My tricks to de-clutter.............

Ideas to de-clutter without feeling like you are tossing your favorite items. This is what I do.........

I only do one room at a time, never try to do more than 1 as it will over whelm you.

I get 3 good size boxes (all different sizes), look around and how much you have to determine what sizes you may need.

I use the largest box for donating, the next largest for 30 day challenge and smallest box for keep.

at this point, I do not include clothing or closets. I do the same for clothing/closets but at a later time.

I start in one corner, the furthest away from the door. As I touch an item, I think of what use or what sentimental value in has for me, I choose a box to put it in and move on to the next without thinking about what's already in the box (at this point, things can still be taken out of each box if I change my mind later) My "keep" box are things I know I can not give up at this point.

I keep moving around the room until I have 1 full box, once one of the boxes are full, I stop the de-cluttering. This way I did not empty the room to a point where I'm feeling like I'm giving up way to much or keeping to much. I tape up the donate box and put it aside (never to be opened again by me), Tape up the 30 day box, write the date on it and the items in it, put it in the basement or someplace out of site. Someplace you won't see it on a regular basis. I close the keep box but don't tape it, I know these things are going back in the room at a later date. I find a corner to put it in and focus on the box to donate. I try to get the donate box out of the house ASAP and keep myself from opening it ever again, it can be hard not to, thus the importance of getting it of the house asap. I don't do any more de-cluttering until the donate box is gone.

I get another 3 boxes and continue with that same room, repeating the process.

Once the room is done, I take the "keep" boxes and another 2 empty boxes, one for keep and another for 30 day items. I sort through each box one at a time, often finding that some of the "keep" items are not so important now. Date and tape the 30 day box(es) and put them with the others.  I allow myself 2 keep boxes when it's all finished.

I take another empty box and a keep box and start returning things back to the room. As I return things, I have that empty box for things I want to keep but want in another room of the home.

Once the room is comfortable, the way I like it, anything left in keep box gets taped up with the date on it and put with my other 30 day boxes.
I do the clothes and closets as if they are separate rooms with the same process.
The 30 day boxes; Things I think I want to keep but know I could live without. If I do not open that box and take something out for 30 days (never opening it just to see what's in it). I never open it again (by now I most likely forgot what was in it). I mark it donate and get it out of the house ASAP.

Remember to only do one room at a time so you don't feel like you are giving up your life. Once a room is done, do your very best to follow the "one thing in, one thing out" rule.

If you're anything like me, you'll find that you like the look of less clutter and find that you are able to live with even less. If this is the case, repeat the process, it will be much easier the second time around.

I should also add that I let my adult children and some friends know I am doing donate boxes and they are allowed to take anything they want. With the 30 day boxes, if they want them, they have to take the whole box and be willing to donate the things they don't want in them. I do not let them pick and choose out of the 30 day boxes. All that will do is allow me to remember what's in them.

Good luck and happy de-cluttering...

My last couple of weeks.....

    It's been a couple weeks since I posted.. Here I go at an attempt to let you all know what I've been up to.

   I have been working hard at simplifying again. Getting unused things out of the apartment and making room for things more practical. Such as us, LOL.

I have so many things that I love to hold on to that have really no use other then it being pleasant to the eye and then there are the things I hold on to "in case I can use it someday" and then again, there are the things that I have that once belonged to a loved one who is no longer with us. I can't seem to let those last things go. Some of whom I've never met, they are from my husbands side of the family. I love my husband so much that I feel close to them through him and who am I to toss out his memories....

I've worked hard in finding places for those things, a place they will be of use and value in our daily lives. He has agreed that the only value in a few things are sentimental and has agreed to let me refinish some of them. (maybe more pics for my "trash to treasure" collection).
I will be working on that on a later date though. For now, I am still working on simplifying. Getting a few things out at a time so we don't wake up one morning and it feel so empty in here. 

Another thing I've been up to is, missing my mother in law. She has been so awesome to me through out my marriage. Day and night, I can't help thinking of all the time we could be spending with her. We like and enjoy a lot of the same things. Spending a lot of time with her in the near future is on my list of important things to do. I love and miss you mom and love and miss my mom as well.
Torn between seeing my children and grandchildren or seeing my mother in law on daily or weekly basis is really tearing at my heart strings.

