K - Electronic Clutter and More (and a yummy recipe!)

It's the weekend and hard to believe that we are over 10 days into our cleanse!

I am enjoying the fact that I can do this at my own pace. Some days I am able to do more than others and that's ok especially seeing as some of the items are a work in progress; mental clutter takes time to work through. 

We are doing really well with eliminating unhealthy snacks. We are getting more nutrition into our bodies in our meals as well. Just last night the hubs made a super yummy quinoa salad. I love that he is willing to experiment with foods! http://www.cookingquinoa.net/southwestern-quinoa-salad-with-avocado-and-black-beans

The 3 bags of clothing are all out of the house. Most have gone to donations while a few things has been given to friends/family. It's outta here! Everyone has gone through there clothing now except for my daughter. That may take a while! 

Last two days I have been working on electronic clutter. Electronic clutter is 'one of those things' that sneaks up on you if you are not diligent with it. 

• I have my inbox (right this second) down to 9 emails. My work one is down to 4. I just keep current things that I want front and center. (otherwise I forget about them). Some days I just want to delete everything! 
• I have also purged my email folders; I still have a lot but I'm getting there.
• I have hit the unsubscribe to at least 6 things that I get emails for. It does make a difference because then it is less stuff that I need to go though on a daily basis.
• I also have a princess tent thing that I am giving to my niece today. 
• 2 pounds. I am NOT dieting. I have never dieted and don't plan to; I do not believe in diets at all. With my new lifestyle change it just so happens that some extra subcutaneous tissue is coming off. ;) I am eating better and being more mindful of my choices, snacking on better foods, and cutting back (not eliminating) white flours/sugars, red meat, and dairy. We have also been introducing new foods into our daily intake.
• Ever get stuck in the comparison rut?! I do. This is what I am working on lately. Instead of trying to compare myself to others and what they have/do, I am really trying to just enjoy my own life and be grateful for all that I have. Getting resentful and depressed is not going to make me happy. Here is a great post from Leo Babauta of Zen Habits:  http://zenhabits.net/lifes-enough-stop-comparing-yourself-to-others/

Also here is one of my fave quotes and it really makes sense! 

Have a great weekend everyone. I hope you are able to join in with us and shed a few things that you don't want hanging around anymore! 

Take care. xo

K - What is under there?!

Today was a fun day. I got to hang out with kindergarteners this morning! Some say that I can relate to them, lol! Well if enjoying the simple things in life and having fun is what they mean then YES I can. I think that they are referring to my lack of focus tho!  :) I volunteered to help out in my youngest's class as they were going on a bowling field trip. We walked there and back. Walking with 5 and 6 year olds is kind of like herding cattle! They try, but every now and then they shift their attention to the ice puddles. You know the ones that have a thin layer of ice on top and water underneath. They fall back out of line or start running off. By the time we were back my arms were full of shoes and mittens that had fallen on the way. Good times! I enjoy my times that I can help out and know that as he grows up he won't always want me around.

I haven't really been planning areas to cleanse; they just kind of happen. Today I realized that I had a theme. The theme was cleaning under things. As it turns out I had to put something under the stairs and I decided that once again it was cluttered with boxes. Sometimes I keep boxes 'just in case' I need one for mailing things or storing things or for warranty. Silly I know! I got rid of about half of them and they are ready to go to recycling. While I was tidying I found a CD that I needed for my WiFi photo frame! Yippee! I had it installed on my own computer and then when I got my new laptop the old one was wiped and I couldn't find it. I am so happy that I will be able to use it again.

The other thing that I went through was under my bed. I don't keep a lot under there but it really needed organized. I discarded a few items there.

The last thing that I went through was my family organization binder. I have a zippered binder that I keep important paper (school, extra curricular, swim lesson stuff, benefits info. etc.) in. Everyone has their own section. I had some outdated info in it and hole punched and organized it better. Old papers are now in recycling!

Remember how I said that we are letting go of unhealthy snacks (for the most part!) Today we enjoyed some fresh juice from the juicer (pineapple, strawberry and apple). Fresh is soooo good. We still have hemp  n' honey raw chocolate with coconut. AND I was spoiled because hubby made chocolate coconut pudding (young coconut, raw cacao powder and agave). I really like it, not sure the others did so I guess more for me! ;)

Summary:
1) UNDER the stairs: Boxes (already went though the Christmas decorations under there)
2) UNDER the bed: organized and purged
3) Family Organization Binder: out of date papers discarded

Letting Go of Perfection

Krystal's topic of FOCUS is a great one! She and I are kindred spirits, that's for sure!

