A few weeks back I came across a passage of scripture during my Bible study that has been helpful in keeping my attitude right as I dispose of many 'things.'
It's in 1 Timothy, Chapter 6 when Timothy is teaching about contentment. The familiar scripture is verse 7, "For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either," but I really like verse 8, "If we have food and covering, with these we shall be contenet." Really? Just food and covering? And be content? Hmm.
Remembering this particular passage has been helpful as ProjectTwentySix becomes more challenging. And I'll be using it to look at our belongings with a critical eye this week!
Watch for double posts the next 5 days as I catch up from a vacation with DH!
Katie
Showing posts with label Friday Narratives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friday Narratives. Show all posts
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Spelling
You wouldn't believe how much time I spent trying to decide how to spell 26. There aren't really that many options, but they all seem right!
In truth, I probably spent about 5 minutes researching and deciding how to handle the spelling issue. But for a homeschooling mom with 4 kids 5 and under this length of time is significant and really, not the best use of that 5 minutes. I should have just asked DH and cleaned a toilet instead.
Katie
- Twenty Six
- Twenty-Six
- Twentysix
In truth, I probably spent about 5 minutes researching and deciding how to handle the spelling issue. But for a homeschooling mom with 4 kids 5 and under this length of time is significant and really, not the best use of that 5 minutes. I should have just asked DH and cleaned a toilet instead.
Katie
Friday, November 25, 2011
Before Photos - Master Bedroom
I must begin by confessing how very hard it is to share these particular photos. While the photos of our living spaces showed some messiness, it is much more personal for me to show the pictures of our messy bedroom. We do manage to make the bed every day, or nearly, but there is a huge amount of clutter.
The view from the doorway. Not so terrible.
DH's nightstand and clean laundry.
My nightstand and stash of items for ProjectTwentySix.
Pile o'junk on the floor. In my defense some of this is related to the linen closet project.
Dresser with all sorts of junk and my clean laundry.
It's really not always this bad, but for dramatic effect it was a good day to take the photos. You can see why I really want to get rid of things and simplify!
Katie
The view from the doorway. Not so terrible.
DH's nightstand and clean laundry.
My nightstand and stash of items for ProjectTwentySix.
Pile o'junk on the floor. In my defense some of this is related to the linen closet project.
Dresser with all sorts of junk and my clean laundry.
It's really not always this bad, but for dramatic effect it was a good day to take the photos. You can see why I really want to get rid of things and simplify!
Katie
Friday, November 18, 2011
Where's the Big Stuff?
A friend has twice mentioned to me that if she were doing ProjectTwentySix she would get rid of the big stuff - just make a big dent immediately. She sees the things I've gotten rid of so far as baby steps when I could be making leaps toward less clutter and more sanity.
I think my friend has an excellent point, but I can't do much at this point to correct the problem. The first issue is that there aren't all that many "big" items to get rid of. We've identified a few large things (like pink, floral couches) but mostly it's small stuff that causes clutter and that I'm constantly picking up. Second it's easier said than done to actually remove any those huge things from the house. We have to have a place/person who wants it and a way to move it. Finally, a lot of our smaller stuff is currently being contained by large items. I'm hoping to part with so many small things by the end of this project that some large items will be 'free to go.' For example, bookshelves holding CD's, movies, and books and filing cabinets that have completely unnecesary papers in them.
In short, you may not be seeing items with a big mass going out just yet. But they will go eventually. I hope.
Katie
I think my friend has an excellent point, but I can't do much at this point to correct the problem. The first issue is that there aren't all that many "big" items to get rid of. We've identified a few large things (like pink, floral couches) but mostly it's small stuff that causes clutter and that I'm constantly picking up. Second it's easier said than done to actually remove any those huge things from the house. We have to have a place/person who wants it and a way to move it. Finally, a lot of our smaller stuff is currently being contained by large items. I'm hoping to part with so many small things by the end of this project that some large items will be 'free to go.' For example, bookshelves holding CD's, movies, and books and filing cabinets that have completely unnecesary papers in them.
