2011: Year of Progress and Changes

Well, 2011 hasn't exactly started as fresh as I had hoped, but nonetheless, I keep kicking, praying, and attempting to stay as positive as I can. This year, I believe is the year of changes and I'm really looking forward to what will happen and cannot wait to reflect this time next year to see all that has occurred.

This past weekend, sweet husband took a night shift on Sat from 3p-11pm since our income is more than tight. My bff left to go home to OK this weekend, so the pups and I had a night to ourselves. Since TV has been out of the picture in over a month, I am now over the withdrawal phases and much to my happiness, I'm over cable/satellite and I'm quite content in the silence or with a movie playing in the background. Ah, what a nice change from sitting on the couch sometimes six hours (yes, six) a night by myself watching nothing but crappy reality programs.

No, this is no longer 2010, this is 2011, the year of progress. So, this past Saturday, home alone, I purged with a vengeance. And it felt great. I'm learning to release more items because of this impactful post by this amazing blog I found. And I'm continuing to live as if we will be moving to England this year. :) I ended up with a carload of goods for donation as well as a nice space in the house dedicated of things in the house to sell on eBay and craigslist.

Sweet husband is being patient, sometimes doesn't understand "this minimalist thing" I'm into, but is supportive (most of the time) of getting rid of things (except for that ugly Nike polo..because it's from Africa). In any event, this weekend is just the start of things to come, positive things. A little extra cash, a lot more empty space, and who can argue with that?

In other news..

I've sent off my resumes to England and *fingers crossed* will get one of the jobs. I'm still purging like crazy. I should have taken pictures of the hot mess of clutter. It's amazing where all of this "stuff" hides. While bff was down here this past weekend, she helped me sort...she is so good with telling me what to let go. I took 2 huge..I mean HUGE bins of books, games, and puzzles to a used book store. Scored $27.00 (eh.) and then 3 large black trashbags full of stuff that went to Goodwill.

Right now I'm in the process of ebaying and etsying the remaining things in order to purge (and make some money). Right now with our income, any little bit of money helps! Our second bedroom needs to be cleaned out asap anyway for my bff and her son to move into it in two weeks. YIKES. Better get on it.

Anyway, I hope you are experiencing amazing weather like we are! Fall is officially here and you won't hear me complaining!

Change in priorities

It's amazing how we grow and mature, the things that used to matter, no longer do. For example, throughout my six years in England, 80% of the time I was happy, 20% of the time I wanted to be back in the States, near my family, near *sigh* Wal*Mart, convenience, malls, etc. Some days life was so stress-free (yeah, they were)that I used to think "Am I missing something? Is life passing me by because my life is so simple?" Wow how things have changed. Things, stuff, Wal*Mart...no longer matter to me. Being back in the States for 3 years has made me say, "Is this what I missed so much? Wow, how priorities have changed."

I was going through old pics of my life there, looking at the great times I spent with my best friend, mother of my three godsons..and I got incredibly sad. I missed those days of simplicity. I called my best friend, today is her birthday, to tell her how much I missed her and those days. She told me, "LL, you have grown so much since we left England you realize that stuff is no longer important. I know why you miss England so much, I miss those days too."

I'm now more focused than ever on the simple life that I had in England. I'm in the works of getting back over there with little intention of coming back. I want to raise my children in that environment. I have my 2nd bedroom stuffed with things I'm getting rid of through ebay, yard sale, donating, and giving away to family members. Where all of this stuff came from, is beyond me in my 1100sqft house. But it's going to be gone. The simple life? Less stuff? Yes, please.

