T-minus 12 days

We had a busy day today and I played instead of getting anything done. The kids and I had a great time on the playground and in the sandbox, and I ran several errands during nap time.

My one yard sale contribution ... I cleared out the six drawer, cabinet-on-wheels that I was using for craft supplies. This little drawer system is going in the yard sale. That was my accomplishment for the day.

Tomorrow is a new day with new opportunities to purge!

Menu Plan Monday

My hubby requested this week that we take a break from red meat for the summer. That really surprised me - he is a big red meat fan - but I guess he is feeling it would be healthier. I'm happy to oblige - beef is really expensive these days.

The biggest challenge will be barbecuing without hamburger. We're going back to ground turkey, instead. Years ago, we used ground turkey regularly ... until my hubby got food poisoning from it (no, it wasn't my cooking). He wouldn't eat it for years, but he is willing to try it again.

My hubby graduates this weekend with his Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. Whew! This has been three good, but challenging, years in the making. On Sunday, we are going out for dinner to celebrate.

Menu for this week:

• Monday -- Nachos
  

• Tuesday -- Turkey Burgers
  

• Wednesday -- Chicken Alfredo
  

• Thursday -- Chicken Piccata
  

• Friday -- Quesadillas
  

• Saturday -- Baked Potato Bar


• Sunday -- Celebration Dinner out with hubby
  

Check out more menu plan's at Organizing Junkie.

Happy Monday!

T-minus 13 days

Only 13 days until the yard sale? (a small gasp of panic is heard escaping my mouth ...)

I wasn't planning on doing much for the yard sale today, but I was feeling antsy during the kid's nap time and decided to do a little work.

~ KITCHEN ~

I did a first pass of the kitchen. I filled one box of random things - the cookie press I've never used, the ice cream sundae cups we only used twice in the last year, and a few other odds and ends. Not as much as I was hoping to clear out, but a nice start. It will definitely need another purge session before the yard sale.

The kitchen always requires so many boxes to pack up. With every move, I am shocked at how many boxes are marked "kitchen." We need to do some hard purging here. The good news is that I found several items that we're ready to clear out, but will wait until July so we can continue to use them until we move.

Take the toaster, for example. We're ready to get rid of our toaster, but still want to have toast for the next few months. The toaster works okay, though one side of the toast always ends up darker than the other. We were laughing when we realized that we are still using the toaster that I bought for my apartment in college over 10 years ago. Who would have thought a cheap Target toaster would last so long?

So, here's to the start of another great week of purging!

Let Him Lead Your Heart

Create in Me a Clean Heart - Week 19
~ This weekly devotional can be found on Facebook; the group is called "A Clean Heart." ~

"A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps."

Proverbs 16:9

These last few weeks my head has been spinning with all the planning required for our probable move to Scotland this fall. But our plans are really not set yet, and the options and possibilities keep changing.

I have found myself getting my heart set on certain options, instead of seeking God's will and waiting on him to direct my steps. Then, I feel impatient or frustrated when things change.

I become like a child, wanting my own way; sometimes I even throw my own temper tantrums. But, as my loving Father, God gently reminds me to calm down and allow him to direct my steps (hopefully I listen to the still, small voice, and don't end up needing further correction). Even as I direct my children to keep them safe and to help them learn and grow, God faithfully directs my steps.

Lord,
I admit that too often I want my own way; I make my own plans; and I have stubbornly done my own thing, without seeking your will. Soften my heart to listen to you and wait for you to direct my steps. Lead me in the way I should go. Give me your wisdom and stir me to obey you, knowing that your way is the best way, the only way.

Thank you for loving me, as you child, and disciplining me when I stray. Teach me and help me to grow into the person you want me to be.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.

T-minus 14 days

Is any day ever as productive as I envision it? Probably not. I guess there is comfort in the fact that I will never run out of things to do. I just never feel completely satisfied with what I accomplished (or really, what I didn't accomplish).

That being said, it was a fairly productive day and I was able to tackle some tough areas. Still no pictures, though. I could share a shot of the pile of bags, but there are not any good before and after pictures because I'm only clearing out a small area at a time.

~ KID'S CLOSET ~

This morning, I spent about a hour working on my kids closet. They have the largest closet in the house, so it is used for general storage and collects junk very quickly.

I was a little emotional this morning. I decided to tackle the baby clothes that I had saved from both of my children. I started strong, but ended poorly; and decided that I needed to finish another day. Now keep in mind that I have already sorted through these boxes several times. The clothes that are left are the ones that have the most emotion tied to them, the ones I couldn't part with the last few times I tried. Does any one else have this problem? Why do I let clothes have an emotional pull on me?

