Consumerism and all this crap!

I bought into it.  Hook, line and sinker I totally believed in the lies.  How pathetic is that?  Which lie you ask?  That would be the "stuff makes you happy.  You'll be so much better off with the more crap you have.  Don't have a place to put it? No problem!  Move to a bigger place that you can't afford, and go deeper in debt (because those credit card purchases for all the crap you didn't need anyway are piling up) and keep buying, buying, BUYING!" lie.  After all, that's the American way, right?  More = better?

Seriously.  I bought into the hype.  More is better for us, right?  Yeah right.

So then, frustrated with all the junk in my house that I had to have I needed organization for it, so I bought even more stuff (ha!) to "get organized".  While the shelves were a great idea for my crafting addiction (which IS under control- haven't bought anything for that in months, but have been using what I already have) I have storage out the wazoo, and am STILL not organized.

WHHHHHHYYYYYYY?   I've whined.  I don't understand, I've done what the busty blonds and guys with Australian accents have told me to do on all the DIY home improvement shows have told me.  Why am I still not organized?  Why isn't my house clean, and why do I still have no places for some of this stuff?  What is going on?  This isn't what the American dream promised me.

And THAT is when I realized two things.  1- I've been lied to by the "dream" and have been told (just like YOU) that more = better and if you don't have more, then you're "behind".  Heck, even you have read the "she who does with the most ___________ wins!"  What are you going to do?!  take it with you?  OOH, are you going to leave all that crap for your family to get rid of, probably NOT in the most loving way that you'd like, because they see it for what it is- crap?

So, this is how I'm getting myself unburried before we move.

• I'm donating clothes that don't fit.  This sounds like a no-brainer, HOWEVER how often do we say something like "I WILL fit into those jeans again?"  uh huh.  get rid of them, and bless someone else.  (and since I"m pregnant with #4, I probably won't fit into those clothes again!)
  
• Get rid of the things I absolutely haven't used in a year.  My ONLY exception to this is baby clothes (because I may be having a girl this time, we don't know.) and Christmas stuff.
  Obviously that is a once a year thing, so I'm not getting rid of that.
  
• If I it's broken- chuck it.  if it's expired- chuck it.  If it's missing parts that you "just know" that you'll find, throw it out.  it's not worth the anger that you'll have if you keep it.
  
• don't be afraid to donate things!  I am a fabric junkie.  Actually I'm a craft junkie, however I have a TON of fabric (litterally it's around 2000 lbs!) and most of it I'll never use.  I'm going to donate it and darn it, I'll feel good about doing it!  It's hard when its your "stuff" but it'll get easier when you see how much free space it leaves you!  I'm actually REALLY excited about it!
  
• Where else can you declutter?  I've recently gotten rid of my facebook.  What I mean is I wrote a note to FB and I haven't been on it voluntarily in almost a week.  It was time.  It got gossipy and I actually FEEL BETTER not having other people's problems in my life!  I am working on my REAL friendships, NOT pseudo relationships that fb offered.  I will most likely never meet most of those people in real life, and in all honesty, I'd take a cup of coffee and a good conversation over a brownie than he said she said crap on facebook, myspace, twitter, or any other social "outlet".  My place is in the home, WITH my family, NOT in the home, but living outside of it without my family.

Some of these things sound like no-brainers.. when it's other people's stuff.  But when it's our own, boy howdy does it get hard to do!

I would urge you to truthfully and prayerfully consider what is necessary and what is just "stuff" to you.  It's a long hard examination of ourselves, but it's completely worth it.

If you need help on where to start, check out www.Flylady.net.  Marla and crew are really awesome and will help you get organized.  I promise, it'll be worth it!

blessings!

Chores vs. Blessings.

My home is chaotic.  Sort of.  Well, let me put it this way:  2 years ago, I divorced my husband (long and irrelevant story but kind of part of this, so that's all I'll say.)  and I moved a 3 bedroom house into a 2 bedroom apartment.  we have paths, to say the least.  Well, I've been decluttering and reorganizing but the kids are fighting me.

My current (and last!) husband and I are moving to PA in about 6 weeks.  I am in full panic mode.  I have SO MUCH STUFF, that I "love" and want to keep, but there's no reason for it.  So, I started to get stuff to declutter and deep clean so I don't have to pay extra when we move out of the apartment.

Anyway, to my subject line:  The kids and I have been fighting each other over "chores".  To them, (and honestly to me) it sounds like "heavy, burdened, boring, back-breaking work."  That's a LOT to fit into one word.

ding!  Lightbulb moment.  First, it's my job to teach them that there are things that we "have" to do just because we have to.  For example, I have to have the dishes washed so the kids can eat off of clean plates, right?  Well, instead of doing the boring, depressing, trudging work of washing dishes (yes, our dishwasher sucks; it leaves grit over everything!  I think it's circa 1988 or something- whatever it matches the wonderful piece of engineering that is our antiquated fridge.)  I am BLESSING my family!

I enjoy the fact that I can bless my family and when I get to bless my family, it's not a laborsome "chore" that I'm obligated to do, but it's a joy and a blessing that I GET to do for my family.

Well, intro this concept to the kids.  My children took to it like ducks to water!  They were absolutely excited that they got to help mommy by blessing her!  Shoshi (not her real name) my 7 y/o cleaned the kitchen floor for me yesterday as I did dishes.  Jubu, (not his real name either) my 5 year old was my gopher. Everything I asked him to go for, he did, and he also dried dishes for me, while Shoshi put them away.

They blessed me by doing something that I would normally have to do.  They didn't look at it as laborious, they looked at it as something nice to do for mom.