Tunnel vision

Apologies for not posting in a while. I've been extremely unmotivated lately. Frustrated. Stressed. Aggravated. You name it, that's what I've been going through. Dreading my job, dreaming about my job..even on the weekends. UGH. I feel like I can't escape it and I'm just over it. Right now I have tunnel vision on two major life changes:

1. Moving to England. I lived there from 2001-2007. I couldn't wait to move back to the States. I was over Europe, I was ready to get back to American culture. And then something happened. I moved home and thought, "Is this what I was missing? Ok, I'm over it. Send me back." And now, more than ever, I am dying to move overseas again. That is all I can think about...and sometimes dream about. (Except in my last dream I was 20 mins late for my flight and they wouldn't let me on...talk about nightmare..haha...) I know hubby has only until May 2011 until he is done with his Masters in Social Work, then it's on to get a job..either through Civil Service in the military or through a sponsored employer in England. Come hell or high water, this time next year, we will be there!

2. Starting a family. For the first time ever(And do I mean ever) I'm ready to have a baby...it's all I can think about. I've talked to husband about this and he says we need to focus on the plan (England) but I know we can do both...realistically it would be smarter to wait until we're overseas...but I want to at least start trying..maybe in a few months.

I've begun the process of purging like crazy. I took today off (4 day weekend, thankyouverymuch) and have done nothing but clean and purge. I'm hoping to have a yard sale this weekend to make a little money and get rid of things that just need to go elsewhere. I know what it is like to move and have too much stuff..and unless we get a civil service job where they will pay to move us, we need to downsize. Immediately.

So, that's what's going on right now, dear readers. Thank you for your patience. I think after my four day break from work, I can finally regroup and think again..ok, maybe not! :) But I'm going to try.

Minimalism

"I've been getting rid of some clutter — anything that doesn't serve a positive purpose in my life — and making room for things that feel happy to me. Because I get to make my life whatever I want it to be. I get to make the room feel however I want it to feel. I get to make the closet as full or as spacious as I want it..." -Jan Denise

I've lost my way. I've been so consumed with this house that it is taking over me. When I was dating my husband, he had nothing but a couch and kitchen table and we never had any stress. We spent out time together, enjoy each other's company. Now we have a house full of furniture and I feel like all of my days are spent cleaning stuff. It's ridiculous. I'm stressed over this..over that.. what has gone wrong?

I need to eliminate the "stuff" from my house. The excess that is consuming my thoughts and my energy. Stupid. It's just stuff..but it's hard to get rid of things when family is near by and they put on the pressure. "Oh, don't get rid of that. You'll regret it. Oh honey, just pack it away. You might want it someday."

Ugh. No. I don't. My parents brought us this china cabinet over to our house. "Oh, honey, don't you want to put your stuff in here? This way you don't have to dust it." NO. I don't want it. I don't like it. I don't need it. Period. So, luckily my sister took it and it's out of our house. Whew. One thing down.

Ok, enough venting. Time to get back to purging. A serious purge.

Update on Mama's house..

My parents came down last weekend (21June) to clean out my grandma's house as someone is going to rent it for a year.

I know I've talked about this before, but this time, it was SERIOUS crunch time and we had to get the rest of the items out. I figured although I'm 25, I have helped my parents in numerous ways deal with my grandmother and all of her belongings. For my readers who are dealing with aging parents, I figure maybe some advice could help you with their homes; in addition, what you can do NOW to prevent your children from dealing with your stuff.

My grandpa passed away almost 2 years ago to the day, July 7, 2006, the day before my grandma's 88th birthday. What have I learned from this experience?

• Older generations have a difficult time getting rid of things, they really need to be reasoned with about what is important, and what is not. A napkin collection (I'm talking paper, from fast food restaurants, not linen)? NOT. A silver tea set that was a wedding gift. YES. My grandma's generation who survived the great depression thinks they need to stock pile things; don't get angry or upset, talk to them in a logical tone and help them realize that used tinfoil isn't important and buying a roll isn't expensive. Chuck the old stuff and if they need new, they can easily access it.


• Even though my grandma has three, yes, THREE homes full of stuff, she still feels like she needs it all. You have to be firm about paring down what goes and what stays. My parents and uncle, God bless them, have allowed her to keep so much (really, Tupperware from 40 years ago? When she doesn't cook?) that they have garages and homes over flowing. Ridiculous and pretty silly.


