The Finish Line...

Its been a couple of weeks since I posted, but I had kind of hit a plateau with my "reduce by 1/3 by Easter" mission.  I had some company, which was a distraction.  Our schedules kind of filled up, which made carving out blocks of time difficult.  The "honeymoon" after The Hubs' pre-deployment pep talk with the boys wore off.  ("You guys be good for Mom, ok?"  Yeah, that's so over.)  So I had to take some extra time parenting Little 1 and Little 2.  I don't sleep particularly well when The Hubs is gone, so that's taking its toll as well.  Overall, I just hit a "funk."

Through the "funk," I let some other areas really lag, like following my menu (eating out way to much), and keeping my "command center" organized, and putting laundry away.  And I've completely tossed my weekly cleaning schedule out of the window.  I figured "why clean it when I'm about to destroy it to organize it?"  So, I didn't.

And the next thing I knew:  Its 3 days until Easter.  WHAT?!  Crunch time!
Thankfully, my burst of energy at the beginning got me pretty far, so the crunch isn't too bad.  Right now, I basically have only to move the eliminated items to the garage to get ready for the big "haul off" and yard sale, which will be next weekend.  In addition, Little 1 and Little 2 are going through their stuffed animals to make some serious eliminations.  If it doesn't fit in the "big blue tub," it goes.  It'll be a good lesson on prioritizing.  They went through their toys before Christmas, so we're good on that front.

The "monster" I discovered during this process: WE HAVE A TON OF PICTURES!  Vacation pics, friend and family pics, travel pics, Iraq and Afghanistan pics.  Boxes and boxes of pics!  I have no inclination to scrapbook them, and these are hard copies.  We've got 8 photo boxes full, plus enough to fill 4 more, at least.

Here's my solution: I put all of the pics into boxes, and put them into "The Room."  What's "The Room", you ask?  That would be "The Room" (attic space) that houses at least 10 totes (footlockers, Rubbermaid, and Tuff Boxes) of military gear, The Hubs' office supplies/decor, and other "stuff."  And since much of the stuff in there, including some of the pics, isn't mine, I get to procrastinate.  "Welcome Home, Honey!  Let's go tackle 'The Room!'"

The other area of dismay is the guest room closet.  Little 1 and Little 2 are 6 and 4 years old, and we've kept all of their big-ticket baby gear, and its all in the guest room closet.  A crib and mattress, Pack-and-Play, a booster seat, a stroller, even an old car seat. (Its out of here.  Its "retirement" age.  Double check the "expiration dates" on your car seats...they do have one!  Saving a couple of bucks isn't worth your car seat failing in an accident due to deterioration.)

My biggest issue with selling or donating all of these items is the question of whether or not we're done.  I, personally, am done.....2 c-sections were enough.  But we are constantly in discussion of whether or not to adopt, or foster-to-adopt.  My heart screams "Yes!" but I'm wondering if God has this in store for us.  Every time we start to move forward with taking the steps to foster or adopt, something happens: deployment or moving, or something along those lines.  And they won't even talk to you unless you are BOTH home, and the foster-to-adopt system isn't terribly friendly to military folks anyway.  I can't say that I blame them....we've been here 8 months, The Hubs has been gone much of that, now deployed.  He'll be home less than a year, and we'll move.  And move again the next year.  By then, we're looking at Little 1 and Little 2 being 8 or 9 and 6 or 7.  And there's no guarantee that we'll be at that duty station for more than a couple of years.

That's the latest...I'll post the tons of house pics after Sunday.  I've made huge progress, but I don't really think I hit a true 1/3.  Things are much more organized, and much more comfortable than they were, and I feel better already.  And I haven't even crossed the finish line yet.  A few more steps to go, and I'll cross with a feeling of success and peace.  And the knowledge that my house needs to be cleaned. :D

House Overhaul Phase 2: The BOOK!

So, those of you that have known me for any time at all know that organization is NOT my best strength. Call that a product of years of neglect, or never really getting the hang of it.  I am notoriously "last minute."  I have the hardest time keeping up with things, and it makes for chaos when I need to find something, plan something, execute something.  I've heard all of the jokes or sayings "Poor planning promotes p_____-poor performance," or "Poor planning on your part does not equal an emergency on my part."  I have lived in what feels like a constant state of "SNAFU," or "situation normal...all ______-ed up."  (Yep, I'm a military wife....)

As my house has be undergoing some transformation, I've been brainstorming on getting my day-to-day stuff together.  Every "organizing" class I've been to, or every organizing blog I've read says to "Get yourself a notebook."  Some have called it a "binder."  So, I did.  Here's what's in it, and what it looks like!

