Sunday, May 31, 2009

Decluttering Sunday?

Yes, even though it is Sunday, I have been decluttering some today. I have been fighting a sinus infection or cold or something since Thursday afternoon (sore throat, congestion, low grade fever and either a stuffy nose or a drippy nose - it changes from one to the other). I was feeling some better today so I decided to declutter in the following areas (sorry but no pictures - I just wasn't up to it):
  1. both the inside freezer and the refrigerator freezer (needed to see what we had before I do our menu plan for the week
  2. bathroom cabinet - I need some space to store the extras that I have been buying at CVS, Walgreens and Target
  3. under bathroom sink
  4. makeup drawer

Considering that I had to do these in shifts and then take a minute to rest because I wasn't feeling great, I'm really proud of what I was able to accomplish. I got rid of lots of outdated OTC medicines and old makeup and organized all the extras in one area so it's easier to find when we need more toothpaste or deodorant.

Tomorrow I need to tackle the closet by the back door. I have bought quite a few cleaning supplies and I can't even get them in that space. I hope that I'll feel like doing this tomorrow.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Another Award


Who knew that cleaning out closets and decluttering countertops and piles could win you awards? Well, that is exactly what has happened and I am so honored and humbled by this award. Thanks to Joy at Just Organize Yourself for bestowing this honor upon me. She has an awesome site on getting and staying organized and decluttered - a woman after my own heart.

Now, in return since this award is all about making new friends, I must nominate 15 of my favorite blogs for this award. They in turn will need to nominate their friends and so on and so on.

Here's my list of 15 (in no particular order). Check them out.

  1. A Frugally Old Fashioned Homemaker
  2. Focusing on the Bible, Family and the Great Deals
  3. Learning the Frugal Life
  4. Little House in the Suburbs
  5. Small Notebook
  6. Cents to Get Debt Free
  7. Beautiful 2 God
  8. Organized Everyday
  9. Simple Mom
  10. Freezer Friendz
  11. Working Moms Can Blog Too
  12. Sentiments from My Kitchen
  13. My Lil Budget Book
  14. Eat at Home
  15. and finally the lady who inspired this blog, Pigpen to Paradise.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

5 Things I Can Live Without Thursday

This week I decided to focus on five things that I could live without that have been decluttered from my home.

  1. old gold picture frames - why would I even waste good money on these - most of them had tarnished and looked horrible - I just had them in a box in a closet (now they are gone)
  2. undies that have seen their better days - our entire household had this duty - some were too far gone for rags (that's really bad)
  3. baby blankets - my little one is now 5 years old and these just don't appeal to him any longer (why have I not blessed someone else with these??)
  4. super flat pillows (actually this would be okay for me but my husband insisted now that we have a new bed that we needed new pillows as well)
  5. old Swiffer sweeper - I got a new microfiber mop from www.flylady.net that I really love but for some reason was still holding on to the old Swiffer - it can go clean up elsewhere

I'm sure you have things that you can live without this Thursday, too. Share them with us. I'm going to try Mr. Linky again, but I'm fearing that it still won't work correctly. If not, just leave a comment and your link.


Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Am I Still Decluttering??

I just noticed that I hadn't posted anything about decluttering since last week. I had a whole list of things to do over the long weekend and didn't get a single one accomplished - not one. I laid around all weekend (it was rainy here), watched movies, and did absolutely nothing (with the exception of a few loads of laundry.

I guess since today is Tuesday (I almost typed Monday - I'm already a day behind), it is time to start something. So I'm leaving you for now to go get something decluttered. I think I'll start with my dining room table. We probably need to eat somewhere other than in front of the tv tonight.

Before...










and After...


Thursday, May 21, 2009

Blog Link A Thon

I joined a Blog Link A Thon a week or so back at Momdot and part of the agreement for joining was to post the blog thinks on each of our blogs. They will be doing this every month or so. Watch for it and if you didn't get your blog listed in this one, maybe next time. These are some awesome sites, so check them out. Please let them know that you saw them in the Link A Thon.