In short, you may not be seeing items with a big mass going out just yet. But they will go eventually. I hope.
Katie
Friday, November 11, 2011
Before Photos - Upstairs Living Spaces
Two weeks ago I showed you my scary basement. Today I'm sharing some of our upstairs, where we spend most of our time. It's cluttered, no question, but I hope you'll agree it's not as bad as the basement!
This is a photo of our formal living room. That's 3 couches, 5 tables, 2 chairs, 3 lamps, a curio cabinet, and a plant. On the right, hidden from view, is a secretary desk. We were recently given one of these couches and are trying to get rid of the matching floral couch & loveseat. If we can't manage to sell them on Craig's List or find someone who wants them, we'll try and donate them.
This is the view from the opposite side of the room.
This is the playroom. You can see many toys stacked in those bins on the shelves. Under the window are piles of clean laundry. That's more laundry folded on the couch and tossed over the back. It looks like this about twice a week. My kids have so many clothes that I can do NO laundry for 3-4 weeks and they'll still have clothes to wear. Clothing is one of the big elimination goals for ProjectTwentySix. Back in the corner is an old dinosaur desktop that the kids use for CD-Rom games. It isn't hooked up the internet.
It's humbling to share these "real" photos with you. I know all of us have messy houses sometimes, but usually we can clean up before friends come over. And in truth, my friends have seen my house in much worse shape than these photos show! I'm hoping ProjectTwentySix will make the "real" state of my house better and better!
In a couple more weeks I'll share bedroom pictures. *sigh*
Katie
This is a photo of our formal living room. That's 3 couches, 5 tables, 2 chairs, 3 lamps, a curio cabinet, and a plant. On the right, hidden from view, is a secretary desk. We were recently given one of these couches and are trying to get rid of the matching floral couch & loveseat. If we can't manage to sell them on Craig's List or find someone who wants them, we'll try and donate them.
This is the view from the opposite side of the room.
This is the kids' bathroom. I am purposefully showing these rooms in their "natural" state without tidying up. We toss the curtain up for baths, there is usally hair or teeth stuff lingering on the countertop, and that potty training seat is irritatingly often pulled out from the cabinet.
This is a view of our hall closet. Many, many things get tossed in here. It's pretty organized, but it has to be because there's so much stuff in there! You can see we keep the diaper stockpile, toilet paper, gifts, gift wrap, birthday party supplies and more here.
The view into the opposite corner shows more gift wrap.
This is the kitchen. The island usually has some piles, the cupboards are full of Bible verses and lists, and the fridge has lots of photos of friends, family, and missionaries we pray for conveniently out of the little kids' reach. Up above the cupboards are things rarely used, but requiring parent supervision. In truth, I'm not sure how different this room will look after ProjectTwentySix. We spend so much time in here it's destined to be the most cluttered, but I'm sure there will be some improvement.
This is the playroom. You can see many toys stacked in those bins on the shelves. Under the window are piles of clean laundry. That's more laundry folded on the couch and tossed over the back. It looks like this about twice a week. My kids have so many clothes that I can do NO laundry for 3-4 weeks and they'll still have clothes to wear. Clothing is one of the big elimination goals for ProjectTwentySix. Back in the corner is an old dinosaur desktop that the kids use for CD-Rom games. It isn't hooked up the internet.
It's humbling to share these "real" photos with you. I know all of us have messy houses sometimes, but usually we can clean up before friends come over. And in truth, my friends have seen my house in much worse shape than these photos show! I'm hoping ProjectTwentySix will make the "real" state of my house better and better!
In a couple more weeks I'll share bedroom pictures. *sigh*
Katie
Friday, November 4, 2011
Evidence of Storage Issues
As one of our girls' birthday approaches it is apparent to me, once again, how much stuff there still is to get rid of.
Grandma sent a gift & Aunt Renee sent a gift. Uncle Dan's family sent a gift. Cousin Emma sent a gift. Aunt Naomi gave me a gift while we were visiting her this summer. In addition DH and I have a couple gifts for this birthday girl.
