Archives for January 2015

Decluttering Kids’ Books with a Win Win Win

January 5, 2015 by Jules 2 Comments

One of the places I've delaying in the Decluttering-My-Home-thing has been the kid's bookshelves.

Sadly, this isn't because I'm a book-lover. I was a little sentimental about who/where they came from but it is mainly because I'm not a reader. I didn't read a lot as a child but I want my kids' to love reading. I know you can learn anything if you're a good reader. I was scared that since I don't really like reading, I'd just chunk everything and be THAT terrible homeschool mom who had no books for her children to read. I mean really, what would people think if they came over and I had no books?! lol but really!

I finally hit it hard last night. As soon as the kids were in bed, I finished picking up and then had my hubs drag ALL their books into the living room from the play/school room where I strung them everywhere while we/he watched a TV show.

I was nervous.

I made piles. Then I reorganized the piles. Then I doubted my piles. Books from HIPPY {that must mean they're good, right?}. Books that damaged. Books I recognized from seeing in the school library as a child. Random. Donate. Trash. I'm not sure.

Ya see what I'm saying, I'm okay at organized but reluctant to declutter. Everything has a purpose, someone one would use it, I might be able to make $2 off of it. Ugg

I finally confessed my fear of getting rid of books to my hubs and then dumped my pile of random books next to him to help me make finally decisions about.

We cleared out a giant tub-full of books. Some I could have possibly sold at the Duck Duck Goose Consignment Event but I just decided that if they made it into the tub from whatever reason, I wasn't going to look at them again. I'm not sure how shaddy this was but I just left the 'donate' and 'trash' pile all together in the tub. I ask my hubs to take the tub to the garage for now so 'the kids' would dig stuff back out of it.

Today we picked back up our attempt at weekly library trips. As I walked out I grabbed that tub. The stupid thing is clear. That's Not Helpful.

I didn't look. I just put it in the front seat and after double checking with the librarian, I brought in the tub and left it with her. Tub and All. I couldn't take the chance of watching her sort through them. Guilt. Regret. Embarrassment.

When I got home, I was hoping the kids didn't really notice me running back into the library with their books. But apparently that's hard to miss. They announced at lunch, "Daddy, we took our books to the library! Now we can rent them any time we want."

Hmm That had never occurred to me. I mean. I'm a genius. I convinced my children it was okay to declutter/get rid of books by taking them to the local library because now someone Else has to store them, we can check them out any time we want, AND other can use them as well! 😀

Filed Under: as Jules is living, Homeschool, Organizing, Parenting, The Ones about Jules Life {Randomness}, The ones about the Rothacher Home

4 Steps to Make Your Home More Organized and Decluttered

January 4, 2015 by Jules 2 Comments

Last week I saw this awesome post and LOVED the idea but didn't have a need for all the things she had planed. Then of course, I got all gung-ho and wanted to make my own awesome calendar like hers and we all know that didn't happen. BUT I did make a giant list spurred from her ideas. So if you're like me and feel like you're drowning in a paper trail and 'stuff', here's what I did. Maybe it will help you if you're interested in getting organized to kick off this year with a little less clutter holding you back.

Make a List

Go through every room in your house and make a list of the things you want to accomplish, get rid of, and or clean in that room. You can color code the rooms if that helps this process more fun. Thing through the organization of your list. I should have divided mine into "Clean", "Projects", and "Declutter/Organize". My hubs even helped me prioritize the order in which something needed to happen so the next thing could be done, as well as practical cost efficiency.

Hint: be very detailed so you'll have lots to check off. 😉

Make a Plan

I liked the idea of planning something or even a room to work on for each day of the week throughout January but that's just not how I roll. It doesn't really work for our lifestyle. I do have little windows {15 minutes} here and there and some times that works but I kinda feel like if I take an entire month to do this, by the time I'm done, the first things I worked on will need it again. lol I've just been working when I can and as fast as I can.

Part of your plan should be where things will be stored in anticipation of Leaving your home. I remember when I was a child and my brothers and I were ask to clean up our room. Our way of cleaning mainly involved moving furniture and making new, nicer looking piles. Decluttering doesn't just mean moving things from one place to another where it may ore may not look a little nicer for a short time. It means getting rid of things.

Make Haste

I work better with short spurts with a goal in mind. Example: I was putting away some left overs and was fumbling around the messy cabinet, having trouble matching lids and containers. I had a window of time so I drug everything out of the cabinet. I made a pile of lids, containers, and randomness that shouldn't even be in that cabinet. Then I matched up lids and containers as well as tossing the things that didn't have a spouse. I reloaded the cabinet with only the things that had matches and that were supposed to be in there. Boom! Reorganized in 15 minutes.

Sometimes I'll have a bigger slot of time than others so I just do as much as I can right then. This does tend to create a new pile of things that need a new home if I'm not careful and prepared to trash or store for selling and donating. Many times to make myself work faster by not allowing myself to sit, take off my shoes, or potty until I've accomplished the small goal.

Make Up a Happy Dance

Celebrate with each thing you mark off your list. Plot down on the couch! Kick off your shoes! Take a POTTY BREAK! lol I even got my kids excited about the idea of feeling freer from the clutter with fresh, spacious home. They even feel more free to play with all the newly created space, less stressed with few items to sift through, and happier when its time to "clean up, clean up" because everything had an easy place for storage and they can put things away themselves without having to cram things into tight spaces.

Do you know what kinda happy I was when I contacted my CPA friend and she finally gave the go-ahead to trash all my past records I'd been keeping in a file cabinet?! Holy Smokes! A giant black trash bag full of at least 3 years worth of old bills, bank records, and pay stubs made me quite giddy.

Do you feel stressed, overwhelmed, and uncomfortable in your own home? Do you need to start decluttering and organizing your home? What scares you about starting to decluttering?

Filed Under: Homemaker, Organizing, The ones about the Rothacher Home

Happy New Year {2015}!!!

January 1, 2015 by Jules Leave a Comment

So weird to be writing again. I've read about things like this on real-actual blogs. Writers saying they feel out-of-place, lost in their own space, awkward in unfamiliar territory that used to be so cozy, comfy, and personal.

I've been gone so long that I don't remember what its like to write. Write for fun. Write because I feel like I have something to say. Something that's inside me needing to eek out.I want that again. I've spent some time doing some virtual assistant work, writing for a couple other contributor sites, and ya know...life with lots of littles.

I've also seen tons of people walk away from said space when they got in a funk. Some people have created a new space to try to find a new groove. Don't get me wrong, it's going to be hard to find myself here again and I do have new interests in the realm of blogging but I stick I'm gonna stick it out.

I have a habit of not trying to hard. I don't like the idea of work super hard for something that I may fail at. I don't like doing things half-way but I am also learning that what I consider half-way and what God thinks is exactly what He's looking for are totally different sometimes.

This year, I'm not doing the resolution thing. I'm not doing the one-word thing. I'm going to do the try-chase-Jesus-in-a-healthy-rhythm thing. lol I just mean I want to find some normalcy. Routine. Schedule but with flexibility. Discipline and Grace.

I'm really hoping that writing is part of that rhythm a little more often than it has been this past year. I'd love to reorganize here. Start a new site {already bought the domain name}. Finish the book {idea} I've started.

So what's been up with you? 😉 How has your year been? Are you doing resolutions, one-word, or the just-keep-truck'n?