Time to Get Serious! Getting back to budgeting and taking care of the home.

This fall everything just stopped. I had morning sickness that made me a couch potato. I paid the bills but that was about it. I was not super careful about keeping track of the budget. Housework and organizing was not a priority. I was in survival mode. And, to be honest, sometimes survival mode is what we need to be in sometimes. Especially when dealing with nausea or other health concerns. Sometimes real life just gets in the way of our plans.

When you are at zero it is really hard to get going again. Who wants to have to be the responsible adult with housework and budgets and other things that just aren't as fun or as interesting as my latest book? It is really hard to get out of the survival mode funk, even when you are physically feeling so much better.

While it is hard to get back into the groove of things, and we might delude ourselves into thinking that it is so much easier just to ignore things, that attitude can come with a price. That price is feeling out of control and stressed. That is how I was beginning to feel. My handle on the finances and the amount we accrued on our line of credit did not make me feel happy. The junk that was starting to spread throughout the house and made things impossible was adding to the stress of daily living.

And here is a mini-rant: Why is it that if something is missing it is the mom's responsibility for finding it. Seriously! Who came up with the mom must keep track of everything and know where everything is at all times rule? It totally sucks! End rant.

Now that I am in the third trimester I know it is time to get serious. Baby #4 is going to be here sooner than we think. Another survival mode is right around the corner once the baby comes and it would be super nice not to be derailed again. The closer to the due date I get the more I get what Jim Gaffigan was saying about becoming a parent of four. If you haven't seen it I highly recommend it. It is hilarious. You can see it here.

So what am I going to do?

It is definitely time to get serious about the budget. I was definitely lax with it, we probably bought more than we needed or didn't think everything through during my MIA months. Throw Christmas in there and bam! I am not where I wanted to be at this time.

So, now is the time to re-evaluate our expenses and see where the money is going and figure out where we would like it to go. While there are some expenses you can't do without, such as rent/mortgage, food, insurance and other utilities there are lots of expenses that you can do without, or not fund as much. Figuring out how you want your money to work for you while being responsible with the most pay bills is super important and allows you to have more of a focus on your financial goals.

Part of this evaluation process has led to the creation of a slush fund. This is where we set aside money every month for those things that come along annually but aren't a set monthly thing. This would include things like sport fees, clothing, renewals for licenses, activities for the kids, and so on. To create our slush fun we opened a free savings account (we used Tangerine) and have it set up to take out a set amount of money from our chequing account each month. As we spend in our slush fund categories we can take the money from the slush fund and put it on the Credit card or back in our chequing account (wherever we spent the money from). I know it is more transactions (though with our accounts we have free unlimited transactions) but it will make keeping everything separate and easy to manage.

To keep track of our slush fund spending and regular spending I created a google sheet and shared it with my husband. That way both of us can more easily keep our spreadsheet up to date. Thanks Google! When I buy the kids clothes I just go to the slush fund sheet and put in the amount I spent in the "kids' clothes" category. It shows me how much we had budgeted for the year and how much we have left.

How did I come up with the yearly totals for the slush fund amounts. I went over what we had spent over the year, or how much things cost, like license renewals and got my numbers. Some categories I padded what with inflation, or in the case of kids clothing, if I can't find it used and have to pay for it new. (And my kids aren't going without snow boots just because I can't find their size at the thrift store). Every year we can go over and adjust the category amounts, but I would rather allot too much than too little.

Now that my spreadsheets are made, the slush fund is created and semi-functioning and I feel more organized in the finances once again I feel excited to challenge myself to live below the budget numbers I have set out. I look forward to challenging myself to be austere but still have fun. I look forward to putting more on the mortgage so we can get rid of that millstone around our neck. I am looking forward to see where we are at by the end of the year, and reflect to see if these changes, especially the adoption of the slush fund are working well for us. It is going to be a good year. I just need to make sure I stick with it, because I am the factor that will make it work or not.

Now is the time to get serious about stockpiling.

While I was researching ways to help cut food waste and keep groceries down, everyone talked about stockpiling. I sort of do this, but I found it confusing to implement for a long time. I still sort of do. But this is what I am going to do to get ready for June and to hopefully carry one with afterwards.

I am going to make sure the freezer is full of easy to prepare foods. That way my husband can make food without asking me a billion questions. And, when I am tired and not wanting to do anything I can just go down into the freezer and there will be something that I can throw into the crockpot in the morning or in the oven if it is later. Living in the city is so easy just to say "pick up a pizza on your way home" or "let's go out, I don't feel like cooking". But I know that this will not help with our budget, waistline, or health in general. Now, there is nothing wrong with going out, but you should do so for something special not the norm.

To cut down on some of the produce waste I have I am starting freeze whatever I can. Lately with apples I have been peeling and chopping them and throwing them into freezer bags. I usually put four cups in each bag. (Four cups gives me enough to make an apple crisp, and I love apple crisp!) I have also done that with peppers. That way I can just throw them into fajitas or other meals when I want some extra umph. Did you only use half an onion. Chop up the rest and freeze it. There are so many little ways, that don't add much to your time that can help reduce food waste and make food prep easier down the line.

I am starting to do the sale thing more where I stock up for 6-8 weeks of food that is on sale. And these are foods that I would have bought at full price anyway since I use them. It is not much use if you aren't going to use it, even if it is on sale. It's not a deal unless you use it has been my mantra for a while.

Slowly but surely I think I will get this whole thing figured out. But for now, I just want to make sure there is food in the freezer for when baby #4 makes its grand debut. Otherwise, who knows what we will eat!

Now is definitely the time to get serious about getting rid of the excess. The more stuff you have the more stuff you have to look after. And I think looking after the actual kids is enough. I don't want to have to look after all the stuff too.

So what I am doing to battle the craziness of stuff. Well I am overhauling almost everything. I am trying to maximize the storage I have and put things where they make the most sense. I am getting rid of paper clutter and staying on top of the papers that come in. I cleaned out the medicine cabinet this past week and got rid of all the expired medications and ointments etc. (Make sure to dispose of those in a responsible way. You can take them into your local pharmacy and they will make sure they are disposed of correctly.) It is amazing how much space you have once you take the time to actually get rid of the things that are expired. Seriously, why was I hanging on to it? I am reorganizing cupboards to help things function better. Visual clutter is being put away. It is so nice to have an item and know exactly where it's home is instead of shoving it somewhere and hoping you remember where you put it.

Matt is almost done our new office space. He just has baseboards to put up so that means the office will be moving. That will be exciting because we will be able to figure out what we want to keep and how we want to store it. I am excited for this liberating move and the chance to get rid of even more things!

