Day Four Challenge - Create a Serene Bedroom

The challenge in 30 Days to a Simpler Lifeis to edit your sheets and pillowcases.  The authors recommend that you only need two sets of sheets and pillowcases for each bed in your house.  I have to confess that I long for 2 sets of sheets and pillowcases for all of my beds.  We strip our beds, wash the sheets and remake our beds.  One day, when I am am a "big kid", I'll have extra sheet sets for all of our beds

The authors offer some other tips to make your Master Bedroom a serene bedroom, which I am going to implement.  I also gleaned a few tips from another book, Organize Now!: A Week-by-Week Guide to Simplify Your Space and Your Life by Jennifer Ford Berry.

This room will take a few days.

1)  Take a basket or box and take everything out of the master bedroom that does not belong there. 

I cleared out multiple childrens' items that migrated into our master bedroom... hair bows, miscellaneous socks, toys.  Just put them all in a basket to be carried out at one time and taken back to their "home."

I also cleared out DVD's that we borrowed.  They are all being returned to their rightful owners this week.

Clothes that belong in the master closet, dirty clothes, etc. are no longer in the master bedroom.

2) Cox and Evans remind me..."Don't make your bedroom into a library." 

Ouch, this one hurt.  I had a large stack of books on the bedside table and overflowing on the floor by the bed.  I am a bit of a frenetic reader.  Usually I am in the middle of 3-5 books at a time.  Plus I have a stack of books that are in my "must read" pile.  All of those books are now downstairs back on my library shelves. Now, I have one book, besides my Bible, on my bedside table.

3)  Organize your bedside dresser drawers. 

Berry, in Organize Now!, says "If your table has drawers, use them to store amenities such as lotions and sleep masks so the top can be clutter' free."

I cleaned out my bedside table drawer.  It now has a few cough drops, a pen, highlighter and lotion. 

4)  Next, I cleared out everything from under my bed. 

I had a Rubbermaid box of outgrown clothes that I will resale or store in the laundry room.
Tomorrow I will sweep and swiffel under the bed.  I decided, for our family, it is better for our allergies not to have items stored under the bed.

5)  Cox and Evan also state: "Keep your office out of your bedroom."

I instated this policy several years ago, when I moved my desk out of our bedroom.  That was the best decision I have ever made.  I work out of my home and seeing a stack of "To Do" items from work sitting on my desk or a stack of personal bills to pay, at bedtime, did nothing for my quality of sleep.

Consider relocating your desk if it is still your master bedroom.  Be creative if you have limited space.  One creative option is re-purposing a closet somewhere.  Remove the door, remove the shelves and replace them with a laminate desk top. Add a tension rod with a hanging curtain to block the office from view and you have an instant office.

Berry states "Resting is much more difficult when you are surrounded by clutter..."

I must admit I felt more relaxed last night without the extraneous items strewn around the room.

Tomorrow we'll continue work on making our bedroom an organized room.

Day Three Challenge - Form a Buying Checklist - COMPLETE

I found this assignment the most challenging so far. I turned to a Larry Burket resource for some help.

Years ago I had the privilege of taking Larry Burkett's financial counseling training class.  During that training we were given a list of prompts to ask ourselves before shopping, especially for larger items.  Despite the fact that I have the questions dutifully written on an index card, and have for years, I really have not been checking them before I make purchases.

I searched through Larry Burkett's Family Financial Workbook
and found the updated list of  "Think Before You Buy" Questions.   I also added my goals to the list and a few of my own prompts.

Here is my finished product:

Life Goals in "Sound Bites" (as suggested by Cox & Evan)
Glorify God
Best Friend with My Husband
Train & Nurture my Children
Promote Adoption & Orphan Care
Maintain Financial Freedom to be Able to Be Obedient to the Lord's Call on My Life

Always Shop From a List - if I see something that I want to buy that is not on my list, put it on a 7-30 day wait list (depending on the item) and see if I still need it after the "wait time."

Evaluate Every Purchase Before Buying:
1- Is it necessary?
        Can I do without it?
2 - Does it enhance God's work through me?
3 - Is it the best buy?
4 - Is it an impulse buy?
5 - Would my spouse agree with the purchase?
6 - Does it add to or detract from the family?
7 - Will it require costly upkeep?
8 - Does it depreciate quickly?
9 - Can I think of a creative alternative to this item?
         Either something I already own that I can re-purpose
             or something I own that I can sell to generate income
             to purchase this at a future date?
10 - How much is enough?

