Project Simplify: Master Bedroom

If my life was a movie and clutter was the villain, the master bedroom would be my arch nemesis (we won't discuss his henchmen, the guest room and basement in this post). I feel a sense of foreboding anytime I think about trying to tackle it. Like a magpie, my "nest" is where I tend to stuff all the little odds and ends that have meaning to me, but no designated spot in my home.

Lest anyone still be worrying I spend too much time cleaning and not enough enjoying motherhood, let these "before" photos put your mind at ease ; )

Check out those dressers. See that big stack of cards on the right? One is from our CPA, circa Christmas 2010. That's when you know it's time to get. a. grip.

Ah the bookshelf. The third shelf down is almost completely filled with magazines I will never ever open again, but that might have something desperately important in them. *Sigh*

Ironing board. Not just a place to heap clothes that need to be de-wrinkled, but also to hold very important sermon notes I convince myself I will read again, but never do. Please don't refer me to Hoarders.

Getting started was the hardest part (it always is). Not only was I in some additional pain from my physical therapy appointment on Monday, but it never ceases to amaze me how much debt and clutter relate to one another. Both make you feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to begin. It seems like avoiding the mess all together would be easier, but deep down, you know the mess is what's draining your energy.

I decided to get my "clutter-debt" snow ball rolling by cleaning off the top of the lingerie dresser. I tossed the calendar that hadn't been turned since October into the goodwill box, removed every item, dusted, and replaced only 2 things. As expected, doing one small project and seeing quick success gave me the motivation I needed to tack "just one more" area.

With the help of David, we "just one more" thinged our way to these after photos:

It involved a lot of asking myself these questions:

"Is this beautiful?" Then how will I display it?

"Is this useful?" Then how will I make it easily accessible?

"Is this worth the space it's taking up in my home and the time it costs to care for it?" If not, read it one last time or take a photo and then let. it. go.

Obviously, I still have a pretty big stack of papers and knick-knacks I still have to sort through, but I feel great about the progress we made on the flat-surface areas of this room. The dressers are clear, the cedar chest is accessible again and the ironing board is put away. I plan to tackle the closet and drawers during this upcoming weeks "choose your own adventure" in Project Simplify.

Project Simplify: Kitchen Edition

During our house hunting days, our Realtor would send us batches of a dozen or so listings, I'd peruse the photos, check out the neighborhoods and weed out the non-contenders before submitting the potentials to David.

Certain photos would get a listing kicked out immediately. Wet basement. Busy street. No Yard. Only one house got nixed because of the ugliest kitchen I'd ever seen. Ours. Yup, I discarded the listing for the home we currently live in because the kitchen cabinets were painted a hideous crayola green, the counter-tops and back-splashes were dated, and the oven was undersized. Kitchen renovations start at around 20K and are a huge hassle. It just wasn't something I wanted to get into.

Fortunately, David re-combed through the listings and questioned why I'd dismissed this house. After I explained my reasons, he agreed it could be a deal breaker, but sometimes the colors in photos lie. Everything else about the house seemed good and the price was right. I did a drive by and fell in love with the neighborhood. The mountains, the hills, the charm of the giant trees and streams lacing the area. I really really hoped the reality was better than the photo.

It was the first home we looked at. The cabinets were a rather dark and unflattering shade of green, but not as bad as the photo I'd seen. The counter tops and back-splash weren't my cup of tea, but they were in great condition. The rest of the house seemed perfect. After seeing the other homes the area offered in our price range, it became clear that dismissing an entire home because of the color of the kitchen cabinets was more than a bit rash.

Obviously, we decided to make an offer on the house. I've never regretted our choice. We have the best neighbors anyone could ask for, an affordable mortgage and a house that meets 95% of our wants and 100% of our needs. Really, what are ugly cabinets and slightly too-small bathrooms compared to that?

And that, my friends, is the somewhat interesting history of our kitchen. Now, onto the cleaning!

I usually plan our days so that we have an activity in the morning OR in the afternoon. This "before" photo is the result of two back-to-back days of being in and out of the house all day. In short, we spent enough time at home to eat meals and make a mess, but not enough time to clean it up.

Before

After pondering the mess for a few minutes, I decide my goal is to deep clean the counter tops and island (we're talking toothbrushes and appliance moving). I also want to wash the front of the cupboards, something that basically never happens, aside from an occasional spot clean. Obviously, to do these things, I'm going to need to wash a lot of dishes and make some choices about what does and does not deserve to live on the counter to begin with.