On the kid front, a couple months ago I was a "mean" mom and took all the toys out of their bedroom. There room was just a mess with paper and clothes and toys. It was too much for them to be able to handle by themselves. So I took everything out put it in boxes and moved those boxes to the garage. They were able to keep a couple stuffies but that was it. And you know what? They have been able to keep their room neater, though I still have to remind them about putting their clothes in the laundry. (Seriously the laundry hamper is a foot away from where they get dressed, not even, just put the clothes in the laundry!!!) And you know what else? They haven't even asked for any of their stuff back! Once I am done with the office I will go through the girls' toys with them and we will see what we can get rid of. I am not completely heartless (only mildly so). But I think what we are learning is they don't need that much stuff. Less is truly more. You can have more happiness when you are not drowning in junk. With less stuff, will be less upkeep, will be spending more time with the people I love and doing the things I love. That sounds heavenly to me.

While this at times feels like pulling teeth, it is time to get truly serious about getting the kids involved in the upkeep of the house. Especially their own stuff. It is important to break the cycle of apathy and laziness that quite frankly they inherit from their parents. (Seriously, give me a hammock and my book any day over sweeping.) While I still want them to have the fun and joy of their childhood, now is the time to help them get into good habits that won't make them a nightmare roommate.

This means, helping with laundry, wiping the table, emptying the dishwasher, setting the table, sweeping and dusting. While they help with these everyday tasks, it means I can focus on the organizng of the house and the running of the home. It means I can invest my time in some of the bigger aspects of life and be less stressed in general because I know I have a team of kids (plus husband) who are helping with the little things that when go undone makes everything worse. Miss P loves having jobs to do. She loves helping to tidy and loves helping to sweep. Now is the time to harness this williness, as Miss V, who is almost 9 though seems more like 15 does not have the same enthusiasm. We may have missed the boat with Miss V, but here is the next one to put her on. We'll get there.

Hopefully doing all this, keeping better track of our finances, stockpiling, getting rid of the excess in our home and getting the kids involved will help us get organized and back into some good habits. My hope is this will help to simplify our lives, allow our family to be more joyful and be able to live a more full life. And, if it can crank down the stress I feel, and know I will definitely feel once baby #4 comes, well that is a a big fat bonus!

A Mending Miracle!

I am definitely an "out of sight out of mind" type person. If something is not in my visual range, I won't think about it or deal with it. Right now we have the curtains over the back door shut, so I don't see the leaves that are piling up over our yard. I guess there is no raking for me! ;)

So this brings me to mending. If I have something that needs to be mended I put it in my bottom drawer of my desk with the thoughts that I will get to it, eventually. Well it is embarrassing to say that a lot of the items in my mending drawer have been in there for over a year! I just don't sit at my desk as much as we are in the middle of changing things around so the office is a glorified dump zone right now. If I do sit at my desk it is usually because I am performing a different task with the mending in the bottom drawer not even a blip on my radar.

Well, just over a week ago, I finally decided that I was going to mend. And mend I did. I cleared out my whole drawer and mended everything except a dress that I was supposed to put a pompom on. I'm not sure where the pompom got to. I will have to go on the hunt.

It felt so good to have that task, that had been hanging over my head forever, to be done. My kids now have usable clothes again and all it took was like 45 minutes, not even, of my time to get it done. By mending it saved me money and garbage space as I didn't have to discard the items and go shopping for more clothes.

While there are times when something is not worth fixing or it has been so destroyed it just won't work, most of the time it is worth patching that little hole, or reenforcing that seam. As it was reinterated to me while I was doing it sewing and mending is really a worthwhile skill to learn. It may take some practice and your first attempts might not be perfect, but in the end it is worth it for your own sense of accomplishment and for your desire to by thrifty. You don't need a fancy sewing machine, just a needle and thread and bam! You can be a lean mean mending machine.

Hopefully, from now on, as the mending comes in, I will be more on top of it and not let it pile up again. But even if that does happen, I know I will have a mending miracle day!

The Playhouse is Complete!

School has started and so hopefully I will be able to get more into the groove of blogging again. Man, distractions come in many shapes and sizes. And while most of the distractions have been my family, which is a good thing to be distracted by, it sure makes it hard to carve out time for me and my thoughts. Hopefully that time will begin again soon. Although, we just started potty training Miss P and that definitely has the foreground in my thoughts at the moment!

Well we did it. We completed a project!!! We are really good project starters. When it comes to completing the project on the time schedule that I want... not so good at. But we did it. This awesome playhouse was finished before the end of summer and that is a big win in my books.

So to recap the whole idea for this particular playhouse came from the blog vintage revivals. She has really great blueprints and instructions for the frame. (note previous post) But we did have to tweak the finishes. While she used a painters canvas for the roof and walls to give it a cool tenty feel I knew that that would not work in our climate. That canvas would get weathered and mouldy and not hold up well after a winter. So my husband and I went back and forth trying to figure out what the best solution would be. We thought of detachable roofs or just using a tarp and then a light bulb moment. We decided just to use the wavy plastic panels that are used on garden sheds and other structures. Seriously when we came up with it angels were singing up above. For our house we bought four panels and cut them in half. They were the perfect length and width. Seriously, they could not have fit any better. We also re-jigged the ridgepole to be two at angles to accommodate the angle of the roof better. We also put 2x4s at the bottom of the angles so we could attach the roof at the bottom as well.

For the walls we used lattice on all three sides. If we had thought it through we may have put up something in the middle of the long walls to give it support. If the kids push too hard on the walls they could break. But they are fine for now and the girls are really good about being careful with them. We liked using the lattice because it lets in a lot of light. Some play house are so closed off they can be pretty dark. This one is great because the kids can always see, yet it still gives a sense of privacy.

not sure what the fir branch is doing on the side. must be some sort of decoration :)

So it might not be the prettiest or cutesiest playhouse on the block but we love it. It is big enough and tall enough that it should be a nice hangout for years to come. And it was way cheaper than buying those prefabricated ones from the store. I see many tea parties and games being played in this house in the near future. Yay summer projects!

Oh the Projects on the Go!

Sorry about the hiatus. We were on a two week road trip vacation.

When we bought our house we knew that we would have a lot of projects to keep us going for a while. And while time is on our side to be able to do things slowly and at a pace we can afford it is hard to be patient. I have so many ideas of how I want different rooms to be that I just want it done now. But that isn't how it is going.

This summer there are two projects that we are tackling. One will be done shortly. The other will be well into the fall and winter.

The first is a little playhouse for the girls. Miss V and Miss G have been bugging me all winter about needing a playhouse or a clubhouse or a hangout or whatever you want to call it. Well thanks to pinterest and putting our own touches on it we found one that would fit our budget, did not involve trying to find pallets (they can be harder to find than you think) and will be big enough to fit them for years to come.

