Project Simplify #5- The one where I got to choose

I have really enjoyed working through these spots inspired by Simple Mom.
Space after space has opened up for my family and we have really flourished through the "less is soo much more" of it all.
To be honest I don't think I could have done this on my own.
For the past weeks I have eagerly awaited the next *mission* and prayed fervently that the task would not lead me to this...

My craft area. Well It was meant to be a craft area. It's down in the basement and away from the kids rooms so I can sew and create and even make a little noise if I wanted to late at night.
Problem is it got REALLY cold down there during the winter, and as I was cold enough during the day I didn't feel the need to subject myself further.
So that meant no real crafting, unless you would consider growing a mess craftiness.
No I didn't think so.
Well like I said I really hoped that she would not tell me to face this. It was too traumatic.
Funny thing about going through these past few weeks is... I've run out of places to organize.
I mean I can still go through the attic or the garage, but that's not really a one week job. So when Tsh said we had to choose our own spot to clean this week?
Gulp
I decided I couldn't put it off any longer.
I worked for three days 30 minutes a day and you know what? It really wasn't that bad. I was able to go through and yard sale box some stuff I knew I would never use (and looked like they were passed down from 3 Grandmas ago ie: 4 tubes of fabric cement), packed and organized fabric I didn't think I could get to before we move, and set out what I wanted to work on this week.
The results?
(I'm blocking the dress which is why its still on the ironing board, it doesn't take me THAT long to iron)
Stunning!
Now I haven't sewn yet down here, but Monday is suppose to be rainy so I think some skirts will be in order.
This is the last week of Project Simplify and to be honest I'm sad to see it go. I'm gona try to stay strong and finish this task and actually get to the garage and attic. I am so happy with how this has helped get things in order for our move.
Go check out other spots at Simple Mom!

Project Simplify #4- The Food!

This week's challenge over at Simple Mom was to clean out the pantry and the fridge.
I mean seriously. Is this woman looking in my windows?
I am constantly amazed at how each week she suggests just where I need to clean next.
So here the "before's" of the pantry and spice areas....

Everything mainly needed to be wiped down and organized. Thankfully I didn't have too much to throw away. But I did create enough room just in time for me to splurge on some awesome spices at a Wild Tree party I attended Wednesday night. Here are the results...

Beautiful! Now my next task was to clean out the fridge...

I knew that we did not have any "science experiments" growing, since I always cook from whats on hand first before going to the store, and I had given the areas a good wipe down a few weeks ago. What I didn't expect was the dirt I found in the nooks and crannies of the fridge. I swear there is just too much opportunity there for spilled stuff to gather and hide and get just plain gross.
To add to the work, apparently our land lord was afraid we would run off with the shelves and installed some anti-theft clips in there so I could not remove the shelves to clean them. I'm only slightly joking. I'm sure they are there for a reason, but shy of taking a hammer and screwdriver to them I could not get those shelves out. So that meant more time scrubbing at odd angles (because all the spills hang out and fester in the back right?) with an old toothbrush in front of a cold refrigerator. And while the calendar says Spring, we just got more snow here yesterday so it's flippin' COLD!
In the end, the vessel that hold my family's nutrition is sparkling!

Now I shouldn't have to scrub so hard in a few weeks when we move out. YAY!
Don't forget to go check out how everyone else is doing with their Project Simplify!

Project Simplify Hotspot #3- The Kids STUFF

This week's hot spot could not have come at a better week. Daddy was gone to school for the week and this project definitely required extra hands.

Specifically kid hands.
Our task was to go through toys and clothes of our kids and evaluate, sort, and clean.
The kids were to help decide what goes and what stays as a little life lesson on "stuff".
We worked hard all week long but finally finished today. It's not perfect but its done and we are all breathing easier with more room in our lives.

So first up Jakob's Room:
Before:




Disastrous. This child is his Momma's Boy holding on to all manner of clutter simply because he just didn't know where to put it and didn't want to offend anyone if he let it go.
The week was filled with "Oh I remember that!"'s and quiet reflections over the people that have passed through his life. There were lots of clothes and a few toys that was sent to the "sell" pile and a whole trash bag full of just...... trash.
And the finished product?



The room still needs a few finishing touches like vacuuming and hanging some art that we found, but other than that, MUCH BETTER!!

Now to Hazel's Room.
Here are some before pics....
I was uncertain how the "teamwork" part of this was actually going to happen. I admit some things I just tucked away without her knowledge but she really helped me with the most of the work. She washed all her dishes and dried them and then we went through and decided what could go and what could stay.
The clothes I did while she and her brother were playing with a friend. I knew she had clothes but MAN!! I just kept the items whose colors are "in season" as I'm sure she won't be the same size in 6 months. Other articles like corduroy pants I let go simply because she wont wear them and it defeats the purpose of me requiring her to dress herself if I insist she wear things she doesn't like.
My favorite part of the week came to sorting the dress up clothes. She tried on everything to make sure it fit and she still like it. Those that didn't went in the box.
And of course you always need someone to play dress up with right?

