Down Mulberry Lane

Cleaning up.

I am slowly going through old posts and deleting some off my blog,  the ones that have day to day nonsense that friends enjoy hearing, but a year later... no one really cares.   So far, I started on page 18 and eliminated a half page of entries, I am now down to 17 pages, having deleted another half page or so of entries today.  My posts are now down from 372 to 339.   The number will continue to decline as I go through more of the old entries. 

I limit myself to one page a day so that I don't get bug eyed!  Afterall, I've got more to clean out than just my blog! 

Freecycled:  3 child sized sleeping bags. 

Warmly, ~Melissa

Books for Sale...

Working my way through clutter!

We're making progress!  It seems my clutter is a problem of working on too many things at one time.  I imagine each box was filled clearing off the desk or a table at some point in time.  As I am sorting, I have found nearly 35 paper notebooks with one to 10 pieces used.  I've ripped out all the written on papers and I have quite the pile of "clean" notebook paper, once again.  (Which is good, I haven't bought any paper now for a couple years and I realized this year I was getting low... well, with nearly 35 notebooks... I'm no longer low!). 

I have a trend of paperwork/books/clutter.  1) Homeschool books, papers, etc.  2) Church Health ministry papers, magazines, recipes, etc.  3)Children's Ministry papers, books, ideas, etc.  4) Assorted magazines people have shared with me... that I haven't seemed to have read, yet.   5) Past projects/crafts  6) assorted stuff just not put away.  7) bills, receipts not filed away. 

Once sorted, it is quite a quick job to put things away.  One box took me nearly 3 hours last night to sort, it was such a hodge podge of papers and books.  But once in the 10 different piles, I got it put away in about 15 minutes. 

Today's purge:  2 bags of paper garbage (papers ruined by damage or just not needed any longer).  1/2 of a box of homeschooling books that I won't be using.  one old lap desk.  Macintosh CD's (my daughter took for her macbook). 3 games.   Pile about 3 inches high of magazines to go. 

Warmly, ~Melissa

Whew! A New week begins!

I decided to tackle a couple areas I have been ignoring.  I just feel sick walking into them, they are so full of stuff!  I can't use the stuff, because I can't get to the stuff.  Last year, I took much of our clutter down to the basement and that has been slowly disappearing, for which I am thankful.  After we had our kitchen fire, I boxed up much of the house and stuffed it upstairs and outside in the garage and outdoor mudroom.   It was time to tackle those areas.

I cleaned out the garage a couple weeks ago when Dh was on his trip in Maryland.  Today, I began the upstairs declutter/unpack.  We have one room which has the ping pong table, the foosball table and a sitting area for me to read.  This entire area (as large as a living room) was filled with boxes and clutter.  I also have a smaller area, probably 8 by 10 that my computer sits at upstairs and I will be cleaning out that area as well. 

In working with the clutter, I decided since I'm going through everything... why not a bit more?  I cleared two shelves off in Paige's new bedroom.  They no longer house craft items and magazine boxes.  I still have the bottom shelf to clear, but as of yet, I have no where to go with it.  She is thrilled with two more shelves to put her toy treasures on.  (her room is rather bare of Paige's identity, it was all boxed up after the fire).  On her top shelf we filled with  stuffed bears that had been boxed away since the fire.  We found the shelf too small for a few larger bears and she was more than willing to let them go (so I quickly took advantage of a 3yo's reasoning that the bears were too big and won't work in her room and I bagged them up to pass along to someone else). 

Her second shelf filled rather quickly with two boxes of legos (found among the upstairs packing).  And a basket filled with her dolls and small stuffies.  She gave up a sock monkey that I made for my oldest when she was a twit.  She says he is too funny, I don't want him.  LOL.  She also got rid of some bunnies (says she liked bears better). 

To help me deal with all the boxes, I moved the foosball table in front of the ping pong table.  You can't play either game at the moment with all the clutter, so moving them to immovable positions seemed OK and gave me more space to work with.  I sorted and boxed items to reasonable sizes.  The boxes are all stored in front of my bookshelves (an incentive for me to clear them out!).  I have about two laundry baskets deep and high to deal with.  My goal is to take a box and deal with it each day.  More would be better.  But I don't want to overwhelm myself. 

So today's purge:  one large bag of stuffed animals and assorted clothes;  two bags of magazines to go to the library; one box of monkey socks...33 pairs!; and one small bag of garbage. 

Warmly, ~Melissa

Small Fire Update: Adjuster news...

Yesterday morning the 2nd cleaning place was here and the adjuster stopped by as well.  The cleaning place said they would put their bid in, but we haven't heard what it is as of yet. 

