New....Home, Sweet, Home

Well we are in our new home. We are packed in this place like sardines. It sure wasn't very easy taking everything that fit in a 2200 sq. ft. home and transfering it to a 1500 sq. ft. home. Wow! we have lots of "stuff"! Thank goodness for a 3 car garage to store things in.

Now the process of unpacking and deciding what things are necessary to keep. Once that is done, it will be a little more comfortable in here.

I have my kitchen unpacked and organized. My wonderful Mother was here to help with that!

Now off to start another day of unpacking and organizing. It has been kind of fun to start off fresh!

Must ..pack.. boxes!!

I feel a little over whelmed! I can say that because absolutely noone reads my blog anyway....hehe! Packing stinks! But it is coming along ok. I guess. Who knows until you are done if you are going to have every thing finished on time. I am having a hard time with the fact that I haven't even started downstairs. Yikes! Another living area and 2 bedrooms!!

The walls upstairs are beginning to look bare. Also, I had no idea that little odds and ends had taken over my house. Chotchky stuff is everywhere!!

So far, the packing tips are helping. It is wonderful to have my tape, marker and scissors handy. However, the 5 boxes a day hasn't really stuck. Yesterday was very productive. I think I got 4 packed. And I made my 2 boys pack one each. Hey, progress is progress. I think I count 14 packed so far. Not bad! And that doesn't include the 5 bags of clothing and other items I took to a Thrift shop day before yesterday.

So off to begin another day.....but a cup of coffee first. I have my priorities you know!!

Moving Mayhem!

I have moved a few times in my lifetime. And I can admit that I have never done it well. Organization and time management completely fly out the window for me. Each time I have said, "I will do it right the next time!" Well, here I am. It's the next time. Will I do it right?

Therefore, I have turned to Flylady! I have found some wonderful hints for packing. Here are some that are working great so far. And they are a source of stress relief for me!

1. Pack about 5 boxes every day.
2. Have all of your packing supplies handy.
3. I got an old apron that has pockets. In my pockets I put a small pair of scissors, large permanent marker and a roll of packing tape. When I put on my "packing" apron, I go to work.

We'll see in a few weeks, if this was my successful move.

Strike Over!

I went on a MOM strike the day after Mother's Day weekend. Noone even seemed to notice. Pretty much like every other day! So I guess it really doesn't matter whether I keep the house neat or not. Therefore I am going to work to satisfy a different purpose.

I Cor. 10:31; Whatever you do, do everything for God's glory.

Now I must work on the attitude. I will look to Proverbs 31.

There is no way to De-clutter Motherhood!

There really is no way to de-clutter motherhood! And I don't know if I would ever want to try. I love being a mother. From the time I knew I was expecting my first DS until now, have been some of the happiest and messiest times of my life!

I went to see the movie, The Backup Plan. Though the character chose an artificial method to become a mother, I can understand her reasons. However, this movie had a scene that described motherhood/parenthood in this way...."It's awful...then It's awful.....then It's magical" Funny stuff!

So, as I listen to my 10 year create music on his keyboard, ask him to hold it down ("It's too early on Saturday to play that thing!" is what I whispered downstairs, loudly.) Then he runs upstairs to turn on the TV, on the only morning that I have peace and quiet. With my coffee cup in hand, I will watch yet another cartoon, that I have hard time calling a cartoon, because I was raised on Bugs Bunny and the Flintstones, and in my book Kick Buttowski and Chowder don't count. And I will love every minute of it!

Ahhhh!...Weekend...or is it?

I was so looking forward to this weekend. It meant I had made it through another very hectic week of teaching and being mother. This week was even more chaotic. DH left for a 2 1/2 week business trip, 1st grade students sang their hearts out on Thursday night (150 of my students and 170 of my co-teacher's), and DS #3 is packed and off to Mighty Mini Camp at church.

So for me, a weekend means CATCH UP! I can finally get to detail cleaning that gets neglected. And the mountain of laundry that seems to pile up for a family of 5, will finally shrink down to a small hill. I hope! And yes, I do a load a day to keep CHAOS away.

