Cleaning House

It’s that season again – prepping for the new baby! As some of you long time followers know, for DS, my first, I never really had a nesting phase. With DD, I went crazy and did a massive purging of the house. As suspected, I didn’t do anything for another year and a half until the past few months while pregnant with DS2. 

Since then:

1) I finally attacked 3-4 years of mail and filing – it only took a full day. Sigh. If I would’ve just done it daily, then I wouldn’t have this problem. But it’s done now, and thus far, I’ve been pretty good about keeping up.

2) I am putting up all sorts of things on craigslist (finally). Including (but not limited to): my wedding dress, some floor lamps, an old Kindle Fire, misc. toys, shelves I bought but never put up, etc. Hopefully, I can sell all this stuff before the baby comes. I realize the wedding dress will not go as quickly as the floor lamps did. LOL. 

3) I have purchased a ridiculous amount of used small Legos. I think I’m done now. 🙂 My kids are all set for both the Duplos and the Legos – and all mostly used. 😀 I can’t believe how expensive these things are brand new. RIDICULOUS. What a scam!

4) I need to buy another twin bed to put it next to DS’s twin in his room. That way, the two oldest can share a big king sized bed and the baby can sleep with us the first month or so. Once the new baby is moved to his room, I’m sure the older two will find their way back into our room at night. 

5) I REALLY have to finish our living trust. I had it drawn up when DS was born – over three years ago! I just never read it or had it signed or put anything in it. SO STUPID. Must get this done before DS2 comes along. Otherwise, it’s never going to happen.

6) Since most of my food garden did NOT sprout, I’m wasting a lot of water. So I think I need to plant more stuff – otherwise, I spent a lot of money and water for nothing. I intend to do something soon-ish.

7) Over the years, I have purchased to box freezer to put in the garage and I have stuffed that thing (along with my freezer in the house) as well as my pantry full of food that I don’t even know I have. So, my goal is to eat out of my pantry and freezer for awhile. (Plus, I gotta let the thing defrost.) Perhaps it is finally time to get rid of the gallons of breast milk I have frozen – from DS. (Yeah, you read that right. DS. I gave away all of DD’s milk. I didn’t quite have my act together for DS. I have plans for turning it into soap – but that hasn’t happened. So maybe I really just need to bite the bullet and toss it. BUT IT’S LIQUID GOLD!!!) 

But ultimately, it’s silly to have all this food go uneaten – and since DH is unemployed (though receiving a paycheck), I’d rather we buckle down now and spend less on food we already technically have. It’s almost like a treasure hunt. We have a lot of frozen birthday cakes. LOL.

***

I think that’s it for now. When you have too many items on a to-do list, they tend to go undone. *sigh* I guess the first thing I should do is go to the garage and take out all that breast milk and toss it. It physically pains me but must be done. Wish me luck!

 

Lack of Sleep Makes Mommy a Raging Crazy Person

These last few nights, for some reason or another, I haven’t gotten a lot of sleep. (Ok, one time it was Bingo, the other time, I was nesting again – in terms of trying to fix my house/organize. I’m not pregnant again.) As a result, I’ve been yelling at poor DS a LOT. Like, I’ve turned into one of those people. You know, the mean, harried mom who looks like she’s about to beat the crap out of her kids. I yelled at DS so loudly the other day that DD, who was laying in my lap and crying, stopped and stared at me with a quizzical/shocked/hilarious/”Who is this person?” expression. As soon as I started speaking sweetly to her again, she bust back into crying. I just can’t win.

The worst is with DS and his non-stop whining. “Cookie! Cookie!” “Y-Y! Y-Y!” (Wanting to watch Super Why.) I suppose he wouldn’t whine nearly as much if I let him eat cookies and candy and juice while watching TV/iPad/iPhone all day. Seriously, he watches enough as it is! I can handle it mostly alright during the day, but somehow, around late afternoon/evening, my patience is all eaten away and I just yell. (And it’s terribly effective at accomplishing NOTHING.) I feel like a jerk.

The good thing is that right when I’m about to combust, DS will do something super cute. Thank God he is really, really, really ridiculously good-looking. Truthfully, he really isn’t doing much that is terribly naughty. He’s just being two. Plus, I’m attempting to potty-train him and although I don’t mind discovering pee by stepping in it, (happened this evening after he went to bed and I went to do the second load of laundry for the day), I can’t say I enjoy it overly much.

