Keeping up with the closet

Courtesy of Graphics Fairy

Hello Ladies~

This week I want to share how I keep my clothing uncluttered and manageable.  Confession here, I've never been a shoor having so many clothes they don't fit in my closet. I've just never been that kind of gal. If this is you and you want a different perspective, I encourage you to continue reading and consider the possibility of Courtney Carver's 3.33 challenge.

When my husband and I first did the 3.33 Challenge 10 years ago, it was eye opening for me.

First, being the retired Marine he is, he got out a notebook and a pen and made a list of the items he would use and roughly what he would need for the next 3 months. Then separated all his clothing into 3 piles: love & use, like and sometimes use, and don't wear - needs repaired- doesn't fit categories. Proceeded to sort through while considering his list and was done in 30 minutes.

I, on the other hand.  I pulled out all my clothes in the forementioned 3 piles and started to make decisions. I got about 3 items into it and my brain froze, I had a melt down and then felt ashamed. I was so attached to my clothing and I never knew it. 

Now I am a Christian woman who always try to keep material things in perspective. My Journey here on earth is only temporary.  So I KNOW all these clothes will not get me to heaven.

Yet I sat on the floor sobbing. 

Mainly because I realized how attached I was and how difficult it was to make the decision to let things go. 

I finally pulled up my bootstraps, had a conversation with the Lord, and went back to work with the mindset that some of my items will bless someone else.

Knowing many of these clothing items, especially the ones from say...my first date 33 years ago!, are only taking up space and moving with me all over. I would happen to come across one of those memory items while changing out seasonal clothes, notice it and say "oh, isn't that neat. I remember when I wore that." Then have a lovely time down memory lane.

I have learned to keep the 1 or 2 items that are truly meaningful, but not all 20. By letting go of the other 18 I felt a freedom and a sense of doing the right thing. 

The right thing being, making room in my heart for Jesus and not filling my heart with a love for clothing that can't be satisfied.

I never did the 33 portion, but I did do 50. It was remarkable how choosing clothes in the evening for the next day was so stress free it almost felt like I was missing something. I was! Stress of choices.

Today, I still do a modified version of 3.33. Every 3 months I take all my clothes and look at what I haven't worn in the past year or 2 and remove it. Then any item that I feel any kind of "eh, it's ok", out ya go! When I get down the the rest, I try to pray about what items I truly need and count roughly to 50 including my jackets for the season. 

It always amazes me how full my closet is, then after I remove the extras how much space there is. Hangers can actually move rather then fighting with the hooks to get them in just right.

Most of my clothing shopping is boutique or consignment shopping. Some items I only buy new. Such as undergarments, pajamas, and shoes.  That is a non-negotiable for me.

Any new items have to be on sale. A recent example is Eddie Bauer has long sleeve t-shirts that I wear under all my sweaters throughout the winter. They had a lovely green that was soft and yet enough color to go with almost any sweater I had. But it wasn't on sale. So I waited.

For 6 months!

It finally went on sale and I got the shirt, originally for $30, for $14, plus there was an additional discount that I qualified for. $12 total. Woo hoo!

I love a deal.

It's always fun to share this story. And yes, my husband does 3.33 for the most part. In his way.

Have a lovely week. We are finally getting rain here, Thanks be to God. No water from the sky since the last snow in February until this past week. So  we are very grateful.

Peace be with you,

Mrs. Peterson

I will add update pictures when I get mine done this season ;-)

Managing our things

Morning chat over breakfast

Hello Ladies,

Today I wanted to share what I do to manage our things in our home. There are many methods out there, this is just what I do. Hopefully you can glean a little something.

First, to clarify, I am often wanting to remove things that we don't use and have no problem returning something that, once I got it home, doesn't work.  

On with the topic.

As a homemaker, part of our job is to manage our things. Through the past few years I have let go of this and have started feeling like our things are managing me.

Let me give you an example. Too many house plants, piles of paper that I haven't take the time to decide what to do with them, craft projects & ideas that I collect, files that need cleaned out, and even the boxes of donation items...that still need to be taken down.

When I notice I am tense and stressful while trying to tend to too many plants, then I need to find a home for a few of them so I feel more peaceful while tending them.

Same with the craft projects. I can collect a TON of ideas and even supplies. Walking into Hobby Lobby, I have to stay focused on the one thing I am there for. When the supplies get to a point that I feel tense and I know I will never get to all these wonderful things, I need to pull out all those things that don't give me peace.  Jamming more in drawers or needing to find cute containers to to hold them all isn't helping me manage hour home.

Having peace has always been my marker, if you will.  If it doesn't give me peace then the Lord is not in it.

Moving DVD's around, or a ton of family pictures doesn't serve our home to be a peaceful, cozy home. A few of the best pictures and putting our favorite DVD's in a cabinet does.

I often use the container method too. I pick a space that something will be, say DVD's in a cabinet. If we start getting too many and they don't fit then it's time to reduce what we have so they stay contained in that space.  

I hope these ideas help.

Lately I have been removing 10 items a day. Usually from where ever I am standing and see something I don't use anymore or have never used. Out cha' go!!  Then I take a few minutes and remove 9 more items. 

It's been freeing. 

Wishing you God's peace,

Mrs. Peterson

More to Homemaking then cleaning

Peonies from a friends garden.

Hello Ladies, 

I am so excited for summer to be here. After the spring winds here in Colorado, it's the time to throw open the windows and let the sun in. At least until 10 o'clock, then I close them all to preserve the cool air in the house. 

Many people I talk with tell me "there is only so much cleaning you can do! Why are you still a housewife?" Well, that is the topic of my post today. What else is there besides cleaning? 

Cleaning our home is a matter of health for our family. In some of the older homemaking books I have that I had used when I first become a homemaker 20 years ago, state that it is the homemakers job to ensure a clean home for her family. Air quality would be making sure the dust is kept to a minimum (which is a challenge out here in the country and the wind blows often), sanitation would be the bathrooms kept clean and the kitchen, as well as providing clean clothes for sanitation, as well as making the home a home. 

With inviting comfort in mind. There are several ladies out there that can help give guidance with to develop your own system to managing this (Fly Lady, Diane in Denmark, A Better Life with Kat), so I won't be doing that here. 

Managing our home, though, also includes: managing "things" (clutter too), clothes, food, finances, family/social, gifts, dating your spouse, as well as keeping your Faith life alive in our home. 

Each of these could be a blog post by themselves, so I will write a short bit on what I do for each one twice a week for the rest of June. For now, I hope you will look at your home from a different perspective, that there is more to managing our homes then just cleaning. 

I hope you are doing something today that will preserve your energy and something that makes you happy. 

 Today, my "happy" is I hung a shade cloth on our Veranda so I can sit out the in the early morning and not get toasted from the sun, while I have my prayer time. Bonus: a visit from a wild bunny. 

Peace be with you, 

Mrs Peterson