Organizing my craft closet

Step 1

par-tay!!

Excited about the new year.  

 I'm on the couch too, but at least I have a drink in hand.

Happy New Year!!

Watching Garfield and Friends.

It's 9:25.

Taking bets on who will still be up at midnight. 

Kitchen -- CHECK

I cleaned out my cabinets and cleaned off the counters.

This is the damage.

Wow.

I struggled a couple of times. I felt horrible as I was throwing out boxes of gluten-free brownie mix, safflower oil, chia seeds.... I've been on some health kicks that I was never going to commit to. (Me? Gluten free? Ha!) I was embarrassed by the lack of commitment and the waste of money these things represented.

I wanted to repurpose a few things. I thought about selling the toaster oven.

But I pushed through. Things are organized in the kitchen and my bar area. And it feels great!!

Of course, the voice in my head says, "You've tried to be more organized before, Julie, and you always fall back into the same old habits."

But I'm really gonna try this time.  And if I backslide a little, I'm gonna try to not let that defeat me.

I want to change.

My main resolution

Looking ahead to the New Year, I'm thinking about resolutions.  Resolving to be a better person.  The one thing that drives me the craziest about myself is the clutter I allow in my home.

I'm a mess.  And it bothers me. 

I'm going to let you see a glimpse into my real life...  WARNING:  You may break out into hives, especially if you can't stand clutter.

I have always been a mess.  Ask my parents whose room was a disaster growing up... 3 kids... mine was the only train wreck.  But I'm a people pleaser, rule follower.  I was not (and am not now) a mess to be defiant or rebellious.  I'm overwhelmed and don't know what to do.

Years ago my mom asked me, "Do you not know how to clean?"  Anything that implies that I may not be smart enough to do something makes me bristle.  She quickly followed that with, "I'm not being mean.  I'm being serious. I may not have ever taught you how to keep things organized."

So flash forward... and I sit here and really think about why I'm a mess... here's what I've come up with.  It may not make any sense to you if you're a neat freak.

1. I think too much.
Herein lies the root of the problem. 

As a preteen/teen, I was thinking about school, my weight, perceived problems at home. I had no desire to think about where to put my laundry or my things. I was solving the world's problems in my head. I was exhausted.

Plus my hormones were out of control (as are all teens) and so I would get in sad moods and sit in my messy room with the door shut.  It almost felt good to wallow in the chaos of my clutter.

Are you following along?  Is this making any sense?  Probably not.

Now I think about "Could we reuse this in some way?"  "Will Jason be upset if I throw this out?"  "Am I wasting money to let this go?" "Should I donate or try to sell on Craigslist?" "Will the kids be sad to find this missing?"  "Am I being ridiculous?  They're only kids for so long.  What's the big deal if Halloween candy is out til June and backpacks are open all over the kitchen floor? Relax and enjoy having kids."

It slows me down when I'm cleaning because I'm thinking.  And after I throw things out, I mentally replay everything that I just discarded and question myself.

After reading this nonsense, is it shocking to you I take anti-anxiety medication? ;)  My brain never shuts off. And it is irrational. And it is not productive. 

You can never tell what's floating around in someone's head, but sometimes you can see it in other ways.  For some, it's their weight that gets out of control.  For others, it's the drinking.  For me, it's the clutter.  You want to know how chaotic my head is?  Look at my house.


2. I mentally compartmentalize my life.
I can only handle so much. 

I walk around with blinders on when it comes to the clutter in my life.  It's the way I stay sane when other parts of my life are crazy. 


3.  I don't know where to start.
I think the answer is "start somewhere".

Every room needs an overhaul.  And going back to what my mom asked years ago, the answer is, "No, I'm really not sure what to do."   Especially now with four other people who leave their junk lying around. 

I don't want to be angry with anyone so I ignore it.  Until people come over and then I'm embarrassed by the mess.


4.  I have little help.
Jason helps with some things.  The kids help when I nag them.  Someday I'll have a housekeeper to come in twice a month, but I'm not there yet.

And then-- to add insult to injury--- somehow we have become the home of hand-me-downs.  I love the money-saving factor.  I love that we get furniture or clothes or toys that other people don't need anymore.  But for someone who can't stay on top of the mess, it can be maddening.


SO...

Here's what I'm going to try...

Starting today I'm going to ruthlessly throw things out.  

Then I'm going to see if I can get in the habit of following this plan with a few tweaks...

I think the visual will help me.  It's embarrassing that I need a visual reminder but I do.

I need to enlist my kids' help!! We can learn together how to keep the house in order.  If I have to be a grouch and nag, then that's what has to happen.  I want to be better, and we all need to be on board.

I'm going to get this under control in 2015.  If you have any tips to stay on top of the mess, please let me know!  :)

I'll keep you posted on how it goes.  It's my own form of weight loss for the New Year.  Not getting rid of junk food... but getting rid of junk.

Happy New Year!

We rang in the New Year (early) at our neighbor's home.  I think the kids really had a great time.  And the food was great!  That's all I need to think that NYE was a success. :)

 

 

After we rang in the New Year at 8:00, we popped poppers in the front yard.