As the gifts accumulate and must be 'hidden away' until the big day I am challenged with where to put this stuff. It's really not that much, and yet it is just sitting in various spots around our bedroom. I don't even have a closet shelf.
By the time this project is finished I hope to have many, many closet shelves with plenty of space. In the meantime, let's hope our daugher doesn't get too curious!
Katie
Grandma sent a gift & Aunt Renee sent a gift. Uncle Dan's family sent a gift. Cousin Emma sent a gift. Aunt Naomi gave me a gift while we were visiting her this summer. In addition DH and I have a couple gifts for this birthday girl.
As the gifts accumulate and must be 'hidden away' until the big day I am challenged with where to put this stuff. It's really not that much, and yet it is just sitting in various spots around our bedroom. I don't even have a closet shelf.
By the time this project is finished I hope to have many, many closet shelves with plenty of space. In the meantime, let's hope our daugher doesn't get too curious!
Katie
Friday, October 28, 2011
Before Pictures - Basement Catch-All
Today I decided to show you what my basement looked like as this project started. It's messy. It's dirty. It's more than a little embarrassing. It still mostly looks like this, but it WILL look completely different 11 months from now!
This view is toward the stairs. There is stuff piled on the stairs - mostly like dressup items that come upstairs and in my haste just toss back down the stairs. The dressup chest is just to the left of the steps. On the right is our Playmobile house up on a table with a million little pieces. On the left is the Barbie castle and barbie tub and our giant TV we don't use.
Looking at the TV, you can see we use the shelves and cabinet to pile stuff up and store VHS tapes. On the right is a closet door to a great, long closet that runs under the whole length of stairs. It is full of boxes, packaging materials and things the I hope(d?) to one day sell on ebay. ProjectTwentySix will get those gone, either donated or sold eventually.
Next, you can see part of DH's movie collection. We are 85% VHS. DH doesn't see why we should replace with DVDs because technology is already past DVDs with digital copies becoming more and more available. He also likes that the kids can't ruin VHS tapes without real effort. DVDs get scratched and broken easily. These are both great points, and I shouldn't complain about a husband hobby that costs $.50 a few times a month! I do feel like this collection takes a lot of space though and it's more "stuff" that entraps us.
This is the view into the other side of our basement. Scary, huh? This used to be our office. A water leak two years ago made us move nearly everything upstairs and it's become a dumping spot for little used office supplies, old papers, and clearly, construction debris. See all the insulation? How about the 2x4s? Does anybody want some free firewood? I'll even cut it up for you if you want to come and get it. On the left is DH's old desk.
This is from the other side of the old office. You can see the desk much more clearly. I don't know yet if we'll get that upstairs into the new office (old formal dining room) or if we'll just hire a carpenter to make a built-in for us. Is resale better in a 5 bedroom house with a really nice office or a formal dining room?
You can also see another section of the VHS collection. On the left you can see the top edge of another bookshelf. That shelf is also full of VHS tapes.
This is looking into the big closet in that old office. The DIP sign came into the marriage with DH. Does anyone know an appropriate way to dispose of a sign like that? I don't think we're supposed to have it . . .
Those boxes and binders on the shelves are old magazines, DH's art student projects from Digipen, my old Babysitter's Club book collection, and sadly, several boxes that call for exploration and one that hasn't even been opened since we bought our first house over 7 years ago.
Finally, we have giant bags of construction debris. Those are mostly full of sheetrock and insulation. On the left edge of the picture you can see a giant rock that came out of our crawl space and a bit of a fax machine. Has anyone or anyone you know used a fax machine lately? Us either.
Please share any thoughts. I can take it!
Katie
This view is toward the stairs. There is stuff piled on the stairs - mostly like dressup items that come upstairs and in my haste just toss back down the stairs. The dressup chest is just to the left of the steps. On the right is our Playmobile house up on a table with a million little pieces. On the left is the Barbie castle and barbie tub and our giant TV we don't use.
