Have Any Of You Ever Tried This?

So, the "organizational" lady has me trying to "finish" things around the house. Finishing means always putting things where they belong when you are done with them and not leaving them sitting around the house. Now that may sound easy to some of you but in our household, it can be a bit challenging. It's those darn stairs! They get in my way because I don't want to have to go up them!! Lazy, I know, but true.

So, we had a family home evening on it and it seemed to go over pretty well. We have a phrase, "Seventh Day", that we say to remind each other to pick up what they left sitting somewhere. The phrase stems from the scripture that states..."On the 7th day, the Lord finished his work and rested" (paraphrase). It shows that the Lord made sure everything was in order and in it's place so that he could rest and wouldn't have to take time out to put something away that wasn't in it's right place. I hope that makes sense (putting a complete Family Home Evening into one sentence is a bit challenging).

Well, the weeks that followed were filled with mommy "7th daying" everyone and I became the "7th day nazi" (I had to look up how to spell that word and it took about 15 minutes to figure it out! Serioulsy! We say it like there's a "t" in there somewhere....anyway) turning mommy into the mean mommy who everyone was always fighting with! It just got to be too much!

So really, how hard is it to pick up after yourself? Is that a lot to ask? I can't see that as being too much but it obviously was!

I decided to do something that I've heard other mothers have done but I've never really completely committed to. I decided to go on a "7th day" strike. I wasn't going to remind anyone to pick up what they left sitting out. I was committing to a weeks worth of silence. I kept myself "7th daying" but never reminded them to clean up. About half way through the week, when I realized that no one had even noticed, I decided to NOT 7th day myself. I wasn't going to pick up after myself, then maybe they'd notice.

Oh, they sure did! I began being "7th dayed", like they thought it was wonderful to catch me not picking up. It was a thrill for them! Like they were winning some sort of prize for finding me not doing what I asked them to do. Little did they know that their "thrill" wasn't really real. They didn't "catch" me doing what they thought they had. But do you think that changed their behaviors? No.

So at the week mark, I took my camera and walked around the house taking photos of the misc. items just sitting around the house. Now when you see these pictures, you might see why I slid into a slump. I don't like to live in an untidy house and when things get out-of-hand, as they were at the end of the week, I felt awful!

Well, here are the photos. The experiment really didn't do anything other than make me sad so I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I plan on going over the photos with the family during our next family home evening, and hopefully my family will have a change of heart.


The exerciser...AKA "the coat rack" and the closet shelf...AKA "the dirty clothes pile"


Hannah's room...AKA "the disaster" and the bathroom counter...AKA "the clutter"


The kitchen table...AKA "the art station" and the computer desk...AKA "the catch-all"


The living room...AKA "Are you kidding me?!?!" and the book shelf... AKA "Hannah's toy box".

Then there were these, which happened to be my favorites...


The couch...AKA "The snotty tissue holder" and the hallway...AKA "the garbage can"

So there you have it. My house had been transformed into a place I didn't recognize! No wonder I'm feeling down! Just making this blog post has made that more clearer to me.

Now I don't want people to think that I'm throwing my family under the bus. This was something new for them and it was even a challenge for me, as I stated earlier. It's a work in progress but I had high hopes that it would work the first time around. They were just so used to me picking up after them that the project seemed overwhelming for them. The next attempt at the "7th day" process will hopefully be much better and hopefully I'll have no reason to get into a funk.

I'll keep you posted! :)

Hello? Where are you?

To all of you who continue to wonder if I'm alive still, the answer is yes. I have been in a bit of a funk lately and I just can't seem to get out of it. I have decided that this may be a part of my life that I will have to "endure" because I can't seem to quite get rid of it. Maybe it stems from the years of depression that I dealt with. But whatever the case, I can't stand it when I feel like this.

I have tried several things in an attempt to somehow get myself out of this rut like canning tomatoes!! Yes, I did it all by myself with only one phonecall to my canning guru :) I was so proud. I'm getting more and more domestic which makes me feel like I'm getting more and more self-reliant! Yippee! Here are some photos from the exciting event...


