The Living Room Project

I have not gotten 40 bags out in 40 days, however I have  been working on my living room as I have had time. It isn't anything major,b tu I'm not looking for major projects. I'm looking for completed tasks. The main reason I have been so relaxed about this is because I have been spending time with my infant son.

I did make labels for my storage boxes and spent today working on the project intermittently. It is not quite completed, and I will probably need to create more labels. I am about little victories and the big picture. I will keep working on this room until it makes sense to move on towards the next one. I will keep chipping away at my living room list that I have. 

Part 1 of 40 Days, 40 Bags: The Living Room

Last year, I participated in 40 Days, 40 Bags for the first time! I loved the experience and while I didn't get as much done as I was hoping too I am excited to be participating again this year. Though, realistically my first week is going to be a little relaxed. Since the baby will be here by then! 

Our living room is the biggest public space in our house (our bedroom is equally as large, but we don't have friends hanging out in there.) We have our TV stand and TV, our couch, two end tables, 3 chairs, and our coffee table which is actually my grandma's World War 2 army trunk. We also have a large shelving unit from Ikea that my mom and I designed to provide us with some very necessary storage. You have probably heard me say it before-- We have NO storage! I have been working on getting things put away where they belong, but it is a very slow process! 

I have also been trying to get our laundry done, so that I don't have to think about what we are going to wear after the baby comes. It is also where I usually do our sorting, folding, and it gets used as a drying rack as well. It creates a lot of chaos in this space. There isn't a lot that we can do about it... I hate using our clothesline (when it is nice outside) because I feel like I have to rewash everything because things get so dusty. That isn't very helpful in terms of cost or energy efficiency. 

Today, I made a rough plan of what I want our shelving unit to hold, it is prime real estate in our house and I want to make sure that we getting the best use out of the space as I organize and declutter other parts of our house. I feel like there is constantly other things that I need to get done, before I can move on to another project. It totally doesn't help my ADD brain. It is especially frustrating because I feel like I am never done with a project... but I guess that is how it is with home ownership. I will just keep working on it as diligently as I can. 

This year I don't have a "schedule". This is because I underestimate how much time things are going to take. This is discouraging because I don't get as much done as I think that I should. My plan this year is to make a list of tasks that I want to get done in that space besides decrapifying. I will also be doing cleaning after I get through the purging stage. I need to keep our house a little cleaner with the wee one, so I am going to be trying out some different methods to find a hybrid of ideas that work with my family, schedule, and space. Here is what I am hoping to get done besides organizing our shelving:

• Label boxes of crafting and office supplies. It needs to be easier than having to open every box to find what you are looking for.
• Repair lampshades. The top trim keeps coming off the lampshades. I don't understand why they do that. They are new... and one was even returned because it did that before. So, I am going to just glue the trim back on and be done with it. 
• Set up the pack n' play. We need a space to change the baby down here and so we need to get that set up. 
• Set up the sound system. It isn't the end of the world if we don't, but I figure we might as well be using what we have. 
• Hang wall art of some sort. We have one wall space that is completely empty, but unfortunately it is right above our heater. The Doc doesn't think that anything paper will be a good idea. I am sure we have some artwork that can go up there and will look great. 
• We need curtain tie-backs. The living room gets a lot of light, but the curtains don't necessarily stay open. I am thinking that I will make something out of ribbon. 

The goal is to make our space more usable for our little family! So, tonight's agenda is finishing up the laundry, putting clothing from the couch away, and dealing with this little pile of miscellaneous things in the middle of our living room floor. I also want to find a new space for our stroller. I think I will just put that in the back corner for now.

