Archive for the ‘Month of Motivation’ Category
Over at Big Slice of Life, Jenny reached the end of her Month of Motivation with many successes to show for her efforts. Here in the House, well…you know what happened to my great closet-cleanout plan. I did do a lot of decluttering, but I had to put more focus on keeping the place clean and ready for showings than on purging clutter. The Big Purge will come later, after we sell the house.
But I did get rid of about eighteen big bags of Stuff. By get rid of I mean actually moved off the premises, either to the thrift shop or the dump. Not just to the basement or garage, which in times past has been my preferred method of dealing with the Stuff I don’t feel like dealing with.
But enough about me. How about you? Did you stick with your plan? Are you Clutter Free or Significantly Less Cluttered?
I’m so motivated it hurts. Especially in my lower back. Note to self: bend at the knees, not waist. But I’m making headway. Sent four big bags of Stuff to the thrift shop this weekend, and put just about as many out for the trashmen this morning. But it feels a bit like trying to melt an iceberg with a blow dryer. There’s a long way to go…
I want a Stuff Collector to come along and take away my Stuff. The wonderful Lesley Austin of Small Meadow Press blogged today about a company that will take Stuff of the Electronic Variety off your hands, wipe its memory clean, and recycle it—if you’re willing to pay the shipping costs. Which I am not. I’ll just have to go on melting my own icebergs.
I admit it. It only took me until Day Two of the Month of Motivation, Day TWO, can you believe it, to fall short of my goal. But I had a good excuse. Oh yes, there is always a good excuse, isn’t there? My excuse was: I couldn’t spend fifteen minutes cleaning out my closets because instead I spent the whole day talking over a Big Giant Decision which is going to require me to clean out every closet—and cabinet and nook and cranny—in the whole entire house.
Because we’re moving.
I kid you not. This is all very sudden. My husband has accepted a job offer clear on the other side of the country (!!!) and we’ll be putting the house on the market, um, probably next week.
(What does it say about me that one of the first things I thought when we discussed this Enormously Huge Possibility was: well, I suppose it’d make for interesting reading on the blog…)
Coming soon: Idealistic homeschooling mother is put to the test. Can she maintain the joyful atmosphere she’s always writing about while: (a) purging her house of half its contents and (b) keeping the house in show-able condition while caring for five children eleven and under including a challenging special-needs toddler and a two-month-old baby?
I guess we’ll find out.
Anyway, the Big Declutter End-of-Week Recap:
Monday—spent one hour total on one closet (still not finished).
Tuesday—nada. Hush.
Wednesday—um…pulled a lot of books off shelves to show some friends who wanted to browse homeschooling resources, does that count?
Thursday—deleting all the spam from your inbox counts as decluttering, right?
Friday—it’s not over yet. But, well, we have company coming this afternoon, Scott’s brother and his family, and then tomorrow is Rose’s First Communion and we’ve decided to go ahead and have the baby baptized at the same instead of waiting until late July as originally planned, and who can clean closets with all that going on?
But next week, the work begins in earnest. It’ll pretty much have to, won’t it?
How did your first week of Motivation Month go?
The Charlotte Mason curriculum post (part 4 in the series) is coming soon. First up, though, is tomorrow’s Carnival of Education, a collection of education-related posts by teachers, parents, and commentators all over the blogosphere.
Also in the works here at the Lilting House: a comparison of day planners and calendars. Since many of us use planners based on the academic year, it’s just about time to start shopping for a new one. I’ll be reviewing the MomAgenda, the Catholic Woman’s Daily Planner, Franklin Covey, and more; if you’d like to chime in about your favorite organizational tools, drop me a note!
Meanwhile: it’s Day Two of our Month of Motivation. This is the closet I tackled yesterday. I have no impressive after photo for you yet, but the kids and I made a lot of headway. We now know what is in some of those boxes. Hey, there’s the shoe I’ve been looking for for four and a half years!
Jenny at Big Slice is making progress too, with a week’s worth of simple menu plans. I think I want to eat dinner at her house on Thursday.
Jenny over at Big Slice of Life, Small Slice of Cheesecake is launching a project called Month of Motivation. Jenny’s goal: to lose ten pounds before the BlogHer conference. Stop by her blog and cheer her on!
Jenny is inviting others to join her in spending the next thirty days (starting Monday, June 26th) working toward a goal in daily increments. I’m game. What I need motivation for: a grand household decluttering. Closets, dressers, bookshelves, the works. Jenny’s right in understanding that publically announcing a project like this can help keep you committed to the work. If my enthusiasm flags, you’ll all know it. Eek.
I think what I’ll try to do for this thirty days is post a picture every day of any boxes or bags of Stuff I’ve managed to part with. I’ll make a sidebar photo album for the purpose. Ooh, just thinking about this makes me shudder. No, really, I can do it. I’ll do the FlyLady thing and set a timer for 15 or 20 minutes of decluttering every day. Starting tomorrow, because today is a day of rest.
How about you? Care to join us? Got a project you need to undertake? Or maybe it’s your goal to read poetry every day, or to make weekly menus and follow them, or to pray a daily rosary, or to listen to a particular symphony until you know every note. Leave a comment here or on Jenny’s blog with your goal for the Month of Motivation. We can all egg each other on.
