Day 30, Decluttering

Today I cleaned out the cabinet where I keep the medicines. I tossed all the expired meds, and organized everything else.

I have made a new blog just for my cleaning, decluttering, baby stepping & decorating: My Clean Home

I am starting FlyLady's babysteps again Sunday, 2/1 :)

Decluttering update Days 26-29

Monday Jan 26--cleaned out the fridge again...wasnt too bad.

Tuesday Jan 27--decluttered my cleaning supplies...consolidated like items

Wednesday Jan 28--decluttered my tupperware cabinet

Thursday Jan 29--Decluttered the kids' room, tossed 4 trash bags of stuff (torn out color books, notebook paper, stray game pieces, toys with parts missing, etc)

SO SO SORRY....Decluttering update

No, I have not been neglecting my decluttering mission. I just havent had time for posting. The kids were out of school from 1/17(sat) through 1/23 (friday).

So, here's a short recap of my journey:
16-cleaned a bin from the shed....tossed 1/2, freecycled other 1/2
17-kids' hanging clothes...about 1/4 to freecycle
18-2 bins from shed.......tossed & freecycled most
19-1 bin from shed...most gone
20-bathroom cabinet...wasn't anything to toss, just straightened it all up
21-emptied magazine rack...won't tell you how old they were, lol
22-went through a box of craft supplies, freecycled it all
23-went through Brea & Rory's toys....freecycled 1 trash bag full
24-went through the board games...tossed those missing pieces
25-went through the dvd's....tossed empty cases & scratched dvd's


Today starts the super fling boogie on flylady again...go check it out. I am down with the stomach flu today...but will try to get something done, even if it's just cleaning out my wallet. Not sure if I will get to post today, or not

Homeschooling

I am leaning towards homeschooling. I would like any advice from readers out there that are currently homeschooling. Are there any curriculums out there that are a good program? Any to avoid? Any advice? I'm very curious to see what you have to say.

Day 15, Decluttering

I cleaned out the small buffet and got rid of some cookbooks I knew I'd never use.

Now I am using it to hide YES, HIDE, snacks from my kids. I have to provide a daily snack for my kids to carry to school, but if I don't hide them, they will get gone. Hopefully it will be a LONG time before they find this hiding spot ;)

Day 14, Decluttering the truck, pt. 2

Today I decluttered the front seat of the truck, I got a few stray pieces of dirty clothes and a wal-mart bag of trash (it was already partially full). I also found a few things I knew were in the car, but couldn't find.

I even cleaned out the console.

The only thing left to declutter is the door racks in the front seat (just a few magazines in there) and the trunk........there's always tomorrow ;)

Day 13, Decluttering my truck pt.1 (1/13/09)

Decluttered the middle & back seat of my truck. Tossed 1 trash bag & had 1 trash bag of dirty clothes.

It's amazing that the kids are only in my truck for a total of 15 minutes a day and aren't allowed to eat or drink in the car accumulated a whole trash bag full of trash.

Chey doesn't accumulate any trash, and we hardly ever go anywhere.

The clothes are from them too lazy to bring in their dirty clothes from staying at grammy's. Well guess what...new rule: you don't bring in your dirty clothes, you miss a turn.

Another new rule: surrender your backpacks when you get in the truck, so that any snacks you had leftover at school, the trash & crumbs don't end up in my truck.

I will be getting the truck detailed this weekend, if I'm in town.

Day 12, Decluttering (1/12)

Sorry I didn't post this yesterday, I cleaned out the entertainment center and straightened up the dvd's. Tossed any empty cases I had.

Day 11, decluttering (12/11 Sunday)

Sorry I have not been posting lately, but I have been decluttering. I went through 2 bins from the shed today and tossed everything in them. Have no idea why I'd kept the stuff, but glad it is gone now!!

How cute is Santa's little helper???

This little girl with the mischievious look on her face is ready to go see Santa...12/22/08. Cheyanna 7 months.

Menu Planning (a few days early)

I changed my mind about going out to eat tonight.

