WhooHoo! I completely emptied out the school armoire and found new locations for the school supplies. There were also 4 small bags of papers, empty glue bottles, died up markers and crayon nubs that were pitched into the trash can. Now, what would a person with four boxes of material stacked in her bedroom do with an empty armoire? Four drawers were used for material and some crafting supplies. The two huge shelves were filled with piles of cottons to be used for some summer shirts, skirts, and quilting.
There is nothing like organized supplies to encourage a new project. I can hardly wait until Kate's open house is done, so that there will be time to do some serious sewing. There are several projects that came to mind while I sorted out the various prints. It would be wonderful to make a few new summer shirts for me this year. Most of last year's summer wear is too large and I don't want to invest in new clothes from a store. Paige and Allie would like some new summer nightgowns. Both of the girls have grown so much this year that their nightgowns are much too short. Mike and the boys could use a few pairs of summer weight lounge pants.
None of these projects are involved, so I'm hopeful that they can all get completed in a few weeks. What will I do with the extra space after I use up the fabrics? Hmmm. The possibilities are endless.
Showing posts with label organization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organization. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Confessions of a Harried Homeschool Mom
Last week I realized that we had misplaced the two chapter books that I am reading to Paige and Allie. Also missing last week was the main history text for this year. The grammar/English book I was using with Madelyn and Joe has been missing since January.
The English book was a nuisance but, the kids are doing a lot of writing assignments. We are covering their grammar and punctuation through their writing. Amy has an English degree, so I ask her to help when I'm asked a question that stumps me.
The literature and history books are necessary for us to complete our school work this year as quickly as possible. I should have spent the weekend searching for the missing books. They are probably shoved under some child's bed hidden beneath the dirty socks and skateboards. Was I a responsible homeschool mom? Of course not!
Instead of searching for missing school materials, I spent the weekend carving stamps, sewing, making cards, making Letterbox Trading Cards, and cutting out quilt squares. If I was trying really hard to justify my poor behavior, I could say that I needed to be near the computer, so that I could watch the older kids' robot competition. I could also pretend that I was focusing my energies on my sick 7 year old. But, I'm confessing here. I shamelessly spent the weekend doing activities that I enjoy doing.
Today, I furiously cleaned the main living areas of our home. The books aren't on the main floor. Tomorrow, it will be necessary to brave the bedrooms of the kids. Supposedly, all the bedrooms are in ship shape order, but I know my children......they have some confessing to do also. The apples don't fall far from the tree around here!
The English book was a nuisance but, the kids are doing a lot of writing assignments. We are covering their grammar and punctuation through their writing. Amy has an English degree, so I ask her to help when I'm asked a question that stumps me.
The literature and history books are necessary for us to complete our school work this year as quickly as possible. I should have spent the weekend searching for the missing books. They are probably shoved under some child's bed hidden beneath the dirty socks and skateboards. Was I a responsible homeschool mom? Of course not!
Instead of searching for missing school materials, I spent the weekend carving stamps, sewing, making cards, making Letterbox Trading Cards, and cutting out quilt squares. If I was trying really hard to justify my poor behavior, I could say that I needed to be near the computer, so that I could watch the older kids' robot competition. I could also pretend that I was focusing my energies on my sick 7 year old. But, I'm confessing here. I shamelessly spent the weekend doing activities that I enjoy doing.
Today, I furiously cleaned the main living areas of our home. The books aren't on the main floor. Tomorrow, it will be necessary to brave the bedrooms of the kids. Supposedly, all the bedrooms are in ship shape order, but I know my children......they have some confessing to do also. The apples don't fall far from the tree around here!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Musical Furniture
Madelyn, Paige, and Allie decided that they wanted to share a bedroom. Madelyn has been using our front room as her bedroom since we moved into this house. The front door opens into our dining room and the living room is good sized, so it seemed a simple solution. Now, she prefers to have a bedroom upstairs like all the other children.
This weekend was spent moving furniture from one location to another. We're all sore and will need to spend tomorrow morning finishing up, but we are taking the rest of the day off.
