"i've just
gotta say it!"
June 2009
kathleen howe
I'm so pleased
that people are visiting the network in record numbers! Hurray! I hope just one thing they find will be an "aha moment" for
each of them!
I moved. Yes,
something I've wanted to do for years finally came to pass and I love it. I've just gotta say that it means a new beginning
for our family as a whole as well as a new beginning for me. Thank God.
With many reasons
for the move, many of them relate to topics within the network, my family's emotions and feelings, needs and my own recovery
personal growth journey. Let me share!
First of
all... the move. The move was something I had always wanted to do, but I went about it the wrong way. Because
of my avoidance behaviors associated with my Post traumatic stress disorder it was easy to do. You can read about this by clicking here.
Now, my job after the move is to incorporate good or productive and
healthy behaviors into the new house and the new beginning. We had to rent 2 dumpsters at the old house to take away all the
trash that was in our house. Still we had to dump some trash at the dump as well. We also have some trash at our new home
that we've been putting out.
Trash - unproductive.
Time To DeClutter?
If you’ve lost sight of your carpet, can’t find your
clean clothes in the pile on the floor, and don’t remember if that basket holds trash or important paperwork, it’s
time to de-clutter.
If you need a hammer and nails but have to wade through old toys, paint cans, and things that have gathered dust
in your garage to find them, it’s time to de-clutter.
Have you given up having family dinners because you’ve lost the dining room table under the accumulated
mess?
Do you shudder when you open your refrigerator because it’s a constant reminder
that you’ve neglected it? Are you afraid when you need something the kids borrowed and you are forced to search through the endless clutter in their rooms to find
your belongings?
Do you have to clean out your seat into an already overloaded trunk just to give a co-worker a ride
home?
People continually add to their daily stress because of the clutter in many, if not all, areas of their
lives.
Then they finally get a day off work only to once more ignore de-cluttering in favor of going shopping,
running errands, or taking the kids somewhere to have fun. So, the clutter continues to build. They may feel they sacrifice
enough of their time already and work too hard to spend their precious off-time decluttering.
Yet this may be the one area that could simplify their busy lives.
Gaining control over clutter can relieve stress. Sometimes a person will attempt to de-clutter their
homes by cleaning and clearing only what can be readily seen by any visitors.
This is similar to the child who shoves everything under the bed or into the closet in an attempt to
fool mom and dad, or at least to get them off their backs temporarily.
People become frustrated every day because they have lost something because of lack of organization.
They have shoved so much junk into lockers, closets, and into their drawers that they feel the situation is hopeless.
Busy families will literally stuff a dresser so full it finally breaks the runners on the drawers,
handles are pulled off from tugging open an overstuffed drawer, and the bottom will give way.
Kids lose athletic clothing, tennis shoes, and socks for lack of organization. Parents lose their ties
or are late to work because their suit was wadded into a pile and wrinkled. They forget to clean their uniforms. They misplace
important papers.
Clutter can affect grades at school, relationships, self-esteem, and careers. Have people
stopped visiting because your home has become so cluttered that it’s unsafe, a germ haven, and smelly - all because
you need to de-clutter?
You can learn to de-clutter. You must reprogram your thinking process and reassess your priorities.
It will help you regain your sense of overall well-being. It’s never too late to learn better habits.
source site: click here
If it's true that we're a product of our environment - and we're neglecting our environment - it's very likely that we're neglecting taking care of our own selves as well!
Declutter My House!
Almost every home has clutter. Clutter is the stuff that finds its way through your home, wandering
from place to place, without a place to belong.
Some clutter just needs to disappear. Other clutter should be organized and a place created for it to belong. But decluttering your
house doesn’t have to be difficult. It depends on how you do it.
There are many ways to declutter your home. I declutter my house by sorting items into three boxes:
keep, give away, and trash. Then, I empty the boxes into the places they belong, and create a home for all of my things. However,
this only works if you know your cluttered home is due to unnecessary items.
Another way to unclutter your house is by going through each room and accessing the clutter
and disorganization. I determine about how much stuff needs to go, and how much stuff needs to stay. If the problem appears to be a lack of places to put things, I head off to the department store
for a brainstorming session.
If you’re not sure where the organization section of your department store is, go to the first
employee you see and ask, “Where is the stuff I can use to declutter my home?” They’ll know right where
to send you.
Once you have a place for everything, it’s time to put everything in its place.
If you start putting things away and realize you still don’t have enough room for everything, you may need to reevaluate what items need to stay, and what items need to go. Some items can go into storage, such as seasonal items.
