Getting Organized: Decluttering

OK, so we know that I fell off the exercise train again, but I've been pretty good about staying with decluttering. I honestly don't know how we've ended up with so much "stuff" in our little house. Stuff seems to own us and it seems to multiply when we're not looking.

I've taken 2 garbage bags full of clothes out of the closet my husband and I share. He has clothes that he has owned since before we got married 13 years ago, so I'm not sure how long he's really had them, but I put them in the bag weeks ago and he hasn't gone looking for them. Time for the bags to make the trip down the street to the Sally Ann.

My oldest daughter and I have spent some time decluttering her closet as well. We are blessed to receive a lot of hand-me-downs. I used to love getting hand-me-downs as a child and my kids love them too, but there comes a point when it's too much. We currently have more jeans and long sleeved shirts than she can possibly wear, so we're reducing what she has and donating the rest so that another little girl can have the benefit of them. We've got a box of "too big" clothes that will go back into the closet, and some "too small" that have been boxed up for her sister and a box of clothes to donate. Next step is to get her some pants hangers so that her dresser can be used for shirts and other stuff and pants can be hung in the closet. Her room is such an odd shape that it's hard to fit furniture in without taking up all the space. We have to get creative when it comes to finding ways to fit everything in without making it too cramped.

I'm still working on clearing out the basement for my office as well. It's a work in progress right now. When the kids go back to school, I will be able to spend more time down there purging and organizing. I just hope I don't get the news that they're ready to come and install my computer and stuff before I get a chance to finish or it's going to get chaotic! I've been able to source a floor mat for my office chair through freecycle, so that's one more thing off my list. Just need to pick up an office chair from my parents' house and I'm pretty much set.

My niece is sure to get tired of me bringing her toys for and other accouterments for her little boy. We've taken her a couple of boxes of things that the girls don't play with any more. Goodness only knows why we still had some of the baby toys, since my "baby" is now 5.

And that is my life right now. Planning on sending hubby to the Salvation Army today with a few boxes and a couple of bags. Once they are out of the house, there will be more room to get around things.

Things that I Think About

I've been doing some thinking lately. People always worry when I start thinking. You may have noticed that my Getting Back to Fit posts fizzled out after the third post. There's a reason for that. I didn't get past three days of exercising. How pathetic is that? I know it takes time to build a routine, but why can't I stay motivated long enough to build a routine?

"Going" vegan wasn't as hard as it is for me to exercise. I'm coming up on my one year anniversary of being vegan in a couple of weeks. And while I may not be strict on things like desserts and chocolate, I didn't really feel the need to "cheat". I craved cheese for a bit, but ice cream doesn't even appeal to me any more and I loved ice cream. I wouldn't say that I'm eating ideally. I need to look at getting rid of white flour and some other over-processed foods and I'd really like to use more organic foods.

So I guess what I'm wondering is why has it been easier to change my lifestyle to include a vegan diet than it is to add exercise to my day? Exercise could help me to manage my depression and anxiety better. It could help me to sleep better too, but I resist doing it. I've kind of been toying with the idea of taking up running. It's something I've thought of before, but I keep pushing it away. Then I saw that one of my friends has joined a running clinic and after only a few runs, she's talking about runner's euphoria and how much she loves it. Is it time for me to take a step out of my comfort zone and give it a try? Considering how much I hate the idea of going to a gym (who wants to hang out with a bunch of fit people when you are so obviously not?), I kind of feel the same way about joining a running clinic. Maybe it's time for me to look into it though. It doesn't cost anything to see when they are offered and how much they are, right? Maybe? Well, I'll check out their web site this week and give it some more thought. You know, if I put as much effort into actually exercising as I do to putting it off and feeling guilty for it, I'd probably be in excellent shape by now. Things that make you go hmmm.




I just saw this book--it sounds exactly like what I need!

Getting Fit: Back to Exercise with my Wii Fit Day 3

Another evening, another 15 minutes of Wii Fit time under my belt. (Actually, I did 16 minutes today!). I also logged my fit credits for the walk I took with the girls today. I like seeing my minutes of movement adding up.

I'm not feeling super amazing or anything, but it's early days. My Wii fit age went up today from 32 yesterday to 51 today. Wow! I guess I'm just not very co-ordinated with some of the exercises. I apparently went up .3 kg today. I try not to focus on the weight because I find it varies so much from day to day. I keep an eye on the trend and hope to see it coming down as I keep working at it.

I thought I'd include something that I find essential for my Wii Fit board. I have a rechargeable battery pack like this one for my board. I like that I can plug it in to charge when it's low and I don't have to worry about finding fresh batteries when I want to exercise. If you don't have rechargeable batteries, I highly recommend them.

Getting Fit: Back to Exercise with my Wii Fit Day 2

Got back on the Wii Fit tonight. It wasn't easy because I was really tired, but I did it. Somehow, my weight came down .4 kg since yesterday--a little fishy, yes? And my Wii Fit age dropped to 32! Considering yesterday I was 11 years older than my age, it's a 17 year difference. Very strange.

Oh well. I got in 15 minutes of aerobic and training activities today. Started with the snowball fight just because it's fun, then the Rhythm Walking, Juggling, Advanced Step and Kung Fu. I'm trying to start slowly and build momentum. I don't want to burn out fast. It feels good to be moving again. Eventually, I'll work my way back up to using the Jillian Michael's game. For now, I'm aiming for 15 minutes a day and a couple times of doing the 30 minute bike ride a week. This weight wasn't gained overnight, so it's going to take some time to lose it and tone up. I'm determined to get there though!

Getting Fit: Back to Exercise with my Wii Fit

We had to go out of town for the weekend and we ended up staying in a hotel. Why is it that hotel bathrooms feature huge mirrors? The bathroom is tiny, but you get out of the shower and you are face to face with the truth about how your body looks naked. What I saw was not pretty.



I've been focusing my energy lately on being healthier through diet and chiropractic. Now it's time to get back to exercising. I cannot go on as I am. I'm afraid to start though, because I don't want to fail again. I don't want to start only to burn out and gain back anything I lose plus more. I have to do something. Baby steps, right?

One thing I am especially proud of this weekend is the fact that I wore a bathing suit in public without worrying about how I looked or what people thought of me. I took my nephew and my daughters to a water park and we spent a couple of hours in the wave pool. I didn't cover up and I didn't hide in the deep end. I was out there playing with my daughters, and feeling pretty good about it. Being a mother of 2 girls, I am very aware that I have to be careful of the body image I display for them. My oldest told me a couple weeks ago that her two piece swimsuit made her look fat--this child is skin and bones and likely underweight and she thinks she's fat! There is something wrong with that and I don't want to fuel that kind of thinking in our house. So getting physically fit is something that I'm doing for my daughters as well as myself.

I dusted off my WiiFit tonight and surprised myself by doing 15 minutes of aerobic activity and then doing a 30 minute bike ride. I wasn't planning on doing that long on the bike, but I guess the last time I used it (240 days ago), it was set at 30 minutes. I sweat a lot, but it wasn't exceedingly difficult. The last 10 minutes seemed to take longer than anything else. I am sure my legs will feel a bit sore tomorrow.

You may remember my post Dear Wii Fit from last year when I...ahem....ranted about the fact that the Wii Fit nags me about my feet not being in the rectangular boxes on the board. Well, it's still the case. Apparently my feet are still fat. Maybe one day Wii Fit will get a clue. Until then, I'll just put up with the annoyance.