12 Days of Decluttering 2014

For the past few years stores in Canada have been taking their cue from the stores in the United States and have been holding Black Friday sales. To me it seems a bit ridiculous, but then that's me. I just don't get why we have to copy things that are done in the U.S. especially since it isn't even a holiday weekend for us in Canada.

Right now, I am trying to limit the things that come into my house, so a sale on things, which is really trying to entice me to spend more and buy more things I don't need, and is merely a good deal, really doesn't thrill me. I guess I could be seen as being the antithesis of Black Friday, and that is o.k. with me.

As I have been thinking of the coming of the Christmas season and all that comes with it I have been thinking of my current junk and my lack of enthusiasm for doing anything with it. With Miss P. still not sleeping through the night I am tired. November is a blah month, where it isn't quite fall but winter hasn't quite set in yet. I find it the month of annoying transition, and I don't feel like doing much. But, Miss V. and Miss G. really want to get the Christmas stuff out and start the whole Christmas season.

Now I like Christmas as much as the next person. I love the music, the decorations, the baking and the lights. What I don't like is when my junk intrudes on the decorations and there is a mix of greenery and junk. It looks so horrible and detracts from the whole spirit of the season.

So with that in mind I have decided to launch the 12 Days of Decluttering and I am hoping you will join me.

What is the 12 Days of Decluttering? Well I'm glad you asked. This is something that shouldn't take a lot of time and add to the stress of the season. It should help you in the celebration of it. Every day for the first 12 days of December you will clean off one shelf, or organize one cupboard, or deal with stuff on one horizontal surface.

I am not asking you do clean out an entire bookshelf or your entire pantry. Just one small shelf. You can do that. This way your pantries will be ready for the baking, your horizontal surfaces will be ready for decorations, and hopefully you will have give away bags to take to your local thrift shop.

I will do my best to document my 12 Days of Decluttering. If you decide to join you can grab the button or leave a comment below. Let me know how you are doing with it. Share pictures of your success. Hopefully this will help all of us get out of this decluttering funk and help us be able to relax more during our Christmas time.

So you have the weekend to come up with your plan and then we start Monday December 1st. Have a great weekend!

Meet My Family

I have been blogging now for a little over a year. It has been a great opportunity to reflect on what is important to me and what ideas I want to put out there in the blogosphere. It is also nerve racking. I would classify myself as somewhat of an introvert. I am a fairly private person. So, to put my personal thoughts out there can be exciting but also terrifying. Who knows what other people might think or say. But so far it has been great and I am loving doing it. Now that my youngest is a bona fide toddler it means time for reflection and actually writing down those musing is hard to come by. That might be why there are a few missed weeks, and also why I have now started posting on Fridays. So please bear with me.

And speaking of my youngest, that brings me to another point and really the point of this blog post. I have always referred to my kids as, my oldest, my middle and my youngest. That can be a bit confusing and weird. So today I will introduce you to my kids and the pseudonyms I am going to use for them from now until they are older.

Pseudonyms you might say. Why yes. I don't want to put their actual names on here. It is not because I want to be deceptive or nontransparent. It is more for their protection. Most people in the world are wonderful and friendly and everything you would want in a human being. Then we have the creepizoids. The people who do ridiculously horrendous things. While I am sure most people who read this blog are of the former category, since this is a public blog the creepizoids could get here too. So that is why I alter the pictures of my kids with sunglasses, and why I am not going to use their real name. I think that the sunglasses add a bit of fun instead of just using the regular black bar rectangle.

The reasons for doing this has hit home today. While I was listening to the news this morning I learned about a girl at a local school was almost abducted by a woman on Wednesday. The woman approached this girl, called her by name and said that the girls mother asked this woman to pick the girl up. Since the girl did not recognize the woman she did not go with her and a crisis was luckily averted.

I am not saying that if you put pictures of your kids up without altering them you are a horrible person or inviting misfortune. We all have to be comfortable with what we put up online and on our social media. For me I am more comfortable doing it this way, protecting my kids privacy, until they are old enough to decide if they want to be known in this way or not. You have to do what feels right to you. Also, it helps me maintain some of my own private world.

The names I have chosen are not the most inventive. Some people come up with clever nicknames that do with the child's interests. This however wouldn't be good for me right now as I would have to call my youngest destructor as she loves to destroy everything in sight. Or possibly the messanator. I am hoping these hobbies will be changing soon and would hate to pigeon hole her into that role forever.

So, here is my family.

This is Miss V. Currently she is seven years old. She loves to help her younger sisters, read stories and be lovely.

This is Miss G. Currently she is five years old. She loves anything to do with fashion, she loves to help in the kitchen, and she loves to play in the snow.

This is Miss P. Currently she is one and a half. She loves being a goof, sneaking into her sisters' room (much to the sisters' dismay) and singing "Let it Go".

This is my husband Matt. I don't bother altering his picture or name. I figure he can take the publicity. He is the master of selfies, the master of goofiness and in general one heck of a nerf-herder.And I love him anyways.

So now you know more about the characters that are at play in my life and in the blog. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I will see you next week.

