Friday, July 06, 2007

Downsizing in a BIG Way!!

I have so many posts that I have not gotten too and that just depresses me.

Things to look forward to:
1. Emma's Kindergarten Spectacular
2. The scary decision of what to do with Timmy in Sept.
3. Dealing with my mom
4. I finally have a Godchild...he could have been my kid
5. The house is in turmoil and it hasn't even started

Those are only off the top of my head! So are you intrigued to see what has been going on? Do you want to know me better? Stay tuned!!

Now on to downsizing. There is so much I need to downsize. the clutter in my house, my kids toys, the amount of crap I buy, the clutter in my head and the amount of blogs I read.

The good thing...I already downsized the blogs! Not that any of you care, because I got rid of about 20 and none of those people check my blog so it really won't hurt their feelings. That is not why I got rid of them. I was feeling bogged down and I was wasting my time reading about other people instead of taking that time to do things in the house or with the children.

Now getting rid of clutter in my house is a little harder. As a teacher and the daughter of a hoarder, I am destine to keep crap. You know, I might need it someday. If I go back to teacher (which thank goodness I am) I could use that in my classroom with the children...All of this has gotten me into trouble over the years. I have found that a lot of lower elementary teachers tend to be that way. It makes me feel a little better. So this weekend is going to be spent digging through my teaching closet in the basement and pulling out all of the stuff I will need. Then I will go through the garage that has more stuff that I am sure to be able to use.

Speaking of the garage, it is time for me to get rid of the 2 umbrella strollers, the big stroller, and the double stroller. These are the last of the baby items, except the cradle David made for me. Did I ever show you a picture of it? It is beautiful.

Going back to work is good for getting rid of the clutter that I buy because I will not have any time for that! My time will be very limited which is good from that angle.

The clutter from the children, I figure will get better with time. As they get older they need less of the toys and they will move into different items that can stay in their rooms. For those that don't know, I gave the kids our family room that is now a playroom. Nuts, yes, but we live in a colonial and I couldn't let them bring toys up and down the stairs. And frankly, I am way too lazy to do it for them. I am all about making my children self sufficient. Right now as I type, Timmy wanted help getting his short sleeves shirts down from the closet. I told him to get his step stool from his bed and use that to get them. See I am lazy, but I am trying to help them be better thinkers at the same time. Oh, the step stool didn't work so he called me, but I thought it would be better if Emma went to help him. You know, help that bond grow a little more! (Yes, people, I am lazy)

Now as for the clutter in my head, it kept me up last night. I ended up going to bed with a HUGE headache. I should have taken my Maxalt (the best migraine med in the world!!) but I was too lazy to get up. Do you see a pattern here? I am not just lazy with the kids, I am an equal opportunity lazy ass! Oh, while I was writing this, Timmy came downstairs naked and explain that "I'm sorry that I am naked, but I had to put my PJ's in my bathroom and I left my clothes down here. OK?"

So this clutter in my head, it is all about my classroom, the class, activities that I want to get together, and oh, how I can't believe that I am going back to work!!! I truly don't think it has really hit me. I placed my order for supplies so I thought that would help it sink in, but not yet. Next week, I have to go and start unpacking my room and figuring out how I am going to arrange it. So many decisions. If you follow me through the year, you will see that my classroom changed a lot. I am always looking for the best layout and flow.

Oh, I forgot to tell you...my master bathroom transformation into my laundry room is almost complete. I painted the ceiling and walls yesterday. The walls need one more coat and then my part should be done. I have before pictures that I will post with the after pictures sometime next week. It should be completed by then.

Labels:

7 Comments:

At 7/06/2007 6:30 PM, Blogger Mommy Mo said...

HI Tracy. If you didn't live so far away, I would take a stroller off your hands. I hate mine- it's a piece of junk. I'm a hoarder too, but I have been "trained" by my husband to be better about not keeping the clutter around. Good luck! Lisa

 
At 7/08/2007 3:01 PM, Blogger Jenny said...

Good for you for downsizing a bit!

I remember that summer anxiety of the beginning of school. I felt it every year that I taught! I stressed over the look of the classroom, the organization of everything, and my preparation of materials. For at least a month before school started, I had the same dream of yelling at the kids on the first day of school because they were terrible when I left the room to make copies (which I had forgotten to make!) LOL.

Good luck with the downsizing!

 
At 7/08/2007 7:51 PM, Blogger Christy M. said...

I here you on the clutter. Fortunately, we don't have room for clutter at our new house :)

So if you turned your master bath into a laundry room, what do you use as a master bath now? And how has the renovation been going? Have you started yet? Pictures, we need pictures!!

And yes, I promise to post pictures of me and a big update about what's been going on soon. We find out the sex of the baby on Friday, so keep an eye out for that post too ;)

Miss you!!!!!

 
At 7/09/2007 9:21 AM, Blogger Lara said...

Clutter is totally my nemesis and I totally relate to all you are saying. Isn't it amazing that in this time of digital media, there seems to be more and more paper in our lives? I thought that computers were supposed to make paper disappear? LOL

 
At 7/09/2007 12:26 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmmm...you need me to visit your house. I am the master de-clutterer. In fact, I drive Rich nuts because I will declutter a little too proactively - ie, at least a few times a year he says sadly "please tell me you didn't throw out/give away fill-in-the-blank" and I will be forced to admit, that yes, I got rid of it. It seriously happens on a regular basis.

And I used to have crazy dreams before starting back at school every year. I remember having the HARDEST time sleeping the night before the first day - always felt just like being a student again!

 
At 7/09/2007 2:37 PM, Blogger Donna said...

I used to think clutter owned me, then I saw the lady on Oprah that couldn't even live in her house. In a sick sort of twisted way, that made me feel better about my inability to keep the house picked up.

We have major brain clutter here. We just finished t-ball and baseball (ds#1 team won the 7-8 division league tournament!), golf lessons end on Wednesday with a tournament, and ds#2 has his kindergarten shots and checkup tomorrow. GAH! Things should feel absolutely serene by Thursday when all we have to do is go to swimming lessons.

I am still waiting to confirm my potential job at the high school (the hiring person is still in Europe on vacation), but as soon as that is certain I have to start re-cluttering my mind with all sorts of new work details, since I know absolutely NOTHING about the actual job other than the general description. I keep telling myself that if THEY think I can do it, I can do it.

 
At 7/10/2007 9:04 PM, Blogger Goodies for Mom said...

I can so relate about beginning of the school year anxiety. I would spend a couple weeks getting the class ready and also would change it around during the year several times. Best wishes.

Lois

 

Post a Comment

<< Home