I have been following her admirable journey through the book. Even though I did not follow the 30 day plan from the book, I have been inspired to spring "simplify" along with her.
Today I decided that I should look at the list from her blog and confirm if I have in fact succeeded up to this point. Below are the first 15 days, so you don't get to overwhelmed or bored reading my stuff.
Day #1: Fill a Shopping Bag
I am proud to say that this mission was completed by more than a bag. I donated 9 bags to Purple Heart, which consisted of stuffed stuff, books, and clothing. I was assisted in this mission by my two daughters, as we also created two new spaces for them: a shared bedroom and a play room.
Day #2: Practice Living Without It
This mission goes hand in hand with Day #1. I was able to convince the girls to donate things they no longer needed and/or used. I went through my closet and drawers as well, and felt very empowered after eliminating quite a bit of excess.
Day #3: Think Before you Buy
I wish that Evie (my youngest) was able to understand this mission. She loves EVERYTHING, I mean EVERYTHING, and she must have EVERYTHING or at least one thing no matter where we are shopping. In that last 6 years we have cut back our spending to a very bare minimum. I have a family budget that I created in Google docs, and after attending a recent financial workshop at the kids' school, I was more motivated to adhere to a budget than ever before. I have made changes in our home and car insurance, by simply calling and making sure we have the best plan and the best rates around. Having a budget really makes a difference in my opinion.
Day #4: Create a Serene Bedroom
I actually really love our bedroom, and after cleaning the closets and my drawers I liked it even more. Five years ago Jim and I redid our bedroom, and I really love the color scheme. Jim did get a new dresser, that was passed from Zoe's old bedroom when I consolidated the ladies. We were given beautiful furniture from a family friend, and the cool dresser I acquired about 10 years ago was moved to house Jim's clothing. Our bedroom actually looks adult now, and I am thrilled.
Day #5: Organize Your Closet
Another mission that goes quite well with the ones above. I organized our bedroom closet, the closets in the other two bedrooms, and the two storage units in the basement. The one area that was probably the most time consuming and created the most waste (trash that wasn't able to be recycled) was the storage area in the basement. I found so much junk in there I was appalled to think I haven't seen it before. Or maybe I had, but I just left it for a rainy day. Fortunately it is presentable now, and I am very proud to have organized these spaces. I also found myself going through our coat closet as well.
Day #6: Dress with Less
I am not a fashionista. I also have gained a considerable amount of weight over the last 2 years, so I have not purchased a lot of clothing. I get by on 3 pairs of jeans, t-shirts, and a nice pair of dress pants that I pair up with a few blouses for church. When I donated the bags of clothing (i.e. after I cleaned and organized the closet spaces) I added quite a few pair of shoes that I have had for years...like 10 years, 15 years, etc. None of them fit my feet, not since before my pregnancies. My feet grew a half size and became wider; plus I don't have an office job anymore, so the heals and such were a great donation item.
Day #7: Transform your Bathroom
In order for me to correctly transform our bathroom, I would need a sledgehammer and a crew of designers and the like. However, today I successfully scrubbed it down and organized the closet and two cabinets inside the room. I made certain to correctly dispose of all expired medicines, and I was happy with the outcome.
Day #8: Streamline your Kitchen
Our pantry is in the basement, in what I like to call the "fruit cellar". That area was organized as one of the closet spaces. However, I was inspired to organize the plethora of spices we acquired in our cooking adventures. I had labeled the spices about 5 years ago, but over the course of the last couple years I had let the upkeep go to the waste-side. So I reorganized the spices alphabetically and created labels for those that needed them. I also went through the cupboards and organized the coffee, tea, cereal and other items that are used daily. Felt so good!
Day #9: Fix Quick and Healthy Meals
I have been on Weight Watchers since March 7th. I have an earlier blog regarding my commitment to eating healthier. However, I have started to be very careful to what I stock our shelves with. I am also making the weekly grocery list, because Jim tends to not concern himself with meals that are healthy. I also have been making simple crock-pot meals at least once if not twice a week. This cuts down on the microwave meals that are so easy to prepare when I work. My Evie is a very picky eater, but I have a variety of veggies and other quick to prepare foods for her consumption as well.
