Out-of-Control Purge

Last Saturday, June 13th 2009, will be deemed Purge Saturday. In my quest for a more simple home with less stuff, I went to town and just dumped all those things that I have been keeping in storage, but never use. I have had a few motivators. The book It’s All Too Much by Peter Walsh from Clean Sweep, per the recommendation from Carmen, my friend and simplicity advisor/expert. She was right, this book is inspiring. He asks questions that really get you thinking – why the heck am I holding on to this stuff? I paid money for it? I have a fond memory of it? On and on. Then Saturday morning I watched a recorded episode of the show Clean Sweep. Holy cow! The house they cleaned and organized was atrocious, but it was interesting. Not sure I need to ever watch the show again, but it did give me that little push I needed.

Pretty much after Tyler canceled his cement mixer reservation because of the high chance of rain, I got to work. I thought, “let me just go see what I can get rid of”, but then I just couldn’t stop! So I spent the entire day, I mean the whole day, out in the garage. By the end I was tuckered. And the boys had a wonderful day of hangin’ (more on that later).

Tyler and I also went through our memory boxes Saturday evening. We had cap and gowns from our graduations, high school term papers, etc. All gone. It feels good to get rid of stuff.  Now I have a very large sell/goodwill collection (see pic to the right). Not sure yet what I am going to do, but we have a few items that might be worth selling and then it gives me a little extra cash to buy more stuff!:) Just kidding. There are just a few books on my wish list!

Tyler took pictures of his old trophies from baseball and then dumped them. I found numerous framed pictures I was holding on to in boxes (we saved all the pictures of course), and ran into a prized picture (will post it soon)

The trash, oh, the trash! I have 3 large black bags of just garbage and the trash can is filled to the brim for the garbage truck this Friday. THEN, I didn’t even think to take pictures of the 3 large black trash bags that we took to the paper recycling bins with all my old nutrition files a few weeks ago. Tyler could barely lift those bad boys! I didn’t realize I had so much garbage, I mean, plain ol’ garbage. I suppose, sometimes it just has to be the right time, or at least a long enough span of time to see these “things” differently. Nevertheless, it has been done, I feel good and less weighed down and want to do more! Carmen warned me this would happen, once you get started, you can’t stop!

Carm also told me I really haven’t done enough until it hurts to get rid of stuff. I am still not even sure I have gotten there yet. I did get rid of a few items from the past (nick-nacks, wall pictures, etc.), but nothing I can say “hurt” to see go. I tossed a breadmaker I haven’t used in at least 8 years, a pasta maker I think I used once after we received it as a wedding gift, an exercise step I haven’t used in 4 or 5 years and several oops-purchases (place mates, chandelier etc). I also gave our ping-pong table to my friend Christina who has more space – OK, maybe that hurt a little, but it is just too dang big for our house. And any “hurt” in passing it on  was overshadowed by the joy of giving it to the Jensen’s, they like doing stuff like that with their two kiddos!

My books (every kind – fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks) and 3 sets of China (passed down from our families and have barely been used in our 13 years of marriage) are the areas that I fear are my weak points right now. I asked Tyler, “what are we going to do with these sets of china?” He said, “pass them down to our kids!” Aye carumba!

More simplification to come!

Good-bye magazines…and more

WARNING…long, boring musings ahead.

Spring is definitely here…I am ready to renew, refresh and embrace change! Not too much change mind you, but in small doses its good and I am ready to digest it positively. Waking up to tweeting birds and sunshine beaming through our big French doors in our bedroom helps kick start the day (fresher anyway than our wintery dark mornings at 5 AM).

3 Big Changes:

1. Our remodel. Tyler is hard at work, conjuring up plans and outside doing what needs to be done.

2. Good-bye Tuner family. Our wonderful, wise mentor couple Ned and Jeanette are leaving our church. They have feed our souls, encouraged us through this exciting parenting and family phase of our lives for over 2 years now and it has been a true blessing. My heart is a bit broken over not having them in our lives anymore. However, God is AWESOME and He is giving me a peace about what is next for our Sunday school group. I am so happy for the Turners and grateful for the time they gave us, for sharing their experience and wisdom. Tyler will teach the class until we find another mentor couple that can take the Turner’s place, which is no small feat. That role needs to be filled by a couple who adore God, have raised Godly children and just want to nurture the lives of us younger folks. Pray!

3. Operation simplify. I just finished reading A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George and was inspired on several fronts. She is a good author, she has that list-writing, planning MO that just speaks to me. As far as specifics, first, pray more in the beginning of each day for my individual priorities. Ask God, “what can I do for my husband to make his day go smoother?” Or “how can I encourage my children today, what special words should I use to make them feel like the treasures they are?” Second, pick 5 “fat folders” as Elizabeth calls them, basically subjects that I will research enough to become an “expert”. What a fun idea, something that tickles my research feathers. Basically, these are subjects I want to engrain into my being. The first 2 were easy: child-training and nutrition/wellness/cooking/recipes. You will never have to twist my arm to read, research, talk or think more about these two subjects when it comes to my family and children. I am no expert in child-training by any means, but I so enjoy reading what other have done and are doing and blending training in with play (the Turners were great at this...sniffle).

The next 2 I picked because I want more of them in my life, not that I will ever become an “expert”, but areas that I want to grow and mature: patience (waiting on the Lord, waiting to buy another book, waiting to get what I want when I want it) and simplicity. (I am still mulling over the last one….fruit of the spirit? being a Godly wife?.... so many things I want to be an "expert" in….I don’t have to limit myself to 5 I suppose, just need to ponder a bit more).

So here is where “Operation Simplicity 09” comes in. My friend Christina told me a saying her Mom used to tell her; a cluttered room makes for a cluttered mind. Martha Steward I am not, but I have always felt like I have a clean, yet lived-in home. However, with this remodel, it got me thinking, am I busting out of the seams with piles of magazines, articles, recipes, school supplies, and just “things” because we “need” a bigger house or because we simply have too much stuff!? Although it is easier to go with the former, I believe that it is truly the later. I have several simplicity experts in my life (funny how God does that), so I am going in for advice. I am motivated, inspired and have a hankering to just de-clutter. What a perfect time too with Spring and the remodel. Also, my MIL has been itching for years to do a “clean sweep” of my house…I believe it is a show that helps poor souls such as myself who have too much stuff.

So I have devised a short-term, start of a plan for “Operation Simplify 09”:

First steps of the plan:

1. Stop magazine subscriptions (except a few essentials of course): Not only do I end up with a pile of unread magazines that “I am sure I will read later”, but the library offers access to most magazines on-line. Then there are blogs, so many great blogs offer recipes, craft ideas for kids and cooking tips! So with a little click of a button I will be well-supplied with ideas and inspiration.

2. Lighten our toy load. We don’t need many toys. Cars, trucks, blocks, legos, trains, games, outdoor items like bikes, etc, these are what the boys play with most. This might be tough, but this summer we will start to weed.

3. Work is over! I have stacks of books from my working days that are suffocating our office space. I pull one down maybe every 6 months, if that. It is time for me to let them go. It is hard, because I say “oh…I will use that one day when I research that topic again!” but by the time I actually do end up researching that topic, the book will be so old that I will need to get a newer one! Same with my nutrition files, they are old as dirt.

Those are my first 3 steps, I need to take this slow, I have been accumulating for a long time! :) Advice of any kind is welcome!