Cool Off

Do you know how frustrating it is to try to buy a refrigerator from the hospital?!

When I went to get the kids ice cream from the freezer yesterday it was all melted. As I touched everything in the freezer it was soft and unthawed. I turned the temperature down even more, thinking that the kids had left the door ajar partly (which has happened before) and then completely forgot about it until later that evening, when I found water dripping into the fridge. I opened the freezer door and promptly realized that our freezer was dead...everything was a pile of mush but still slightly cold so I transferred what I could save to the fridge, which was still cold.

Later last night I got nervous about the fridge and had Ben take Jacob's G-CSF medicine down to my parent's house as I did not want to lose $1,200 worth of medication if the fridge went out. Smart move, as this morning when I checked the fridge it was warm and the whole unit was making a very loud, annoying noise. Great...it was 5:30 in the morning and I was heading to the hospital with Jacob and here the fridge is dead!

Since Ben had no idea of what type of fridge I would want he didn't want to go shopping for one alone. I saw that Lowe's had 10% off all appliances and free next day delivery and haul away of your old appliance so I figured I may as well order one from the hospital. It took me over an hour to find one that looked the most appealing to me, only to find out that it would need to be special ordered and wouldn't arrive for two weeks. Another half an hour went by and I located another one that I wanted so placed the order (and who knew that refrigerators are that expensive?!), only to receive a phone call from Ben a bit later saying the store called and said they would deliver it next Friday. I knew it must be a mistake as their site clearly said next day delivery so I called the store and spoke to someone who said that they only deliver to our city once a week. How is that next day delivery, Lowe's?! She offered no other alternative so I canceled my order and called a different Lowe's store about the same distance from the first.

At first I was told that they did have one in stock and it could be delivered on the 23rd. Uh...no! When I told them that we have no fridge they said they could list it as an emergency delivery and after being on hold for awhile was told they could deliver on Sunday. Okay, that's better, but still not next day delivery. I think they need to have a disclaimer on their site saying "Next day delivery...or not."

And my disclaimer is: Never buy a refrigerator from the hospital.

Jackpot!

Last week we hit another city wide garage sale. Typically, the sales in that town are not too fantastic but this time around we were able to find a lot. $90 worth, as a matter of fact.

Like I told a woman who asked me what she could help me find at a sale "I'm just looking for what I didn't know I needed." Don't get me wrong, my main focus at garage sales is quality brand name clothing for my children but what really excites me is the surprises that can be found at sales.
Like a basket of colorful fabrics which turns out to be Fuzzi Bunz diapers. Diapers that look brand new, diapers that probably are brand new. Anyone who uses cloth diapers know how expensive the Fuzzi Bunz diapers are. I debated with myself at first...I don't have a baby girl and my sweet Joe is not in size small any longer. When I asked the price and was told $2 a piece I knew I would kick myself later for not picking them up at that steal. I went even further and asked if they would take $30 for all 17 diapers...thus saving $4.
I knew that price was a steal, I just didn't realize how much of a steal it really was. I now see that packs of 18 Fuzzi Bunz sell for a little over $300 brand new. And now I have a stash to hold onto in case I turn up pregnant within the next year or so. If not, I'll make my money back and then some by selling these. You really never know what you'll run across at garage sales.

On a different note, Jacob's counts are up enough (the platelets just one point above the criteria!) to head in for chemo tomorrow morning. We will hopefully be getting home sometime Saturday afternoon.

Midweek Review

This week has started off with a bang - a fireball bang, that is. While I could be talking about the 100 degree heat we are enduring, I could also literally mean the fire ball that floated down from the sky down the street. Or, more accurately, the squirrel that got electrocuted and blew up right before my eyes after touching the transformer down the street. I actually meant the heat though. It's HOT out!

I would be fine with the heat if I was able to stay inside all day but yesterday Jacob's labs showed that not only did he need a blood transfusion but also a platelet transfusion so off to the hospital we had to go. And our van has no air conditioning. I was worried about Jacob in this heat having to travel an hour and a half and was so relieved when my mom called to tell me that my aunt offered to loan us her car. We both would have melted if we had to drive that far in this heat with no air and I am forever grateful to my aunt for her kindness! We spent all afternoon/evening at the hospital for the transfusions and arrived home around 9pm. Jacob now has a few days at home before having to go to the hospital early Friday morning for an overnight chemo treatment. Luckily, it is just one night so we should be arriving back home sometime Saturday afternoon.

