It's time to move on....

Obviously this blog has come to the end of its usefulness.  In the next week or so I'll be moving the posts to my main blog, The Pieceful Ewe.  Please follow me there as this blog will self destruct in 7 days (or so).

Sense of Accomplishment?

Don't fall for the lies in your head - you are accomplishing more than you know.

When I looked forward to being at home for a little while, when still at work, I planned out how I would spend my time.  This was good to be pro-active in what I wanted to accomplish.  My mind would dream up images of me working hard, accomplishing things in the first week.  

So far, I feel like I haven't accomplished much.  While decluttering under the kitchen sink, I found a leak.  That leak led to the back of the fridge's ice maker.  Which led to having to clean out the other cupboards to string the hose through.  And while we're at it, why not fix the faucet that has needed attention for now.  And then there's other time eaters such as phone calls, 2 1/2 hours at the doctor's since they were way behind, a cute dog that wants to play.  

But I knew that some of these things would take away to get traction on.  Here's what I have accomplished so far:

• 5 loads of laundry
• 3 breakfasts with God
• Sheets changed
• Dusting
• Vacuuming & floor mopping
• Bathroom clean
• Windows & mirrors cleaned
• Walks with the dog
• Fridge cleaning
• Desk time - filing, writing notes, scheduling, etc.
• Decluttering most of kitchen, some of office
• Errands run
• 2 hours of editing my book

I guess that's not such a small list after all.  It just doesn't feel as if I have done that much.  But slowly, slowly things will all fall in place and be swept through.  

First Day Home

Who wouldn't want to spend the day with a puppy like this?

Well, today is the first day in a long time that I don't have a job, or one coming up.  Probably since the age of 16!  I've spent my morning cleaning and doing my routines, a modified version of the Flylady's routines.  In the afternoons, I will write and exercise and whatever else I feel needs to be done.  So far, so good.

The charity pick up came and picked up 2 boxes today.  Afterwards, I found 3 more boxes that could have gone, plus 2 small decor/furniture items.  Time to re-schedule them to come.  

My goal for the next couple of weeks will be to keep my routines up, which will slowly declutter and keep my house clean.  At the same time, to focus on the office downstairs which is right now a storage room.  My craft room will be after that, but I'm putting the office first for now since my hubby works from home and is currently using the downstairs living room as his office.  It will be nice to have him in his own room, with all the stuff in one place, with a door that closes.  

And so, it begins.

Last Day

Today ends 5 1/2 years working for my church.  It ends similar to my first day - alone in the office with me directing my own time and work.  

My first day at this job was by myself, the other office person was on vacation and the pastoral staff had Mondays off.  The second day started by finding and disposing of a spider for a co-worker.  And also, my first week was the last week of the former youth pastor's employment.

Today, I am mostly by myself and able to say that I have completed my job and left it better than it was before.  No longer is our church calendar on a desk blotter, or the church records in a stage between Excel worksheets and an under utilized database program.  This is also the first week of the last days of our senior pastor, I didn't know it was in the works until we were asked to send out a letter this week. And so I slip in and out of my job here, between pastoral staff changes.

Though I have enjoyed my time serving the church in this way, it does feel as if a burden is lifting.  There is some weight to a position in ministry when your paycheck comes from the sacrificial giving of others.  I don't regret these last years, it is just time for the next stage of life.  

I am looking forward to having a break from work and putting my time and energy into our home and things that went to the sidelines this last year.  There are ideas percolating for the next stage but I am holding them lightly, and listening to where God wants me to go next.

Soli Dei gloria.

Home Parties

Watcha gonna buy?

Last Friday I was invited to a home party.  You know, one of those multi level marketing to women things where they say it's all about the fun time with friends, but it's often really about finding the cheapest thing you can live with in their catalog to support your hosting friend.

