Yard-Sale - Getting Ready!

In my opinion, a home should be a place everyone feels comfortable.  This can be tricky as, what is comfortable to one, may not inspire the same feeling in another.  Take my house for instance. The boys are very comfortable with junk everywhere; it makes them feel at home.  I, on the other hand, need a sense of inner-peace when I am home...clutter gone, order abounding..you know what I mean.  Guess who wins the war on feeling at home?  

As a goal of mine this month is to de-clutter, I decided to host a tag-sale.  The boys were put to work on sorting out toys, dress-up costumes and games they no longer want.   I gave the boys stickers and markers and had them sort out their own junk and put prices on them....(giving the okay first!) 

Remember I had actually created a pathway between the junk so we could access our house through the garage?  Here is my nice little walkway:

The bed is like-new but we have been really lazy trying to sell it.  Some of those toys haven't been in a child's hands for years!!!

More sorting and labeling....this part took about an hour....just with the items you see in the picture.  Kids can be so meticulous over the junk they would never play with but just might want to keep...just in case!!!

As well as tackling my closet, I also paid a visit to my in-laws' house and took away all the things we have been storing there for several years.   They very kindly offloaded a huge pile of their own unwanted items too.  The nice little walkway is no more!!  Now I have to sort through this lot!

And this!!!!

I cannot wait until Saturday!!!!  

By the way, the whole thing is not just to give me peace of mind over clutter.  We are raising money for CureSearch, an organization that provides much needed money for research for pediatric cancers.  We lost five of our little friends over the last couple of weeks to a variety of childhood cancers and it will be in their honor.  This is the reason the clutter has not just been taken to a charity shop...that would have been so much easier, but my heart is with the children!

Jack and Sammy will also host a Lemonade Stand which I am hoping will keep them busy and stop them noticing some of the toys I'm slipping into the sale!!!!

So How's It Going?

In an attempt to make myself a better person...or at least a more organized, healthier person, I am trying out a new challenge. It can be found at http://3in30.ashleypichea.com/  Today's update on the three goals:


1.  Get to bed at a reasonable time: Um....well...ya see....eh....okay, I admit this one is not my strongest point at all!  I really do try hard....there is just so much to do...and I need to relax after I've done it all before hitting the sack...and I really want some alone time too....and I can't fall asleep anyway, so what's the point?  You guessed it...I failed miserably and have no excuse except it just isn't me right now.  I am, however, exhausted through the day so I am going to be persistent, keep this goal and work harder at it.  


2.  Set reasonable limits on my blogging:  I have done fairly well on this one.  There were a couple of nights where I began the crazy "I need to blog and respond like a mad woman" routine, but I generally managed to do other things during the day.  Exhibit A:  Me taking the boys to Quassy Amusement Park - well worth time away from the computer :)

 

3.  De-clutter my house: I have decided to have a yard sale....there will be a great big clear-out and I will make some bucks for Sammy's team for Light the Night.  Right now I have more junk than ever becasue I spent today going througth my in-laws' attic retrieving all the things we stored up there before moving into our current house.  Now my previously 'almost sorted-out' garage is OVERFLOWING with 'things'.  I have chosen to close my eyes to it and keep saying, "It will all be gone by Saturday....it will all be gone by Saturday."  Oh I hope so!

3 In 30 Challenge

In an attempt to make myself a better person...or at least a more organized, healthier person, I am trying out a new challenge. I can be found at http://3in30.ashleypichea.com/

 I have to set three goals for the month of August.  It is said that it takes 21 days to develop a new habit so by the time I rock and roll off to see Pearl Jam at Alpine Valley, I should have at least one of these goals checked off.  Oops, I'm already predicting failure...okay, I will have all three checked off!

Here are my goals:

1. Get to bed at a reasonable time:  this should be easy as I am always exhausted but I find I come alive at night, in the wee small hours, and don't get to sleep much at all.  As a result, I am running half-charged and it really does impact my family.  I see this goal as the most important due to the knock-on effect it has on everyone.
2. Set reasonable limits on my blogging:  while this may seem contradictory to my recent post's announcement that I'm determined to get back into the blogging seat, it is actually essential to me achieving goal number 1.  You see, I would be up all night reading and posting if I could....it relaxes me....but it is not good for my health.  So, I am going to allow myself an hour each day and that is it.  Gulp!
3. De-clutter my house:  simple tasks are like great obstacles for me.  I see clutter but don't know where to put it so somewhere else isn't cluttered.  I hoard to a very small degree, but the boys have a ridiculous amount of toys and so does my husband.  Then there is the sentimental factor of old pictures, works of pre-school art, etc.  I am going to be kind to myself and give myself a 15 minute de-cluttering time every day.  Hope that doesn't consist of thinking about what to do and then having no time to actually do it!