Summer's Over So Where Am I?

Again, I really stink at this challenge.  Sigh.

So, here's what's been happening this summer.

My oldest told me he wanted to do a "stand".  I figured out later, that he must have overheard me talking to a friend about a past yard sale, and realized he wanted to do a yard sale.  I tried to gently talk him out of it.  Then he came to me with a handful of DVD's.  I told him which ones were OK to keep and which had to stay.  He ended up finding 5 he wanted to sell.  The he decided he wanted 5 toys to sell as well.  Here is the result of what his yard sale consisted of.

He was ridiculously adorable!  He made a sign that said "Yrd Sal" and was shouting "Yard Sale" hoping someone would stop by.  The only person who walked by was an exterminator or apartment worker.  He quickly became very disappointed when no one stopped by.  Now, we were only out for about 1-2 minutes.  After telling him to just wait, we decided to move closer to the pool, thinking there might be more traffic.   We set him back up there, and it didn't help.  He was so deflated.  My heart breaks just thinking about it.  My little started yelling "Yard Sale", and my big stopped him.  He just didn't want any attention drawn to him.  I felt so bad.  I wished I had known someone that was around so I could have called to have them stop by.  We didn't stay out long before we packed it up and put the toys and DVD's away.  I told him the next time I saw a community yard sale, I'd buy a table for us and he could try again.  I haven't brought this day up since.  I just feel so bad for him.

Later in the month, I went to a scrapbooking crop.  I fortunately or unfortunately brought home more than I went with. I won a couple of raffles and games, so that was good, but bad was that I ended up taking more stuff home.  I also won a basket that I don't remember bidding on, so I must have put my ticket in the wrong bag.  It's not stuff I want, so I'll try to sell it if I can do that yard sale!  There was also a free swap table and I took a ton of stuff home from that.  I bought a bunch of paper flowers too.  Sigh.

Last summer I bought a grill to celebrate my big's birthday.  Only because the friend who was going to let us borrow his forgot and took it away for the weekend.  We used the new grill for the party and three days later, our apartment complex put up permanent grills and told us we had to remove ours.  Ugh.  Well, a few weeks ago I finally decided our grill didn't need to be in our storage unit any more, and gave it to the guy I work with.  Brand new grill, used once - with tin foil so the grill is pretty clean, gone.  Wasted money.  But, the party we bought it for was fantastic, and I gave a gift to a coworker who will use it and appreciate it.

So those are the big things from the past couple of months.  I am still impressed with the day to day things I'm throwing away.  I'm not keeping every piece of paper with a drawing on it, I'm not keeping sticker pages with one sticker left on it, I'm tossing small broken crayons. Tonight while the kids are out, I'm throwing away homemade bug catchers they made in camp.  They are cute and my kids love bugs, but they bought a plastic catcher that we bought when we visited the bug museum, so whenever they find a bug they want to use that one.  They won't miss the decorated shoeboxes with mesh covering a hole in the top.

I really want to get back into this (I know, I know I've said that before).  Along with my de-cluttering I've been wanting to organize better.  There is a great monthly checkoff list that I've been using for a while, but again, I'm behind on that.  There are also two 30 day spring cleaning checklists I've been holding on to (considering it's now the end of summer you can see how that has been going).  So the other night, I put together a calendar.  Each day has a chore on it from one of those lists.  I have it spread out onto dates to the end of September, but I'm OK with that.  I think it's realistic.  I want to incorporate my daily chores and meal planning as well.  I'm hoping it becomes a great visual for me to get back in gear.  I'm already a little behind on it, but I'm thinking this is going to be a good week to get started on it.  I'll have to add the September check off list soon, but I'll get things done when I get them done.  Sitting here now I've realized I need to print the calendar out.  Then it can be right in front of me and not sitting on the computer that I sometimes hate to get on, because I end up doing 20 other stupid things instead of doing what I got on to do.

Hopefully you'll hear from me soon!

I Hate Throwing Away Food

Yesterday, I cleaned out the fridge.  The bottom shelf was disgusting!  There was some kind of liquid on it, I'm hoping it wasn't from raw chicken. I was tired of looking at it, so I cleaned it.  I also went through all the food, and unfortunately threw a bunch out.