Fresh tomatoes......to blanched & peeled tomatoes.


Tomatoes are now canned and in the steamer!
(Ok, so I realize that I need to converse with the "taking pictures of herself" guru...you know who you are...because I'm awful at it and it doesn't help that I'm not wearing any make up. But going "all-natural" sometimes feels good to me!)


The finished product. I ran out of pints so I had to make a quart out of the final bunch. I'm not sure exactly how I'll be using these but I'm excited to find out!

Pretty cool -huh?- :)

Next year I'm gonna have my own garden and I'm gonna can my own veggies. But I do want to thank those of you who donated to the "Teaching Celeste How To Can" fund. You can see that your donations were used in an appropriate manner :)

So, that was one way that I tried to lift my spirits and it did work for a while. I felt like I accomplised something which always makes me feel better.

My next post will probably explain one of the "whys" I'm in a slump.

Funshine Bear

Gabe has really been into the CareBears lately, which makes me so happy because Hannah really loved them when she was younger. The other day when I was going to put him down for a nap, he asked if he could sleep with one of the stuffed Carebears that had made there way from the basement to our main level (Hannah must have brought up the tub from storage). Gabe went around searching for the right Carebear to sleep with. Not "star bear" and not "rainbow bear", which surprised me because they are his two favorites. No, he decided to pick up Funshine bear or "Sun bear", which is what he usually calls it. But this time he came running to me calling it by a different name. It took a few seconds to register what he was saying...."Lily! Lily! Lily!" Now, in Gabe-words that means "Livy" (Olivia Hanks). He proudly carried "Lily" to his room and threw her into his crib. I lifted him in there and he quickly laid "Lily" beside him. I thought it was soooo cute! He thought the bear looked like Olivia because they both have "yellow" hair. I had to take a photo, it was just too cute.

Hey Ashley, did you know that "Lily" has been taking naps with "Babe"? As her parent, I thought I should let you know :)

The Parable of the Bread Maker

As I was cleaning out stuff from my kitchen and deciding what I would sell on Craigs List, I kept debating if I was going to sell my bread maker or not. Now, I've had this bread maker almost 9 years, Greg gave it to me as a Christmas gift, but I have NEVER used it! So, the guilt began to build, which it had done so many times before. "How can I give away or sell a gift from my husband that I have never used?" I can't tell you how many times I've said that to myself. But in the past, every time I did give myself a guilt trip, I just dusted off the bread maker and put it back on the shelf. This time was slightly different. This time I decided to get rid of the excuse and actually USE it. What a concept, huh? So, I began gathering ingredients and putting them in the little pan as directed in the cook book that it came with (never opened). I was actually so excited that I was going to be able to tell Greg that I used his gift and that I hopefully liked it. Because if I did like it, then maybe I'd stop being haunted by the "you're not even using it, you might as well get rid of it" monster. After adding all the ingredients and putting the pan in the bread maker, I closed the lid and pressed start. I was so satisfied with myself! Then I peeked through the little window to see how the mixing was coming along when I noticed that it wasn't. I recognized a strange clicking noise and began investigating. The little mixer part wasn't turning. So, after a few minutes of trying to figure it out, I just called the help line. I spoke to a nice woman for only a few minutes before she concluded that the bread maker was faulty. She began asking where & when I got it so it could be replaced. I knew the warranty was WAY expired and when I explained the situation to her, she laughed. Yes, I have been carting around this bread maker, out of guilt, for almost 9 years and the whole time it was broken! How pathetic is that?!? That bread maker went from Utah to California, California to The Woodlands, TX, from The Woodlands TX to Tomball TX, from Tomball TX, to Ogden Utah, and then from Ogden Utah to the Land of Eagles.

Last night I shared this story with my friend Ashley who then turned it into more of a spiritual parable, which I would like to share. How many of us, carry "baggage" around with us, everywhere we go, out of guilt? How much of our "baggage" should we just leave behind because it's worthless? How silly will we feel when we finally realize that we should have dumped all the baggage years ago? If we let guilt force us to not forgive ourselves or others (or whatever your baggage may be), we are just carrying a weight that is completely useless and unneeded. Just like my bread maker, the "baggage" becomes a constant reminder of the guilt that we don't need. It's garbage...it needs to be thrown away!!