We have our 25th wedding anniversary coming up and we want to go away. I believe that spending the time with my in-laws would be an awesome way to spend it. One can only pray, if it's meant to be then, it will be. I know our lord knows my desires and will do what's best for my in the end.

So, that has been my last couple of weeks....Lots of thinking and the end result being that nothing in this apartment is as important to me as my loved ones. Those who are not family but, treat me as though I am are also in my thoughts daily. I am very blessed to have those people in my life and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that they all know how much they mean to me.

Waiting to get out in the country to get a big dog ?

I had plans to get a big breed dog (golden retriever was my first choice) but, not in the city..I was waiting until I got out into the country where he/she would have room to run and play. Plans have changed. My daughter asked me to foster a pit bull. I was like most every other american and dead set against pit bulls. I followed the media hype and that was the end of it.

Tucker was going to be put to sleep at 3:00 pm. We followed his updates to see if someone would foster him. We cried and watched for hours. At 2:30 I said "ok, he can come here as a foster but he can not stay" I was so worried because of his breed and all I've heard in the media. I started reading everything I could about the breed while waiting to go pick him up. We picked him up at about 6:00 that evening, by 8:00 that same evening he was part of my family and I wasn't going to let him go anywhere, EVER.

Tucker is an amazing animal.. All he wants to do is love, learn and please us.

He is male dog aggressive but I can live with that. He has been here a week today and knows his place in our family. He knows my granddchildren are higher up in the pack then he is...

 Every walk we take, we meet at least one person who likes to tease and test him with their dog....I smile and think to myself. I can control my dog, can you control yours?  He does awesome paying attention to me instead of the other dog.

Then there are those who down right hate him just because of his breed. (I didn't trust them but, I did not hate them when I seen one.) We hear things like "be careful it's a mean dog", "don't look at him" "get away from him" and so on. Yes, I get angry because Tucker LOVES people. He don't care what they look like, how they are or even if they showered this month. He just plain loves them. My only reaction can and will always be...I keep walking, smile at the person and think to myself, maybe we don't like you either. I can't let them get to me.

And yet again there is another type of person. The ones who don't watch their children and then see Tucker walking in that direction and run to scoop that child up. Tucker didn't even see or care if that child was standing there. He was paying attention to me so he could see what I wanted him to do next. Another smile and another thought....I can control my dog, can you control your child?

Yes, Tucker is a full blood pit bull. Yes, his breed is unpredictable. And Yes, he is a very strong dog....
I control him, he does not control me. By controlling him I mean, I can keep him out of a situationg where he may or may not get into trouble, I can make him do what I want because he loves me and wants to please me. It's a mutual love and respect that we have for each other. I do not put him a situation where he will feel the need to defend himself or me. I do not force his to obey me, I teach him to love and respect my wishes and in turn he gets all the love and respect he deserves.

He is not forces to interact with everyone and anyone. I socialize him ! This means he learns that we don't have to interact with everyone or every animal we see. We have to co-exist. He is learning that there are some we can interact with and some we can not. For his safety and those around us, he does not interact unless he was invited. If someone wants to get near him and he don't want them to, He is not forced. (he knows who he can trust and who he can't.). I ask them to stay away from him and get his attention on me instead of them...He needs to learn to trust that I will protect him at all cost. By protection I mean keep him safe and out of trouble. Again, so he never feels the need to defend himself or me.

I have learned that owning Tucker or a "pit bull". That I have more issues with the public then I do him.
I have learned that I can never trust him "not" to fight...If he does not trust me to protect him.
I have learned that owning a "pit bull" does not make me tough, it makes me loved. (by Tucker)
I have learned that I can not judge a dog by their breed any more then I can judge a person by their looks.

Bottom Line;   I was WRONG!
         I am now the proud owner of a pit bull. I am loved and I am respected.  Tucker has shown me more in one week then a lot of people have shown me in their lifetime. If he gets into trouble, that makes me a bad owner, it does not make him a bad dog.

I am not asking everyone to love his breed or even like it for that matter. I am asking that everyone be respectful to all breeds, including his.