The expired condiments weren't that hard to get rid of. I mean, if the mustard says it expires in 2012, then by July of 2013 it's OK to throw it away.  I was bummed my Chinese duck sauce (I can't find good duck sauce here.  It's so much better in Massachusetts) was expired though.  Not that I use it that often, but I'll probably forget I don't have any the next time we order Chinese take out.  What really hurt to throw away was leftover veggies that were forgotten about, leftover pasta and other dishes that for whatever reason my husband refuses to eat (then I forget about them or make new food for me and the kids).  I also threw away a brand new bag of rice milk cheese.  I bought it when Whole Foods was out of the vegan cheese I buy, thinking my milk allergy kid could eat it.  Turns out, the casein is just enough to make his throat itchy.  Now I just need to clean the bottom drawer!

There was a birthday in the house last  month, and three balloons have been floating on the ceiling since then.  One deflated about a week ago, but I wasn't allowed to throw it away. I finally put another out of its misery yesterday, and threw it away before anyone noticed.  That made it easier to throw the other one away today.  Chuck E Cheese is still stuck to the ceiling, and although tempted to get rid of it, I think I'll let it stay for the weekend.

A Ring, Among Other Things

Tonight, I threw away a toy plastic ring.  It was hidden between a kid mattress and the kid bed.  It won't be missed.

Tonight I also realized, I don't have motivation to blog.  There, I said it.

I really do want to keep trying at this.  I'm really doing well at not personifying things and throwing that stuff away.  Tonight I went through a bag of papers that I had put into a bag to clear off the table.  The bag was sitting on my craft table, and I've spent an hour or so a couple times this week trying to clear the craft table. I went through the bag tonight and tossed expired coupons, drawings from the kids and some other random papers that I just needed to toss.  After the kids went to bed, I looked at my computer and thought, I just don't want to sit and type.

Maybe some of that is because my computer is a laptop with a broken monitor hooked up to an ancient monitor - definitely not a flat screen.  It's set up on top of an old end table that is too low for me to type at, and with no room to put my legs.  But, it's what I have.

Maybe some of it is that the weather is warmer, hot and humid even, and I just don't work well when it's hot.  Maybe some of it is that I'm just not motivated to do much lately, and being lazy is much more appealing.  Maybe I'm not motivated because I'm too overwhelmed at what my house is looking like right now!  A busy life is great, but it does nothing for housework except add to it.

I don't know what my deal is, but sitting and typing this now, is making me feel much better.  It's a busy day tomorrow, but hopefully I'll clean and toss something, so I can eventually get out of my rut.

Slow Going

I was able to throw away a few things every day since my last post.  Unfortunately, it wasn't much.  What I'm happy about is the change in attitude I have.  I think I mentioned before it's getting easier for me to throw things away.  For instance, there was a small plastic skull face with arms laying on the floor.  Instead of picking it up and putting it back in the toy bin, I tossed it out.  The kids won't miss it.  I tossed some papers that came home on the last day of school.  I tried to toss a 1/2 rubber ball out today (it's some kind of suction cup toy thing) but I was caught, and since it only came home from the dentist's office today, I gave it back.  I threw away some sticker sheets that still had a sticker or two left on them - we have plenty of stickers.  I threw away some art work too.  Now that's a toughy for me, but I'm better in the end. Tonight  I took pictures of the art work that is hanging on the wall so tomorrow I can start taking down some of those. Little by little....at least I'm still in the game.

Rubber Ball, Martyr

Mommy made good on a promise.

The kids just wouldn't pick up their stuff tonight.  I came home from work and there were new toys scattered across the living room, complete with packaging, and a few bread rolls to boot.  The boys were excited there were new toys to play with, so I didn't mind too too much, but the trash and food I was so not impressed with.  Then they got out the new science experience book.  Then after we created on experiment, they wanted another.  My response, not until you pick up.  Well, the 2nd experiment never happened.