A Way to Manage Your To-Do List

So we are finally at the original post I wanted to write about. To-do lists. But, what is funny is that when I was starting to edit my original musings and tried to get this post ready my to-do list exploded! I had a billion things that needed to get done. Hence the delay in posting. Oh, the irony of life. Well, let's get on with it.

Anyone who has any kind of responsibility has one of these. The dreaded, or the liberating, depending on your out look, to-do list. It doesn't matter where your responsibility lies, whether it is in a workplace environment or a home environment, to-do lists are part of life.

As a person, where the workplace is my home, I find the to-do list essential, yet daunting. When you work outside the home, you have a specific task which you are hired to do. At home you are the one who sets your tasks and sets your timetable. While this is liberating as you are able to do what you want when you want, it can be hard to do.

As stated in an earlier post, I really struggle with not having a defined set role. If I was just a cleaning lady, it would be much easier to get on with the cleaning. If I was purely a nurturer, then I would get on with nurturing the children. But because I am both, and more things besides, I feel guilty when I don't get all the cleaning done, or when I am not being the best mother, or when I let other things fall through the cracks.

There are so many things that I could do at home. Some of them are fun, such as, reading, playing games, going for walks, watching youTube and cleaning the bathroom. Some of them not as fun, such as, cleaning out the garage, dusting, scrubbing the tub and finding library books. And then there are other things that fall in between. Housework is never done. The mess is always there. It can be hard to be motivated.

Making a to-do list forces you to prioritize what you would like to do that day. If you need a day of leisure, your to-do list may comprise such things as a bubble bath, reading time and working on a craft. If you need a day to be industrious it may comprise such things as, cleaning the toy room, doing laundry and organizing the pantry. This helps you know what to focus on next and helps you make the best use of your available time.

Now I know that the list is never done there is always something you can do next. But you also don't want to get overloaded and burnt out. You need some guilt free time for you and your interests and goals. So this is how I manage my list.

Make your list the night before, if possible
When the kids are in bed and you have had a few moments to just breathe, you are in a better frame of mind to know what is essential to get done the next day. Things that didn't get done that day may not be as important as something else. You will be able to reflect on the day and figure out what the next day will be like. You also will wake up in the morning with a sense of purpose, instead of wondering what they heck you should do. It is always nice when you have a plan of attack then flying by the seat of your pants.

Only put 5 items on your list
I know you could probably put 100 items on the list, but don't. You can always add more when your list gets cleared. But, for now just think of your top 5. If your list is too long and you only accomplish 3 things, how are you going to feel? My guess, you will feel like a total failure, and that is not good. Seeing too many items on my list, makes it hard for me to stay motivated. It makes me feel guilty if I take a 5 minute break. It makes me stressed, when I do my mom stuff, and don't get the other items on the list done. I know a happy child is more important than a clean floor, but if I have a long list and I am playing with my little one I am not as present as I should be because I am worrying about the list.

So to keep myself to 5 items this is what I do. I do not use paper to write my list. If I get a piece of paper, unless it is really small,  it is big enough to write more things down, and that is a temptation I could fall into. Also, with paper, my little one will walk off with it, or I will write other things on it making it a jumbled mess. Paper is just no good.

My solution, a small chalkboard. At Staples they have the Martha Stewart line of Avery products.  They had a chalkboard sticker that fit on my pantry door perfectly. It is also just the right size for me to write five items down. I think it looks super cute and it is super functional.

When I complete a chore or item on the list I erase it off. If my list is done, or pretty empty and I still have plenty of energy and day left, then I can add on more items. It can act like a revolving door of sorts.

Have a mix of items
An important thing in my life right now is getting in shape. That means I need to have time for my workout. I put exercise on my to-do list everyday. While that may seem redundant and exercise should just be part of my life, I know that if it is not on the list other things will get in the way and I will be putting on my pyjamas and realize I didn't exercise. Having it on my to-do list ensures I will make time for my workout.

To-do lists do not have to be all about work. It is about finding a balance of work and fun. To-do lists for me help me not waste time during the day doing nothing. Believe me, if doing nothing all day was a talent then I would be an all-star. But then, I would feel frustrated because nothing would get done. And, the only one I could truly be frustrated at is myself.

So put on some of the housekeeping items, but also put on things you enjoy to do. This gives you the permission to do those activities without feeling guilty.

Be flexible
Things come up in life that are unexpected. If you had something on your list that you find just isn't going to work out that day, change it. Nothing is set in stone. If you think you can only get three things done, because one of the items will be more time consuming, that's fine. Just have the three things on your list.

It is also okay to have items that are on your list everyday. As stated above I have exercise on there everyday. Others may have sweeping or reading or laundry.

The to-do list is not there to make us feel guilty or stressed. It is supposed to be a tool we can use to help streamline our days and to help us prioritize what is the important focus for the day. I find that the to-do list helps me keep focus, helps me to stay motivated, and helps me feel accomplished. Nothing feels better then when you erase your last item on your list. It is great!

Do you use to-do lists? What helps you use them effectively? If you don't use to-do lists is there another system that helps you stay on track and not wander aimlessly through your day?