Looking at the TV, you can see we use the shelves and cabinet to pile stuff up and store VHS tapes. On the right is a closet door to a great, long closet that runs under the whole length of stairs. It is full of boxes, packaging materials and things the I hope(d?) to one day sell on ebay. ProjectTwentySix will get those gone, either donated or sold eventually.
Next, you can see part of DH's movie collection. We are 85% VHS. DH doesn't see why we should replace with DVDs because technology is already past DVDs with digital copies becoming more and more available. He also likes that the kids can't ruin VHS tapes without real effort. DVDs get scratched and broken easily. These are both great points, and I shouldn't complain about a husband hobby that costs $.50 a few times a month! I do feel like this collection takes a lot of space though and it's more "stuff" that entraps us.
This is the view into the other side of our basement. Scary, huh? This used to be our office. A water leak two years ago made us move nearly everything upstairs and it's become a dumping spot for little used office supplies, old papers, and clearly, construction debris. See all the insulation? How about the 2x4s? Does anybody want some free firewood? I'll even cut it up for you if you want to come and get it. On the left is DH's old desk.
This is from the other side of the old office. You can see the desk much more clearly. I don't know yet if we'll get that upstairs into the new office (old formal dining room) or if we'll just hire a carpenter to make a built-in for us. Is resale better in a 5 bedroom house with a really nice office or a formal dining room?
You can also see another section of the VHS collection. On the left you can see the top edge of another bookshelf. That shelf is also full of VHS tapes.
This is looking into the big closet in that old office. The DIP sign came into the marriage with DH. Does anyone know an appropriate way to dispose of a sign like that? I don't think we're supposed to have it . . .
Those boxes and binders on the shelves are old magazines, DH's art student projects from Digipen, my old Babysitter's Club book collection, and sadly, several boxes that call for exploration and one that hasn't even been opened since we bought our first house over 7 years ago.
Finally, we have giant bags of construction debris. Those are mostly full of sheetrock and insulation. On the left edge of the picture you can see a giant rock that came out of our crawl space and a bit of a fax machine. Has anyone or anyone you know used a fax machine lately? Us either.
Please share any thoughts. I can take it!
Katie
Friday, October 21, 2011
Friday Q& A: Where's this all going?
I've been lots of questions about what I'm doing with all these things I'm discarding. A great question that I always love to answer.
1. Trash - Some things just go straight into the trash/everyday recycle. Broken things, kid art projects, etc. Stuff no one else would want.
2. Donate to Thrift Stores - Lots of this stuff will get donated to my thrift store before the end of the year. I also like to take a bag to Value Village for the 30% off coupon when I plan a shopping trip there.
3. Textile Recycling - I love to drop stuff off for textile recycling! I use a ReTex bin near my house and am so happy I don't have to throw away stained things the thrift store can't sell! I also feel so much less guilt about not working at getting a stain out. I can just recycle it.
4. City Recycle Event - Lots of electronics and construction debris end up getting taken to our city's semiannual recycle event. They take anything that plugs in and a whole lot of other stuff. I've even taken prescription drugs there because I don't want to spend the time properly disposing of them myself.
5. Given Away - Just yesterday I took four boxes of baby items to my MOPS group to give away. I just love to share the 'wealth' with these ladies who are earlier on in their mothering journey. I also have given some baby gear to the nursery at church. And pretty much when I hear someone needs something I have it and I love to help.
6. Consignment - Some stuff will end up at the consignment shop. I don't want to store things all winter long for a garage sale so I usually take a lot to consignment until about March when I start collecting for a summer garage sale.
7. Garage Sale Pile - Due to this project I am planning to donate everything left after the garage sale. I also absolutely, under no circumstance, can bring anything that is in the garage sale pile back into the house. Period.
That about sums it up so far. We'll see where else our ex-belongings end up . . .
Katie
1. Trash - Some things just go straight into the trash/everyday recycle. Broken things, kid art projects, etc. Stuff no one else would want.
2. Donate to Thrift Stores - Lots of this stuff will get donated to my thrift store before the end of the year. I also like to take a bag to Value Village for the 30% off coupon when I plan a shopping trip there.
