40 in 40 Week #2 Wrap up!

For those of you following along I'm working on my 40 bags in 40 days project with Ann Marie over at White House Black Shutters and am wrapping up Week #2 today. I'm a day early on the wrap up, but I have gotten some amazing work done this week and am ready to wrap it up and consider it closed. 

Honestly there aren't a lot of beautiful pictures this week. Most of this project consists of me dealing with the overwhelming desire to be organized and live simple and dealing with the hoarder in me that fights me at every turn. So, these posts will be mostly filled with garbage, literally. Lots of junk that I have spent years accumulating. 

I came to a realization this week while working on my clutter. I don't "love" most things I have. Most of my home is filled with "stuff" and I want to surround myself with things I love. So, this is about clearing out the stuff and focusing on what really brings joy to me in my home. 

 I'm waging war on this stuff and it must go....and go now! I am being ruthless this year and hopefully when next year's Lent season rolls around I can pride myself in the decluttering of small spaces like under a sink. Or I can spend some time decorating with things I love. For now though, the posts you will be seeing will look like a whole lot of garbage being tossed. :) My work this week was mostly in the basement. 

I did manage to sort through the boys dresser and toss 2 bags of stuff from them. Now I can find everyone's clothes each morning and all my laundry fits in the drawers. That is heavenly! 

Before:

After:

This is what I have accomplished in the basement so far (And likely some of the most embarrassing pictures EVER!)

Office Before:

Office After:

Laundry area Before:

Laundry area after:

Purple Heart came today and picked up a load of donations. Another load went to Animal Friends in WV for their thrift store Re-Tails. And a bunch more trash. Final count after week 2. 

13 Bags of Trash

29 Boxes/Bags donated

Total of 42 Bags gone....And umm.....It's only Week 2. This might seem like I'm an overachiever, but the sad fact is I have 2/3 of a  basement left to accomplish and I that is terrible! Next week I will be focusing my efforts on my bedroom closet (Which is still not complete) and more work in the basement. I'm hoping for another area to be cleared out in the next 7 days. 

Week #1 Wrap of 40 in 40

Well the end of week #1 is here! 40 Bags in 40 Days project started on Ash Wed. (Feb. 13th) and if you aren't familiar it's a way of "Giving up for Lent" (Clutter!) and a way to refocus on Simple Living, Organizing and reducing the clutter in your home. This is my 3rd year hooking up with Ann Marie at White House Black Shutters and the first two years collectively I purged over 100 bags of clutter from our home. 

That might leave you to think that I have a handle on this. Right?! Well, WRONG! I realized this year that I have not tackled the madness and really have barely touched the surface. I have a huge basement that is over-flowing and even worse...Still parts of my home that contains items that are not usable, not loved, and basically....Trash! 

So this year I'm hitting hard. Not holding anything back and purging it. Once and for all. We have a small home. 2 bedrooms....3 kids. You get the idea. Simple Living seems to elude me in the piles of stuff. My disorganization costs me time (LOTS of time searching for that ONE thing I want) and money (Just buying it because I can't find it). And I also realized this year that I don't "love" my home. Mostly because my entire home is decorated with "other people's things". things that people have given me, passed down, and collected through the years. 

So...I have finally decided to break those emotional ties that bind me and work towards "My home". Before the 40n40 project started though, I confess I started early. I began at the beginning of the year and while I didn't count bags or donate things (YET! They were moved to the basement) I started redoing some problem areas. 

Kitchen:

 Pretty new Fiesta Ware (Which I LOVE and are Lead Free, the main reason for the replacement!!!!) Replaced all the items that were crammed in the same cabinet. Crazy!

(These are technically still in my home in the basement...but it's progress)

I cleared off my buffet that seemed to ALWAYS collect junk and now it's a usable space for storage of my dry goods. I found these awesome glass jars at Thrift King for $2.00 a piece!

And now Wednesday I started cleaning out the clutter!!!

In the bathroom I found an entire box full of old vitamins and prescriptions. Some expired in 1998! Seriously people...I moved them 3 times. That is madness!

 "Bag" #1 down!