So, here's my menu from tonight through next Saturday night:

Saturday 1/10
Lemon Herb & Garlic Shrimp, baked sweet potatoes, rice pilaf and salad. For dessert the kids & dh will have lime jello. I am omitting the sweet potatoes for myself, and I will have sugar free lime jello.

Sunday 1/11
Taco Dip & Scoops (no scoops for me). Dessert is pound cake for dh & the kids. More s-f lime jello for me.

Monday 1/12
Tuscan Rosemary Chicken & Beans, pasta, salad, homemade yeast rolls. Dessert is chocolate pudding. For me no pasta, rolls and s-f lime jello instead of choc pudding.

Tuesday 1/13
Mushroom Delight Pork Chops, rice, salad, homemade yeast rolls, Dessert pound cake. Me: no rice, rolls or pudding; s-f lime jello.

Wednesday 1/14
Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf, green beans, salad, cornbread, cherry jello. For me no cornbread or cherry jello; s-f peach jello.

Thursday 1/15
Creamy Pesto Chicken & Bowties, peas, salad, hm yeast rolls and pound cake. For me no peas (yuck, lol), rolls or cake; s-f peach jello.

Friday 1/16
Preacher's Delight, salad, hm yeast rolls, vanilla pudding. Me: no rolls or pudding; s-f peach jello.

Saturday 1/17 Chicken & Homemade Dumplings, carrots, salad, hm yeast rolls, Orange Creme Cake. Me: just a few dumplings, raw carrots instead of cooked (yuck), no rolls or cake; s-f peach jello.

Sunday 1/18 Leftovers.

Decluttering, Day 10

I decluttered my pantry & my can pantry...but I also went grocery shopping. Sooooooooo................they are now slam packed again. But they are better organized. I do need to inventory though.

Day 9 Decluttering my desk (1/9/09)

Didn't get a chance to post yesterday.

I got one desk shelf completely decluttered...it is now empty and waiting on me to decide what to put there. I think that is going to be home base for my camera, cellphone, wallet & keys.

Day 8, Decluttering my desk

For some reason, blogger still won't let me upload pics....so, yesterday, I worked a little more on decluttering my desk shelves. I did not get it completed, but I did go through all the stuff on the remaining upper 4 shelves. I tossed all the trash (filling 1/2 a very large trash bag). I still have things on my desk that don't belong there, but I did eliminate the trash from those 4 shelves.

Day 7, Decluttering the DR table

Yes, My Dining Room table is a mess.....covered by who knows what...everything imaginable :)

I have (almost) come to terms with the fact that my table will not be available until all the decorations are put away, BUT, at least I can get all the "extra" junk off of it.

Ok, I do have 3 pics for you, but for some reason I am having technical difficulties (the picture thingy on blogger won't open...yes, that is a technical term).

But, I will have to show you my progress later. Everything not Christmas related got put away or tossed. The Christmas stuff is on the table sorted by category.

Day 6 Decluttering...part 1

Ok, yesterday the kids were all home with a stomach virus, so I let the clean laundry pile up (I know, I know, shame on me). I washed & dried all day but did not fold or put up.

So, the first thing I had to do, if I wanted to declutter anything, was to fold the laundry & put it away.



Before.......a big pile of laundry.



After....all folded & ready to be put away.

Day 5, Decluttering...One Desk Shelf

Ok, this is REALLY embarrassing...It's ONE of the shelves on my desk.



shelf before....yes, please don't judge, I know it's bad...



the contents of that shelf dumped...in my defense, I have 4 kids & a dh that love to stick stuff on my desk and it's a really deep shelf. Ok, that doesn't even sound like a good excuse to me, lol.



Ahhhhh...a nice clean shelf. Tell me why it can't stay that way???



This is all the stuff that needs to be put away elsewhere.



This is the stuff that needs to be put back on that shelf (disregard the crayon box and the rolls of calculator paper, because I ended up putting 2 photo boxes full of supplies on the shelf and now they won't fit on the shelf).



