Over the years, I've learned that cliches are cliches for a reason. (And no, I have no clue how to do the accent mark on cliche.) When we had our first house, I looked out the kitchen window one morning at the lawn my husband had spent the entire prior day mowing. When I saw a three foot tall weed, it hit me. That's what they mean when they say …
Archives for December 2009
A Few Projects
I just wrote about my struggle to adjust my thinking about projects vs. progress. A finished project can't be the end of the road when it comes to home organization. Shoes don't automatically go to the right spot just because the spot is pretty. But I am definitely trying to take advantage of my looser schedule this week and get some …
Projects vs. Progress – Adjusting my Thinking
I started this blog at the end of August, with the first post being on the first day of school. For moms, that's the real New Year. But here we are at the end of December and I'm getting the itch that it seems everyone is getting. Like I said yesterday, magazines and stores are pushing organizational products and ideas really hard. I think …
Ideas, Ideas, Ideas . . . Everywhere I Look!
Evidently, I'm not the only one who struggles with organization. I've been amazed at the huge number of "helpful" articles I've been seeing as we head toward the new year. It seems that shedding pounds and shedding clutter must be the two big New Year's Resolutions people have. Someone must have done the research because magazines and stores are …
Cleaning out my Pantry – and Hopefully Saving Money
Most of you know that I'm a coupon freak. I'm not as obsessive or on top of it as I was when I started, but I do have quite a freezer/pantry full. I cleaned out my pantry a few weeks ago. As I expected, I found more than a few expired items. For a cheapskate, this is ultra-frustrating. We're also working on building up our emergency fund, …
Good Habits are Easy to Break
I haven't been making my bed. This is the habit I've had since day one of this process. I read in How Not to be a Messy (one of the millions of books I've read about changing my slobbish ways) that if you don't make your bed, you're not actually serious about changing. If you keep up with all of the "why make it when I'm just going to get right …
Reality . . . for people who aren’t Oprah
I may have mentioned this before, but I saw an Oprah years ago where she was talking to a woman with lots of problems, and the state of her home was just one. They showed pictures of a kitchen piled high with dishes EVERYWHERE, and the woman said that that was just from one weekend. Oprah looked at her and said something like, "A kitchen canNOT …
Enjoying this Stage of Life
Christmas is officially over. That's always a little sad. We enjoyed time with family, played outside in the freezing cold with new toys, and ate way too much. We also got the rare treat of an afternoon movie while someone watched the kids. We saw It's Complicated. We really enjoyed it. It made me laugh a lot and cry a little. I don't want to …
Feeling Better
I was so frustrated this morning, but I'm feeling much better now. Nothing psychological, I just cleaned the house. It's amazing how that works.I think I've said this a thousand and a half times, but I'm amazed at how much easier cleaning is now that I've done a lot of decluttering. I sent the kids to work on their rooms and they were actually …