I probably asked them to pick up for an hour.  At some point during that time, not only did I take a break to have my own dinner, but I told them if the toys weren't picked up by the time I finished eating and picking up my mess, then their toys would go in the trash.  Not well received as you can imagine.  Didn't help much though.  Sure a few things were picked up, but there were tons of complaints, and many tears as well.  Finally, I picked up a small rubber ball, which we have plenty of, and threw it in the trash.  Lots of tears, but movement began to happen in the cleaning department.  Later I had something else in my hand to throw away, but I let it be taken out of my hand and put away properly.

I really didn't want to throw away their new toys, but I needed to make good on a threat. I feel good about it, because I was able to carry through when the job wasn't done.  My point was made, and in the long run, they aren't going to care about the ball, but they may remember it for some time.  I may have to use this again, and I'll have to make sure I carry it out in the same way - I'll make sure there is something of little worth to me, something that just adds to the clutter, that I'll be able to throw away if need be.

Avoidance

So, I've been totally avoiding this blog.  I'll think about sitting down to write, and think, nah.  I'll think I should throw something away, and then I don't.  I turn on the computer, open a new internet tab, and I see this blog as one of my most frequented sites.  All I have to do is make a "click" and I'm here, and I just don't do it.  I feel bad, and guilty, but I get over it.  Somewhat anyway.

I'm just not motivated right now.  I'm not motivated to do much of anything right now.  I'm not sure why.  I recognize it, and I'm even at the point where I think - Yeah!  I'm going to do something about this.  But I don't think about thinking about what to do.  Blah!  I really need to get back on the horse (See, I told you I think about changing), so I forced myself to write tonight.

I do want to get back into this.  I really do want to force myself, so we'll see how the rest of this week goes. I have learned from this experience so far, though.  When I see a random item, I definitely think about throwing it away, rather than not even having that thought come to mind.  For instance, I have a pile of stickers that the kids can use for their crafts.  Before, if a sheet even had one sticker on it, I'd save it and put it with their other stickers.  Now, I'm throwing it right out.  They have plenty of stickers and they aren't going to miss this one.

Last weekend, the kids made sand art necklaces.  The sand is all mixed up and one necklace was in the car, and the other was in the house.  I almost threw out the one in the car as I was cleaning, however, I decided to keep it because I thought if the kids see the one in the house, they are going wonder where the other is, and someone was going to get sad that they didn't have their necklace.  My husband found the necklace and asked if he should keep it.  I explained why I kept it, but then told him to get rid of it.  I really want to get rid of the other one too.  My husband wanted to keep the plastic necklace container actually, but I said no.  At least this stuff is getting easier for me.

Here's to a new attitude!  Let's see how far it goes.

A Basket Full of Trash

I took a personal day from work yesterday, sent the kids to school, hubby was sleeping all day, which meant I had the day to myself.  So....what did I do?  I cleaned the kids' room.

I did some major laundry on Mother's Day (what a thing to do on Mother's Day, hey?) - so much so I had to go to the laundromat.  There were still 2 baskets of laundry sitting in their room, and some birthday clothes from Grandma and Grandpa's visit from the day before, so I started with putting that away.  I also picked out a few things out of their closets that were definitely too small and/or too winter and put those away.  I tidied up their closets a bit and they look better than they did a month ago when I cleaned them.

Next I made the beds (which I rarely do) and put some pillows and stuffed animals on them.  As anyone reading this blog knows, I love stuffed animals and can't really bare to part with them.  I've whittled that down before, so now I just need to find homes for them all.  I cleaned off the top of the bookshelf (which I organized not so long ago and it still looks good - could be because we are doing a lot of library lending lately.  Right now we have 37 books checked out of the library!) and put all the story characters, Big and Little Nutbrown Hare, Curious George and Mr. Knox to name a few, on top.  I cleared the top of what used to be the dresser attached to their crib, and put the rest of the animals on that. It looks good.

Then, I conquered the tall bookshelf with all the coloring stuff, arts and crafts and games.  With the extra shelf that used to store stuffed animals, it all looks great now.  There is more room so everything is not cramped and messy looking.  Since the animals are gone, there isn't going to be a constant spill out from the bottom shelf that I'm always picking up.  I'm happy with what I accomplished yesterday.

