trying to finance the cost.

On Marriage

I've wanted to write about this for the entire month of February. But I've always hesitated because when you talk about stuff like this, you put yourself out there and I just don't want to deal with any possible drama. At the end of the day, I feel like the good of sharing what I've learned and gleaned this month outweighs the bad of a possible backlash.

Every marriage goes through seasons, ranging from times of more closeness to times of struggle. I learned that 80% of marriages that have a child with special needs end in divorce. That is a staggering statistic! I've learned why over the past 2 1/2 years and Abbie's issues are FAR from severe compared to the vast issues other children face. There's a lot of give and take and sacrifice on both a husband's and a wife's parts, and it can be easy for conflict to arise. Thankfully, we are getting to a point in Abbie's care that it's become a dance of sorts... we know when the tests for cancer screening are due, and the appointments for specialists are now down to once a year. It's gotten easier and the stress level has gone down for the most part.

There have been other issues that have caused the past 2 years to be really hard for us. I'm not going into those because they're personal and are our business to be discussed between the two of us. The month of February brought a turning point and I have to thank God for that. It's no coincidence that I was pretty much deluged with teaching, lessons, encouragement and points of view that helped me readjust my attitude, thoughts and feelings and allow forgiveness and healing.

From my church: Sermons my pastor has preached have really planted seeds in my heart. I'm thankful to have a shepherd who tells it like it is, who sheds light on the truth so that we may grow. Amen.

From Joyce Meyer: When you are hurt, you feel that someone has to pay. And you keep feeling that someone has to pay and start feeling entitled to being angry until someone pays. The truth is, Jesus died for everyone's sins. Holding on to that entitlement means you don't accept that Jesus' blood covered those sins. It's not faith. It's feeling like your pain is more than the blood. (My paraphrase, except the first sentence. It was a POWERFUL message that I still have saved on our DVR so I can go back and listen to it again.)

From Blogs: Blog posts have really given me a lot of insight. I have read and read and read this month. Some of the nuggets of wisdom I have found are....

This first link had a profound impact on me:
http://www.incourage.me/2010/02/he-wants-more-than-love.html

http://www.brookemcglothlin.com/2010/01/year-of-prayer-husbands_12.html

http://todayshousewife.blogspot.com/2010/02/praying-from-head-to-toe.html

http://momsinneedofmercy.blogspot.com/2010/02/what-to-do-when-you-feel-like-hes-just.html

http://momsinneedofmercy.blogspot.com/2010/01/even-though-your-husbands-big-boy-he.html

http://www.incourage.me/2010/02/fanning-the-flames-of-friendship.html

Maybe marriage and relationships were a hot topic because Valentine's Day is in February and people have been doing a lot of soul searching on the topics. Or maybe there are a lot of us out here who are wanting to cultivate marriages that are truly loving, Christian marriages that are marked with the fruits they should be. If people aren't learning and growing and actually acting like Christians in their marriages, what's the point, right? Because we're no better than "the world" when we don't step up to the plate and actually practice what we preach; we're worse if we say one thing and live another. It's called hypocrisy. I'm not trying to say that there isn't grace when we make mistakes because I know that no one is perfect. What I'm saying is, once we have made mistakes, we need to learn from them, grow and move on.

And people, I have to confess that I have been stuck in a a rut and mired in mud and muck for two years. Yep. Two. Long. Years.

I have held on to hurt and anger and this entitlement to being as hurt and angry as I wanted to be because I was wounded. Thankfully, God has debried the wounds of my heart and spirit.

As simple as it sounds, one of the major things that has helped bring healing to my heart has been praying for my husband. Do you know how embarrassed I am to write that? Do you know how much I hate to confess that for most of our marriage, I have not prayed for my husband like I should? Yeah, I'd pray for him here or there, but not consistently. But by starting out as simply as just thanking God for my husband began a work in my heart. Then I pray that he has a good day at work. I mean, how simple is that? But, friends, I wasn't an armor bearer for my husband, the head of my household. Now I know to do better. Now I know how important it is to pray for my partner and the father of my daughters.