Then we came home and had popcorn, hot chocolate, and watched movies until Big D NYE came on.  They wanted to catch the guys from Dude Perfect on the show.

Everyone made it til midnight... except Caroline and me.  Oops.

But arguably, falling asleep before midnight is a sign of a great night! :)

I don't know about you, but I'm ok with saying goodbye to 2013. We had great things happen, but we had some hard things too.  That's why I love January 1.  I love new beginnings and am looking forward to 2014.

New Year's Eve Bash

I'm posting this now because I think it sounds like a great idea, and I wanted to throw it out there in case you wanted to throw something together in your neighborhood.

We got an evite to our neighbor's NYE Brazilian Carnival.  We are celebrating early, family style.  The hosts are serving champagne and heavy appetizers.  We can bring any additional beverages we want.  They'll have games and activities for the kids... and punch in fun, festive glasses.

And the best part-- it's from 6:00 - 10:00.  The countdown to the new year will be at 8:00. 

I don't know about you, but I LOVE that idea. 
I hate doing nothing for New Year's Eve, but I also hate leaving my kids and going out. 
A) It's hard to find a sitter on NYE. B) I'm worried that we're out with all the drunk people. C) The kids are old enough now that they want to stay up til midnight and feel like they celebrated the New Year too.

This is a great way to celebrate with other adults, but bring kids along.  Have a good time.  No driving necessary.  Get home by 10:00, and watch the actual countdown if you want.

And since they're our neighbors, all of the kids who have been invited go to our kids' school.  So everyone should have a good time.

I'll let you know how it goes and take a few pics, I'm sure.  But I think it should be really fun. :)

My New Year's Post

I'm coming up on my fourth anniversary of this blog.  It's become tradition for me to do a New Year's Post.

So here goes....

I'm looking forward to 2013.  As I've posted before 13 is a good number for our family.  Jason and I were married on March 13.  Jack was born October 13.  Caroline was July 13.  Sarah is July 26 (13 + 13).  Caroline is my grandmother's 13th great grandchild.

Some shy away from 13 because it's unlucky.  I see it as a number that, for our family, denotes life change.

I think how you choose to look at life change affects how you handle it.
 
Like having a baby.  We can see it as an end to sleeping in for a while.  An end to having any extra income.  An end to our careers if we choose to stay home.  An end to being a family of 2 (or 3 or 4...whatever).  OR we can choose to see it as a new beginning.  A chance to tackle a new challenge.  To do things differently.  We can choose to be excited about watching our families grow and change.

Admittedly, when it comes to babies, I've had days of embracing the challenge and days of crying on my floor, wondering how I was ever gonna survive. ;)

I'm excited about the new beginnings of 2013.  The beginning of my grad school this summer.  The beginning of Caroline's last year of preschool, Sarah's 3rd grade year, and Jack's entry into the 1st grade.

For things to begin, other things have to end, right?  We can't freeze time and stay where we are.

Some transitions are harder than others, but I like moving forward. Clean slates.  Reinventing myself or my situation.

I like every new year.

.............

Some blessings of 2012--

Safe travels-- Jason has been on the road more than he ever has since I've known him.  For months he was traveling every weekend.  And other than a speeding ticket, he's had no problems on the road.  That is a blessing!

Health-- My little family of 5 battles seasonal allergies and tends to get our fair share of colds... but that's it.  And that is something to be VERY thankful for.

Smooth transitions-- Sarah didn't get the teacher she thought she wanted this year.  But we couldn't have handpicked a better fit for our daughter.  I don't request teachers because I figure God knows best.  This year has been an example of that exact point.  I'd have requested Mrs. Smith. Good thing I didn't. God knew Sarah needed (and we needed) Ms. Rodriguez.

Jack loved his preschool teacher and was apprehensive about starting Kindergarten.  But he has thrived this year and loves his class. 

Caroline had never even done Mother's Day Out before this year.  We had never been apart.  Then I threw her into my school, not knowing anything about her teacher, and hoped for the best.  She loves Ms. Katy, and she's a great sport about coming to work with me three days a week.

Jason and I are still learning how it's gonna work for me to be in school and working 3 days a week while also having all of the house/kid duties to juggle.  It hasn't always been easy but we're still married... and alive-- neither of us has killed the other... yet-- so I'd say that's not too shabby.  Sometimes just surviving IS a success.

Grad school and certification tests-- Considering I "randomly" decided during Vacation Bible School this year that I wanted to take the GRE, God has opened door after door for me. Things are falling into place.  And my certification tests have gone well. I couldn't have hoped for a better or more productive Fall.

Fun distractions-- On the days that have been hard at work, my co-teacher, Robyn, has made me laugh.  On the weekends that I had a lot of studying and cleaning to do, the Aggies would play a good game.  I have friends that send me hilarious ecards or have facebook posts that make me smile.  I think those are blessings too.  When there's something about my day that puts a smile on my face amidst the stress and chaos, I appreciate the momentary escape. :)

..........

I hope y'all have a blessed 2013.  I hope we can all see God's hand in whatever changes He has in store for us.  And please keep writing funny emails, texts, and facebook posts.  God's using you to put a smile on my face. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!