1. http://www.notalwayscharming.com/
2. Fairy Blog Mother
3. Crazy Adventures in Parenting
4. Engineer a Debt Free Life
5. Sweet ‘n’ Sassy Girls
6. Good Golly Miss Blondie
7. SavvySuzie
8. For The Love of Baby!
9. http://lovemy2dogs.blogspot.com/
10. Blessings Abound
11. Coupons, Deals and More
12. Hairstyles For Girls
13. http://www.thedivinemissmommy.com/
14. A latte in the morning
15. KiddiesCorner Deals
16. 3 Kids and Us Mom Blog
17. The Ohana Mama
18. Coupon Queens of Laurel Run
19. Today’s Journey
20. http://confessionsofahousewife.com/
21. My Charmed Life
22. http://www.doublebugs.com/
23. http://3boys1girlandadog.blogspot.com/
24. New Sue Review
25. Suzanne Calling
26. Just For Me…and You
27. Time Slides By
28. Babes and Kids
29. Declutter a Little Each Day
30. Grocery Savings for Real Families
31. Life Starring Ellie and Eve
32. So Cute Crafts
33. Brea’s Mommy
34. Are Muffins Just Ugly Cupcakes
35. It’s A Beauty Filled Life
36. The crazy suburban mom
37. Donna’s World
38. Momma’s Gone Over the Wall
39. Mommy’s Quiet Time
40. Joyce (Saving My Cents)
41. My Trendy Tykes
42. The Not-So-Blog
43. Confessions From HouseholdSix
44. SiPPyCuPSand FiNGerPriNTS
45. http://www.couponmommie.com/
46. http://www.crackersandchaos.blogspot.com/
47. Giftfully Simple
48. Just For Fun
49. Digital Mommy
50. Me And Craig
51. Parenting Princesses
52. http://mylastshredsofsanity.blogspot.com/
53. Inside My Head
54. Petit
55. My Love Lucy
56. FreckleBox personalized gift
57. Baby Lulu Dress
58. Blog 4 Mom
59. 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires
60. Jolly Mom
61. My Life My Journey
62. Maman And Gourmand
63. http://jessmalexander.blogspot.com/
64. The POSHpreneur
65. A Blog of Goodies
66. Christy aka The Write Gal
67. LookWhatMomFound
68. Peanut Butter & Smelly’s Dad
69. Lucy
70. Angry Julie Monday
71. The Mogul Mom Blog
72. Angela
73. Deal-ectible Mommies
74. Christy’s Creations
75. Lisa
76. http://www.booksnboys.blogspot.com/
77. Wannabe Supermom
78. Thre Craft Momma
79. Internet Toddler
80. http://lifeisasandcastle.blogspot/
81. Kristen of La Dolce Vita
82. Cranberry Fries
83. http://www.mud-bug.com/
84. The Mom Buzz
85. http://nightowlmama.blogspot.com/
86. Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls
87. Mommy Cracked
88. EclecticBird
89. Mama Mentor
90. Moomettesgram’s Musings
91. Moomette’s Magnificents Reviews
92. Moomettesgram’s Favorite Recipes
93. Diaries of a Domestic Goddess
94. Go Graham Go!
95. NerdFamily Things
96. NerdFamily Blog
97. Making Money Keeping Money
98. NerdFamily Food
99. Flying Giggles & Lollipops
100. http://themorrisbunchblog.com/
101. http://www.simplybeingmommy.com/
102. A Kindred Spirit’s Thoughts
103. Two Of A Kind, Working On A Full House
104. D-Lo’s Lounge
105. Free Sample Freak
106. What Mommies Need
107. Mom of 2 Boys, Wife of 1
108. icefairy’s Treasure Chest
109. Cheaper Than Therapy
110. Therapeutic Reviews & Giveaways
111. Lily Bean Designs
112. Dirty Diaper Laundry
113. Dance Momma
114. JamericanSpice
115. Mombalance
116. A Pocket Full Of Buttons
117. Ordinary and Awesome
118. Reviews and Giveaways
119. Subjective Beauty
120. Tales From A Shopaholic Mommy
121. Mommiemayhem
122. IE Mommy
123. http://blasianbabynotes.blogspot.com/
124. Amber Woodward
125. Grammy Janet’s Place
126. Outnumbered 3 to 1
127. ShimmerMeBlue
128. Dev’s Favorite Giveaways
129. Joyful Money Saving
130. 1stopmom
131. A Modern Mama
132. PourSomeSugarOnMe
133. Fancast
134. Lollipop Baby
135. Lola & Ben
136. idoby2celebrants
137. Sue Jackson
138. Cackleberry Kids
139. Gifts By The Stars
140. Jemma
141. Handmade Kids
142. Ollie Rose
143. Babasfarmlife
144. Banquet Manager
145. Monkey’s Momma
146. This Mom Can Shop
147. EcoLabel Fundraising
148. Divine Chaos
149. baby kakes ink alphabet onesie
150. tee from recycle me
151. http://lizzie-q-homemaker.blogspot.com/
152. marla mandell bread (5/17)
153. ozone socks 5/15
154. Belly Bumps to Baby Hugs
155. Hip T
156. ThenComes Baby
157. Homemade Gourmet
158. Fresh Pure and Simple
159. MomDot Mom Blogs
160. MomDot Mom Reviews
161. Bloggers Give Charity
162. Organic Baby Resource
163. Potamus Prefers
164. The Army Wife