Last night, I had a meeting that I was taking minutes for. I often find my mind drifting to things that I need to do, people I need to talk to, stuff to pick up, errands, etc. I deliberately forced myself to focus on each topic and what people were saying. I wasn't perfect, but I was better! LOL!

Tonight, I am oh, so tempted to flit about and do a bunch of different things. (I like to think I'm like a butterfly, sampling all the flowers... :P ) I decided that I have a few things on my list that MUST get done. I need to take advantage of the fact that my hubby is home tonight to help out so that I can get some things done. Flit..Flutter...Fly...

So far, I typed up the minutes (it usually takes me weeks) and sent them off to the GM, tidied up dishes and I've started on some of my other paper procrastination stuff (thanks Worth!), plus I'm going to finish up my posts for today at a decent time! I started going through my back log of emails as well. Hmmmm, I'm seeing a pattern of many things started...not everything finished...there I go again! Too funny!

The point I want to make here is that it's ok to lose focus - we all do it. It's ok to be imperfect. We all are. What is important is that we recognize our struggles, love ourselves anyway and then continue on trying to be the best we can be.

As I type this, Jann Arden is singing "Good Mother"...the words "...Be Yourself, just be yourself..." echo through my mind...so very true.

I read her memoir book last week. It had me at the first chapter. I don't know if it's because I grew up listening to her music and she is from Alberta. I don't know if it's because she tells a funny story (I've heard her speak at a conference once). All I know is, to me, it is a story about someone who was not perfect. Her family was not perfect, life was definitely not perfect. But...she continued on, through the messes, despite the things that happened to her. Because of the love of her family and her faith in herself. She just didn't give up. She struggled to figure out what she was good at, and then...well, she did it. She still does. Is she perfect? Hell, no! Is she the first to admit it? Hell, yes!

That is what inspired me the most, I think. She just kept (and keeps) trying anyway. She acknowledges her strengths and her blessings too.

Anyway, I'm flitting about tonight. I just wanted you to know that I'm thinking of you all and I appreciate every one of you who take the time to read what Krystal and I have to share. We do it for us and we do it for you. Thank you!

ITEM #1 Perfection...I shall strive to let it go! ;)

K - FOCUS!!

Some days I focus better than others and today was not one of them!! Lol! But saying that I got a few things done here and there and mostly things started and not finished. This is not really a good thing but thank goodness for my hubby who helps me along; ALOT! He got three bags of items out of the house and to the local thrift store. That feels good; as I always say you have not officially decluttered until the items are out of your house!

Anywoo there's my mind going all over the place again. Today I was able to sort, purge and reorganize our financial papers. Sound boring? Yup, it pretty much was. BUT I am so glad it's done. You know I didn't realize how much procrastination clutter I had until I started this! And there's more but baby steps; that's all we can do.

The other thing I went through was my youngests room. We already went through the clothes so today it was a quick look at the toys. We did this last year and got rid of lots so this time he just had a small bag full, I did not want to traumatize him because he gets a little nervous when Mommy is in an organizing mood! :p

Sooooo going with the theme of not focussing; I did not take any before and afters but I will leave you with this quote: 

"Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus." 

~Alexander Graham Bell 

And a good video on focussing: 

I will work on that!

So today I got
1) a procrastination project cleared away (financial paper clutter)
2) youngest let go of some toys that he doesn't play with any longer
3) we have been letting go of unhealthy snacking habits (today we let go of our garage sale juicer and got a better one) so it's been fun trying healthy juice combos. When we do snack now almost all of the time it is something that is good for us. Food journaling is making me very accountable; not alot gets past my fitness instructor! Oh yeah and my hubby (bless his soul) made another batch of nutritious chocolate. Good thing you can't see the drool!
A side note: This movie, Hungry For Change has been an inspiration to myself and others to make better food choices. I have watched it twice, so far.

Love ya later. :)

Letting Go of Paper Work

I will admit that my paper pile has gotten behind over the past few months. This was my goal for this evening: Letting Go of Paper Work

But first...

I have my oldest son's large stereo system sitting in my entertainment room. No one has touched it for over a year...out it goes...I'm going to take it to work and see if anyone wants it. (If you want it, let me know! LOL!)