• Take one day for your loved one to go through the house and pick their favorite things; then take them somewhere else (outside the house) so that they can relax and every able body is ready to go to work. (I wish we had done this!) Put those things in a pile so you know for sure those are getting packed up to go home. It's HARD to get things done when she's asking questions every 2 minutes and wondering what is going on and if we're bringing that chair, etc. When packing up a house, it's business time and getting distracted when you're trying to work is just mentally exhausting.


• Call a used furniture store and see if they buy estates. Instead of hauling things through 3 states, pick your favorite things, family heirlooms, quality furniture that can be used and sell the rest. This way the buyer is responsible for hauling everything else away; dishes, furniture, housewares, etc. No boxing it up and bringing it home and then dealing with it later. No, you probably won't get as much as you hoped, but do you want to deal with a yard sale of items? It's not just the yard sale, it's renting a trailer, boxing everything up, loading it(which is exhausting in itself), taking it home, unloading it, going through it (again...), taking the time to set up a yard sale, etc. If the items aren't that precious and were used as a winter home, they're most likely just spare goods. Check out the yellow pages for used furniture places. Trust me, I wish my parents would have done that!


• Be understanding. My grandmother was SO emotional about everything. It's frustrating on the kids (and grand kids) to see her make a huge deal out of a few mugs and 20 year old spices, but those are her things. Again, talk to them about how their goods can be used and appreciated by someone else. She loved them and appreciated them at the time but now that time has passed, she needs to move on.

I hope these tips have helped. Like I said, this is a HARD time to deal with everything and she is so old she just sat around and couldn't do much of anything; this really frustrated her because she didn't understand what was going on. If you're getting on in age, start going through your things and picking what is really the most important to you. Please don't put on your children what my grandparents have put on our small family. It is hard. It is physically and mentally exhausting. And VERY time-consuming. Make it easy on your family and cut back on some of the things that may not be that important to you; you can't take it with you!

Happy de-cluttering.

Blessings,

LL.

Only have 100 Things? Could you do it?

I really enjoy the Living section on CNN. They usually have interesting articles every few days that pertain to what I'm dealing with at the present moment. Today they have link to an article on Time.com entitled, "How to Live with Just 100 Things."

Currently there is a 100 Thing Challenge, a movement that challenges individuals to whittle their belongings to just 100 things. Dave Bruno, online entrepreneur from San Diego looked around his home last summer and determined he just had way too much stuff, so he began this challenge.

It's a very interesting read and I encourage you all to check it out. It really makes us think about the important/not so important things in our lives. Do we really need so much stuff? I learned quickly the power of clutter when I lived in England. Simply put, we could not have a lot of stuff. In our first home, we had NO closets. No joke. A 3 bedroom house with no storage...and a tiny one at that. Now in my new home, I'm really encouraging myself to purge. I really need to clean out my storage unit in the backyard. I have way too much Christmas stuff so that needs to go. I suppose it could go on craigslist as Christmas approaches.

I'm going to take this challenge head on. No, I don't think I could get to 100 items, but at the same time, I could afford to pare down my goods. Does one person really need as much as I have? As my bf says, you have enough stuff for 3 people. Yikes.

My parents are coming down so I think I will give them some items to take to family members. Ok, here we go again. PURGE TIME!!! :) Ah, I love it. Give me your thoughts on this challenge. I'd be interested to know what everyone thinks.

Blessings, LL.

Clutter bust: Photo albums

This week I'm going to do different "Clutter busts" devoted to attacking little areas of the house that accumulate clutter but you may not even realize it! Today we are going to attack PHOTO ALBUMS!!!

You can ask any one of my friends or family members, I LOVE pictures. I always carry my digital camera with me in case I need to catch a shot; it is a little extension of myself. Problem is that I've acquired SO many pictures over the years that it's time to go through them and pick the very best ones. Much like a collection of items, pictures should have the same approach: keep the VERY best ones, toss the rest.

