A plan, a canal...no wait!

My basic thought is this.  Every day, I should do at least one contained, completable project.  A cabinet, a drawer or two.  That sort of thing.  They don't make the most visible difference, but it makes things ultimately more packable and streamlined.

Every day I also need to work on these big, insurmountable projects, at least a little.  The toys.  The papers.  The clothes.  The back hall closet.  The garage.  The list goes on.

And if I can keep the laundry folded, and clean something, that is good too.

Today's self-contained project was this drawer in the powder room:

Typically, this is a bathroom used by guests and the boys brush their teeth in there as well.  These drawers aren't a crucial thing in our lives, BUT...there is no need for them to be full of random stuff.  Or toddler diapers, either.  Not kidding.

I emptied the first one and thought "There was nothing in that drawer that actually belonged in that drawer.  The second drawer was similar, though B's travel toiletries kit was in there and did end up going back.  Still...incredible.

Also done today - the last of the "bags of love" from Almost, Maine, Counter wipe-down in the powder room and further progress in the hall closet and master bedroom closet.

Kitchens and Fortitude

  I don't know why on earth this doesn't look like more stuff.  It sure felt like a lot, but...it's amazing how nice it is to move things on out of the house.  I managed to put out some stuff this time that I couldn't find last time the donation people came by.  So that is a small victory.

Then I got a message from a friend with a toddler. We'd talked about their coming over and getting some toddler toys - my boys are so far beyond them, it is silly that I have them!  She fell in LOVE with the kitchen and the toy food, which was delightful. She did not even want to see any other toys!  At the end of our time, she packed all the toy food and dishes into grocery bags and, I kid you not, carried them  right up the street and away from her car!  It was so great to see this toy kitchen getting played with and loved after years of boredom in our living room.

During the kitchen clean-up, Scott went to put some ziploc bags away and found this horrifying scene:

And he struggled to get the box of ziplocs not to slide right back out of the cabinet again.  My response could only be:  That cabinet is NEXT on my list.

Sara told me to throw away all the old candy.  DONE
I found that there were 10 lunch boxes in there.  My kids aren't even allowed to bring their lunches to school, so this is clearly too many.  We are now down to 5:

All in all....I keep wondering if I'm every going to get all of this done.  I know how to do a big project.  Here's what I need:

1.  Vision

2.  A plan
3.  Steady, consistent effort
4.  A deadline

I don't know how exactly it is all going to get done, but at least I'm moving in the right direction.

Looking at a December 11 closing...we'll see just where I can get to by then.

This would be funny if it weren't so sad.

Yes. More.

Challenge... Accepted

So this morning Corinna suggested we blog about our attempts to clean out our houses and move into new houses in short periods of time (she said "6 weeks," but honestly, I don't think we can sell this house that fast).  I immediately liked this idea because 1. it motivates me to keep working on this project and 2. it gives me a reason to sit down and not work on the project directly.  Yes, my name is Sara, I'm a mother of two, a Registered Nurse, and a bundle of contradictions.

We have a lot to do in our house if we want to sell it and move.  De-clutter, store stuff we don't get rid of, paint the entire downstairs and some of the rooms upstairs, finish the upstairs bathroom remodel, replace some flooring... the list is long and it won't be cheap.  But we can't live here forever* and we do have a house we want to make on offer on. 

After agreeing to this blog plan, I immediately sprang into action by tackling one of the (MANY) trouble areas in my house, the closet in the master bedroom.  It is a large closet but it was full... so much so that I couldn't take a step into it anymore.  This morning I had donated a few bags of items to the Epilepsy Foundation (they come around Northfield about once a month to pick up donations and I love them for it).  After today's work, I have more bags of items that will be donated eventually, my closet is somewhat better organized, and my husband got involved in the closet project, too!

I'm hoping to work on the closet further tomorrow, and yes, I'm taking pictures and I'm hoping to figure out how to post them as well. 

Until then...


*I'll explain in a future blog post.  I hope someone reminds me.

We begin with...paper products?

I was thinking today's challenge was going to be CLOTHING.  Because there is too much of it and the Lupus people are coming to pick things up tomorrow, but somehow I ended up in the pantry.  There was a suspicious aroma in there and because it is trash day, I decided to finally go after it.  It was potatoes.  Some other stuff had to go too, and then I realized:

I have a truly alarming quantity of paper products.  Every time we load-in a show, ever time we have a birthday party, I always seem to take the extra home.  Which is great - we are totally ready for a kicking housewarming party.  Or the next show's load-in.  If people would stop buying paper products for 10 minutes.

Oooh, backtracking.  I do a lot of work in technical theater and believe that if people are working a long day, they do better if they eat.  Therefore...food.  Therefore paper products.  And when it is time to clean out, I can't just throw out a whole stack of plates or napkins or stir sticks.  You get the idea.

So here's a before.

So many paper plates.  Maybe I just need an entire cabinet devoted to paper plates.

And there's a Bin, reclaimed from random toys a few days ago.  Washed today:

And together...who knows...

Is it wrong that this gives me hope for a peaceful resolution?  

Now PLEASE.  Nobody buy any more paper plates or solo cups, K?