Ever notice how much love grows in your heart when you are praying for a person?

It's easy to pray for your children or for those who haven't significantly hurt you. The Bible says even heathens will be good to those who are good to them. But praying for those who have wounded you / your enemies... that is what we are called to do.

What happens, really, is that you change. My Valentine's Month lesson has been that I should ask God to change my heart. All this time, I've asked Him to change the hearts of others around me. What I've decided to do now is pray for them, yes, but not to be changed in the ways I think they should be changed. Rather, bless them and change my heart towards them.

They say that charity starts at home. Well, a LOT of things start at home. Like, growing. Healing. Loving more and nagging less. And prayer.

A couple of links to tide you over....

Just sharing a couple of links to tide you over until I have time to write more.

http://orgjunkie.com/2010/02/seven-habits-of-highly-successful-homemakers.html

http://momsinneedofmercy.blogspot.com/2010/02/seven-more-habits-of-highly-successful.html

FLYlady is kicking my butt.

Have you ever heard of FLYlady? If not, cruise on over to her website, www.flylady.net . It's worth a peek.

She may very well be my saving grace when it comes to finally getting my house clutter free.

I'll probably still need the services of my friend at www.sortmyspace.com for organizational purposes . She is AWWWWESOME. You should give her site a peek, too.

But first, I need to get rid of stuff. And as I have said here time and time again, there is a black hole is a closet or wall somewhere in my house. No matter how much I clean out, there is yet--still--MORE to clean out. Ugh. It's exhausting.

But FlyLady is helping me when my friend a Sort My Space isn't here. FlyLady is free and although the services offered by SMS are invaluable, I haven't been working since the end of October, so that means no "Mommy Mad Money" is available for those kinds of projects.

FlyLady is structured so that a person following the "program," if you could call it that, takes on one room a week, focusing on de-cluttering and deep cleaning that room, while also cleaning and keeping tidy the other rooms in the house.

Of all the great things I have read on the FlyLady website, there is one thing that has spoken to me more than anything else:

Housework, even done imperfectly, blesses your family and your home.

I am a textbook "SHE" (Sidetracked Home Executive). I have perfectionist tendencies, and when there is SO much to do, as there is here, I often shut down and procrastinate. If I can't get the entire job done, and done perfectly, I don't want to do it. What I am learning from FlyLady--and what Rita at SMS tried to teach me as well--is to take these projects one thing at a time. If I take one baby step, then another and another, after a while, those baby steps add up and, Viola! A room is cleaned out, de-cluttered and organized.

My oldest daughter's room is pretty much finished with this process. I completely cleaned my kitchen, literally from ceiling to floor and everywhere and everything in between. But the Master Bedroom is the worst. Oh, mercy, if I can get that room finished, I'm well on my way to FLYing.

In the meantime, I'm still overwhelmed by all the STUFF. I'm very much looking forward to a consignment sale the first weekend in March. I've decided that whatever doesn't sell HAS to be donated to charity after this sell and am determined to not let it back in the house.

Because I want to get so much accomplished this year, I really need to get some things done inside so I can focus on my pet projects for this Spring and Summer: plant and raise a garden, paint the exterior of the house, paint the interior of the house, remodel the half bathroom.

On my way to being a FLYbaby... come join me!

P.S.: I've found a few gems among blogs out there and have added them to my blogroll. To your right, please see Annie Blogs, Chickens in the Road, and Little Cabin in the Woods.

Still Hard at Work

The silent blog is attributed to me being still hard at work. I have goals! I'm focused on meeting those goals, and mix in "Clean House" on the Style Network, and I'm ready to go. :-)

After the yard sale a couple of weeks ago, I decided that the stuff wasn't coming back in the house and could only stay in the garage for a few weeks. So, a charity truck came to pick up some. Then I dropped off another load. And, wouldn't you know, I bet I have enough for at least another drop-off, perhaps two. (Man, is this ever a sad reflection of how much stuff has been in my house, crammed into closets and bins!)