I haven't talked about the trash!  I did mention a  few pieces of winter clothing I put away, but I also cleared out all the leftover pull ups and swimmies.  I'll give those to a friend.  I put a puzzle book into my Salvy pile. I threw out a puzzle that was missing a piece, and threw out some paper that had been cut up and colored on.  I tossed a few coloring pages, broken crayons and old stickers too.  It filled up their bedroom basket, so that's pretty good.  I'm sure I could really go through more, but nothing is really over flowing or messy, so I'm ok.

I didn't have the chance to clear off their dresser, but I can do that today.

Yard Sale!

Much of last week was spent preparing for the yard sale.  My husband and I went through our books and DVD's, the kids helped me go through their books and DVD's, and without the kids' help, I went through their toys.  I went through all my holiday decorations, gathered a box of rubber stamps and a few other crafting items, and a few odds and ends.  I was most excited to sell the outgrown kid's clothes.  I had a full tote of summer stuff and a full tote of winter stuff.

Well, the yard sale was Saturday - and it was a beautiful day for it!  I made about $100 (took home about $60 after the food we bought and the cost of the table space, and I sold a lot of stuff at 25 cents and 10 cents), but most importantly, I got rid of so much stuff!!  All the DVD's went, and the kid's DVD's that didn't go, I gave away to a friend that was hanging out at the end.  I also gave away whatever books I had left.  The adult books I gave to the guy who was next to me, because he had 100's of books, and was selling them left and right.  He gave us a couple to take home that my husband was interested in.  The leftover kid's books I brought to the Salvation Army.  I only had a couple of stamps left that I ended up donating, as well as a few holiday decorations.  Some Christmas decorations I kept because I still use them, but I just wanted to thin out what I had.  I donated a whole bag of plastic Easter eggs to the church because sometimes they have Easter egg hunts. The most surprising part of what sold, was that it was not the kid's clothes, but their toys!  Usually any clothing I sell goes lighting fast.  I didn't think the winter would go as fast, but not that much of the summer stuff went.  I had probably two people that came and bought $5+ worth (everything was 50 cents a piece), and a couple of people that bought one or two pieces, but that was it! I still have a lot left.  I brought it home, because I want to see if I can either sell it online, or donate it to someone I know or know needs it.  When all else fails, I'll put it on freecycle.com or I'll bring it to the Salvation Army.  I knew the toys would go, but it pretty much all went!  Even the cheap McDonald's toys!  Since the church that held the sale is next door to where we live, I had my husband go home and bring a few more things out to sell.  I was pumped and kept thinking the whole time "What else can I get rid of?"

Monday I met with the woman who bid on and won the scrapbook service I offered at the silent auction fundraiser.  She wants me to scrapbook baby boy pictures!  What luck!  I have LOTS of baby boy stickers, papers and embellishments, and I found a blue gingham scrapbook as soon as I walked back in my door after meeting her.  I may buy some more things, but I'm excited because I won't spend the $50 like I was planning too, and I'll use up some of my own stuff, getting rid of it.  Two birds, one stone....bam!

I threw away a few non working pens this week, and tonight I'd really like to go through my pen basket to see how many else I can throw away.  I think I'll end here, and go do that.

Reversed Weekend

So, I think I remember saying I was going to get rid of clutter, not start collecting more.  Well, not this weekend.  I started the weekend by gathering some more craft supplies to get rid of. I came up with a baggie of colored pencils.  Not much, I know.  I'm happy with myself for getting rid of them though.  I have nice watercolor pencils, and the kids have tons of colored pencils, so they were pretty easy to part with.  Tonight I went back through and tested all my regular (as opposed to pigment) ink pads and threw a couple away and put a couple away for the yard sale.  Some of those pads are so old, but they still work fantastically!   I also tested and threw out some magic markers.  Those were really old too, and those were not working well.

That's about all I did this weekend.  However, what I took into the house, was much, much more.  Friday I "won" a basket at a silent auction.  I paid $90 for $300 worth of stamping and cardmaking/scrapbooking supplies.  So, it was a good deal, but more stuff in the house. Some of it, like a stamp set in French, I already donated to a swap table at a crop I was at on Saturday (I put a few other things on that table too, like a couple of punches and things).  Some of it I used, which was nice, and the rest I kept.  I also spent $55 at the crop on new paper and scrapbooking items.  Sigh.  I finished 7 pages at the crop, but I don't think I threw away a lot of packaging and scraps.  I don't think I made any kind of dent in my supplies.  I also had a couple of people give me some of their paper that they didn't want any more.  I love the free supplies, but I really need to get rid of some stuff!!

