Creating A Home Office - When There Isn't One

I have 2 goals for today.

1) To get at least 5 of my 'no-longer-needed' homeschool items listed on ebay.  I've come to the realization I don't have the time to get everything listed at once, so if I do a few a day that may work.  Only one problem....I've been up since 2:30 this morning. (yes I'm crazy, lol)

2) To clean off my computer desk.  Not as easy as it sounds seeing as my husband and I each own a home business, on top of the fact that we don't have an office/den/spare room.  So our setup is in the living room, in a very little alcove.  I do about 1/2 of my crochet designing from there, so there's usually balls of yarn, handwritten notes, contracts & estimates for my hubby's tree removal biz, etc.  It wasn't bad until tax time.  I was an accounting major in college, so I do all of our taxes myself.  This year, for some reason, I still haven't organized and put all the files downstairs. 

We'll see how it goes.  I'm hoping to get the majority of it done so I can move on to something else tomorrow.

30 Days To A Clean(er) House

Here I am, exactly 30 days before my oldest child graduates high school. That means a graduation party is in order. The problem? I'm embarrassed to have anyone over.  It has gotten so out of control in the past year or two, that I didn't even know where to start. And because I didn't know where to start, I wasn't do anything. But I've slowly been trying to get better. Now that I'm down to the wire, it's crunch time. I devised this plan in my head to start a new blog, where I could hold myself accountable, but didn't have to be embarrassed by someone I new actually finding out I'm not 'Suzie Homemaker'.  Then I wondered, why?  If these 'friends' that I worry about judging me can't support me, then are they really my friends after all.  So, I've changed my mind, and I'm going to let it all out on here.  After all, do I really have time for another blog???
 
I have figured out there is no way I will get my house in permanent order in 30 days, so I'm going to have a daily goal along with my long term goals, starting now. Hopefully I will post something short every day to keep track but between 6 children, homeschooling, laundry, dishes, and my own business, I don't feel like I have two extra minutes. But I'm aware that's my weak area....time management.

My long term goal is to regain permanent organization (with 3 more children than I had back when I was organized), teach my kids to help more, keep up with the chores, go back to using a dinner schedule, write up a new chore schedule for my kids, and more.  

Each day I'm going to have a short term goal too.  Today's goal is to re-clean the kitchen, which was done on Saturday. But somehow, between Saturday and today (Wed) it's cluttered again. I'm learning that daily I will need to 'pick up' as well as have scheduled 'cleaning' chores. There's a difference. If I can accomplish that I will move on to something new tomorrow.  

I'd love to hear ideas if anyone has any.
 

 

Sharing Space

When we got back from vacation a few weeks ago, I took everything except the beds out of my girls room.  Princess Sunshine was still sleeping in our room, and the only way to get her into their room was to get my 2 year old into a bed, so the baby could have the crib.....which meant somehow fitting another bed in their room.  We only have a small 3 bedroom house.  Here's where it gets a little tricky.  We only have one son, who gets his own room, which means there are 5 girls in the other bedroom.  The room is about 10' X 12' which is pretty small for 5 kids, beds, dressers, toys, etc.

So, I decided the easiest way to rearrange was to pull everything out into the living room.  BIG mistake!!!  I got the new bed set up, and I rearranged the furniture for optimal space, but I still haven't had time to go through the toys to see what I'll keep and what I'll get rid of.  So, in my kitchen they sit.  Now that we've started school they may sit there a bit longer.  The longer the kids don't ask for them, the more I just want to get rid of them!  :D  I'm realizing just how little will/would make them happy.  That's been my mission lately.....less is more.  I've been clearing out to make extra room to live.  It's a small house & I'm tired of all the "stuff".

The good thing is, for the most part, they never complain about sharing their space.  They just know that this is the way it is.  Period.  They have space for their own personal things, but they'll never (at least in the present future) have their own room.  