Also, I know that he starts acting up when he’s tired/hungry/bored/lonely. I really could head off many of these melt-downs if I just hid his snacks/fed him/played with him instead of facebooking/putting together a stroller/breastfeeding/cooking/going to the bathroom.

This is all just to say that I need to go to bed earlier.

So, to remind me why I love my children, here are a few funny things that have happened in the last few days:

1) During his nap yesterday, I swear DS dreamed of cookies. He started crying and then saying, “More!”

2) DD couldn’t breathe today at the park and she was hungry and squalling. I had no squeezy bulb so I literally had to suck it up. That’s love.

3) Today, DS taught me the “I dot choo” game. Well, I guess I taught it to him by grabbing him and tickling him and saying, “I’ve got you!” He’s just learned how to request it.

4) When I was tucking DS in tonight, I said, “I love you!” DS replied, “I luh you!” Then I said it again and he replied, “I no luh you!” and laughed hysterically.

 

It Is Finished

At least, the office is. 🙂 YAY! I wouldn’t have been able to do so much if it weren’t for the help of DH, my insanity, and my friend’s mom watching DS and her granddaughter today. I was able to put the finishing touches on the office and all that really needs to be done now is vacuuming and hanging up pictures/things.

If I am feeling extra ambitious, I might tackle the garage. Now, all I need is to get off my duff and return a bunch of items to amazon already. I only delay because I can’t seem to find packing tape. How lame is that?

But mostly, I am feeling super-chuffed! YAY me!! And yay for getting it done under the wire. Hopefully, my posts won’t be so domesticated and lame going forward, but I doubt it. hahahah. Sorry Dear Brother. I am now even more boring!

 

The Frenzy, It Is Ending

Welp, we did indeed go out last night. Three hugely pregnant women and one of my friend’s mom. 🙂 It was awesome. And today, I am suffering! I am SO TIRED. I haven’t been tired in two weeks – and now, I’m exhausted. The thought of finishing the office is draining. But I will persevere – because if I don’t, it will stay that way until the next baby. *shudder*

I have a good hour to relax or so before I start though. Simply because the room is across from DS’s room and he’s just settling down for the night. No need to instigate him further.

Did I mention I was tired? And that the baby is about a week or at most, two weeks away? THAT IS INSANE.

 

Longer Than I Thought

Hmmm… looks like the office might take more work than I initially thought. Either that, or I am seriously starting to lag due to insomnia. Perhaps it’s that. 😉 I just have to keep telling myself it’s a work in progress and that two years worth of crap cannot be cleared within a two, four, or even six hour period. *sigh*

At least DH moved around the furniture a bit so there is a lot more room and doesn’t seem as cramped. I’ve cleared out a few boxes as well as five giant bags of stuff. Amazing how so much can be recycled, donated or thrown away only to be left with maybe a quarter of stuff to be kept. WHY have I been keeping 3/4 crap for so long?

I think that’s what I find so fascinating as I have been clearing my house. How much of the stuff I held onto because I felt bad about giving it away because my mom or someone special had given me something, or that something had cost a lot to acquire but I no longer (or never did) enjoy the item. It has been surprisingly freeing to just get rid of stuff. Each time I fill a bag (whether to throw away, recycle or donate), I feel as if a burden is being lifted from my shoulders. That slowly, with everything I get rid of, I am becoming lighter and less owned by my things.

What’s that quote from Fight Club? “The things you own end up owning you.”

So true!

It’s funny, too, how my mother has reacted to my clearing out my house. She was not really happy about it! (Can you even imagine?) She kept saying, you never know when you might need these things or fit into these clothes again. It’s as if because I was so free with getting rid of my stuff, she felt I was judging her for keeping all of hers! Hey, she has a 4000 square foot house. If she wants to keep at least three decades worth of clothing (of which, I believe she really only wears maybe 1/20th), that’s her prerogative. But she’s lying to herself if she’s going to wear clothes from 30 years ago (even if they do fit).

I, on the other hand, am no longer going to be beholden to clothing or things that don’t make me happy to wear, (and as a result, languish in the back of my closet, taking up emotional and physical space) or use. That’s something that watching all those TLC shows has been helpful with.

From What Not to Wear, I got the idea of “Why would you have a closet full of clothes that make you unhappy when you look at them? Why have clothes that remind you of when you were thinner, younger, or prettier? Why have clothes that other people gave you (or that you bought yourself) that do not fit who you are as a person and make you uncomfortable or not yourself?”

