Amberle's Kitchen Progress

Here are some pictures of all the work I did in my kitchen the day of the Harry Potter showing.

Before:

After:

The cans on the far right of the bottom shelf are expired. They're sitting there awaiting being thrown out, but the trash can was full and if Dan saw them he might have rescued them from being thrown out since he doesn't believe canned food expires. They'll be thrown out on the next trash day.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

This is a bad after shot because it shows all the stuff that was in the cabinet that hadn't been relocated yet. I assure you none of that is still sitting on the counter. Some of the glasses were put in a box for the yard sale and others were relocated to above the fridge (there's a picture of that at the bottom.

Before:

After:

There is no before of this cabinet because all it used to have in it are the ice trays and sushi kit that are on the far right.

After:

Nesting

Today I cleaned for most of the day. Since the baby will be in my room until it's too big for the bassinet I cleaned my bedroom today completely and now I can get the bassinet in here (hint, hint Suzie) ;). I also cleaned Wesley's room and repurposed his dresser for the baby. I cleaned the guest bathroom, did a bunch of laundry (got rid of a bunch of stuff that we don't use or need) and reorganized my linen closet.

I had a lot of help and motivation today though, in the morning Tony and I cleaned and then Jen and Nathan came over in the afternoon, the kids were entertained and Jen helped me for several hours. After the kids went to bed Tony and I watched Lost and I continued going through the Laundry.

I am exhausted and definitely ready for bed, but I feel that much more prepared for the baby. :)

Finally Ahead!

Last year Devin and I tried to use our tax return to get out of debt, but we were too far in debt to be able to pay it all off at once. So while we have continued to make progress this past year, with this years tax refund we were able to get completely out of debt. That's right. Bills included, we are one hundred percent caught up, and even ahead on some bills! We are thinking we will save the rest so that we can gave a good amount in savings. Plus then we can go onto the next step in our Total Money Makeover. I am so excited to never have to see another credit card bill!!

Cabinets

My house has huge problems with having no storage. There is only one "closet" not in a room and it's tiny. We also have a small kitchen with not many cabinets, so we had nowhere to store our appliances. I know the obvious answer is to get rid of them, but as much progress as I've been making in getting Dan to agree to get rid of stuff, he's not ready to part with the appliances. In all fairness, we do use most of them. I do still need to go through our kitchen cabinets again, but I did that not too long ago and got rid of a bunch of stuff, so I'm not sure what else I'd be able to get rid of. Anyway, I went through my game cabinet, the cabinet of randomness located under the game cabinet, and the "linen" closet. I finished all the organizing in one day, but it took me another day to put away all the stuff that was displaced by the organizing. Most of it went to Suzie's for the yard sale she was going to have Saturday (I don't know when she'll be having it now). I forgot to take before pictures, but I did take some afters.

Ways to add clutter!

20 Ways to Create Clutter

Most days I share ways to minimize clutter. But not today. No, sir. Today, I’m giving you 20 ways you can add stuff to your life instead of subtracting it:

1. Whenever you stay at a hotel, take the tiny shampoos and soaps home with you. Don’t use them, though. Hoard them in your bathroom for the coming zombie apocalypse.

2. Treat your home like a museum. Be sentimental about everything, from your first-grade report card to family heirlooms.

3. Agree to store things indefinitely for other people, including your children.

4. If someone offers to give you something you don’t really need, like an extra set of dishes, say yes. It’s free, isn’t it?

5. Combining households with your sweetie? This is the perfect opportunity to bask in the thrill of double ladles, DVD players and litter boxes. Don’t be tempted to get rid of a single object; you never know when you might need those extra dining room chairs.

6. On to your wardrobe. Don’t weed out old things when you buy new ones, and keep clothing in a wide range of sizes in case you shrink or expand like Alice in Wonderland.

7. Solve all of your organizational issues in one fell swoop with a quick trip toThe Container Store. Buy loads of stuff, but don’t measure spaces beforehand or create a clear plan for how you’re going to use them.

8. Deal with every stray emotion by going shopping. Spend more than you planned to so you can get the free gift at the cosmetics counter, even if you never use eye shadow or flavored lip gloss and already own enough toiletry bags to last a lifetime.

9. Take your “miscellaneous” pile of papers.
Sort papers according to category/subject/urgency.
Label each pile as such with a sticky note.
Paperclip each pile together.
File under “miscellaneous” in your filing cabinet.
Voila!

10. Instead of appreciating what you have, dwell on the nagging feeling that you’re missing something important.

11. There’s nothing in a “free pile” that can’t become your new best friend. Broken TV’s become objects d’art, and rain-soaked couches transform into guest bedding for the in-laws!

12. Buy sale items because they are such an amazing deal, regardless of whether you actually need them.

13. If you can’t sell your old things for what you think they’re worth, keep them instead of donating them.

14. Take up a hobby or activity that requires lots of specialized gear or supplies, like ice hockey or scrapbooking. Oh, sure, it seems innocent now. Just wait until an entire room in your house has been devoted to your spouse’s model-train collection.

15. Out of sight, out of mind. If it’s tucked in a container or hidden away in a cupboard, it’s not clutter.

16. Speed up your impulse shopping by signing up for “flash sale” sites like Groupon.

17. Value quantity over quality.

18. Subscribe to half a dozen weekly magazines and a couple of newspapers, and refuse to get rid of anything until you’ve read all of them. Stack them until you can get there, ideally on tables that are slightly too small for them, enhancing the likelihood of landslides.

19. If you have a yard sale, put everything you can’t sell back in the basement until next year’s yard sale. Repeat annually.

20. When in doubt, box it up and put it into paid storage!

A Balanced Life

(reposted from another blog).

"People talk about living a balanced life as if it is a constant state. As if “achieving” balance is something we do once and we’re set. 

But really, balance is NOT a constant state. Rather, it is a continuous series of small adjustments. 

The more we practice the art of balance the smaller those adjustments become until they are almost imperceptible. But they are always there.

When we drive down the road, it might look like we’re driving in a straight line, but it’s actually lots of small corrections that keep us in the middle of the road.

So when we pursue balance in our lives it is vital that we realize that at any point in time something will be slightly off. If we expect perfection and balance nirvana, we’re destined for discouragement. 

But if we remember that life is ever-changing we can be more content with the fact that we must be ever-changing as well. "

A little help if you need

GET MOTIVATED!

A Challenge... and FOOD!!!

I have been officially challenged by Molly to:

"Janesse, I officially challenge you to find Lana's immunization records tonight, or get a copy from her Dr. tomorrow and have her papers turned in Friday. :D"

Also, my stomach, meal plan and lack of food I can eat at home has officially challenged me to get to Walmart tonight and buy some food. :)

I'll let you know how it goes...

Welcome to W. T.!

The W. T. could stand for White Tornado if you are getting a lot done or making a lot of progress, or it could stand for White Trash if you aren't getting anything done. Hopefully we can all stay as White Tornadoes!

In this blog you can post any goals you have and any progress you make! There is no discrimination about what you can post, but you MUST post. Ok, you don't have to post everyday, but you can if you'd like.