This is my "wallet" list to evaluate purchases.  (The goals are my own.  #1-8 come from Burkett.  #9 and #10 are my own ideas.  I'll post more about #9 in a future post!

Phew...I'm glad this assignment is over. 

Now on to an easier assignment....Create a Serene Bedroom

Free Rental Code for RedBox on Valentine's

If you are looking for an economical idea for a Valentine's date, you can get a free movie at your local RedBox by using the code: BeMine. Thanks to The Savings Lifestyle for the tip.

Saving My Sanity With E-Mealz

Before we adopted our 5th daughter in January, 2010, I was committed to cooking from scratch and planning all of our menus a week at a time...at least in a perfect week.  Well last year that all changed.  We adopted Isabelle.  She underwent open-heart surgery in March, 2010, and we spent a full month in the hospital.  After coming home I was trying to juggle the schedules of a college-age daughter, a high school daughter, homeschooling a 4th grader and keeping up with the busyness of a preschooler and toddler.  Add to that keeping up with my husband's busy work schedule and the fact that I also work part-time out of the home, and I had little time left for proper meal planning.

After another emergency run to Little Caesar's pizza, one night, reality finally hit me that something had to give!  That's when I heard about E-Mealz.


(You can click on this banner to read about the specifics.)

I think I heard about it on Money Saving Mom which is one of my favorite blogs.  The cost is $15.00 a quarter, and it includes both a 7 day supper meal plan and a shopping list for the meals.  The best part about it, is it's geared for families on a budget.  We choose the menu plan for Aldi's.  Our menus are based on a family of 6, but our family of 8 eats comfortable from the menu.  The average grocery bill for our evening meals is between $65 and $70 a week.

Each Tuesday the menu is posted along with the shopping list.  The meals are simple and include a main dish and several side items.  Very rarely is there a menu item that our family doesn't like.  The two women that began the meal service have tried and tested all of the meals on their own families, and they are excellent.  If you are looking for a way to save your sanity and help your budget, you might consider trying this for three months.

I must confess that last month I decided to try to plan our own menus again.  After two weeks of an embarrassing number of trips to restaurants because I either failed to plan a meal or was missing an ingredient, I quickly began printing my E-Mealz menus again.  I might try to plan my own menus again once Lily comes home and is done with her open-heart surgeries, but until then...I welcome the help.

I know my limitations!

Day Three Challenge - Create a Checklist to Help You Think Before You Buy

If you're just joining the blog today, I'm following 30 Days to A Simple Life's day by day challenge.  So far I've filled a black trash bag full of items around the house that I no longer needed and cleaned out a closet.  Now I'm going to tackle Day Three's Challenge....creating a checklist to carry with me that will help me think before I buy.

At first blush Day Three's Challenge sounds easy, but as I review it, I realize it is going to take a little time.  This one calls for the entire weekend to complete.

Cox and Evan's instructions are as follows:

"Create a checklist of questions that will help you decide what to buy and what to forgo....At the very top of the list, write down your major life goals in sound bites.  For example, you might write "get fit," "travel more" or "study wildflowers."  Put your list in your wallet so you can consult it when you go shopping.  When it comes time to purchase something, determine whether your goals and the purchase are harmonious."

They continue with a list of recommended questions:

"Will it enhance my goals?"


"Will it create more work?"


"Do I need it?"


"Is it truly a bargain?  If it were full price, would you buy it?"


Do I think it will make my life easier?"


"Do I want it because it's trendy?"


"Will it bring my family together or tear us apart?"


"Do I want it because it will make me feel better?"


"Will I have trouble getting ride of it in the future?"

This weekend I'm going to work on writing out sound bites that correlate with my life goals.  I'll post a list of those on Monday. 

Don't worry, Monday's assignment will be a bit easier AND more fun....Create a Serene Bedroom!

Day Two - Clean out a Junk Drawer or Closet - COMPLETE

The challenge continues, and I completed Day Two - clean out a drawer or a closet.  I managed to pare down our games and puzzles.  The girls picked out several puzzles that didn't have all their pieces for the discard pile.  In addition we put three games in the "Ambivalent box."  (See yesterday's post for details.)

I really love the idea of the Ambivalence Box.  I just made my first box out of a paper box.  So far I've placed some odd mugs, miscellaneous knives and of course the games I mentioned previously, in the box.  The idea of holding the items in the box to see if we can live without them frees me up to be more ruthless in my streamlining.