Front cover: "The EVERYTHING Book" The title, as well as the contents, so everyone knows what's in there.  That way, if we have someone staying with us, they kind of know what's going on, too!

In the front pocket of my binder goes all of our contacts: rosters, business cards, etc.  (No picture, just for privacy's sake.  My friends are grateful, I'm sure.)

I got inserts with tabs and pockets that are clear, just so I can see what's in the folder, and I don't have to take things out to see them.  The first (Blue) insert has our master weekly planner.  I write everything in there...gym time, activities.  I also write our finalized menu for each day.  The master menu planner is coming up...

The backside of this insert are the family calendars, like the class schedule for the Y.

The purple insert is Little 1s folder.  His weekly newsletter from his teacher goes in there, along with any other "keep" papers.  Now, anything outside of regular school activities gets written on the master weekly planner in the blue insert.

The backside of the purple insert is Little 1s school menu.

Little 2s school info goes into the orange insert.  Again, anything unusual goes onto the master weekly calendar.

The green insert has our basic shopping list in it.  I made a list of things I buy frequently, and put them onto a printable document.  If I don't need an item, I can just scratch it out.  I also included blanks in each category, plus a bunch of space for extras.  Notice the big white space on the top right, just for "jotting down" needed items.

The back of the green insert has our menu planner, which is just a monthly calendar where I write our dinner plans, and lunch options.

The yellow insert is our monthly basic budget plan, for quick access.  The "big" budget stuff (more detailed) goes into a expandable file with a section for each month.  After the month is done, the basic budget stuff goes in there, as well.

The 2nd purple insert has store coupons in it, ex: Michaels or Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

The 2nd orange insert has dining coupons in it.  All those "Val-Pack" coupons and pizza mailers.

The back pocket of the binder has our dining out/order in menus.

For the back cover, I put my weekly cleaning schedule.  It also has our daily, bi-weekly, and monthly chores.

I realized while putting this blog entry together that ALL of this stuff....Yes, ALL....was on our fridge.  Either clipped or held up with magnets, which means stuff was falling all the time and was buried.  The important stuff, too!  Ugh!  Now, the fridge is designated for funnies, and for art.  Everything urgent goes in "The EVERYTHING Book!"

House Overhaul: 1/3 Less Phase 1

I mentioned last week that what finally jump-started me putting together our "family purpose statement" was this great book, "Organized Simplicity" by Tsh Oxenreider. (Available on Amazon)  It jump-started a lot of other things in my mind, too.

I realized in Alaska that I have a problem.  Ok, some problems.  My mom has this great pearl of wisdom that she's shared with me since I was little:

"If your environment is chaotic, your entire life will be chaotic."

And that is my problem.  Well, much of my problem.  We had lived in our house for 4 1/2 years, the same place for 6.  We'd had 2 kids-and their stuff.  We had a huge house-filled with stuff.  We had a lot of activities going on-and they all involved stuff.  Basically, we went to Alaska with 8,500 lbs of stuff, and left with 14,500 lbs of stuff.  I was grateful that we didn't exceed our poundage, which is 16,500 lbs.  Or 17,500 lbs.  Either way, I was thankful we didn't blow it.

We got to Georgia, and into a house that's actually bigger than our last.  Great storage, a 2 car garage, a comparable kitchen.  We do have some areas that aren't so wonderful (laundry room and pantries), but there's no reason we can't be comfortable here.

What I found when I got unpacked is that I had a bunch of "stuff" that didn't have homes.  And it piled up.  My mom's little pearl of wisdom proved true: I missed things, like ordering school pictures, fulfilling commitments, even paying bills.  I just couldn't get my act together!  My environment was chaotic, and my entire life felt that way, too.

So, my first step toward mental health was to begin working on my physical health.  I'm down about 8 lbs since the first of the year, and I'm averaging 4 trips to the gym a week.  I'm up to 45 minutes on the elliptical, and I'm not keeling over at the end of the kickboxing class.  Improvement.

Then, I read Tsh's book.  Oh, buddy.  Mom's words came back to me, and I knew I had to do something.  We put together our family mission statement.  We tackled The Hubs one "domain" (the garage) before he left, and I can not tell you the sense of satisfaction that came with having it done.  The Hubs and I stood there, looked at each other, and we asked each other if we could sleep there!  It was so beautiful....as beautiful as a garage can be.

The feeling has stuck with me.  And has inspired me to do more.  My goal is 1/3 less.  As in eliminate 1/3 of the "stuff" in our lives.