We took the blueprints for the main structure from this really cool blog. We had to tweak it slightly because she lives in a dry warm climate where I live in one that is rather wet and has snow to contend with. If you decide to build this kind of framed house yourself just watch the measurements for the roof peaks. We found that the length measurement was a little too short. It was fine enough, but then, we aren't picky. Just something to keep in mind.

This is where we are in it. All we have left to do now is put on the roof and the walls.

Our other project is turning our former, not being used for anything but storing junk, kitchenette into our office/craft area. This means a lot of getting rid of wallpaper and cabinets, fixing walls, figuring out lighting, pulling up flooring, putting down new flooring, deciding on appropriate storage etc. etc. This change came about because Miss V and Miss G decided that they did not want to share a bedroom anymore and that mean that they wanted to sleep in the spare room downstairs that currently holds our office. While their sleeping arrangement needs aren't dictated by them it did give me the kick in the butt I needed to get going on the kitchenette, which really was just a waste of space.

This is our kitchenette before we did anything to it.

the cow print wall paper is actually drawer liner

We have since taken out the cabinetry and sold it . We have also started to remove all of the wall paper which we have been slow at doing. We have also started taking up some of the flooring.

I am excited about having a blank canvas to work with and mould into my vision. Pinterest has given me quite a few ideas and I am excited to take those and make it into something new and mine. I will put up more pictures as the reno continues.

What building/reno projects do you have on the go?

A Busy Start to the Summer

The past two weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster, hence no posts


Schools done which is awesome! For being on summer vacation for just two weeks we have done quite a lot. We have gone on a mini-road trip up to my mom's. I love going up to Bancroft, ON. It means I am super close to one of my happy places. It is a store called "The Shed" and it has the awesomest stuff. It has cool handcrafted furniture. It has awesome art work and the coolest wooden flowers. Each time I go up I buy some more flowers to grow my year round garden.

here are my latest purchases

On Canada Day we went to the movies (which is a rare occurrence for us), we got to splash around in a friends pool and then the older girls and my husband went to watch fire works. I stayed home with Miss P. and went to bed at a reasonable time.

Then on the weekend my church had a BBQ and then we went to some other friends new property and swam in their pool. (I don't think we will have to worry about not having a place to swim this summer!)

Then on Monday we went to Kiwanis Park to swim. Tuesday we went mini-golfing. Wednesday we went for a bike ride. Thursday we went to Music and Movies in Waterloo park. One of our favourite local entertainers, Erick Traplin, was the musical presenter. We always enjoy his sets. And the the movie we watched was Sponge Bob... definitely not my first choice, but the kids liked it.

Miss V waiting for the movie to start

There have also been trips to the library, the optometrist, other errands and hanging out. What a busy time!

the supersquad

Now we are trying to turn our focus to building the girls a little play house in the backyard and refinishing a part of the basement to make it our office/craft room. I will definitely have more posts on that coming up.

What fun things have you been doing this summer.

Baby Gear 101

I don't know whether it's the water or what but a lot of my friends had babies recently or are about to have babies. That got me thinking about baby stuff. It is so tempting to get every gizmo and gadget and cute outfit you can see. You want your baby to have the best of everything. But let's be honest, really, the baby won't care what it has or what it wears, it's more about satisfying you.

For one of my friends I had a devil of a time trying to figure out what to even get her for her baby shower. I think I spent about 40 minutes in the store walking up and down and swapping out items. It was so hard! I wanted to make sure it was something that was useful and that the mother would like. I also wanted it to represent a bit of me and what I thought was important but, without imposing my values too strongly on her. That is a tall order. I ended up giving her some books and a cool looking wooden toy that will be good for when the baby is a bit older. By the time I reached the check out I felt I had gone through deep soul searching and I was exhausted. I then asked for gift receipts and was on my way. (Thank goodness for gift receipts. They really do take the pressure off.)

But this has got me thinking about what you really need when you are preparing for little ones. After three kids I have definitely wittled down the necessities. So here is my list and thoughts of what baby gear you really need. This is my own personal opinon, but it has been built through my own trial and error, so hopefully this will help you not go through the same stumbling blocks as me.

The Essentials

Carseat
This probably doesn't have to be on the list because it is so obvious. Yet, when it comes to carseats there are so many different options. There is the bucket seat there is the convertible and more. The best thing to do is to get a demo model to check to make sure the carseat will fit in your car, check out the heft, and see how easy it is to install and to take off the padding for washing. (My sister once bought a carseat and found out later that the only way to take off the cover involved a screw driver! That is insane.)

I use a bucket infant carseat for when they are first born  and when they out grow that they go into a convertible carseat that can be rear-facing and forward-facing. Experts suggest that the longer kids are rear-facing the safer they are in the event of a crash (2 years at least). Often the kid will outgrow the bucket carseat before it is safe to be forward facing, hence the need for the convertible. I don't use the convertible carseat for little babies because the one we bought wouldn't fit properly in the car for it to be at the correct angle. Though my sister's convertible carseat has a removable headrest which makes fitting it in the car for an infant a breeze.

Stroller
A stroller is definitely essential. It allows you to lug a lot of stuff around without you having to do the lugging. While you can get a carseat stroller combination I wouldn't do it unless you absolutely love the stroller that is part of the combination. Most strollers will come with or you can get a universal carseat adaptor.

This is what I would look for when going out to get a stroller

• It can fold up compact and unfold easily. Nothing is more frustrating when you can hardly fit the stroller, and your stuff in your trunk. The stroller won't be useful if you can't fit it easily into your car. Also, you may be leaving your stroller with others. If there is only one or two steps to collapse it, it will make the sharing of the stroller less stressful for all. I remember one stroller I had needed 4 steps to collapse. Loved the stroller, just didn't want to leave it for a sitter.
• It can be steered one handed. I know from first hand experience how essential this one is. Most strollers on the market cannot be steered with one hand. That is frustrating when you are pushing the stroller and have a cranky toddler walking with you. Trust me on this one. Even my big double stroller that doubles as a bike trailer can be pushed and easily handled one handed and I am thankful everytime I use it.

There are other considerations to give but they are too individual for each person. These two are ones that, no matter who you are or your lifestyle, you should make sure the stroller can do.

Highchair

Some people have the talent of being able to hold their squirmy toddler while feeding them. I am not one of those people. I make a mess. Thus, a highchair is essential for me.

My favourite highchair that I have seen is this one from Ikea. It is the one we ended up getting and after three kids it is still going strong. It is cheap, easy to clean and very portable. Other highchairs probably work as well, you just need it to be sure you can wash it easily without junk getting in seams and crevices.