ITEM #1 - Old Stereo system

The next to tackle was the pile of papers and paper work paraphrenalia. I have my SLC work briefcase in a mess, my ebooks piled while I was going through them for the summit. I have the travelling filing box that I'm going to use for SLC just sitting there empty. My planning binder as well as my coaching notes are all in piles. Plus, the December 2012 filing is waiting to be put into the cabinet?? Weird! I must have been distracted at some point.

Here's the before:

And here's the after:

I put the ebooks and coaching notes back on their shelf, I put my business papers etc into the box (I will organize the box later this week). There is one bag of shredding that I realized was in the "pile", 1 bag of garbage and 1 bag of paper recycling. I went through the stuff out of my planning binder and got rid of most of it (I haven't used the binder now that I'm onto an electronic version of it. There was also quite a few "idea generating" type things that I decided I don't need. I've had them for quite a while and haven't used them yet! Into the recycling bag they went!

I filed the little bit that was left to file. Overall, I spent an hour with the pile, which wasn't too bad. The music was blasting away! It was mostly stuff that needed put away after the Celebrate Life Summit! LOL!

ITEM #2 - papers I don't need

This included 13 business cards that I found in this stash. I don't keep business cards anymore because Krystal and I use this handy app for our iPhone: Card Munch - You take a picture of the card and then someone somewhere enters the information into your database for you and then it suddenly appears in your Contacts on your phone! Yay!!!

If you need help with getting your papers organized, we can help you get started! Email us to set up a Mini-Session!

K - Simple Sunday

I love that I could use this weekend to relax, and catch up on some things that have been put off way too long! My hubby even got started on all of our passports so we will be ready for our holiday when the time comes!

Today I was able to go through my kitchen. It really didn't take long as I had got rid of so many things last year with the minimalist challenge. This year it was a piece of cake; I just had a little maintenance to do. Here I was able to let go of:

• a mug
• a go cup
• an old, broken cutting board (I had a new one) what the heck was I waiting for?!
• a basket that just got in the way
• two old dish cloths 
• a water bottle (there are only so many of these that one needs!) 
• a play doh toy (broken)
• two cooler covers (they were free and we won't use them)
• a silicone basting brush (we had 4!)
• a couple of bottle openers (we had 4 of those as well) One I will put in the camping bin.

I also had time to wipe out drawers and cupboards (not all of them but the ones that were noticeably dirty). Then I gave the cupboard fronts a wipe also. So some Spring cleaning got done at the same time, yay!

I have this deep cupboard that houses cleaning supplies and some miscellaneous items. From that area I got rid of:

• a white apron that I have had from my high school deli job (that was a FEW years ago)
• a huge vase (I already have a large and a small) I got rid of most of them last year
• a KFC picnic bag (had for years and never used)
• a spray bottle that was broken
• one of those plastic separated trays with lid that you get fruit or veggies in from the grocery store (I thought that I might use it to take to an event or someones house but really?....

I also found some pet things in this cupboard plus my pup has his own basket full of things. I decided to amalgamate both and get rid of what we don't need/use.

• two different cat sprays (we don't have a cat now)
• two puppy coats that Duke has out grown
• puppy vitamins stuff that he would not eat
• nail clippers
• hair grooming mitt 

It was nice to get this area cleaned. It was one of those areas that needed done and I hated to look at but it was never a priority.

I also have a bag of Christmas items that I went though when I was packing up Christmas decorations last season. That is going to be brought up from storage room and put with this stuff and what I did not throw away or recycle I am going to donate to the local thrift store. 

Todays rundown.

1. Kitchen items
2. Misc. items
3. Pet things
4. Christmas stuff

Letting Go of Things That Drive You Crazy

Well, my big plan for today was getting rid of two things that drive me absolutely nuts!

No....I can't get rid of my kids...I know what you were thinking! :P LOL!!

My two old dogs have very old (and very smelly) dog beds. We've washed them quite a few times (which is always a pain...) These beds are in our bedroom on top of that (I'm not able to get rid of that at this point. They are too old for the stress of being kicked out of our room that they've slept in for their entire lives. A mistake I don't intend to repeat...especially knowing that old dogs snore worse than husbands!)

I'd been planning on making some new beds for them. My daughter was itching to help. Remember the towels from early this week? Well, we had two big older pink bath sheets that no one liked sitting in our linen closet. Rebecca and I decided to make the dogs new beds out of these old towels and a couple 3$ pillows that we'd picked up yesterday. We both had fun machine and hand sewing these. Becca was so proud that she'd helped!

