Clutter Catch-Up

Due to our recent trip to Annapolis (which was great fun; more details later), I am six days behind in the:

7 x 6 = 42 things, right?

Here they are:

Gorgeous picture, right?  Ignore the blurriness (I have a feeling little fingers have been touching my phone) and Sydney's place mat in the upper left hand corner.  So here's what you're looking at (roughly from left to right):

• 1 bottle insulator I've never used
• 7 random toiletry items
• 6 random baby feeding accessories
• 1 itchy washcloth
• 1 never-opened package containing a baby medicine dropper and nasal aspirator
• 1 empty Soft Soap refill bottle
• 1 box that the iPad cover came in
• 1 empty checkbook
• 1 cracked Tupperware bowl/lid
• 1 medal that I "won" for last year's Mud Run
• 1 reusable Subway bag
• 1 gauzy drawstring bag that I'll never use
• 1 baby brush
• 1 baby comb
• 1 leftover roll of "How Big is Mommy?" belly tape used at a recent baby shower
• 1 nearly empty spool of ribbon
• 1 pair of too-small baby shoes
• 1 unopened sponge that goes with a mop we no longer own
• 2 headbands that give me a headache
• 3 random party favors
• 6 bottle nipples that go with bottles we no longer own
• 1 stack of paper that I shredded (not pictured)
• 1 stack of receipts that I shredded (not pictured)

Where did all that junk come from?!  What have you gotten rid of lately?

Yesterday's Clutter and Unrelated Pictures

Here's what left our house yesterday:

3 magazines

4 baby hangers I haven't used in years and that sort of get on my nerves.

In unrelated news, here are some pictures of the girls, featuring Syd's new haircut:

I should have used my flash here.

This is what Lorelei does with her head when you ask her, "What does a cat say?".

Syd and my Mother's Day tulips.

Days Four, Five, and Six...

So I didn't realize, until yesterday, that this lovely clutter-busting challenge is only for the week days, and not the weekends!  This works out perfectly, because I got rid of 7+ things Saturday and Sunday, but will not be able to bust any clutter this Thursday or next Monday, so I'm right on track. :-)

Saturday
Seven more items (easily) gone.  I wonder how many days it would take before I would stop finding things I don't need anymore?  Here's today's list:

• five baby bottles
• one pair of too-small Crocs
• a toy that my girls never play with (until they saw it in the bag on our way to Goodwill...then they wanted it, ha!)  (Don't worry, it still went to Goodwill.)

Not the best picture, but here's the proof!

 

Sunday

I tossed a variety of lotions and body sprays that I haven't used in ages and ages.  I think there were ten.  The next time I'm tempted to buy such an item, I need to pinch myself; I still have plenty. 

Monday

• A reusable bag that came with a Subway kids' meal many moons ago
• five empty containers that used to hold scented wax (why did I still have these?)
• one giant pile of paper that I shredded (not pictured)

 

My dad arrived from out of town for a visit yesterday (Monday).  He mentioned that our house looked bare (a compliment from a member of the male species who isn't hyper aware of my clutter-busting endeavor!).

 

Head on over to Money Saving Mom to see what she and everyone else is getting rid of!

Day #3: 10 Things Gone!

10 more things gone today for the clutter-busting challenge!

• 1 crib sheet with a rip in it
• three baby towels and two baby washcloths that are too small for my 18-month old
• 1 pair of pajamas that I have to squeeze over my 18-month old's head
• a lone baby sock
• an extra pair of carseat strap protectors (is that what they're called?)
• a blanket I made a few years ago; it's cumbersome and we never use it

All items went to Goodwill with the exception of the lone baby sock. :-)

