A Sorting Project and the FINAL Toilet Project

Just 2 weeks after I had #7 I put away the Maternity Clothes

(I usually don't get around to putting them away for months after the baby is born)

BEFORE

AFTER

Kept some and got rid of some.

Freed up all kinds of space in my closet :)

Just before I had #7 my Dad replaced our last toilet!

BEFORE

For the record, I quit cleaning it after it broke.
It's disgusting, I know.

AFTER

LOVE this toilet!

It's fancy.

Has a separate flusher for #1 and #2

D says Use the best tools for your trade: large and small appliances, practical gadgets, and effective cleaning products. These make up a fleet of servants eager to serve you at your command. Stay alert to new and better products. Some favorite "helpers" include the following: Disposable wipes for quick cleaning and disinfecting kitchen and bathrooms, telephones, computers and doorknobs.

I LOVE disposable wipes--I have a pack of them in every bathroom cabinet to assist my bathroom cleaning. I command those wipes to clean the outside of my new toilet and they are eager to serve :)

72 Hour Backpacks in Less Than 72 Minutes!

BEFORE...

2 years ago I decided I was going to get serious about putting together our 72 hour backpacks.

2 years later this was pretty much all I had...

The backpacks have been hanging in the garage...where the temperature hits 120 in the summer and freezing in the winter. Can you imagine what food sitting for 2 years in that environment might taste like?

I wasn't about to taste it...although the 11 year old couldn't help himself and had to eat the jerky. Not sure if you can tell but the cheese and applesauce are a disturbing color of orange.

Check out the expiration dates...

AFTER...

I found these at Lowe's!

And with my coupon they were 40 bucks a piece--TOTALLY WORTH IT!

I like that they are "2 Person" and I feel secure knowing the US Coast Guard approved the food and water :)

Also, I took my sister Tricia's advice and put all the winter hats and gloves into a clear storage bin...

And here they all are in their new home!

I actually added a few extra first aid supplies and personal hygiene items to the gray backpack. This is the perfect place to store the backpacks--the temperature is nice and the closet is right by the front door for quick and easy retrieval.

It's pretty sad when a project I couldn't complete over the last 17 years of marriage has now been completed in under 72 minutes!

D shares with us a cute little poem called...

THE MINUTE

Just a tiny minute,

Only sixty seconds in it,

Forced upon me,

Can't refuse it,

Didn't seek it,

Didn't choose it,

But it's up to me to use it.

Just a tiny little minute

But eternity is in it.

(Anonymous)

The husband and I still have a ways to go in the EP (Emergency Preparedness) department.

We'll address more EP when we move to the garage within the next month or so. It will probably take a lot more than 72 minutes, maybe 72 hours, but hopefully not 72 days.

My Closet

Like the husband's closet, the bottom half of mine was already cleaned and organized so we'll deal with the upper half.

BEFORE...

THE TOOL

THE PROCEDURE
(Again, see Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday's post)


I looked all over for these last Christmas...

I didn't think to look in my closet.

This is my prized collection of seasons 1, 2, and 3 of ALIAS...I need to get 4 and 5. It was one of my favorite shows of all time! Once I finish this year of projects I've given myself permission to waste an entire week watching the whole series again!

AFTER...

I've been wanting to share with you a great story D tells about Jenny. It's pretty long so stay with me!

One day I happened to be in Jenny's home on an errand. As we were visiting she asked me to look in one of her closets. Well, I hesitated because I don't make a point of looking in anyone's closets. But she insisted, and so I did. Well, I could hardly believe my eyes...everything stashed and stuffed and falling out with each opening of the door. About all I could do is laugh and say to Jenny: "No wonder you're unhappy. It would drive me crazy to live like this."

Then Jenny said, "I know. It's really getting me down. I can't find anything. (BEEN THERE)We're too crowded. All I do is fight clutter. I can't go on like this any longer. And this is the day for me to change. It's my birthday. I'm thirty years old now. (BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE BEEN THERE) I figure there should be many productive years ahead of me, so I want to do some things differently from now on. Every closet in my house looks just like this. I know it's terrible but I don't know what to do about it. I just don't know where to start. (BEEN HERE TOO) I want you to help me."

Well, I could understand her predicament...Jenny didn't have the know-how for organizing the space in her home. Now to those of you who do, the matter seems so simple you feel it's hardly worth discussing. But to the many other homemakers who don't have the knack for organizing the space in their home, they need some practical help.

In Jenny's utility closet, for instance, she was constantly irritated by the brooms and mops which fell out each time she opened the door. She had never even thought of hanging them on hooks so they'd stay in place...And on the floor of her closet paper bags were running loose. Think how much better it would be if all those loose bags were kept together in one large bag or container.

Jenny's utility closet was over-crowded too. She hadn't stopped to realize that much of what was in there actually belonged in the storage area.

Well, Jenny and I worked out a plan for putting her closets and cupboards in order. First, it was pointed out that sometimes in life it's necessary to take one step backward in order to go two steps forward (REMEMBER, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS A FEW WEEKS AGO)...Then she secured three large boxes. One for things to throw away, another for things to give away, and another one for things to later arrange in her storage area. Then she went to work on one closet at a time.

Well, a few days later she called me to see her first closet. I was thrilled with the results. I told her that her only mistake was that she hadn't taken a picture of the "before" and the "after". (I'VE NEVER MADE THAT MISTAKE) Such a photo would certainly win a prize somewhere! But you know, the thing which impressed me most was not the change in the closet, but rather the change in Jenny. Her eyes were sparkling, and she was excited and interested in her home for the first time. And as Jenny made the rounds of every closet and cupboard in her home, she became a new person. She was no longer a drudge who hated housework. She was becoming a professional homemaker who was falling in love with her work.