Speaking of Jacob, he is enjoying Vacation Bible School this week along with his brother and sister. Well, his sister, at least. Joe isn't quite sure what to make of it. I was thrilled (naive?) when I saw that ages three and up could attend this three hour daily, week long camp. I was almost giddy with the anticipation of three hours alone each day. Yesterday we arrived to a jam-packed church and Becca and Jacob went happily into their groups and blended into the crowd. I got Joe situated in his group and made my way to the door, pausing to see how he was doing up front. His eyes were glued to me and he was crying...silently. I went back and sat with him while the groups sang and danced and then went back to the preschool room and sat with him during story time; then snuck out during playtime. For those two and a half hours alone I was able to rush home and get the bathroom and kitchen floors mopped and the living room and office carpets cleaned. These are no easy tasks with children underfoot so I was thrilled to be able to get those chores done with no interruptions. When I picked the kids up yesterday before jetting off to the hospital for Jacob's transfusions the instructors said that Joe did great, so I had great plans for this morning when dropping them off for day 2.

Again, Becca and Jacob scampered into their groups. Joe clung to me like a lost monkey. I sat through the songs with him and played in the preschool room with him but he would not let me out of his sight. Finally, an hour and a half later, I was able to sneak out while he turned his back for one second during snack time. I flew to the grocery store and did my shopping, arrived home and put the groceries away, made myself lunch and read the newspaper. When I arrived at the church to pick the kids up Joe looked happy in the arms of one of the teen leaders. First he said he had a fun time but then he shook his head "no" when asked if he wanted to go back tomorrow.

What tomorrow brings?! No one knows, except Joe! But I'm hoping that it brings mama a few more hours of peace and quiet in order to prepare for the Make-A-Wish guests that will be arriving at our house tomorrow evening. Jacob gets to plan a wish of his very own! (Do not fret...before Jacob's illness I thought Make-A-Wish was only for terminally ill children but that is NOT the case! It is for any child who has to go through a life threatening illness and loose a small part of their childhood because of it.)

It has been one jam packed week so far! Why does it seem that summer days go by 100 times quicker than winter ones?!

Nature's Artwork

God's beautiful creation can be found...
...in our own backyard.

Guest Post: My Take On Minimalizing

By Heather Morehouse

Consider it a journey and not a quick fix.