Even with the emotional difficulties, I managed to cleare out one (12-gallon-size garbage) bag of blankets and other infant stuff, and box of random items, including the bath tub, picture frames, etc. I also cleared out two bags of clothes, even though I still kept a few too much and need to take another pass when I'm feeling stronger.

~ LINENS ~

The evening, after the kids were down for the night, I went into my bedroom to clear out a few more things. We have a cedar chest that is stuffed with sheets and miscellaneous linens. That purge resulted in two bags of items for the garage sale.

Then I sat down to tackle all the sheet music and hymnals that I have collected over the years. I haven't played the piano for church in over ten years, but I still have all the old music and books. I only kept four books (two of them were old hymnals that belonged to my hubby's grandparents) and condensed the sheet music to one binder. This wasn't really a priority for the garage sale, but still needed to be done before the move.

~~~~~

There are less than two weeks left until the yard sale. My hubby is starting to think I am crazy. I am also realizing that there is a lot of stuff that we need to use this summer before our move, so it will not be going in this yard sale. We are definitely going to have enough stuff for a second sale in July, right before we leave.

Just think how organized I'll be when we no long have any stuff! Happy purging!

Blitz-It Friday

I had great plans for blitzing yesterday, but I spent most of the day with a migraine and got very little done.

However, I did spend 30 minutes blitzing my kitchen this morning (it is amazing how quickly our kitchen gets messy, especially when I'm out of commission for a day).

Here is what I got done in my 30 minutes:

• Unloaded the dishwasher


• Reloaded the dishwasher


• Cleaned up the lunch mess


• Washed the pots & pans


• Scrubbed the stove top


• Wiped down the counters

I meant to sweep the floor as well, but the kids were going full speed by this point. It will have to wait until tonight when everyone is down for bed.

Check out more great blitzing at Organized Everyday.

~~~~~

We are at T-minus 15 days to the big yard sale.

Here are a few things I did today:

• Wrote a list of all the big items that are being sold so I don't forget anything on the big day.


• Evaluated anything that needs to be done to items being sold, like washing seat covers, etc.


• Prioritized areas of the house to hit next (some areas will have more for the yard sale, and some will have more to just rid of).

I'm hoping to get a little more done after the kids go down, but we'll have to see how much energy I have by this evening.

Yard Sale in T-minus 17 days

My family is moving to Scotland this fall (see another family update for more details). We are very excited! But I am now consumed with the incredible amount of work that needs to be done before we go.

At the end of the summer, everything we own will be moved from the East Coast to the West Coast and placed in paid storage. This means it will actually cost money for each item we keep ... that is big motivation to PURGE.

I am starting a new series of posts tonight to document the intense purge of our belongings as we approach the Community Yard Sale at the end of May - the "T minus" series, a countdown to the yard sale.


BOOK SHELVES
On Monday, I tackled two of our eight book shelves. This inspired my hubby to attack three more book shelves. We listed a bunch of books on Paper Back Swap and Amazon.com.

STORAGE UNIT
Tuesday my husband and I did a first round of sorting in our storage unit in the basement of our apartment complex. We pulled out everything that we know we are selling in the sale - infant car seats, strollers, baby swing, space heater, etc. There are still several boxes that we will need to sort through, but it was a good start.

MASTER BEDROOM
Our big tackle today was the master bedroom, specifically our closet. We started by clearing out clothes; then we moved on the more difficult job of sorting through all the boxes of stuff stacked in the closet. We finished about half the closet before the kids got up from their nap. I couldn't have worked much longer anyway. Intense purging is very inspiring, but also emotionally exhausting.

This was harder on me than I thought it would be, especially getting rid of all my maternity clothes. We don't know if we are going to have any more children, but either way, these are no longer worth keeping. I also cleared out all sorts of crafts, material, party supplies, gift bags, cards, etc. Even after paring down significantly before moving here, I was amazed at how much I still had but barely used in the last three years.

We are donating three large bags of clothing to a local charity. And we also cleared out four large boxes of stuff to sell at the garage sale.

--
We are off to a great start. Did I mention how wonderful it is to have my DH around to help with all this? I know he has tons of reading to get done this summer in preparation for starting his dissertation this fall, but it has been so nice to have him around (even without all the work he does).

Check back tomorrow to see what we tackle next!