The adjuster went on to say basically after looking things over, this is going to take some time.  It is going to be like we all are invading your entire life.  We however will help you through it and it will be over in a short time, but it will likely seem like an eternity going through it.  Having said that, he also says that we need patience.  NO CLEANING is to be done until the cleaners come... so much damage can be done by cleaning soot that is irrepairable.  I told him that DH had already started because he was embarrassed by the sight of all these cobwebs (which are soot webs, not cobwebs... we learned so much these past couple days!)  We notice a couple places where dh had the vacuum stick and hit the tile or something and it actually made skid marks that Dh then tried to get out and couldn't... he likely made it worse.  The insurance adjuster just raised his eyebrows, but understood since no one told us what to do... they try to get out the day of or the next morning, but our insurance companies fax wasn't working and once back online... they forgot to call over the weekend and they took a holiday off on Monday... so nothing was told to us until Tuesday.  We have been eating food in the cupboards they deemed unsafe and have basically told me to inventory and throw out.  We have been living in a house that they are making to sound unliveable until it is cleaned.  That has been changed to be you can live there, but you should really be careful what you touch, what you track back and forth and washing dishes before you eat.. .regardless of whether they look dirty or not.  I'm like Uh-huh... he knows we have a 3yo and that this goes beyond her comprehension. 

The adjuster also said this takes steps.  We can replace the stove and hood as soon as we want... that will totally be replaced so we can go ahead and go shopping and turn in the bill.   But otherwise, the cleaning needs to be done first.  After the cleaning is done, then they will assess the damage.  Then we will have to get bids, then approval for work to be done, then the last of the repair work should get completed.  The cleaning will take approximately one week... maybe a little longer.  They asked what we were willing to clean and we said the microcleaning, which he is happy for.  They will clean the big areas, the ceilings, walls, and floors... and the entire kitchen area (washing cupboards, dishes, etc.).  That leaves me to pack everything up in the house in boxes and get it out of the way so they can do that... I then will have to wash everything before putting it away again.  Steve will help, but he has a full day at work next week and I will likely be alone doing much of the cleaning and trying to entertain Paige in the process. 

I am beginning to see the reason of why this happened... and I smile and grimace all at the same time... In one big swoop my house will be cleaned and decluttered all at once.  Likely in two weeks... Everything will have been cleaned and sorted and replaced into it's home or taken away to the dump or given away as donations.  DONE!  For those who have been keeping up on my blog you know my decluttering journey is very slow.  I take it one box at a time... and slowly go through items.  I recall taking things to the basement last fall and this spring the prized items went upstairs to be sold online... which in all honesty... things are selling.  I am going to the post office 1-2 times a week to mail off items.  Anyways, I will no longer need to bore you on my decluttering process because... it will be done!  (if I stick to it and work with the process... which Dh says he will stick me to it!  LOL). 

You know... in my last fire post I was trying to figure this out and praying about it because it made no sense to me at all.  NONE... so I went to bed with a heavy heart.  But in the morning I awoke dreaming about something I only recall the meaning of now... and yet I know it was of giving things away... And I recall sleepily replying to this thought, but LORD, I thought you wanted us to sell it and then give to the poor... and to which I felt a deep need to read my proverbs chapter of the day.  I wake up more fully, opening my eyes and I sense the words... The Lord will supply all your needs... and then remembering my dream of giving things away... I then eagerly rushed for my Proverbs book (It is just the book of Proverbs in one little paperback that I use for my daily devotions)... and I read the following...

Proverbs 22:1  ¶A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

Yes, I know that Lord.

Declutter Journey: Books

As a person who loves books, I have many.  I didn't need many excuses to get more, either.  Once we got kids... I got more books.  Once we started homeschooling... I got MORE books!  Dh thinks I might have as many books in our house as the local library in our small town.  I'm thinking he is exaggerating just a wee bit, but I do have alot of books. 

I am going through the bookshelves and trying to give up some of these books.  I have started to put my books in order of age... so the kids books are in accordance to reading level.  I have a general reading section, which is compiled of readers that we use as the kids grow in their reading skills.  I have weeded out the readers that were not beneficial in my opinion.  I have ALOT of them, so I saved the best, the character building ones, the ones that are uplifting and the ones that teach of God and the Bible.  The rest, the silly ones, are in a pile to leave the house.    I have a Bible training bookshelf.  Three shelves of books that have Bible teaching resources for the family for different age levels.  I have one set of bookshelves organized for Mom... all books that are resources for me on homeschooling, housekeeping, quilting, crafts, etc.  This is my dream shelf and my study shelf.  It brings smiles to myself, BUT, I limited myself to one bookshelf!!!  Dh thinks that is still too much, but isn't arguing, since this was a compromise!   Another bookshelf has books that have never been read.  This is my to do, bookshelf.  One shelf also contains Themed books... like all the Christmas story books and the Advent books.  This shares a shelf with assorted Bibles in various versions.  We rarely use it, but the Bibles are in poor condition and I don't want to burn them, yet they aren't in any type of giving condition... so I have hung on to them, unsure really what to do with them. 

