Se7en’s Fabulous Friday Fun #91…

Hello Blog, So good to be back… haven’t been anywhere exciting but suddenly a spot of business hit us and time, time, time, just got away… A day or two without a post – shudder, you have no idea how that kills me!!! You can always keep up with us on Twitter.

DSC_0578

  1. While we were away our new Sketchbook arrived… and as usual – where on earth to start!!! But I totally love this page from Alisa Burke today, very inspiring!!!
  2. You have to love and adore the Crafty Crow’s Costume Roundup!!! Awesomeness!!!
  3. I know many of my readers are bloggers, well look what I learnt about this week: A media kit – heard of one? Then you are way ahead of me… I spotted it first here and the link to an amazing free e-book from Tina Grey is right over here….
  4. I am loving 4 Kids or More, they have great community questions packed with answers and wisdom from mom’s who have been there!!!
  5. My phone desperately needs a cover – let’s just say the last one has been over-loved!!! Well have a look at this Kirtsy slideshow and sigh!!! Well there is one I just couldn’t live with, but the others I love!!!
  6. Generation next is born to be mild – Risk-taking a lost rite of childhood Articles like this make me so glad that my kids climb a rock everyday to eat there lunch… Even though the new neighbor keeps shooing them off it!!! I just send them right back up!!!
  7. We have been cooking up a storm with South African recipes of note and if you are a local you may well want to enter the Yuppie Chef’s Enkosi Cookathon Competition You have two days to catch up – fun, fun, fun!!!
  8. And the se7en+1th Thing: If you feel like organizing!!!

    Org Junkies 52 Weeks.jp

  9. This week on Org Junkie’s 52 Weeks we are at Week 42: Taking Control of Your Holiday Decorations…
  10. Help me breathe… I am so not ready to think about the holidays or decorations yet – just not ready. But I had to take a seat when I saw that post because… hello it is week 42 out of 52. Ten weeks to go and you should be able to see a marked improvement in the whole household order… Well alas, I am too close to the project to see any improvement. And when I sneaked a look back at what has been done this year I thought – ho hum… I could start the whole list again.

    And it is true… I could do the whole room by room thing again… the whole drawer by drawer thing. I almost had a panic attack at the thought. But I know that I have been through all our stuff this year more than a few times. The first time I went through each kids stuff with them it took two whole weeks. Now we can do it in an afternoon.

    And there are still one or two hotspots that I just haven’t finished with… the garage got so far… and I just don’t know how to get rid of some of the things that are taking up space in our garage now… What do you do with an ancient plastic kiddie table that we have outgrown that just won’t die… and other things like it. Until I have a solution I just can’t move on in there.

    So I did a regroup and decided, rather than falling into the pit of despair I would start small and plod our way out of the year…back to the basic basics of decluttering. It is a busy time of year for us, the last 1/3 of the school year always is… school takes time. Lots of time – no matter how streamlined you are, no matter how organized you are… it just takes time and it is time I have to spend – a first priority so this is what I am doing right now:

      DSC_0642

    1. Just begin: I started with my desk. Clear out my creative corner – because my goodness it had become the dumping zone of all things creative – that a mother’s eye’s must see and admire. And household papers, my impending blog post ideas, and some lovely big projects I am scheming… Turns out I just couldn’t work there anymore… how did it get so bad!!!
    2. Little by Little: Really when it comes to decluttering, when you are stuck for time, there is only one way – you cannot unpack a room or even a closet. At this stage I am just gathering things that are outgrown, toys that aren’t loved… collection by collection. Slowly but surely clearing my way through the house – I don’t think anyone has noticed!!! But slow and steady and a shopping bag a day is accumulating in the drop off zone behind the front door.
    3. Clearing surfaces: Our surfaces have become burdened with stuff – they always do… projects get plonked and materials don’t get returned to where they belong because we move onto the next thing too fast… So the surfaces are slowly appearing – and I know I will feel better in our home again once that is done.
    4. Just books on the bookshelf: The thing about books is that they are read and read and not necessarily put back correctly… So as my guys do their reading each day I sit next to a bookshelf. As long as they are reading I sort the books on a particular shelf. It is just long enough to remove anything that was placed on the shelf “illegally.” Like why anyone would think you can store Lego projects on top of the books on a bookshelf I just can not fathom!!!
    5. Get Out There: Out garden fills me with the trepidation, for a small garden there sure is a lot of growth!!! Overwhelming – yes!!! So once again a bag a day… Just a bag a day… Just an hour each day – I know I need the to just get outdoors and get it done!!!
    6. Routine, Routine: My older kids loved to throw the routine, it is always to their advantage!!! And a trip across the country didn’t help… I am trying to get back into our rhythm… even though we have had tons of visitors this past two weeks – just dinner on the table and kids in bed at the same time everyday creates a certain amount of order!!!
    7. Finish What You Start: The whole point of going little by little is that the mess created is minimal… it is such a huge temptation of mine to go from one spot to the next without finishing anything… just no.
    8. And the Se7en + 1th thing:

      DSC_0561

    9. Get the Kids Working: The great green pool was the project of choice!!! The weather is improving and they are going to want to swim everyday very soon… So this was their project and I must say it is blue again and cleared of winter debris, but a photo in the middle of the night won’t be ideal.

That’s us!!! Have a great weekend…

2 Replies to “Se7en’s Fabulous Friday Fun #91…”

  1. Tammy – You say the sweetest things!!! Coming home is a bit of a mixed bag!!! So many close friends were made, so more than a little bittersweet!!! Hope you have a good week!!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *