Toys Galore

So, in all of this organizing business I ran across a website that is challenging everyone to pick out 52 things you could do to organize your home & do one of those things each week for the next year.  I initially thought that was ridiculous because she suggested breaking big tasks down over several weeks.....such as cleaning/organizing a drawer rather than the whole bathroom.  Though, after thinking it through I realized that it was a brilliant idea.  I'm pretty sure I can think of a dozen things that needed cleaning/organizing LAST year that I thought, I can't wait 6 months to do this, it needs to be done now & yet a year has past & it never got done.  The house remains in the same condition because I didn't have a plan in place & I simply did whatever it took just to keep up each day.  Another year rolls around & the same old things are on the to-do list.  So, I am breaking those things down & tackling them over the course of the year.

I suppose I am actually starting with Week #2 because I just learned of the challenge yesterday.  First on my list was to take my "memory" chest that my grandfather handmade for me & repurpose it into a toy chest.  We are in desperate need of some toy storage in our living room.  We have tried so many different things in there & haven't found anything that really works & looks decent.  At the same time we are running out of room in our bedroom since it has become the bedroom, craft room, home office & temporary baby room.....so we figured this would be a good switch. 


So today I packed up all the "memories" to put into the attic & moved the chest into the living room.  We filled it up & the kids thoroughly enjoyed digging around, finding toys they hadn't seen in a week or two.  I think I like it.  It is quite large & I'm not sure there is really enough space where it's at but I like it better than what was going on in there before.

Back to the Basics

So, on to week two of this OYOL.  She suggests that we should figure out the bare minimum that needs to get done each day & post those things in a prominent place.

I actually have something very similar to the worksheet she offers already in place.  I have an index card box that I have divided into several different categories.....Everyday, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Seasonally, Twice a Year & Annually.  At this point I just need to implement that which I have written out. 

My everyday tab has things like put away dishes, 2 loads of laundry, sweep kitchen, bedtime pickup, etc.  I do think I am going to add some of the things that are even more basic that I somehow keep forgetting like brushing the kids teeth, bathing them & making sure they take their vitamins. 

Yes, I realize those things should just happen daily but somehow the day will come & go & I will have somehow missed getting those things done.  I will think about having the kids brush their teeth but about that time Sydney will start screaming or Sawyer will need immediate help with something & I just won't ever get back around to helping them get it done.  As far as bathing goes....the reality is that I just hate it.  Finding a time when both girls are awake, Sydney's not eating & I'm not fixing someones breakfast, lunch or dinner has been a challenge in itself.  Then trying to keep the boys occupied & out of the way while the girls get their bath is difficult & fielding Sam's 10,000 questions & taunts from the sidelines while bathing the boys just gets frustrating.  Sometimes I have Sam take a shower with me but then it seems like Syd doesn't end up getting a bath until the next round of girl baths!!!!  If J were home every night baths would not be such a daunting task but the reality is, he's not there 4 nights out of the week.  If only they could go without a bath those 4 nights! 

I could even add "get the kids dressed" to my basics but then I would just feel guilty that I didn't do it & frankly dressing the kids on a day I know we aren't going anywhere just seems counterproductive seeing as I have a hard enough time keeping up with the laundry as it is! (Mom, just hush it)

I'm thinking I might write out a basic daily do-or-die with check boxes, laminate it & put it on the kitchen counter so I can mark off things as I do them.  Simply remembering has been an issue as well.....have the kids brushed their teeth today?....no, that had to have been yesterday......or maybe even the day before.....

My goal this week is to get the bare bones done each day.....& the rest....well, lets hope it happens in time.

My Purpose

My "One Year to a More Organized Life" homework for the week?  My purpose.  This is the million dollar question.  What is the purpose of me becoming more organized?  Here is what I have come up with....

-To remove myself from solitude- A very timely devotion hit my inbox this morning.  The writer is a mother of 6 & is a self-proclaimed loner.  She told how she felt that God had placed her in such a large family to stretch her natural tendency to spend her time in solitude.  As she points out, you can't be very effective for Christ if you live in solitude.  When I get overwhelmed, I find myself doing one of several things....zoning out, getting consumed by the internet, or enveloping myself in some sort of craft.  All of these are time wasters & seriously eat away at valuable time. 

-To be a better steward of the things God has blessed us with. Ie. my kids got a new water toy during the summer & only a couple of days later I found it destroyed because someone had run over it with the four wheeler.  Things are also simply left out to be destroyed by the wind or rain, etc.  One would look in from the outside & simply say that we are unappreciative.

-I want my children to grow up & say they had a wonderful Mom who was calm, took time to play with them, made them feel loved, & kept their home so that they wanted to invite their friends over & their friends enjoyed being there.

-I want my husband to come home from a long week & be able to relax in a clean, organized home. This is extra important for us because my husband has ADHD & frequently loses things WITHOUT the chaos of a disorderly home.

-I want to be able to use the school supplies I have spent time & money on to teach Samara at home.

-I want my children to grow up in a home that glorifies God & is centered around Him.  I want them  to learn about his character day in & day out & fall in love with Him.  God is a God of order, not of chaos & I want our home to be a reflection of who He is.

-I want to be able to be hospitable at any given moment without being utterly embarrased by the state of my home.

-I want to improve the hygiene of our home.  (I want to bathe, wash my face, brush my teeth & put on makeup at LEAST every other day....although I would really like this to happen everyday) (I want to make sure the kids are bathed every other day & their teeth are brushed(& Sam's flossed) daily....although I would like for this to happen twice a day)

-I want to grow in my relationship with Christ....a daily quiet time & pouring out what God is putting in.

- I want to parent intentionally.  I am tired of just letting each day wander by.  I don't want to forget that, whether I like it or not, my kids are learning about God every waking moment by MY actions....or inactions.

A New Year

So, this has been much anticipated on my part. I have been yearning to blog. Every hour I will have a blog post pop into my head but it quickly gets written off. I have gotten so accustomed to using my phone for all my Internet needs that it makes it very difficult to get out my computer, plug it into the Ethernet cable & post. I want so badly to blog so I am going to try once again to find the time to make it happen. Now that Sydney is sleeping good I am hoping to be able to get on a more regulated sleep schedule, which will hopefully allow for time to do stuff like this.

I first want to take an opportunity to say how blessed I am. I honestly thought it would be YEARS before I would enjoy being a Mom of four. I just thought I would be way too stressed & sleep deprived to enjoy life. I honestly thought I would just be doing whatever it took to "get by." I was WRONG & I couldn't be happier about that. It has been wonderful! I have so enjoyed having Sydney. It is possible that I have spent time relishing her tininess because I know I won't be enjoying it again....at least for a long time. Don't get me wrong....it hasn't all been peachy....but are things always peachy when you only have one....or even none for that matter? Nope.....at least not in my experience. The reality for me right now is that my 2 year old is my biggest challenge......& my small house that creates problems that I would not otherwise have.

This being a new year, I have taken some time to reflect on the past year & I am painfully aware of some much needed changes. I am a pretty reflective person so it's not like I don't do this weekly, sometimes daily but I have been given some accountability with a blog I recently ran across. This blog is written by a Mom of 4 in 5 years so she deals with many of the same things I do. I was excited to run across it & have been encouraged by her honesty of what life can be like with four young children. Her goal for 2011 is to get her life organized by the end of the year....to fulfill her purpose. I want that very same thing & intend to take this journey with her.