Toddler clothes revisited!

On what I'm calling post-concert inspiration Day 2, with a rainy outlok I abandoned further plans for the garden, and tackled the ever-growing pile of toddler toys, clothes and bits and bobs lying around in what I call E's space. My goal started out as simply tidying toys, but soon I'd turned it into a reorganising mission, moving her clothes into the area and giving it a complete overhaul.

This is the pile of toys, clothes and miscellaneous items that I've collected from the corners of the room. My husband's method of tidying up is to shove things towards the edge / corner. He's been quite busy in this room!

There used to be a chair here, with piles of stuff creeping up from the floor around it. This was post-cleanup about 1pm this afternoon.  By this stage, the song "Wrecking Ball" was reverberating in my head. Clearly that was today's motivational song, just as Red Headed Woman belonged to yesterday's yard work.

As I sorted through the too-small clothes, I photographed them in same-size sets, posted them on my Facebook 'shop' page and tidied them away in labelled ziplock bags for taking to the markets or charity.

This ziplock bag system for older baby clothes is something I've been searching for for years! Maybe I'm just slower than the rest, but I've often asked friends and relatives for inspiration for storage and sorting and not one person suggested "big ziplock bags". I'm thrilled, and now have a drawer full of these little fellows, totally sealed away from pests!

Drawer of  clothes ready to leave our house!

This is the pile about half-way. I had taken almost all the clothes out and sorted them; started on the toy sorting and the tallboy had been moved into the room. I was exhausted and not very motivated. Even Wrecking Ball didn't help much. So I called in reinforcements, posted progress in my Organising Energy Facebook group and made a phone call or two. What worked the most was the motivation not to leave the above photo as my last update on Facebook.  So I pushed on, and took another photo.

By the time I'd gotten this far I made some compromises. I decided to leave one box of toys unsorted but contained so that I'd get finished!

It wasn't long before I had finished! Today's big goal was sorting E's clothes - I have a drawer full of clothes bagged by size, all posted for sale, plus her drawers are in the same room so it's easy to access.

I've moved puzzles and entertaining toys up high so I can put them in the floor when I think entertainment is needed.

I have the book pile still to go but again, books all away in one place, too many so they'll be rotated into the normal bookcase, with only a few left out.

Miscellaneous toys in the cupboard, soft toys in one box, "baby" toys in another box; I still have one box to sift through (might be a stack of tossing out?)

Now I'm writing up this blog listening to some finer moments of Bruce Springsteen's tours (Twist and Shout with Paul McCartney, I Fought the Law and the Law Won).

Its time to go and put those toys back in their boxes, as in true children style, they've seen boxes of toys and decided to raid!  A moment for some education about keeping toys in their boxes!

Tomorrow I'm not sure what great things I'll acomplish, but I am pretty confident they'll be achieved to the soundtrack of another Springsteen anthem :)

Feel good lawnmowing!

I still haven't had much of a chance to sit down, I'm too busy acting on the post-Springsteen energy boom while its here.

Yesterday was a terrific success, as the whole family adjusted to being home, and my husband and I started to cope with the burden of being back in a less than ideal environment.

With the motivation of Springsteen songs running through my head, I got the whole lawn mowed in our 1/4 acre block!  A little bit of a contribution from hubby  to mow the messiest part down the back where weeds were growing 2 feet high and the place looks terrific.

You will be able to tell from the photos how much junk was lying around before the mowing, as there are white spots all over the lawn where bits and pieces were lying around for the whole week we were in Melbourne. 

The guinea pigs were a bit disappointed at no more long grass to nibble.

The back lawn looks a lot better now. It will take time for all the marks to grow out from the mess that was lying around.

This is the very messy bit that my husband mowed. And some of the junk that we just moved so we could mow around it.

My roses are going to look great against the lawn. The front garden needs a lot of weeding. I am tackling this by weeding a little every time I go out the front door. It seems to be stopping the situation from getting worse at least!

The best reward for my efforts, is that my 19 year old blind cat was able to find himself this patch of sunlight to warm up in today.

All I can say is Seize the Day, get off your ARSE and get things done. I'm sure if you're not an Aussie you could get off your ASS if you like too.  

Notes to self about life, the universe and Bruce

Before it all fades totally I am writing up some notes before I start gathering my thoughts all over again to dig deeper into the strange week that has been.