Close up of the crusty cabinet.

Two loads of dishes and some hand-washing later, I'm ready to begin clearing the counter tops. I start with the island. I wash the vegetable bowl, put kitchen items away, move other items to their homes in other rooms and take everything off while I give the counter a soak in some non-toxic homemade cleaner. My little helper already has his hands squishing around in it, delighted that mommy is spraying water. After a few minutes, Caleb and I scrub the counter top and I carefully consider each item I place back onto the island.

Island soaking

After. David surprised me with this beautiful bouquet when he came home from work today. The florist also sent him home with a helium balloon for Caleb. He is enchanted.

After cleaning the island, I decided the kitchen counter and cabinet deep clean will have to wait. Sometimes my chronic pain issues mean I can't do quite as much as I think I can and I'm learning to be ok with that.

At least the counters are much less cluttered!

Next up: The Master Bedroom. I've been chipping away at the clutter in our room for several months now in the typical "2 steps forward, 1.75 steps back" dance that comes with having a toddler in the house. I'm looking forward to seeing our entire room clean all at once for a change!

Project Simplify: Kid's Stuff

After spending Caleb's nap today writing a really moving post about why I decided not to do this week's project (something about having the flu, being kind to myself, blah blah blah) I got a burst of inspiration and energy and decided to tackle his closet.

We started our move towards simple living shortly before Caleb was born, so there wasn't much other work to be done in the kid department.

Caleb's Room. Not exactly going to be featured on Pinterest anytime soon, but we like it : )

His closet however, was a dumping ground for odds and ends before it became part of the nursery and never really recovered.

Before

A few of my more interesting finds:

An old shower curtain.

Unused stool and urine sample bags (extras from illnesses in his first year of life)

A dead stinkbug. Of course.

I removed all his outgrown clothes, cloth diapers, baby bibs and receiving blankets to be packed away. I also ruthlessly weeded out some "must have" baby items we never used. A pack of un-opened paci's (he was a thumb baby), waterproof mattress cover (crib mattresses are waterproof), and a few other odds and ends.

After

Caleb loves to help with these projects. Look at all that space!

On the floor we have blankets (lots and lots of blankets...maybe he'll learn to sleep under them one day), extra diapers (we use disposables at night and for travel), and a gift bag full of stroller accessories.

On the bottom shelf are toys he'll grow into in the next year, extra childproofing materials (child proofing is never finished), extra diapers and wipes and items we still need to hang on his walls. On the top shelf are my baby keepsakes and clothes he'll grow into soon.

I dusted the window and the closet shelves. I also vacuumed the floor of the closet. I even used two different handy-dandy attachments! I've never cleaned a closet so thoroughly before. I guess that's what spring cleaning is all about though. Tackling those spaces that get neglected in the week to week cleaning routine.

All in all, it took about an hour and a half and I couldn't have done it without David's willingness to chase Caleb around the house during that time. I still need to actually box up his clothes and sort through some keepsakes I found stashed in a basket, but that's for later tonight!

Coming this week: Kitchen and Pantry!

Clothing Purge

Ever since Caleb was born I've felt like I had a ton of clothes and not much to wear. It's a pretty common post-baby problem. I didn't even begin to resemble my pre-pregnancy weight until 9 months after Caleb was born and only in the past 4-5 months have I been at my college weight. I'd love to say it's because I took great care of myself, ate well and exercised, but I can thank 3 back-to-back stomach flus for shedding those last few pounds. It's not a weight loss program I recommend.

That said, I still feel like I have nothing to wear. Being a mom is hard on your clothes. Even though I'm back to my pre-baby weight, my body has totally changed. I've gained 2 cup sizes, so most of my shirts are too tight, the skin on my lower stomach still has a slight sag from carrying my precious babe (this took me a looong time to come to peace with, but I'm finally there!), and I lost numerous shirts to baby spit-up stains. Apparently, stomach acid works a bit like bleach.

Combine all that with the fact that, frankly, I haven't done much clothes shopping since before I started grad-school so most of my clothes are at least 5 years old. They are starting to fade, shrink, pill, and get weird squiggles and sags around the necklines. Since I'm not a fan of shopping, it's hard for me to motivate myself to go looking for new cloths until my wardrobe is in this sad state.