All this is to say, I believe this is why they are so close and get along so well.  They've learned (and are still learning) that it's not just about them.  They do have their moments, but I love listening to them play and include the little ones.  They're even starting to include Princess Sunshine.  Now that she's old enough to be entertained, they will gladly take her for a few minutes while I start dinner, laundry, etc.   

So, expect to see more organizing posts in the weeks to come :)

A New Approach to Cleaning Clutter

Every time I have a newborn in the house I struggle to keep up with the housework.  I start to feel overwhelmed because there just aren't enough hours in a day to get everything done.  Most days I'm doing good if I can get a load of laundry done and have dinner on the table before bedtime.  Once I start to feel overwhelmed I don't do anything.  If I don't have time to clean it to my satisfaction then I don't spend any time on it at all.  Before you know it you're buried in housework.  And for me, I'm embarrassed that it has gotten out of control.  I know I'm not alone and here's another tip on making it work.

If you have one specific area that is an overwhelming problem, or one that you have the hardest time keeping clean, there's hope.  For me it's our island.  Everyone uses it as a dump all.  If they don't want there little sisters to be able to reach, if it needs to be fixed,  if you don't know where to put it, things going out, things coming in.....you get my point.  It all gets put there.  Not to mention, we've been considering moving.  With that in mind I've been using my island as a staging area for things to get rid of, pack, etc.  With 8 of us it feels like a never ending battle.  Just when I get it clean its a mess within a day or two.

So here's my challenge to myself, and to you.  Spend just 10 - 15 minutes everyday on that one spot.  Now here is where it may be a challenge.  It has to be EVERY day.  Here's why.  I tried this last week.  I did great for about 4 days and noticed a huge improvement.  Then we had a couple of busy days and it got pushed to the bottom of my list and didn't get done.  In those 2 days I missed, I had undone my 4 days of work.  So, I'm going to try again this week and see how I do.  Last week proved to me that it needs to be every day not just on days the piles start stacking up.  Anyone want to join me?  I plan on posting my before and after pictures next week. 

Cleaning Using the Three Step Method

I haven't done Tip Tuesday in a while, so here's a new one.

I've read a few books on organizing, decluttering, etc.  The best advice I ever heard was this....I call it the 3 step method.

• Put it away
• Throw it away
• Give it away

The concept is to put everything into one of these categories.  If it doesn't have a home then either throw it away or give it away.  I know it sounds harsh, but its an excellent way to go about it.  I'm not perfect at it - by any means - but I'm working on it. 

I used to think, "I might need it someday" or "Once I get rid of it I'll need it."  Then I heard someone say that if you are keeping things that you 'might' need or use someday then you are not trusting that God will provide it when you do need it.  That totally changed my outlook.  I'm working on decluttering.  If you have any other ideas I'd love to hear them.

Sell It - Frugal Friday

I recently heard on the radio that the average household has $25,000 worth of "stuff" they either don't want or don't use!  Are you serious?  All I could think was, "WOW! That's a lot of money!"  So, here's my Frugal Friday tip.  Start spring cleaning and get rid of what you're not using. 

I'm a huge eBay fan.  At one point, years ago, my husband used to tell me he was going to have to start nailing things down if he didn't want me to sell them :).  But in all seriousness.....Why do we keep things that aren't being used?  If we sold the items that are just hanging around, for even 1/4 of their worth, we would have over $6,000!!!  This makes me want to re-evalute what I keep & why I keep it.  Some things may have sentimental value, etc. but if they're just collecting dust.....

If there is something you want to purchase, and can't afford to, this may motivate you.  I tend to use the money I make selling items to purchase my homeschool curriculum for the upcoming year.  I don't like it to come out of our living expenses, so this works perfect.  It does take some effort to sell your items, so if you don't want to take the time, by all means you can donate it too.  You'd still be organizing and decluttering while helping a good cause.