Here's what we accomplished:
1. Took down Madelyn's captain bed and moved up stairs. Reassembled.
2. Removed and sorted out two tall bookcases that had books two rows deep on each shelf.
3. Moved empty bookcases from one wall to another. Returned books to shelves.
4. Moved upright piano to new location.
5. Emptied out large, two door storage unit and moved 6". Refilled storage unit.
6. Moved sofa from family room to new music/game room.
7. Emptied desk and moved to family room.
8. Moved desktop computer, printer, and scanner to desk and reassembled.
9. Removed 100's of DVD, video games, VHS tapes, 3 game systems, and large older television from armoire.
10. Lugged extremely heavy (the piano is much lighter) armoire from sunken family room to game/music room. Hurt myself.
11. Replaced all items into armoire and set up electronics mess.
12. Emptied two chests of drawers and moved one upstairs. Moved other chest to dining room. Left mess of items from chests on dining room table.
13. Decided we were all going to eat in the family room tonight and take care of the rest tomorrow.
Tomorrow I need to sort out a few stacks of books, maybe 50 books total. The dining room table needs to be uncovered and I should sort out the school cupboard, which I may switch with the 2 door storage unit.
I'm so happy with all the stuff that we got accomplished today. Everything was dusted and polished. The walls, ceilings, and windows were cleaned. The change of bedroom was just what I needed to get motivated to knock out my major cleaning jobs. When spring arrives, our home should be organized and in good condition. We will have time to play and enjoy the outdoors without knowing that there a jobs that should be accomplished.
This weekend was spent moving furniture from one location to another. We're all sore and will need to spend tomorrow morning finishing up, but we are taking the rest of the day off.
Here's what we accomplished:
1. Took down Madelyn's captain bed and moved up stairs. Reassembled.
2. Removed and sorted out two tall bookcases that had books two rows deep on each shelf.
3. Moved empty bookcases from one wall to another. Returned books to shelves.
4. Moved upright piano to new location.
5. Emptied out large, two door storage unit and moved 6". Refilled storage unit.
6. Moved sofa from family room to new music/game room.
7. Emptied desk and moved to family room.
8. Moved desktop computer, printer, and scanner to desk and reassembled.
9. Removed 100's of DVD, video games, VHS tapes, 3 game systems, and large older television from armoire.
10. Lugged extremely heavy (the piano is much lighter) armoire from sunken family room to game/music room. Hurt myself.
11. Replaced all items into armoire and set up electronics mess.
12. Emptied two chests of drawers and moved one upstairs. Moved other chest to dining room. Left mess of items from chests on dining room table.
13. Decided we were all going to eat in the family room tonight and take care of the rest tomorrow.
Tomorrow I need to sort out a few stacks of books, maybe 50 books total. The dining room table needs to be uncovered and I should sort out the school cupboard, which I may switch with the 2 door storage unit.
I'm so happy with all the stuff that we got accomplished today. Everything was dusted and polished. The walls, ceilings, and windows were cleaned. The change of bedroom was just what I needed to get motivated to knock out my major cleaning jobs. When spring arrives, our home should be organized and in good condition. We will have time to play and enjoy the outdoors without knowing that there a jobs that should be accomplished.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Changing Ideas and Attitudes
Years ago, I tried really hard to be a good mom. My children wore freshly ironed dresses to church each Sunday, along with their pristine white tights and shiny black shoes. I was never going to take sloppy, ill kempt children out in public. They could get dirty playing in the backyard, but in the real world, we would be presentable. My house HAD to be spotless if guests were over too. That was 5 children ago and my attitude has changed. The house should be picked up periodically throughout the day, but I don't stress if my dining room floor isn't washed each day and the dust bunnies are accumulating under our beds. Don't get me wrong, my house isn't a disgrace, but we have a lot of people doing a lot of activities all day long and everything isn't put away as quickly as it should.
The girls don't all wear dresses to church any longer either. The girls who like to wear dresses, wear them to church each week. The other females wear dress slacks, dress shoes, and nice shirts or sweaters. The boys wear dress slacks and dress shirts or sweaters. They are NOT allowed to wear jeans to church. Btw, I'm not judging what other families wear to church. It doesn't bother me if people come in jeans, I'm just glad that they are worshiping. I'd just like my children to dress in a way that reflects that church is a special place, where we wear clothing that is "special".