ITEM #1 - Old dog beds that were smelly and dirty!

While a load of wash was washing (it really only took that long!) I tackled my other item that has been driving me crazy: My front entry rugs! There are three. Big, black ugly things. They've been washed a hundred times. They move and overlap each other all the time. Little black bits seem to be coming off them every time they move. They are clumsy and difficult to move around when I'm trying to clean the floor. Plus, I've spilled coffee on them so many times, they're permanently stained! I really didn't like these anymore. I want our front entry to be "prettier" and more welcoming.

When we were out yesterday, Rebecca and I found a nice smaller, single rug for the area. I got rid of the big ugly mats (they really were coming apart on closer inspection!). I vacuumed the floor and then got down on my hands and knees and washed the floor and baseboards the old fashioned way. I washed the down stairs as well. The one shoe mat that I had desperately needed a wash as well. Then I put everything back all nice and tidy and much prettier. It's much brighter and I think it will be easier to keep clean. Now the only thing left to do here: I have a really nice "Simplify" sign that Krystal got for me that I want to put up there but that will be the next project of washing the walls and closet in that area!

ITEM #2 - Front entry mats that are worn and ready for replacement! 

Oh! and we got a mat for outside the front door too - made from recycled tires:

Letting Go of Poor Eating Habits

Catching up post today, but I've got a lot to share!

Day 5 - Friday - I got rid of the two old house phones - Bruce cancelled our house phone number (since we got rid of the cable TV package, this was part of it), so there's no point hanging onto phones! LOL!

The biggest thing about Friday though, was something we LEARNED...

Watch this documentary (free until March 31): Hungry for Change - you will be inspired and enlightened! Bruce and the kids watched it on Friday during the day, and I watched it at the Olds Library with friends on Friday night...Our entire family was moved to make some serious changes.

As many of you know, for Lent, my family and I decided to remove refined sugar from our diet. This has led to a discovery of how much sugar is in EVERYTHING we eat. As such, we've been eating more healthy choices. This movie was the final push to make this a permanent choice. Even my kids have noticed that the sugar makes them feel sick (they both went to birthday parties over the past month of lent and discovered that they really didn't feel good after trying to eat cake and such...) Personally, I have lost 10 lbs so far and feel MUCH different.

So, the movie prompted us to decide to eat more raw foods and get rid of the white sugar, white flour or anything that has more than a couple ingredients! Whether that be salads, smoothies, juicing or just plain munching on good stuff!

Day 6 - Saturday, I pulled everything out of my fridge and evaluated:

This was the door. Notice the sauces and salad dressings and even lemon juice. The dressings will get finished up (they are mostly vinaigrette) and then we'll make our own from fresh ingredients...and the sauces...well, they are gone. Look at the ingredients:

Sugar, preservatives, BLECH!!! The ketchup and HP will get used up and not replaced (I don't want to be too wasteful) I ended up getting rid of several sauce jars and the dressing that was almost gone anyway (thus the upside down bottle) I used up the last of the lemon juice, so it won't be replaced again either.

Then the inside of the fridge:

More mustard, some pickles, hot sauce, broth, various cheeses, some leftovers, yogurt, eggs & bacon, my husband's beer yeast. Our magnesium and Uzo's Oil are there as well. I let go of one of the mustard (camping leftover that was lost at the back) We are going to buy and eat a lot LESS cheese...less dairy period. The bacon will get used up and then we will take a break from it for awhile. My husband especially eats it every day. The broth will get used up and I'll make my own. Eggs, we will continue to have in various forms. I got rid of some really old fondue cheese (I didn't even open it, I was scared to!)

This is the food from the produce drawers - not too bad - we've been eating a lot more it already...

After the big cleanout (which took 1 1/2 hours - pretty good I think because I washed everything down). Rebecca and I went grocery shopping. We discovered a juicer on sale...Universe is at it again. We'd been thinking about it from the movie and there it was. We actually added that to our house inventory. I'll have to find something to get rid of now instead! :)

After our grocery shopping:

Note: there are no "boxed" items...they pretty much have sugar and preservatives! Look at all the colors! I washed everything and put it all away in the newly cleaned fridge. We've already eaten a ton of produce - we've used the juicer, had two salads last night and made smoothies this morning.