From Hoarders, I am reminded of the fact that just because you get rid of something that someone you care about gave you, it’s not throwing that relationship away. (I have a particularly hard time getting rid of clothes or things my mom bought me with good intentions. But they either do not match my taste and are clearly hers, or that I have never needed or wanted or given a crap about.) Also, that throwing away sentimental items does not remove the good memories associated with them. (That’s hard, too.) Plus, it is a fight to combat the idea of “What if I need it someday?” And then, to pull back and think that if I truly needed that item in the future, how much would it really cost me to replace it? Usually, it’s only a little bit of time and MUCH less money. Toss it.

As this honing and culling process goes on, I feel more and more myself. Someday, perhaps I will truly get rid of all non-essential items, but there are just so many drawers that contain little items that I doubt this process will ever be finished. I can only hope that the lessons are not lost upon me and that I muster up the energy to spring clean at least once a year. (And if not, perhaps popping out two more babies will do it.)

Whew! This post neatly matches the title – it turned out longer than I thought.

(That’s what she said!)

 

Nesting Continues

I am so pleased!! Pretty much I have only two more major things to get done (and it really is major):

1) Clear out the office/guest room. (I swear, I’ve done this twice this year so far, and I’ll just have to keep on doing this. Mainly because as things clear out from other rooms, they end up here. *sigh*)

2) Clear out the Harry Potter closet. (I know, my good friend helped me with this back in June – but another friend returned a ton of my baby items and they’re all currently stuffed in there. Plus, I bought more crap in bulk. *sigh*)

ETA: I finished #2 up there starting at midnight last night and finishing around 2:30am. This post was written the other day. hee!

Of course, vacuuming once we are all done!! YAY!!

I swear, by the time DD gets here, my house will be in the best shape it will ever be in. Only for me to ruin it in the next two years and I’ll have to do this all over again when Baby 3 shows up. What’s going to be my motivation after I’m done popping out babies? Ah well… that’s not likely to be until 2015 assuming all goes as planned.

 

The Frenzy Continues

Today, I was very fortunate that my friend’s mom came over to accompany her granddaughter on a playdate while my friend was at a doctor’s appointment. (She was due this past Thursday but baby 2 hasn’t yet been evicted.) Anyhow, my friend’s mom told me to relax or do whatever while she, her granddaughter, and DS went upstairs to play in DS’s room. So, of course, I cleared/organized the laundry room. It is so awesome. I am so pleased. Who knew I had so much wasted space? Everything is put away and I still have some room in the cabinets. Plus, I got to vacuum in some super dusty corners. YAY!

Oh, and I almost forgot that I finally washed several seasons worth (winter and spring) of bedding from my room, my kid’s room, and the guest room. Sometimes, I can get very lazy and leave bedding that I don’t need immediately on my walk-in closet floor for, oh… um, close to six months? Whatever. Now they’re all clean (I think I did 4-5 loads today) and folded and zipped in handy dandy plastic bags. Yay, again!

Then tonight, of course, I started my pantry reorganization project at 11:30pm at night. DH was DISPLEASED because I told him originally that he didn’t have to do anything, but then, I asked him to take everything out of the pantry and put it in the hallway. It’s not that he didn’t want to help, he would just prefer I tell him earlier in the night – and not when he’s close to bed or in a time-crunch.

At any rate, three hours later, my pantry is super-organized and I have a ton of left over room and space. YAY! (Plus, I found some food I threw out, as well as miscellaneous items I can add to my giant pile of Donate items.)

So, here’s the tally thus far in my crazy re-organizing/de-cluttering binge:

1. Master bedroom walk-in closet
2. Master bedroom linen closet
3. Master bedroom bathroom sinks (although this was done a few months ago, but I’ll count it as part of this giant decluttering project)
4. Guest bathroom sinks/cabinets
5. Laundry/utility room
6. Kitchen Pantry

Up next:

1. Hallway/Harry Potter closet (this is filled TO THE BRIM)
2. Upstairs hallway linen closet/cabinets
3. Office/Guest room
4. Kitchen drawers and cabinets
5. Garage

Of course, a ton of other stuff (mainly laundering cloth diapers and baby clothes to get things ready for DD). It seems that every time I cross a thing or two off my list, I think of two or three more to add to it. I am clearly going crazy – however, my house seems to benefit so I’m not complaining. I just know that once the baby gets here, I won’t be doing ANYTHING for a long while. And since a lot of these items are things that are nice to do, but really a lot of effort, I know I won’t get to it after DD is born. So, I’m very pleased that I have these insane bursts of energy because once I’m done with my giant list, I should be good for at least another year or two. (You know, until I get prego and all nesty-like with BB3.)