165. Through Hazel Eyes
166. Frugal Rhode Island Mama
167. Just Jingle
168. And Twins make 5!
169. Frugal Plus
170. Christie
171. What Happened To My House?
172. Miracles on Mama Street
173. Heck Of A Bunch
174. Blog Designs by Susan
175. mommy23monkeys
176. Hanna
177. Got Kids Need Valium
178. Womb At The INNSANE
179. Katie & Kimble Blog
180. http://adventuresofastayathomemom.com/
181. The Frugalicious Mommy
182. Penny Pinching Diva
183. Another day. Another thought or two
184. Beauty4Moms
185. http://www.evilflu.com/
186. Little Miss Julia
187. Mrs Zeee
188. Cheryl
189. Frazzle Dazzle SuperMom
190. Florida Mealtime Savers
191. Inspiration Station
192. Mommy’s Kitchen
193. Saving with MamaNordy
194. Saving SAHM Sanity
195. A Little Piece Of Perfect
196. Nodin’s Nest
197. Lil Miss Eco
198. Laryn Strickland
199. HeatherMama
200. The Gerber Babies Blog
201. WhateverSuccess
202. Women Who Win
203. http://theburbblog.com/
204. Happy Healthy Families
205. Sweeps4Bloggers
206. dramaqueensmum
207. The Mom Trap
208. Multitasking Mama
209. Mama Michies Musings
210. Little People Wealth
211. Belly Beyond
212. Kim Kihega
213. Mom Fuse
214. Juanita
215. Adopt a Do
216. On the Refriderator Door
217. Christine
218. Little Diva
219. My Household Junk
220. I’m Here….Really
221. http://greer5intexas.blogspot.com/
222. mary
223. http://www.nicolesnickels.net/
224. Lori Newman
225. http://kris-jay-caity-izzie.blogspot.com/
226. Debb
227. Shawn Ann’s World
228. Peke Moe -NZ made baby sleep sacks
229. A Simple Kinda LIfe
230. Sweet Serendipity
231. Bouncing Off The Walls
232. Jane Loedding
233. Msbuildingupdabenjamins
234. Msbuildingupdabenjamins
235. Msbuildingupdabenjamins
236. Musings from Me
237. Veronnica
238. The Adventures of Miss V
239. Mudd Kids
240. Mom Most Traveled family travel
241. Relishing the Dirt
242. Good, True and Beautiful
243. http://frugallivingandhavingfun.blogspot.com/
244. The Last Blog on Earth
245. A Wrestling Addicted Mommy
246. Rae
247. http://www.thesidelinesoflife.blogspot.com/
248. Dore’s Diaries
249. Blog by Donna
250. Lisette
251. Pillaging With Buffie
252. Mom of Faith
253. GODSOWN
254. flutterbyechronicles
255. shelley
256. Life In A House Of Blue
257. kristen
258. Alex the Fey Thriller Series
259. MamaCheaps!
260. Donalacasa
261. A Jewish Journey
262. http://learningtogetherhandinhand.blogspot.com/
263. BethinNC
264. Stuttering Shell
265. Don’t Blink
266. Life is Sweet
267. Lisa
268. http://www.sahmsue.com/
269. m.e (cathie)
270. Run DMT
271. Princess Ratbag
272. Michelle G
273. http://www.nathansfight.com/
274. Moody Mama Says
275. Laurie Ann
276. Cooking During Stolen Moments
277. A Simple Walk
278. Vanessa
279. middleagedmom
280. Ramblings Of A Wannabe Writer
281. Oh My Baby
282. Fordcast Sunny
283. Lisa Miller
284. http://www.thedivinemissmommy.com/
285. Bibs & Cribs {very cute stuff}
286. My Lil’ Budget Book
287. Misadventures in Baby Raising
288. My Mommy Said
289. Milk & Honey Mommy
290. Milk and Honey Mommy
291. Amy O’Neal
292. Parenting Children
293. A Girl And Her Life
294. MarieLynn Boutique Blog
295. Born Fabulous Boutique Blog
296. The Pitter Patter Boutique
297. Stephanie Deese
298. Brea’s Baby Boutique Blog
299. digiscrapping.net - Heather Manning
300. Kids Activities Blog
301. Two Little Whales Cloth Diapers & More
302. 3 boys & a dog
303. Karen ~Georgia Angel
304. http://mynotsohurriedlife.blogspot.com/
305. Shannon Blogs Here
306. A Virtuous Woman
307. Secrets of a Southern Kitchen
308. Dreamer
309. Lollipop Book Club
310. Mommie Daze Virtual Baby Shower
311. Heck Of A Bunch
312. MomSaves4U
313. Barely Domestic Mama
314. http://www.babylovingmama.com/
315. Professional Family Manager
316. Kathleen
317. Coaching The Family
318. Frugal Creativity
319. Easy Being Green
320. Dandelion Bubbles
321. Shelly aka The Attic Girl
322. Foxtoybox-Discovery Toys
323. http://beauty4moms.blogspot.com/
324. Colleen - Mommy Always Wins
325. Playground for Parents
326. World of Discovery
327. http://andbabymakesfourperrine.blogspot.com/
329. A Little Bit Nutty
330. Mahayla’s Mommy
331. Mommy Goggles
332. The Shopping Mama
333. If I Could Escape . . .


Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Another Pile

I have really gotten into this tackling piles challenge from Making Your Home A Haven. Today I took this















to this.
















Little by little I am reclaiming the spaces.

First 5 Things I Can Live Without Thursday


This is my first 5 Things I Can Live Without Thursday. When I made the picture to use with this post and recurring posts each week, I tried to pick things that I can definitely live without.

Those things include:
  1. shoes that have outlasted their lifetime,
  2. all those plastic bags,
  3. all those plastic bottles,
  4. broken toys, and
  5. junk mail.

My box of "stuff" included mismatched socks and those plastic coat hangers from the store as well, but the five listed are the five that I wanted to highlight this week.

I'm hopeful that each week this post will help me and everyone else think of those things that are just hanging out in our home and don't need to take up residence there. Whether it be that we need to get rid of it or just never bring it in, I'm hoping that each week we'll be reminded to think about this and the 5 Things I Can Live Without.

I know you are thinking of all those things that you now want to share, so link up. Remember, link to your post and be sure to link back to here. To see guidelines for 5 Things, visit here.




Update: I stopped by earlier this morning to check in on the new meme and everything was working fine. Now, I see that the Mr. Linky has disappeared. I can't get into Mr. Linky's website so I think it may just be down. I went to several other sites that I know have Mr. Linky's for Thursday and they're missing, too. If it's not available, leave a comment with your link and I'll add them in later.

Mr. Linkys are great when they work!!

Five Things I Can Live Without Thursday

After viewing a portion of the Oprah show, I have decided to start Five Things I Can Live Without Thursday. In an effort to get my house and life under control, this looked like something that would benefit all of us. So starting this Thursday, you can link up and share Five Things I Can Live Without.

Here are the guidelines:
  1. 5 Things I Can Live Without is open to anyone wanting to join up and link to their post about things they can live without.
  2. Please link to your individual post as opposed to your blog's home page. If you're unsure how this is done, just publish your post. Then right click on the URL address for that post, copy and then paste in the Mr. Linky box.
  3. Adding the 5 Things picture is not a requirement, but you are welcome to use it in your post.
  4. Be sure to link back to 5 Things here in your post.

Thanks!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Tackling Another Pile

We didn't have much of a t-ball game tonight since the other team didn't show up. Our fellows (and gals) got to hit a few rounds and then go home. Bad for the kids but good for mommy because I got to tackle another pile - the pile of stuff on my kitchen counter.

My kitchen counter seems to catch everything. This week it was the stuff we purchased at CVS and Target over the weekend. There were also some dishes that had gotten stacked on the counter as well as a few grocery items from an impromptu grocery trip last night. I have gotten those piles cleared tonight and it looks so much better.