Don't worry about trusting the dog, worry about trusting the owner. Are they the type of person who taught their dog love and socialization? Can they control their dog? Did they teach their dog to trust that they will protect it or teach the dog that he/she has to protect itself and them? Do they pay enough attention to their dog to know how he/she will react to any situation? These are the questions you have to ask yourself.
Again, Tucker has taught me more in one week then most have in their lifetime. He changed my life for the better.

Back in time, Living like the "Old timers" did.

  I often hear people talking about going back in time and living as the old timers or pioneers used to. I've also found myself dreaming of a simpler time...

That brings me to the word "simpler". We often ask how they did such hard work back then and why would anyone want to go back in time and do such back breaking, time consuming work?

Yes, it was and is hard work but, they knew nothing else. They did not know the technology that we know today. They did not have the options we have with the click of a mouse, walking into a grocery store or the flyer's in Sunday news paper.

No TV, Internet, cell phone or home phone for that matter. No game consoles, toy stores, malls, swimming pools and the many activities we have in our daily life to take up their time and take away their family values and time spent on the important things in life.

So, I would say yes, it would be very difficult to go back in time and live as a pioneer because we got used to living with all the extras.
And no, it was not as difficult for the "old timers" as we seem to think it was because, that is what they knew.

If they did not have farming, gardening, mending, cooking, soap making, dress making, baking and so on, What would they have done with their time, what would they have to live for?

Not only was it a more meaningful time in history, it was a more compassionate and valued time in our past.
A time we could all learn from if we turned off our TV, cell phones and Internet for a short time and spent time on the important things. When families were happy with what Pa harvested and what Ma cooked. When children were raised with values and respect for self and others. When the family worked together to keep the home a happy place and each member had their role as an important family member. 

Technology is a wonderful thing but, it has been abused. Technology and society took so much out of the world today that it would be near impossible to go back in time and really live with the true values and hard work that our ancestors lived with.

Both generations have their pros and cons...........

If you never tasted mayo, seen it advertised on TV or heard about it on the Internet, would you miss it or even know about it?

So, when I hear people say "a simpler" time. I can agree with them........

Hard work and going without a few things is much more simple then running the rat race of today.

A friend asked a little more about me..........

About me;

        I am a wife, a mother of 4 adult children and grandmother of 8 beautiful grandchildren (I'm not that old yet). I have been married to the same man for 25 years. He is an awesome husband, father and grandfather. Our youngest daughter is back home and our next to the youngest moved into an apartment that we manage in the back of us with her husband to be and 2 daughters. We share a yard and therefore get to see them and our grandchildren daily.
 Like an idiot (no, I don't mind saying I was an idiot) I moved my family out of a nice quiet town in Maine to a good size city in N.H. 11 years ago.
I now know that I do not like things that sparkle, a lot of electronics, having everything my neighbors have and most of all a husband that has to work long hours to support this life.
After living here for about 3 or 4 months, I found out that I had ovarian, cervical, and uterine cancer. (I am cured) Praise the Lord !!!!!! My mother was also ill with cancer at the same time and we were able to spend her last days taking care of her.....What a blessing that was.  I had my 1st of 4 surgeries on July 1st and she had her lung removed on July 6th. My husband took care of both of us for months. He is such an awesome soul. So maybe I was not such an idiot after all.
I now have issues with fibromyalgia, PAD (Peripheral Artery Disease) and a couple other things.

About my daily life in the city;

   I am working hard to learn to live with less and enjoy the things we have, such as God and each other. I am also learning to do things the "old fashioned" way, with a little hard work. 
We used to garden, raise pigs, chickens, meat rabbits and so on. We used to fish and hunt and enjoy all the things nature had to offer. Now we are unable to do most of it being in the city and my husband having to work long hours to take care of us. I spend my days learning new things such as pressure canning, using non electric appliances, making our own soaps and again, learning to live with less so we can have more. By more I mean the enjoyment of knowing God, each other, nature and being self sustaining.
I would like to learn all I can to make life as simple as possible when we do get out of the city and I guess while we are here as well.
    