So far:
-I've gone through the kitchen cabinets, uppers and lowers.  (I'm holding off on eliminating too much there, really being conscious of what I use.  If it doesn't get used before The Hubs gets home, its gone.)
-I have gone through my "hoosier cabinet," which acts as my command center.  Its been cleaned out and completely organized.  I know what's in there, and I know what's SUPPOSED to be in there...not just stuffed in.
-I went through my cookbook cabinet, and I eliminated 2/3 of my cookbooks.  I realized that every Weight Watchers recipe and (probably) every Pampered Chef recipe is online, so I kept only our "Joy of Cooking," a big game cookbook, and fundraiser cookbooks.  No joke, I got rid of 2/3 of our cookbooks!  I also ditched the side-table and sad-looking fake houseplant beside it.
-I went through our china cabinet.  I did eliminate 1/3 there, but I feel like I use everything that's left.  If, in a year, I haven't used it, its gone.  (I had the great idea to mark items with fishing line.  You can't see it, and if I use the item, I'll remove the fishing line.)

*Another weird discovery:  The Hubs and I have spent the last year thinking our china cabinet had frosted doors.  I'd been dusting them, but not "Windex-ed" them.  Yeah, they're not frosted.  They were that dirty. (I can't take the blame for that one....we inherited it that way.)

Here's some pics of my progress: The completed "hoosier."

Before and after of my cookbook cabinet:

China cabinet before (above)
And After (below), clean glass doors and all!

Stay tuned for much more.  1/3 more! Or would that be less?

The H_____ Family Purpose...

Last year, The Hubs did a Bible study with our church in Alaska called the "Quest for Authentic Manhood."  The study is for men, and is about taking spiritual leadership in your home, what it means to be a provider and a protector for your family.  The Hubs thoroughly enjoyed the study, and has embraced those principles in our family.

Just last month, "Organized Simplicity" was a free e-book on Amazon, and word just flew around Facebook.  I downloaded it to my Kindle, and devoured it in just a couple of hours.  It is a GREAT book, is worth purchasing. (The "free" offer expired.)

http://www.amazon.com/Organized-Simplicity-Clutter-Free-Approach-Intentional/dp/1440302634/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330130740&sr=1-1

In both of these studies/books, they encourage you to create a FAMILY PURPOSE STATEMENT.  We were going to write one last spring, then all craziness broke loose with moving and everything else, and we just never got around to it.  I got spurred on (again) by "Organized Simplicity" to write one, and began brainstorming.  Tsh Oxenrider (I think that's how you spell her last name) encourages you to write one, and says that's the tool to use to determine every aspect of your life.  If something doesn't fit into your family purpose, seriously consider whether or not you want to pursue that path/purchase it.

The Hubs and I finally sat down, looked over Tsh's tools for building a purpose statement, and here's what we came up with:

The H_____ Family Purpose:
-To faithfully serve God, our country, each other, and our community.
-To joyfully "bear with one another" with the Fruits of the Spirit.
-To have our home be a place of laughter, peace, and comfort.
-To have our experiences be fun, educational, and uplifting.

We also developed a motto for our family:
"Remember Whose you are, and who you are."

I typed these up, and printed them out on pretty paper.  I've gotten a simple frame to put them in, and to leave where I can see it.

From here on out, I will be weighing my decisions based on our Family Purpose.  What we buy, what we commit to, our extracurriculars, how we live.  We-as the family with said purpose- have the right to tweak our purpose, but these are goals we can work towards for the rest of our lives.

Here we go again....Deployment #4.  This one is a little different.  Ok, a lot different.  It's 7 months, instead of 12-15 months.  We're not in Alaska, and I'm not shoveling snow.  We're 6 hours (by car) from family, instead of 12+ hours (by plane).  The Hubs is basically an "individual," not part of a large brigade mobilization.  Little 1 and Little 2 are older, and actually cognizant of what's going on.

(Wow...not sure what's going on here.  Gotta figure out this blog stuff...)

This was supposed to be a "non-deployable" job.  Anyone who knows the military knows how laughable that is.  "Non-deployable" means that we'll tell you that, get you into the job, let you and your family get comfortable with that idea, then POOF!, orders hit.  And your hubby is off to do whatever he does.

How The Hubs came to be in this position, and thereby deployed, was under terrible circumstances.  He was the 5th "alternate," and all 5 people on the list ahead of him had family tragedies...deaths, illnesses, car accidents.  It makes it really hard to complain.  Little 1, Little 2, and I are healthy, along with our more extended family.  We've had no tragedies, nothing is falling apart, and we're equipped to handle this.

All this is to say that:  I'M GRATEFUL for this deployment.  It puts thing into perspective.  If it weren't for our health and safety, The Hubs would be home.  So, I praise God for His blessing, provision, and His trust in our abilities to survive this, and lead others.  I just hope that I'm worthy of His faith.  And I hope I don't go crazy! :D