Post Winter Vacation Clutter Update:

Have I made the grade? Status report after one week of tackling the crap in my house...

1) Credit cards will be paid off monthly. Have to check in on this, however, I did add some to the cards to complete the insulation in the attic. Hopefully the tax rebate will offset the expense, and I'll save money on the heating oil.

2) Join the Do not call registry. Cross this one off the list

3) Clean out the closets and Rotate seasonal clothes. Waiting on this one for the warmup in the weather. Maybe Spring Break will be a better check in point.

4) Train my kids to clean up after themselves. Still working on this...it's a daily battle of wits, though they're better at emptying the dishwasher and (partially) folding clothes...cleaning up their own rooms is definitely an uphill battle.

5) Extend this new mantra to my classroom. Of course, didn't set foot in the school over break, so I can't claim I did anything to chip away at this one...seems that I can work on this one one piece at a time. 5 minutes of cleaning each day is a good way to start. Break out the timer!

6) Eat through the pantry and freezer before shopping for more. Breadmaker is running; muffins in the freezer; this one is in progress, but can't quite cross it out yet.

7) Pay bills online and automatically. Still in progress here, but making more steps to complete it.

8) .Automatic savings transfers CHECK! Both the kiddos accounts and mine are automatically added to each month. Every penny counts.

9) The year of the backyard vacations. Once the mortgage situation gets finished and I can figure out what my work status is for the summer, I think I can start thinking about this one...but we certainly are taking a journey to the river this summer!

10) Assault the piles of junk. Worked a bit on this one, but still need to hit the boxes of stuff that I've set aside. But the basement workshop got sorted (still need to go through the drawers, organize & label). Once the weather warms up, we can tackle the garage (yet again, this seems to be an annual event!)

So, after one weekend, we are in progress. I may not have completed EVERYTHING on my list, but did get several big things accomplished. Vacation week is a success!

Declutter and de-debt my life

As I'm working towards streamlining my life, I am officially on the 'declutter' and 'lower my debt' campaign.

I have too much stuff. I routinely clean out the junk drawer, sort through the closet for Goodwill, clip coupons, and send the hand-me-downs to my nephews. However, there also seems to be a perpetual wave of stuff...I have a new mission to assault the debt and clutter in my life.

1) Credit cards will be paid off monthly. This will be a challenge for me. I typically haven't had this as an issue, but realize that I need to use the cards as only an emergency lifeline, not as a normalcy for life.

2) Join the Do not call registry. and are resources that can begin the process of eliminating junk mail and phishing phone calls. I also will begin calling catalogs that I don't want anymore (somehow I keep getting added to many more mailing lists...) and removing my name from their registry.

3) Clean out the closets and Rotate seasonal clothes. I like the idea of having a new wardrobe each change of season, but often I forget what I have until I open the box. Feel the need this year to organize a bit more, so in the 'off season' I will remember if I have a pair of khaki shorts or black wool pants. Getting the body in shape is also affecting my wardrobe (a good problem to have I suppose) but I also need to not go crazy over work-out clothes, hiking shoes, or flip flops.

4) Train my kids to clean up after themselves. A never ending battle, but still a valuable skill that I alone am responsible for. Cleanliness = rewards. Whatever their currency is, I need to capitalize on it.

5) Extend this new mantra to my classroom. Clutter and my classroom seem to be attached at the hip. I need to make an effort to clean up and organize a piece at a time, then maintain it. I'd like to see my desk BEFORE the last day of school.

6) Eat through the pantry and freezer before shopping for more. A slow process, but a necessary one. The pantry doesn't have to be full, but does need to be eaten. I think I can save money in shopping this way if we just ate what we had and didn't throw away food. I also want to utilize the breadmaker & wafflemaker more this year.

7) Pay bills online and automatically. This will allow me to save money on stamps as well as manage the bank account with more accuracy, especially with only two paychecks per month.

8) Automatic savings transfers. That 'rainy day fund' and 'college savings account' that doesn't get added to needs to have constant attention, without getting ignored with some excuse. To I pay myself first? That's a goal for this year. Get the accounting in order and take care of those emergency funds NOW!

9) The year of the backyard vacations. This year will be the year of the 'staycation' where we will visit family & friends, rather than the monumental trip. Documenting these trips also make the journey last longer - a DVD of pictures or a scrapbook book that we can look at over and over again.

10) Assault the piles of junk. Each day, I'm going to tackle a pile of junk in my house...and not just to 'move it to another room'. I want to trash it and pop it in a box for later. If I haven't looked at it in 2 weeks, maybe I don't need it. The problem I do have, is I put much of it aside until I 'have the time to deal with it'. This is the week to deal with it...

Status report in a week. We'll see what kind of grade I'll give myself!

Groundhog Day

The last three weeks have been like the movie Groundhog Day...I feel like I'm constantly snowblowing, shoveling, roof-raking, and trudging through the snowdrifts. My backyard now looks like a white wasteland...I think there was a swingset and a chimnea back there, but they are now covered...a 20 gallon Tupperware bin is completely covered.

Yet, the groundhog in Pennsylvania predicts an early spring. We'll see if it happens. I predict the weather may warm up, but the next prediction will be when the last of the snow pile out front will melt away and I'll get my front yard back. And if I can ever get to wear my flip-flops again. At this rate, I'll be wearing a hula skirt and flip-flops to teach class in July!