Tip Tuesday

My friend Rebecca at The Blessings of Modern Domestication does what she calls "Tip Tuesday".  She has some great tips every week so check out her blog.  This week, I thought I'd do one. 

Here's a quick tip for organizing your freezer.  Use boxes.  It may seem simple but it makes a huge difference when you're looking for something. 

Here's what part of mine looked like before.  I took all the veggies and put them in a box.  I took all the packaged chicken, hamburg, and other meats, and put them in a seperate box (not pictured).  Then I put all the french fries, and other miscellaneous things in yet another box.  Now when I need a bag of carrots I can go grab one instead of searching through all the items.  Here's what this half looked like when I was done.

Maybe you can't tell from the pictures, but it makes a huge difference.  Try it and see for yourself.  Let me know if you have other great organizing tips.

~Kristine

Time for Action

For quite some time now - probably the last few months - I have been feeling like things need to change.  Not in a bad way, but I need to make the changes.  No one else can do it for me, and they won't just happen on their own.  Then yesterday, I was reading my friend Kate's blog, and it totally confirmed what I needed to do.  I've been thinking, for a couple months, about the changes I need to make, and how to go about getting the results I want, but that's not getting it done.  It's time for me to take action!

OK, here's the story.....
Five and a half years ago, (I'm going back this far in hopes that my story will help someone), I gave birth to a beautiful little girl. That's when our world changed.  The next 1 1/2 years was pure torture.  My husband used to say, "If she was first, she would have been last."  It may sound cruel to some, but she was a very difficult baby.  For the first 15 months she was alive she would scream from 10pm to 4am every single night.  The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with her.....so we would sleep from 8:30pm (when our other children went to bed) until 10pm when she woke up screaming. Then when she fell asleep at 4am, we would go back to sleep until 5:30 when everyone had to get up for the day.  We did this for over a year.  I never knew the ill effects of sleep deprivation until then.  I had no patience for my other children and no motivation to do anything.  Even when I was 'awake' I just didn't have the energy.  My hubby and I both gained 20 lbs. that year.  So, because of these circumstances, I was keeping up with laundry and getting dinner on the table.  Everything else took a back burner, including keeping up with my home.  When she was about 2 1/2 I realized that I needed to get my house back in order.  That worked for a short time, until the next baby came along.  So, here I am 5 1/2 years later, still suffering the effects of long term sleep deprivation, among other things.  It's been a roller coaster.  I'll do good for a while, then, because of a busy week or something else, I'd let things slide & we'd be right back to where we started. 

OK, back to where my story.  God has been telling me to take action and get control of my homemaking skills!  The problem is, I've been working on the plans in my head but have yet to make the move.  Then yesterday I read Kate's blog, and she was talking about similar things.  I believe she even she even said she's going to use her blog to hold her accountable.  That's when the lightbulb went on for me.  I've been trying to figure out a focus for my blog.  So, I'm going to jump on her bandwagon (so to speak) and use mine for much of the same thing.  I'll still blog about homeschooling, fun adventures with my girls, etc., but I believe we are not alone.  With the help of other mom's who struggle with the same thing we can do this.  I've read books on organization. Now it's time to put them to good use.  I'll start sharing some of the tips I remember and hopefully others have tips too.


~Kristine

Jackpot !!!

One of the things I have challenged myself to this year was to not buy anything at the craft store (primarily yarn & pattern books), but use up what I already have. The idea was to save money and de-stash my stash. I did give myself a small budget in case I needed something to finish a project, but other than that I'm going to see if I can make this work. My weakness is yarn, especially if it's on sale. I have an 18 gallon tote in my closet, plus a draw organizer full, so I have plenty to start with. But in the back of my mind I wondered if any of it would work with the projects I have planned.

I'm going to change topics for a minute but stay with me. It will come together.

