Decluttering: I don't know when to stop.

Apparently, I'm nesting. Only 17 weeks to go until this baby arrives, and I am determined to have THE ENTIRE HOUSE reorganized and ready long before my due date. I know I'll be too tired and won't want to do anything but knit little booties and sew little dresses by June. (OH! Did I just give something away?!)

We have a smallish, old-fashioned house that requires creative rearranging to accommodate our growing, ever-changing family. This includes regular, ruthless decluttering. Of which I have done very little in the last year.

The baby goodies are already arriving -- but what will soon be the nursery is currently my craft/curriculum/storage/library. Two bookcases and their books, a desk and all its clutter, my scrapbooking and sewing supplies have to go Somewhere Else.

One of those places is this closet:

Nope, nothing else is going in there until something comes out.

My problem is, I can't just pull a few things out of a closet. Once I decide to start organizing, I have to empty EVERY CLOSET IN THE HOUSE so that the whole place looks like we've been flying over Kansas with Dorothy -- collecting everything but the cow passing by as we go.

First, though, I made lists of everything that would need a home somewhere. (This I started weeks ago.)

I started thinking about what big items needed to go -- the dresser in the bedroom closet that was not working, the rocking chair that was cute but never comfortable for nursing, the boys' desks that I repainted for the school room two years ago and haven't been used since last May. And I decided we should have a yard sale.

On Monday, I started pulling everything out of the closets. And then I realized I was coming down with the flu. By Wednesday, three of us were in bed sick, and my house still looked like this:

Stuff was piled everywhere waiting for the yard sale.

But, no matter, because my main closet had gone from THIS (before):

To THIS (after)!

Top shelf: Blankets, sorted by knits, fleece, and quilts
Second shelf: Seasonal items in tubs: Snow, birthdays, swim, and crafts.
Third and bottom shelves: Games, craft supplies, and homeschool baskets.
Floor: Gift wrapping supplies. And an EMPTY tub!!

And I wasn't quite finished here. I now have storage on the back of the door for the gift wrap, and I was able to move some sewing and scrapbooking tubs out of my office into the bottom of the closet.  I still have more sorting through craft and school supplies to do, too.

And check out my bedroom closet (BEFORE):

And AFTER (so far):

I'm still working on this one, too, but removing the dresser and adding the tubs and shoe cubbies made a HUGE difference! I found shoes under that dresser that had been "missing" for over a year. :/

The tornado spewed the rest of the mess onto the lawn Saturday morning, and after we made an entire $3.75 in six hours of yard selling (plus $75 for the dresser from someone who saw it on Craiglist), we loaded up the rest to take to Goodwill.

Now to finish the boys' closet...

I'm participating in Project: Simplify 2012!

Decluttering: Because I love to show off the inside of my fridge.

Tonight's the deadline to participate in Project: Simplify's Pantry/Fridge declutter week!  Obviously, I don't want to miss a chance to win a new cookbook!

So, here's what I did while my boys were at the park with friends on Thursday, and I was supposed to be taking a nap...

The BEFORE:

And AFTER:

This was mostly a matter of dumping moldy leftovers, wiping shelves and rearranging things a bit. I also picked up a couple tubs at the $1 store this week to organize cheese and lunchmeats. And now I can actually see what food we have!  (Who knew I'd bought so much cheddar?!)

Last week was also Kitchen Decluttering Week at Modern Parents/Messy Kids, which inspired me to get some serious unpacking finished. Last weekend, I worked on the two corner cabinets, which had been awaiting shelves. Oh, were things a dusty mess after 10 months of remodeling!

Before:

And AFTER:

 

I'm not quite finished with these two, since I have a few more boxes to unpack, and I'll probably rearrange things some more. I do love the vertical, tension rod space for my baking sheets and muffin pans!

I'm also awaiting open shelves above the "Breakfast Corner" of my countertop, but I bought some pretty glass jars at World Market, and it was time to put them to use!

Before:




After:

What I've been up to.

Sheesh, a month without blogging? Can I say it was somewhat intentional even though I didn't tell anybody? Can I say I gave up blogging for (part of) Lent?

Well, bloggy friends, I miss you. Life has been crazy, but I want to try to come back here. This blog needs some serious updating, but that will come eventually.  For now, I'll just update you a bit on what I've been doing.

1) Growing a baby. (I could stop right there, couldn't I? Isn't that enough?) And eating a lot more than when I was nauseated all the time!

2) Knitting for the baby -- especially now that we know which variety we're having! :)  And yes, I will share those projects (and other details) eventually!

2) Finishing the kitchen. (One coat of a paint at a time. Don't worry, it's low-VOC and I wear a mask.)

3) Attempting to make sure my children are learning something.  Littlest has miraculously managed to teach himself to read fluently in the last few months. And his math skills are ahead of schedule. So, while I have much guilt over various other unmet needs during this remodel project, at least that's done.

4) Moderating two different homeschooling groups -- one a discussion/info group on Facebook, the other a social/activity group that I've belonged to since my older boys were babies, and was asked to take over in October.

5) Organizing and hosting a six-week lecture series on homeschooling for our public library. Totally worth it, and I was sort of sad to see it end, but it did take a bit of time and energy.

6) Organizing and decluttering. Slowly. Very slowly.

7) Pinning ideas for these topics to keep myself motivated. You can find me on Pinterest here:  http://pinterest.com/crunchyxianmom/

I wish I were better at blogging about these things as I do them, but, well, I'm just not. Better late than never, right?

What have you been up to lately?