If I sound cynical, I have reason to be.  I used to be a Mary Kay Consultant, and though Mary Kay in my opinion is a good company besides the home party thing, I've also hosted other parties for kitchen stuff, jewelry and others.  It's really not about the fun night with women, because if I wanted a fun night with my friends, I wouldn't make them feel like they should buy stuff they don't need or want.  In some instances though, the products are pretty good and possibly not available in other ways.  But in the case of last Friday night, meh.

The show was about bags.  Bags to put everything in, even some large enough for your kitchen sink.  Bags for babies, kids, cars, bags to organize, to keep your food cool, all in a large assortment of colors.  I looked down at my favorite Vera Bradley bag, and it far outshone anything that was being offered at the party.  What was I supposed to buy to support my friend?

• I didn't like the purses, though I love purses
• The cooler bags seemed unecessary as I just use a quilted tote bag for hot or cold items, which can double as a regular bag
• I don't want huge organizing bags because that means I have to fill them (the thought of accumulating enough stuff for the largest bag for traveling stressed me a little, to think of unpacking it)

So, I'm not their target audience - anymore.  I did find a small zippered pouch to put some things in for my upcoming trip to England.  So yeah, I found one of the cheapest things in the catalog that I could live with.  I chalk it up to a lesson learned - no more home parties.

I used to enjoy going to these things and supporting friends.  But I realize that I no longer with to accumulate stuff in this way.  If I want or need something, I will go out and find it myself.  I will be declining home parties in the future, which will also free up time too.  

What I've Been Up To

Two days ago, I decluttered something pretty big from my life, my job.  I put my 2 week notice in.  

The events leading up to this is why I've been quiet the last week.  Pretty soon I'll have a bit of time to declutter the rest of my home.

Simplifying the Wardrobe

Princess Leia had only 1 dress color, style and harido.  How much simpler can you get?

I love having less clothes in my closet and wearing them on a weekly and monthly basis.  It's so much easier to figure out what to wear in the morning when I don't have to weed through hangers of the clothes of my past dreams, past lives, and even future hopes.  It's just stuff that I love to wear.  But it wasn't always that way.

Newly married and just out of college, I tried hard to have a closet full of clothes that would reflect me and the latest trends.  But we couldn't afford to buy much or store much.  And then I heard a story on the radio about a woman who had simplified her wardrobe more drastically than any other person I had known. 

This woman had decided long ago that she would only wear 1 color - cream.   She didn't need to buy a lot of coordinating shoes and accessories and everything went together.  I was floored at the concept and toyed with the idea for about 10 seconds.  I love wearing color, and as a "winter" complexion, jewel toned colors love me too.  But I was inspired.

I decided that I would wear neutral bottoms - pants, shorts, skirts, etc. and wear color on top.  No more buying trendy pants or skirt colors and having to find the shoes, stockings, socks, etc. to match.  I would stick to blacks, browns, creams and whites for my shoes and socks.  This concept worked so beautifully and I never missed my navy blue pants or even that pair of red capris that were probably an unfortunate idea anyway.

A few years ago, I improved on my idea.  I decided that I would no longer wear brown since that color didn't look good on me anyway.  I no longer had to find brown shoes, stockings or socks.  And I also nixed gold tone jewelry, save one set that was from my mother's things.  Silver looked much better - so why not just wear what really looks good?

This last year I once again pared down my choices.  I decided that my jewelry drawer which resembled a junk drawer, had to go.  I would have 1 pair of earrings that could go with about everything and wear them all the time.  There would be a few other pairs for other occasions but I would put them away out of sight.  I got a necklace tree and limited my necklace and bracelet choices to what fit on there.  Gone were the worn, broken and unloved things.

Another benefit of these choices is streamlined shopping.  I can zero in on what I can put in my closet and easily turn down those things that I've said no to.  Gone are the afternoons at the mall where everything is a possibility!  Limits really do improve our lives.

All these things have helped me to keep only what I love and need in my closet.  It's been a process over time and it still continues.  I still haven't limited my pairs of shoes or dress scarves.  But it all came down to knowing myself; what I liked, what looked good and what I was comfortable living with.  

And I'm taking another bag to the consignment store today.