My goals for the house are:

1. Completely clean out Hannah's room.
2. Paint and update Hannah's room (if you are friends with me on Facebook, you've read my drama. lol). She wants a princess theme. I'm trying to steer her away from Disney Princesses, but am losing that battle, so I'm trying to use lots of non-themed stuff for bedding, etc.
3. Completely clean out Abbie's room.
4. Update Abbie's room. This probably won't happen until we move her to a "big girl bed" in the fall or winter. The frontrunner for the theme is "Nursery Rhyme" because I'm (again) trying to stay away from commercial themes. Seeing Dora the Explorer in Hannah's room the past few years hasn't been so much fun.
5. Be able to park in the garage again. Seriously. And this is so, so sad. BUT! I've made LOTS of progress!
6. Paint the fence.
7. Paint the exterior of the house.
8. Have carpets cleaned.

I wrote an email to Hubs last week that went something along these lines: "In a perfect world, when it was time for Abbie's birthday party, the house and fence would be painted. Hannah's room would be updated. The house would be perfect. Balloons would be tied to the fence posts. We would have had enough money to buy the swing set for the girls and all the kids would be playing on it. People would be having fun."

He said I sounded like a Walgreen's commercial.

While I know I can't ever reach perfection, I am striving towards excellence.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." ~ Philippians 4:8

Having an organized, neat, freshly painted home is lovely, admirable, noble, right, and excellent. So I'll keep thinking about those things and work towards having them done.

Working with the organizer... again...

The professional organizer I hired last summer is coming back today.

*sigh*

It's not her; it's me. Actually, we didn't get our projects finished, and between crazy work for me and what not, we haven't met since September or October. Today will be pretty much us starting over.

I hate that I "need" someone to help me get my home the way I want it.

I wish I was a little OCD about my house. But, my pendulum swings the other way... not to mention that I am related to a hoarder and that kind of stuff is genetic (really! Someone told me that hoarding is on the same spectrum as OCD... long, long explanation as to why, but in short, people can get a bit overwhelmed with wanting to categorize all their stuff (the OCD part of it), so they just kind of shut down and do nothing... there are many other components to it, as well.. too much to list here).

But I'm not going to say it's necessarily in my genes. For me, my M.O. has always been that when things are really rough, I shut down a bit. I kind of wallow in a depressive state for a while, but when I finally want to dig my way out (literally and metaphorically), I get overwhelmed. I hate that about me.

I'm trying to re-frame the organizing thing... trying to look at is as "life coaching," because that's what it is. But I have to admit, I feel pretty pathetic about it. In a way, it's kind of like hiring a professional personal trainer. In a way, it's like hiring a maid, only on a much bigger scale. It's kind of like joining Weight Watchers. All these things help you reshape your life and improve your life.

In many ways, I want to reshape and improve my life. Those areas are my weight, my health, my relationships and my home. Wanting better is a good thing and I know that getting help in any of those areas really is a good thing.

But why do I still feel like a loser?

And so I wait

The Garage Project is on hold for now. My husband wanted to go ahead and install our new bath tub this past weekend, and I really didn't want two projects going on at the same time. Too much muss and fuss (ok, too much mess), so I've suspended the Garage Project until late July.

It kind of sucks because I had a lot of momentum and I'm wondering if I'll get that back up when I resume to clean out. And, if the garage has to wait, so does the rest of the house because I can't clean out outgrown clothes of Hannah and store them for Abbie without an organized, cleaned out garage. Yes, there are other things I need to do, but did I mention our babysitter is on vacation for the next couple of weeks, then has a family reunion and thereby won't be available again until about August 1st?

Anyway, I'm feeling really deflated. And defeated.