I was always a minimalist, though I never had a definition until I started reading about it a few years ago. I always travelled and lived lightly, preferring not to have to worry about my things, but rather enjoy the life experience. I also am not one who is attached too much in life. We recently survived a battery of tornadoes in our area. Hubster and I thought about making bug out bags, just in case. We used one huge tote bag and other than 2 days of clothing, important papers, meds, wallets, phones, little man’s dog and our laptop, we didn’t care about much else. It could all be replaced.
Things you must understand about me. I am a gypsy at heart and I love to travel and explore. I have no attachment to anything other than my little family, our pets and my laptop. I am quickly losing my previous dream of owning a house, instead looking at alternatives. I have lived in just about every situation from a brand spanking new condo to being homeless and everything in between. I am a pretty overly happy person and darn happy to be overly happy. I smile a lot. My family thinks I am nuts and once staged an intervention because of my “lifestyle.” Dead serious here. I once considered becoming a nun or something on the religious side of life just so I could experiment with less stuff, as I had seen a fantastic documentary about the lifestyles of various religious sects around the world. In fact, I may still dabble in that in the future, in a more spiritual, travel the world kind of way and not so much in the habit kind of way. Oh, and I call it like it is. I am very honest and this might come off as a brute but I am not one to beat around the bush.
Ok, now that that is out of the way. I am sure your first question will be how do I get started? Well, put down the boxes and organizing tools and get yourself a pen and paper. Holy crap Heather, really??? How does this help me declutter and find my Zen??? Please be patient grasshopper. Quick…write down the top 5 things in your life that you would consider a priority. Ok…now declutter anything in your home that is not helping you accomplish these goals. See? That was easy.
I will back up a bit. Often, even the most spirited aspiring minimalist will think it best to just start purging stuff. I am all about travelling the world without a map but I believe this is the one time you should have plan of action. It does go back to planning. When you see your priorities in life, the rest is gravy and might just make it easier for you to cull clutter. You are trying to keep the things that honor you and your priorities. Remember, minimalism transcends all planes, not just the stuff, but spiritual, emotional, physical and many other smaller planes. Now stay with me, don’t become afraid or paralyzed. Remember, this is not temporary; it is allowing change to embrace you. That list is going to be your best friend because it tells you all you need to own to live your live happily. But dear Heather, I am staring at a scrap of paper with 15 words or so on it and I don’t see how this moves the junk out of my life? Have you lost your mind? Well, yes but that is another post. No, this is the blueprint to the rest of your life. The life you talk about and say you are going to do something about and then organize your closet thinking it will be life altering, only to realize you have barely scratched the surface. So you sit in disgust that you can’t take control of your life and choose to ignore it and be miserable and blame the world for your problems and…well, I will stop there. I think you understand what I am getting at. (Reference the brute comment.)
Once you can accept where you are at, in the present, you will be able to move on. The next step is to give yourself permission, free yourself of any guilt or attachment because of how or what others might think, say, do, react or otherwise to your new found freedom. Trust me, you will receive some backlash so be prepared.
Next comes the fun part, the doing. I choose to do one room at a time and I started with my bedroom, since it’s the last place I lay my head and the first place I wake up to. I wanted to feel calm each day. I removed everything out of every drawer, closet, nook and cranny and piled it on the bed. Makes you work harder and faster when you know sleep time is coming. Prepare a large trash bag/can, a box for keep, and a bag for donate. Here is where you also decide how long you are going to work on this. I can go for hours without hesitation but maybe just 30 minutes works for you. Find your balance. My rule for purging is to lay my hands on each item and make a choice right then and there. If you can’t, work around the item but you will probably find it just staring at you and you will be able to deal with immediately once you are on a roll. If you are feeling adventurous, you could designate maybe only 3 bins for all of your keep, to challenge yourself. This is completely up to you but I found this make me conscience of the choices I am making. I am kind of a challenge myself kind of girl, so again this works for me. Work diligently, work smart and work uninterrupted. If you have kids, get them involved. Older kids can do the same in their space, younger kids can help carry out trash or make them walk around the room and gather up like items.
Once you have completed the whole room, remove the trash to the garbage bins, take the donated and load up your vehicle or make a space in your garage, back porch, wherever, just have a spot and look at what you have kept. Nope, not ready to organize yet. It’s time to clean. Wipe down all surfaces, mop the floor or vacuum, clean the windows, take down drapery to clean, give the bedding a good wash. While you are at it, take a good look at your room. Do you want to move things around or remove some furniture? Go ahead and do this now.
Ok…time to get a drink and be proud of all you have done. Let’s label some more boxes with other room items, maybe marking them with designated rooms, as we are now going to go through your keep piles. It’s important to get stuff out that doesn’t belong in that room or area. Start grouping like items together, t-shirts, shoes, lotions, books, pictures, etc. This helps you organize faster and also, realize what you do have. Sometimes it can be a real eye opener. BE PREPARED.
So now you have some nice piles and a clean room. You may have purged some more items as you put like items together, so put them in their designated areas and start to put things back in an organized manner. You may even purge further as you go. And remember, this is just round one. Once you get things under control, you may find yourself doing a monthly once-over to purge and weed out. It is absolutely normal.

Side notes* If you are dealing with other people’s clutter along with your own, you may want to add designated box for their stuff so they can sort it later, if you are not comfortable with doing so. Also, if you have a massive project to undertake, divide the room up into quarters and work each quarter zone until finished. I did this with my grandparent’s house and it worked better than getting overwhelmed with all the stuff and not knowing where to start first.

Remember, this is just a loose rough draft of how I accomplished my minimalist life. It took me 3 weekends to do the whole house. I wasn’t a packrat and I was super motivated. It may take you longer and that is ok, as long as you are doing. You are not just dealing with the stuff; you will also be dealing with the emotional, physical and spiritual side of things as well. Honor those feelings.