My overstuffed closet, filled with clothes that no longer fit and/or make me look like I'm in high school again, and not in a flattering way.

A few weekends ago, David and I decided to use our once-a-month date time to get some shopping done. I figured going through my closet and determining what I had, what I needed and what mistakes NOT to repeat would count as my warm up for Project Simplify.

Here are my lessons learned:

1. If it needs to be ironed, I am never going to wear it.
2. If I don't absolutely love the fit and color in the store, it doesn't matter how great a deal it is, I won't buy it.
3. If it shows my bra strap, cleavage, or is sheer I am not going to feel comfortable wearing it anywhere, ever.
4. The item must flatter my new mom body and not make me look 15 or 85.
5. I don't work outside the home anymore. Professional button down shirts are out, but some sassy looking jeans and pretty shirts are in. Patterns that hide stains well are a bonus.

Clothes to be donated are in the back pile. Clothes to be tried on are in the front pile.

Even with all this gone, I was left with a pretty full closet, which Caleb is making even fuller in this photo : ) A number of the clothes that are left are showing signs of wear, but are still passable for now.

Mistakes not-to-be-repeated fresh on my mind, it was time to make my shopping list. My wardrobe is another area of my life I'm trying to simplify. I have a dresser and a closet for clothing storage. I could probably fit all the items I actually wear into one or the other. The rest is just wasting space and adding to the things I need to clean and maintain.

That said, to make a small wardrobe really functional, each peice should be able to mix and match with several others and should reflect the stage of life I'm in (ie: no ironing, dry cleaning or handwashing required).

Here was my personal shopping list for our day out:

- 3-4 Basic long sleeve shirts. Mine need to be replaced badly.

-Nice looking fleece pullover. I have one fleece, but in a color that isn't the best for my skin tone, not to mention shows every smear of baby food and piece of lint. It kills me to spend money to get something I already have, but this is such a staple of my wardrobe (as a layer in the winter and my go-to jacket in the fall and spring) that I think it's worth it to have one that really works for me.

-Ivory peep toe shoes.I'm a bridesmaid again!

-Non-sneaker everyday shoes. I'm thinking knock off Tom's.

-New slippers. Mine are falling apart.

-1 pair of jeans that fit perfectly. I currently have 3 pairs of pants (1 khaki, 1 corduroy, 1 pair of jeans) that fit me well and I find myself typically needing 1 more before laundry day.

-Cute yoga pants. Confession: I'm a huge fan of the elastic waist band. David is ok with that, as long as I still look cute in them. Meaning sweatpants are out, which is fine by me because they make me feel frumpy anyway!

I knew shopping at the mall (even an outlet mall) was going to be a challenge for me. I tend to be a bit of a tid-wad very frugal when it comes to clothing. Going through my closet, I had to own up that my frugality has actually contributed to the clutter. How many shirts were in my donate pile that I bought just because they were a good deal and looked "ok"? If I hardly ever wore that item, it wasn't a good deal.

In an ideal world, I would buy everything from thrift stores. Not only do they save money, but I like the fact that I become one more step removed from a clothing industry that tends to pay it's CEO's well and it's factory workers less than a living wage. However, since moving to a small town, I've had difficulty find clothing in thrift stores that isn't already looking pretty worn out. Baby clothes are the exception, although even those racks require quite a bit of picking through.

As it turned out, our outlet mall was having an awesome President's Day sale and I was able to find 1 long sleeve shirt, 1 short sleeve shirt, cute yoga pants, and the perfect pair of jeans for about 50% of their usual outlet price. We also found 2 pairs of much needed shoes for David and Caleb's last set of onesies ever *sniffle sniffle* (they don't make them in sizes larger than 24 months. I guess I'm supposed to start potty training or something by then ; )

Here are two articles that inspired me to have a "less is more" clothing philosophy and to be willing to pay a little bit more for clothing that is quality and really works with my body type and lifestyle:

How to Choose a Shirt

Creating a Wardrobe that Works for You

In case you're wondering if I have such severe "mess blindness" that I missed the clutter filling the rest of the closet, I'm happy to say my condition is not so severe. I'm looking forward to tackling that on week 3 of project simplify. I'm so excited to be making progress, one bite at a time!