A Season of Waiting

Right now there are a lot of things that I am waiting on. There are projects at work that I am waiting to hear about, we are waiting for baby to come, I am waiting for spring to arrive because I honestly just can't handle anymore cold, and I am waiting to see what our year with our brand new baby will bring. I like routine and I right now I feel like we are just adrift, which we sort of are. Every day gets a little better, and everyday we get a little bit closer to meeting our baby. We are still waiting for baby to come, we are currently 5 days over due... I just keep reminding myself that baby will make it's grand entrance when it is ready. Not when The Doc or I think that it should make it's grand entrance. I had another doctor's appointment today. I was hooked up to the monitors.I dislike being hooked up to monitors, but I like the results. The best part about that monitor is that I get to hear baby's heartbeat. It was showing that I was having some contractions but nothing consistent. I have been at the point of having contractions for the last two week, but they haven't been causing a lot of change. I personally think that the baby is contemplating making its appearance soon. So, while I was waiting for baby to decide if he/ she was going to come today I took a nap in the living room, made myself lunch, vacuumed the nursery upstairs and collected garbage from the nursery. I want the doc to help me with the last two projects we have to do in the nursery. (We also have to install the carseat base in my car, but that doesn't seem to tricky and it has been to cold to fully empty out my car... that and it is really exhausting for me to keep trying to carry things out. I need help with that project.) It doesn't seem like a lot but it was enough to wear me out. I saw a blurb on Facebook about 40 Days, 40 Bags and I am so excited! I accomplished a lot last time, even though I did get sidetracked with illness and trying returning to work early. I don't now how much I am going to get done this time either, but I figure that every little bit helps. The Doc and I have too much stuff, but amazingly enough we didn't gather it all in a day. I have been working on it a little bit here and there since Easter. I think what I am going to do is to make a list of tasks that I want to do for each room, and then work on them either as I have time or the help. That way I can decide how much time I can devote to a certain project and not be stressed out about it. I have some general ideas of what I want to do, and I have some things that I would like to implement for baby. Things like a rotating toy system etc. I don't want the baby to grow up thinking that it is normal to be overwhelmed by your stuff. I want to be very intentional about what we bring into our home and how we organize it. Instead of having to take care of all of our stuff all the time I want to be able to spend time doing activities with our family and friends. This is where I am at today, who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Day 12: Another shopping day

Today wasn't a day that was planned, it was more or less a day that just happened. My mom and I and a friend of ours ended up going to Ikea again today. We needed the drawer bases to complete our shelving project in the living room, and we had things to take back that just weren't going to work in our living room. I find that you never truly know how things are going to work/ look until you get them home. So, my day was spent looking at baskets, and kitchen drawer shelving etc. I love looking at all of the ideas that they have, but what I really like is the fact that I am starting to imagine things in our home and can see a little bit more of what our style is. I am off to bed, because I am working tomorrow. Tootles!

Good-bye 40 Days, 40 Bags??

Sunday/ Saturday was the last day of the 40 Days, and 40 Bags challenge. I don't feel like I finished strong... because work got really busy and decluttering got put on the bottom of the list. It unfortunately happens, but I did get stuff accomplished aI nd that was wonderful. I will keep working on my house projects though. Did I work on projects this past Saturday, absolutely! The Doc is bothered by how much stuff is kept in my car, so he emptied it all out of my car... except my glove box and my cds that I listen to while driving. I sorted everything as it came it. It got put in a pile, and I carried it to the room that it is suppose to go to. There are a few things that don't have a "room", so they are just hanging out in our living room until I get more stuff decluttered and organized. The Doc and I also got one curtain rod and curtain panels up! I have had them in my car, waiting for a golden opportunity to go up! We have one more window that needs to have the curtain rod and panels put up, but we are making progress! Apparently the curtain rod for the other window is too short, because that window is wider... I'm not sure how I missed that while measuring. I am really excited about the new curtains, not the measuring mishap! I think that they will look nice! They are a reddish-burgundy color. The color on the package said "sangria" I believe. I didn't wash/ press them. They are a little wrinkly, but I figured I would hang them up for a week.If the wrinkles or lines didn't come out by then I would fuss with them a little bit more. I learned a lot about myself during this initial project of decluttering. I learned that: I need a very flexible plan. I don't do well with tons of structure, because I need to be able to switch it up to meet my needs. I found out that I had no problems getting rid of "stuff" when I actually thought about the last time that I used it. I also learned to prioritize my "stuff", somethings just weren't useful to me anymore. It needed to go. To make room for things I really love. If you want to continue reading about my decluttering and the second phase of decorating/ organizing look for them under the House to Home label. As soon as the decluttering phase is done I will start adding photos of the rooms as we go into decorating mode. I'm still waiting to get all of the furniture into our house and putting it where it needs to go. I am glad that I did this project though, it was just enough motivation to get started working in our house. Until next time....