At the silent auction, I offered my scrapbooking services, and I just got in touch with the woman who bid on it.  Although I'll be buying new stuff to make her book, I hope I can get rid of some of my own stuff, too.

Another Week Goes By

Gosh, I'm starting to suck at this.  Last week was crazy busy for me.  I was up late most nights working on a fundraiser for my child's school.  I didn't realize how much work that was going to be.  I did get a little me time in over the weekend, but it was also a day away from home when I had so much to do.  My little one's birthday was yesterday and I didn't buy presents until Sunday!  Although still busy and still stressed, I think things are a little better now.

Last week I did throw away a pair of shoes.  The sole was coming off, and instead of gluing them back together like I thought I should, I chucked them.   I liked them enough, but I have other brown shoes.  Today wasn't bad.  I took a mental health day today to take care of me.  I napped for most of the day, but I did go through a pile of receipts and put them in a recycling bag.  They had been sitting around for months - some since before the new year (there was even one from September)!  I had saved them because I was trying to keep track of grocery expenses and what I was saving in coupons, but I was so far behind, I gave up.  This year I'm not keeping track of those things.  I am keeping track of overall expenses this month so I can start a budget next month.  That's another project!

My husband was a dear today and cleaned the house.  I can't tell you how much of a relief that is for me!  There is still a large pile of papers in the dining room, and a few spots of small clutter, but I can actually breathe!  When cleaning the bathroom, he took out the potty seat and travelling potty seat, and I told him he could through them away.  We don't use them, and although I thought maybe we could use the travel seat, I figured we really hadn't used it before, so why not pitch it.

I also went through my stamping drawers.  I don't really use my rubber stamps anymore, so I gathered a large shoebox full and I'm going to try to sell them at a yard sale.  I also decided that whatever I don't sell, I will donate.  I could probably get rid of so many more, but I keep thinking that maybe I'll use them.  I might go through those drawers again before the sale and see if any more call to me to be thrown away.  I found a few other card making/scrapbooking items to pitch as well.  I still have more drawers to go through.

Speaking of scrapbooking, that me time I was talking about was spent at a crop.  I was able to use up some of my stock so I'm a little lighter in that area.  I didn't through away a lot, only because I didn't use the entire package of something.  I also bought some, not a lot, of stuff at the scrapbook expo last week, so I'm not sure I'm really ahead in making scrapbook trash.

Hopefully I can get back on track this week.  The yard sale in two weeks will hopefully motivate me.

Finally...The Kid's Closets!

This weekend I've finally had some time to go through the kid's closets.  I've been wanting to do it for a while, and now there is a stack of laundry waiting to make it's way in as well.  I know what sizes I'll need this summer, so I started with the tote that's been in the closet since last summer.  Since it's all too small now, that tote is now sitting outside of the bedroom.  I've started filling up another tote too.  Since winter is officially over, I've been tossing some outgrown winter stuff in there.  I'm also starting a pile of winter things to be put away for next year.  The kids both have birthdays coming up, so I want to make room for that new summer clothing!

I have some more motivation for getting rid of things.... a yard sale!  The neighboring church is holding a yard sale at the beginning of May, so I really want to go through things everyday so I can have a good stash of stuff for the sale.  We could really use the money, so I'm excited what this could look like.  Kid's clothing goes well, so by May 4 I'll have completely made my seasonal switch.  I might even throw a few more things in there too just to thin some stuff out.  The kids are blessed with very giving grandparents, so anything we depart with will be replaced by fall.  And anything that doesn't sell that still fits, I can keep.

I took 2 pairs of shoes to church today to give to the service trip.  It looks like they had quite a few donations as the shoe pile was quite large.  I think there was going to be a shoe weigh in after 2nd service.

