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."
And After (below), clean glass doors and all!
Stay tuned for much more. 1/3 more! Or would that be less?
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