Cleaning, couponing and more...

I have taken on a lot this year, but really hope to turn over anew leaf and a new lifestyle. I want a clean, clutter free home and also be successful in living at my newer, reduced, 1 person income. I eventually want to come to my house to relax and enjoy it not to be surrounded by junk and also be able to quit 1 job and work fewer hours like a normal person. I am missing some precious time with my son and by saving money and buying things more wisely, I KNOW I can do this. I have made a good start in the couponing world, but need to start working on menu planning and grocery shopping. I also need to keep it up to get my stock pile up on all the household "essentials". I am so very grateful for my friends and family who save their Sunday coupons for us to shop with each and every week. THANK YOU! God Bless!

So I am much better at doing some cleaning in the spring and summer months. Where it is warm, sunny and so beautiful outside. But I also have high hopes for enjoying my summer this year at the lake, beach, camping, parks and Silverwood. So I thought it was a great time to start ow. On another blog that I follow, she is going to post a program to follow to get your house in shape. It is actually being sold in a ebook for $7 for the complete expanded version, but since I am on a budget, I am just going to go with the condensed version for now. I think anything will help. I am so not good at keeping up with things.. like my blogs that I seem to never update or post too. Yes I know I still have program videos I want to post.. awe someday. Anyway, each week she will give us an assignment and I am really going to try to post it here and keep up with it. gosh even if I do a few of the steps, this house will have to look better each time. I relay can't do too much until I get some more room in the garage, I just want to toss everything, it is time to pare down for sure! Anyone care to join me on this challenge? Here we go!


Assignment #1 (to be finished, if possible, by Saturday evening, January 30, 2009)

A) Read pages 1-16 in Spring Cleaning for Normal People.

B) Quickly go through your entire home with a garbage can and toss out any and all trash you find. Remember, this is supposed to be something you do quickly; don't start pulling out all the furniture and taking everything out of your cupboards--we'll get to all that later!
**If your home is rather cluttered and this project seems overwhelming, start in little steps. For instance, set the timer for 15 minutes and stay in one room until you can no longer see any visible trash. Then move to the next room. Once the timer is up, stop for the day and repeat this exercise again each day until you have removed all visible trash from every room in your home.

C) Take three boxes labeled "give", "sell", and "maybe" and begin in one corner of your home and gradually move out until you have briefly scanned every room in your home. As you do this, scan each item you see and briefly question yourself: "Is this useful to me and/or our family? Is this beautiful to me and/or our family?"If the answer is "no" to both of those questions, it's likely time to find another home for this item. Choose one of the boxes to put it in and free yourself from unneeded, unloved, or unused items in your home!
**If your home is rather cluttered and this project seems overwhelming, don't try to do this all at once--take it slowly. For instance, set the timer for 15-30 minutes each day and tackle one small area at a time. I know that I said this was supposed to be finished by the end of this week, but it's really completely okay if this takes you three months to do. Keep plodding along a little bit each day until you've gone through your entire home. And then reap the rewards of a much-less-cluttered home and life!Have fun de-cluttering! I'll be back later with a post on my progress.