Every other year we head north to spend Easter with my in-laws and my husband's extended family. It's not short trip. They live about 350 miles north! That's a long trip when you can only stay about 48 hours once you arrive. But it is well worth it. The kids love seeing their grandparents and spending time with their cousins . . . and you can't forget the EGG HUNT!
So this year was a traveling year. Kirby and Joe returned home about 5:30 on Thursday night from a 3-day environmental studies field trip that the 5th grade class at our school goes on every spring, and after a full evening of laundry (you don't want stinky/wet/dirty camp clothes to sit for 4 days before being laundered!) we left first thing on Friday morning. We arrived at my in-laws house Friday afternoon and after unloading our stuff and stretching our legs a bit, it was time to get ready for the Good Friday service at church. Following church, we played games and had dessert at Kirby's older sister's house with her family. Saturday brought our big extended family dinner and egg hunt (since we needed to leave right after church on Sunday to get home at a decent hour, we did our celebrating as a family on Saturday afternoon). I think there were probably 40 people at Kirby's aunts house for dinner. 2 of Kirby's 3 siblings were there with their families as were many of his aunts and uncles and cousins (as well as his cousin's kids). We are quite a group! There was lots of food, much laughter, games to play and all the kids enjoyed the egg hunt immensely (despite the mud and snow). Following the egg hunt the kids kept busy emptying their eggs, eating candy, trading candy and counting their money (eggs don't only hold candy, you know!) while the adults visited and helped facilitate fair trading among young ones before we all packed up to head out. Saturday night brought a walk to stretch our legs and get some fresh air, pizza and visiting with Grandma and Grandpa.
We went to a pancake breakfast at Kirby's sister's church on Sunday morning and then enjoyed Easter worship at their church with a good percentage of his family. We had a quick lunch at his parents house and changed out of our "church clothes" before hitting the road for the long trek home.
Finally, after LOTS of hours in the car, we arrived at our house. Unfortunately, we were locked out! My parents had come to do a project for us (new front and back steps and front sidewalk -- having a cement mason for a father comes in handy more often than you might think!) and so we left the door open for them when we took off on Friday morning. Kirb grabbed just the van keys and we hit the road. Well, my very responsible parents locked up for us when they were done on Friday. The thought that we didn't have a house key with us never crossed our minds until the moment we pulled into the driveway. Thank goodness for cell phones! I called my parents (who were still had Easter company at their house) and my dad buzzed over right away and let us in . . . saving the day (and our VERY FULL bladders) again!
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Saturday, November 21, 2015
The Great Purge of 2015
It was a rough summer around here. I never quite felt like we got in a good groove. People were grumpy and "bored" and we "never did anything fun". The rough summer turned in to a rough fall. Some of it was the kids, some of it was how busy we were and how many different directions we were always running (not shocking, considering there are 8 of us who all have things going on) and some of it was just me.
The past couple months I've felt really overwhelmed. Like I was barely keeping my head above water and if I stopped to rest for even a second, I'd go under. It was pervasive and noticeable in every different area of my life.
A few weeks ago I told my mom that I was overwhelmed by life and, specifically, by all the "stuff" in our house. I commented that if I came home one day and somehow half of our possessions were gone out of our house I'd be relieved, rather than upset. That's when she decided we were going to get to work on making that happen! (just the motivation -- and help -- I needed!) We have been working our butts off for the better part of two weeks now. She has come over almost every day and we've tackled a different room/area/category of stuff.
While I don't think we've gotten rid of half the possessions in our house, we have purged an impressive amount of stuff in a pretty short period of time. Lots of bags of garbage. TONS of recycling (why was it that I kept boxes from so many things I've purchased long, long ago? . . . and SO. MANY. papers!). About 40 pairs of shoes. Bags and bags of clothing. Wall art. Bedding. Furniture. Picture frames. Books. Home decor type stuff. Kitchen gadgets. Jewelry. Toys. We still have work to do. And we still have more possessions than I am comfortable with! But we are WAY closer to what I am comfortable with than we were two weeks ago. We have been able to pass things along to others who need them or will, at least, make good use of them. That makes me happy. We have donated some items to charities that we trust. We have gotten rid of some of the excess that we have in life and have simplified. All 8 of us are on board and are enjoying the end result of all the hard work -- clean, less cluttered spaces all over our house, drawers, shelves and storage bins that are completely empty and a more peaceful place to live!
We've even found a few things that I forgot we owned. It is a sorry state of affairs that this type of problem is so common and pervasive. It's not just me, I know. But I can only start with myself, so that's what I'm doing. Making a difference a little bit at a time in my own life. And in my own home. It feels good.
