Week #9 Focus Area - Tool Drawer

Who out there has those drawers that become a nightmare.  It is a challenge to open them, find the item you are looking for, and then to close them you almost have to rearrange it every time.  This would be my tool drawers.  Yes - two of them!!! And both have been a headache for too long.

This year our salvation came when my parents gave Brett an organizer for his nails, screws, bolts, etc.  I used that as a motivation to get these drawers organized.

BEFORE

Left Drawer

Right Drawer

AFTER

Left Drawer

Right Drawer

The Christmas Present FILLED!!!

 Later on that night I needed to fix a drawer.  It took me a whole 30 seconds to find the right nails, hammer, etc.  I felt so accomplished and excited that a task that normally takes forever took only a few minutes.  Only because I knew where to find the needed supplies.  Organization is truly a time saver!!! (Once it is done :))

Impromptu Project today

So I got my impromptu project done today!!!  I got onto facebook to check what was up and a name showed up as having a birthday today.  This friend was only a friend to help me indulge in an addiction over a year ago of social gaming on facebook.  Today was my purge day - I unfriended all those people that were only there for game purposes.  I deleted over 30 names and I feel so good.  It is something that wasn't visible to anybody but me - but it is something that relieved a lot of emotional weight.  Being the missionary for the 12 Step Addiction Recovery Program - I have learned a lot about addictions and triggers.  I am finding some of my triggers for my various addictions and today I just axed one of them.  It takes care of future relapses from their invites and I don't have to see them on facebook any longer to remind me of a past addiction that I want to leave in the past. 

I realize this may be too much info, but I am glad I took one more step to clearing the clutter out of my life and now I can take one more step forward to seeing magic in the hopes of a better life and home and wanted to share it with someone.  PS - if one is addicted to something that takes you away from everyday life, you end up with a messy house (especially if that person has a family of any size).  I love the Magic is see as I participate in the Magic10!!! 

I love that as I build new habits my thought patterns change and I find I do more than I initially started out to do.  That is when I feel good - but hopefully in the upcoming days, weeks, months I will find some relief to help me with the my health also.  Then watch out world - here comes a new person going full steam ahead to accomplishing a better life and a happier home!!!!

Week 4 Focus Area - Laundry Room

This weeks focus area really needed to be done.  I put it off and put it off, just doing a little bit here and there to just say that I have worked on it.  That is until my sweet family pulled out all the coats, gloves, hats, boots, etc and left them on the floor.  Necessity claimed my time and required me to actually do something with this stuff instead of just shoving it back into the cubbies.  So here are the Before and After pictures!!!

BEFORE!!!

 

 

 

Yes that is my laundry pile :(

 AFTER!!!

 

 

Laundry pile is a lot smaller :)

 

Still not as finished as I hoped, but a whole lot better!!!!  Here's to keeping it looking this way :D

9 November

Today I was looking at all that needed to be done to be ready for a trip to Boise tomorrow and what I needed to finish for the Magic10 challenge and was feeling overwhelmed.  I knew that my morning was shot as I had physical therapy this morning and so it all had to be done this afternoon.  Tonight was out because it was date night and you can't interfere with that. 

While at physical therapy I ended up doing 50 minutes of cross training on the bike, elliptical and treadmill and was exhausted by the time I got home.  But I still got right into working when I got home.  I was able to get the fridge cleaned out, the kitchen mopped, lots of laundry done, dishes were kept up and cleaned the entire chapel at the church.

I am tired now in a good way.  I am satisfied and feel good sitting in the kitchen with a clean floor.  I still need to put a load of laundry in the washer and make sure I get up early enough to put it in the dryer and have it dry before we leave. But I am ahead a lot further then I was this morning and feeling great about it. 

Momentum keep moving forward!!!!

Week 1 Focus Area

 The Games and the Game Closet

The Before

The Game Clset

The Game Piece Storage Area

 Our family loves to play games but has had a hard time putting the game back after they get done playing with it.  By the time Mom finds it there are pieces scattered all over the house and therefore it doesn't get all back together the way it should.  I have been really bad for the past year and as I find a game piece I put it in a set of drawers.  This is after I filled about 3 containers that were stashed in the game closet.  Needless to say, over the last year we have only played a few games because I make sure the pieces get put back in the box and the box put away from little fingers.  I am ready to start playing other games and stop picking up pieces that little fingers have pulled out of the drawers and scattered every where.

A few months ago I had my carpets cleaned and I refused to put all the boxes back into my room. This time I decided I was going to take care of the stuff instead of stashing it.  The games were one of the biggest culprit of the clutter and so it is time to get it under control.  One of the nicest aspects of being one of the developers of the challenge, with the effort to make it continue over and over again, is that I will be able to eventually hit every area that is a problem and eventually I will have an organized house and life.

Now for the unveiling of the finished product.

The After

Boxes are empty

Drawers are empty - except the bottom but that is not game pieces

The finished game closet - I really need a bigger closet :)

Magic10 Miracles

On the 10th year anniversary of Mom (Linda Lovell) coming up with the idea of the Magic10, we have resurrected it and given it a new life.  It is now a challenge that we are extending to many others and hopefully it will become an ongoing challenge that will be extended to 100's of people all over the country. 

It is a program that is 10 magical steps that will help us get our home and life organized.  There are 10 categories that we focus on each day to help build better habits in our efforts to take care of our homes and our families.  These areas are:

1.  5 Daily Tasks
2. 4 Weekly Tasks and 1 Monthly Tasks
3. A Focus Area that we deep clean and get to a point that we just have to maintain it.
4. Maintaining the finished Focus Areas
5. Evaluating our Efforts through our Journals and Other People
6. A Weekly Challenge
7. Personal Goal
8. Personal Goal
9. Health Goal
10. Health Goal

We are held accountable to ourselves, our families and our team members.  We are not in this alone.  There are others that are striving to better themselves also and we encourage and support one another.  It is a great feeling and motivator!!!  For further information check out the official website for this challenge - Magic10 Challenge

I am going to post my before and after pictures on this website.  I am a human with weaknesses, but as I bring forth my weaknesses they will become strengths.  Every one is capable of this and so I am hoping to share this transformation with others so that they will have some inspiration by my actions.

26 Jun - Master Bathroom

So I didn't get the before and after pictures today.  But suffice it to say, that we deep cleaned and reorganized the drawers and medicine cabinet in the Master Bathroom.  They all look so much better.  We didn't take away too much from Cody's ROR (which the bathroom is his this week).  My goal for Elmo's World is do to the unseen and the eyesores.  Doing above and beyond the everyday chores.  One day we will be caught up so that life runs on maintenance mode instead of chaos and get working or else modes.  As my friend calls it - We are going to do the Scream and Clean - I Scream, You Clean!!

Brandon and Kristen stuck with me pretty much the full hour.  Spencer and Cody would come in occasionally to help.  Therefore, after we got home from lunch, Spencer and Cody had to clean the living room, including the corners that they usually like to stash stuff into.  Spencer got mad and started throwing fists and so he got to fold and put away some clothes also.  He did it.  The living room got cleaned. I think the kids are finally realizing that mom means business with getting the house done.  When they fight they get a chore. When they don't help they lose a privilege.  Oh, another opportunity that Spencer and Cody lost was after lunch Kristen and Brandon were able to walk to the library, the two boys got to stay at the park and take care of Tamra and Aimee.  They still had fun, but they also wanted to walk to the library.  That is definitely a privilege for them. 

Mom is so mean - the meanest mom on the block!!!  And one day they will thank me for it :)  And one day they are going to become the meanest mom and dad on the block!!!