GOAL #29 - Colour me Perfect

I like having my nail polish in a portable container... first of all it's practical to carry where I will be decorating my nails. AND it's like a treasure chest full of sparkling jewels, I get a thrill out of opening it and seeing all the pretty colours.
 
Since moving and consolidating all like things into one spece (without the excuse of having 2 floors/levels to have things on). I found out all my nail polishes don't fit into my favourite container any more! Though we technically have waaaay more bathroom storage here, I really want to fit them all in the "treasure chest".

GOAL #29: Fit all my nailpolishes into their home container.

Process: Gather them all together and weed out the bad quality polishes, the less-than-flattering colours and the ones I never ever choose to wear. The only way I could remember which ones were good or pretty on me (not just pretty in the bottles) I had to try them all out! By doing this I also figured out which ones stayed tacky too long and which ones had annoying brushes. Then I wore them for a day to see which clashed with my skin tone or wore off too easily.

Verdict: I managed to get rid of 6 colours and now the treasure chest closes easily!

Bye Bye Extra Nail Polishes!

Oops

A week ago, I bought a 100% cotton v-neck sweater at the thrift shop thinking it was a "sure thing"  - after all I love cotton garments and v-necks are my favourite cut.

Alas, though comfortable, it turns out the fit is a bit off and the pattern/colour isn't as awesome on me as I would have hoped. In short I will likely choose other sweaters in my closet to wear instead.

In the words of Homer Simpson "Du-oh!"

My normal instinct is to "give it another chance" because I spent good money on it (even thrift store prices is money spent). This time, I made a decisive choice to cut my losses and give it back to the thrift shop as a lesson learned.

That is a monumental moment for me! I wonder how many more of these "mistakes" are lurking un-loved in my closet?

Lesson of the day: Let go of the guilt, and let go of the reminder of the mistake. GET IT OUT OF THE HOUSE!

Goal #28 Update II

It's harder than I thought to resist the pantry items on SALE this week!
But, I have to remind myself... they WILL go on sale again, they WILL go on sale again.

Food shopping this week:

• Bagels
• Bread
• Eggs
• Milk x2
• Cream x2
• Green Peppers
• Cucumber
• Bananas
• Oranges
• Pears
• Brussel Sprouts
• Baby Watermelon
• Applesauce for kid's lunches
• Juice for kids lunches
• Chips (for a guilty snack)
• Cream Cheese

Menu from this week:

• Tamale Pie (green peppers went into it)
• Roast Chicken Breast and Mashed Potatoes (w/ frozen corn)
• Fish fingers and fresh-made potato wedges (w/ fresh cucumber slices)
• Cream cheese Shrimp Fetticini (w/ frozen brussel sprouts)
• Chicken Tikka Masala (w/ saag-style spinach)
• Pork Chops in Creamy Mushroom Sauce (w/ mashed potatoes, frozen veg)
• Beef Noodle hamburger helper adding mushrooms (w/ fresh brussel sprouts)

Not too bad. Nothing weird on the menu yet. And still lots of options coming from the freezer and pantry. Actually there is barely a dent in my supplies!

Puppy Love

You know that feeling of infatuation, distraction and warm tingly desire that new love brings.... of course you do, we all feel it at one time or another. Sometimes the puppy love is over the silliest things, a new handbag, a sweet pair of shoes, CHOCOLATE. When you see it, you gotta have it and that is when you try to make owning it happen.

My latest technique for letting go of items is asking "Would I buy this again?"

Funny, even if it was something I "had to have" when I got it, even if it was something I totally loved, I have learned to recognize that the love has fizzled, and I might not buy it in my present life. Admitting that the relationship with this thing isn't what it used to be gives me the power to let go.

I loved these things, and for that I'm thankful for the experience of owning it. Finding to courage to say goodbye to such a tiny fraction of a physical souvenir doesn't have to be as difficult as we make it out to be.

The more I let go, the more open I feel.

Instead of leaving the opportunity to think "oh I used to love this" with that pang of sadness of days gone by, or even worse thinking "I spent a lot on that" when it's not being used anymore, I say LET IT GO! Release the guilt and the sad nostalgia.

Today's hit list:
2 small purses I used to adore. Purses I would not buy if I saw them today.

Goal #28 update I

It's a week into Goal #28, and here is the progress

Food items purchased:
Milk, eggs, cream, cottage cheese, fresh fruit, coffee beans

Menu from last week:
Lamb leg roast (this doesn't really count for the goal because my father-in-law came over with it to make us a feast on New Years Day dinner)
Banana bread (from frozen bananas I've had forever)
Pot Roast (beef from freezer)
Beef stew (from leftover pot roast and frozen veg)
Pumpkin Leek Soup (using the pumpkin that was uncut and leftover from Halloween!)
and tonight.... Lasagna (using spinach from freezer)

What have you done for me lately?