ITEM#1 - old phones and our land line
ITEM#2 - store bought sauces and other unhealthy foods (I also got rid of leftover cake that was in the freezer - we were saving it, but we won't be eating it now)

I have big plans for today, Day 7 - I'll try to get a post up tonight!

Cheers to healthy eating!!

K - Going through clothing and being ok with the way things are!

Today as I was doing laundry I decided that I would focus on my clothing. I knew that there were clothes in the drawers and on the shelves that I had not really worn much or at all since I went through them a year ago for the Minimalist Challenge. We have an itty bitty closet in our room that we share plus a long dresser and an armoire. I guess I was feeling the urge to purge because I ended up getting rid of a decent amount!

1)

• 2 skirts
• 1 pair of jeans
• 1 pair of pants
• 3 pairs of pjs
• 2 pairs of shoes
• 5 sweaters
• 4 t-shirts
• 1 long sleeved shirt
• 2 scarves
• 1 pair of boots (14 year old boots! omg)

Hubby also went through his clothing. Man, I wish I could be as decisive as him! He got rid of

2)

• 7 pairs of pants/jeans
• 7 t-shirts
• 1 pair of shorts
• 1 tie

Today for a moment I felt like I didn't do good enough; that I should have done more and gotten though more. I felt badly for only accomplishing the sorting of the clothing. Then as I was going through my emails I read one from a favourite blogger and guess what the topic was? Being OK With Things As They Are. Right then I stopped beating myself up. The line in the blog that resonated with me most:

"Once we become happy with things, people, and ourselves … as they are … we can become whole"...

Ok, Krystal snap out of it. I stopped and thought about my day. 

• I managed to go through most of my clothes. 
• Hubby went through his clothes. 
• We went for a walk today as a family with the pup.
• I had a chance to share a fantastic documentary about healthy eating with my hubs and some of my kids.
• I got to curl up and watch a movie with my little ones this evening. 

That's not too shabby after all. :)

3) Being ok with things as they are. This will be ongoing for me. I have been quoting this one a ton:

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." ~Theodore Rooselvelt

                            His                             Hers     

                     

I sincerely hope that you all are able to rid yourself of whatever kind of clutter is weighing you down because once you do I guarantee you will feel free!                                     

Letting Go of Stuff that Doesn't Belong to You

Do you have stuff in your house that you've borrowed? Stuff that someone brought to your house and you need to return (like containers etc.)?

Today, for Day 4 of the Simple Spring Cleanse, I'm returning some items that I received baking in. I have a great friend who makes these amazing cookies and cakes! I buy some from her every year. She gives them to us in nice trays. I always want to return these trays so that I can get more cookies next year! LOL!

Last year, (Like 2010!!) I forgot to return one, and this year I had 2 more to return. Plus, I had her make a cake for the Celebrate Life Summit, so I wanted to return the board from the cake. Needless to say, I'm finally returning these today!

ITEM #1 for today!

ITEM #2 We borrowed the movie Memphis Belle from the Worth's. Returning that tonight too!

I have a busy evening tonight, so this is all I'll get to today!

See you tomorrow!

K - Medicine, Shoes and Personal Care. Oh yeah ... and the unmentionables!

Yesterday was a bit of a whirlwind but I was determined to take some time to purge some more things.
That always feels good! (A bit of a natural high for an organizer :))

I had to take my littlest to get some new shoes. How is it possible that children can completely skip a shoe size? Regardless to say the ONLY shoes he had that fit were his winter boots. He was very proud of his two new pairs of shoes and camo. rubber boots; he even asked if he could wear his new shoes in the house. "They are clean Mom cuz they are new." Lol. So the new shoes came into the house and the old shoes and boots went to the trash; they could not be used for anyone else as the boots had a hole in them and the shoes had been slightly loved eaten by the puppy. I realize there isn't a gain here as three pairs came in and three pairs left but the important thing is that I did not hang on to the old shoes. They were immediately discarded.

Then the main bathroom needed a good clean which inspired me to clean out the medicine cabinet. (One side has medicine and bandaids etc and the other has hubby's personal care products and my lotions.)
Expired products and medicines were removed. I had no ideas lotions could go bad but a couple of them had a stale smell and were an 'interesting' colour and texture. Weird! I also found this article about Spring Cleaning Your Medicine Cabinet.  Apparently only 1/3 of Americans clean out there medicine cabinet annually! It is really important to get rid of expired medications and dispose of them properly.

