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.

Looking Good, Feeling Better!

Sock Monkey Glamor Shots
Originally uploaded by Orin Zebest

Well, I did it! I went clothes shopping with my mom tonight and I actually bought some new clothes. Tried on some that I didn't buy, but found a pair of Capri's, and three shirts. Tomorrow, I'll hopefully find some cute low heels to go with the outfit and I'm all set for the shower.

We went to Addition-Elle, and I find it a fun place to shop because everything is over-sized. That means I can fit into a 16 top no problem. Pants are still an 18 ish, depending on the cut. It's still the same as any other store in that you could try on 6 pairs of the same size pants and not one of them will fit the same. One will be too big, one too loose, one too long...you get the picture. I get so tired of this crap!

And hello! Why don't they make clothes for those of us who are heavy and short? I was going to try some Capri's, but realized that they were so long on me they would look like flood pants. Is it too much to ask that the clothes for those of us who are not twigs be stylish and fit?

Ranting aside, I'm really glad to have found another pair of pants. I am getting tired of wearing the same pair almost every day. And the shirts are cute but casual, so I can dress them up a bit or wear them for work.

I used the Wii Fit Plus tonight for a change. The kids were playing earlier and the disk was in the machine. Much more fun than being yelled at. I may have to alternate between the two programs. I gained weight since the last time I used it 58 days ago, but I wasn't completely caught by surprise...still, I had hoped it would be lower. Oh well.

Getting Organized!

Since I post about the Wii Fit pretty much everyday, I thought I'd post a little video about it here. I wish my house looked as clean as all these other houses where they're using the Wii Fit! Anyway, I have been using the Wii Fit now for a full week--I did a minimum of 15 minutes plus the body test every day. I found it funny that my weight fluctuated quite a bit this week, but as the machine pointed out, I've been weighing in at different times each day.

Organized: I spent some time yesterday emptying out the laundry baskets. I'm really good at getting them washed, dried and folded, but then the baskets sit all week instead of being put away. Sigh. At least it's done for now. What I need to do is spend some time going through our closet and take out clothes that hubs and I are no longer wearing, are really old or just plain don't fit. The T-shirt I'm wearing now I've had since I was in university--and my 10 year anniversary is three years in the past. How sad is that? Time to thin out the closet a bit. That will be one of my focuses this week.

I also went through hubs' receipts that he finallybrought in from the car. Now I have to input them all in my spreadsheet so we can get them out to the accountant to take care of.

Today, I got all Flylady and actually shined my kitchen sink! I've had it done before, but it never lasts long. The idea is that you should start to build the habit by shining your sink every night before bed and by a month, the habit should be well, habit. So, I've got a nice clean and empty sink right now. Hopefully it will stay that way because it makes the whole kitchen look better and it makes me feel less stress. To put it simply, my shiny sink makes me smile.

Feeling Naughty

I rush home from work tonight, open the door quietly and put my coat and shoes away. I tiptoe up the stairs, making sure to open the door slowly so as not to awaken my husband. I take off my jeans, put on my gym shorts and sneak back out of the room. Then I hurry downstairs and hook up my Wii Fit so I can exercise!

I didn't really want to exercise tonight, but since I was at home by myself with the rugrat, I didn't get much time in today. I did a few games and a walk, but that was it. So I waited until I came home to do my "serious" work out. I did a couple of the strength training moves--not my favourite for sure. I did the jacknife and the push ups/planks. Jacknife was surprsingly easy. The push ups are not. I apparently do not have much upper body strength. Still, I'll keep trying it every couple of days and hope that I can eventually get it. I spent a few minutes doing yoga. It's not my thing, but I'm happy to do it here in the comfort of my home rather than go to a gym and try to do it in front of all the perfect little yoga bodies out there (you know who I mean!). Then I did the Advanced Step and a new game called Zen. It's pretty silly, but fun.

I logged one hour today, not bad considering I'm trying to figure out how to work this into my schedule. Somehow my BMI and weight went up, but I'm trying to look at that more in the big picture of weightloss over time.

Couple of things I don't like. When my Mii gets weighed, and they post the BMI, she checks around her to see how fat she is. And why does the board have to say "Oh!" when I step on it like it wasn't expecting my weight or something? Thanks for the confidence boost. LOL.

I tried to watch what I ate today. I bought some healthier foods yesterday when I was shopping, so that helped a lot. Raisin bran for breakfast (yum!), a spinach salad for lunch and pork chop and potato for dinner. I love spinach salad, but it is such a pain preparing it! By the time I got to eat it, I was starving! Oh well. It's all for my benefit, right?

As for organize, I didn't do too much today. One thing I have been doing is keeping a box on the main level for clothes that don't fit anymore. My kids keep putting small stuff to the wash, so now, after it's washed, I fold it and put it in the give away box. Now the trick is to get the giveaway boxes out of my house! One step at a time, right?