Extreme Decluttering......

As many of you have noticed, I haven't posted in a few days.  Life got super busy.  I have gotten pulled in so many different directions.

Thursday, hubby and I went to our eye doctor's appointment.  Something, I have put off many times before.  My poor glasses are taped together :(  Every time I had planned to make an appointment, something popped up. We have 2 boys in glasses and things had started to slow down or so I thought.  So, I jumped at the chance and made the appointment for hubby and I to get our eyes checked.  My eyes were not as bad as I had thought they were going to be.  The Optometrist said that we were only going up one notch to help me see better:)  Now, I am trying to be as patient as possible until my new glasses come in.  Hubby's eyes are fine and he doesn't need glasses.  Unfortunately, from having my glasses off and the stuff she put in my eyes, I came home with a horrible headache.  All I wanted to do was crawl into bed.

Friday and Saturday, we went out and did most of our Christmas and grocery shopping since Michael had to leave for work on Monday.  Plus throw in the flat tire and waiting to get it fixed.  Those were both loooong days

Monday, I had a Scentsy event at an Elementary school near Richmond, VA.  Making sure I had everything I needed took any available hours I had left over the weekend.  We packed everything in the van on Sunday.  The event was all day yesterday.  By the time I got home, I was exhausted.  But I did have a great time.  I met most of the teachers and staff at the school and did the event with a good friend:)

Today was Story Time at the library and after was lunch with Santa.

I just found out that tomorrow the library is making Gingerbread houses out of graham crackers- the boys are excited about it.  Then Thursday, we have the toddler time at the library.  As you can see, I have been here and there.  And I still have Christmas presents to make and wrap for everyone.

I would love to continue my Extreme Decluttering journey but don't feel I have to time to devote to it right now.  So, we will be postponing it until January 2013. 

If you have company coming over for the holidays, check out Crystal's post on how to Whip you house into Shape in 2 hours.  With everything crazy over here, I may end doing this myself:)

Extreme Decluttering~ Day 5

Hope everyone is doing well on this chilly morning.  Today is going to be a busy one, so lets see how much we can get done today while juggling everything else I need to do today:)

Today's assignment is still in your Living Room and is:

1) Look over your list of weekly goals and mark which ones you want to accomplish today

2) Pick a different area in your Living Room that desperately needs your attention- this is your project for today. If at all possible, move everything from that area to another area nearby. Look at and examine every item you move. If it is broken, get rid of it. If it is not your taste or style, get rid of it. Touch every item and make sure it is something that you truly love before putting it back. Also, before putting the item back, take the time to dust or clean the item. Remember the more knick knacks you have, the more you have to dust.

3) Make a goal of getting rid of at least 10 items today. If 10 is to painful to attempt right off the bat, then start light with 1 item and see how that feels. You may surprise yourself and find that you don't NEED as many items as you thought you did.

Come back this evening and let me know how you did with today's assignment:) 

Extreme Decluttering~ Day 4

New day, new assignment.  Who's ready?  I am loving how my living room is coming along- without all the extra stuff, my living room is opening up quite nicely:)  Let's dive right on in, shall we.

Today's assignment is still in your Living Room and is:

1) Look over your list of weekly goals and mark which ones you want to accomplish today

2) Pick a different area in your Living Room that desperately needs your attention- this is your project for today. If at all possible, move everything from that area to another area nearby. Look at and examine every item you move. If it is broken, get rid of it. If it is not your taste or style, get rid of it. Touch every item and make sure it is something that you truly love before putting it back. Also, before putting the item back, take the time to dust or clean the item. Remember the more knick knacks you have, the more you have to dust.

3) Make a goal of getting rid of at least 10 items today. If 10 is to painful to attempt right off the bat, then start light with 1 item and see how that feels. You may surprise yourself and find that you don't NEED as many items as you thought you did.

Come back this evening and let me know how you did with today's assignment:)

Extreme Decluttering~ Day 3 Results

How did today go for you?  We had a great day today full of homeschooling, spending time with the little one and decluttering another part of our living room:)

Here is how today's assignment went for us:

Today's assignment was to:

1) Look over your list of weekly goals and mark which ones you want to accomplish today~ Done
My weekly goals:
Laundry~ Got 3 loads of laundry washed and hung out
Fix boys school lunches for the week~ Done
Homeschool, read to little Michael and morning devotions~ Ongoing
Start on decluttering Living Room~ Section 2 done:)
Start working on Christmas gifts for family- can't get into details as some of my family reads my blog:)
Get Scentsy stuff together and ready for event next week
Put package in mail for young lady at church
Baked carrot experiment, make yogurt, pancakes and oatmeal chocolate chip muffins~ made yogurt, pancakes and baked and deboned a chicken
Walk at least 2 miles each day for 5 days~ Walked 2 miles on treadmill
Wrapping paper count- make sure I have enough wrapping paper this year
Find and experiment with Kettle Corn recipe~ Found a Kettle Corn recipe- now to experiment with it:)