The after picture ;) 2 photo boxes of supplies, my markers, my check box, envelopes, scrap paper (the old stubs from the business account), index cards, tae bo dvd, education cdrom, my favorite cd, butterfly rock that Brea painted, my meter & outgoing mail.........

Menu Planning Monday

No, I've not given up on OAMC, but don't have time to do a session right now. So, here's this week's menu.

I got this idea from Rhonda at Christmas Notebook, who in turn got the idea from Organizing Junkie.

Monday: Homemade Chicken & Dumplings, green beans, homemade yeast rolls, peanut butter cookies (for dh & kids)
a small serving of C&D for me, with a large salad

Tuesday: Meatloaf, Rice, tomatoes and peas, carrot cake (dh & kids)
Meatloaf, tomatoes, salad for me

Wednesday: Barbecue Chicken, carrots, black eye peas, chocolate cherry crunch (dh & kids)
Grilled chicken, black eye peas, raw carrots for me

Thursday: Farmhouse Pot Roast with carrots & potatoes, homemade bread, gingerbread cookies (dh & kids)
roast beef & carrots, salad for me

Friday: Shrimp cocktail, baked potatoes, turnip greens, salad, coca cola cake (dh & kids...cept turnips just for kids)
shrimp, salad for me

Saturday: McDonald's for kids, Outback for me & dh IF my mom will watch the kids.........if not it will be Golden Corral for all of us. Yes, I know this is not going in the direction of saving money, but my dh & I have not been out just the 2 of us in years.....and we could use the time to talk.

Happy Monday

I haven't had time YET today to declutter. The kids are home sick with a stomach bug, and I've been cooking up a storm.

Have made so far:
Homemade Chicken & Dumplings
Meatloaf
Homemade Yeast Rolls
Steak & Eggs (breakfast for me & dh)
Peanut Butter Cookies

Grocery Game

I joined Grocery Game to help save money at the grocery store. The trial is for 28 days and costs only $1. After that they will charge you every 8 weeks, $10 for the 1st store and $5 for each additional store.

They tell you the weekly sales for the stores in your area (you pay by the store). They also tell you which coupons to use to maximize your savings (and when the coupon ran). They also give you links for printable coupons.

For the trial, I signed up for all the stores in my area, but will probably whittle down to 2-3 when I start paying full price. How many stores I sign up for will depend on how much I save between now & then.

If you sign up, please use my email for a referral. cats75@embarqmail.com

Thanks so much.

Grocery Challenge

Ok, this year I am also vowing to spend less at the grocery store. I found a blog Jane4Girls that she feeds her family of 4 for $800 or less a year. Now, I know that we can not do that with 7 of us. But, I am going to try to do it for no more than $1600 per year. In 2007 I spent that much in 2 months, so it will take some buckling down.

My first strategy is to use what we have first. After I've done all I can do with what we have, then I will buy groceries....buying on sale items and using coupons.

DH went shopping yesterday (not my best move if I'm trying to save money), but he did want to eat out, and I nipped that in the bud by making breakfast.

Once, I locate the receipt, I will update this post.

I will also take the cost of my Sunday paper out of the budget, because the only reason I buy it is to get the coupons.

$1600 - $1.50 (paper) = $1598.50 left in budget for 2009

Day 4, Decluttering, part 2...Packing up the Kitchen Christmas Decorations

I put away all my Kitchen Christmas decorations today (except the china).



Here's the left side of my buffet.



Here's the right side of my buffet.



Here's my gingerbread wreath. The utensil ornaments hanging from it are from my best friend.



Here's the miniature utensil ornaments that my best friend bought me for Christmas....Thanks Tami ;) Next year they will hang on my 32" fiber optic tree that I bought after Christmas for only $6, along with some other ornaments I bought for it.

Day 4, Decluttering...Fridge

Today's project was organizing my refrigerator.

Ok, I forgot to take a before pic, but all I tossed was a couple of half empty condiment bottles, that we won't be using anytime soon. So, it wasn't that different, just unorganized.