Wednesday, Joe and I had choir practice immediately before the Advent service. I left choir practice 15 minutes early, so that I could run home and pick up the other children to attend then service. Katie was asked to get the kids dressed in "matching, clean, clothing" and to have them ready when I pulled in the driveway.
I pulled into the drive and honked the horn. No one came out of the house. After grabbing the keys from the ignition, I ran into the house and saw the children. Joe and Steve were wearing jeans and blue sweaters. Katie was wearing jeans and a black hoodie. Paige had on a too short purple knit skirt, black leggings that reached just below her knee, a lavender sweatshirt, brown socks, and pink glitter tennis shoes. Allie was standing in the middle of the family room complaining that she couldn't find her shoes. She was wearing kelly green knit slacks that have pictures of nursery rhyme characters on them (I keep throwing these slacks out, but they are mysteriously returned to their room each time), a pink leopard print tank top, and one grey sock.
We had 5 minutes to get to the church before the service began, so I shouted for everyone else to get in the van while I found shoes for Allie. We raced up the stairs and I located two dirty white socks (unclean white socks were better than only one sock) and a long black sweater. The black sweater hid the tank top and calmed down the loud slacks. Her hair was ratty and needed to be washed.
We ended up missing the first stanza of the first hymn, but did get to attend church that evening. Unfortunately, my reputation as the organized mom with all those well-dressed children is in tatters. Everyone in attendance now knows that some of my children wear ill-fitting, unmatched clothing. I don't even care. Some day I may even let them see the back seats of my van with the mounds of discarded papers, socks, and crushed fast food cups.
The girls don't all wear dresses to church any longer either. The girls who like to wear dresses, wear them to church each week. The other females wear dress slacks, dress shoes, and nice shirts or sweaters. The boys wear dress slacks and dress shirts or sweaters. They are NOT allowed to wear jeans to church. Btw, I'm not judging what other families wear to church. It doesn't bother me if people come in jeans, I'm just glad that they are worshiping. I'd just like my children to dress in a way that reflects that church is a special place, where we wear clothing that is "special".
Wednesday, Joe and I had choir practice immediately before the Advent service. I left choir practice 15 minutes early, so that I could run home and pick up the other children to attend then service. Katie was asked to get the kids dressed in "matching, clean, clothing" and to have them ready when I pulled in the driveway.
I pulled into the drive and honked the horn. No one came out of the house. After grabbing the keys from the ignition, I ran into the house and saw the children. Joe and Steve were wearing jeans and blue sweaters. Katie was wearing jeans and a black hoodie. Paige had on a too short purple knit skirt, black leggings that reached just below her knee, a lavender sweatshirt, brown socks, and pink glitter tennis shoes. Allie was standing in the middle of the family room complaining that she couldn't find her shoes. She was wearing kelly green knit slacks that have pictures of nursery rhyme characters on them (I keep throwing these slacks out, but they are mysteriously returned to their room each time), a pink leopard print tank top, and one grey sock.
We had 5 minutes to get to the church before the service began, so I shouted for everyone else to get in the van while I found shoes for Allie. We raced up the stairs and I located two dirty white socks (unclean white socks were better than only one sock) and a long black sweater. The black sweater hid the tank top and calmed down the loud slacks. Her hair was ratty and needed to be washed.
We ended up missing the first stanza of the first hymn, but did get to attend church that evening. Unfortunately, my reputation as the organized mom with all those well-dressed children is in tatters. Everyone in attendance now knows that some of my children wear ill-fitting, unmatched clothing. I don't even care. Some day I may even let them see the back seats of my van with the mounds of discarded papers, socks, and crushed fast food cups.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Mommy Over-load
It finally happened. I had a melt down...not a crying, screaming event, just an overwhelming feeling of not knowing where to put anything. Yesterday, Mike was off from work, so we spent the morning deciding on furniture changes and storage solutions. Mike purchased a new bookcase for the family room. We're moving the to storage cupboards out of the dining room. One will go into Madelyn's room (next to the two bookcases) and the other will go down to the basement to hold sewing supplies. Two smaller bookcases in the family room will be moved near the fireplace and the armoire with the game system tv and game systems will go where the smaller bookcases were. I can't describe my feelings of joy at unloading and moving all of these full bookcases. The armoire weighs a ton empty, so it will need to be emptied also before it can be moved.