Thoughts on hospitality

Hospitality is one of those gifts some people have and they make it seem effortless, smooth, and just so impressive. I wouldn't say that I am one of those people, I forget dessert or there is clutter in our home or something else like that. I started the 40 Days, 40 Bags project to force myself to go through the belongings in our house and really think about what we need, use, and what really would be beneficial for us. The project has not gone as quickly as I would like since I started this project. Part of the reason is am working as a long term sub full-time, another reason is I feel like I have to have rooms perfect before I move onto the next project. This has been discouraging to me, but reading this post on Hospitality from The Nourishing Home has been really helpful. Here is the link: http://thenourishinghome.com/2013/03/discovering-the-heart-of-true-hospitality/ Hospitality is one of those things that The Doc and I can do. We don't have wheelbarrows of extra money or a fancy house; I am okay with that.That doesn't diminish the desire to develop relationships with people and meet their needs. There are a lot of people who need friendship, a place to feel safe, and to feel welcomed and loved. We can do that in our home. It has a lot of quirks just like its human and canine occupants-- it can be a tool in our arsenal of demonstrating Jesus Christ's love. I love parties of all sorts, but it isn't necessary. Easy to prepare food and beverages allow more time for what is important. I'm not saying fun isn't important, but buliding relationships need to be our focus. The article helped give me focus and gave words to what my heart was trying to tell me. I will keep working on my project well past Lent... because the goal doesn't end just because Lent is over. It just brings new focus to my goals. Do you love to entertain? What is your goal and what tricks/ tips do you use to accomplish your goal?

Lost Steam

I realized that I have not blogged for almost a week, I apologize for that... if anyone is still reading. It got hectic here and both my decluttering and blogging were pushed aside. Today I am able to blog because I'm home sick from work. The doc thinks that I came across a bit of salmonella poisoning and it has wreaked havoc the last couple of days. I need some clear inspiration and goals. So, today I'm taking this opportunity to come up with a new game plan. I am making a list of everything that I would like to accomplish in the house and organizing it in a way that makes sense to me. We did get all of the paneling up in the bathroom for now. There is a corner that will need some additional work before we can put up the last little bit of paneling. It is nice to see progress in the bathroom. The Doc has done such an awesome with the paneling. I haven't been able to pound in the nails or fill in the holes with wood filler due to my being sick, but that will happen probably this weekend. I don't think that I will get all of the rooms organized before my 40 Days, 40 Bags challenge is done... but that is okay. I will just keep working on it until it is done. It is a process, and with all of the reading I have been doing about decluttering and minimalism, being "intentional" about our home is the goal. I will just keep working on it until, it is completed. I'm going to work on my list so that I can create a better plan.

Scrub-A-Dub

Today is the day we start putting up our paneling! Once our paneling is up we will be able to plumb in our washing machine (it is currently in our kitchen)and we will finally be able to to put up some shelves in our bathroom! I don't know about your house but here real estate (i.e. shelf space) is at a premium and we really just don't have enough of it. It we be so exciting to have a place for towels and the other miscellaneous bathroom stuff. The bedroom project has been put on hold, until the bathroom project is done. Yesterday, The Doc spent the afternoon looking for stud walls, which is a pain in of itself. The plastic has been laid on the living room floor so that as soon that we can start cutting as soon as we need to! I love being able to see progress in our house. I just need to remember that even if I don't see progress, if I keep chipping away at it will get done and be fabulous! What do you do for bathroom storage?

The Unexpected

There is a lot of unexpected things that happen in this life, these things can be both good and bad... and I'm finding out that this true also with my 40 Days, 40 Bags challenge that I'm participating in. As I keep decluttering I have come across strong attachments to things, that I didn't even know that I had. I also have come across feelings of frustration and anger in the fact that we have so much stuff. I am trying to keep in mind that the reason I joined this challenge is to remove the stuff in our life so that we have time to enjoy each other's company and have the ability to entertain friends, and next year have the ability to put up our Christmas tree, because the response there are boxes of stuff everywhere won't be a legit reason anymore. I break down projects into smaller chunks, I think about whether or not I have used an item in the last 5 years and if I will actually use it if I had it out... and amazingly enough the answer is getting easier to be honest with myself and say no. For me that is a great improvement. I will need to keep working on the bedroom, but I'm getting closer to being done. I dusted off our night stands and rearranged them... they look so nice. It will be a fantastic feeling when I am completely done. For now though I just need to keep working on it, and if I need to take a break every once in awhile so be it! I hope everyone is having a great day!

Hey Hey! Ho Ho, Stuff You Just Got to Go!