I have one large bookshelf that I have emptied and now have filled with books to get rid of.  Some posted on half.com.  Some are posted on homeschool classifieds.  And some are posted on paperback swap.  I have gotten rid of 15 books on paperback swap in the last month.  I am thinking hurray!  But I worry that my shelves will again fill up since I need to swap!  I am considering using this as a way to get gifts for family for Christmas.  This is a bit difficult though because the condition can vary from new to good and it is a guess as to how I will come out.  I have had great luck so far... every book so far in like new to great condition.   I am hoping that my luck continues.  I am trying to figure out my family's likes and dislikes on books and audio tapes.  My fil doesn't read well, from his diabetes, so I am looking for some audio books for him.  My mother loves craft books of any kind, yet she is a book lover herself and finding one she hasn't read or seen is a bit tricky!  My kids... Hmmmm... we already have so many books to choose from, to find one they haven't read that I approve of... is proving more difficult than I once thought!  LOL  Plus any books for them, adds to my shelves at home... I am thinking eventually it will be a blessing.  I have even considered finding some religious books to donate to our church library... a good deal both ways... a blessing to the church and a blessing that my house is cleaner/less packed. 

Downstairs my bookshelves have gotten lighter.  My youngest has been limited to one shelf on the bookshelf.  I found that alot of picture books can fit on one shelf!  And when pulled out they make quite the mess!  Luckily most everyone is patient and loving with teaching her to pick up.  My bedroom bookshelf is becoming lighter.  I am filling it with books I haven't read to keep me reading.  Many of these are self help, study or religious in nature, so I am going through them in my morning devotional time.  I read my Bible and try to read a chapter or two out of these books.  I have enjoyed this renewed quiet time in the morning.  The added bonus of knowing that when I have finished the books, they will likely leave the house... is helpful for my encouragement to keep up with my studies... odd I know, but for me it is helpful at this time.  I do keep the best of the best, so that my older daughters can read if they desire to.  I like to have a shelf with some good reads at a higher reading level. 

I've also begun the curriculum clean up as well.  This week I removed two boxes of books and gave it away on freecycle.  I was unable to sell them on ebay or half.com or even swap them on paperback swap... so out the door they went.  The gal was pleased to have some more books, she will share the extras with the homeschool coop. 

I have some working spots of books I am working on.  I have a laundry basket full of curriculum books of various kinds that I found at a second hand store for 25 cents each.  Writing strands and beautiful feet study's, lots of good finds and a few homeschool help books.  I haven't had time to digest these as of yet.  I don't want to add them to the shelves if I decide not to keep them.  So they are in a basket until I can get to them.  I also have a pile of garden books that I want to put into the shelf upstairs that is holding books I haven't read, yet.  It's getting closer.  I think I could grab a stack of 5-10 and transfer it to my to-do list shelf and make room for a few anyways.  And lastly I have a basket of books that I am pretty sure I want to get rid of, but they have no ISBN numbers so posting them online has been difficult, yet they are good books.  I need a bit of time to either post in lots on ebay or something... that is another to-do pile of books that will go in time. 

The main point in listing all about the books is not to bore you.  It is a point in organization, having a plan, making limits and having a plan that will dig you out of perhaps a disorganized pile of books.  In making different areas for different books, I can limit myself on say... ministry books... (I have one bookshelf that I keep all my SS teachers books, my health ministry books, and my youth ministry books on.  I use these in seasons, so this bookshelf is in an odd place atop of our stairway that is hard to get into, yet looks neat and fills a hole that has otherwise been filled with dirty clothes from the kids... no longer... it has books there!  It's kind of a dead end 3 foot hole by 2.5 feet wide.  )  These limitations give me some sense of goal to work towards.  The organization aspect of organizing my books into topics/needs/age levels, helps me to see exactly how many self help books I have, helps me see how many Bible study books I have, helps me see how many books I have not read yet (keeping me from buying more until that pile gets smaller!), etc.  Once in one section I have been able to really make some hard decisions on ...do I really NEED that book?  Will I really read it again?  Can someone else use the book more than my family?  Do I have too many books that we can't possibly use them all?   All questions I have had to ask myself... and I am becoming more honest with myself as I tarry on this journey.   