The new bookcase was planned to go on a wall next to three other large bookcases and it was supposed to butt up against a side wall. The bookcase was 1/2 inch to wide to fit in the hole. Last night, Mike and I emptied and moved the three large bookcases. Each shelf contains 2 rows of books. I'll let you imagine the amount of books that were piled on the floor.
The new bookcase was planned to go on a wall next to three other large bookcases and it was supposed to butt up against a side wall. The bookcase was 1/2 inch to wide to fit in the hole. Last night, Mike and I emptied and moved the three large bookcases. Each shelf contains 2 rows of books. I'll let you imagine the amount of books that were piled on the floor.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Where Do They Go?
What happens to all the pens, pencils, and crayons? I'm a dutiful homeschooling mom. Tons of pencils, crayons, and pens are purchased in the fall at the back-to-school sales. A few packets of each are placed in the desk drawers. The rest are strategically stashed away for when no one can find a writing utensil. We still have a constant shortage of writing instruments. The exception is crayons that find their way into the washer and dryer, but that is another issue.
Sunday, I needed to fill out some forms. After diligently digging through all the desks with no avail, I decided to hit my stash. After all, it's been almost two months since I replenished the supply. Guess what? My secret stash was gone! Some child had located my supplies and taken them. Could I fill out my forms in purple crayon? Would the post office be able to read purple crayon? Probably not. More pencils and pens were purchased. Where can I hide them? My underwear drawer is already hiding hairbrushes, combs, and hair bands. No room there.
A solution needs to be found for this problem. It drives me crazy. Several years ago, I purchased pencils and pens with different colored surfaces. Each child was assigned a color, so I knew who was not putting their supplies away. The plan wasn't too successful. At this point, we have too many people to assign a color. There isn't enough space to give each child a pencil box. Any suggestions?
Sunday, I needed to fill out some forms. After diligently digging through all the desks with no avail, I decided to hit my stash. After all, it's been almost two months since I replenished the supply. Guess what? My secret stash was gone! Some child had located my supplies and taken them. Could I fill out my forms in purple crayon? Would the post office be able to read purple crayon? Probably not. More pencils and pens were purchased. Where can I hide them? My underwear drawer is already hiding hairbrushes, combs, and hair bands. No room there.
A solution needs to be found for this problem. It drives me crazy. Several years ago, I purchased pencils and pens with different colored surfaces. Each child was assigned a color, so I knew who was not putting their supplies away. The plan wasn't too successful. At this point, we have too many people to assign a color. There isn't enough space to give each child a pencil box. Any suggestions?
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Thirty Days Left
Only 30 days, until the next school year begins. We have decided to stop searching for a new home, due to lack of time. We're going to fix up our current home and place it on the market in the next two years. I will be doing a lot of the work, but I enjoy diy projects and really need to do things that will help get me out of my funk. I haven't been able to shake my depression this summer and it seems to be getting worse. Michael even suggested that I go see "someone".
My oldest two students will be taking 2 classes each at the local junior college in the fall. Katie will probably attend full time for the second semester, while Steve will continue taking 2 classes. This will give me more time to teach the younger two girls to read and work on projects for the house.
Katie, Madelyn and Paige had a great time at camp. Katie and Paige tied for 3rd place in the canoe races. Madelyn won 1st place in the sand castle competition. Paige was disappointed that she only got 3rd in sand castle, but plans to "beat Madelyn next time." As you can see, sisterly love abounds around here. Madelyn also won 2nd place in the fishing competition. She's my only daughter that likes to bait hooks.
The boys returned for their camping trip, with friends from church, on Sunday also. This is the third time that the Molls have taken the boys camping in a camper. We tend to camp in tents, so this is a real treat. Camping has decreased a lot in our state this year. The Molls were the only people camping in the entire camp ground. This park is normally fully booked all summer and fall. Steve found a Timex Indigo watch in the bottom of the lake. Surprisingly, the watch was still working.