I almost forgot! I went through my unmentionables drawer and got rid of about 1/4 of the items in there. There were items that weren't used or just old. Ladies! If you can't remember when you bought that underwear then it is time to get rid of it, lol!

Summary:

1. Youngest's old shoes disposed of 
2. Medicine Cabinet 1/2 grocery bag full!
3. Personal Care Products 7 items
4. Unmentionables Drawer 8 items (There will be no posted pictures of this :p)

Check this out!

Before
Cabinet - Top, Lotions
Bottom , Hubby's Personal Care Products




Before
Medicine - Full cabinet

After
Top, More than half disposed of.
Bottom, A couple of products gone




After
Medicine - Almost Half empty

Letting Go of Old Electronics

Busy day! Lots of writing today! Wahoo!

Day 3 of the Simple Spring Cleanse for me meant letting go of an old radio. Our "space-saver" cd player/radio/light has been dying a slow death...

First, the CD Player skipped terribly and I was afraid it would do nasty things to my CD's (for you young kids out there, those were those round shiny things your parents have to play music! Before iTunes came along...) The little remote thing stopped working so I actually had to go and turn the thing on...manually....shocker, I know! (and yes, I changed the batteries!)

Then the radio/clock part had no display, so you had to guess where the radio station was. Then the only radio station that would come in was the local country station. Fine with me, but my husband was threatening to poke his eyes out with a fork if he had to listen to it.

The only thing left was the light (which was the original reason for the purpose. It's a dark corner in the kitchen where we prepare lunches.) It died this week. I know, I could likely get it fixed (or at least replace the bulb). However, I was only using it for the light at this point and I know that someone handy could fix it, but let's face it, who has time for that and who has room to keep this thing hanging around?

Five minutes later, it was in the garbage. ITEM #1 for today

I will not replace this item in my home. My music goes with me everywhere now on my iPhone. Even now, music is playing beside me as I write. It's like the old days when I was a teenager. I didn't have my music in every room of the house or even outside. My "ghetto blaster" followed me every where. It went outside when I was working in the yard or with our cattle or painting. It went with us camping. It went all over the house. It remains (and still works) to this day in my Dad's shop. They sure don't make things like they used to! :)

As I mentioned, I have been writing a lot today. I received a message from the Universe today that told me to spread love everywhere. I heard the perfect song that had to be shared. So...I wrote an email and sent it to every person at my work. E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E. I swallowed my fear, opened my heart and shared things that I was thankful for today. I also posted it on my personal blog here: Life is Beautiful ITEM #2 today - Let go of fear that may be holding you back from something that you're called to do. Just do it. Forget about the consequences.

As for the progress on my other items:

• Negative Self Talk - I was pretty hard on myself today about my hair...if I say I don't care about my hair and then I beat myself up about it, what does that mean? I will be kinder to myself tomorrow and book an appointment to do something about it.
• Seeing Only the Negative - this is one of the things that prompted my writing this morning. The day was starting off in negative mode - I could only see all the things that were going wrong. Then the Universe smacked me and I started thinking about things I was grateful for. It completely changed my attitude for the day. Thus, I had to share it.

Until tomorrow... :)

K - First Day of Spring

I am really happy to be doing this follow up to the Minimalist Challenge from one year ago! My goal is to cleanse 100 'things' in four weeks!

Today is the first day of Spring; my absolute favorite season! I wasn't sure that I would be able to begin the Simple Spring Cleanse as today I was feeling overwhelmed with the state of my house, my long list of errands and my to-do list. I just kept persevering and asked for some help from the fam. and I am ending this day feeling pretty positive. 

• I wasn't able to do much purging of physical stuff except for a bag of clothing that no longer fits my youngest but I am excited to report that I can strike two unfinished projects off of my list! Now that feels good; a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.

• One project was a proposal from someone that we had met with a few weeks ago. I had done bits and pieces but tonight I started and finished the document and emailed it to our client. Phew! I really dislike having unfinished jobs as they weigh on my mind. They are just waiting to be filed in my brain.

• The other was a follow up that I was procrastinating on because I needed to locate the missing email that I found on a sticky note in my organizing tote - there is some irony there with the word missing and organizing in the same sentence! Hey, I'm not perfect... thus this challenge. :) Anyhoo, I sent off the follow up email this evening as well.

• I am also happy to report that I got rid of one of my three email accounts. It was an old account that I didn't really use too much but I still received emails on my phone  and felt like it was just an extra distraction so good-bye useless account!