Organization is the key.  I find that once I go through my books, I will likely have two bookshelves that will be empty... nice wooden bookshelves.  I have wondered what will I do with the shelves when there are no books to put on them?  No worries, I have plenty of craft projects, plenty of items I want to sell on ebay that can sit on one shelf.  I think I will move all the audio books to one of the shelves.  Dh loves to take those in the car when he is on his long road trips.  Having them organized on a shelf rather than packed into a rubbermaid container would be more accessible for him.   If I could not find anything at all to put on the shelves, I would highly consider giving the shelves away.  after all I am trying to reduce the clutter in our home. 

I realize that giving away the books would be an easy way out of the clutter, but I feel strongly that if I can sell the items that this is the best way to show good stewardship.  God says in the Bible to sell what we have and give to the poor.  So that is what I am trying to do.  I am giving it 2-4 months to sell in various online venues, but if it doesn't sell by month four, then I put it into a box for giving away on freecycle... at least that is the goal as much as I can keep track of.    it took me a long time to accumulate all this stuff around me.  I'm sure if I am diligent in trying to sell it, it will take me quite a bit of time to get it gone as well.   Right now our sales are going towards our debt.  Once our debt is gone, then giving to the poor would come easier.   Our stuff is not just treasure in our homes, but it is currently visible bondage to our debts.  This does not bring glory to God.  We want to reduce our debt as much as possible.  We still are giving in other ways, with budgeting from dh's salary, but reducing our debt by reducing our stuff is of highest priority for me.  Once out of debt, then our stuff will be more like treasure and selling it to increase our gifts to God only makes sense at that point. 

Enough rambling.   Happy organizing with your own Books!

Warmly, ~Melissa

Declutter Update:

This past week, I was able to clean out 4 boxes out of the basement.  Two happened to have tax papers in them, and they were refiled neatly and now on their way to a permanent storage area in the basement.  One was a file box with empty files and folders in it... I added them to another box I had upstairs.  Now they are all in one spot.  One box was sorted into junk or need to sort again.  So my large box is now a half filled small box that will go back to the basement for another round when I am able to deal with that type of material. 

I need to move quickly and get the boxes off the basement floor.  In a week or so, the basement will likely have water covering the floor from the spring thaw.  I don't have much left on the floor, but I do have about 6-8 boxes I absolutely have to deal with.  Half will be going to a second hand store... the other half, I need to just get it off the floor! 

Taxes and boxes off the floor of the basement are this week's demanding jobs.  Hoping that both can be accomplished before the spring thaw!

Warmly, ~Melissa

Cleaning Up...

I have decided to start some cleaning up of my blogging.  I have several blogs, an attempt to keep areas of my life organized.  I also realize that I connect with different people on different levels, so I have decided to keep the blogs separated.  You are welcome to check in at my other blogs.  I just wanted to make it clear what I will be posting at each blog, so that you can choose to direct your links as you desire. 

My homeschool blog, as listed in my side bar, will have posts on homeschooling.  My thoughts on homeschooling, our adventures in homeschooling, perhaps projects and even posts from my kids as well.  It will focus on our particular style of schooling, of my curriculum reviews, and basically everything to do with homeschooling that is relevant to our own family. 

My homestead blog (here) is going to remain, but might seem to have narrowed in focus.  I really enjoy the community here and enjoy the ability to comment to others with similar interests... a great reason to stay here... but my posting will focus more on our journey to become self-sufficient.  It will also share things that I have learned or am learning about keeping the home, the farm, and our garden. 

My praise blog, as listed in my side bar, is where I will post my hopes, my dreams, my praise and my life (hence it's name, you will notice if you visit that blog).   My thoughts will be shared, my faith will be shared.  This is where you will likely get to know me better, but it also will have more scattered thoughts and more diversity.  The writing will be different however, as I will be trying to practice on different styles of writing.

I may in the future open a blog on health, as that is a major interest of mine and when I get more time to focus on that, I would like to track my findings and my journey to better health.  I will post the link in the sidebar if I do decide to open a blog on health. 

Now, don't think me overzealous to do this.  LOL.  Because as many of you have seen, my participation on this blog has slowed down.  I have been trying to sort things out in my life and declutter/organize my life as well as my home, that many of you have heard about.  By putting my life into boxes (remember my post on men are like waffles and women are like spaghetti?)  I am trying to use the box approach to some areas of my life to better organize it so that I can live like spaghetti, yet not fall through the tines (fork) of life and fall back on the plate... I want my life useful... in some ways I am gathering my spaghetti onto the fork and sorting it out, bite by bite. 