My dream home;

   My dream home is unlike most. I would love to have a small 1 or 2 room (not bedroom) cabin with the minimal amenities. Wood heat and cooking, little to no electricity, running water or no running water, either is fine with me. It has been done before and can be done again. Wood floors that can be swept easily with maybe a few handmade throw rugs. Few dishes and cooking utensils that HAVE to be clean before the next meal, to be used again. A bed, a place for clothing, a table with a few (4) chairs, a couple easy or comfy chairs (maybe 1 couch in place of chairs). I do not want a lot. The less there is, the less we have to take care of and the more time we can spend surviving, enjoying nature and spending time with each other. More time for fishing, hunting, gardening, preserving and so on. Imagine camping every day of your life? How wonderful that would be.

My dream homestead;

 A small piece of land. Big enough for a few farm animals, chickens, a hog or 2, meat rabbits, bees and maybe a milk cow. A good sized garden so we can preserve for ourselves and sell the extra. And I can not forget a spot for our clothes line... I'll still have to wash laundry......LOL
When our children were very young I used to hand wash our laundry in the bath tub and hang them out to dry. I did not mind it and actually enjoyed to chore. I am sure I could do it again if need be.
I can not forget a place for our grandchildren to run.

What I am doing now to prepare.

Learning to preserve foods other then freezing. My mother in law will be teaching me how to pressure can soon ( thanks ma, I love you)
Learning how to live with less and compromise with the things I already have.
Learning how to cook on an open fire. (I can do it but feel there is always something to learn.)
Learning how to make my own soaps and household products.
Learning about solar power, ovens and dehydrators.
Learning about smoke houses to preserve meats.
Learning how to make furniture (you can see pictures in this blog page)
Learning how to make my own clothes, blankets, curtains and so on.
Most of all, I am learning how to be thankful for the blessings that each moment in life brings.

One thing I am not, is a writer. Please forgive my (OOPS) throughout this post. If I forgot anything, please share your ideas in a comment?

I have to say as an ending statement that without God and all his blessing, I would not be who I am today. He could take all I have from me in a blink of an eye and he has not. I am so thankful to him.
Also my husband, children and grandchildren play a huge role in my happiness. I love them dearly and without them, my life would be not be the same.
And to all my internet friends who I also love dearly, Thank you for your encouragement and input.

Using God's word to suit your own wants.....

There was a young boy about to turn 16. He went to his father (who was a minister) to asked for a car for his birthday.
     Dad, I was thinking how great it would be to have a car for my birthday, then you wouldn't have to drive me around all the time.
  Dad says; Let me see son. If you can bring your grades up, study the bible some more and get your hair cut, I will think about getting you a car.
  A few months go by and the boy returns to his dad; Well dad, I did like you told me to. I get better grades and I studied the Bible more but I didn't get my hair cut because the more I studied the Bible the more I realized that Jesus had long hair.

Dad says; Well son, if you studied the Bible like you say did, You would also notice Jesus walked everywhere he went also.


I like to think of this story because so often we use the bible to suit our own needs. Jesus said; I am the way, the truth and light. No man shall come to the father except by me. He did not mean for us to use him or God's word at our own
convenience

My new way of thinking...................

How many times have we gone shopping only to get to the check out and be shocked by the total cost?
I say something is only $30.00 and buy it. (Doesn't sound like much does it?) Do that a few times and you spent so much more then you intended.  How about if we say this is 2 hours of work? To me, paying 2 hours of work for something I don't need makes me think twice about buying it.

Old scenario;
I would love so much to have that new bedding set for $60.00. I know I have lots of good blankets at home but, this one is so pretty. I buy it !!!!!!!!!
($60.00 wasted)

New scenario; 
I would love to have that new bedding set for 4 hours of work.  Hmmm, I don't like it that much to work 4 full hours for it and I have plenty of perfectly good blankets at home. The bedding set stays in the store for the next person.
($60.00 saved)

If I look around my home and think of things as "hours worked" rather then the price I paid, I can find a lot of things that would not be here.

I feel so good when I make something I need rather then buying it already made. Such as; Laundry gel and softener. I bought a years worth of supplies to make my own for $20.00 including the softener.

I wonder how many things you would buy if you thought about it as "hours worked"?  The next time you go shopping, challenge yourself to see if you still buy things for "hours worked" rather then a price tag.
Let us know how many things you did not buy.