So, I was going through all of the stuff in our bedroom, and I have made some progress... but I have realized two things about myself today. Self-Realization #1: I have total project ADHD! My husband was commenting on it earlier in the week, saying that I am working on stuff and making progress and then I change midstream and work on a different project that will help me complete my overall goal. I am trying to not do that so much now that I know that it is a problem, but at the same time if I am seeing progress and I am able to cross some stuff off my list I'm okay with because quite honestly I have a really short attention span. Self-Realization #2: The most expensive items in our home are... our diplomas! Doesn't that just want to make you break into our home and take 4 pieces of paper that nobody else would find useful. I have a bachelors of arts in linguistics and The Doc has 3 diplomas. He has a bachelors of science, a masters of science, and a doctorate of veterinary medicine! There was a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and swearing that went into achieving proficiency in our chosen fields. Even if someone was crazy enough to break into our house and take our diplomas, they wouldn't be able to steal our sense of accomplishment, our sense of pride in our, work or any of the memories that were made during that process. This realization has made it a lot easier to get rid of stuff today! Happy Saturday everyone! I should probably get back to work The Doc needed my assistance with repairing the plumbing, and I needed a nap because I was exhausted.

Project No. 2

I have decided that organizing our bedroom will be the best use of time. Since other than our closet it will easy to show a lot of improvement in the bedroom. It has been busy here with car troubles, work, and unpredictable weather. :)

Day 6 = Project 1 In the Bags

Annie and I are basking in the glory of the first completed room. If you don't know who Annie is, she is our rescue pup, not a real person as she is sometimes mistaken for. When I am home she spends a good portion of her day with us since she it is so bloomin' cold outside today. She did however get to run around outside for about 15 minutes just now to chase the pheasants that were brave/ stupid enough to come up close to our house. Project 1 of 40 Bags, 40 Days is in the history book. Project 1 was to declutter our living room and create a welcoming layout using our furniture! That has been accomplished; and let me tell you it creates its own housekeeping high. I don't think I would ever type that phrase, but then again I didn't think that I would ever get my living room done. I chose the lving room because it one of the rooms that we spend the majority of our time in. We sit in here to talk, we watch movies, and surf the internet in here. It is also our biggest room in our house besides our bedroom. Each project has two parts. The first part is to get the room decluttered, unpacked, and organized in a pleasing/ efficent manner. The second part is to decorate that room with our personal effects and all of the lovely wedding presents we got from family and friends! I am waiting to do the decorating part until the decluttering is done, because you never know what you are going to find in a box in this place (both good and bad). I will need to pick another room for tomorrow, but for now I am just basking in the glory of not having to hop over anything, being able to play with the pup in the middle of our living room and know that I can relax in this room. I am going to go buy curtians for this room. I found some curtains with colors that have the colors in them that are morphing into this room's color pallette. They are on sale at Menards for the weekend! Woohoo! Tomorrow I am going to post pictures of what my room looks like tomorrow. One of my pictures came out very dark and I would like to retake it so that all of the pictures can be together. I'm off to fold laundry and make supper! Have a great night!

Furniture

I have come to the point in my living room decluttering project where the layout just isn't jiving anymore, and so it is time to start moving furniture around. I am doing some research (i.e trolling pinterest for ideas) and will then start moving furniture around and moving some of the boxes to their more permanent homes. Pictures will be coming eventually. It is just taking me awhile to get there. I am unsure of what my next project will be... I'm trying to decide between the bathroom, the front porch, and my kitchen. All of these spaces are on my list for 40 Days, 40 Bags so it really doesn't matter which one we do first. Though, I am a little more anxious to start on my front porch. It is small enough and really just needs some decluttering and moving of the furniture around. It might also get some hooks for The Docs winter work gear. Coveralls, take up ridiculous amounts of space. Yesterday's progress was minimal and there wasn't really anything to report other than I wish that all of the decluttering was done. I did however get underneath the kitchen sink decluttered and have some ideas for organizing it this summer after I can sand and paint it with windows open. :) I should probably get started on my decluttering tasks for today... I am ready to be able to move onto a new project.

Our Weekend

I just pluggin' away in our living room. It is getting closer to being done which is will be great. I am starting to layout my living room furniture in my head, which I kind of like. The current arrangement isn't permanent and it isn't really working for me right now... The current layout is utter craziness and is creating a bit of a traffic flow issue. The Doc and I did however drive to Grand Forks, ND for the George Strait/ Martina McBride concert. It was a fantastic weekend with fun and relaxation, which was very much so needed. We danced, sang, and just hung out. It was lovely and being able to relax isn't something that happens very often.