Transitions... Back to Homeschool

It's been more than a week since the last major progress on the remodel.

Scott finished the floors, installed most of the quarter-round molding, and I repainted the baseboards. The electrician installed the new kitchen fixtures. Our friend Brad and his kiddos came over and helped Scott move the furniture back into the house. I still haven't unpacked all the boxes.

Last week I was busy with homeschool planning and prep -- rushing to get ready before spending a lovely, long weekend away at the coast with my mom and sisters for my mom's birthday.

(Bet you can't even tell who turned 60! More weekend pics to come...)

We had a gorgeous weekend at the beach, and I only broke out my planner once. *wink*

My goal before we left was to be able to eat breakfast at home again, so we could jump into our new books in the morning with no distractions.

We'd managed to avoid disposables and the microwave (mostly) this summer by eating at my parents' house, but I finally gave in for the sake of my sanity during this transition.

On Monday, our local public schools welcomed kids back to classrooms, while we spent the morning at a favorite park catching frogs in the man-made creek with some homeschooling friends to celebrate not going back to school. We saved that for Tuesday.

 

(Not my kiddo, but he sure was excited about the frogs!)

On Tuesday, we broke out the binders, the fingerpaint, and the new books...



Imagine my joy when I heard at the end of the day... "I can't wait to do homeschool again tomorrow, Mom!"

Phew.

Have you started your new schoolyear yet? How's it going?

Homeschool organization

I am constantly reorganizing our homeschooling stuff. (And by "homeschooling stuff," I mean books, toys, games, curriculum, etc.)

My hubby's always saying, "You're moving stuff around AGAIN?"

"YES!" I answer. There's no one perfect way to organize when your needs keep changing; it takes regular effort!

Part of our spring cleaning in April was to sift through the things in the boys' bedroom. Because the three boys share a room, I've tried to simplify what we keep in there.

They each have a drawer or two for miscellaneous treasured objects. The fish tank and hamster cage sit on the dresser. One small bookcase holds chapter books and science books they like to read to themselves.

Legos, Nerf guns, Hot Wheels tracks, and stuffed animals are the only toys in the bedroom -- just their favorites.  I prefer to keep Legos separate from most of the other toys -- they're easier to clean up that way! They also have the biggest floor space in their bedroom.

We reorganized their books, and gave away a few, so the rest fit better on the shelves. I moved the puzzles and games that were being ignored into the cabinet in the playroom. Eldest spent several hours sorting the Legos from one giant tub into smaller ones, and now they fit on the shelves where the floor puzzles used to be.

I've tried to arrange things around the house according to how and where we like to use them. Right now I've got most of our books in the living room, plus some puzzles and games. I moved the game table and four chairs by the front window. The boys have loved that spot for playing chess, cards and Dinopoly, and there's room on the floor for puzzles. Library books are in their own basket in a corner.

The rest of the games are in the cabinet in the schoolroom, arranged by age level from bottom to top, so Littlest can easily reach things he might like. His toys are all at that far end of the play/schoolroom around his rug, which has been working AWESOMELY since I moved everything!  He goes in there to play by himself when no one's available to join him, and he's spent a lot less time on computer games.

Most of my education books, curriculum we're not currently using, and future history literature, are in my little office (currently a giant mess) off our bedroom. The older boys have their Math/Latin/History binders on their desks in the play/schoolroom, which they can easily bring to the dining table if we want.

Science kits, Bible and history books (except ones we're not using yet) are on the dining room shelves, because we usually read Bible and history while snacking. Unfortunately, I'm going to lose those shelves in the remodel, so my next project is to find a new place for them!

What I plan to do is see what I can pull out of the dining room closet, and put the science stuff that's on the dining room shelves into that closet, but make it accessible somehow.  I also want to get a book basket for each boy that can be kept in the closet and brought out for school on the dining room table.


Fyi, while I like to organize, I am not the best at daily housekeeping. Things usually get pretty messy around here during the week, and then we have a big tidying-up on Saturdays. But since everything has a place, it doesn't take very long, and the boys can all help!

I really like the Thomas Jefferson Education idea of The Closet as a means of inspiring learning. I just happen to spread our Closet all over the house!

How do you organize for homeschooling and indoor play?

Preparing for Christmas

The lights are up, the stockings are hung, the decorations have been out for two weeks...

 

The tree is finally complete, the shelves have been dusted, the toys decluttered, laundry folded and put away, fridge and freezer stocked, three batches of cookies baked. Everyone has helped to make the house festive...

We've had our first Christmas party with friends.

My shopping is just about finished. (My crafting was hardly begun.) The packages that cluttered one end of my dining table for three days have been mailed.

Even the weather is ready for Christmas. The mulberries -- the last trees to change color each December and announce the impending arrival of Christmas -- have dropped their leaves, carpeting the neighborhood in bright yellow shag. The rain has been cleaning the air outside.



So, when will my heart be ready? Why does it feel so heavy?

I simplified. I planned. We made our own fun when the plans were derailed. The derailing continues, but that's to be expected. Two colds and the flu in the middle of sugar and stress season.

I am off my diet, friends. We've been reading our Advent book, but I haven't been doing my own devotions. I am not taking care of myself, nor am I spending enough time with the Lord. We are all suffering for it. The house may look festive, but our hearts are not feeling it.

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.
--Matthew 3:1-2

I have a week to spend down on my knees, to let Him teach me patience while I cry out in impatience, to put my eyes back on Him, where they belong. I have a week to slow down, and give my energy to my family, who deserve it.

It is a long journey, this wait for the arrival of the King.