My list of projects to complete this summer continues to grow. Here are the projects still needing to be completed:
Wash the exterior of the house
Paint exterior of the house
Scrape and paint the exterior of the garage
Paint the youngest girls' bedroom
Tear out and replace the ugly tile dining room ceiling and replace with dry wall
Complete lesson plans for the upcoming school year
Paint the dining room
Touch up the paint in the family room
Sort out the school cupboards
Sew Christmas gifts
Sew birthday gifts for 6 of my children
Cut down a pine tree in the front yard and remove stump
Replace side door on the garage
Replace picture window in the living room
Obviously, I won't get them all done by September 3, but I'd like to make substantial headway.
My oldest two students will be taking 2 classes each at the local junior college in the fall. Katie will probably attend full time for the second semester, while Steve will continue taking 2 classes. This will give me more time to teach the younger two girls to read and work on projects for the house.
Katie, Madelyn and Paige had a great time at camp. Katie and Paige tied for 3rd place in the canoe races. Madelyn won 1st place in the sand castle competition. Paige was disappointed that she only got 3rd in sand castle, but plans to "beat Madelyn next time." As you can see, sisterly love abounds around here. Madelyn also won 2nd place in the fishing competition. She's my only daughter that likes to bait hooks.
The boys returned for their camping trip, with friends from church, on Sunday also. This is the third time that the Molls have taken the boys camping in a camper. We tend to camp in tents, so this is a real treat. Camping has decreased a lot in our state this year. The Molls were the only people camping in the entire camp ground. This park is normally fully booked all summer and fall. Steve found a Timex Indigo watch in the bottom of the lake. Surprisingly, the watch was still working.
My list of projects to complete this summer continues to grow. Here are the projects still needing to be completed:
Wash the exterior of the house
Paint exterior of the house
Scrape and paint the exterior of the garage
Paint the youngest girls' bedroom
Tear out and replace the ugly tile dining room ceiling and replace with dry wall
Complete lesson plans for the upcoming school year
Paint the dining room
Touch up the paint in the family room
Sort out the school cupboards
Sew Christmas gifts
Sew birthday gifts for 6 of my children
Cut down a pine tree in the front yard and remove stump
Replace side door on the garage
Replace picture window in the living room
Obviously, I won't get them all done by September 3, but I'd like to make substantial headway.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
It's Garage Sale Time
Tomorrow is the big day. We will be having our garage sale. This is the third weekend that we have planned to hold our sale, and once again rain is forecast. The garage sale happens even if it rains. I want my clean garage back. It will also be nice to have a little extra money. I've already sold my old dishes and two tricycles. Hopefully, a huge dent will be made in the remaining items tomorrow or Friday. On Saturday, everything remaining will be delivered to Good Will.
The kids and I made tons of progress on organizing and decluttering items over the last couple of weeks. Our garbage has been around 3 full garbage cans each week. Even with 9 people in our household, it's waaaay too much trash. On the positive side, the exercise room has been completely cleaned. All toys have been sorted out and placed in the appropriate storage container. The walls have been washed. The carpet has been cleaned. The treadmill, bike, exercise steps, weight bench, television, DVD player, and exercise DVD's are all ready for use. I gave them a short workout yesterday.
Here are some of the other "big" jobs that were completed. The canning jar storage area is organized, dusted and ready for the remaining jars to be filled with goodies for the winter. My laundry room is immaculate. All the laundry and ironing is caught up. That will only last until bedtime tonight. The youngest girls' bedroom is organized and thoroughly cleaned. All the windows were washed. All the flower beds and the vegetable garden is free of weeds.
The only nasty jobs still remaining on my list are painting the house exterior, painting the youngest girls' bedroom, touching up the paint in the family room, and painting my bedroom ceiling. My bedroom ceiling hasn't been repainted since we bought this house 17 years ago.