 Baby Baer's drawers were tackled. I found about 30 pair of infant booties. And umm...She's 2! 

these bags aren't "counted" yet because they technically have not left my home either. This is an important part of it for me. While I have cleared it from our living space it still sits in waiting....In the basement. Once it is MOVED from my home then it will be counted. 

I tackled under the bathroom sink! And then...under the kitchen sink

 And then I also "started" the basement. Which means there are no pictures of progress because all I did was walk through and gather trash. 

Total Count for the first (short) week is 8 Bags of Trash! GONE! 

Next Week I'm tackling more of the basement. The Linen Closet, My dresser, and hopefully Papa Baer's dresser as well. 

40 Bags in 40 Days Project

It's that time again! It's Ash Wednesday today and that start of 40 Bags in 40 Days project. The Giving up of  clutter for lent. This is my third year doing the project and I'm so excited and ready to do it this year. 

I'll be updating weekly (If not more often) about my accomplishments and tips on how to clear the clutter. I will be coming from the slightly emotional hoarder side of things as I struggle to get my own clutter under control. You can follow along though with the 40 Days Guru, Ann Marie, at her awesome blog (One that actual gets updated). She runs White House Black Shutters and is amazing at DIY and organization. 

She has printables available (Which I'm using) and is also hosting a closed facebook group for those of us who need support and lots of direction! Come join in the fun this year and give up your clutter for Lent. 

You can see her post here

Here are by "Before" pictures in all their glory. The basement, which is my BIG decluttering project of the year.....And a few other small areas of my home that haven't been organized yet. 

I'm also tackling the Kids clothes....Tubs and Tubs of kids clothes that don't fit any of my kids. They are going! 

So....Come get motivated with me and I promise to update my blog more then once a year. ;) 

Not my kid! Nope...I will be a good mother

Thought I'd share a little story for all you moms, moms to be, and people in general. It goes a little something like this:

My kid will never act that way *shaking my head* I will be a good mother, and teach them right. My children will listen and have manners. THAT mother *pointing my finger* needs to be a better parent.

So, the story may go a little different, but the theory is always the same. I thought the same way. I mean really? Who thinks this..... 

You see this handsome boy Brother Baer? Well, he would never have the substitute van driver drive around our block 3 times today and end up calling me because he's telling her he doesn't live here and her paperwork says he does! (Ummm.....no not my kid!)

And my daughter, Baby Baer would never climb into her kitchen sink, nor would she take her diaper off under her nightgown while I'm wasting time on facebook cleaning the kitchen and pee in the sink and proceed to "splash in it". Nope...not my kid. I'll be a better mother for one, and my kids will act better then that for two.  

Nor will she climb on things, mover furniture and that shelf in the other picture above....I certainly will not move it from the living room so that she stops climbing it. I will just "watch her better" and not change my house for her. I will make her listen. 

My pretty girl will wear bows in her hair.

Or not. (But it will be my choice...not hers...because who's the mother anyways?)

And this beautiful boy, Little Baer would never take his diaper off and pee out of the crib, or on the floor, and he won't push his sister or try to hammer her. And Baby Baer will never strip her diaper off a million times a day either. I'll be sure to be a better mom then that. 

They won't get things like Nutella on their bread, simply to get them to eat the bread. *shaking my head* what kind of mother does that? A lazy mom, that's who.

I'll insist they eat their fruit too....not just Nutella smothered bread. See that wasted banana? My kid will eat it. 

My kids will be perfectly mannered and I will be the perfect mother. Whose kids who act that way?.....Their moms just need to be better parents. 

So,  Let's face it, There are lots of things I swore my kids wouldn't do. And I am pretty certain that everything I have sworn wouldn't happen, has. Or will in the near future. Probably while I'm wasting time blogging. :)

So....Mr. snotty, too good for you, judgmental man in line at the mall the other day looking down your nose at me and my children. Let me explain something to you....they were laughing and giggling! Who cares they were wrestling and pouncing on each other like wild apes....they were laughing, there was no blood, so relax dude!

And I hope you have kids that act just like mine!