Simplification Begins: An update on our goals

Keeping house has been a challenge for me ever since we got married. I really admire women (and men) who seem to organize naturally. For me, it's been a skill to be learned, painfully and slowly. Not only do I have chronic mess-blindness and a tendency to be lazy, but we haven't exactly had a lot of time to just...clean.

We moved into our home during the first trimester nausea, had a productive 3-4 months in mid pregnancy and then a painful and difficult last 2 months. After that, our colicky bundle of joy arrived and just as the colic ended we moved to Florida for 6 months. When we returned we were greated with scenes like this one:

A frightening view of our master bedroom. I didn't take any of the main rooms, but imagine ever surface covered in clutter and burp clothes stewn about on the floor

Although our house hasn't been at that level of disorganization in quite a while, it seemed like we were always 2 steps behind the clutter. Honestly, it was a lot like being in debt. We were already behind, so getting ahead took at least double the effort. We decided that we needed to get out of organization "debt" and make our house start working for us.

Over the month of February, David and I threw every spare minute of our time into getting the 3 main rooms of the house in order. We decluttered the kitchen island, dining room table and desk. We set up a paper mangement system to keep paper from taking over again. We (and two of David's awesome brothers) rearranged living room furniture to make the room more functional.

To do all this, while keeping up with cooking, dishes, floors, laundry and our teaching commitments at church, we sacrificed a lot of time with one another and a little sleep. We decided that for a short season the loss was worth the gain.

Boy was it ever! Having a living space that works for us is so refreshing.There are still a few small projects to tackle in each room, but our decluttering goal is well under way and our paper management goal is officially checked off! Sadly, I forgot to take "before" photos so you'll have to just imagine papers piled on every flat surface in the room.

A look at the dining room from the kitchen entrance. Note the easy access to the high chair. Nothing must delay food from reaching that destination. The hearts on the wall are from Valentine's Day

I can see my desk again! I still need to sort through the dozen binders and notebooks stacked on the right side, but this is serious progress.

The livingroom. The lighting isn't as good because I had to take these shots at night. Let's face it, with a toddler in the house, it's the only time of day the floor isn't covered in toys.

The view from the diningroom. In case anyone is wondering, the indoor slide is how you keep an active toddler from going crazy during a wet winter here in the north

You'll notice there's no photo of the kitchen island. That would be because it's gotten cluttered again. That is definitely our "catch all" spot!

Not surprisingly, all this sucess has left me even more motivated to keep chipping away at the clutter. Next month, I'll be continuing the process with Project Simplify. If you'd like to join me, just click the button on the side bar : )

Hot Spot #4: Pantry and Fridge

Yet again, this weeks hot spot was the perfect preparation for our upcoming move. We're less than 2 weeks away from packing all our belongings into our two cars and making the 17 hour journey home. Needless to say, with space so precious, I don't plan to take many pantry items. So we're trying to eat what we already have and will send any extras home with extended family members who are coming for a final visit/packing party next weekend.

I've gotten much better at keeping the fridge organized. I realized how much food we were wasting just because it got buried and forgotten about and have since learned a few tricks that help keep moldy surprises to a minimum.

-I stack leftovers together. This way it's more obvious to me that there is a meal waiting to be eaten rather than a few random tupperwares scattered here and there.
-I put half used bags of shred cheese in the door. Other wise the new ones I bring home from the grocery tend to end up on top in the meat/cheese drawer and the old ones languish in the bottom.
-I open the veggie/fruit drawer almost every day and try to plan our dinner based on what needs to be used in there. Meat is usually being defrosted anyway so I try to let our produce guide our menu.

Actually cleaning the fridge, however...is another story. Check out these before and afters and try not to judge!

Before

After

I've been deliberately keeping our pantry on the low side for the past month knowing we'll be moving again soon. I didn't find much to throw away, but I did use take note of what dry ingredients need to be used up and planned meals for our remaining days here based on what's available. We'll be having tacos, casseroles, chili, spaghetti and soups. I'm also looking forward to "getting rid of" a few of our baking items. I mean, we can't waste those chocolate chips, right?