One Book at Least

So, I'm slacking again.  I think I threw something out Sunday, but I don't remember what it was.  I do know though, that those shoes I took out of my closet, are going to a good new home.  At church I found out there is a group of people from church going on a service trip and they are collecting shoes.  I think they get money for shoes turned in or something.  Anyway, this weekend, I'll give those shoes to them.  I need to remember that my eldest's school is also collecting shoes.  I don't remember the specifics of what shoes they are taking, but I'll have to remember that if I have more shoes to get rid of, I'll need to bring them to school.

I don't think I really got rid of anything this week.  I've been going through email again, but since every day I get to work and there is a message about my mailbox being close to full, I'd say I'm not deleting enough.  Today, though, I did look at some of the larger files I have and got rid of them (one was actually so big it was called Enormous!).  I also haven't been going over my organizing and spring cleaning check lists.  Tuesday I had a committee meeting (for a school fundraiser) and then I worked that night, so I didn't have much time that night to go through anything.  Yesterday I dealt with work drama from when I left work til a few hours later, so when that was done, I was just plain lazy.

Tonight has been a little different.  I went through the kids' bookshelf.  I think I went through it a week or so ago (I guess I'll have to check my blog posts to see if I've counted that already), but I think all I pulled out were holiday books.  There just isn't anymore room for books, and I know I'll be buying some more books soon, so something has to be done.  So, the holiday books will go into storage until next year. Those were still in the room, so I pulled them and put them in the spring decorations tote that is still sitting in my living room.  (I really need to put my Easter decorations away.)  I did throw away one book though.  It was a book that had some magnets with it, and the magnets could go on the pages so the kids could make their on scenes.  However, my little one chewed every magnet, so the pictures on them are ruined, one sticker/paper has come right off the magnet, and one is gone completely (missing, not inside my kid's stomach).  So, tricky mom snuck it out tonight.  When I cleaned out the shelves a short time ago, I pulled another book too.  I hid that one under their dresser, because my little one still wants it, even though I think it's too young for him.  I want to bring it to his school to see if one of the classes there wants it.  I'll try to remember that tomorrow so it leaves my house.

More Closet Cleaning

I already cleaned out my closet, however, yesterday I set aside a few more things to donate.  When cleaning, I almost took out an outfit that I haven't worn for awhile, but decided to keep it and made it a point to want to wear it this week.  Well, I put it on yesterday and the shirt had magically shrunk in the closet!!  Funny how that happened!  I also took out two pairs of shoes, that I really liked, and are new, but don't fit.  I really needed a pair of grey shoes and my mom bought me a pair for Christmas.  I only wore them a couple of times, but they were too small.  I was hoping I'd break them in, but yesterday when I looked at the size, they were really a size too small.  My mom also bought me another pair of black shoes for Christmas that were 1 1/2 sizes too big!  I'm not sure what she was thinking, but it was nice of her to buy me the shoes anyway.

Tonight I went through the hall closet.  I've organized it recently, however there was one shelf I really hadn't touched.  First, my husband has a habit of bringing umbrellas home from work. I didn't even know he had stashed three of them up there!  I kept them, but moved them to better locations.  There was also a growing collection of scarfs and hats up there, that found new homes.  Thrown away were some baseball caps and other hats that my husband is just not going to wear.  Gone!  He took a few things out and put them in a bag (like a baseball mitt - he only ever takes that one when we go to a rare baseball game!) and said he wanted to keep them.  I told him it was OK, but living in a bag on the handle of the closet door was not OK.  I think he ended up putting the bag in his closet.  I had asked him to clean his closet, but he told me he didn't have much to go through so he didn't think he needed to.  Whatever.  His closet isn't in my way so as long as things don't start creeping out, I'm OK.

I still haven't cleaned out the kid's closets, but hopefully soon.  I stay on top of those pretty well (the kids are nowhere near babies anymore but I still find myself nesting in there!), but there is a ton of laundry that needs to be put away, and it's also time to start a change of size and change of season purge.

Improvements for Me

This has been a good week of cleaning and purging for me.