For more inspiration, visit Making Your Home a Haven this week.

Tackle A Pile - Still Decluttering

Today over at Making Your Home a Haven, the challenge is to tackle a pile. I have taken this challenge and tackled the pile of laundry that was on the freezer in the laundry room. I worked on this before school this morning and now the laundry room looks much better. There is still more to do, but I am so proud to have gotten a little done.

What pile do you need to tackle? I still have plenty more and hope to tackle something else for a few minutes this afternoon.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Posts May Be Sporadic This Week


Because I teach high school and this is graduation week, posts may be a little sporadic this week. We have something going on every night either with graduation or my son's t-ball. I don't know how much decluttering I'll even be able to do with such a full schedule this week. The nice thing (if there is such a thing) about decluttering is that it will wait on you until you can get to it. So there's always next week.

Until then!!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday Decluttering

I haven't posted since Thursday, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been finishing up with the spring cleaning assignments and decluttering.

Friday night we worked on the master bedroom a little more because we went Saturday and picked up the rest of the furniture. We got back late Saturday afternoon and got the bed put together and all of the area around the bed (nightstand, underneath, baseboards, etc.) cleaned and organized. My goal is not put nothing under this new bed so that there won't be an accumulation of junk and dust bunnies under there.

Sunday after church, I had to go through the lateral filing cabinet that held our tv and all the peripherals for it. We bought a media chest with this bedroom suite which meant that the filing cabinet had to go elsewhere. I spent several hours pouring through old files and throwing out nearly 1/2 of the "junk" that was in there. There are still a few files that need to be gone through, but these were medical files that would take more time to decide if enough time had passed to allow it to be dumped. I didn't think I had enough mental alertness on Sunday to tackle those.

The new bedroom furniture is set up now and the room has been thoroughly cleaned. Now, we have to start moving the clothes and other items from the old dressers to these. I'm sure there will be even more decluttering to be done. I want to take pictures, but I am waiting until we get the decorative items back on the wall and dressers.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Declutter Day 28 and Spring Cleaning

Today the challenge for the Spring Cleaning Party over at Simplemom.net was the master bedroom. Because our bedroom is torn all apart right now waiting on the new furniture, I decided to attack my closet. I almost didn't take a before shot because it was so bad. Lots of things from the bedroom had just been thrown in there as we were trying to move furniture around from room to room. Now I'm glad that I did the before because it is a drastic change. See for yourself.

Before (as if you couldn't tell):
and After (aahhhh!):

Between what we cleaned out of Boo's room yesterday and the stuff from my closet today, we have a toy hamper full plus another paper sack that will get donated to the local church thrift store. Good for them. Better for us.

Three Things This Thursday


Three Things This Thursday that I am most proud of are:


1. Getting the living room back in shape this week even though we have furniture spread out everywhere.


2. Getting Boo's room back in order (now I need to tackle his bathroom).


3. Not a declutter thing, but after our preacher's sermon Sunday entitled Failure to Launch on not letting our kids be the dictators of the house, Boo has slept every night in his own room. This is a major (I mean, MAJOR) accomplishment. Because he was born premature and had LOTS of health issues for the first 4 years, we have kept him close by in our room. Even in the last year, we have had a couple of scares with his breathing issues. After Sunday's sermon, I decided to put it in God's hands and move him to his own room. Right now, we are just in the spare room next door because of the new furniture still coming in. (Parts didn't come in and parts needed to be returned.) I have been able to sleep and he usually comes in between 5-6 a.m. and snoozes with us a bit then. It has given my husband and I some time together that we just weren't having previously, so our minister was right (which of course I knew he would be). It's not been easy, but we've got a wonderful start.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Declutter Day 27

At Simple Mom, our Spring Cleaning feat for today is the children's room. I thought I'd be able to get this done with a little help from Boo and possibly take 10-15 minutes. Little did I know. It's a sure sign when you child closes the closet door that something is definitely amiss.

Here are the before shots. Beware! Enter at your own risk!! (They are really messy.) My little one was not very happy about taking pictures of his messy room.




