Decluttering

I am in the process of reclaiming my life from the hostage situation in my cluttered house. I found a website/mailing list with tips and scheduling ideas, (motivational hoohah) and I have to say it's working. In two weeks I've added a few small things to my morning and evening routines, and an awareness of small things I can do throughout the day to help, and my house has never been more organized - even the construction zones!

Other benefits have been a kind of zen-like ability to leave behind some of the more financially crippling "city girl" habits I'd developed in the years since college (manicures, pedicures, $75 salon trips, expensive dinners out every weekend...). Witness my somewhat trepidatious trip to SuperCuts last night. And my hair looks cute today, too!

I've got bags and boxes packed up to go to the GoodWill folks, and our trash has been overflowing the last few weeks, and through it all, I've been less stressed, happier, and lighter feeling altogether. I've even managed to have a week and a half of solid WW success and real progress in my 5K training. Perhaps I'll even manage to declutter my body as well as my house?


With all my newfound, organized time, I had time to get a lot done opver the last weekend, including the first primer coat on the DR trim, and planting two trees in our backyard! Here's a shot of the primed trim, with the aforementioned color swatch on the wall.

We even invited my cousin and his wife over for dinner in a month, which should force us to get everything all done. I'm wicked sneaky, right? I can't wait to have a room done! (once again, I need to exclude the flooring, which is an entirely separate phase of our remodeling) Mark's working on digging footings for the little deck he's planning off the DR - just enough space for the grill and our outside table and chairs. After the deck, it's time to get serious about demolishing the "bad" side of the house, and starting the long road to a front parlor and an office with attached full bath... Sweet dreams!