Day #10: Revise Your Living Spaces
I am not one that collects items that are meaningless...normally. I have a curio cabinet with items that I refuse to get rid of. I also decorate very minimally, because I don't like a lot of clutter. Less decorations = less clutter. So I did not revise my living room, nor the dining room. However, I think the ideas are very good for those that collect and decorate ad-nauseum.
Day #11: Consider Minimalism
This mission requires one to eliminate wall art. I did take down wall art and replaced it in the rooms we redid for the ladies. But I REALLY like my wall art. In fact, I use my girls' original artwork as some of the wall hangings in our dinning room. Unfortunately, I refuse to eliminate artwork from the walls. I think a mission like this would be better for those that have stuff everywhere on their walls, not an inch to spare. Without naming anyone publicly, I have a hard time with my anxiety when I am in a few homes with this problem.
Day #12: Simplify Your Mind
This mission requires one to stop anger and disappointment with others. I actually have something to share on this mission. Last year I was part of a Bible study group. The women were diverse and I met some lovely people. The problem was one of the leaders of the group was very short when it came to me. I would answer a question and was almost always cut off. I left the group because Evie was VERY unhappy in the nursery, however, I did not rejoin last fall when Evie started preschool. I did pray about my situation because this woman also has children in my girls' school. Our school is quite small, therefore it is pretty hard to ignore her. Anyway, I decided to join the committee she heads up, and work on projects with her. However, even though I offered my services in the beginning of the school year via sign-up sheet, she was late asking me to help. By the time she wanted help I was laid up with a bum knee (from the fall before Christmas) and couldn't commit to her projects anymore. This really made her put off towards me. I really hoped she would like me if I helped on the tasks of her committee. However, after reading this mission I decided to pray again. This time I realized that I don't care if she likes me. Less to worry about, less to concern myself with, as I cannot control her feelings toward me.
Day #13: Edit Your Projects
I have a few projects that I anticipated doing for gifts, and they have fallen to the waste-side. However, I organized my supplies and discovered a few treasures I thought I had lost. I tend to complete a project once I begin, which made this mission a bit easy for me. However, with my love of crafting and my collection of magazines (see #14), I will definitely keep in mind the suggestions in the book.
Day #14: Combat Information Overload
I have been quite good at catalog recycling. I only subscribe to FamilyFun, because I love the crafts and ideas. They have a place, next to the dinning room book shelf I have for the girls. I refuse to recycle or donate the magazines, because I love too many of the ideas in them, and I don't want to reduce at this point either. However, I recycle catalogs and junk mail immediately. I have read there are ways to reduce the amount of junk mail, JUNK MAIL IDEAS, but I have not gone to the extent to reduce the amount that comes to our home. At least I get rid of it once it comes in.
Day #15: Design Simple Systems
This mission was actually quite fun for me. We have one house key for our home, and Jim and I both have a key ring with car keys (2 - 1 for each car) a house key, and I have my mother's house key and my grandfather's house key as well. My key ring is stored in my purse. I have a jar that Jim puts his wallet, keys and sunglasses in each evening. However, I realized that I did not have a house key for the babysitter. I love when the sitter takes the girls on a walk or to the park, but if I am not home I really dislike leaving the house open. So, I hung a hook (found while cleaning the back storage area in the basement) and then made a key ring out of Shrinky Dinks materials left over from Zoe's birthday party. I made an "M" for our last name (Monkey of course..tee hee), and cooked it down to size. Then I had a key made and then hung it on the hook. The girls know where it is, and now the sitter can lock up our house before heading out.
The rest of the 30 days will follow.
1 comment:
I always knew you were a rock star in the organization department :-) We're on spring break all week so once y'all are on the mend we should get together to play! And what's up with this snow!?!?
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