Clothes

Babies really need very few clothes, but there are so many cute things on the market it is hard not to get carried away.

Really all babies need are some sleepers, onesies and socks. When they start staying awake and moving more then pants, shirts can be easily added to the mix. For ideas on amounts click here to my post about clothing amounts. I would also check out second hand stores or children's consignment stores. You can get great quality stuff for very little. Or just wait for the hand-me-downs to start pouring in. Seriously I suffered from too many clothes and it drove me nuts.

Soft Structured Carrier

I love my SSC. I have a boba that can be used for newborns all the way up to toddlers without the need of an insert, which is so nice. I use this more than my stroller.

When my kids were younger I would use a wrap. When buying a wrap make sure their is a bit of stretch but not too much otherwise the material will stretch out too much and you will always be retying. 

More and more you can get used SSCs. New ones are a bit expensive, but seriously they are worth every penny. Most stores will let you try before you buy. I would recommend you do this.

Somewhere to Sleep

When it comes to the question of where babies sleep the answers are varied. Some want a co-sleeping arrangment, others want the baby in their own room from the beginning. Really the choice is yours. From about the months 0-4 I prefer to have the baby sleep in a bassinet by my bed. It is hard for me to get a good sleep if someone is touching me, so the bassinet is nice because they are still close, but they aren't touching me. I also usually have it on my husband's side because the baby's breathing is weird and wakes me up. Once they out grow the bassinet then they move to the crib. The crib we got second-hand from my sister. If you get a crib second-hand make sure it matches the standards of the day and has not been part of any recalls. Bassinets are also available second-hand. Bassinets aren't essential, but they sure made my early baby days nice.


Don't Bother

Here is a list of things that I wouldn't bother with.

Infant Tubs
While in theory they might make sense, they are just more hassle then they are worth. I usually would bring them in the bath with me or in the shower. Other mom's I know would use the kitchen sink. Babies really don't get dirty and don't need to be washed everyday as it strips natural oils from the skin leaving their skin dry and in need of lotions. So really, just sponge washing them on an as needed basis is fine.

Soaps and Lotions
If you don't bath them too often using harsh soaps, your babies skin will be fine. Using water to bath is fine and then if their skin is a bit dry use some olive oil or some other natural oil.

Change Table
While it might be good for storage or to "complete the look" of your nursery, I found it was much easier to change diapers on a change mat on the floor or the bed. Change tables can be cumbersome and there is a greater chance of your baby rolling off. I would usually have some diapers, wipes and a portable change mat on each level of my house. I found that more handy and useful than having a change table.


To Consider

There's other baby paraphernalia to consider. They can be helpful, but if you don't have them it's not the end of the world.

nursing cover - I have never used them. My kids didn't want to be covered up when nursing. Other moms I know have used them with success. It is really about your comfort level, and your babies comfort.
wraps -  sort of a repeat from before, if you have a nice SSC then this might not be necessary. If you do buy a wrap test it out first. Either borrow a friends or usually the store will loan it to you for a week. Some wraps have too much stretch and makes for an awkward time.
swaddling cotton blankets - these seem to be everywhere. If your baby likes to be swaddled go for it. My kids did not like to be swaddled at all, so I never bothered.
swing - my oldest loved the swing my middle didn't and we didn't try with the third. I would see if I could get it used or borrow one.
baby monitor - If you have a small enough place you won't need one. We haven't used one. If your house is big or you hang out in a place that is not near your babies room then it might be useful.
comfy chair for nursing - you will be nursing a lot, might as well be comfortable.
exersaucer - these are great, especially if your baby likes to stand up a lot and you need to give your arms a break.


So these are my thoughts on different baby products. If you are in doubt about a product or item just remember to keep it simple. Most things on the market or not essential. Babies really don't need a lot. They just need to feel loved and secure. Remember that you won't have to buy everything. There will be showers, gifts from family and friends, hand-me-downs, workplace gifts and more.  Check out children's consignment stores before you buy new. Hopefully this little guide is helpful and gives you something to mull over.

Any links to companies websites are done just so you can see what the heck I am talking about. I am not getting compensated in anyway from them.

The Junk - It Has Served Its Purpose

A couple of months ago I read a book that really helped change my thinking around getting rid of things. In the book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, she turns purging and organizing on its head.While somethings are basic like going through your items other concepts were novel to me and left me feeling excited and hopeful as I continue my journey at tackling the junk in my house. She invites you to tackle by categories and not rooms, which really spoke to me and so far as been working really well. She helps you see what is really essential and what is not. And she tells you the most liberating question to ask yourself when you are going through things, "Has it served its purpose?"

That question, "has it served its purpose?" truly is amazing. I don't know why I hadn't thought of it before but when you start using that in your purging efforts things just seem to start rolling. I think the hardest thing about getting rid of things is thinking of the future of "I might need it someday" or "it still has some wear in it, it would be wasteful to get rid of it" or "so-and-so gave me it, I better keep it in case they ask". The thing is, if we aren't using it right now then it is wasteful. It is dragging our life down and not giving us the happiness that our things should. So if we stop asking ourselves those questions and instead ask ourselves "has it served its purpose" then we will really be getting at the heart of the issue.

One of the first categories that Kondo suggests we tackle is our clothing. That is always a tough one for me. Even though there were clothes that I don't wear anymore, some even from high school, I just couldn't get rid of them. Some items were still in good shape and so I felt I should be wanting to use them, even though I didn't. Sometimes things just aren't our style anymore, even if it was a recent purchase. So this past time when I was going through my clothes, it really was a breeze. When I got to clothes that I didn't really wear anymore but felt weird getting rid of I just asked myself "has it served it's purpose?" Nine times out of ten the answer was yes and I was able to put the clothes in the giveaway bag without a twinge of guilt. That round I was able to get rid of two bags of clothing and accessories and man did that feel good! I kept only what I loved and I was able to pass on clothing to someone who would appreciate it more than I would.

The purpose of your items can be anything. It could be the original happiness you felt when you bought it. That could be its purpose and then you pass it on. (That is a bit consumerist but, sometimes that happens.) Its purpose could be just for a certain period in your life, like maternity clothes, or the concert t-shirts from your youth. When you think of the purpose of the item and the fulfilling of that purpose, it helps give you pause to think about what the point of that object was, and seeing if it still serves a purpose in your current life. Like gifts. Sometimes people give us gifts and we feel obligated to hang on to them because we don't want to offend. The purpose of the gift was to allow the gift giver to feel happy about giving you something. Purpose completed. If that gift is something you love and want in your space, awesome, keep it. If not, well it has already served it's purpose so pass it on.