Jenny's example was a profound one. There are some real reasons why it's important to keep neat closets and drawers.

What a great way to start the weekend...with all my closets cleaned and organized!

Next week we'll be filling that shelf I promised, digging moldy grout out of a shower (I'm going to have to think of an amazing incentive to get that one done) and spending 3 days in the husband's man cave.

The Husband's Closet

Today the hot husband and I celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary!

D says the marriage vows shouldn't put an end to your courtship. Continue to go out together, to play together, to visit with each other, and to enjoy each other's presence.

We talked about going on a cruise to celebrate...however the husband did end up getting that boat he wanted so he's promised to take me cruising on his very own "love boat" when the weather warms up!

He did surprise me with this in the mean time (I'm not quite "swim suit ready"--but I will be now!)

BEFORE...

My anniversary gift to the husband was to clean out his closet!
He'd recently cleaned out the bottom half so I took care of the top.

THE TOOLS

These were the only treasures I found.

The husband put his foot down and would not let me send Carl and John to the DI.
This project ended up being a joint effort with the husband because there was a lot of stuff I had no idea what to do with.

AFTER...

I'm sure he'll sleep better now knowing his closet is now clean and organized.

The Large Hall Closet

BEFORE...

The picture below shows the worst of it.


THE TOOLS

The 11 year old chose this neat little flying bug this morning for his prize at the dentists office.
Go ahead and take a guess at what it's called...

A Cockchafer

...the kids kept saying it over and over in the car on our way to school...the 13 year old and 11 year old were arguing as to how you pronounce it.
I could not stop laughing.
In case you were wondering, the Cockchafer is also known as a may bug, billy witch, or spang beetle, and it is a European beetle of the genus Melolontha, in the family Scarabaeidae.


THE PROCEDURE
Same as yesterday...cleared everything out and stacked it down the hall. Wiped down the shelves, put all the easy stuff away, went through everything that needed sorting, and finally, added a big box of stuff to my new DI pile.
I could've finished sooner but I happened upon some old pictures of my 3 oldest when they were about 2, 4 and 6...I had to look through all of them. Then the husband got home and I had to show them all to him. It got me all misty. They were so cute back then.




AFTER...

So much space...with so many possibilities!

The shop vac is the ONLY thing on the floor.

D says ORDER IS ONE OF THE FIRST LAWS OF HEAVEN. It is essential in the heavens; otherwise chaos would rule. Order is just as essential in our homes, if, instead of chaos, we want a neat, smoothly functioning home and peace of mind. It can become every bit as easy to put clothes, papers, books, and other items WHERE THEY BELONG as to throw them over a chair, on a table or on the mantle. It is a matter of habit.

Until tomorrow when we visit the coat closet.

The Small Hall Closet

BEFORE...

The closet shelves serve many purposes...they store towels, sheets, picture frames, a few notebooks and the husband's prized collection of bobble heads, which he's convinced will be worth a fortune some day.

The lower section of the closet holds the husband's coats and jackets and his awesome collection of cabana wear for the beach trips we don't take nearly enough of.
On the floor is a box of journals hidden by my beloved shop vac.

THE TOOLS

THE PROCEDURE

I cleared the shelves, and the floor.

The husband's coats and cabana wear stayed put.

I sorted through the frames and most of them went into the DI pile.

The husband agreed to let these priceless babies go to the DI too!

AFTER...

This is now a linen closet...well the top is anyway.
I found new homes for the box of journals and shop vac.

D tells us to KEEP NEAT CLOSETS AND DRAWERS.

Now that you're working toward a place for everything and everything in its place, be neat and tidy about each drawer and closet. It's well worth the second's extra time to FOLD something away instead of carelessly stuffing it in a drawer.

Let me insert here the JOY and PEACE I have found in having a place for everything and everything in its place...I have saved SO much time being able to find things!

Tomorrow we move onto the BIG hall closet!

The Office Project...Cont.

BEFORE...

My dining room table doubles as part of my office 5 out of 7 days a week (I always clear it for Sunday dinner)...

along with the floor in the dining room...

and one of the hall closets...

some of that is the husband's office too...

and here is the rest of his office on the counter in the family room.

AFTER...

My space is on the left and the husband's is on the right.

I organized my little heart out.

Everything has a home!

The husband likes to pace himself with many of his projects...it took him exactly 24 days to unpack his little duffel bag from our vacation last month.

Which is why I couldn't wait for him to organize his space before taking the after picture.

(Sorry forgot to take a picture of inside the closet...trust me, it looks great!)

This took me all day...I started at 8am and finished at 9:30pm.

The husband and the kids were a great help.

I ended up organizing a lot more than what you see here because we were also working on clearing out my son's room downstairs, a few things in the little girls room and the dining room.
I didn't finish getting the little boy moved down with the big boy so I'll have to push that to Monday's project.

And order is restored to the dining room!

If there are others out there who like to pace themselves D has a great story for you!

Years ago a man was concerned about finding time to move the large woodpile out by the "privy" nearer to his home. He just couldn't find the several hours it would require to do the job due to his many cares as a farmer. Finally one morning an idea occurred to him. Each time he visited the "privy" he could carry an armload of wood back to the house! Within a few weeks the woodpile had been moved--what had seemed like the impossible had been accomplished.

See you Monday!