Still Purging!

I think the major purging project that I started back in January is going to be done and redone in stages as I come to grips with letting go of old ways and diving deeper into simplicity and minimalism. It has really been a major project. I always do a house purging and deep cleaning a couple of times a year but this time, I am really evaluating the necessity of each item in every nook and cranny. I am hoping that by the time the newest Kelly member makes her appearance, I will have this massive project more or less finished. I am amazed at how much deeper I can go even redoing what I just finished up (like closets and toys!). I know that I will probably have several projects that I do and redo several times before I am satisfied.


Truly a work of art! This is my new and improved homeschooling/home improvement bookshelf. I had, no joke, 30 labeled 3-ring binders of various papers. By the time I was done going through each one, I had 2 laundry baskets of recycled papers and only 15 binders left, 8 of which contain various homeschooling materials. The others are for recipes, crafting/sewing projects, urban farming, herbal/homeopathic remedies, etc..


The new and improved toy shelf. The top 6 boxes contain homeschooling materials (art supplies, paper/folders, science materials, etc.).  On the top shelf are activity boxes with a hodgepodge of educational activities for independent learning. Next, there is a box for small Legos, big Legos, Trains, Lincoln Logs, Potato Heads, Tinker Toys, Stacker toys, and misc Plastic animals, and then doll house/farm toys. I am so excited to have whittled down our toy selection to just 10 boxes (plus a few others that I will mention). This is still a lot and not what I would consider minimalistic but I am taking baby steps to get there!


The playroom is a bit crowded with 3 bookshelves, a play kitchen, a cubicle storage unit, a table, and the couch but it keeps the rest of the house so much less cluttered when all schooling supplies, children's books, and toys are corralled in one area. The cubicles house various baby toys easily accessible to Brighton plus supplies that we use regularly (and the middle row is empty!). We have puzzles and games in the living room.


This bookshelf has my parenting books, homeschooling materials not currently in use, and some novels that we will delve into as the children get older.

Future projects include:

Tackling my crafting supplies. I went through the snaplid boxes in the playroom closet and moved photo boxes, the children's keep sake boxes, and consolidated all the Christmas decor from two boxes down to one, and moved all of this into a different closet. Now, I need to go through my paints, beads, paper crafting, and boxes and boxes of fabric and sewing supplies. It will be a big undertaking.

Photo boxes, oh my goodness! I will probably get rid of about 75% of the pictures that I have and digitally scan the remaining with the hopes of making photo books. Realistically, I won't ever photo scrapbook again and I don't quite know what to do with all the albums that I have started. I think digital scrapbooking (turning my journal into a book) is going to more time effective.

The garage (and pantry and laundry room)...not much else to elaborate on except the need to rent a dumpster!

Little redos. These will include things like my decor items that I packed away because I wasn't ready to get rid of them, closets, and all the various shelves and drawers where things unnecessary might be hiding.

Purging is so therapeutic for me! I love the end result. I love the organization. I love letting go. I love how much nicer the house looks. I love how much time it saves me weekly when I am not cleaning up all the stuff that doesn't need to be here. I love the cobweb defogging of my brain that accompanies fixing my surroundings. And I love the tax deduction of the donated items that totaled over $500.00 to put toward debt!

PURGE ON!

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 26, 2011 at 5:23 PM

    pictures didn't show up for your purging post :-( but always enjoy reading your blog.

    Since we've moved to Kent I've been going through sooo many boxes and purging too. I agree with you. We can all do with less. By the time we move from this apartment (which I hope is not soon) we won't have nearly as much to take out as we did moving in.

    Love you guys.

    Was wishing I had come down to visit on your spring break, but don't feel too bad now, with everyone being sick. Of course I might have been able to help nurse everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JennipherMarch 31, 2011 at 9:36 AM

    This is so inspiring! Thanks Em!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Boots

Image
Last week, was snowy and cold cold cold, then rainy.  I continued to work on getting the yard cleaned up.  I dug out the ponds and refilled the holes with dirt.  I loaded up rocks, pavers, and bricks.  I cleaned out the water features.  I collected the strawberry runners so I would have starts to plant.  I unloaded 2 loads of bark dust.  The children were a tremendous help.  They loaded an entire trailer of firewood all by themselves and then helped with another load of rocks and bricks.  I am amazed at how much there is to load and fix just in the yard alone.  It is a lot of work for the simple concept of "curb" appeal.   Waiting for the snow to melt so I can put down the bark dust. Even with two pairs of socks, my feet were freezing so I broke down and bought a pair of Muck Boots.  The funny thing is, 2 years ago, I really wanted to have a new pair of winter boots but I just couldn't justify paying so much money just to have ...
Read more

Then Came Dense Fog and the Thunderstorm

Image
Sunday, I woke up to a dense fog and smoke cover combination.  I think this is probably the densest fog I have ever been in. Before the sun came up, it was white.  Once it got lighter outside the smoke color showed through. On the porch, looking toward the swimming pool (North) but unable to see it or the goat barn or the walnut trees. On the porch, looking toward the barn, only able to see the garden before the parking area. Outside the window looking at the tree block, barely 30 feet away. I am not sure how I let Phil talk me into (trying) going to the store...but the fog was supposed to lift by 11:00 and we were scheduled to gather at the Rawie's for church and I needed ingredients to put together something for the potluck.  (We ended up having to cancel our homechurch.) Our mailbox, we couldn't see any cars, so we had to roll down the windows and listen.  I was already terrified at this point and didn't want to continue. After having to slam on his brakes multipl...
Read more

More Hats

Image
The Etsy shop is still a work in progress and unfortunately the name Over the Top is already taken.  I have been tossing around the names Tip Top and Whimsy.  I managed to get 7 hats made during the month of November.  I have a couple that I can put on Etsy when we are ready to list them and several Christmas hats made for the children.  I have been timing how long it takes me to make a hat and I am surprised (and not in a good way LOL) at the number of hours I spend.  A baby hat takes over 5-6 hours, a child's hat takes about 7-8 hours, and an adult hat 10 plus hours.  It takes even longer if I decide to tear out the stitching because it isn't looking the way I had imagined.  The more yarn variety I use, the longer it takes me to weave in the ends.  I usually spend over an hour just with a tapestry needle making all the ends secure.  Minimum wage plus materials puts the hats in the 50-80 dollar range.  Yikes!  I would never pay th...
Read more