Flylady allows me the choice of opening or ignoring the emails that are filled with inspirational testimonies and missions to be completed. I have chosen to save all of my emails and open them each Saturday. Then I spread the missions throughout the day. This is what seems to work for me. Therefore, I consider myself to be a weekend Flyer. Every weekend you will find me relaxing with my laptop, between missions of course!

DH

If you are new to Flylady, or you have never followed her, I will explain....DH = Dear Husband. And Wow! I do have a dear husband. He takes such good care of me. I left school yesterday with a pounding headache and my throat on fire, so he has been taking care of me since he got home from his 13 hour day at work. This has even included a wonderful breakfast this morning, followed by cleaning the kitchen afterwards.

He was raised by a Mom that taught him a strong work ethic. The habits she taught him have carried over into our marriage. Sometimes I find him to be too much of a perfectionist. But when he helps me, I never have to worry that something won't get done. He even shines the kitchen sink. And he has never followed Flylady!

If it is Dusty - Declutter It!

My current goal is to declutter and organize my closet. As I slide each hanger to the side, I find so many excuses to hold on to garments that I know I will never wear or I just don't like. I found it really humorous that many of the clothing items were discolored with dust along the tops of the shoulders where they were draped over of the hangers. Pretty sad! They had hung there so long that they were accumulating dust, lots of dust!

So a new rule for declutter: Unless it is a decorative item, which seems to collect dust no matter how often I clean it; then, if it is collecting dust then it will be considered for either the trash or the give-away box.

My closet should be free of clutter in no time!

The FlyLady dispenses house-cleaning advice to thousands - KansasCity.com

The FlyLady dispenses house-cleaning advice to thousands - KansasCity.com

I AM NOT BEHIND!

I am not behind! I will not try to catch up! I am jumping in right where I am! Thanks FLYLADY for allowing me to feel forgiveness. I have failed up to this point to complete tasks and begin new ones, but Flylady's philosophy helps me put the past in the past.

Ahhh! Home organization. I have never claimed to be the perfect manager of home organization. I tried real hard to coin my "commercial cleaning" phrase. That worked this way, as I was watching TV, every time a commercial would come on I would jump up and do a little cleaning....unload the top rack of the dishwasher,...next commercial, the bottom rack. Well this method worked for a while, then I realized that I couldn't be in front of the TV long enough to get everything done.

Flylady has shown me that grace, mercy and forgiveness are included in her method. Mercy: Not recieving what we actually deserve = condemnation for procrastinating, or slothfulness, or whatever lead to the disorganization. Grace: Recieving something that we don't deserve = a chance to feel ok about being so far behind. Forgiveness: Can only be describe by Psalm 103:12 - "As far as the East is from the West; so far has HE removed our transgressions from us!"

So off, to jump right in with both feet, once again! The past is behind me now I claim I Corintians 10:31, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

FlyLady Can Help!

Have you ever visited flylady.net? I did for the first time about 10 years ago. I love her philosophy for home organization! Even though I was a convert many years ago, I am here today to testify that, though you are backslidden in your ways, you can still come back. My home did not get this way over night, and I will not be able to clean it all up in one day!



Flylady sends me e-mails everyday to keep my organization and cleaning routines on track. Confession: For the past 6-7 YEARS, I have been deleting them without even opening them! Sorry Flylady! But she does not hold a grudge! Her site picks right up where our relationship left off.



I find myself needing to get my home organized enough to place it on the selling market. After a quick survey of this said home, I find that there are corners that I haven't even looked at since we moved in. I will now start where I am, and move forward!



So if you are a SHE and your home is in CHAOS... Join me in my flyjourney! I will be the one completing daily missions, flinging, putting out fires and blessing my home! I will be reading my daily e-mails which will include encouragements and missions for the day. If I don't get it done that day, I will start over the next. Flylady.net is free! And hopefully, my home soon will be free as well.......I don't mean we are giving it away, I mean free of clutter:)

Bye, Bye Christmas Clutter!

Christmas clutter is going away today! I have boxed everything carefully, then labeled the box with it's contents. In the event that we have a move in our near future, this will be very handy. Everything is headed for the storage room.....yeah!