I had requested The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up from the library a few months ago. But it's a popular book, so the list wasn't short. It finally came in for me near the beginning of the purge. I'm almost done with the book now and, while I don't agree with everything she says, there have been many ideas in the book that have been very helpful to me while going through this process. I haven't done things exactly according to her order and her advice (partly because I had already started and partly because some of her methods aren't really geared well for a family of 8 and a few I find just flat out silly -- or maybe just culturally irrelevant, as the author is from Japan and I am not). Overall, I think it is a great book and there have been some very freeing ideas and philosophies in there that I am thankful for. Perspective is always good and the author has a very different perspective than any I have previously encountered and I appreciated the new way to think about possessions.
Simplifying and paring down our possessions certainly hasn't solved all my problems, but it has helped. For that I am grateful! Major thanks to my mom and my family for all the help!
The past couple months I've felt really overwhelmed. Like I was barely keeping my head above water and if I stopped to rest for even a second, I'd go under. It was pervasive and noticeable in every different area of my life.
A few weeks ago I told my mom that I was overwhelmed by life and, specifically, by all the "stuff" in our house. I commented that if I came home one day and somehow half of our possessions were gone out of our house I'd be relieved, rather than upset. That's when she decided we were going to get to work on making that happen! (just the motivation -- and help -- I needed!) We have been working our butts off for the better part of two weeks now. She has come over almost every day and we've tackled a different room/area/category of stuff.
While I don't think we've gotten rid of half the possessions in our house, we have purged an impressive amount of stuff in a pretty short period of time. Lots of bags of garbage. TONS of recycling (why was it that I kept boxes from so many things I've purchased long, long ago? . . . and SO. MANY. papers!). About 40 pairs of shoes. Bags and bags of clothing. Wall art. Bedding. Furniture. Picture frames. Books. Home decor type stuff. Kitchen gadgets. Jewelry. Toys. We still have work to do. And we still have more possessions than I am comfortable with! But we are WAY closer to what I am comfortable with than we were two weeks ago. We have been able to pass things along to others who need them or will, at least, make good use of them. That makes me happy. We have donated some items to charities that we trust. We have gotten rid of some of the excess that we have in life and have simplified. All 8 of us are on board and are enjoying the end result of all the hard work -- clean, less cluttered spaces all over our house, drawers, shelves and storage bins that are completely empty and a more peaceful place to live!
We've even found a few things that I forgot we owned. It is a sorry state of affairs that this type of problem is so common and pervasive. It's not just me, I know. But I can only start with myself, so that's what I'm doing. Making a difference a little bit at a time in my own life. And in my own home. It feels good.
I had requested The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up from the library a few months ago. But it's a popular book, so the list wasn't short. It finally came in for me near the beginning of the purge. I'm almost done with the book now and, while I don't agree with everything she says, there have been many ideas in the book that have been very helpful to me while going through this process. I haven't done things exactly according to her order and her advice (partly because I had already started and partly because some of her methods aren't really geared well for a family of 8 and a few I find just flat out silly -- or maybe just culturally irrelevant, as the author is from Japan and I am not). Overall, I think it is a great book and there have been some very freeing ideas and philosophies in there that I am thankful for. Perspective is always good and the author has a very different perspective than any I have previously encountered and I appreciated the new way to think about possessions.
Simplifying and paring down our possessions certainly hasn't solved all my problems, but it has helped. For that I am grateful! Major thanks to my mom and my family for all the help!
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Lately
There have been so many days the past few months where the devotional I read through each morning has said exactly what my heart needed on that particular day. It's uncanny to me (and, at the same time, so very like God) that it can be so impeccably timed. So many mornings it brings me exactly what I need in my life for that day. Some days it is so specific to certain circumstances in my life that I can hardly believe it.
Anyway, the other day I read these words ::
I love fall! I try to savor it each year. Spend as much time as I can outside. Looking around. Smelling the smell of it. Listening to the leaves crunching underfoot. Absorbing the beauty.
I also try to live this way. Loving the gift of this life. In the big things -- and, much more importantly, in the little, day-to-day things.
Here are some of the blessings from this past week. Keep track of your own "gifts". The things you are grateful for. The little things and the big things. See if it makes a difference in your life the way it has in mine ::
5029. a walk with Kirbs on a beautiful fall evening
5030. the smell of fall
5032. finishing up a big project
5033. a clean house (even if it only lasts 5 minutes)
5035. carpooling
5036. perspective
5039. the little girls playing dress up
5040. finding the lid to my travel coffee mug (that I use nearly every day) that I lost while walking the kids to school
5041. crisp fall air coupled with sunshine
5042. wearing socks
5044. Jacob's first ever varsity playing time (go #19!)
5048. Friday morning date with my mom
5049. the boys both asking for pink football socks to wear in October in honor of their Ama
5050. Joe and Anna snuggled up together in Joe's bed, fast asleep
5051. an eagle flying low overhead as I was running
5053. Joe's great catch for the extra point in his football game
5054. a great Homecoming week at UNW
5058. the 3 little kids giddy with excitement over new episodes of their very favorite show
5060. while mowing our neighbors lawn for them while they were out of town, Jacob noticed that their mower blade was dull and sharpened it for them.