Before

After

I did notice several things that won't be gracing my pantry again (I hope...). We've been taking baby steps towards eliminating processed foods from our diet. We still have a long way to go, but I did find a few things in our pantry that I think we're about to get rid of for good.
-Soup in a can. I just don't like the taste any more. I make amazing soups and I have a recipe for making a white sauce (cream soup replacer) for casseroles that looks pretty simple.
-Granola bars. Don't get me wrong, I love granola bars! They are such an easy grab-and-go snack. However, the ones in the store tend to be high in sugar and have a lot of things I don't want to eat in them, particularly soy. I'm hoping to replace this beloved snack with fruits, veggies and occasionally my own homemade bars.
-Salad dressing. I love making my own dressing! It's simpler than I ever thought, tastes better and again, allows me to avoid the soy and other GMO oils in typical salad dressing.

There's another item in my pantry I'm hoping to get rid of soon...but it's a big commitment. I'd like to say goodbye to breakfast cereal or at least become much more distant acquaintances. This means actually waking up to cook my husband breakfast. It's only an extra 30 minutes of sleep to give up, but boy do I love those 30 minutes, especially since Caleb just started waking multiple times/night again. This is a more long term goal, but the idea of starting the day over a warm breakfast with my best friend does sound pretty wonderful.

Hot Spot #3: Toys and Baby Clothes

This week's hot spot challenge was to sort through toys and children's clothes. In our case, we have one 9-month-old who doesn't need much. So once again, the amount I had to sort wasn't all that exciting.

Tackling the toys was definitely the easiest. I can already fit all of Caleb's toys into one plastic bin with room to spare and he seems to enjoy all of them so I purged very little in that department.I did decide to pass on a couple things he rarely plays with to his soon-to-arrive cousin.

I decided to tackle his clothes by making "outfits". I tend to organize his drawers by type of clothing item (shirt, pants, etc.) but making them into (semi)matching outfits allowed me to see if there were gaps or a huge excess in any area. I discovered we have more outfits than he needs, but certainly not so many they don't all fit in one drawer. Since we plan to have more kids, I decided to keep almost all his clothes. I did get rid of a few things I decided didn't match anything else, weren't our style or would never fit him correctly based on his body type.

Before

After

I packed up about half his toys (mostly things that are for him when he gets a little older or things he can only use with supervision right now). I also packed a carry-on bag full of clothes in the next size up. Based on the way he's been eating these past 2 days, I'm wondering if I'll need to get some of those back out before we move!

This challenge reminded me of several things I've learned in the baby clothes/toys department since becoming a mom:

-Skinny baby=cheap clothes! Target, Walmart, etc. all cut their clothes smaller than their name brand competitors. And if I do want "name brand" for some reason, the pre-shrunk yard sale variety fit best : )

-"Halo" brand sleep sacks are amazing once baby out grows being swaddled, especially if your hubby likes to sleep with the temperature just above "arctic" like mine : ) I love the Halo brand because it's armless and can go over long sleeved PJ's easily. They are pricey new, but I picked up 2 at a consignment shop for $6 a piece.

-You're probably noticing a trend by now. I can count on one hand the number clothes we've bought brand new. We've been blessed by generous bags of hand-me-downs from friends, new outfits from grandparents, aunties and others, and have filled the rest out with yard sale/consignment. One thing I do recommend getting new: Socks. Hanes have worked great for us.

-Another bonus of hand-me-downs: you get "half-size" clothing. Whenever Caleb is leaving one size and heading to the next one up, the hand-me-downs always get used first. They've been through someone else's dryer enough times to be slightly smaller than his new clothes. Perfect for that in-between stage.

As for toys, I've learned one simple rule. Mommy and Daddy's things are infinitely more interesting that Caleb's toys. He loves when we can find grown-up items he can have (tupperware, waterproof/shockproof camera, laundry basket, etc.) Check out this "stacking toy" I set up for him this week:

Another big hit:

Of course, we still have plenty of tried-and-true baby toys that he loves:

-A stack of rings
-Many many many board books. This kid probably spends 20% of his day turning pages and eating corners.
-Balls and rolling toys
-2-3 battery operated talking toys
-an unbreakable mirror
-assorted stuffies and teethers

The typical state of our living room

One emotion that kept welling up in my as I sorted through these items was gratitude. I could fit the items we've purchased for Caleb into one medium sized box. Family, friends and people we haven't even met have been so generous welcoming this little life and passing things down. The memories that go with so many of the items make our lives that much richer. Every day I feed Caleb in the booster seat that I gave snacks to by nephew- and neice-by-love in, I see him wearing clothes other special little ones have enjoyed, I give him a blanket made by a grandparent, I chase him with his favorite tiger stuffie from Uncle Brian and Aunt Amy, and I'm reminded of how much we're looked after and loved. Especially by Uncle Brian...he really wanted to keep that tiger!

