Day 4: Clutter Cleanse

Today's assignment: 

Find a permanent place for all those keep items. 

Ok.  I got the ball rolling on the kitchen island and it was kept clear all day except for when I was cooking and keeping my son's water cup away from his sister. 

There wasn't too much in the keep pile with just a small space, so I will have to work on another space. 

I am feeling inspired and worked on several drawers in one of our bathrooms. I feel the weight if too much stuff bring lifted. Ahhh....

For your keep items, Lara sets out steps to follow:

1. Decide where the most logical home is for each item.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Where do I use this item most?
• How often do I use it?
• Do I use other items along with it?
• Where would be the most convenient place for this item to live?

2.  Use what you already have: bins, baskets

3. Label it!

Link to original post on Overstuffed life:

http://www.overstuffedlife.com/2014/10/31-days-to-less-clutter-and-more-peace_4.html

Day 3: Clutter Cleanse

Today's assignment:

Clear the clutter out of your chosen problem area. 

Work on top priority problem area.  It's definitely the kitchen. There are currently 4 piles of stuff in the kitchen. Mail to open, papers to shred, toys to get rid of, tools to put away, bottles for a project at my sons preschool, extra cords from the television, bad batteries, coins, a juicer we haven't used in a long while, a basket full of pacifiers, charging cords and headphones for our various electronic devices. 

Put away the items that already have a designated place.

Pile of tools.  Go to workshop. 

 

Ok. The big bad paper monster. I'm going to tackle you today!  

Good bye junk mail.  Separate into shred pile and useless envelopes into the recycling.  

Papers to file:  Calendar for preschool. 

Bills to pay: write checks and use those new stamps I just bought.  

Send out last few New Years cards. So late but, c'est la vie. Note to self: I still need addresses from husband for a few more of his friends and relatives. A few more cards still hanging out in a pile. :(

Sort the remaining items into trash, donate, and keep piles.

I already got rid of a lot of paper. Not too much to donate so far. I need a proper way to dispose of batteries. Coins need to be collected and sorted. 

Times up.  Things are better but not perfect. I need more time on the kitchen. I guess the point was to focus on one problem area, but I did more.  I'll have to work with more focus next time. At least the kitchen island is clear!

Day 2: Clutter cleanse

Today's assignment is making an action plan. It involves identifying problem areas and homeless items, setting priorities and scheduling daily time to work on decluttering. 

Lara has a free printable on her site for identifying the problem areas in your home. Also, it's the link to day 2 if you wish to follow along. 

Link is here: 

http://www.overstuffedlife.com/2014/10/31-days-to-less-clutter-and-more-peace.html?m=1

Identifying the problem areas

My biggest problem area is in the kitchen. Things often get piled up on the kitchen island so I can read them, often mail or magazines, or do something with these things, like pay bills or respond to mail, when I have a moment while being home with my kids. The truth is that it sits there sometimes indefinitely until it's a big problem. Maybe I need to schedule time to read them instead of waiting for some free time that is so infrequent and unreliable. 

I also have a huge pile of things to get to on my desk in our office. It amasses a never ending pile of mail and things to read as well. This place is where the pile from the kitchen goes when I get fed up with the mess in the kitchen. This pile if things to read seems to be the root of my problem. Never getting to read or respond to papers that accumulate around the house. 

I realized that I have this bad habit of stashing potentially hazardous items out of grasp at the nearest shelf, closet, etc. It means I have items where they don't belong in various hiding spits around the house. Note to self. Stop doing this. 

There is an issue of what to do with clothes that have been worn once but are still not dirty.  Do other people out it back with their clean clothes in their closets or is there another way. It seems everyone in our house has that question/problem. The clothes get piled everywhere, the bathrooms, the top of dressers and the floor.  

Setting priorities:

The kitchen island is definitely the biggest priority. As the hub of the house, it really effects everyone in the house if it's cluttered. It's the first thing we see when we get home and come into the house. If I could fix this problem area, I think it would really improve our life. 

Scheduling daily time:

I am going to try to work on this project an hour a day. Days that I have help I will be working in it during the day. Otherwise, I will be working on it after the kids go to bed. 

A 31 day Clutter Cleanse Day 1

Our house is nearly always full of clutter.  It's a bad habit that I am going to try to work on this month. 

I found this great website that has a 31 day no clutter plan. It sounds like a good idea. So let's try.  

The website is called Overstuffed and the link to the 31 day clutter busting plan is here: 

http://www.overstuffedlife.com/2014/10/a-place-for-everything-31-days-of-less.html

Day 1 is orientation. Got it. Clear out clutter to get more peace in life. Sounds good to me.  Sometimes the clutter in the house is overwhelming from the never ending pile of mail to the kids toys everywhere. I would love to have it more orderly around here. 

Tomorrow is the Action Plan.  I am excited to start another challenge. I hope to make it through this one in the coming month and I feel hopeful that this will bring me more peace. 

A bit of an update: Diastasis Recti

Well, it's been a while since I last posted.  I am post baby and trying to get my body back.  My abdominals are definitely recovering a bit faster than it did with my first baby which is a good thing.  If only I could have the time to exercise regularly, but with two kids it's been a challenge.  Maybe when I figure out how to do it, I'll let you know.

The thing that I have found to be working is doing my diastasis recti exercises while breastfeeding.  That has seemed to help.

I checked my diastasis today and it appears by just being more conscious when I lift the babies that it's closing the gap!  It seems like I have a two cm gap instead of a 3 or 4.  The thought I have when lifting is tightening the corset.  Imagine bringing both sides together and bringing the pelvic floor up.  It's working for me, but if you need help, always consult a physical therapist or doctor.  

Update

My baby has arrived and I meant to write these reviews of the prenatal bellydance videos that I tested.   The videos were both very different.

One Belly Dance Prenatal Fitness and dance instruction program with Naia was fast paced and not much instruction to be honest.  I thought it was a good DVD but might be difficult for those who had never done belly dance before.

Goddess Dance Prenatal Bellydance and Meditation with Sera Solstice was more instructional and not as fast paced.  I found it to be very relaxing and it felt good to do in my once pregnant body.  I enjoyed the meditation but some people might think it's a bit too out there for them, to each their own.

Update

I've failed to update in a while.  A lot has happened.

I finished my 6 week challenge through my Wii Active More Workouts game. I only went over six weeks by two days.  Much better than my last attempt.  I am nearly 30 weeks in my pregnancy and I was glad to finish the workouts.

I've been taking prenatal yoga classes for a month and a half. I think it's really helping me. It's been nice to have some time with women that are going through the same aches and pains and emotions as I am. Also it feels good to have some time to focus on this pregnancy because I've been consumed with chasing after my active toddler.

I've tried to get Amira's pregnancy workout DVD to work with 2 different DVDs and both have failed to work in my DVD player. :(. The reviews are good. I just want to do the workout which has moves for use during labor. I suppose I'll have to buy a different DVD.

That's what's happening with me.