I used this mantra when I was going through the clothes etc. in the mudroom. And I got it looking pretty good and it is still looking pretty good.

one of my mudroom walls. I got rid of a lot of unnecessary shoes

So, I reccommend reading Kondo's book. It is a pretty fast read. It's not too long. It gets kind of hokey with the whole thanking your things when you put them away and it can get a bit repetitive but, there are some cool ideas in there. If you don't have time to read it, then take this advice... ask yourself "has it served its purpose?" That will be a life altering question for you and your junk.

Yard Work, It Can Actually be Fun!

Miss V. and Miss G. preparing the front yard for their Fairy Forest

This week has definitely made me feel confident that spring has sprung. The weather was in the double digits for most of the week. I even got my first sunburn of the season. And, I think the snow has finally melted from all those shadowy places that snow usually holds out in.

With spring comes yard work and tons of it. Even though I thought I did a pretty thorough job in the fall, cleaning up the leaves and other debris, when the snow melts I am totally proven wrong. The leaves seem to have multiplied, little sticks litter the ground and holy pine cones Batman! In our front yard I have never seen so many cones as this year. There must be well over a hundred. As of writing this they fill about a fourth of the bin you see in the pictures, and we are not even close to being done picking them up.

Today the girls had the day off from school, and I needed the work in my front yard started. (I do not trust Miss P in the front yard at all. It is too close to the road, so it is hard for me to get out there and get it done.) I told the girls that the fairies came last night and told me that they love to dance in our yard and help their fairy flowers grow, but they couldn't get to their flowers because of all the leaves and pine cones. The fairies needed two girls to help them so they could come and dance. While Miss G. was skeptical of that story line, Miss V. loved it and soon both girls were out with their work gloves cleaning up. I know... I lied... but it worked and they are having fun. I hope not too much damage will be done to psyche.

After about 5 minutes they started planning more than picking up. They are planning to turn the front yard into a fairy town complete with university and "death school" (I don't even want to know). With a few gentle prods from me for them to keep going they kept up the work. While I still have lots to do out there, it is a start. I think the most important thing here is that the girls had a great time using their imaginations and are now so excited to make their fairy town a reality. I will make sure to post some pictures of their completed town, if they are actually serious about it that is.

What kind of yard work do you have planned? Do you use fairies as an excuse too?

Homemade Paint - for kids

This week has been a sick week here. Poor Miss G. She has had such a runny nose. It has now moved on to a cough. Poor girl. Hopefully this is the end to the sickness for this winter season and we will have nothing but health from now on.

Since Miss G. has been home from school she decided this would be the best time to do experiments. And why not? The schools science fair is coming up so this was the perfect opportunity to do her science fair project. She was looking at how well certain items absorb water.

I showed her how water absorption worked and what happens when things get over saturated. Here is a link to a great experiment to do with the kids. With the water left over from that experiment Miss G decided she was going to add a bunch of different things to see if she could make paint. I think she was on the right track but had the proportions out of wack. Well today we remedied that. Here is how to make homemade paint.

1 cup salt
1 cup flour
1 1/3 cup water
food colouring of your choice.

This makes four generous sized amounts of paint. For more colours either make more or have smaller amounts.

I found this recipe in the description of this youtube video. Thanks youtube! Have fun painting!

Don't Look for the Living Among the Dead

Sorry for the late post. Yesterday we were at a friends house with a bunch of other families having fun. We didn't get home until later than I was expecting.

It is Easter time. It is a time of rebirth for the earth and for the soul. For me it is also a time I reflect upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ and what that means in my life. The following is a video that portrays that well.

In the New Testament account of Christ's resurrection, an angel says to Mary, "Why look for the living among the dead?" Now while in this account he is referring to the body of Jesus, this line can be applied to our lives and habits, whether Christian or not.

Ruts, we all get into them. For me, it is with tidying and getting rid of stuff. It seems I can never get the job completed or things accumulate again. Clearly what I am doing isn't working, yet I seem to use the same tactics. This is me looking for the living among the dead. I am doing the same things over and over, yet, I'm not gaining new results. I'm not gaining happiness. I am not living.

The same can be said for having too much stuff. If we accumulate too many things, we are not able to live. Instead we are surrounded by dead things. Objects that don't give off a living energy.

What we need to do when we are stuck looking for the living among the dead is looking at things a different way. Having a paradigm shift. Thinking of ways to inject a living energy. If you are feeling devoid of energy and feel listless it is time to examine what in your life is causing you to look among the dead instead of the living. So that could be examining your relationships, your jobs, the way you do things.

Now, I am not saying you should end relationships or quit jobs, but just reexamining them and seeing what can be done to be re-energized in them.

Often when the energy in something is "dead" it is often because it is stagnant or not moving. If you are not moving at all, there will be no energy, and without energy there is no life. So think of something creative to jazz things up. In relationships that can be date night, a list of ideas can be found here. An article by Richard Paul Evans says that we should ask "how can I make your life better today?" That is injecting life into things. That is looking for living among living.

In the world, things that seem dead actually bring forth life. Compost, rotting logs, burned forests, these seem dead. But when you look at them more closely there is actually a lot of life going on in them. And from that, new life and growth can flourish. So if there is something in your life that seems dead, look at it more closely, see the life that is in it and use that as a springboard to newer and greater things.

Have a Happy Easter!

My Way to Unwind

Sometimes you need a little pick me up. For me it is when I get to view or use some of my favourite things. Nothing spells out bless to me like drinking a caf-lib or herbal tea in one of my favourite mugs. These aren't the fanciest of mugs. There is no interesting story to go along with them. I bought the blue one at a grocery store in university and the other one at Target. But, despite their seeming ordinariness they make me smile and I feel content.

It is nice to have things in your life that help you feel grounded and remind you of how content your life is. I am a natural complainer. If I can claim it as one of my talents then it would be near the top of the list. Because of this it is natural to think life is dismal and that it will never be quite right. But, give me one of those mugs and I realize life is not as bad as I am making out to be. I just need to chill out and smell the roses.

What I love to do is put the kettle on right before I tuck the kinds into bed, or put them down for a nap. When that task is done the water is ready for me to start making my drink. I then take my book and sit on my comfy loveseat and voila. A peace flows over me. Warmth from the warm drink floods through me. How can you not be content.

Sometimes, if I need a break from the barrage that can sometimes be my children, I make hot chocolate for my own kids in their favourite mugs. Sometimes I even jazz it up. They are happy and I get a few minutes of me time where I can just sit and let my mind be.

I was feeling very generous. Whipping cream and caramel sauce. Yummy!