The kids and I made tons of progress on organizing and decluttering items over the last couple of weeks. Our garbage has been around 3 full garbage cans each week. Even with 9 people in our household, it's waaaay too much trash. On the positive side, the exercise room has been completely cleaned. All toys have been sorted out and placed in the appropriate storage container. The walls have been washed. The carpet has been cleaned. The treadmill, bike, exercise steps, weight bench, television, DVD player, and exercise DVD's are all ready for use. I gave them a short workout yesterday.
Here are some of the other "big" jobs that were completed. The canning jar storage area is organized, dusted and ready for the remaining jars to be filled with goodies for the winter. My laundry room is immaculate. All the laundry and ironing is caught up. That will only last until bedtime tonight. The youngest girls' bedroom is organized and thoroughly cleaned. All the windows were washed. All the flower beds and the vegetable garden is free of weeds.
The only nasty jobs still remaining on my list are painting the house exterior, painting the youngest girls' bedroom, touching up the paint in the family room, and painting my bedroom ceiling. My bedroom ceiling hasn't been repainted since we bought this house 17 years ago.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Unexpected Visitors
Have you ever noticed that no one ever drops in on a clean, organized home? This week we've been rushing around sorting items, finding items, de-cluttering and getting ready for our garage sale. Straightening up after 9 people is a big job, even with helpers. Mike cleaned up the garage, which is now filled with boxes and bags of stuff for the sale, with more stuff frequently being added to the piles.
The kids completed the shed, where all the bikes and outdoor toys are stored. Paige and Allie's room was cleaned and sorted by me on Tuesday. All of their toys except for 5 plush toys, 3 dolls with assorted clothing, 2 Sit n' Spins, and Mr. Potato Head were removed. The removed toys are either in the toy storage area or in the garage awaiting a new home.
Katie has deep cleaned her room. She even washed the walls. There was a lot of Madelyn's items in the closet and Katie was glad to acquire more space.
Yesterday, I cleaned out the laundry room and sorted out the boxes in the crawl space. The boys helped haul all the stuff out on the deck, so it could be sorted in the fresh air and any sale items could easily be taken to the garage.
Amy, Stephen, Joe, and Madelyn have been working on the former play room. Recently it became the depository of all garage sale items. Some of the garage sale items were mixed up with items that were designated to be stored for use on shelves. The task of resorting is monumental. Amy volunteered to do the entire job and I am forcing some of the other kids to help.
The laundry was also being done while we were working on cleaning and sorting. The clean, folded laundry was stacked in piles on my coffee table and in baskets in the family room.
My mom, sister, and nephew dropped by in the early afternoon. Yay! It's always embarrassing to be caught with total disarray in your home and yard. Everyone was really nice about the mess and they didn't stay long. My sister did ask to purchase a toy truck and child's bike trailer that was set aside for purchase.
After they had gone, my sister-in-law (from out of town) dropped by to ask if she could take Madelyn to the lake with their family. Madelyn was excited about an unexpected beach day, so I let her go.
Katie had some running to do, so we were gone for a couple of hours. While we were gone, it hit me that my sister-in-law would probably come in again when she dropped Madelyn off. After quickly completing our errands, we raced home to put the house in order. We put the clean laundry away, cleaned the bathroom, and picked up stray items throughout the house. I didn't do my normal thorough cleaning though. I just didn't care if she saw my house a wreck.
Instead, I whipped up a couple of pizzas and tossed them in the oven around 4:30, so I could offer them a snack. While the pizzas were baking, my sil arrived with a huge stack of pizza boxes and a case of water. We combined the pizzas and visited for over 4 hours. The kids played with the boffers and jousting poles in the back yard, jumped on the trampoline and enjoyed being together. My sil and I laughed and caught up with each other's lives.
What could easily have been a stressful, embarrassing evening became a time of fun and fellowship. It was an unexpected blessing in my life. I need to worry less about having a clean home, so I can relax and enjoy the people I love.
The kids completed the shed, where all the bikes and outdoor toys are stored. Paige and Allie's room was cleaned and sorted by me on Tuesday. All of their toys except for 5 plush toys, 3 dolls with assorted clothing, 2 Sit n' Spins, and Mr. Potato Head were removed. The removed toys are either in the toy storage area or in the garage awaiting a new home.
