The quandry of the wrapping paper

I have a lot of wrapping paper.  It is one of those strange things that I seem to inherit.  Truly.  A whole box from Robert's mother and another from my grandmother.  I am also not immune to super cute paper 75% at Target after Christmas.  And I can't seem to throw away an undamaged gift bag, I reuse them (when I can find them)
And so a corner of the junk room became an ineffective wrapping area.  A trunk, under the bed box and wrapping paper tote, along with a collection of bags scattered around and on top.

I divided and conquered so to speak.  All the damaged bags and ends of paper were trashed (there were several thanks to the Slinky pup)  Then I decided some needed to be available on a year round spare of the moment basis.  Christmas on the other hand only needs to be around for about 2 weeks (since I am always last minute.)  As such the under the bed box is now housing all the multi purpose bags, tags, paper and bows.  The trunk has all the Christmas goodies.  Hopefully the trunk is field mouse proof as it will be moving out to the building with the rest of the Christmas goodies.  The wrapping paper caddy is now in the yard sale pile (the damn thing never would stand up for me anyway)

So this is what I ended up with . . .

much better I think.  But here's what I wasn't really prepared to find.  A reminder of how much my grandmother loved me. These are all the handmade bows I made out of construction paper in college.  When I had time to do something other than dishes, repairing toys, and staring at facebook.  It was also a time I was broke and had no TV, but they are actually pretty nifty all the same.  I hope they inspire me to keep on keeping on so that sooner than later I have some time on my hands again to pursue my long lost artistic endeavors  . .

Controlled Chaos minus the control

We are on the tail end of 6 snow days.  For the sake of my sanity and my bank account I am desperate to get back on Monday.  I have filled my week with a sizable amount of devotion to the medical updates of Congress woman Gifford (I am morbidly addicted) and emptying the junk closet in the junk room.
I have made some progress.  All of my college pics are now in 2 photo albums.  I also have a sizable pile to incorporate into Christmas boxes (Christmas stuff from the past few years found after Christmas and stuck in closet no doubt)  The Christmas boxes are still on the back porch due to the several inches of ice on the outbuilding steps so that needs to be done ASAP.
I also have a number of nice things that just don't really fit in my life anymore.  These probably need to go on eBay or craigslist.  I have several Audrey Hepburn barbies and 2 American girl collection dolls.  I just always ASSumed that I would have a girl that would love and cherish these things, but alas that doesn't seem to be in the cards. I also have a handful of Thomas engines that I got wrong that need to go as well and I am hoping that there are some Robert things in the closet that can go as well (He has a collection of Starting Lineup figurines, or man dolls as I like to refer to them)
So the closet is empty.  Spread ALL across the room.  Piles of like items and piles of just items.  Piles and piles.  Now comes the tricky part.  Getting all those piles to go away with out filling the closet back up.  I need to dedicate an afternoon to starting an eBay shop I suppose.  It is all intimidating for some reason.  I also need a few more photo albums for high school pics. 
I am also struggling with Robert.  He has every jersey he's ever had and seems to have some unhealthy connection to all things Marines.  Including but not limited to uniforms that will NEVER fit again and seemingly meaningless paperwork, including his range scores and classroom materials. He has the bag with all his obscenely short PT clothing and it is in the stay pile.  We also have a whole section of our closet dedicated to dress uniforms.  This doesn't included the 4 trunks in the attic space containing gear from Iraq.
My own true dilemma is this --- our war correspondence.  I wrote Robert almost everyday.  And these letters detail my pregnancy and then WALT's infancy.  I didn't do that well keeping a journal but the letters actually do the job nicely.  I started gluing the envelopes into a journal but it got huge and impossible to close.  I suppose I just put them in a box.  Seems uncelebrated that way though -- so any and all suggestions welcome!!!

Pics soon of the chaos and hopefully the calm to follow . .

A New Year and New Hopes and Challenges

It's been about a year since this blog became a plea for help and then a documentation of my attempt to lighten the load.  I am both a bit disappointed and elated at the same time.  I wish that I had learned to love to do the dishes (especially the big nasty pots you have to scrub and won't fit in the dishwasher) but I haven't.  But I have begun to implement the simple concepts that make big differences, especially the one in one out.  (though in fairness while I have adopted "one in one out" I am still struggling with Robert and WALT)
My house still gets messy.  Come by any Friday and I'll show you.  The difference is that every Saturday the house is reset.  For the first time since I have had my own place the holidays came and went with the normal stream of people and I didn't have to pull a single all nighter to make the house presentable.