Now for the after:





I am going to show him these pictures as a reminder of what his room is supposed to look like. We have been trying to pick up the toys and stuff every evening, but I didn't realize that he was just piling it around rather than putting it away. So Mom's got to do a better job of checking behind him.
As a side note Boo wants to let the House Fairy know that he plans to keep it looking this great, and that he really does deserve a prize even though it was really bad at the beginning.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Declutter Day 26

Tonight we had t-ball so I was only able to get a few things done. In fact, I should be doing more now but I am taking a short rest before I go again.

We are still working on getting the furniture moved around and in the right areas. Right now, I have a dresser and a toddler bed in the middle of the living room floor. I have vacuumed and cleaned around (and under) them, but things still look disheveled with so much out of place.

Boo and I cleared all the toys from the room before he went to bed, but his room has got to be done tomorrow. So I won't finish the spring cleaning in the kid's room until then. We have already been decluttering old clothes, toys, etc. and cleaning in that area. On a side note, he has started (with a little prompting) sleeping in his room now. I'll post pictures of his room tomorrow once we have finished. He is already talking about sending pictures of his room to the House Fairy and I know he'll be ecstatic to see them show up here, too.

To see more spring cleaning that is going on, visit Simple Mom.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Pictures of Spare Bedroom

This is what our spare bedroom looks like today. We still have a few things to do in there before our exchange student gets here, but I wanted her to be able to see it as well. We now have
  • a queen size bed with headboard (no footboard) with storage compartments
  • a night stand with a drawer and book storage
  • a dresser with mirror with areas for decorative items
  • a chest of drawers (5 drawers)
  • a cedar chest (for more storage)

We don't have any decorative items put up yet. We may wait on these until we know a little more about our new family member. We want this to be a room that she can enjoy and call her own. Ignore the comforter. We just threw one on (it's not the one we are going to use - just a cover for now) and the bed skirt is in the laundry.


Catching Up - Decluttering Per Se Put On Hold

I had to put the decluttering on hold for a few days because of the new furniture. I'll get a picture posted in the next day or so.

On Friday evening, we were really busy with Mother's Day for our moms. We had them over on Friday because we were planning to go to the beach on Sunday (which got interrupted). We also had to get our trailer ready for picking up the furniture on Saturday.

We were gone all day Saturday to get the new bedroom furniture that we ordered. The mattresses had not come in, but the rest of it had so we decided to make the trip and do a little shopping while in town. We got back home, got the furniture unloaded and then went straight to church for a kids program that our little one just loves. We didn't arrive back home until after bed time (for all of us).

Sunday was extremely busy. Even though it was Mother's Day, we had to get all the furniture unboxed and check for any damages/problems. We have three days to report any kinds of problems and there were some. The dresser appears to have been dropped or smashed in some way. One corner of the dresser top is crushed. Also, one of the bed rails is cracked.

We moved the queen furniture set (after church) from our room to the spare room. I didn't know so many dust bunnies could live in one place. I didn't take pictures, but it was unreal how many of those things were under those dressers. They don't sit directly on the floor but there is only enough room under the dresser to hide dust not actually get anything under there to clean them out. So it took quite a while to move the furniture because we cleaned and decluttered as we went.

When we get home today, we will continue to put the new furniture together and look for any more problems. The furniture store that we use stands behind their furniture really well and very seldom have we had any problems. Mostly I think someone somewhere just wasn't very careful with these pieces. We have to go back for the mattresses anyway so at least it won't be a wasted trip to return the damaged pieces.

Until later today!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Special Post for Our New Girl

This post is a special post just for our new exchange student. We finally got to talk with her in person last night and she wants to know more about us. This post is being done especially for her. Here are the pictures and some information that she has requested.

Here's our family from our vacation last summer:

These are pictures of our home (inside and outside):

These are pictures of our spare bedroom which will be your room:

The little bed is just being stored here. We are getting a queen size bed moved in to this room this weekend.

More pictures of our family:

Pictures of the grandparents:

Boo (that's our nickname for him) and one of his chickens. We live out in the country and have chickens, a cat and a garden that you can see in the background

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Declutter Day 25

Today is cleaning and decluttering in the kitchen over at Simple Mom's Spring Cleaning Party. Here's my after pictures. I didn't snap the befores. I only got one cabinet done because I have a horrendous sinus headache.



Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Declutter Day 24

We had a dentist appointment this afternoon and several errands to run so we didn't get home in time for me to do any decluttering or spring cleaning. The only thing I got done was to put a new flower arrangement on top of the armoire in the living room and some toys and other things put away in Boo's room.

Tomorrow is the kitchen. I've peeked ahead and I'm ready.

Declutter Day 23

It's spring cleaning fun in the living room today at Simple Mom's. I only the after pictures because I spent most of my time straightening up the kitchen and the living area because our parents were coming over for the t-ball game tonight and to eat/visit with us.


If you saw earlier pictures of my living room, you will notice that I have moved an old armoire into the corner between the two couches. That had to come out of the spare bedroom because we are moving the bedroom furniture in there this week. I just couldn't part with this piece plus it holds all of my memoirs and scrapbooking supplies and pictures. I love this piece because it belonged to my grandparents and I think lovingly of them every time I look at it. I shouldn't have had it stashed away in a room that was mostly serving as a junk area anyway. I truly smile every time I look at it. This is the way we should feel about every thing we have in our homes. If not, it should go. I think that is the point of decluttering.



Now that tree is another story. I actually bought it for my son's room, but it just didn't seem to fit where I wanted it. I don't smile when I see it. I usually cringe, because it is a constant reminder that I spent good money on something that just didn't work out like I wanted it to. My husband has suggested that we put it in the attic and save it for a Christmas tree for my little one. All we have for him now is a little tiny tree and since he's getting to be a big boy, he'll want a big boy tree. Sounds like a good idea to me. It was cheaper than a Christmas tree and I won't have to see that reminder except during a short time of the year. That might actually cause me to smile instead of cringe. It might turn out to be money well spent in that context.

Oh, and I do know that this mirror is too high. Originally, we were planning to move my grandmother's piano here to the new house and I measured to see where the mirror needed to go in order to be above the piano. Well, as you can see, there's no piano. Moving it proved to be more than we could handle and I couldn't afford a moving company. So until I can save up the money for moving it, the piano will stay at our old house. I'm planning to move this mirror and replace it with a gorgeous metal clock.



Anyway, I didn't get the area deep cleaned today, but part 2 of the living room is tomorrow. So hopefully I'll get a chance to do some real cleaning then.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Declutter Day 22

Well, I have finished the entryway. It looks much better. Things from the weekend have been put away, floor cleaned and filing done. It's getting late so I'll post my pictures tomorrow just you won't have to take my word for it. You can see it in pictures. Until then! UPDATE: Here are the pictures.
Before



and After...

If you need some inspiration for your entryway, visit Tammy's Recipes Making Your Home a Haven.

Spring Cleaning Party

Today I am joining Simple Mom's Spring Cleaning Party. I love her ideas for today (the 1st day of this party). I am running all over the house grabbing up trash. Flylady would call this a 27-fling boogie. Want to join in? It lasts for 2 weeks. Surely we can do anything for a couple of weeks.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Declutter Day 21

Since today is Sunday, I didn't get any decluttering done, but I did clean out the filter for the AC unit. It's supposed to rain tonight so leaving the windows open for those cool breezes didn't seem like an option. This is the first time this season that we have run the air. I hope we don't have to make a habit of it right now, even though the Florida heat is increasing each day. Electricity is just too much and those night breezes are FREE.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Declutter Day 20

I'm beyond tired. Today I have gone through all of my pictures and scrapbooking materials. They are stored in an old chiffrobe that belonged to my grandparents. I didn't throw out much nor go through every single sheet of scrapbooking paper and stickers, but it is more organized than before.

We moved the chiffrobe from the spare bedroom to the living room. I didn't think there would be enough space in the spare room for the bedroom furniture and this piece. I really didn't want to get rid of it so I found another space in the house for it. I think it looks pretty good in the living room. If I weren't so tired, I'd get up and take a picture. Maybe tomorrow, but not now.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Declutter Day 19


IT'S FINALLY FRIDAY!

At last, I hope to get a few days of peace and quiet (as much as you can have with a preschooler) and a little more decluttering.

This evening I have gone through the bookshelf in our living room. Since we will be getting new furniture in the bedroom, I have to do something with the books that are currently on the nightstands/bookshelf units that we have. The new ones have all drawers and no room for books. Some of my decorative items may have to go, but so be it.

Here is the before which really isn't much different from the after. I had to take this with the smaller digital camera and it's quality is not very good. The job is done though and I only had to get rid of 2 items: a small basket and a little birdhouse.