Many of you know this, but some may not. I am due with baby #6 in the next few weeks. The other day I decided to go down in the basement to pull out the baby clothes and wash them. Because this is girl #5 I have plenty of clothes. I've learned over the years to label bins by size & season to make things easier. Plus, I also have all the bins in size order to make it easier to find the sizes I am looking for. (I'm not quite this organized with other areas of my home :). So, I get down in the basement, go over to the kids clothes and on the very top of the infant stuff there is a bin with no label. My thought was......"Hmmm??? There's nothing smaller than 0-3 months. Why would I not have put a size label on this?" I opened it up and I was like a kid in a candy store.

It was an 18 gallon tote of yarn, plus I found at least one crochet hook in there! As you can see by the picture I have tons of pink (don't forget I have 4 girls), but I didn't even remember putting it there. This has made my de-stashing much more fun. I thought I was going to find baby clothes. Now I have something to look forward to. I wonder what other bins of yarn I've forgotten about. This year may not be half bad after all......

Learning to be Organized.....Again

First let me give you some background. When I was growing up, even into my late teens, I was a 'neat freak'. My sister & I shared a room and I can remember drawing an imaginary line down the center of the room so her 'stuff' was on her side & mine could be nice and clean. At some point after that things changed for me and it became more of a struggle. Maybe because I always wanted to keep things for that 'just in case' time/moment when I might need them. But, as you know, the older you get...the more you accumulate. But it wasn't always about the stuff. It just wasn't coming natural to me anymore.

So.....I'll jump forward to married life. Now you add 30 years of 'stuff' for both of us and what do you get? Double stuff :). We weaned out tons and gave away what we could. We actually did really well. We also had a homegroup that met every Friday at our home, so I had a reason to have the house spotless by Friday afternoon, every single week.

Then our 4th child was born. It all fell apart from that point on. Whatever glue that was left holding my organization together disintigrated. For those that don't know our story....let's just say she was a difficult baby (that's an understatement). She would cry 12-18 hours a day. Every night she would scream from 10:30pm-3:30am. The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with her. Just about every night when my husband would come home I would be in tears (I could still cry, the memories are that strong). I would wake up every morning and tell God...."I know you won't give me more than I can handle, but I don't think you're paying attention. I can't handle this!!!" I couldn't just take a nap during the day because I also had a 1 year old daughter & a 2 year old daughter. Friends and family became reluctant to call my house because they would have to compete with her screaming. Because this went on for 15 months, I had nothing left to give my house. I don't mean my family, I mean my physical dwelling. I was lucky to be able to keep up with the laundry and have a meal on the table at dinnertime. I resorted to casseroles because I could throw all the ingredients into one dish and bake it. I had no energy for anything else. Nothing left to give.

Around the time she turned 2 1/2 or so I remember thinking..."Ok, things are semi back to normal around here. I need to get my house back in order now." It was a long process. After all, I now had almost 3 years of habits that had formed (if you want to call them that). So, I began the process. Slowly. It seemed like I just couldn't get caught up. But, to cut myself a little bit of slack, I did have 4 children (3 of them under the age of 4), plus 3 years worth of catching up to do.

And then...I found out I was pregnant again. I was determined that things weren't going to happen the same way with this one. But, as it turns out, she was another difficult baby. At 15 months old we found out she had food allergies, which were causing her issues. Once we pulled her off of the foods she was allergic to & things settled with her I started getting things back in order...again.

Now here I am again. 8 months pregnant and wondering how I'm ever going to get back to where I was 5 years ago. I want my house back! I know it will never be perfect, but I want to be able to have someone knock on the door and not have to look around to see if I can let them it :). I'm determined to make it work. That was one of my new year's resolutions (that I wasn't going to make - for fear of breaking it).

Today will be Day 1. I'm going to pick myself up and try again. I have the knowledge, now I just need to apply it. I have to realize this isn't going to be an overnight miracle, but a slow process. Hopefully, by blogging about the tips I've learned over the years, it will be that constant reminder to hold myself accountable to what I have learned and what I want to accomplish.