This Christmas marked another important and hopefully far reaching milestone here at the Farmhouse.  It was done without credit cards.  With some diligent watching of sale papers and late night bidding on ebay the boys got everything they wanted.  It was not the biggest Christmas ever underneath the tree, and it took an incredible amount of resolve to keep to the budget, in fact we when realized we had gone over on the boys Robert and I parred our gifts to each other down to small token gifts.  It does however feel pretty good now that its January and the bills aren't rolling in.  (especially since we have worked 4 whole days on this pay period which is another set of issues completely)

So the blog will continue.  There are still closets to be cleaned out and corners to scrub.  And documentation helps me keep on track. I am hoping that by this time next year all the closets (and my building) serve their intended purposes of being servicable vessels of rotating storage with items that are used at least anually.  (rather than their current state of over filled areas filled with momentos of times gone by)
We also have the loftier goal of some major house rearrangement and remodeling.  We have yet to repaint our bedroom since we switched rooms with WALT and the blue walls and red trim of his toddler days are not quite the backdrop for the tranquil retreat I so desperately need.  We are also hoping to move the sectional and flatscreen upstairs in the spare bedroom/junk center.  The living room will then become a bit of a more formal space and the piano have room to be actually used.  This is advantageous in a couple of different ways.  The over riding practical reason is that the upstairs stays a good deal warmer than downstairs and we have been huddled up in blankets trying to play the wii.  I am backing this bold suggestion of Robert's because it eliminates the possibility of having a junk room.  At the same time it keeps the reality of family messiness out of sight of the unexpected guest.  So as progress is made, the changes will show up here, in both wordy Sarah insights and pictures.

I also am hoping to add a new element. As mentioned above we are trying to break the credit card habit and live within our means.  More than within our means, really to live in a way that eliminates the debt that my lovely child and the farmhouse and the accident prone animals have racked up in the past 4 years.  So when I get brave and honest I am going to add it all up and then I hope to make at least a monthly entry on how much is gone.  This may take longer than getting my house truly organized  but may be even more important.

I am snowed in and have started some new projects, complete with pictures, so updates should be happening soon!!

I'm back!! and I bear good news!!

It has been a busy fall.  I feel blessed for that.  WALT and I have fallen into a routine of school and after school activities.  I get to walk him in, pick him up and see him at lunch every day.  We are spoiled.  He is loving kindergarten and has matured 5 years in the past 5 months.  For this I feel truly TRULY blessed.

We haven't been to busy to clean just too busy to post about it.

I admit that the first month I was back at work, and now full time, the house went KA-BOOM again.  But the 27th talk must be the charm because this time when I went teary eyed to my husband and said I couldn't do it all by myself he did more than listen.  Maybe it was the dead mouse that drowned in the sink that he had to deal with, I dunno, but he is definitely more pro-active.  And it shows.

We seem to have developed a system, not quite the system outlined by most of the professionals I have read over the past year, but a workable system for our family.  Saturday at our house means sports, football in the fall, basketball in the winter, baseball in the spring and summer.  We don't go anywhere on Saturday morning if we can help it, so Saturday is wake up, yawn, suck down a cup of coffee, and clean the house.  Laundry seems to stretch out through the weekend but the rest is done by noon.
Of course we have also gotten better at cleaning up messes as we go.  This goes hand in hand with the major de-cluttering that continues in the house.
WALT's room went through a second major purge in which four more boxes left.  I feel like the post Christmas rearrangement, to incorporate the new toys, will generate 2 out for every one in.  The kid still lives in the Target toy department, but he has my momma charmed, so I can only hope to contain that madness.

Slinky is doing well, still a bit of a limp but growing and happy.

All that remains looming over our heads is the spare bedroom/junk room.   So many crazy things that seem beyond organization.  I have all this computer software I don't know if I need to keep.  Piles of CDs that need to be added to iTunes, I suspose. (though taht honestly feels like 2 days of my life I would never get back) and then there are the pictures, the seven 10 gallon tubs of pictures that are in no rhyme or reason except that they belonged to my grandparents.
I do have a plan of action for those.  It starts with the simple division based on me.  There will be a large box dedicated to the pre-Sarah era.  Then there will be 5 medium sized boxes divided on the general time lines of before school, elementary school, middle school, high school, college, and post-college.  I think I can be these four in some type of working order.  Will have to call in mom and maybe Debbie to get the pre-me pics under control.