So I encourage us to look within and find our "faulty breadmakers" and get rid of them. You don't need to carry that "baggage" any longer. Let it go!!

A Bit of Advice

If you are cleaning out your house, as I am, here's a bit of advice for you....

"Do not clean out the toys while your children are still awake!"

I should have known better!

Makin' Progress!

So, it's about time that I checked in to let everyone know how my "getting rid of 1/2 of everything" adventure is going. I'm surprised to say that it wasn't that difficult. Once I started sorting I began to realize that there are MANY things that I really don't wear. I was almost able to reach the 1/2 way mark on my shirts and actually exceeded the 1/2 way mark on my pants/carpi's. YIPPEE!! But when it came to my shoes, I failed miserably. I really like shoes. I do! And not just my new shoes, I like my old shoes too (Maryanne, pretend like I didn't say that). I truly enjoy different styles & colors & shapes of shoes. They definitely are my weakness. I kept about 3/4 but managed to give away 1/4. Does that even qualify?


Anyway, I also managed to convince Greg to clean out his closet and drawers. And I have to say, he did quite well. There were a few items that he wouldn't part with...I tried every form of convincing available but he wasn't budging...but for the most part, he nearly reached the 1/2 mark, except his work clothes. I gave him a bit of leeway on those since most of his life is spent wearing a suit and tie.


I attempted the kids clothes today but I failed again. I just have a hard time getting rid of my kid's clothes. If they're too small, I usually keep them (this is when the 1 tub per size rule would come into play but I haven't started cleaning out my storage yet). And I just can't bring myself to give away perfectly cute, wearable clothes. So, "I told myself that..." (you know who you are) I would purchase a smaller amount of clothes from here on out. I think I can do it :)


So, all together, we managed to remove 4 tubs (overflowing), 2 garbage bags, and 1 Aeropastle bag of clothing and shoes from our closets and drawers!! Pretty good, if I do say so myself :) Here's a picture of our accomplishment! (Now keep in mind, we just "cleaned out" our clothes for the Stake Clothing Drive. We obviously didn't understand the meaning of the words "cleaned out")




So, now I am moving onto my linen closets and the craft room closet. Plus, the other side of Gabe's closet that has just random stuff in it. I hope each of you are doing well too so that we can share each other's victory stories :) Make sure you blog about it!

It Can't Be That Hard, Right?

Seriously, how hard can it be? Getting rid of (or should I say "sharing") half of everything I own? At first I think, OK that's do-able. But now, as I sit here deciding if I really do want to actually go count my shirts so that I can then figure out how many I need to get rid of, I'm beginning to wonder if I have enough self-control to even attempt such a thing. Today, I'm just suppose to work on my closet...that's it. Which includes my shoes, pants, capri's, sweaters, boots, shirts, etc. ALL OF IT, HALF GONE!! NO EXCEPTIONS!! I'm beginning to wonder how the others who were sitting beside me are doing? Amy? Rheanna? Rebecca? Melissa? Michelle (I saw you there)? And a few others...How is your major downsizing going? Because right now, I'm sitting here like a deer in the headlights!

So, for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, last night was the 1st week of an 8 week seminar on organization. I have put the lady's blog address in my list of friend's blogs. She talked about decluttering and she insists that everyone can easily give away half of what they own and feel emotionally better if they do. She also insists that when you half everything, instantly your housework almost cuts in half. So, here I sit wondering if I am going to take on this challenge. If I know myself, and I do, I want to become organized almost more than anything else, which tells me I better go upstairs, make my bed, pull out all of my shirts, and get started. "Just bite the bullet, Celeste. Just bite the bullet!" I will check in periodically to let you know how I'm progressing, or NOT progressing.

The lady's name is Marie Ricks. She has written several books about organization. She lives just east of me in Highland.