Moving forward, I keep finding things to let go. It's getting easier to make decisions! It's all about the questions I have for the things I encounter...

1. Have I used you this year?
2. Do I have another one/a better one?
3. Do you add value to my family's life?
4. Do I love you?
5. Will someone else appreciate you more?
6. Are you easy to replace?

Not all the questions need to be asked to know that the item can leave my home without regret.

Today's items... Disneyland souvenir coffee tins and an empty tea tin that I liked the shape of.

GOAL #28 - Starting the year off right

Welcome to 2013!

In the spirit of tradition, it is time to make resolutions for the upcoming year.

For the purpose of this blog (and my sanity) I will continue to strive for

"A place for everything and everything in it's place"

And to kick things off right...

Goal #28: No freezer or pantry items bought in January!

That's right! It's pantry shopping time! No suffering will be happening as my freezer and pantry are ridiculous at the moment (hense the need to do this).

Process: How it works is that I MUST create meals from foods that I already have in the house. The only exception are the fresh items that are staples (milk, eggs, bread, fruits/veg).

The purpose of this goal is to save a bit of money, use up items that have been forgotten before they expire, and clear space for new opportunities!

I will be posting regularly to let you know how it's going. Today I took inventory of the freezer to see what fun meals can be made this month.

inside:

inventory : as of 10 minutes ago!

Post-Christmas fall out

I succeeded in not getting a bunch of clutter for Christmas! People respected my wishes and got me very little in the way of presents, opting instead for long visits over food and a bottle of wine. (a MUCH BETTER gift in my opinion)

Over this last few days some things were inevitably added however, so some things had to be removed.

3 large Coca-cola glasses added = 4 miscellaneous drinking glasses removed
High quality pressure cooker added = entry level quality pressure cooker removed

Also removed:
- 2 cotton bath mats (I don't need 4 now that I only have 1 shower!)
- more books (there are always more books!)
- 6 boxes of incandescent Christmas light strings (New, still in the box) that were left from the previous home-owners.

I challenge you to take a few minutes to see if anything you got for Christmas can completely replace something you already have. And if so, I challenge you to pass the older item on to another person that can use it.

More Sentimental Attachments

These are really beautiful books. Full of detailed illustrations and layered with notes, textures and other tactile pleasures (opening envelopes, feathers, glass beads and ribbons)

 

But as pretty as they are, I have poured over them enough times to know that I have gotten my money's worth out of them and it's time to let them go to another appreciative fantasy reader.

 

They are listed online for a reasonable price and already one has sold!

 

Inside, Outside, Upside-down

 

It's a snow day here, the weather outside is slopping down some heavy, wet flakes (too wet to be fun).

 

A great day to tackle an indoor challenge. We have guests coming into town, the mmost logical thing to do is ask both boys to share a room and set up the guests in the big-boy's room. HOWEVER, he hasn't even finished unpacking all the way yet, and his room is simply a mess.

 

I have my work cut out for me.

 

By noon, I had made serious headway!

Not perfect, but MUUUUCH better!

GOAL#27 - Letting Go

I LOVE vintage Fisher Price Little People.

I really enjoyed collecting them for my children to enjoy (and my nieces followed), and my love for them hasn't faded just because everyone has outgrown them.

BUT leaving them stored in mystery boxes is no good to anyone. Displaying all of them isn't an option for my house either.

Decisions had to be made... which ones are special enough to me to stay... which are okay to trust to new families?

GOAL #27 - Seperate the Precious from the Neglected in my Vintage Fisher Price Little People collection. Then sell the excess.

Process:

Step #1: Find and sort all the Fisher Price. Decide what is good, what is special and what there are too many of.

Step #2: Take photos of and list the ones I have the heart to part with. Grouping them logically for lot sales.

Step #3: Find a way to honour the remaining toys.

Verdict: I still haven't found a few of my favourites... basement? Shed? I know they are somewhere, but they are hiding (are they scared of being cut?), the photography was fun (now I have a digital record of my toys too) As for the selling part -- Wow that went fast! Within an hour I had several emails from other vintage FP enthusiasts! One lady came and bought everything I listed at full price with the request that I email her if I have any more to sell. I have found an appropriate place to display the house (oh how I wanted a house like that as a kid).

(dream house displayed in the laundry room)

 

-------

 

And all the ones off to a new home...

 

A bunch of sizable toys are cleared from the premises!

Picture Update

4 more shirts are removed, good quality but "not quite right"

A box of miscellaneous goodies for the thrift store

Too small kids riding gloves for sale

Another pair of too small kids riding gloves for sale

 

 20 books in a childrens's series (sold for $20)

I took a box of the better stuff to my friend in Courtenay that sells stuff online for fundraising.

Goal #26: Breaking Eggs

Billable Hours: the life blood of the self-employed.