Tuesday, I threw away a pair of orange plastic fangs that the boys still like.  They were sitting on the bathroom sink because my husband had just used them.  I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's big for me.  I really have de-cluttering on my mind.  First, I normally consult the kids before I throw away anything that belongs to them.  As you can guess, I don't get rid of everything I'd like to when I do it that way.  Second, the kids still use and enjoy these.  I'm not mean - really. I just saw them on the sink and wanted to throw them away rather than put them away.  It was in impulse decision that I don't regret, and the kids won't miss the plastic piece of junk.  They have so much, they really won't be missed.  Besides, I think there is a green pair still in the toy bins.

Wednesday I finally went through the shelf in my linen closet that I've been wanting to get to for a couple of weeks.

It's a mess, right?  As you can see, I have attempted to keep things organized with baskets and containers. The problem is I've got too much that I don't need and the baskets are filling up.  I had mostly empty sunscreen bottles that were probably too old to be used, and a basket filled with sample sizes of men's hair creme that were old when my husband was using them, but has since changed his hair style.  I also had bay lotion and powder in there that I got as shower gifts when I was pregnant with my first (that was 6 years ago!).  Some of it had expiration dates on them and they were never opened! Well, I went through it all, and I'm really happy with the results.

I'd still like to go through that emergency baby first aid kid that's in there.  I'm sure some of it can be put in other places now.  The kids aren't babies anymore.

This is all the stuff I got rid off.

Not bad for about a half hour's work!

Yesterday wasn't as good.  We went on the hunt for a baseball shirt for school.  I did, though, get rid of some more work email because I got that silly "full mailbox" message again.  This time, though, I went through the "sent" box which I hadn't done before.  Boring stuff, but at least getting rid of clutter is still on my mind. 

Another thing I did yesterday was make some lists.  I think I've mentioned this before, that I have started following a website that has printable monthly lists for simplifying my house around me.  I've also printed out two more "30 days of spring cleaning" lists, and I sat for a while and looked at those lists and updated them and modified some of the items.  For instance, one day I am supposed to rake the leaves in the yard.  Well, I don't have a yard, so I changed it to pull and clean out all of the leaves and pine needles from the hood of my car.  Instead of organizing the attic and basement, of which I don't have, I'll be organizing my storage closets.  The first items on the lists are taking inventory of what I want to do.  Well, let's cross that off the list!  Here's to 30 days of action!

It's Been a Productive Day Off!

We've been away for the weekend, so I couldn't do much house cleaning.  However, I've been busy since we've been back.

First, my car is clean, well, sort of.  All of the crayons and toys and movies and papers, etc., have been picked up and taken into the house.  All of the trash has been placed in the dumpster.  Now, it needs a vacuum and the seats/floors need to be scrubbed, but I'm very happy to say that it's emptied out!  That usually doesn't happen!

Last night, I went through their VHS movies (yes, we still have VHS movies) and was able to have the kids agree to donate some of the tapes.  They don't watch Bob the Builder anymore and Elmo's World really isn't their thing either. Besides, we have a password for Netflix and there is Youtube, so we can probably find what we need, if we need it.

Today was great too.  I cleaned out my closet and found some clothes and old pocketbooks to donate.  I threw away a faded sweatshirt and a pair of broken boots too. Then I went through my bedside table and made a pile of magazines/catalogs that I'll donate to my kid's classroom, threw out a bunch of random papers and things, found new homes for things that didn't belong, and really organized those two drawers. Now the top drawer needs some more straightening up, but everything in the drawer has a theme and a
purpose for being there.

I'm excited about the work I did today, and I'm excited to get more done this week too.  I really love that I'm getting rid of things I don't need any more, simplifying, and organizing all at the same time!

Tomorrow my goal is to organize the kids' closets and find something to do with all of their outgrown clothes!

Broken

I was disappointed in myself for not throwing anything away yesterday.  I laid in bed bothered by it.  I guess I went through my work email again and deleted lots of stuff, but since I've done that a few times, and it doesn't really get rid of physical clutter, I feel I can't count it again.  Well, kinda.  Anyway, I threw stuff away today.