What I have learnt:

* to practice and seek feedback

* to not make excuses

* that a massage after a day at work would be good (musing on how nice that must be after hearing about Bruce Springsteen's post-concert routine)

* to let go and grab hold of what I have

Hopefully there will be and some other insights to follow. Thus far, the 'Bruce Springsteen Holiday" has left our little family with the following:

* no more milk drinks in the car - everyone drinks more water!

* no more excuses for not exercising and for eating poorly, I'm getting this weight and tossing it

* less swearing

* both my husband and myself are more aware of our tendency to call "poor me" like victims

* for me, letting go of whats gone, and grabbing hold of what is <- font="" important="" more="" nbsp="">

* strangely higher blood pressure for me!

* a LOT of motivation now that we are home, particularly for me

I'm sure there is more, but thats it from me for now. A more thorough post, including the update from our entry clean-up from a week ago will follow. Its all on the way!

Oh and I have a new goal - I want to meet someone who inspires me. By this I mean I want to get the inspired feeling, then meet said person. I suppose a second goal that is more noteworthy is to find something in everyone that inspires me.  Plenty of people inspire me and perhaps I don't appreciate it or reflect on it sufficiently because its not as 'in your face' as a 3 hour rock and soul concert.

Energy much?

Bruce Springsteen has it in spades! Why, you ask? Well he's clearly doing not only what he loves, but doing it at the absolute top of his game. While I can't aspire to a stellar singing career (mostly due to being tone deaf), what I can do is be the best 'me' possible, something I am just coming to finally begin to understand, a bit like a curtain has been drawn aside, and by taking a peek into the depths of Bruce Springsteen, I'm grasping exactly what it means to be all of onesself.

 

If he can be 63 and as fit as he is, there is no excuse for my lazy behaviour regarding my weight, none. I may not ever in my life have the energy he puts into performances however I can do a damned sight better than I do now! I can be thin, how thin remains to be seen, but I am absolutely able and capable of getting the caloric restriction and exercise needed! It's my choice. In talking about being thin, I do not aspire to be 'model like' or thin for the acceptance of others. This is totally about being healthy enough to play with my children, to live into my dotage and to enjoy it all as much as possible, without the health challenges that go with being overweight.

For me, what to do to earn money is not as simple, although the principle of finding something you love, then fostering your ability through seeking the highest quality feedback is certainly borne true when witnessing the incredible E Street Band. I especially like watching Tom Morello's mind get blown as Bruce and the band teach him their craft! But Springsteen's history shows that he has not only studied the greats of entertainment, but has from the beginning, thrown himself into a situation of not only seeking feedback (through competitions and companions), but surrounded himself with the dedication of peer review from the incredible E Street Band. He has in his early career shaped his future by shaping his musical companions.

So the process of writing down my feelings has taken some time, during which I already feel the fading of the bards energy as real life invades :(

Keeping a Healthy Family

Right now I have three sick children, my husband is unwell and I'd be sick too if I wasn't so busy looking after them all. It occurred to me that before our baby was born, we always managed to NOT spread germs through the whole family.

A survey of friends on Facebook has triggered my memory banks and added to the ideas for keeping well and avoiding the spread of infection. Here are my favourites:

Prevention
Use a hand sanitiser or nappy wipe to clean hands every time children get into the car from school or other outings. Wash hands before food and after the toilet. NB This is also a shameless plug for Epoch Hand Sanitiser, because you can purchase them through me. Or so it is rumoured, I'm still a complete novice as a distributor!

Keep a healthy family that drinks plenty of water (I need to be checking water bottles every afternoon as neither of my schoolchildren drink enough water at school), with plenty of garlic and vitamin C in their diets and plenty of sleep for everyone. As much as humanly possible. At least keep an eye out for major catastrophes in the healthy water / food / rest department and make an attempt to pick up the health boosting to counteract any unhealthy habits.

Last Minute Prevention
I like to think of this group of tips as 'last minute prevention' as they work best if you begin them at the first sign of sniffles, or fatigue or any kind of unwell-ness in the family. What I've learnt this past year is that timing of response is everything. Leaving it until there is one completely ill child before beginning these strategies is unlikely to stop other's catching their illness.  This is where I've been slipping up since having a third baby.

