Daily Declutter #6 - One Pen Challenge

The other morning I was filling out a form for my daughter that she needed to hand in to school that day.  I grabbed a pen, started writing....and it didn't work.  Tossed it out, grabbed another....argh!  Didn't work!  Grabbed another.  Arrrrgh!  Another dead pen!  By then I was really scrambling around to try to find another pen.  How come it's always so hard to find a pen that works in this house?  I finally found one that worked, filled out the form and dashed my daughter out the door.

I decided to find a solution to the mystery of the disappearing pens & pencils in our household.  I hunted in all the usual crooks and crannies they hide in, all the desks, the kitchen drawer, the bedside table, etc.etc.  I scrounged up 66 pens & pencils!!!!  Why was it so hard to find one when I really needed it?

There were 35 pencils and 26 of them were busted or dull.  That means whenever my kids break the tip of a pencil, they don't bother sharpening it, they just get another one.  There were 31 pens, and 12 of them didn't even work.  All these pens and pencils helped me realize that because we had an excess of writing instruments, they had no value.  Pencil broke?  Toss it back in the drawer & grab another.  Who cares what you do with a pen after you use it - just drop it and forget about it, 'cause there's lots more in the house.  It's a great example of our materialistic, careless, throw-away society.

You may be thinking, "Whoa - materialistic, careless, & throw-away?  Those are harsh words when you're just talking about a handful of pens, Lynn."

But let's think about it.  If you only have one of something, and you need it - then it has a lot of value, right?  It doesn't matter if it's "only a pen".  I was reminded of a story from the "Little House on the Prairie" book series.  There's a chapter where Mary and Laura go to school for the first time.  Their parents give them some money (of which they had very little!) to go to the General Store and buy a slate, so they could learn to write.  They had to share the slate, because they couldn't afford one each.  The store owner reminded them that they would need to buy a slate pencil as well, and that it would cost one penny.  Here's what happened next.

"Pa had already spent so much for the slate that they hated to tell him that they needed another penny.  They walked along soberly till suddenly Laura remembered their Christmas pennies.  They still had those pennies that they had found in their stockings on Christmas morning in Indian Territory.  Mary had a penny and Laura had a penny, but they needed only one slate pencil.  So they decided that Mary would spend her penny for the pencil and after that she would own half of Laura's penny.  Next morning they bought the pencil at Mr. Beadle's store."

Can you imagine how careful those two sisters were with their slate pencil?  I'm sure they had a special spot to keep it, and made sure that they didn't break it.  Who knows how long that one pencil lasted?   Without it, Mary and Laura Ingalls couldn't do their school work; therefore it had great value.

So, I decided to create a One Pen Challenge for myself.  I sharpened all those dull, broken pencils, put two in my daughters' desk drawer for after school homework, along with a good eraser and PENCIL SHARPENER!  Then I tested out all the pens, tossed the ones that didn't work and picked out two of my favourite pens.  I put one pen in my husband's box on his dresser, and the other pen (for me) I tied to a string and attached to a magnet on the fridge.  One pen or pencil for each of us.  My four year old still got to keep her box of crayons and markers.  Then I bundled up all the extras with a rubber band and hid them far, far away in a place I will not tell my family.  The good news is, I shouldn't have to buy back to school pens or pencils for YEARS!

Now, does my pen have value?  Yep!  Will I be more careful with it?  Yep!  Will I always know where it is?  Yep!  Will I replace it when it runs out?  Yep!

I might sound a little weird, (okay a LOT weird), for doing this and you may be thinking to yourself, "Baaaaack awaaaay slowly from the crazy woman who's obsessing about pens....".  But if this one change helps me avoid the chaos of scrambling around looking for a pen that works, and helps me and my children to become more mindful, careful people, then this one change is worth it.

Let me know if you decide to go for just one pen!

Daily Declutter #5 - Bookshelf

For this Daily Declutter Challenge I happened to choose my 4 yr old's bookshelf, because it was in a BIG mess.

We are a family of bookworms - we've read to our children since they were newborns and it's definitely a big value to us.  I read pretty much every night before going to sleep, even if I don't get to bed till quite late.  So decluttering books is not easy for me, because I LOVE BOOKS!

However, I took a good, hard look at this bookshelf, and it was not inspiring my four year old to go get a book to look at by herself.  And her bedtime stories always ended up being the same ones practically every night.