Because of this, we have officially changed our word "chore" to "blessing" and it's making all the difference in my home.  Another reason for that is because we get to bless others with the toys that we have but never use anymore.

Blessings.  They're awesome!

Moving tip: don't take your crap!

This sort of sounds like a no-brainer, but don't pack things you absolutely have no intent on using in the future.

Clothes- what doesn't fit:  donate.  You can donate to your local church clothing swap, or goodwill and get the tax deduction. Freecycle is another good place!  Get rid of what is ripped, stained or stretched.

If you haven't used something in a year- donate it!
is food going to expire in a few months?  drop it off to a local homeless shelter.
If you live in an apartment, take advantage of your dumpster!  throw out massive amounts of trash, that way when it comes down to it, you won't have to pay for a trash service.


Label everything!  I have a meticulous moving system, and it's been known to drive people to madness.  all I do is label every box (color coded) with what room it goes into.  On a list in my Moving Binder, I put what is exactly in that box.  That way I can list boxes of importance (dishes, over tchotchkies) and what boxes need to be opened first.

I'll have more tips to come later. :)

Are you saving YOUR scraps?

So, it occurred to me- the ends of veggies I don't use- why not throw in a freezer bag in the freezer and use to make vegetable stock?

Charlie adn I are hoping to homestead in about 5-10 years, depending on if he's still in the military then, and where we'll settle down, etc.  Well, growing and canning my own veggies, there are parts that won't be used, like the end stalks of broccoli, greens of carrots, ends of onions and green beans, etc.  Why not save those wonderful little "useless" things to go into the freezer to make vegetable stock out of them? 

The things you can use veggie stock for are:  canning, soup base, flavor for mashed potatoes, brine-ing chicken and turkey, etc. (which you can then use the bones to make a chicken or turkey stock!), use it for the base for roasts, and SO much more!

Save your used coffee grounds too!  I put mine into compost and it helps not only add acidity to some soils, redworms just LOVE them to eat.  Redworms make the soil very rich and when redworm compost is added to manure and soil, boy howdy you get some awesome veggies from it (to keep the cycle going!). 

hope this helps, and tell me how you save your scraps!

best tip for your oven

My friend Sarah and her family just moved into a new home.  (super excited for them!)  This tip comes from her:

Put aluminum foil in the bottom of your CLEANED oven, and when you have drips, you can just replace the foil.  easy peasy lemon squeezie!  How much elbow grease will you save by doing that? 

that's SMART!  (oh, and you can get aluminum foil at the dollar store and/or there are bazillions of coupons out there for reynolds wrap- bonus score!)

a little skill goes a L-O-N-G way!

I was thinking about something today.  My family and I are going on a trip here in a few days.  We are going to be visiting family all over the country, total of 2600 miles put on my poor little car.  (I hear it whimpering from the parking lot).  I have a rather small-ish car, it's a Toyota Camry and holds exactly 5 people, one of them being an infant.  Nate's stuff takes up more room in my car than a little bit.  I have his stroller taking up most of my trunk as it is!  Now, I love my son, and at his age, there are several essentials that I need for him, for example- the stroller- but I also need his pack n play, and I would LIKE to have his swing.  I probably won't be able to bring his swing with us, but that all led to this thought:

Since we'll be in a small car, and have very little room for luggage, and we'll be using the rooftop carrier anyway, why not just put the carrier on top of the car and fill it with PUL bags instead of luggage.  If you're not familiar with PUL, it's a fabric that has been fused with plastic to make it waterproof.  It's on cloth diapers, and their covers, and it's used for "wet bags" -just what the name implies- etc.  Well, mama knows how to sew.  Why in the world would I NOT use these?  Just for example, a standard set of luggage costs (on the cheap side) $75.  You get 1 large suit case, 1 med, 1 small, and maybe an attache case.  This will hold about 4 people's worth of clothes for a week.  I can make 4 bags (for the price of $25, and have extra left over) PLUS they're automatically waterproof! 

So, since I have a ton of PUL, I'm going to make some bags (I need to make a trash can liner for my diapers anyway) and get it done.  I'll post pics when all is said and done. :)  I just got a new camera and yahoo- I'm digging it.

A little skill with a needle and thread really does go a long way!  You'd be amazed at how much you can save yourself on window treatments alone!

blessings and stay savvy!

3 tornadoes; my kids.

Hello Everyone!

It's been a while since I've posted here.  I'm right now sitting on the only available seat in my living room.  Ever since I've had Nate I have been not only behind, but I'm starting to feel like a hoarder.  It's not as bad as all of that, but it can feel REALLY overwhelming at points.  I'm sure you know what I mean. 

My problem when it comes to cleaning:  I look at the whole picture instead of what's directly in front of me.  I can't see the forest for the trees.  Just like I can't see the carpet through the mess.  sigh.  Well, luckily it's clutter mess, not filth mess.  My whole house can be cleaned in less than a few days uninterrupted, (including laundry) IF I don't turn on the TV or climb onto my computer, or pick up a scrapbook or make some cards, etc.  (check out one of my crafting blogs HERE!)  Another problem I have is I'm a constant human feeding machine.  (a SSHD way to save money; breastfeed!)  I have to stop every couple of hours to feed/change diapers/ rinse out diapers/ etc.

So, having made homemade cleaners, I'm going to work on a way to declutter, especially since we're moving soon.  Don't know where (yay, Army!) and have a general idea of when- December(ish) timeframe.  I want to get as much done now, before I have to worry about "what do you mean we have 3 weeks?!".

I'll keep everyone posted.  Remember, it's SMART, SAVVY, Homemaker Diva.  Handling things on a one-at-a-time basis is smart.  I just need to keep reminding myself- housework is a process not a destination.  it will NEVER be "done".  sigh.