However, be careful that the next question you ask doesn’t become, “How do I declutter
my basement?”
A friend of mine declutters her home by getting rid of everything in the house that is not being used.
She does this every season. She also avoids bringing anything into the house without making sure that something else leaves.
This is a great way to not only declutter your house, but make sure that everything stays clutter free.
Another way to declutter your home is to get the help of your family.
Don’t try to do it all on your own.
Two weeks before any birthday, Christmas, Easter, or other gift giving holiday, I have my children
go through their toys and box up anything they no longer play with.
This help to keep their room, and the rest of the house, decluttered, as well as making room for the
new toys they will receive as gifts.
The prospect of getting new things always makes them more willing to part with those toys they don’t
really play with anymore.
source site: click here
Handy Household Hints
There are possibly thousands of handy household hints available through self help books, websites,
internet searches, and television shows. Below you will find what I think are some of the best handy household hints out there.
Here’s a handy household hint to ease your dusting chores and help your electronics last longer.
Did you know that you can repel dust from your electronics?
After dusting, use a fabric softener sheet that has already been used in your laundry, and rub it all
over the parts of the electronics that you don’t want to dust. Instead of attracting dust, the electronics will repel
dust!
Did you know that the best thing for decluttering your garden is likely in your kitchen cabinet?
The best weed repellent in your arsenal can be found in the baking section of your local grocery store.
Apple cider vinegar sprayed on any plant will kill it by the next day.
This handy household hint could save your life.
It’s a good idea to go through your medicine cabinet twice a year and throw out any old medications.
This prevents taking a medication by mistake, or children getting into medication that is old and might cause illness.
There are several handy household hints out there for cleaning tough floors.
Use silver polish to clean up crayon marks from vinyl or linoleum floors.
Remove wax from carpets by placing brown paper over the wax, then running over it with a warm iron.
Ivory bar soap works well on almost any carpet stain. Just use the soap with a toothbrush and rinse
well.
There are also a lot of handy household hints uttering up your windows and mirrors? Here’s a
handy household hint that will save you money. Instead of buying window cleaner, buy rubbing alcohol and put it in a spray
bottle. It won’t leave streaks and it will actually repel prints for a few days.
There are many other handy household hints available in a variety of places. The best way to find more
household hints might be to search the Internet, or try a household hint and organization book.
source site: click here
How to Declutter
Spring is in the air, and spring cleaning is all about getting rid of clutter! It is, after all, the
first step to home organization. But how do you declutter your home? By following this simple, three step process in every
room of your home.
You will need three boxes (large ones if you have a lot of clutter), a trash bag, an egg timer, a permanent marker, and a lot of self control.
Mark one box “Keep,” one box “Give Away,” and one box “Trash.”
Line the trash box with a trash bag. Set your egg timer for one hour, and go!
Start with the door way to the room, and work clockwise.
Anything you are going to keep goes in the keep box. Anything you are going to give away
goes in the give away box. Anything that needs to be tossed goes in the trash box.
Don’t second guess yourself.
Go with your first instinct. Your goal is to be done with this room in one hour! Don’t dawdle!
When you are finished with the room, or your timer goes off, it’s time to take care of your boxes.
Dispose of the trash.
Take the give away box immediately to your car and put it in the trunk to take to your
favorite charity or thrift store. (This way you can’t change your mind about keeping any of it!)
Then, it’s time to take care of the Keep box. Take the Keep box around your home depositing items
in the room they belong, putting them in their place.
If it is a room you haven’t decluttered yet, place the item in the room where it will be out
of the way until you have a place for it. By the time you are finished decluttering your home you will have a place for everything,
I promise!
If your timer hasn’t gone off yet, you did a great job!
If it has, reset it for fifteen minutes. Kick back and relax, and glory in what you have accomplished!
When the timer goes off a second time, it’s time to get back to work by moving on to the next room or finishing the
one you started.
Depending on the amount of clutter in your home and the size of your home, it may take several days
or a week of this process to declutter your home.
However, it will happen, and when you are finished you will have a clean, organized home with a place
for everything and everything in its place.
What a wonderful feeling!
source site: click here
This is the first
part of my latest journey. I don't want to put down too many things at once - so I'll keep the above information for the month
of June. It's a great time for garage sales and donating to Goodwill and other charitable
organizations. Contact a domestic violence shelter in your area to see what they could use for women starting their lives
over!
Get outside and
enjoy the spring/summer weather! It's so awesome to commune with nature!
As always, I'm
thinking of all of you and hoping that these websites are helping you in some way!