There's books all over the floor because that's where they'd end up after they were taken off.  The shelf was so crowded and messy it was hard gor little hands to put them away properly.  Guess who would get to put them all back?

I decided to think about decluttering books this way - they had to fit two categories:
1.  My four year old wanted me to read them to her.
2.  I wanted to read them to her.

You see, there were LOTS of books on those shelves.  Shelves that my adorable preschooler was drawn to.  But heaven help me, after three children, if I have to read Franklin Goes to School ONE MORE TIME I think I'm going to snap.  And Clifford.....he's a big, red, dog....but we had 15 books about CLIFFORD!  I don't think he nor Emily Elizabeth have that much to offer either me or my daughter.  And by the way.  I really can't stand Winnie the Pooh.  Say goodbye all you narcissitic, stuffed characters.

Also gone...all those little First Reader/Early Reader books...I figure by the time Ellie is reading on her own, there will be a ton of those in her classroom and of course there's always the library.  She NEVER picks those for Mike or I to read at bedtime.  You know why?  Because they're lame.

My other caveat was bible stories and little books of prayers and devotions.  I had a lovely lady from our church give me an entire bag of old school children's bibles, bible stories, and devotional books, and it seemed like a good idea to keep them.  But have you seen some of the pictures in those books? 

 

Can you picture any child feeling inspired to give it a read?  We read the bible to our daughter every night, and we've never had a problem finding great, age appropriate, beautifully illustrated ones to read.  So out went all the old bible stuff and I haven't been struck with any guilt or lightening, yet.

Here's the after photo:

With so much open shelf space, my four year old wanted to build "rooms" for her favourite stuffies to live in.  It's like apartments for stuffies!

I kept so many wonderful books, ones that everyone looks forward to enjoying together.  And isn't that what reading should be all about? Here's just a sampling.

So once again, my tip for decluttering your child's bookshelf...only keep the ones that you BOTH love!

Daily Declutter #3 - The Drawer of Fabulousness

Since it's Saturday, we're going to take on a bigger challenge.  Hopefully you've had a less hectic morning (unless of course your kids wake up at 5:00 AM, and you've already put in a good 4 hour day!) and you've got some energy and maybe even some help to take on a little bigger project.

It's time to take on a junk drawer.  Whichever room it is in the house (mine's in the kitchen!) it's time to get ruthless.  Dump out all the contents onto your kitchen table so you are forced to deal with it.  Or if you have too many little hands that want to get in and help, lock yourself in the bathroom with the drawer.  Bet you've never done that before!

1.  Toss out the trash - old flyers, expired coupons, pens that don't work - your pile of junk will already be dramatically reduced!
2.   Take out what doesn't belong - toys, CDs, makeup, screws - you know they have a better home somewhere.  Put them away - don't just put them in another basket.
3.  Sort the rest into 2 piles - useful or not useful - if you haven't found the need to use something in the last year, it's not likely you ever will!  Get rid of it!  Throw it away, or put in a donation box.  Be merciless!!!  Don't hold it in your hand and think, "Maybe one day I could really use this thing that I never even knew was in here..."
4.  Then find a drawer organizer, or simply use a couple different shaped tupperware bins like I did, and put your useful items away.
5.  Lastly, vow to never again call it a Junk Drawer.  Now it's an Odds & Ends Drawer, or Drawer of Essential Items, or Drawer of Fabulousness!

So what ended up staying in my Drawer of Fabulousness? 

Light bulbs, pair of scissors, a box cutter, packing tape, masking tape, string,  pack of under leg chair protectors, notepad, & an airfreshner.  All useful!  My drawer isn't doesn't have a cute 'lil container or a row of gleaming cubes, it's just a couple tupperware bins.  But everything is useful & within sight & reach!

Daily Declutter #1 - Starting at the Bottom

For the last two weeks I have been on a decluttering, thinning out, rampage.  Too much "stuff" in general stresses me out, and I get a weary feeling just looking at a junk drawer!
There's a bunch of really crazy, yet inspiring minimalist blogs out there that I took a peek through to help motivate me in my mission. Check 'em out, but remember, it's just a link, not an endorsement.
100 Thing Challenge
Rowdy Kittens - Social Change Through Simple Living
Be More With Less

OK - now back to the suburban life.  I'm going to daily post a declutter challenge - some may take 15 minutes, some may take an hour - but if you tackle one a day it you will make progress, I promise!