So join me where your interest lies... maybe we can connect on some level. 

Warmly, ~Melissa  

This week's progress...

Oh, it has been a week of progress.  I love it when that happens!  With decluttering, many of you know I moved everything to the basement.  Downstairs I have approximately 12-13 sized church tables full of items in my basement.  My job for this winter is to sort through it and disperse it to freecycle, sell on ebay or find a permanent home... if no permanent home can be found, it will be sold or given away. 

Well, this week, I went through 2 tables worth.  I was able to pack up the saw horse make-shift table and get it out of the basement.  I cleared that table and all the stuff below it.  Dh was real pleased to see something going.  I have two boxes of items for give-aways.  I found homes for some of my stamping items.  I have one box of stamping items/crafts to be ebayed. 

One thing I did was to condense my stamping items.  I had file boxes with colors of papers separated.  It was real nice, but not necessary.  I stacked all the paper inside my ironing cabinet and I found that I condensed 4 boxes worth into two boxes.  I did the same thing with the misc. items.  I have those three drawer boxes that can sit on a shelf.  Each drawer fits about a size of paper but two inches deep.  I had each drawer with one purpose... like embossing items in one drawer, flock in another, ribbons in one, chalks in another, etc.  Well, not all of these items fill up an entire drawer, so I put things in the drawer until it was full.  It is taking some rearranging as I don't want like items in two different drawers.  It is coming along.  I expect next week I will have the rest of the stamping stuff sorted through and that will be a blessing. 

My goal for the coming week is to have everything in the basement either on a table or under a table.  I currently have a 4-5 high and two box deep pile right in front of the furnace.  (That is one table worth of items).  I would like to either go through that or put that on the stamping table once I finish going through the stamping items.  It is likely if our application for refinancing our home loan that we will need another assessment done on the property and the house.  I would like the boxes to be at least "organized" while in the basement.  Some is rather here and there as I asked the kids to take a pile to the basement and it just landed willy nilly.  All is in boxes, it's just not very organized for looks. 

In addition to this, I got two parts of the storage area upstairs cleaned out and organized.  Woo Hoo!  Plus I moved my sewing area upstairs.  I am hoping after next week, I can finish my quilt blocks and then get going on my daughters transcript and THEN get going on the taxes... I'm sure Dh will not like that plan... perhaps it would be better to do the transcript and when I need a "break" work on the quilt squares.  That is likely a better plan. 

I am so happy to see this all coming together.  My ebay pile is growing.  I have about 6 boxes full of items to ebay.  That will take time as the craft stuff is little.  I have a bunch of books on half.com as well, and I think I might post the books in lots to just get them out of here.  But all that will take time.  That does not bother DH.  He can handle me putting items for ebay in one area of our upstairs.  It is not "used by anyone unless company is over (around the foosball table).  So that is the ebay plan, as I find things to put on ebay, it is put in that corner and that will be worked on once the basement is cleared out or when I have a few spare minutes to post an item or two. 

For those that think it is not worth trying to sell items on ebay and just throw out items instead.  I understand, sometimes I really want to throw it out, too.  BUT two weeks ago I had a spare moment and posted like 7 items and I ended up getting $65 for group of items.  It may seem trivial, but $65 will help pay off bills!  Around Christmas I sold around $100 worth of items.  It is amazing what people do buy on ebay.  It is nice to know the stuff isn't going to the dump as well. 

I plan to keep on with my declutter project.  It does get tiring at times, but I am beginning to see progress. 

Warmly, ~Melissa

Rearranging... again!

Ok, you'd think I'd found the perfect home for everything.  Especially with moving things around. 

One thing I decided.   We just aren't able to use the ping pong table at this time.  This frustrates the girls, but if it is allowed to have it's space, then I can't sew and I don't have a spot for the computer and no spot for the spare bed... just too many can'ts for one thing.   So for now, the ping pong table is pinned in it's current home.  We'll decide at another time if that will stay that way or if we will make room for it as I keep decluttering. 

Today I moved the sewing desk and my ironing cabinet upstairs to "mom's area", named by which it is becoming.  I have a shelf of books that I prefer to read, the spare bed, which is my favorite bed of the house, my computer desk, my files for bills, homeschooling and more.  And now it houses my sewing machine and ironing cabinet. 

I also cleared FIVE boxes from the basement today!  Woo Hoo for me!  LOL.  And I have one item readied to mail from an ebay sale.  Well, I need to put the little one down for a rest. 

Warmly, ~Melissa