All in all I am rather proud of our progress.  For the first time since we moved in the house Thanksgiving  morning and the reality of company didn't mean staying up all night cleaning. We just moved our Saturday morning routine up and by noon we were sitting on the couch laughing and waiting for football.  And for that I was TRULY thankful.

This doesn't mean I'm finished, jsut established.  With the Christmas break just around the corner I hope for more progress in the junk room and closets and more blog posts as well.

The long awaited photographic proof of the puppy!!!

First 2 sets of shots at local vet: $80 each visit

Emergency overnight vet bill:  $362

Trip to get the free puppy: approximately $500

Orthopedic surgery with 4 pins at UT: $1918

Those ears, Those eyes:  Priceless

A week later . . .

 . . . and there is some progress.  The back porch is looking MUCH better and I am catching up on my week worth of laundry.  I know the theory is to do a load a night or so, but the Saturday marathon of laundry is deep in my blood.  Probably due to my childhood spent Thursday nights at the laundry mats  (the smell of fabric softer still reminds me of practice spelling tests)  And I really don't mind.  It is something to do while watching 10-12 hours of college football.  Go Hokies!!

This morning Robert and I tag teamed to worst of the living room.  WALT's art area had exploded ad there were letters and stickers and feathers EVERYWHERE.  Should have documented it with a photo, but Robert is not so keen on my pics of the messy house.  And his help was much more important.  We are presently between vacuum cleaners and I am ever so tempted to go swipe mom's new Dyson while is out of town.  The fear is that the massive amount of pet hair and glitter will kill the Dyson and then I will be is serious trouble.  But I'm still thinking about it.  What I need is some infomerical to come to the house and clean my rugs with their remarkable new cleaner.  Wonder how that happens??

I did scrub the dishwasher out last weekend.  Got on my hands and knees with a toothbrush and scrubbed everywhere I could reach.  Then I ran the cup of white vinegar for a cycle.  It has seemed to help with the amount of crud that existed in the murky bottom and the white residue on my black plastic cooking utensils.  Though if anyone is thinking what I would like for Christmas, it would be some non-black cooking utensils.

I am also contemplating the concept of the cluttered mind = cluttered house theory.  I had some self induced  mind clutter, that I hope to have time to explore soon, and I think that it contributed rather directly to the backslide.  I am hoping to start some type of journaling, which may be the form of some type of companion blog, that is about the rest of my life and will hopefully be a more creative outlet, which was in all honesty the original plan for this blog.

In ironic news, at my present employment I am in charge of basic cleaning/sanitation of my classroom.  There are no janitors at S.C. Head Start.  So every Monday-Thursday at approximately 1:30 pm I am on my hands and news scrubbing sown toilets with diluted bleach.  It has me thinking that if I can do it everyday at work, then I can do it everyday at home.  It's still just a thought, but at least it's percolating . . .

Will download new pics as soon as that pesky cord reappears. . .

Is it really Labor Day already?

I know.  I fell out of the blogoverse.  It happens.  For those of you not in my Facebook world, we got a puppy (and they are a time sucker by default)  and 3 weeks later, about the we settled into a functional puppy schedule) the our darling Slinky dog fractured her right ulna in three places.  It took 4 vets, 2 trips to UT Knoxville Teaching Vet Hospital, and major orthopedic surgery requiring 4 pins, and a recovery including a crate and e-ring/Elizabeth collar, and the price is a secret I will take to the grave.
It also sucked up every minute of my time and energy
The good news is that Slinky is finally on the mend.  She has a hitch in her gait, but we'll take it.  And now it back to the house.
It has not fallen back to quite the disarray of those first horrible pics (except maybe WALTs room, even he has declared it a "pigsty") but it is not the functional, if lived in, home that Tammy found on her mid summer visit.  (which we hope becomes semi-annual at the least)

So here is the new plan.  Is this the fourth or the fifth?  I have lost track.  It is obvious that I am unable to declutter my house in 1 week.  However I do think that I can unclutter and clean my house in 7 weeks.  I am going to spend the next 7 weekends doing the projects of each day of the week.  This I should be able to handle, barring some new medical emergency, human or canine.

I have started this weekend, and will post pics in a day or so.  ( I still need to take the after photos)
So I am off to have a rare and treasured moment of a quiet house. 
GO HOKIES!!!!!