Today I threw away an Easter decoration.  Yesterday one of the kids dropped it and an ear fell of a bunny.  I was going to glue it back on, but today I noticed what I thought was another piece that broke off.  It's actually picture holder that I don't use, so I thought I'd get rid of it.  As I was throwing it away I realized the 2nd piece I found wasn't from that bunny.  The bunny it came off of is still ok without it, so I'm going to keep that one, minus the broken part.  I also threw away a broken tv tray.  The top has a crack in it, it's been there.  Tonight I noticed that the metal bar keeping the top together is unscrewed, and the hole is cracked open so a new screw would stay.  It's now sitting near the garbage, ready to head to the dumpster.

The other nice thing about getting rid of these items, is that it checks something off another list I have.  I printed out some monthly to-do organizing sheets, and something on this month's list was to fix something broken or throw it away if I don't have intentions of fixing it.  Two birds, one stone.

A Gold Box

I bought an Easter gift for my niece tonight. I KNOW I have gift bags - I have a ton, but the gift is kind of big and thought it might be nicer wrapped.  I have one roll of non-Christmas wrapping paper, that sits inside a gold box, accompanied by a roll of tissue paper and gift tags.  It's flowery, and would look nice wrapped around an Easter gift.  I've had this wrapping paper for years.  Probably for many years.  No, definitely for many years.  It was purchased from a school fundraiser that I probably bought before I moved into this apartment, and I've been here for 3 1/2 years.

I dug the gold box out from behind a crate filled with gift bags (yes, a crate) in my closet.  To my disappointment, there was only a small amount of paper left, most certainly not enough for the gift.  So...I threw the box away.  I have a bag filled with tissue paper, so I put everything in there.

Not huge, but I threw something away.  And now I can blog about what I threw away today.

Old Medicine

I've had other things on my mind this weekend this weekend, so I wasn't really thinking about things to throw away. (Sweet 16 baby!!) Tonight, however, I had a renewed sense of happiness related to filling up a trash bag.  With a little help from an organization blog, I decided to tackle my medicine cabinet.  I thought it looked pretty good because I cleaned it out a few months ago, but I still found a few tubes of this and packages of that that were expired. Out they went!  There is also a bottle of men's cologne that I'd like to get  rid of, but I really should ask my hubby about that because it's obviously his.  I'm hoping I can pitch it because he never wears it.  I also have a tube of toothpaste that I'm going to donate to my kid's preschool.  The older kids brush their teeth after lunch, and this is a flavor my kids don't like, so instead of throwing it away, I'll donate it.  Yay!

I still haven't tackled my hair accessories shelf yet though!

Low Key, But Still A Win

Yesterday I went through the kids' toy bins again.  I didn't necessarily mean to, but many of their toys decided to take a bath, so I did some organizing as we were putting all the toys back.  I didn't throw out much, probably just a couple of McDonald's toys, but I'm OK with that.  The bonus is that the toys are organized again and some of them are clean!

Today I finally took out the Easter decorations.  Well, the tote they are in has been sitting in the living room for almost a week, I just opened it up today.  I have a bunch of plastic eggs that although I don't plan to use this year, I'm not going to throw away just yet.  I did throw away a handle-less basket.  I have a couple of large plastic eggs with clear lids that I thought about throwing away, but the boys said we could use them to put candy in this year.  We'll see.  I think whether or not I use them this year, they won't make it to next year.

(I also rec'd the dreaded work email that said my inbox was getting to full.  I permanently deleted some stuff, but didn't really go through much else.)

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Yesterday I was able to make some progress at home and at work.  At work, I made another purge from my yearbook office.  I threw away a 2001 Penn State yearbook.  We have yearbooks from other schools so we can get ideas.  I'm not sure the trends of 2001 are still the trends of 2013.  Besides, now we have a 2011 edition.  At home, I was hoping to clean out the shelf of my linen closet that holds all my hair supplies and toiletries, but instead, I cleaned out two drawers in the kitchen.  I didn't get much thrown out, but I did reorganize and put things back in their homes where they belong.  I now have a drawer that stores only baking supplies...cookie cutters, dough roller, cupcake wrappers, etc.  However, I don't really bake.

Today, I vacuumed out the back seat of my car.  I wish I had taken a picture to show how gross it was.  Popcorn, candy, broken crayons...ugh!  Today was over 50 degrees finally, and the rain stopped.  It was a good night to go to the car wash to vacuum.  I'm hoping to get some more work done tonight as well.  We'll see.