What are some of your ways to unwind?

How to Refill Foam Soap Dispensers Inexpensively

I don't know why but bars of soap just wig me out. They look beautiful (well they do until they are on their last legs), but the thought of using the same one others use to wash their hands just bothers me. I know that it is irrational. I am not a big germophobe so I don't get it. But there you have it. We all have our interesting quirks. Because of this liquid soap is for me.

Liquid soap is great. You just have to pump a little on your hands and a way you go. You don't have to worry about the bar slip sliding around and landing on the floor. I love how easily it lathers. To me it is amazing. But the thing with regular liquid soap is that you go through it like crazy. Or at least we seem to in my family. I think I was refilling the container once sometimes twice a week. That is with the older two at school for most of the day. The kids would use a full pump when only a half pump would do. And the refill jugs were pricey. I think the last one I bought was $6.99 and that lasted only only a few weeks.

Enter the foaming soap. I love this stuff. It is already lathery straight from the bottle and it uses way less soap. The container usually lasts two weeks with my family, so that's great. But once again, what to do about the refills?

Well lucky for me I have brilliant friends who show me all their nifty tricks of the domestic engineer trade. The following tip is brought to you by my friend Sherri. She truly is incredible!

All you need to refill your foaming soap dispenser is an empty soap container with foaming pump and your favourite kind of gel body wash. It has to be the gel kind. It cannot be the white creamy kind. That will not work.

Add about 1/2 an inch to an inch of the gel body wash to the container. (I am usually under an inch.)

Fill the rest with water. Make sure you leave space at the top for the pump and for the water and soap to move around.

Secure the lid tightly and gently rock the bottle back and forth to thoroughly mix the body wash and water. (You don't want to see any of body wash chunks.)

That's it. It takes a couple of pumps to get the foam at the beginning but then it is perfect!

The gel body wash I used I got for $2.99. I have refilled my soap dispenser six times and I still have gel left for probably 2 or 3 refills. (The body wash that I have in the pictures is bigger then the one I have been using so it will probably refill a lot more. I used it because the colour contrast is greater and thus easier for you to see.)

So if I get a full 9 refills from this bottle it will cost me $0.33 per refill. Not too bad. Even if I only get 8 it is still only $0.37.

I found another recipe online that makes it a bit more eco/people friendly. You can get that recipe here. I am going to try it out someday, I just don't have the materials on hand. So for now I will stick to the body wash.

What kind of inexpensive domestic tricks do you have that you get excited about?

Happy to Live a Green Tinged Life

I really try to live a green life. I make my own cleaners. I cook and bake from scratch to avoid too much packaging. I recycle and compost everything I can. I am really trying to do my part.

But, like everything, I am not perfect at it. Which is why I claim to be green tinged and not just green. There are times I have let my car idle in a bank drive-thru so I wouldn't have to get the kids out of the car while I got money out of the machine. There are times when I use disposable plates and cups, though I do try to make sure they are paper (they can then go in my city's greenbin program then). Sometimes when I clean my fridge and come upon a yogurt container that has been forgotten and turned gross, I just toss it instead of dealing with it. See my imperfections! These things are not common occurrences, but they happen enough that I do not feel correct in calling myself green. And, there is a lot more I could be doing.

picture from lds media files

Despite my greenness foibles I am so happy to be living my green tinged life. It is amazing how much safer my home is because of the green choices I make. This was brought home to me a few weeks ago when Miss V. brought home a science worksheet. The worksheet was all about liquids and the last activity was about dangerous liquids. She had to (with an adults help of course) find a liquid in the house that had a hazard symbol on it.

Now, thank goodness for this assignment because I don't think I ever sat down and discussed hazard symbols before. I vaguely remember pointing them out, but that's about it. This was a great reminder to me that I really need to educate my children about this.

Anyways, Miss V. and I looked and looked and looked for a container with a hazard symbol and it wasn't until I reached into the back of a really out of the way cupboard that I found some oven cleaner. (This was either from the previous owner of the house or before I started making my own cleaners. )

It was an eye opener to me about how living a more green life helps us keep our families safe. I don't have to worry about my children drinking windex or some other harmful chemical. The worst thing that would happen to them is that they would drink vinegar, and I think one sip would cure them of that. I guess this is one reason why I might not have gone over the safety symbols as rigurously as I probably should have. There wasn't a huge pressing need for it as we don't use those kind of products. Also, it is nice that hazard symbols are pretty self explanitory. I showed Miss G. a poison symbol and she said, "don't eat it or you will die." All right! I think she's got it!

Living a green tinged life isn't just for the planets benefit. It is for ours as well. By doing so, we have less chemicals in our life and less chance for horrendous mistaken liquid identity to happen. Doing little things does add up to a safe and happy existence. So while I am probably more a pale seafoam on the greenness scale, I am hoping to, at some point, be a dark shade of green. As I keep on doing little by little I know I will get there.

What makes you happy to be living a green tinged life?

Those Were the Days!

This week was the week of sickness in our family. First Miss V. got sick, then two days later Miss P. got sick (all over me!), and then two days later I succumbed and then Miss G. got it! Luckily my husband stayed healthy so he could play nurse for us.

While I was laying on the couch with my bowl beside me and a cup of water-downed ginger ale I was thinking of how easy being sick used to be. Before children. And, how I longed for that time to be back. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, but I love them even more when I am not sick.

See, back in the glory days of university, if I was sick, I could turn up the heater in my room, lie in my cozy bed and watch movies all day. My boyfriend, now husband, would come by and drop off some sort of get better thing, and either stay or leave, whatever I wanted. Oh the bliss!

Now, that type of thing is a luxury that is not always afforded. There is no, "Oh, poor Mom is sick, let's be nice to her." It is more, "where's my lunch? did my project get packed, I can't find clean underwear." And then, the movies aren't some fun rom-com like You've Got Mail. It is Frozen, or Barbie in Mermaid Tale 2. While these maybe high calibre movies in the genre of children's film, when I am sick they make me feel sicker.

The other thing that is horrible is when I am lying down and Miss P. is lying on top of me. Granted, this time she was getting over sickness too and was more cuddly than normal, but I honestly think she thought that her cuddles were magic and going to cure me. If only. When I am sick I just want to lie down and be left in peace. I can't sleep when people are touching me at the best of times let alone when I am sick. For the past few days the only way that Miss P. would stay asleep was if her hand was touching my hair and she was rubbing it between her fingers. Seriously! I would try to pawn her off on my husband, but she would have none of that. It's almost like she was trying to be my personal guard dog. Sheesh.