What's a TOSS picture and what's a KEEP?

**TOSS**

• any unflattering picture. really, why would you keep a picture that looks like you have 2 chins when you only have one?
• duplicates. how many shots do you need of a kid blowing out birthday candles? keep the cutest ones, dump the rest
• pictures that you can skim over. if you show your photo albums to your friends and there are some you just flip through, get rid of them, they are just taking up space.
• fuzzy pictures. if you can't tell who is whom, why are you holding onto it? if you have to squint to enjoy the picture, just let it go.

**KEEP**

• pictures that make you smile. 'nuff said.

I have different albums for different items so that I can find pictures easily. I have one album strictly devoted to my beautiful godsons and all of our wonderful times in England with them. Another few albums are devoted to my travels around the world. I keep an album that has pictures of the pets that I've had throughout my life. I keep an album of my high school and college days. I keep an album of previous Christmases that I went home and visited my family when I lived in England. And I have an album of my life in England, traveling around the country, visiting London, spending times with friends, etc. By organizing your photos into albums devoted to different aspects of your life allows you to access a photo easily without sweating over giant stacks of photo albums. Organizing is about making your life EASIER and this is one way to do that.

I started this little project on Saturday night and I'm still working on it! I have a HUGE stack of photos that I'm giving to my ex (our travels, high school days, life together, etc.) so that he may enjoy them and I also threw away so many pics, whew! I'm in the process of getting them reorganized into photo albums, I'm hoping by the end I can purge a few albums and have a few empty ones for future use!

I'll let you know when I'm finally done! This is a great way for me to really evaluate the most important (documented) moments of my life and making sure I only keep the really good photos!

I hope you enjoy this little segment, please leave comments and/or suggestions if you know one area of the house that tends to get neglected!

Tomorrow's Clutter bust: Kitchen pantry. :)

Addicted much?

Ok, anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE furniture; I inherited this from my uncle who loves furniture as well. There's just something about a quirky table, chair, bookcase, etc. that gets me excited. I reported the other day that I've been check craigslist more often; I think this is in part to the other blogs I've been checking out and when they reference a retro lamp or table they got for $30, my fingers start flying. Needless to say, I've been checking every few hours so that I can be the first if a retro ____ comes up for sale.

This weekend I drove to the other side of town to purchase some vintage Marilyn Monroe articles from an artist who had no more room for them in her house. For $20 I was more than pleased to pick up 5 articles written about her (when she was alive, I hate stuff written about her after her death). After I arrived at her house and we began chatting about our love of Marilyn, she said, "Oh, I should show you this bookcase I did." Uh Oh. So she takes me in her garage and begins unearthing this really cool small bookcase that she had hand painted (literally, painted with her hands) and decoupaged (she uses a similar technique she invented) a gorgeous photo of Marilyn on it with vintage Los Angeles postcards. Very cool, eclectic, and fun, instantly fell in love with it even though I only saw about 1/4 of it!! "Oh, I had this on craiglist for $65 but only one guy responded to the ad, he was really creepy and had a Marilyn tattoo on his neck and I did not want him coming to my house. But I'll sell it for $40." Zing.. sold.

After bf loads it in the back of the truck, I smile.. like a druggie who just got her fix. After an hour of rearranging my room to maximize my new piece, it now rests comfortably next to my bed with the 1960s lamp I happened to snag from my hoarder grandma. My room is now bursting with furniture; queen-sized bed with matching chest of drawers and bedside table, seagrass 3-drawer dresser (medium-sized), small antique piece I bought in England with graduation $$ from my grandparents, and my new Marilyn piece. It's pretty sad when I'm considering getting rid of my bedside table that matches my furniture so I can have more fun pieces, but I think I might do that. I think individual pieces are a lot more fun, attention-grabbing, and interesting.

Ok folks, what does this have to do with the price of eggs in China? A good rule of thumb when you bring something into the house: One thing in, Two things out. This will help you control the clutter that may be taking over your life. You can't have everything, really focus on the pieces that make you happy and that you love, if you have something that doesn't make your heart sing every time you see it, get rid of it. Eventually you will find something that replaces it and makes you happy.

