On a Mission

Yes, that is me!  If my house was kept the way I wanted it to be, mama would be much happier!  My home is a trap of clutter, odds and ends, and junk.  How it got this way is a question I ask myself.  Could it be that I have three bambinos who have tons of stuff?  Broken toys here and there, games with missing pieces because I will admit that I will quickly throw away stuff that they don't put away.  Please don't tempt me with mess and a trash bag!  Art supplies in nooks and crannies, dress up clothes and accessories lying around to be stepped on with bare feet, DVDs found here, covers to the DVDs found there!  That's just one, er three, reasons, but what other reasons?  Perhaps that I have a baby and he's a bit demanding being a baby and all (feedings, naps, diapers, etc), or the fact that his Papa is just a collector....a collector of MANY things.  Could it be that I homeschool and most of my day is taken in teaching my kiddos, which leaves me tired and not wanting to do anything but dream of a bath and some quiet time?  How about me?  I get so overwhelmed with everyone's messes and their excuses to put it away when they're done that I buy into that same train of thought, which I know isn't going to happen!  Maybe it's just the obvious...there's so much, and that so much is EVERYWHERE, leaving me no idea as to where I should begin.

I would love to have a house that is clutter free, keeping only the necessities and a few special things that we each love.  There would be a place for everything and everything would be in it's place. Our home would be open and a relaxing place to live in.  I think it's pretty relaxing for the rest of my little family, but I just can't seem to stop doing, cleaning, and picking up because it's so overwhelming to me.  I just don't do well when I feel like everything is falling in on me.  I feel under pressure and like I need to just leave and get some fresh air.  Am I the only one who feels like this?

I LOVE my home and really want to try hard to take care of what God has given me, and to do so to the best of my ability.  Yes, it's not our dream home to live in, but it's our home, and I don't see us leaving it until we can afford a "dream" home.  Being that I'm a SAHMommy and papa is our bread winner, our current location will more than likely stay the same for many, many years to come.  I am totally fine with that, so something needs to happen to take the chaos of clutter away.

All this to say, I am on a mission to get my house in order.  I happened to run across this site that totally encouraged me to clean and clear out my house, through routines that are doable.  These are easy habits to form, and I am looking forward to doing so.  Flylady is an amazing site to go to if you are looking to declutter your house and life.  It's exactly what I need.  Right now I am a Flybaby, taking baby steps to get into the daily routine of getting rid of our clutter to keep our house nice and neat!

I LOVE that each day decluttering takes place.  Oh, how I look forward to 27 Fling Boogies,  Hot Spot Fire Drills", "5 Minute Room Rescues", "Kelly's Daily Missions",  and time to "Work in Your Zones".

Now I totally get that my house won't be looking spectacular in a week or a month of doing this, but that it took time to get this way, and it will take time to eventually reach my goal.  However long it takes, I can't wait for a nice, shiny, open, and clutter free house!

I do still need to "Shine my Sink" and start to FLY from the very beginning....Monday please come soon!

Let me confess that I would love to take before and after pics, but I am so very embarrassed to post pics of this long work in progress.  I did happen to declutter quite a bit this week, to make my home a bit easier to maintain.  Here's a list:

• Cleared off many counter tops in my kitchen...there's actually tile under all that crap! 
• Cleared off the top of my fridge that used to hold whatever could fit up top (cereal, candy from all seasons, snacks, a vintage Jack in the Box....you name it, it was probably there!)
• Sorted all the baby's toys and thinned them out, filling a large trash bag full of toys to be donated...woo hoo,! Almost all the toys are gone downstairs!
• Reorganized the books and magazines downstairs, and put them in their correct places
• Cleared out the junk drawer and made my husband take back his work pen collection (making him promise me that he would apologize to them for his pen fetish)
• Rearranged my living room so that my sectional was no longer a trap, er, playpen to keep my toddler out of trouble.  My sister helped with this feat! Oh, how lovely and open the space is now..

That's a lot of progress for one week, and had nothing to do with what I'm supposed to do over at Flylady, but everything to do with wanting to get some order back quickly, and before my daughter's 4th birthday party  :) 

So, if, you are like me, and feel as if you are drowning in clutter, junk, what ever you call it, please, please, please, go over to FlyLady.com.....YOU CAN DO IT! 

Monday, I promise to Shine my Sink!