Here is her closet all nice and clean! I must have forgotten to take pictures of the rest of her room, but trust me it looks AMAZING. Best of all we both know where everything goes and have learned a few lessons on "Stuff".


But wait ! There's more! Here are the previous spaces that we have worked on and I am proud to say they are still clean!




Check out Simple Mom and Project Simplify to see how others have tackled this project!

Project Simplify- Hot Spot #2 Paper Clutter

Project Simplify: 5 weeks of Cleaning
Oh this week's Hotspot was hard. I have such difficulty with surface clutter. I've never been one to be able to stick with a system or even find a system that works for our needs.
I'm sure the pictures speak for themselves...

The desk is horrible isn't it? The desk became the cath all since we fixed our wireless internet and the computer is rarely there anymore. Sad part is that's right down where we do most of our homeschooling. Pitiful.
I laborered and stressed over this all week, trying to get a little done here and a little done there, and it just seemed nothing worked and the clutter just continued to multiply.
Until Today.
All week long I have been reading along with my Bible in 90 days program and the readings have been in the New Testament, the Gospels and something kept hitting me each book I read.
Ask, Seek, Knock.
Ask and you will receive, Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened...
I hear ya Lord.
Seems what I needed to do was ask for help. Mike saw me huffin' and puffin' around the house mad at myself and mad at the mess so he asked me what was wrong. I told him what I was trying to do and that I just didn't know which way to turn I had been working on this all week and hadn't been able to make any real progress for the stops and starts of handling the kids and all.
So like the awesome hubby he is, he started to help. After putting things where I directed for a while the kids were up from their rest times and he took them outside to play so I could complete my work.
He IS the most awesome man ever!
Because of the lack of interruption I was able to complete my task! YAY!!
Look!! Isn't it beautiful?!

Everything is cleared off and put in its proper place or discarded. The only thing I still need to do is label my folders in my folder box (that I already had and discovered while cleaning!) so that I can continue to keep things nice and neat.
But I am so excited, its done. And all I needed to do all along was ask for a little help.

Project Simplify- Hotspot Number ONE!

Over at Simple Mom they are having a party... a cleaning party that is. Spring cleaning 5 different hot spots throughout your house by spring equinox. There are prizes involved if you blog or post your before and after pictures, but I'm in it for the challenge. See in 8 weeks we are moving. Not out of Rhode Island but to base housing where the utility bills will not send me into a panic attack each month and this spoiled little family of mine will enjoy the comforts of having more than one toilet in the house. Its been hard. :) But since there will be packing and yard sales and the need to get rid of things we are just tired of moving anyways I figured this would be a great start.

This week started the challenge and Tsh Oxenreider author of Organized Simplicity and the blog Simple Mom set us out on our first challenge. Bathrooms? Kitchen? Under the kids' beds? Nope. The Master Closet and Wardrobe. She sites some pretty good reasons for this being the first week's challenge, but mainly the idea is "Take care of you first" like, you know "Put on you own oxygen mask before you help ANYONE else" ... sound familiar? So with out further ado here is my closet and wardrobe before their makeover....

Gross.
The sad part is this is not the worst my closet has ever looked. And we have been living in this house for less than a year! I told Mike what I was doing and was given the stern, "Don't touch my stuff!" Which means he was just worried I would put half of his clothes in the yardsale. I mean seriously who needs 12 pairs of jeans!?! So all of his stuff is on the top rack. My stuff resides on the bottom rack and the top shelf.....and the floor, and top of my dresser.
Opps!

Tsh recommended we get all our laundry done and then clean out the closet. But the laundry is never done here, with adults and kids coming in and out with so many different schedules, the best I can do is keep up. So Monday morning I set my toss box by my closet and as I did each day's laundry I would toss things that should not make it another go round and hit one drawer a day. This fit into my regular clothes folding time so it really wasn't that hard. I was waiting for the end of the week for the big clean. And the rain to make me do it.

Here are some pictures of everything cleared out and ready to get a sweep.

So Pretty.
During this process I learned a few things:
I have an amazing volume of shoes for someone who has a size 12 foot and wears mainly sneakers.
I had clothes in there I could have been wearing all winter but didn't know they were there. (Which is really sad considering we just moved from Florida)
I have a problem getting rid of things from family because I'm afraid they will ask me about the item. (Sorry Mom, no more reversible rain poncho... I haven't worn it in 5 years.)
Inspection of my underwear drawer revealed ..... a laser pointer? True Story.
The little noises we thought we heard in the heating ducts were not just the sounds of an old house. I have officially waged war against Fivel!
So I went through the clothes and tossed the ones that were just horribly worn, bid a teary farewell to half of my shoes, and threw what I couldn't or wouldn't wear into a box marked for the yard sale. Tsh recommends going ahead and pricing everything, but I had to finish this during nap time and it was almost over.
I wiped off everything and found respectable places for things that were on the dresser.
And here is the proof of my efforts...


Ta Daaa!
Beautiful! All my drawers are decluttered and organized as well, I just didn't get a picture of them. Everything is off the floor save my running sneakers which get used each morning. The "to sell" box is already in the attic and the trash has been carted away. Yay!
To follow along with Project Simplify just head on over to www.simplemom.net