Happy to say, I did MORE purging this weekend after I worked Sat. I have another bag load of things to take to Goodwill and after browsing so much on craigslist, I think I'm going to post a few items on there myself and get rid of things that take up too much space, things that I don't use, or things that I have NO room for. My DVD player in my room pooped out, I think I'm just going to sell my TV, I now read at bedtime which is better than watching videos anyway. I have an old retro table I picked up on freecycle that my roommates decided to plunk in my room, so since we no longer use it, I'm going to post it for free. And a new chip and dip set I received as a wedding gift almost 7 YEARS ago that's never seen the light of day? it's going on there as well. Why not clear out the house and make a few bucks? The new-age garage sale. :) I love it.

Time to go camping!

The flowers are coming out and the days are getting longer..this means spring is here! In Arizona the weather is perfect for camping, just what we did this Easter weekend! Now that the time is approaching to get out and enjoy nature, it is also the time to go through your camping gear, fifth wheel, etc.

We have a fifth wheel with 3 slide outs so we are very comfy when we go camping; we finally got to California (at 4am after leaving at 8:30pm!!) and once we got set up we had to put back everything we took down for the trip, so nothing would break. We realized this is actually a perfect time to spring clean, a little odd timing, but it really was the best for us; the trailer is normally clutter-free and clean, neither one of us likes clutter.

We got rid of a bunch of trash, old boxes (one was for the iron, but we never used the box!), and got everything reorganized. So needless to say, after about a half-hour of cleaning, dusting, purging, etc., the trailer looked great and we were able to keep it clean the whole time we were gone and once we got home, everything was in place.

What do you need to do before you head out?

• When getting ready to go camping, pull all of your gear out and determine whether you need to keep items, replace new ones (do you really want to sleep in a moth-eaten sleeping bag?), or just pitch the unnecessary. Take with you only what you need (you probably won't be using your laptop on a camping trip!) so that when you get to camp, you can easily set up without a lot of hassle, and wonder, why did we bring all of this stuff?

• Making a list of what you need to take with you and ensuring it all gets done beforehand is always a good thing. Start a few days before your trip, even starting before you think you need to. Nothing worse than leaving later than you plan on and getting in way too late! You want to enjoy what time you have, even if it's only a few days.
  

• Keep cash handy just in case of emergency. Our trailer battery was dead shortly upon arrival and since we camp way out in the desert, about 30 miles from town, one of our friends picked it up for us on his way in. Luckily we had to cash to give him when he finally arrived, otherwise we would have been in a weird position.
  

• Don't carry unnecessary weight, this translates into poorer fuel economy and unnecessary braking stress. Try to fill up your water containers at your last stop area, if at all possible.
  

• You can NEVER have too much water. You may be surprised at how much you use for showers, dishes, drinking, etc. You can buy some 5 gallon water containers at Wal-Mart for about $7/container, bring more than what you think you'll need!
  

• Try to minimize the amount of stops you take on your trip; this will save you time and save you gas as well, since you won't have to stop and restart your engine all the time. Take enough snacks and bottled water with you so you don't have to pay $15 every stop at a gas station!
  

• If you have pets, we brought Juno and our kitten, Willow, make sure you have enough food for them and always keep an eye on them! All of our friends have little 4 wheel drive vehicles, quads, bikes, etc. Nothing would be worse then one of them getting injured and being so far away from a vet, when time is of the essence. Also, we have to be cautious of scorpions, rattlesnakes and coyotes, by keeping an eye on them you can make sure they stay out of trouble, and stay safe.

• And most important, before you begin your trip or start your journey home, say a little prayer to the Man Upstairs, or whom ever you worship. Giving thanks for your health, your ability to be able to take a vacation, and making it safely, is always in style. After all, He is the reason we get to enjoy nature!
  