Having many clients is great because all my eggs aren't in one basket. But how do I know when there are too many baskets?

It's come to the point where I have to decide who I will let down, and which deadlines I need to miss. Not a great thing to do. Obviously the least appealing people to disappoint are my family (after all they are who I love the most), even if they don't pay me (LOL).

GOAL #26; Decluttering a client so I can do my job better.

Process: Things that were weighed in the decision:
Job satisfaction - do I love the work I do for this person?
Potential life of client relationship - a one-off design or a long time client?
Wage per hour - less per hour means I have to work more hours away from my family!

What "basket" could I afford to drop to break the least eggs? Which client do I have to disapoint?

Result: The answer was more obvious that I cared to admit. Though I enjoyed the work (technical/schematic drawings) at an intellectual level and the employer is a great guy that had guaranteed a trickle of hours from now until forever, the hourly wage is about 1/3 what I charge for my design time. And so I was always putting his stuff off in favor of the higher paying, creatively stimulating stuff.

It weighed on my conscience being late all the time. I wasn't pulling my own weight, and it ate at me that I was letting the team down repeatedly... I COULD do a great job, but I wasn't.

I called my supervisor (a friend) and she counselled that I let myself go so that the company could find someone more available. Honestly I thought she would try to talk me out of it. OUCH. The boss took my decision a little harder than that and seemed genuinely disapointed that I was leaving. We agreed that I would call when I had more time (at least that bridge isn't burned). And he took away the tool belt, plans, binder and laptop computer that came with the gig. (less stuff! a bright side!)

Now I am juggling less baskets and my workload does feel lighter.

Chipping Away at it

I bought some new clothes in a weak moment, and my "one-in-one-out " Rule had to be inforced!

 

 Plastic embroidery canvas that I have to admit I won't use

 

 A book that the kids have outgrown (one of dozens that I have unloaded lately to the school)

 

 Pillow shams that are too dark for my new bedroom

 

 Games that I thought the kids and I could play together, but we didn't

 

 Really uncomfortable ear buds

 

Toys I sold on-line this week ($10)!

Goal #25 Christmas Glamour

Background: Years ago I figured out that the house was nicer the whole year long if I limited Seasonal Decorative items to one place, and even better, one container. A large antique steamer trunk that was my Grandpa's.

A couple of things have changed recently.

#1: Moving from a new house means different architecture for decorations. The biggest differences are no more stair rails, and no mantle... all the goodies that always were wrapped around the railing or perched on the mantle need to be reconsidered or eliminated!

#2: The kids are older, therefore the decorating can be for an older audience... less cartoony polar bears and smiling snowmen for example... thanks to us moving and having so different surroundings this year, the quiet removal of the less-dear items should go smoothly.


Goal #25: Review Christmas decorations and edit before December 1st so the charity thrift stores can still sell them this season.

Process: Pull out EVERYTHING from the Christmas chest. Think about where each item will go in this house and whether it is appropriate for the new dream asthetic. Immediately pack them for the thrift shop.

Results: The pictures speak for themselves!

 

Goal #24 Sentimental Clutter

Time to admit it. They brought me a lot of joy... they comforted me in less-happy times... they brought a smile to my lips many times...

 

But NOW it seems they are invisible, and I resent the chore of cleaning and displaying them.

Hopefully they will bring happiness to the next person, my experience of owning them is done, and now I must let go.

 

(Very ornate ink dish from a dear childhood friend)

(Tea figurines from my childhood)

(My best, favourite - and last- china unicorn from my former collection)

(Collectable Wizard crystal figure... my mom got it as a growing up present over 2 decades ago... alas, he's not my style anymore)

Bye Bye old friends. I will remember you fondly. I release you without regret.

After the Flood (cabinet flood that is)

Along the same sort of line as the make-up clean out, I tackled some lotions this week.

This task was thrust upon me as a drain leaked in one of the bathrooms and flooded the cabinet. I had a box under there that I hadn't dealt with since the move (out of sight out of mind), and the soggy cardboard bottom forced the timeline!

Honestly I thought I had dealt with all the toiletries before the move, but my definitions of "valuable" seem to have changed over the last few months.... it's fine to admit that something that was once precious isn't precious in this new life/time/place.

Since I did not miss the box of creams and lotions, I was able to effectively remove all but one nice container of lovely high quality bath salts (that I actually had looked for earlier this month). All the others, no matter how luxurious or pretty smelling hit the bin with no regrets. It's funny that last Spring when I went through them that I felt the need to hang onto those... back when bathroom cupboard space was at a premium too.

After hubby fixed the leak (he is a very handy guy), I took the opportunity to containerize what was left under there, so if there is a leak again, it will be easy to clean up AND so that like items are together for easy finding!

(note the empty container under a container - I'm proud of that)