A Little Bit About Me

I am a SAHM of 3. I have to sons and 1 daughter. My life is full of adventures as my children are all VERY active. I live in a small town in Upper Michigan. I blog when I have enough free time to write. Hopefully I will be able to this alittle more often than I have been. I really want to learn how to make my blog a success. I appreciate every one of my followers. Once I get myself up and running I am hoping to be able to give back to all of you.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

My New Years Resolution

This year I my resolution is to get my house organized and remove all the clutter.
  When Paul and I started dating 8 years ago we both had our own places.  when we moved in together we moved his stuff to my apartment.  Although we did get rid of some of the stuff we also kept alot more.  After we had been together just over 2 years he got a house.  At the time I was in a lease so I kept my apartment.  Well that was a new place that needed furniture and stuff.  So we got the things he needed there that I still needed at the apartment.  Then 6 months later when my lease was up I moved into the house with him.  We had been living together in the house for the most part through that time but I didn't want to break my lease and it was alos nice to have somewhere else to go and relax if I needed some me time.  We moved everything from the apartment to the house that he was in. Another 2 residences worth the junk, combined together.
   In 2008 we bought a house. As we moved we sorted through and got rid of a little bit (not even half) of the junk we had accumulated in the 4 1/2 years we had been together.  The rest of it we took with us and just put it all in the basement in boxes and totes.  That was almost 4 years ago and most of it was still sitting down there untouched and pretty much forgotten about.  The only change was that in the amount of time we have been here we have just accumulated more and added it to the basement full we already had. 
  When we bought the house there was Paul, Austin Bryce and I.  It's a 3 bedroom house, two bedrooms downstairs and ove half of the upstairs is one bedroom (when u first go up there stairs there's like a hallway that goes to the bedroom, only wide enough for dressers and a walk space). 
 In February 2010 (I was 37 at the time) I had a positive pregnancy test.  Sometimes it's amazing how much room you need for someone so small.  Not to mention all the bedrooms are full.  My boys are typical brothers and 100% boy.  They would bicker, whine and tattle on each other from when Austin got up (Bryce was always up first or it would have been when he woke up), until Austin left for school.  After school it would start up again as soon as they were both home and continue until either I was at my wits end with it and seperated them or Bryce fell asleep.  So we let them each keep their own rooms and put the baby upstairs in our room.  All of a sudden the family room is full of toys and baby furniture... YAY!!!! More clutter.... NOT!!!
  It had gotten to the point that I got completely overwhelmed just trying to think of where to start.  That just led to me not starting at all. I'm sure we all know what happens when you don't start to do it.  It seems to multiply on it's own and just keep growing. 
  I made myself a promise that I was not going to let it go another year.  I sat down one day and started going through it.  Take about packrats....  reciepts from as far back as 2005, broken toys, at lest 12 empty shoe boxes, broken Christmas balls, I'm sure you know where I'm going with this..
  The weekend before New Years Eve was when I started.  I figured if I got started before 2012 that I was already starting the New Year with less clutter and disorganization.  New Years Eve was spent starting to move the boys upstairs so that Annalise could finally have her own room (downstairs) so her toys could go in there.  Especially since Santa brought her a Step 2 kitchen and my family room is pretty small (having an Air Hockey Table in it doesnt help much either). 
  It feels good to be gettting organized and getting rid of the clutter in the house.  I relaxed after I started to declutter my surroundings, that even my emotions and thoughts seemed less disorganized and less cluttered.  The house is a work in progress.  I know it's going to take some time. I know I can't get it all done in a day, so I do a little bit eveyday during the week and on the weekends Paul and I make a day of it.  My parents take my kids so we can work on getting it done.  It's amazing the difference there seems to be in everyones attitudes and moods since we are starting to get there. 
  I know that I am less irritable and frustrated.  I no longer feel overwhelmed thinking about it.  I just decided that there was no more thinking about where to start and I just picked a spot that I knew would make me want to do more.  I started with all the paper (reciepts, bank statements, check stubs, all the good stuff), grabbed to plastic tote type file cabinets and labeled all of the folders.  It was unbelieveable the difference just getting papers into one place made. 
 So if by any chance any of you are feeling overwhelmed.  If your looking around saying where do I start.  STOP !!!!  Please don't sit and think about it letting your thoughts overwhelm you.  Just pick a task, even the first thing that comes to mind, and do it.  It sounds hard but once you start it is so worth it.
HAPPY ORGANIZING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4 comments:

  1. Hello, I found you off of MBS *new follower*. I do like your blog alot. Your New Years Resolution is like mine. In the past 6 years we have moved three times and things just keep piling up. I have a whole room full of stuff from this last move I still need to go through!

    I followed GFC, My Networked Blogs, Twitter, and FB. I see you don't have a G+ button so if you get it let me know!

    Check me out too. http://parsimoniouspash.blogspot.com

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  2. Great plans! I found you on MBS! Check out my blog and follow me back :) http://tenderallure.blogspot.com/

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  3. I completely get... we have been in out place for almost 20 years now. 7 children later and we feel like we are loosing it sometimes. We constantly organize. Visiting you from MBS. You can visit and follow me back at brainlessmomof7.blogspot.com
    twitter @brainlessmomof7
    facebook brainlessmomof7

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  4. Hey I noticed that you followed me on Networked Blogs so I'm stopping by to say thanks :) I followed you back. I see that you are new to this (at least this blog is new) so you should join the Newbie Blog Hop (http://goingcrazywannago.com/2012/01/newbie-blog-hop-week-22/) and join the Facebook group. The women there are SO helpful, in just the first day I was in the group I got so many problems solved and questions answered so check it out when you get a chance. Also, I am reading a great book called Organize For a Fresh Start by Susan Fay West and it is really good, it was free on Amazon a few days ago but not any more but if you keep your eye on it maybe it will go free again soon. Good luck with your re-organizing project and hopefully I will see you in the FB group soon :)

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