5062. the 3 littles having a sleepover on the living room floor
5066. cheering on friends at the Twin Cities Marathon events
Anyway, the other day I read these words ::
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hand. {Psalm 19.1}
Right now all the leaves are falling, and there's no reason that they have to turn electric bright red before they fall, but they do and I want to live like that. I want to say, "What can I do today that brings more beauty, more energy, more hope?" Because it seems like that's what God is saying to us, over and over. "What can I do to remind you again how good this life is? You think the color of the sky is good now, wait till sunset. You think oranges are good? Try a tangerine." He's a crazy delightful mad scientist and keeps coming back from the lab with unbelievable new things, and it's a gift to be a part of it.
. . . I want my every day to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift. {Savor, by Shauna Niequist. Entry for October 5th}
I love fall! I try to savor it each year. Spend as much time as I can outside. Looking around. Smelling the smell of it. Listening to the leaves crunching underfoot. Absorbing the beauty.
I also try to live this way. Loving the gift of this life. In the big things -- and, much more importantly, in the little, day-to-day things.
Here are some of the blessings from this past week. Keep track of your own "gifts". The things you are grateful for. The little things and the big things. See if it makes a difference in your life the way it has in mine ::
5029. a walk with Kirbs on a beautiful fall evening
5030. the smell of fall
5032. finishing up a big project
5033. a clean house (even if it only lasts 5 minutes)
5035. carpooling
5036. perspective
5039. the little girls playing dress up
5040. finding the lid to my travel coffee mug (that I use nearly every day) that I lost while walking the kids to school
5041. crisp fall air coupled with sunshine
5042. wearing socks
5044. Jacob's first ever varsity playing time (go #19!)
5048. Friday morning date with my mom
5049. the boys both asking for pink football socks to wear in October in honor of their Ama
5050. Joe and Anna snuggled up together in Joe's bed, fast asleep
5051. an eagle flying low overhead as I was running
5053. Joe's great catch for the extra point in his football game
5054. a great Homecoming week at UNW
5058. the 3 little kids giddy with excitement over new episodes of their very favorite show
5060. while mowing our neighbors lawn for them while they were out of town, Jacob noticed that their mower blade was dull and sharpened it for them.
5062. the 3 littles having a sleepover on the living room floor
5066. cheering on friends at the Twin Cities Marathon events
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Lose a ton
My (new) friend Amber, who I met this fall in ECFE, put a challenge up via Facebook to take part in a January purge of possessions in effort to simplify our homes and our lives and (hopefully) bless others in the process. She was looking for 20 people to commit to get rid of 10 pounds of stuff each day for 10 consecutive days sometime during the month of January. That is 100 pound per person/household for a total of 2000 pounds between the 20 of us. I knew finding time to take part in the challenge for 10 consecutive days might be tricky, but I was excited by the idea and knew that finding 100 pounds of unnecessary stuff in our house would (sadly) not be hard at all.
Here is a short recap of my experience ::
Day 1 :: I went through the kitchen and weeded out excess coffee mugs (I think those things multiple in the cupboard!), water bottles, vases, etc. for a total of 11.8 pounds.
Day 2 :: I had Bible study that morning. One of the girls in my Bible study has a sweet 8-month-old girl, so I pass down Sara's outgrown clothes to her. Before I left, I found 2.8 pounds of stuff to pass along to her. When I got home from Bible study my mom and I tacked my hall linen closet, which is a catch-all for things with no home! We took out ever last thing, wiped down the inside (actually my mom did those steps while I was at Bible study, since she was at my house watching Sara for me) and then only put back things we actually use or need and got rid of 17.9 pounds of stuff from in there that we did not need or was expired/ruined/worthless.
Day 3 :: I cleaned out my stash of craft stuff and came up with 21.8 pounds of stuff I didn't need or wasn't going to use. I plan to bring most of it to ArtScraps in St. Paul.
Day 4 :: Books! I went through our books and ended up with 28.4 pounds. I took some of them to Half Price Books (actually, Kirby did that) and got $10 out of the deal. Some I added to our Little Free Library and a few I passed along.