3. Textile Recycling - I love to drop stuff off for textile recycling! I use a ReTex bin near my house and am so happy I don't have to throw away stained things the thrift store can't sell! I also feel so much less guilt about not working at getting a stain out. I can just recycle it.
4. City Recycle Event - Lots of electronics and construction debris end up getting taken to our city's semiannual recycle event. They take anything that plugs in and a whole lot of other stuff. I've even taken prescription drugs there because I don't want to spend the time properly disposing of them myself.
5. Given Away - Just yesterday I took four boxes of baby items to my MOPS group to give away. I just love to share the 'wealth' with these ladies who are earlier on in their mothering journey. I also have given some baby gear to the nursery at church. And pretty much when I hear someone needs something I have it and I love to help.
6. Consignment - Some stuff will end up at the consignment shop. I don't want to store things all winter long for a garage sale so I usually take a lot to consignment until about March when I start collecting for a summer garage sale.
7. Garage Sale Pile - Due to this project I am planning to donate everything left after the garage sale. I also absolutely, under no circumstance, can bring anything that is in the garage sale pile back into the house. Period.
That about sums it up so far. We'll see where else our ex-belongings end up . . .
Katie
Friday, October 14, 2011
Why 26?
I think I'll try to answer questions and have a little narrative on Fridays.
For today's installment I'll answer the question that 95% of folks have asked when hearing about Project TwentySix: "Why 26?"
Answer: Several years back I went to the home of a friend and fellow mommy. Her name is Mindy and her home was spotless. Really. Not a loose paper or wayward toy in sight. I naturally asked her how such a thing was possible. Her response was a casual "Oh, I throw out 26 things a day." My response was a jaw-dropping, "What?!" These were the days of hubby working hard at two and sometimes three jobs while I waitressed on Saturday nights. We had two very small children on a very tight budget. I couldn't imagine throwing anything away at that point because somehow stuff made me feel more secure.
Anyway, back to Mindy. She explained that when she brought the mail in or brought the kids home from school the first thing she did was toss papers out. No extra papers floating around, period. Usually this was between 15 and 20 pieces of paper and it wasn't too hard to find a few more things in the bottom of the toybox or wherever. I was impressed.
I took the idea home and for awhile threw out 16 things a day. I thought she had said 16. Later a mutual friend saw my 'chore chart' and said something like "Oh, Mindy does that, too. But she does 26 things a day."
"Really?" I don't know which one is right, but this mama brain can't always trust its memory so we're going with 26.
If Mindy ever hears of this project, I'm sure she can tell the true story. Regardless, I've committed to 26. The website name is purchased so I'm stuck with it. I like the three syllables better anyway.
Katie
For today's installment I'll answer the question that 95% of folks have asked when hearing about Project TwentySix: "Why 26?"
Answer: Several years back I went to the home of a friend and fellow mommy. Her name is Mindy and her home was spotless. Really. Not a loose paper or wayward toy in sight. I naturally asked her how such a thing was possible. Her response was a casual "Oh, I throw out 26 things a day." My response was a jaw-dropping, "What?!" These were the days of hubby working hard at two and sometimes three jobs while I waitressed on Saturday nights. We had two very small children on a very tight budget. I couldn't imagine throwing anything away at that point because somehow stuff made me feel more secure.
Anyway, back to Mindy. She explained that when she brought the mail in or brought the kids home from school the first thing she did was toss papers out. No extra papers floating around, period. Usually this was between 15 and 20 pieces of paper and it wasn't too hard to find a few more things in the bottom of the toybox or wherever. I was impressed.
I took the idea home and for awhile threw out 16 things a day. I thought she had said 16. Later a mutual friend saw my 'chore chart' and said something like "Oh, Mindy does that, too. But she does 26 things a day."
"Really?" I don't know which one is right, but this mama brain can't always trust its memory so we're going with 26.
If Mindy ever hears of this project, I'm sure she can tell the true story. Regardless, I've committed to 26. The website name is purchased so I'm stuck with it. I like the three syllables better anyway.
Katie
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