Inside of the fridge. I had no idea it was so empty...just sent dh to get some milk :) Guess I could have cleaned it while I was rearranging everything. Oh, darn, I forgot to tell him to get more eggs.



Here's the inside of the door. The bottom row is empty because the rail broke.

Day 3, Decluttering...Putting away the decorations, pt. 3

Next 10 Ornaments (last 10 of today)...



Precious Moments



Precious Moments 2



Roses painted by me 2001. there were 12, we are down to 3 :(



Rudolph (CNB)



Santa painted by me in 1998....yes, he needs a touch up.



Santa (cracker barrel)



Santa paintbrush (CNB)



snowboy (cracker barrel)



snowman cd (CNB)



Star (CNB)

Day 3, Decluttering...Putting away the decorations, pt. 2

Part 2...the next 10 ornaments :)



Dancing Star (CNB)



2001 Eeyore.......I love me some Eeyore, you'll probably see his face again ;) (disney store)



Embroidered ornament (Rhonda at CNB)...isn't it beautiful?



Jacob's Duke Homestead field trip stocking Kind. (2007, 5yo)



Jacob's stocking 1st grade He made this for his baby sister's (Cheyanna) 1st Christmas...isn't that sweet? (2008, 6yo)



Jacob's snowman Pre-K (2006, 4yo)



Jesus is the reason for the Season (CNB)



Mitten (CNB)



Nativity (CNB) Isn't it pretty?



Pink Cascading Stars (Cracker Barrel)

Day 3, Decluttering...Putting away the decorations, pt. 1

Sorry I have not posted yet today....I have been busy doing laundry AND putting it away as it comes out of the dryer...what a novel idea!! Lol, I am known to let it pile up til it's about 10 loads (yes, that is possible in one day around here). And then have a ton to put away all at once. So, in a way you could say I've been decluttering my laundry pile...Sorry no pics for that one ;)

Today I am going through my Christmas boxes. Not all the ornaments got placed on the tree this year, b/c I didn't get it decorated til 4am Christmas Day (blushing now), but I promise to do better next year. I only opened 2 boxes of Christmas decorations (of 6). There will probably be more boxes this year. The ornaments on the tree will stay up through epiphany (January 6).

Most of our ornaments are homemade (by the kids or through an exchange I do every year), they look old-fashioned or rustic, or the kids' ornaments that they collect. Most, but not all.

Here are the first 10 ornaments:



apple flag (cracker barrel)



Bell ornament from an exchange at CNB



Blue Cascading Stars...got these at Cracker Barrel



Caity's Feliz Navidad stocking 1st grade (2007 6yo)



Caity's 1st grade snowman (2007 6yo)



Caity's Chrismon Kind. @ Sunday School (2006, 5yo)



Caity's Dalmatian Kind. (2006, 5yo)



Cardinal (cracker barrel)



Cat in the Hat (KFC??)



Santa's Clipboard (CNB)

Day 2 Decluttering

Ok, I bet you thought I'd already given up on my resolution;) Guess what...not yet :D

The 1st project of today is one drawer from my scrapbook organizer, gasp....Don't judge ;) It's scary!! But in my defense, I haven't scrapped in over 3 years, so things just kind of got shoved in there the last time I scrapped, and I never gave it another thought.



Here's my before picture....see, I told you it was scary.



Here it is all dumped out...egads!!



This is the good stuff...I weeded out all the scraps and any bent or torn papers.



This is the trash. That's a bunch (there doesn't look like there should still be anything out of the drawer).



The pile on the left is stuff I'm keeping. The pile on the left will be freecycled. I know, I know, I'm keeping more than I'm getting rid of. But it's only 1 drawer, geez....And, I did get rid of more than I kept if you count the trash ;)



Here's the keep stuff, semi-neat back in the drawer, I think it looks much better than the before picture.



And here's the giveaway pile.

Like I said, there's no rhyme or reason to where my decluttering adventures will take me....and, yes, it is driving me nuts to not have a "schedule"....but I am trying.