2) Pick an area in your Living Room that desperately needs your attention- this is your project for today. If at all possible, move everything from that area to another area nearby. Look at and examine every item you move. If it is broken, get rid of it. If it is not your taste or style, get rid of it. Touch every item and make sure it is something that you truly love before putting it back. Also, before putting the item back, take the time to dust or clean the item. Remember the more knick knacks you have, the more you have to dust.
Today I picked the couch in our living room to unclutter.  This is what happens when I put my older ones in charge of getting the clothes off the line, sorting through and putting away their own clothes along with the younger boys clothes:

Complete with coats and clothes thrown on the couch and a comfy cozy sleeping cat:)  This project wasn't so bad.  I got a hold of the couch and folded and put away all the clothes and hung up all the coats in the closet.  Now the couch looks like this:

Much better:)  The fun part is going to be keeping it this way.

3) Make a goal of getting rid of at least 10 items today. If 10 is to painful to attempt right off the bat, then start light with 1 item and see how that feels. You may surprise yourself and find that you don't NEED as many items as you thought you did.
We didn't throw away anything from the couch but we did find some receipts and papers that were hiding.  The younger boys are going through their books and finding which ones they want to keep:

How did you do with today's assignment?  Post below and let me know:)

Come back tomorrow morning for a new assignment.  Have a great night:)

Extreme Decluttering~ Day 3

Ready for this new day of our decluttering journey?  Please remember that your house didn't get cluttered all in a day, so it will take some time to get your whole house totally uncluttered.  There may be some sweat and maybe even some tears along the way, just keep trucking, you will be so proud of yourself in the end.

Today's assignment takes place in your Living Room and is:

1) Look over your list of weekly goals and mark which ones you want to accomplish today

2) Pick a  different area in your Living Room that desperately needs your attention- this is your project for today. If at all possible, move everything from that area to another area nearby. Look at and examine every item you move. If it is broken, get rid of it. If it is not your taste or style, get rid of it. Touch every item and make sure it is something that you truly love before putting it back. Also, before putting the item back, take the time to dust or clean the item. Remember the more knick knacks you have, the more you have to dust.

3) Make a goal of getting rid of at least 10 items today. If 10 is to painful to attempt right off the bat, then start light with 1 item and see how that feels. You may surprise yourself and find that you don't NEED as many items as you thought you did.

Come back this evening and let me know how you did with today's assignment:)

Extreme Decluttering~ Day 2 Results

How did your day go?  I was very pleased with myself today.  We had a busy day with a trip to the library for story time, which little Michael actually sat through the whole time.  I am very proud.  Even with homeschooling, I got quite a bit accomplished today- yay:)

Here is how today's assignment went for me:

Today's assignment was to:

1) Look over your list of weekly goals and mark which ones you want to accomplish today~ Done
My weekly goals:
Laundry
Fix boys school lunches for the week~ Done
Homeschool, read to little Michael and morning devotions~ Ongoing
Start on decluttering Living Room~ Section 1 done:)
Start working on Christmas gifts for family- can't get into details as some of my family reads my blog:)
Get Scentsy stuff together and ready for event next week
Put package in mail for young lady at church
Baked carrot experiment, make yogurt, pancakes and oatmeal chocolate chip muffins~ made yogurt, pancakes and baked and deboned a chicken
Walk at least 2 miles each day for 5 days~ Walked 2 miles on treadmill for the last 2 days
Wrapping paper count- make sure I have enough wrapping paper this year
Find and experiment with Kettle Corn recipe~ Found a Kettle Corn recipe- now to experiment with it:)

2) Pick an area in your Living Room that desperately needs your attention- this is your project for today. If at all possible, move everything from that area to another area nearby. Look at and examine every item you move. If it is broken, get rid of it. If it is not your taste or style, get rid of it. Touch every item and make sure it is something that you truly love before putting it back. Also, before putting the item back, take the time to dust or clean the item. Remember the more knick knacks you have, the more you have to dust.
When you walk into my house, the first thing you see is my computer desk, which was in desperate need of attention.  Those who have been in house know exactly what I am talking about.  My computer desk has a little of everything on it~ receipts, school papers, work papers, camera cords, Nerf darts, Lego pieces, etc.  Here is a before picture- brace yourself- it is not pretty:

Yikes.  After some much needed decluttering, I must say I am loving the way my desk is looking now.  Let's see how long it stays that way:)  Here is the after picture-  I still need to do some dusting and my cork board needs some organizing but all in all, I must say it is looking a lot better.  See for yourself:

3) Make a goal of getting rid of at least 10 items today. If 10 is to painful to attempt right off the bat, then start light with 1 item and see how that feels. You may surprise yourself and find that you don't NEED as many items as you thought you did.
I got rid of more than 10 things today- yay:)  I was able to fill up a small box just with stuff from my desk.