 

Here's a photo of the final product - an organized game and linen closet.

Day Two Challenge - Clean out a Junk Drawer (or Closet)

According to the book, 30 Days to a Simpler Life,  the day two challenge is to clean out a junk drawer.

My drawers are in fairly good shape, so I'm going to tackle my game/linen closet instead.  We have small group Bible study at our house twice a month.  We meet with five couples and among us we have 18 children.  After they left the last time, this was my game closet:

I'd love to blame it on the children; however, the only change to the closet after the evening was the game on the floor.  The closet was in desperate need of organizing and streamlining. 

My Personal Day 2 Project - Organize the Linen and Game Closet.

The best tip from Chapter 2 of 30 Days to a Simpler Life is the idea of "The Ambivalence Pile".  Cox and Evatt describe it this way:

"Ambivalent items are things you both like and dislike.  They can drive you crazy because you don't know whether to keep them or to let them go.  Creating this pile is the key to uncomplicating your life."

They go on to to recommend creating an ambivalence center:

"Practice living without your ambivalent items.
To create the Ambivalence Center, buy cardboard storage boxes...label them clearly...inside each, place your ambivalent items from all over you house.  Collect items that are not being used that you're unwilling to toss.  These boxes give your items a transition zone.  You can practice living with out them.  You will not feel deprived of these items because you will still own them."

In addition to cleaning out the game closet, I'm going to label some ambivalent boxes.  I like the idea of that!

Day One - Fill A Shopping Bag - COMPLETE

I successfully completed Day One -

 Filling a Shopping Bag with no longer used items.

It's waiting on the front porch to be taken to our local charity.  It feels good to get rid of some clutter.  A few items that I easily threw into the bag....outgrown clothes, a salt and pepper set that we replaced at Christmas time, a purse, and a few make-up samples.

One item that was harder to part with...an autographed book from years ago.  My girls and I all ride horses, but this book was from back in the day when I rode Western.  The girls are now eventers (English riding), and this book is just not pertinent anymore.  I've held on to it because the author signed it for me after I rode in a one week clinic with him.  I decided it was silly to have it sitting on a shelf collecting dust.

My solution:  I took a photo of the front and the signature page to put in my photo album.  Now I'll pass it along to someone who can glean from Richard Shrake's expert advice.  I've freed up some bookshelf space and simplifed another part of my life!

If you don't have time to fill a whole trash bag today, at least choose 5 items to recyle or give away.

Simplifying Hint:  Put your items in a black bag, not a white or grocery bag, otherwise you (or your family) may see the items through the bag and be tempted to retrieve them before they make it to their intended destination.  (Yes, this is the voice of experience:)


Watch for a post later today with a Day Two Challenge!

Quote of the Week: Procrastination

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."

Abraham Lincoln

Day One - Fill A Shopping Bag

After a very long hiatus, and motivated by a nesting instinct spurred on by the upcoming adoption of our 6th daughter, I've decided to kick off my organizing blog again.

I'm excited to motivate others and hold myself accountable to organize my home, simplify my life and save some money along the way.

My first goal is to simplify my life through organizing my home...again.  I consider myself a fairly organized person; however, over the last year, after coming home with our 5th daughter from China and meeting the medical demands of her open-heart surgery, our home has taken on a life of it's own.

While searching for another organizing book, yes I own an embarrassing number of them, I found a REALLY old one that struck a chord with me.    

Written in 1998 by Connie Cox and Cris Evatt, 30 Days to a Simpler Life , challenges the reader to clear out a different area of the home each day of the month and to rethink the systems that are in place.

My challenge to you....come along with me and clean out your home as I clean out my home...one day at a time.

Day One...

Fill a Shopping Bag - "Today, gather up a bagful of things you no longer love and use....Fill it up with giveaways or throwaways from around your house...Look under sinks, in closets, into drawers, and under the bed. No space is off limits....Finally, put the stuff into your car's trunk....This task could take from five minutes to an hour, depending on how decisive you are."

I used to struggle with getting rid of "things", but I've freed myself up by donating the items to Salvation Army (other good charities - Goodwill or local Christian ministries).  The items are a blessing in someone else's life and help allay my guilt that I purchased something that I no longer use.

I'll post photos tomorrow and let you know what I cleared out of my home!