 

Out With the Old…

But hopefully, not too much In With the New! It is very tempting to fill up all that space that we cleared out of our walk-in closet. It is very tempting to go clothing shopping (but since I’m hugely pregnant, that isn’t really a problem for me at the moment). I really need to re-institute my old college and immediate post-college rule about a clothing item in and then a clothing item out. (Which is very similar to the method I mocked my friend’s husband for, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a sound principle!)

I am super happy and excited about the clean closet. I really should have taken before and after photos. I still have about 20+ things on my To Do Before DD Comes List but I’m super glad because these were some of the BIG things. The other biggie items on the list include cleaning/clearing out the hall closet (because there is NO room in there – and it’s a Harry Potter type closet in that it goes under the stairs so technically, there should be plenty of room but it’s filled to the brim). And of course, the ever-present, clear out the office/guest room. That room is MUCH better than it used to be, but we could still get rid of more stuff (or at least, organize it in some fashion).

A never-ending task, this purging of clutter. (This is perhaps why I also watch Hoarders so much. You know, to get me motivated to get rid of stuff.) I really am as pleased as punch. So happy!

 

Making a Mess to Clean

Sometimes, I end up making a complete mess of my house because I’m making an effort to clear out crap. And boy, is my house a mess! About a month ago, a real good friend of mine came over to help clear out my front room. It has been really nice and neat and pretty for the last month. And, um… it still is?

But since I left on my curb a bunch of stuff to give away this Monday, I have re-filled the space with more boxes (as a holding area). These are boxes filled with a ton of books (either mine or DH’s or even my brother’s) that are going to be loaded up into the van for going to the used book store and/or the library.

What’s with the flurry of getting rid of crap? Well, as you may recall, I am expecting DD in mid/late October. As a result, I am moving/switching rooms around. I want to get this all done at least a month before DD shows up so DS doesn’t think it’s all DD’s fault (which, of course, it is). Anyhow, I have to clear out the guest room and smash it into the office (which has been a mess since I’ve moved here in September 2009). Hence, moving a ton of books and bookshelves out to create space for the queen bed that will be there.

But why NOW? Because DS’s brand new big boy twin bed is coming on Thursday! YAY? YAY! Once I clear out the guest room (and make some safety adjustments), I can start putting in all the awesome garage sale items I got on Saturday into DS’s room. I can go wild and crazy with the wall decals (a bunch of cars, tracks, and pond animals – a veritable mix of weirdness) and actual nest for my kid! I went through ZERO nesting when DS was arriving so he at least should get to benefit from my nesting phase for DD!

But all these domestic shenanigans make me physically very tired. (Especially since on Monday, like the idiot that I am, I moved a VERY heavy desk out of the house and down the 4-5 front steps to the curb because I forgot to tell DH to do it the night before and of course, I just HAD TO HAVE THAT THING OUT THAT MORNING for the curbside charity pick up. Because, you know, it’s not like we have one of those every week. *eyerolls*)

So, I’m exhausted. Which is so utterly ridiculous since I slept nine hours last night and had a good two hour nap this afternoon. RIDICULOUS. Proceed playing the world’s smallest violin for the world’s saddest story. I know. I’m an ass.

 

Surrendered Rooms

In continuance of my previous post, I wanted to talk about the rooms in my house that are currently overrun with stuff. And not just any stuff. Stuff that I either have been too lazy or sentimental to throw away or organize. Since I’m rarely in these rooms (the office and the front living room), I conveniently throw stuff in there that I might eventually get to.

Unfortunately, every time I enter either of the rooms, I feel a horrible guilt and condemnation of my housekeeping and neatness. I feel like a hoarder and slightly ashamed. I want to clean them up – but really, the task is daunting. It would take days, I think. I know that if I just took ten minutes every week or so (or, if I was really ambitious, I’d do try every day), it would quickly snowball and then I’d have my rooms back. But I never start. What I really need is someone to come over and do it for me. (Especially organize my desk.) I always feel as if I’ll need something (when in reality, I haven’t touched some of my stuff since high school).

I know that if I take care of this, I’ll feel much better but my overly perfectionist self doesn’t want to start unless I have everything figured out. Likely, though, these rooms won’t be attacked until the impending birth of my second child (no, I’m not prego yet) and I’m forced to clear out the guest room for DS and make the office my new guest room and the front/dining room into a guest/book/activity room. All without buying new furniture (with the exception of perhaps floor to ceiling shelves).

Anyone want to come over and help? 😉