Day 5 :: 21.8 pounds of clothes from Rebekah and Lydia's wardrobes. Outgrown, ill-fitting, not their style, excessive (does she really need that many t-shirts? nope!).
Day 6 :: 17.4 pounds of clothes from the 2 boys.
Day 7 :: 13.4 pounds of clothes, mostly mine with a few pounds worth from Anna (most of her outgrown clothes get saved for Sara).
Day 8 :: 37.4 pounds of stuff. Some more clothes, some misc household things, a couple more books, some decorative pillows (we have more than our share).
Day 9 :: I tackled the bathroom on day 9. I took every last thing out of the medicine cabinet and wiped it all down. Then I only put about 1/3 of the stuff back in there. We had lots of expired medicines/creams/stuff in there. I also cleaned under the sink and in the drawers of our vanity. There also was a box full of kids jewelry (think beaded bracelets made with much love -- and not much visual appeal) that I tossed. The total that day was 8.7 pounds. My only day under 10 pounds . . . but I believe in averaging things out, so when I finished the bathroom, I didn't try to make up 1.3 more pounds of stuff and just called it good.
Day 10 :: 13.8 pounds of games and toys. We also re-organized ALL. THE. LEGOS. Which was a huge (but VERY worthwhile) undertaking. School was cancelled for our kids due to the crazy cold temps, so they helped me out. I think having them so well organized will lead to more desire to build with them! We cleared off the whole train table, so there's plenty of room to build!
So, my 10-day total was 195.2 pounds. I'm so glad I made the commitment and took part. Our home is more organized (although I still have plenty more areas that I could tackle . . . and probably still will, just not as formally -- no weighing in and daily purging) and we hope that the things we are no longer using will go to good use, and be a blessing in someone else's life.
Here is a short recap of my experience ::
Day 1 :: I went through the kitchen and weeded out excess coffee mugs (I think those things multiple in the cupboard!), water bottles, vases, etc. for a total of 11.8 pounds.
Day 2 :: I had Bible study that morning. One of the girls in my Bible study has a sweet 8-month-old girl, so I pass down Sara's outgrown clothes to her. Before I left, I found 2.8 pounds of stuff to pass along to her. When I got home from Bible study my mom and I tacked my hall linen closet, which is a catch-all for things with no home! We took out ever last thing, wiped down the inside (actually my mom did those steps while I was at Bible study, since she was at my house watching Sara for me) and then only put back things we actually use or need and got rid of 17.9 pounds of stuff from in there that we did not need or was expired/ruined/worthless.
Day 3 :: I cleaned out my stash of craft stuff and came up with 21.8 pounds of stuff I didn't need or wasn't going to use. I plan to bring most of it to ArtScraps in St. Paul.
Day 4 :: Books! I went through our books and ended up with 28.4 pounds. I took some of them to Half Price Books (actually, Kirby did that) and got $10 out of the deal. Some I added to our Little Free Library and a few I passed along.
Day 5 :: 21.8 pounds of clothes from Rebekah and Lydia's wardrobes. Outgrown, ill-fitting, not their style, excessive (does she really need that many t-shirts? nope!).
Day 6 :: 17.4 pounds of clothes from the 2 boys.
Day 7 :: 13.4 pounds of clothes, mostly mine with a few pounds worth from Anna (most of her outgrown clothes get saved for Sara).
Day 8 :: 37.4 pounds of stuff. Some more clothes, some misc household things, a couple more books, some decorative pillows (we have more than our share).
Day 9 :: I tackled the bathroom on day 9. I took every last thing out of the medicine cabinet and wiped it all down. Then I only put about 1/3 of the stuff back in there. We had lots of expired medicines/creams/stuff in there. I also cleaned under the sink and in the drawers of our vanity. There also was a box full of kids jewelry (think beaded bracelets made with much love -- and not much visual appeal) that I tossed. The total that day was 8.7 pounds. My only day under 10 pounds . . . but I believe in averaging things out, so when I finished the bathroom, I didn't try to make up 1.3 more pounds of stuff and just called it good.
Day 10 :: 13.8 pounds of games and toys. We also re-organized ALL. THE. LEGOS. Which was a huge (but VERY worthwhile) undertaking. School was cancelled for our kids due to the crazy cold temps, so they helped me out. I think having them so well organized will lead to more desire to build with them! We cleared off the whole train table, so there's plenty of room to build!
So, my 10-day total was 195.2 pounds. I'm so glad I made the commitment and took part. Our home is more organized (although I still have plenty more areas that I could tackle . . . and probably still will, just not as formally -- no weighing in and daily purging) and we hope that the things we are no longer using will go to good use, and be a blessing in someone else's life.
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