My Stuff, My Journey

As I get more into this project during the Lenten season it is going to get harder, because I am a natural hoarder. Not like TV show hoarder, but enough that my stuff makes it difficult to be organized and feel comfortable in our home. Much of this stuff I have had for 22+ years and so there is some real emotional attachment to it. It should be "just stuff" but there are a lot of wonderful memories attached to my stuff and so it makes it that much harder to get rid of. I keep reminding myself of the William Morris quote:

"Have nothing in your house that ou don't know to be useful. Or believe to be beautiful."

If it is useful or beautiful or even both, then we will have no problem finding a place for it in our home. It will be interesting to see how both my husband's and my different styles come into play as we are able to finally start decorating our home as we get everything put away. The challenge came at the right time as I was starting to feel overwhelmed by stuff and wanted to be able to get things organized and start feeling settled. Not because people were telling me that I had too, but rather because I want to be able to have a less chaotic home and I wanted to be able to open our doors to others. What good is having a home if you cannot demonstrate hospitality to others. So during the processing/ planning phase I came across these questions from Home Your Way. It is definitely worth the time it takes to read it! Happy Saturday!

Day 3: A Weird Mishmash

So yesterday I did a weird mishmash of things, because i was kind of spazzy for some reason. I took out "The Docs" farm collection just so that I could visusally see what was there and which peices were the biggest because I needed to measure them. We will be buildeing a custom build a shelf around those pieces because we want everything to fit. After everything was on the floor I realized what time it was and had to run to town to do some errands. while in town at my parents house I cleaned an entire trash bag out of my car, and that was just the front seat and what I could grab from the back. I need to still clean out the back seat of my car and take the rug out of my trunk, but my office isn't until a little later in the 40 Days, 40 Bags so it will just hang out there for awhile. When I got home all of the groceries went in their cupboard and the farm collection got put back in its box for now and the other mish mash of stuff is going into their designated boxes until I get to that room. Happy Saturday everone!

Organizing Day 2

So, I have come across an interesting problem as I starte decluttering my living room this morning, that there really isn't anyplace to put things that I have sorted and wanted to keep as of yet, because the rest of our rooms are just as crazy and cluttery... so my solution so far is I have 3 Cashwise boxes one is for kitchen stuff, one is for my office belongings and one is for misc. tools etc. I dont think that we can do this forever, but as the house is sorted the boxes will also get put away too, so it might be that our living room is going to end up being the last room put together even though it is the first room to be decluttered. What I did today was:1) unpack one box, (threw away anything that I didn't want, need or couldn't use and put things in the appropriate box until we can start putting more and more stuff away. I think that I might have to also do some designing as well to have an idea about what I need during this process/ transition. 2) washed two loads of towels, and folded some laundry that were washed the other day. As soon as the dryer is done I will start folding laundry. 3) picked up all of the strings from our dogs toy... she likes to shred her toys and they were all over the place and were making us batty. The overall goal of 40 days, 40 bags in our home is so that it is organized, finally decorated, and we are able to have friends and family come over without having to move a whole bunch of stuff around all of the time or sit on the floor. It is like the William Morris projects out there... if it isn't beautiful, useful, and you don't love it... then there really is no place for it in your home. I am feeling pretty good about what I have accomplished so far today.It wouldn't look like much to the casual observer but I know that we are a little garbage bag closer to being able to have all of our furniture in our house and all of the things we love around us... It will be worth it even if the decluttering process isn't that much fun. There is still more to do, but that is okay Eventually ecerything will get done.

Hello 2013!

I changed the background, text,and some of the colors on my blog because it was time! I wanted something cute, fun, and a little less bright. The other new thing is that yesterday was the first day of Lent and instead of "giving something up" I decided to become better organized. The Doc (ie my husband) and I haven't fully unpacked since our big move in October... truthfully boxes have been shoved into our closet to the point where I have no idea where any of our stuff is. I was surfing Pinterest a few days ago and found this challenge 40 Days 40 Bags 2013 Declutter Challenge from (www.whitehouseblackshutters.com ) If you want to join me! Yesterday, I started by putting all of my clean laundry and laundry baskets away! It is ins't anything truly impressive, but it is at least a start. I think that today I am going to sit down and just look at the calendar and create a plan! I think that I am going to start with my living room, since it causes the most stress in our house... and just work my way out and up from there. I haven't decided if I am going to include pictures or not, we shall see. If you are reading this do you want to see pictures of my crazy looking house? Happy Valentines Day everyone! I hope You feel the love of Jesus, family, and friends today! XOXO