DAILY DECLUTTER #1 - Starting at the Bottom
Let's start with first things first - what's the first thing you put on when you get dressed.?  Yep, you guessed it...underwear.  If this doesn't apply to you, then you are probably not a suburban mom, and would be more at home reading a (cough) "natural living" blog.

Anyway, the Daily Declutter Mission is simple.  Go to your underwear drawer & dump it out onto your bed. Toss out all those ripped & awful unmentionables.  Toss the ones that don't fit.  Toss the ones that aren't comfy and you never wear.  Then think to yourself, "How many pairs do I really need?"  If you're like me, and you wash them at least once a week, then I would say 10-12 is a reasonable amount.  Just make sure you have enough for every day plus a few extras.  You probably have your faves that you always wear anyway and you won't miss the ones that you tossed, one bit.  Then stand back and marvel at your uncluttered, lovely drawer.

If you have socks in this drawer as well, don't worry - we'll do those tomorrow.

A Hundred Pounds Lighter!

Nope, it's not me.  It's my house that's 100 pounds lighter.  If it was me I'd be like Nicole Ritchie in her scary skinny days.  But you know what?  I DO feel lighter.  I was so happy to pick clothes out this morning and it was a simple act, not rummaging and rummaging for the item I was looking for.

I won't go into endless detail over every item I have decluttered from my home like some minimalist blogs do, but I will say that I took drawers, emptied their entire contents on the bed (you HAVE to deal with them that way!), and got rid of stuff that:
1.  I never used.
2.  Didn't fit.
3.  Didn't love or find useful (not might think one day might be useful.)

As my wise sister once said, "I'm almost 40.  If I don't think I look fabulous in it, why would I wear it?"

I also went through many other drawers in the house, but of course, I still have a ways to go.  One minimalist blog tip said that it can take up to a year or two to get to where you want to be....you had a lifetime to collect all your stuff, so understand that it may take some time.

Of course I have to make sure not to ignore my beautiful daughters in my decluttering drive.  I  even included them as we went through toys, and I LOVED hearing my four year old say, "No, I don't want it.  Get rid of it." Music to this momma's ears!

Only nice stuff was donated.  If it was YUCK, it was TRASHED

.

So, four big garbage bags and a trip to the Sally Anne later, we're a hundred pounds of "stuff" lighter!

New Year Urge

Does anyone else get that urge?  You get sick of looking at the Christmas ornaments cluttering up your space and you want things clean and clear?

 I do.  I've been thinning out my Christmas decor quite a bit the last few years and this year I did even more.  I only kept pieces that I found beautiful or meaningful.  How many Christmas mugs do I need?  A more pure minimalist would say none and I have to agree.  I don't NEED any.

Is Christmas really better when you can drink hot cocoa out of a tacky mug?

But I kept three.  One for each of my daughter's to drink their hot chocolate out of.  They really like the scarf mug!  But I'm sending four to the second hand store....that's a minimalist start, right?

I do find it interesting that Christmas becomes a time of crazy stress for most families, when it's supposed to be a time of celebration.  Is part of the stress all the expectations we put on ourselves?  Get those lights up!  Make the house look like Martha Stewart's!  Buy those gifts!

The post new year's urge to purge will continue in my house.  I've got a list of rooms/cupboards to tackle and I'll be happily crossing them off this month.  Next on the list, the tea/coffee cupboard if you can believe it!

Starting from Scratch in 3, 2, 1....

For the last several years I've had a deepening desire to seriously change up the way I run my life and my home, as an ordinary, harried, suburban mother of three.  But "serious change" seems so...well... daunting.  I'm intrigued and inspired by all the philosophies behind those fancy buzzwords like sustainability, eco chic, the 100 mile diet, frugal living, going green, minimalism, zen habits, living off grid, clean eating and the list goes on.  But could a mini-driving, stay at home, three children chasing, house in the 'burbs ordinary mom really experience the life I'm imagining?  That less will in fact be more?  That I can be the change that I want to see in the world?  Or will the tyranny of the urgent become the thing that drives me to the fast food lane at the Golden Arches, wearing my made in China cheap runners bought at Wal-Mart?

I want MORE out of life...by spending less, consuming less, wasting less, and stressing LESS.  I'm gonna try.  I'm starting from scratch in 3, 2, 1.....

Is the grass greener on the other side?