When I'm sick I want to be left alone. I don't want to leave my place of comfort except to go to the bathroom. I want meals brought to me without me having to think about what they are. I just don't want to worry about anything. I want to have a sign that says, "Off sick, don't bug me." Is that really too much to ask?

Now, I know I shouldn't complain. I have a loving family. I have a loving husband who took two days off work to nurse his ailing family. I have lots to be grateful for. I recognize that. But, I still wish for those blissful sick days of yore. Where I was only responsible for myself and didn't have to worry about anyone else's happiness. Where I could moan and look miserable as much as I wanted. Oh, those were the days.

The Junk: Baby Steps Are Key to Decluttering

Decluttering this year is a big thing for me. I am ready to purge and let go. If you are like me you may feel like you are drowning in stuff. I let things accumulate and accumulate until it is just ridiculous.

I have given myself the deadline of March 31st to have my basement purged. So that means our office, playroom, kitchenette, and garage. Though, our garage is not insulated, so I might wait until spring to do that.

Because there is so much junk the thought of decluttering can see overwhelming and time consuming, but, it doesn't have to be. By organizing things into babysteps you can get things done without feeling over burdened and defeatist.

My friend sent me this link to Home Storage Solutions 101's 15 minute declutter challenge. They give you a calendar for the month and give you a task to complete that day, spending only 15 minutes each day to complete that day's task. January starts with your kitchen.

I like the idea, it allows you to break things into smaller chunks but you are still doing something instead of ignoring the problem, which, let's face it, we all do. Since my kitchen isn't that bad, I'm not following their plan. But, I am taking the principles they are using and applying it to my own situation. Here's what I'm doing.

• Choose a room and divide that room into different sections to tackle.
• Set a timer for 20 minutes and do what you can in that time.
• Complete the first section before moving onto the next section.
• Empty out the section of the room you are working on and put back what you actually want, everything else goes either in the garbage, recycling or give away.

I have been doing this for two weeks now. I give myself a break on the weekends so we can do other chores and fun family things. I didn't do it yesterday as it was a busy day full of errands and then I felt utterly exhausted, so I might set the timer for 30 minutes today instead. And you know what, it is okay if you have to bend the rules a bit for this. The important thing is consistancy. I am amazed how much I have done in so little time. The first section of the office is looking great and I can't wait to tackle the next section.

Do you have decluttering tips you like to use?

5 Ways To Do What You Want Without Going Broke

How has your first full week of 2015 been? Are you still excited about the upcoming year? While, I am still excited and feeling optimistic, I am starting to come down from the euphoria of the the new year and settling in to the work part of it. It is great to dream and scheme, heck I do that all the time, but, to actually see those dreams become a reality, that takes work. Work! Ah man!!! The more in dream world you remain the more frustrated you will be when you come out if it and see that nothing has changed in your reality.

This year one of the key things on my list of must do better at, is the budget. I usually am good at setting out a budget and tracking my expenses. I even can quasi follow my budget if I do those two things. But as said in the last post, For the last third of the year I just didn't. I didn't even look a the numbers, it wasn't on my radar. Luckily we didn't do too much damage, but I know we can do better. So while this will definitely be a more austere year, pinching pennies, tightening our belts and purse strings, it doesn't mean that we can't have fun or success in some of our other goals. If you are too glum and sacrificing, you aren't going to want to stick to anything.

So here are 5 ways you can do what you want without going broke.

from http://www.mayowynnebaxter.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Broken-Piggy-Bank.jpg

1. Get movies from the library.

It is pretty thrilling when you get to see the latest block buster in theatres. Sitting in the stadium seating is amazing and the sound quality is awesome. But it costs an insane amount of money. Over the holidays we took our family to the movies. We rarely go and it had been a while since we had gone. My husband and I were shocked at the end of it when we saw how much we spent. We went to a matinee which is already cheaper, we shared drinks popcorn and nachos (this was our healthy lunch for the day) and the grand total was $55. WHAT?!?!? And that was with paying admission for just four as we don't have to pay for Miss P. yet. If we hadn't gone during lunchtime hours I probably wouldn't have ordered the nachos, but still, it is crazy. No wonder we don't go very often.

At the library you can get out movies for free. The loan period is usually a week, unless you have a new release then it is four days (at least this is how it is at my library). They get all the major movies, plus some fun artsy ones and foreign films, if that is more your thing. While this means waiting until the movie gets released on DVD and BluRay, you can still see have a movie night, without the cost. Just think of how much popcorn you could have then!

There are also the RedBox movie rentals. These came to Canada a couple years ago. They are at most grocery stores. You can usually get a code for a free movie night. Without the code the cost to rent the movie is a dollar per day. While that is a pretty good deal, it is still a dollar a day, so you would want to return it pretty soon.

For me, I would rather get it for a week or four days for free, then have to remember to return the movie the next day. But you are guaranteed the new release while at the library the number of copies of the movie can be limited. There are ups and downs to both systems, but the bottom line is both these options help your bottom line.

2. Get Awesome Work Outs Through YouTube

This year I really want to get fit. I am already on my way to getting there, but, I still have a long way to go. As our budget is tight a gym membership is not going to be happening. Although, my friend volunteers at the daycare of her local gym in exchange for use of the equipment, so that might be an option for you.

Since going to the gym isn't going to work and it is winter time, so I don't really want to be going for long walks or runs outside, YouTube is a great option. Last May I found this awesome series on YouTube. It is called Bikini Body Mommy. You can view the website here. I love these workouts. Currently she has two complete 90 day challenges, her original and her 2.0. I have done the 2.0 and I loved it. She is huffing and puffing along with you. You know she knows exactly what you are going through as she has gone through it and is going through it herself. I haven't done any of her meal plans or anything like that but her workouts are awesome and you don't need any fancy equipment or lots of time. All it takes is 20 minutes and you feel like you have worked for hours. It is the perfect workout to fit in during naptime, as that is essential for me. She is currently releasing her 3.0 challenge. The first day was January 5th. I have been doing them and they are awesome too! You can check it out here.

There are other workout videos on YouTube. There are  learn to dance videos, zumba videos etc. Find something that works for you and have fun! Your body and wallet will thank you.

3. Get Your Books From the Library

While this seems like a no brainer, it is sometimes overlooked. I can't remember the last time I bought a book. Seriously, I am looking back and looking back and nope. I have no idea. It is also convenient because most libraries have a hold feature, so you put a hold on an item and then the people who work at the library walk around finding your items instead of you. It is a real time saver, and I normally have a runaway toddler on my hands so, it is a sanity saver too!

Now you might be saying, but Meredith, I only read ebooks now, hardcopies are so yesterday. Well, the library can help you there too. While many ebooks are not as expensive as the real thing, they still cost money. At the library you can borrow ebooks. You are given a limited amount of time for them to be on your device/computer, usually three weeks, but they are free to borrow, always. You can also download audio books as well. Super awesome and super cheap.