Sausage Skillet Fry

While my Mother in Law is here and keeping track of the little Baers I am catching up on the Blog. This is an amazing, super easy dinner I made last week. It was completely gone and everyone loved it! *Score*

My favorite part was it was a one skillet meal and took only 30 minutes. :) Perfect in my book. 

Sausage Skillet Fry:

1 lb of sausage, coined. I used smoked Sausage

8-10 medium Idaho potatoes, sliced with skin on

2 medium Bell Peppers (Mine were from the garden so not big) cut into strips

1 medium Red Onion sliced

Canola Oil for frying

Garlic Powder

Paprika

Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat the Oil in the frying pan, add everything....I added Sausage and Potatoes first and chopped the rest and added it as I went. Cook over medium heat until it is golden brown and everything is cooked thoroughly. 

Served it with a Cucumber Salad and that was dinner! :)

Basket Bliss

How did I spend my Friday night? With my favorite girls....In the Basement.

Every year at this time our basement becomes a hub of Basket making activity. Mended Little Hearts of SWPA has their annual Basket Bash in October, and we start putting together Gift Baskets of all sorts to give away!

Toys Galore, Bath Basket, Italian, Kitchen, Grill Baskets.....You name it, we will have that kind of Basket made!

Even Kitty Baer wanted to hep

We log them, tag them, and number them as we go. 

Care Care Baskets, Christmas Baskets.....We have those too!

Riding Toys for raffle.....And 40 Baskets all logged and tagged ready to go. 

We are only half way to the end.....Over 100 Baskets will be given away that day! Plus there will be 50/50, Cash raffles, Food, Drink, DJ, you name it! Tons of fun for an awesome cause. 

To find out the details of this Bash and Why we do it, you can go to here:

3rd Annual MLH of SWPA Basket Bash

God's Work

I have to admit, I am a work in progress when it comes to God and Faith. I have always been a believer, but my faith hasn't always been as strong as it should be. But, 3 years ago when little baer was born I found myself at a very important crossroad. And my faith began to evolve. I remember it like it was yesterday, I was sorting through some baby clothes that brother baer had worn. I pulled out a pair of yellow pajamas that had been bought my a dear friend of mine for brother baer and on the front of them it read: "And a Little Child Shall Lead Them" - Isiah 11:6. And at that very moment, sitting in the bedroom on the floor, with a baby with a broken heart laying beside me, I realized that this perfect little son of mine was given to me because he was leading me to where I needed to be.

I picked up my old Bible, and started searching. I wasn't really sure what for exactly. But just felt the need to read it. Then I called my mom, who called a dear old friend, to find me passages to read in strength and courage. I began to rely on it, daily reading the Bible to get through those months. The upcoming Open Heart surgery, the life after that. All of it. Then I felt God calling me to give back, to do his work for others. To open my heart and mind to his calling. And so I did.

It's been three years since that time. And some days I feel like I might be wrong about my path. The days that I find myself overwhelmed or feeling inadequate. The days that I feel very ill equipped to be a special needs mom, or some days even a mom at all. The days that I feel like this "job" is to big for me and it's not something I can accomplish. Or the worst days that I think....Why me? why on earth did you think that I could do this?

But that quickly fades, as an email comes in from a friend, or a phone call from a new family. The days that my kids shine with so much love and grace. It reminds me that I am doing what I was meant to be doing. I was meant to be this special needs mom, a heart mom, a voice for others. When things get dark and times get tough....something ALWAYS happens. Every.Single.Time. An offer of help, a donation from a stranger, a carload of donations for Care Bags, or just a smile from those babies of mine. It's like a voice from God saying.....You are doing the right thing, you are doing my work, and I am supporting you through this.

There has NEVER been a time on this journey that I (or We) needed something and the person we needed or the thing we needed to be supplied with has not been placed in front of me just as it is needed. From the very first person placed in my life, at the exact right time to the endless supply of love and encouragement that comes my way. That is how I know that I am following God's plan for me. I am following the journey as it is laid out for me to walk. It is certainly not easy. And I guess it was never meant to be. but, I am not alone. And that my friends, is a wonderful feeling.