Hot spot #3 is complete and I am more prepared for this move than I've ever been for those in the past. I get very overwhelmed by something as complex as "moving" or "spring cleaning". These assignments have taught me how much can be accomplished when I focus on one area at a time and keep going until it's completely finished.

Hot Spot #2: Paper Clutter

This weeks hot spot was ideal in terms of preparing for our move. As I gathered up stacks of paper from my desk, the dining room table, our dresser, and ironing board, I was actually pleasantly surprised at how well I've done at keeping junk mail in the recycling bin where it belongs. So what was in these stacks? Receipts, pieces of bills, church bulletins, 2010 tax documents, computer software, CD jackets, magazines and even *gulp* one bill that had gotten buried (fortunately discovered before being past due). What a good reminder of why a good organizational system is important in this department!

Before:

Left is my "to recycle" box and right is the "to-be sorted".

Due to the move, my personal "finished product" is having all the things to be shredded in a red folder and the rest packed neatly in a box ready to be packed into the car. All the recyclables are where they belong, the to-be sorted box is empty and I'm feeling pretty good, until I remember we will need to reorganize our filing system at home, which will show how woefully behind I really am!

I realize reading about me cleaning approximates the excitement found in clipping your toenails, but I am such a (recovering) procrastinator and this is really helping me knock out tasks that need to be done before the 11th hour. Although my stack of papers might not look very big, I wish I could have posted a photo of the 20 tiny stacks of paper on the bed as I sorted through each item. However, having a husband with his masters in information security makes me a little paranoid about who can see my very public blog, enlarge photos and have all our important information (because believe me, if it wasn't important, it did not get filed!)

I would have never taken on such a big project this week with how busy we've been around here, but found that, with a deadline looming, I can push myself further than I think.

Hot Spot #1: Our Master Closet

For those who haven't read already, over the next 5 weeks, I'll be participating in project simplify. This weeks hot spot was the master closet. I thought this would be a snap considering I only have to sort through the few clothes I brought down here with me. Then I had an unfortunate realization...the master closet is my "stash space" before company comes. Everything that doesn't quite have a home ends up on this shelf (or the guest room closet, but that's another story!)

Here are some "before" photos:

There were a couple things I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything about. The pillows and blankets cluttering the top of the closet are government issue. We replaced them with our own from home as soon as we arrived. Also, notice the box of books on the floor? We were blessed to be provided with a furnished apartment. The one thing missing? A book shelf! So, that's been our make shift "book spot" these past 5 months.

The first thing I did was pull everything off my "stash" shelf and onto the bed. Here's what I discovered:

2 purses in desperate need of being cleaned out (as in, I found cough drops in there that I know, for a fact, were given to me by someone at church in Tallahassee almost 3 years ago...)

Baseball caps

An ice scraper

3 pedometers (provided by our health insurance company as a bonus for filling out a survey. One for each insured member they proudly proclaim. I'm temped to strap one on the back of Caleb's diaper and take a picture : ) It was fun to discover we walk 2300 steps during our evening walk (or 4600 if we do 2 laps, it depends on the night).

Lots and lots of paper clutter that should have gone to the trash can instead of the closet (are you surprised?)

Probably the most interesting find was a stack of magazine articles I've saved out for my "mom notebook". My mom notebook is my attempt to keep things organized in our crazy, frequent travel, life. It has Caleb's medical records and some of mine and David's as well, the phone number for my lactation consultant, recipes I didn't want to be without and new ones to try, activity ideas for kids I loved and want to try when Caleb is ready for them. However, these things are supposed to be stuffed into plastic page protector sleeves and organized by section. In reality about 6 of them look like that, the rest are stuffed in the front or back pocket or in this stack in my closet. Seeing the stack motivated me to purchase more page protectors and actually get my notebook functioning this coming week!

This hot spot was perfect for helping me meet my goal to get our apartment ready to move one step at a time, rather than scrambling at the last minute. Because of this project I:

Got rid of a bunch of trash

Organized important papers

Packed all our winter clothes into a suit case for the return trip

packed another bag for good will

and organized all our random electronic bits into one spot

And the result of all that hard work?

I really need this accountability to stay motivated for things that don't need to be done right now. I'm looking forward to the next 4 spots!