Week Seventeen: 21 graces

1. A fun, kid-friendly Friday evening work event.
2. A lovely baby shower.
3. Moving around furniture to finish the girls' shared room.
4. Blowing up the kiddie pool for the first time this year.
5. Subway for dinner...
6. ...thus a night off from cleaning the kitchen.
7. Chet teaching our Sunday School class.
8. Quickly reorganizing the girls' drawers and closet.
9. A Sunday afternoon nap.
10. An important, successful meeting.
11. A play date next door.
12. Listening to an awesome Focus on the Family broadcast (are any of their broadcasts not awesome?!).
13. One last lunch with a dear friend who moved this week.
14. Completing a closet organizing project in one day (I'm usually a   s l o w  organizer).
15. Type A Sydney, instead of whispering, "Goodnight, Mommy, I love you", whispering, "Mommy, pick up the Boppy" (it was on the floor).  I like when the last thing she does at night is make me laugh.
16. The very first words out of Sydney's mouth in the morning, "Mommy, last night Daddy forgot to clean out my ears, comb my hair, and brush my teeth!"  The girl is hilarious, I tell you.  And did I mention Type A?
17. The first day of May.
18. Starting a new, month-long, clutter-busting challenge.
19. Getting out of the house, despite the rain.
20. Lovely early Mother's Day tulips (since Chet will be gone for Mother's Day).
21. Dairy Queen's Chocolate Xtreme Blizzard.

Day #2 (and more!)

It was easy to get rid of seven more things on Day 2 of the Clutter-Busting Challenge!  In fact, I was so eager to get rid of everything, I didn't even get a picture...so here's a list:

• three baby hats my children never wore
• a hair bow I've never liked, and therefore, my girls never wore
• a bottle of bubble solution that doesn't really work, and that causes a fight between the girls every night come bath time (this went in the trash)
• a million ketchup packets that were starting to make our kitchen counter look like the condiment buffet at a fast food joint (these also went in the trash)
• a Pampers Gifts to Grow code that has been sitting near our computer for several days, that I finally entered and then trashed

So...is that seven, or 1,000,007?  My mom is also going to do the challenge; I can't wait to see how it goes for her!

In case you're not interested in clutter busting, here are some pictures along with a couple of tidbits of information.

Sydney got her hair cut today, and I tried to take a picture before her dance class. Instead of looking at the camera and smiling beatifically, she pretended to sleep and snore:

A few rare moments (if there are a few, are they still rare?):

Lorelei's hand on Syd's leg cracks me up.

Chet leaves tomorrow morning for his field training exercise for 3+ weeks.  He is happily (not!) packing as I type this, and the fact that I am typing this means I am avoiding the post-dinner kitchen mess and aiding him in packing.

Anyway, I caught a sweet shot of Chet reading to the girls before they went to bed.  I wonder if Sydney will notice his lengthy absence this time around...

TGIF tomorrow!

Clutter-Busting Challenge

Money Saving Mom is doing a clutter-busting challenge that I have decided to join!  The challenge is to get rid of seven things every day during the month of May.  We will be out of town a few days in the middle of May, so I may not be able to get rid of seven things every day, but I'm excited for the challenge and the accountability!

Here are the first seven things I'm getting rid of:

• canvas laundry bag
• four waterproof pads (for changing diapers, etc.) that drive me nuts because they shed everywhere
• a Disney poster that I thought we might someday frame (even though my kids have never been to Disney)
• a monkey that screams when you throw it and it hits something (This monkey was a stocking gift one year from Chet's mom -- we all got one, and they are hilarious.  But Lorelei found it yesterday and about had a nervous breakdown when it started screaming, so I decided it had to go.  Sorry, Mom -- we love you!)

I mentioned sort of in passing that Sydney and Lorelei started sharing a bedroom last week.  That little switcheroo has had me in a decluttering mood, so this challenge was perfect timing!

What can you get rid of today?

"Good" Pictures and Syd's Mad Dancing Skills

I am learning about my camera at the rate of about one tidbit of information per every two months.  Better than nothing, right?!?!

Here are a couple of pictures I've taken recently:


Lorelei in her baker's hat.



Syd screaming at Lorelei.  Typical.



Forgiveness.

Sydney's dance recital is the 25th of this month.  She recently switched dance classes (not studios, just the class), and the teacher let me record her dance so that I could help her learn it (she learned a different dance in the other class; each class does its own dance).  Well, learn it she did!  She practices every day, and it's hilarious.  These pictures are not great quality, but here are her mad dancing skills:

Check out that emotion...

...and those toes.

Lorelei always joins in on this part of the dance.