How did your day go?  Did you get everything on your to do list that you wanted to accomplish today done?  Post below and let me know.  I would love to hear all about how your declutter project went today:)

Rest up- tomorrow is a new day with a new assignment:)  See you in the morning.

Extreme Decluttering~ Day 2

Ready for the fun that is about to take place today?  I know I am.  This has been a long time coming for my house.  Today marks Day 2 in our Extreme Delcuttering Challenge.  Let's stall no more and jump right on in to today's assignment:

Today's assignment takes place in your Living Room and is:

1)  Look over your list of weekly goals and mark which ones you want to accomplish today

2)  Pick an area in your Living Room that desperately needs your attention- this is your project for today.  If at all possible, move everything from that area to another area nearby.  Look at and examine every item you move.  If it is broken, get rid of it.  If it is not your taste or style, get rid of it.  Touch every item and make sure it is something that you truly love before putting it back.  Also, before putting the item back, take the time to dust or clean the item.  Remember the more knick knacks you have, the more you have to dust.

3) Make a goal of getting rid of at least 10 items today.  If 10 is to painful to attempt right off the bat, then start light with 1 item and see how that feels.  You may surprise yourself and find that you don't NEED as many items as you thought you did.

Come back this evening and let me know how you did with today's assignment:)

Extreme Decluttering~ Day 1 Results

How did your day flow today?  Are you on board with me for this decluttering journey or am I going to have to go at this alone?  Either way, my house is about to get lighter:)

How did you do with today's assignment?

Here is our we did with today's assignment:

Today's assignment was to:

1) Make a list of this weeks goals you hope to accomplish this week~ Done
My weekly goals:
Laundry
Fix boys school lunches for the week
Homeschool and read to little Michael
Start on decluttering Living Room
Start working on Christmas gifts for family- can't get into details as some of my family reads my blog:)
Get Scentsy stuff together and ready for event next week
Put package in mail for young lady at church
Baked carrot experiment, make yogurt, pancakes and oatmeal chocolate chip muffins
Walk at least 2 miles each day for 5 days
Wrapping paper count- make sure I have enough wrapping paper this year
Find and experiment with Kettle Corn recipe

2) Grab a sheet of paper and make a list of all the rooms you NEED to declutter. Now walk through each room and write down specifically each thing you need to tackle in each room to get that room clutter free and organized.~ Done making list for Living Room and Kitchen

3) Clean out your purse and/or wallet~ wow I needed that.  I am embarrased with how much stuff was shoved in my purse.  I can't believe how lighter it is now:)  Will post pics tomorrow, hopefully- for some reason blogger is not letting me upload any pics this evening :(

How did you do with today's assignment?  Post below and let me know. 

Rest up- tomorrow we start our Extreme Declutter in the Living Room:)  See you in the morning:)

Extreme Decluttering~ Day 1

While I have enjoyed the last 4 weeks of cleaning with Crystal, I feel like I need more.  I need a little push.  I can clean and reorganize my house and the 3 year old tornado comes through and I feel like all my cleaning and rearranging have gone down the drain. 

My family of 6 lives in a small house and we have way too much stuff.  I am tired of walking around, stepping over and constantly not being able to find the things I need.  I have had enough:)  I know, you can find previous blog posts about my decluttering attempts that have gone strong and have puttered out.  We are house hunting for a bigger house and I really don't want to declutter our new house right off the bat.  We are hoping to move after Christopher graduates high school, which is 6 short months ahead.  I need to get on the ball and get rocking and rolling:)  This may be the push I need.

I have been thinking about how I want my house to look and how I want to live.  The simple life is how I want to live.  I want to spend my extra time with my family not with all my stuff.  I want to snuggle with my little one while I have the time before he grows up and figures out that snuggling with mommy is not cool:)  I want to be organized and to be able to find the things I need without making a bigger mess digging around trying to find what I was looking for in the first place.  I do believe that a more simple life will save my sanity:)  Plus the less clutter I have, the less I will HAVE to do.  I do believe that simplicity will save my sanity:)  We shall see:)

Who is with me?  Who is ready for a hard core decluttering journey with me?  I want to see what I can get done before Christmas gets here.  I know that I will not be able to do the whole house before Christmas.  If I can get done at least 2 rooms, I will be a happy camper.

For anyone that reads my blog on a regular basis knows that Monday's are our shopping day. So, our first day is going to be a light one.  This is the day we figure out what we want to do.

Today's assignment is to:

1) Make a list of this weeks goals you hope to accomplish this week

2) Grab a sheet of paper and make a list of all the rooms you NEED to declutter.  Now walk through each room and write down specifically each thing you need to tackle in each room to get that room clutter free and organized.

3) Clean out your purse and/or wallet

Come back this evening and see how we did with today's assignment.  Plus come back and let me how you did with today's assignment:)  Have a great day~ see you this evening:)