My add.

Today I did finish the entertainment area. But it was very distracting/ADD!! It was less like STOP and more like S.... Oh but I need to clean the patio and pull out that honeysuckle vine..... T..... Oh but I must finish that painting for my friend and also take it to her.... O... And I need to go to the bank and the post office.... P... And the laundry room needs a few labels posted on before I forget, along with a couple loads of laundry.

Somewhere between all of that, picking the girls up and so on... The entertainment center was complete.

The thing about organizing is that I want it DONE!! But it is a journey, and I am reminding myself that continually.

By the way, I have relayed the STOP sessions in the wrong way- it is Sort, Toss, Organize, Put Away. The Sort step is the one where you decide whether to store, donate, toss or keep. Small details which I just thought I'd correct :)

And, just for fun, I thought I'd show you what cleaning looks like at my house. Why does it always get worse before it gets better?!! Lol.


And just for fun again maybe you'd like to see my finished painting (except for that one little spot I missed) for my dear Hoyos friend.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

first STOP.

My STOP session lasted longer than 20 minutes, but I still had to end the session before the project was finished. Which is actually good because I can come back to it tomorrow with energy to get it completely done. Just like the book says!! So smart!

Before:


And so far:



It might not look that different, but believe me it will cut down on tons of clutter. I got rid of all of the CDs- we never use them! They were just taking up space since all of our music is on mp3 now. I moved all of the old board games to the closet, we don't use them that much, so some will go to goodwill and others will be stowed safely in the closet top until needed. All the Wii accessories now have a spot for functional use and the games and DVDs are also stored so that the ones we use the most are the easiest to reach (hot zone)... And stuff that we don't use all that much ( like home movies or old DVDs I don't want to get rid of) are more in the back (aka 'cold zone').

So I only got half done. And it took like 2 hours. BUT, I did stop! Which is a huge plus- bc ordinarily I just want to start and finish a projet on one afternoon. But now I can get to other things.... and my family might get dinner tonight. Plus I have a project waiting for me tomorrow. A project to finish!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

beginning.

So today is the day :) I am starting the STOP sessions from HouseWorks. I am sure you are all super excited to know that! These are short, 20 minute sessions of focused clutter control. I chose the first area- the Entertainment Center. Right now it is clutter with Wii accessories, DVDs, video cassettes, board games.... photo albums. Seriously! All that!! And I am trying to remember that it's not about decor, but about functionality. I mean, I want it to look nice, but more than that- I need it to work for our family!! That is a tough one for me :) Sooo. For STOP, I go through it all, choosing what to put in Storage, Toss, Organize or Put Away. I am excited to have this space cleaned from clutter and more useful!

Let me just tell you about a typical day. Wii accessories scattered, white wires..... DVDS out of case and sitting, face down on any flat surface.... games, taken out but not put back (because it is too hard for the kids to maneuver the games back into the small-geometrically-figured-cubby that makes them all fit!) Finger prints.... dust.... ah, mess and clutter.

SO. It will probably take more than 15 minutes. But, maybe not too much more. :) More to come :)

My husband must read my blog

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Just so you know, I'm not crazy

Just going through my HouseWorks book... Look at what I found...








See?! Label!! It's a critical step in having an organized home! Its probably even more important to have labels that STAY STUCK!! (Don't ever buy those "removable" labels... FYI!!! They are removable all right!) ;) So I'm not that crazy! Just so you all know. :D


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Labels, please!!

Another day of *wishful* organizing. I know that organizing is not about buying stuff..... But I still feel like I really need a label maker. Therefore I am stuck... Because my brain likes to do things in its very certain order and if I don't purposely make the decision to move on and come back to the step that is blocking progress.... I just don't move forward. Wow. Organizing REALLY IS like life! Lol. So... My sticky label aren't working, which was my temporary solution so that I could move on and return later. I am going to Costco ASAP for that darn label maker!! If only my budget agreed. :) I must wait a few more days.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The journey begins

I guess getting organized is like life, a journey.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 4

Day 4 of school and me n evie are chillin and relaxin... :)






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Viva la First Day of School

We went to Santa Barbara last weekend to celebrate Fiestas and learned about cascarones- eggs full of confetti that you smash on a special person's head. It was so fun that we've been saving our eggs to make our own. Today seemed like the perfect occasion!





















- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

And k

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2+4

First dayyyyyyyyyyyyy


















- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

summers gone!?

Wow! this is the last week of summer?! Where the heck did it go?! It flew by! With all the stuff that goes on and 4 kids to keep track of, sometimes it seems like life just speeds on through. But we're ready to head back- even more after a pre-first day visit to the school office to turn in emergency cards. The girls are excited... Evie will be in shock... Schedules will be.... scheduled. So it will be nice to get back into a groove.

School shopping! Emma got the cutest little clothes... Abs got some sweet dresses... Bells got some fun accessories and things that say "bff" and "lol" along with more skinny jeans and a fedora. She's crazy. There were some cute things out there.... the one newest thing that cracks me up are the "jeggings" Jeans/Leggings. Wow. They're so funny and remind me of like 6th grade. Baby doll dresses and leggings.... ikes! As long as the kind with the little loop at the bottom to go under your foot don't come back around ;)

Other than that, not too much. Summer is past! 4th, 2nd and Kinder await!! CrRRRRRAaaaazzzzZZYYY! Right!?