Summary

1) Bag of clothing 

2) Unfinished project - Proposal

3) Unfinished project - Follow Up 

4) Electronic clutter - Email Account

Until next time my friends. 

Letting Go of Magazines

Day 2 of our Simple Spring Cleanse! Today, the Cevraini's are letting go of some magazines/periodical type things as well as some paper clutter.

This morning, before I left for work, I asked my husband to "work on" his side of the room. I try to keep mine fairly clutter free (though, I do have my moments). However, his has been cluttered enough that it was difficult to get around books and things to make the bed. A few weeks ago, he got rid of a bunch of bags and clothes and things laying around, but the paper clutter remained. So...I asked. I did not nag. I did not whine. I simply said, "Honey, can you work on your side of the room today?" Granted, I should have been more specific in my request, but he knew what I meant.

I was sent a text this afternoon with this picture attached:

This shelf was full to overflowing with papers and books. There was stuff everywhere on the floor between the shelf and the bed! Now, there is even empty space on that shelf!! Yay! Notice that the magazine holder things are not full (they used to be) and the paper work is minimal. Didn't he do a great job!!? I sure think so! ITEM #1 for today!

What did he do with the stuff?

• Papers went in the recycling or a few pieces are in the "filing" pile (one of my projects coming up)
• Magazines are in the recycling...I'll make a note on that in a minute...
• Books are on the one bookshelf we have in the living room. It may be affected during this cleanse...
• Garbage is in the garbage

This is what the pile looks like for the recycling:

There are a few sales manual type things in this pile, but they will go to recycling since no one will want them since they are dated.

Now, about the recycling...

Normally, when we advise people on letting go of stuff, we tell you to make sure that the stuff that is leaving the house LEAVES THE HOUSE...this is because you do not want to move the clutter to a different space. It may cause some stress...

Needless to say, when I saw this pile of stuff at my recycling spot in my kitchen doorway, I was...let's just say...a little miffed! It's kinda in the middle of the floor. It would have taken five minutes to take it right out to our car. Not even 5 minutes...which leads me to ITEM #2 for today....

I need to make an effort to let go of only seeing the negative. For example, instead of me remembering that he had gone to the effort of cleaning up that space, I focused on the fact that there was now a mess right at the entry to my kitchen. I need to practice "Catch Them Doing a Good Job" theory of management!

From yesterday: The towels were delivered to AHT today and I looked in the mirror this morning and noticed how my body is changing and I was proud of myself. I noticed my stretch marks and smiled. They are my badges of honor in being a mom. I will continue to work on getting rid of that negative self-talk! 

Letting go of Towels

Simple Spring Cleanse has started today!! Wahoo!

As Krystal's explains in the full post (Simple Spring Cleanse), this is more than spring cleaning. This is letting go of all kinds of clutter: physical, mental, emotional, nostalgic and more! We'll see where this takes us!

My goal is 100 items. I am not counting individual pieces of paper, I'm going to count a group of items as one.

First of all, the Universe has totally lined up with me for doing this today. Today, we got an email from the AHT program that said they are collecting old towels & blankets for the animals over in their clinic! So, here is the first stack of things that I'm getting rid of: 7 old towels and 1 set of old sheets. ITEM 1

During last year's Minimalist Challenge, I cleared a lot of towels and blankets out of my linen closet. This lets me get rid of some more! I have an empty shelf in there now! I'm going to let go of some of the rattier towels that we use for showers and pass those down to our dogs.


The next item that I'm working on (and this is one of those on-going things that I've been working on for a long time). I'm getting rid of the cruel self-talk. This song came on as I was running today: Perfect by Pink. It is my song, it is me.

This is a tough one for me. I'm used to talking "mean" to myself. I am so much more conscious of it now. I don't want my daughter to do the same thing. I want her to see me set the example of someone who is happy with the way they look; who is proud of who they are. That's one of the main reasons why I do these things. I want to be the example for others.

What are some of the things you let go of today? Haven't done it yet? Set a timer for 5 minutes. I'm serious. Just 5 minutes and go find something. Anything. If you don't love it, it's broken or you don't need it anymore; go and get it right now and take it to your car. Get rid of it right away tomorrow. Write it in your journal and/or report back here! Join us as we cleanse!

We are starting our challenge in two days! We hope that you will join us and let us know how it is going!

Read here: http://www.simplelifecelebrations.com/simplify-1/simplespringcleanse for the whole story about the Simple Spring Cleanse,