If you get everything planned in advance, your camping trip will be much more enjoyable. Your vacation is supposed to be relaxing, not exhausting! No one wants to stress on vacation so by getting a head start on planning your trip, you will be able to maximize time and ensure you have all the necessary equipment to enjoy yourselves! :)

So you wanna live simple too?

Purge- verb, purged, purg·ing, noun
–verb (used with object)
1.
to rid of whatever is impure or undesirable; cleanse; purify.
2.
to rid, clear, or free

Where do I get started? is a good question to ask, and don't worry kiddies, LL won't let you down! My plan for purging will get you on the right track to eliminate CLUTTER (that word alone just raises my blood pressure) and simplify your life!

1. Get 3 boxes and line one of them with a trash bag; also grab a kitchen timer
2. Label one box "Keep", one box "Trash" (this one is lined with a trashbag, but you already knew that didn't you?), and the last box "Donate"
3. Pick one room of the house to focus on, say you chose your bedroom. Chose one area to begin like the closet and work on that section alone, don't bounce back and forth, you'll feel much better once one area is done then you can move to the next. Also, you will feel overwhelmed if you try to tackle it all at once.
4. Grab your boxes and your timer, set a limit of one hour to begin with.
5. Go to TOWN! Go through your closet and get rid of trash, clothes you haven't worn in a year or more (Sweetie, you will not wear that shirt again, trust me! and if you lose weight, you'll want to buy new pants anyway, not wear ones that fit you 10 years ago!!) and clutter that has accumulated there.
6. When you can't decide what to keep and what to get rid of, ask yourself this: When I look at this item, does it make me happy? Does this item fulfill my life or fill me with guilt/anxiety/sadness/anger? If you do not TRULY love an item, if you don't look at it and it doesn't make you smile, PITCH IT! Trust me, once you have a home full of only the things that you love, your house will be a happy home, and you will be a happier person as well!
7. An important note: a lot of us receive items as gifts and we feel guilty if we get rid of them. Don't feel guilty! If you truly do not like the item and you're just storing it, then what is the point of having it? Let someone else enjoy it! Trust me, I HATE storing items, I figure, why am I storing this stuff? Really, what is the point?! If it's being stored I'll never do anything with it, so I get rid of it. It's hard at first, but once you stick to your guns and get into the hang of things, it truly does get easier!
8. Once your timer goes off, if you're still motivated, keep going! But if you feel tired, stressed, or overwhelmed. Take a break. Remember, your house did not get like that overnight, it will take longer than that to get it on track.
9. Once a DONATE box is full, tape it up and take it to your car, you're much more likely to get it to Goodwill if it's already there. Grab a new DONATE box and get back to work!
10. Tackle each area in the house like this and pretty soon you will have a clutter-free home. Go through your KEEP boxes and make sure you have a place for everything. I LIVE by the mantra: "A place for everything and everything in its place."

So, once you're done with one room or even the whole house, you may ask: What do I do with this stuff?

You pretty much two options with your full "Donate" boxes:

• Give it to charity! Nothing better than taping up the boxes, driving down to Goodwill and donating your old stuff; most places have a drop-off zone so you just pull up and a helper comes and helps you unload your stuff! It's out of the house and out of your mind now, just make sure you pick up your receipt so you can write it off on your taxes next year!!
• Have a yard sale. Make a few bucks off of your stuff, but make it for the next weekend. Otherwise you'll be storing this stuff in your attic/garage/basement/spare room, and who wants to do that? You may NEVER get around to it, so do it soon! I'm against garage sales for the simple fact is that donating your items takes it off your hands right away and you won't be digging through boxes later. Out of sight, out of mind!

Getting a clutter-free home takes a while, it is hard for a lot of us to part with items that we have a sentimental attachment to! It's okay, if you have items you're not sure if you want to get rid of at this point, but those items in a box and label it with the date and put it in your garage. After 6 months if you haven't touched the box, keep it taped up and take it to Goodwill! :)

Good luck! And stay positive! You CAN do it!