Clothes
This is usually the hardest area to cull, next to books and mementos. I have changed my style over the years and I tend to lean to plainer, simple clothing now. I don’t do much patterns, except for maybe in a dress or 2 that I own. I like plain, comfortable clothing that I can add a pretty scarf and a cuff too and make it a wow outfit. This also keeps the number of items I have down to a minimum. Now, I have to have a professional wardrobe. I work in a business professional environment, no casual wear for me. So I have to maintain my sanity with having enough to wear to work without feeling boring. At home, I have been leaning towards simple linen dresses. You must understand I live in Texas, so my wardrobe is warmer weather friendly. I do own a winter jacket and boots and even a heavier scarf but otherwise, I just layer or walk really fast. I tend to stick to black/charcoal, navy, red, pure white and some khaki. I have one scarf that is hot pink and one infinity scarf that is blue/beige stripe.
Things I do not wear- anything clingy or see through, jeans (nope, I wear yoga pants to clean around the house or when I am just hanging out at home- jeans make me too hot), large patterned items (still own a few dresses- I am working on it), full lycra items (just too darn hot), printed t-shirts (just prefer plain).
If you are having a hard time, pick a style icon, browse the web, and find some inspiration for how you would like to dress. One of mine is Audrey Hepburn- simplistic style at its best, throughout her entire life. Even at home, she wore plain pants and a simple top. Lovely. I also draw inspiration from other minimalist bloggers. Just do a search and see what you can come up with. The one’s who seem to inspire me the most are the one’s who were not known for their wardrobe but for their passion and heart. And remember, hair and jewelry help set the tone to. They are your frame. You can get as simple or as wild and funky with your bad self as you like. Remember, this is about the authentic you. For most jewelry, I have 4 large necklaces, 3 cuffs/watch and 4-5 sets of earrings. I have my wedding ring and it’s the only ring I wear. I usually pick one statement piece and that is all I wear.

A few quotes to ponder and motivate you:
Take nothing but photographs and leave nothing but footprints.

If ones life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: Satisfaction with just enough food, clothing and shelter. - Dalai Lama
“Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner.”

My final thought- own nothing you do not honor with absolute impeccable care and that in return, honors who you are.

Heather has been an inspiration to me ever since I saw her posts on Facebook about hauling loads of stuff to Goodwill. It was something that I have wanted to do forever but didn't have the motivation or guts to start on. That was two years ago, I think, and here I am taking her advice and starting my journey!

Bye, Bye Bookies

One of the first things I wanted to sort through were my books. I am a bookaholic and have three large bookshelves filled with books. One of those shelves was a large old wicker bookshelf that I had in my bedroom as a teenager. Holding heavy books and going through three moves it was no longer holding up well. As a matter of fact, it was ugly and falling apart and I wanted it out of my office but I didn't know where I was going to put the books that were on it!

With my new motivation I sorted through all three shelves and culled several piles of books. Fiction is no problem for me - those books come into my house and leave as soon as I have read them (except for my vintage Louisa May Alcott and Gene Stratton Porter). Non-fiction is a whole other story in my book (pun intended). I love non-fiction but while sorting through them realized that most of my collection were duplicates, in the sense that they held the same information. For example, one or two natural cleaning books hold the same information that the other three or four may have...so out went several of those. The same with natural remedies, cookbooks, and so on.
These are just a few of the piles of books that I cleared from the shelves. I later delved into the kitchen cupboard and sorted through my cookbooks as well.
I donated several books and binders full of information. I put several books up on Paperback Swap and sent them out already. And I have a box of books to take my aunt's consignment shop. All in all, I cleared out enough books that I was able to downsize my books from three large shelves to two large shelves and one small one. I put the ugly wicker bookshelf on Freecycle and stuck it by the curb and within a few hours it was taken. As a matter of a fact, it is sitting on a porch down the street with plants on it and it looks cute being utilized that way.

I know I'm not finished with clearing out the books. It was painful to get rid of some since my books are my babies but I don't need them. In a few more weeks I will sweep through the shelves again and clear more out but I did very well with this first step. Getting rid of a large box of books and clearing out a bookshelf made for a very productive day - as well as a lighter house!

Two Bags Down

Today marks my journey into becoming a minimalist. No, not the extreme ones who only own 15 things or live out of a suitcase...though that sounds somewhat appealing to me at the moment.

See, with three small kids, homeschooling, and loving all things paper and books we have quite a lot of clutter. I'm okay with small piles here or there or (fairly) organized bins of stuff but my children like to strew things about. So much so that within moments of a room being clean it often times looks like a tornado went through it. I finally realized that enough is enough - the kids (as well as the adults) in this family have so much that we don't appreciate and respect what we own.

Enter minimalism. It is an approach to only surround yourself with what you love, what you can use, and what you really need. There are vast differences when it comes to calling yourself a minimalist, and I may never reach the point that some would consider me one but what I want to get to the point where I am comfortable with our stuff, and to me that is the point of the lifestyle to begin with.

My goal is to clear out one bag of stuff a week, starting June 1st. I got a head start and took two bags to donate yesterday.
I'll tell you more about how I got started later this week but I wanted to ask...won't you join me on this journey? One bag a week, for however long it takes you to get to your happy point. What say you?