Katie has deep cleaned her room. She even washed the walls. There was a lot of Madelyn's items in the closet and Katie was glad to acquire more space.
Yesterday, I cleaned out the laundry room and sorted out the boxes in the crawl space. The boys helped haul all the stuff out on the deck, so it could be sorted in the fresh air and any sale items could easily be taken to the garage.
Amy, Stephen, Joe, and Madelyn have been working on the former play room. Recently it became the depository of all garage sale items. Some of the garage sale items were mixed up with items that were designated to be stored for use on shelves. The task of resorting is monumental. Amy volunteered to do the entire job and I am forcing some of the other kids to help.
The laundry was also being done while we were working on cleaning and sorting. The clean, folded laundry was stacked in piles on my coffee table and in baskets in the family room.
My mom, sister, and nephew dropped by in the early afternoon. Yay! It's always embarrassing to be caught with total disarray in your home and yard. Everyone was really nice about the mess and they didn't stay long. My sister did ask to purchase a toy truck and child's bike trailer that was set aside for purchase.
After they had gone, my sister-in-law (from out of town) dropped by to ask if she could take Madelyn to the lake with their family. Madelyn was excited about an unexpected beach day, so I let her go.
Katie had some running to do, so we were gone for a couple of hours. While we were gone, it hit me that my sister-in-law would probably come in again when she dropped Madelyn off. After quickly completing our errands, we raced home to put the house in order. We put the clean laundry away, cleaned the bathroom, and picked up stray items throughout the house. I didn't do my normal thorough cleaning though. I just didn't care if she saw my house a wreck.
Instead, I whipped up a couple of pizzas and tossed them in the oven around 4:30, so I could offer them a snack. While the pizzas were baking, my sil arrived with a huge stack of pizza boxes and a case of water. We combined the pizzas and visited for over 4 hours. The kids played with the boffers and jousting poles in the back yard, jumped on the trampoline and enjoyed being together. My sil and I laughed and caught up with each other's lives.
What could easily have been a stressful, embarrassing evening became a time of fun and fellowship. It was an unexpected blessing in my life. I need to worry less about having a clean home, so I can relax and enjoy the people I love.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Winter Cleaning
Since Christmas Eve, my house has gotten more and more cluttered. I can probably tolerate more short-term clutter than many people. But, when shelves and surfaces stay cluttered for more than 1/2 a day, I begin to feel antsy. Today I began my annual post-Christmas de-cluttering session. It will probably take until mid-January before I am finished.
So far, I have cleaned out both linen closets and turned three sets of sheets into dog bedding.
My next huge project was the children's desk and computer area. We have three desks in our dining room, because I want the computers in a public area. When I began today, there were 4 stacks of computer disks, 4 plastic shoe boxes full of computer software (almost all were given to us by my sister-in-law who loves learning toys,etc.), 2 in cartridge refill kits, 3 Webkinzs, and miscellaneous pens, pencils, and markers. I won't even discuss the disorder that was inside the desk.
The computer items were placed in a built-in cupboard in the dining room for easy access, but out of sight. The toys were returned to the various bedrooms. One plastic grocery bag was filled with dead pens and used paper. The rest was reorganized into the improved Kid's Computer Area.
Here are the results of two hours labor. I am too embarrassed to post pictures of the mess. Trust me....it was really cluttered!
Now I can breathe again.
So far, I have cleaned out both linen closets and turned three sets of sheets into dog bedding.
My next huge project was the children's desk and computer area. We have three desks in our dining room, because I want the computers in a public area. When I began today, there were 4 stacks of computer disks, 4 plastic shoe boxes full of computer software (almost all were given to us by my sister-in-law who loves learning toys,etc.), 2 in cartridge refill kits, 3 Webkinzs, and miscellaneous pens, pencils, and markers. I won't even discuss the disorder that was inside the desk.
The computer items were placed in a built-in cupboard in the dining room for easy access, but out of sight. The toys were returned to the various bedrooms. One plastic grocery bag was filled with dead pens and used paper. The rest was reorganized into the improved Kid's Computer Area.
Here are the results of two hours labor. I am too embarrassed to post pictures of the mess. Trust me....it was really cluttered!
Now I can breathe again.
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