Quarrantine the child who is feeling off-colour into a room by themselves doing a quiet activity, keep that room aired well and keep their fluids up as well as whatever health boosting food you can get them to eat!  Keeping them away from other children will minimise the spread of illness. This is a strategy we used for years with a great deal of success and it is only since we stopped quarantining that we've had illness go throughout the family.

Clean all the things! As soon as someone seems ill, make sure all the washing up is cleared away (I still tend to struggle through the last few things that pop up), get out the antiseptic (we use a very mild bleach with no additives) and mop the floors, wipe surfaces (we use Vanilla Fresh), spray the air and anywhere you like with Eucalyptus Spray. Change pillowcases and sheets and wash in warm water with a few drops of Eucalyptus oil.

Make Chicken Soup - its proven to work, so soup up!

So thats my plan. Be prepared with a prevention strategy, especially considering the stress our family are under at the moment. And follow up more quickly with last-minute prevention is one of us starts to look a bit peaky.  And remember that for people prone to allergies, these transition seasons of Autumn and Spring are the worst for pollens and allergens in the air. So its a good idea to be on the lookout for early signs of illness as the weather changes.

None of these tips replace seeking medical assistance for illness. These are ideas for health promotion, based on personal experiences.


 

Getting Advice - the upshot of motivational Thursday

So last Thursday, which will now be known as 'motivational Thursday', one of my lessons learnt was that I needed to seek feedback in order to succeed. Today I put that part of the key to success into action!

Very recently a friend said to me "You are your own worst enemy when it comes to cleaning up". Harsh criticism. So I thought that was the ideal place to begin my quest for feedback.

When clarified, her statement about being my own worst enemy was indicative of the way I get sidetracked, and don't stay on task. Personally the only reason I can agree with her, is through this blog, I see myself constantly swopping 'jobs' around, not finishing or focussing on what I intended to do.  I still get stuff done, but I don't get the thorough results from staying on task.

So, given that I was inspired to clean our entry beyond my typical mop the floor so its all done type of clean, I jumped right in and asked advice on what she would do in our entry to improve it. In a state of half pride I had to explain that the floor was free of clutter and there was currently nothing in the room that glaringly didn't belong! (that is embarrassing to admit!)

Her thoughts were thus:

Get in a Expedit bookcase like this one:

As it turns out I bought a very similar thing from Bunnings! Looks pretty much like the one above. I think my husband bought white.

To store all the knick knacks, schoolbags and sports bags and other gear that we need within easy access of the front door.  This means that the hutch we already have in the room will have to go, and I'm going to try this on for size, because, as the article says, success requires focus and feedback.

So the plan is to get on top of all the current things (at the moment mostly that is the pile of clean clothes); and get stuck into transforming the entry.

We'll see how I go, another project to keep everyone posted on. I think this kind of proves my friend's point about not sticking to one project!

Organising tools ahoy!

Hello, a quick update today about yesterday's shopping trip to Officeworks. I was out, child-free for a change and while in Officeworks found these funky tools that I'm already getting great use from.

This little A5 zip-up folder is to put in my handbag as a portable office. I am too cheap to pay freight for FlyLady's "Office in a Bag" so I'm having a go at the version for under $10! It already has some medical bills for my Dad in it that need to be delivered to Medicare.

This groovy little sideways piece of plastic is to go on the wall beside my computer. I'm going to store current bills in it. Previously they went into piles, which grew and grew towards the ceiling. With this slender wallet on the wall there will be a limit to how many bills fit in at once, so I'll be forced to keep up to date. I really need this kind of visual reminder.

These very boring looking magazine holders are already seeing use. Back in December I photographed my cousins's sorting system where she kept these all decorated up as sorting systems for school and extra-curricular activities for children. At the moment I've already stocked 2 of them, one with my daughter's school notes, tuckshop bags, and other important documents relating to school. The second one is what I call "home and motivation" and it contains my dreams workbook, housecleaning notes and other nifty house organising references.  Once I have the system working I will decorate them and re-post.

I'm doing well with side-ways pictures today! These labels are for storage in our fridge. We are often confused about whether food has been 3 days or 5 days - which can make a difference. If we label the leftovers I figure thats one more part of life we've saved time and made easier. We both share cooking so its easier to be able to open the fridge and see whats in it. Especially good for my husband who finds it difficult to think about anything once it is inside a container unless there is a label.

And these little beauties are re-useable labels for anything. I figured my husband who loves labels can find a use for them.

What organising tools do you use?