Since the library is funded through the city, you are already paying for its service through taxes or your rent, so you might as well take full advantage of what they have to offer you. (Check out their programs too. At my local library they are teaching soldering 101. I think I might get my husband to check that out.)

4. Create Restaurant Style Meals at Home

I like eating out as much as the next person. Knowing that I don't have to cook anything is bliss and worth almost any price. But eating out can also be pricey. In comes the genius of many people on the internet. While you still need to cook the food, you can now usually find recipes for your favourite restaurant meals online that will cost a fraction of the price and, in most cases, taste even better. To make it less drudgery on you have it be a family cooking night. Everyone helps out and is part of it. That way you at least can relax a little.

Some are recipes might even be good to keep in the freezer, so that way you can have a restaurant style meal that needs no prep for those nights when you really don't want to cook. So google and pinterest away and see what restaurant inspired meal you will have this week!

5. Use Your Points

***This is only good if you pay off your credit card every month and are still responsible in your spending, otherwise not worth it***

I use my credit card to buy basically everything. I rarely carry around cash, except for my monthly allowance money that I can blow on whatever I want, but when it's gone it is gone. My particular credit card allows me to collect points to spend at a nationwide grocery chain. I can either use my points to buy groceries, which can help cut down on the grocery bill, or I can use my points to get gift cards that the grocery store sells. These are gift cards to restaurants, home improvement stores, clothing stores, gas stations, etc. This is how I bought most of the materials for the Christmas presents I made. I also was able to treat us to a meal out New Year's Eve by using my points to buy a restaurant gift card.

I usually try to hoard my points until we are wanting to go out to eat, or if we know there are birthdays coming up so we can do that for as little money as possible.

I know there are other credit card reward programs out there that can help you with air travel or pays back a certain percentage of purchases. So, if you like using your credit card to make your purchases you might as well get a card that does some work for you. Do some research and get on that fits your style and make sure it is a free card. There is no point in paying for a card just to get points or premiums when there are free cards that let you do the same thing. And make sure that if you do collect points with your card, you use them.

My Christmas Crafting Gifts

Well Merry after Christmas to you all! Was your Christmas exciting and relaxing and everything you wanted? I had a nice quiet Christmas. Once the girls had unwrapped their presents they basically disappeared for the rest of the day playing nicely with each other. They only surfaced when they were hungry, which, is pretty typical.

This mean I could relax and do my logic puzzle book in relative peace. With my favourite fourth child (aka my dishwasher) we were able to keep on top of the dishes and kept the counters and sink looking as sparse as can be.

This year we tried to keep toys to a minimum, as they all ready have a gazillion, and those gazillion drive me crazy. This mean a bit of crafting on my part. There was one Christmas project I didn't even get started, but I figure, I will save that for their birthdays!

This is one of the crafty presents I made. I got the idea from this blog.

I found these canvas letters at Michael's and then hot glued a layer of white/cream buttons down.

I then decorated them with colourful buttons, usually trying to hide any gaps the white ones might have left. It was fun making them. And I have never been so grateful for a glue gun before in my life. Those things are miracle workers and they rock!

I got the idea for the next gift from this blog and I got the pattern for the bag from this blog.

I meant to put this fort kit together for my own kids, but ran out of time and energy. This is the one that I sent to my brother in-laws family. When I am done with the holidays I will put one together for my own as well.

This fort kit is genius. There are always cushions missing and chairs being taken from the dining room, all in the effort of building the ultimate fort. The kids seem to always be asking me for blankets and moving them all over the house. It can be a little frustrating. While I don't want to burst their creative bubble, I don't always want my dining room chairs and my bedroom comforter used as their forts. In comes the fort kit. It has everything you could want or need in one convenient bag. They have dedicated sheets, ropes etc. to make the best fort ever, and best of all, my comforter stays where it belongs, on my bed!

I didn't bother adding the tabs to the sheets, as suggested in the patterns blog. I think it will work out with out them.

I hope you enjoy this next week of festivities! Have a very Happy New Year! See you in 2015

No, Because I Love You

from Toysrus UK website

Christmas is on Thursday. While I will be enjoying the quiet festivities of the day the lead up to it is not quite as enjoyable. And that is mostly to do with the stuff and me being a bit of a Grinch this year. I don't really want much for Christmas. And anything I do want is ridiculously practical. I would rather have a new faucet then some crazy bauble that I will have to dust. I don't need books as the library is amazingly awesome at satisfying my reading itch. I actually want less stuff than more. So perhaps a great Christmas present could be cleaning out on of the rooms that we haven't done yet (hint hint).

But that is just me. Unfortunately we have kids in the house. And while their lists are not crazy, they are still pretty long and I am like, I don't think so. This year we are trying to keep it simple but it can be hard, even when you are trying to be less consumeristic. It is also sometimes hard to explain to kids that they have sufficient when they see their friends given so much excess. 

This whole dynamic can be summed up in a conversation that took place in our vehicle a few weeks ago. We were driving home, after picking up my husband from work. Miss G. called from the back saying she had something to add to her Christmas list. When asked what it was she said, "A Frozen lunch bag". When you think about it, it's not that crazy of a request. It doesn't cost a fortune and it is useful. But, my response was that she couldn't have one because we love her. Then Miss V. said "I don't think you heard her right, she said she wanted a Frozen lunch bag for Christmas". I told them that I had indeed heard correctly and that the answer was still no, because we love her. Well that kind of confused them. What does it mean that I love Miss G. when I say that she can't have what her heart desires at that point in time?

We as parents and guardians have to say no sometimes. It sucks but it is necessary. We need our kids to know that just because something is beautiful or the current fad, doesn't mean that we need to go out and buy it. Miss G. has a perfectly functional and pretty cool looking lunch bag as it is. Why would we get a Frozen one when she already has one. Teaching our children to make do with what they have and, in a way, treasure what they have is so important. When all around them they see a consumer driven society it means we need to be ever vigilant of our consumer mindset. Does that mean we never buy things? No. But it means it should be a thoughtful purchase instead of in the heat of the moment. (That is something I need to work one. Oh, my magpie tendencies.)

Deciding what type of person we want to be correlates into the type of parent we want to be and the type of people we want to raise. While we love them and want them to have beautiful things in their life, we also need to give them the permission to say no to things, the blessing of saying no to things, the attitude of contentment with themselves. You don't need to say no to everything, but I think it is important that we are a little more selective about when we say yes and what we say yes to. Saying no, can often mean I love you.

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!