49 Years and counting

Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad.

Mission Organization in Review

Day 8 and this was probably the biggest day in this project. We have a front room that could be used as an office but we set it up as our school room this past year. It didn't take us long to figure out that this wasn't a great idea for us. I don't like being in the room tucked away and the boys don't want to work in there if I am not in there. They spent a lot of time doing school on the floor in whatever room I was working in. Usually we ended up in Tim's office. That was not a good solution since there are times when we all need a little space. I ended up moving my chair into the living room and setting up a corner area of our living for us to do school. This will allow the boys to have plenty of room to stretch out and I can be in a more central location.

We decided that the school room would make a good room for the boys computer and also a TV with the Wii. At first I thought I would move some of their desks out to the garage and store them. When I actually got in the room and begin arranging things I realized that I could put all the desks on one wall. We were then able to put their computer, one laptop, the TV, and the printer on the desks. By moving all the desks to the same wall it opens up the room and really makes it seem larger. I moved three smaller bookcases along the opposite wall and those will hold our books and the boys bins they use for their daily school work.

In the closet I moved in a cube unit and it holds all our misc homeschool items, magnetic letters, HWT wooden pieces, word cubes, MUS blocks, musical instruments, art supplies, math manipulative's, and all our extra science stuff. I put some things on the top shelf in the closet and these are things that I don't generally want down and accessible to the younger ones with out supervision. This shelf holds our rocket set, snap circuits, Physic Quest materials and also a microscope. The boxes on the top shelf hold the boys school work from the previous year.

I am keeping some supplies we use regularly on top of the bookcases. I found these picnic bins at Target. Last year I got the red one which is a little larger and is divided into 6 compartments. This year I got the blue and white ones. They are divided in half and one half has three sections. I like that they are easy for us to transport to a different area if we need too.

Mission Organization in Review

Day 7 was spent running around in 100+ degree heat! I dropped off the items I had purged for friends who were having a yard sale. I also took Eli to pick up his new guitar. He has wanted to take lessons and we have someone in our church that is going to teach him. I asked on our homeschool group if anyone had an inexpensive guitar to sale. One mom told me her teen son had one and she would find out how much he wanted for it. The young man told me that he would like to give it to Eli! I am amazed at how God blesses us. We went today and picked it up and Eli is so excited to start lessons! AFter that we came home and I managed to clean out our freezer (which was appropriate) and I put off the school room for one more day!

Mission Organization in Review

Day 6 I did some odd areas today. I cleaned the boys room and their boxes under their beds. These boxes are where they keep any special things they collect. I also straightened and organized their bookshelf. I also cleaned out our linens. I have a couple of sets for full size beds and we don't own a full size bed so those are going to a new home.

I rearranged the coat closet. I took all our suitcases and stored them in the largest one. The closet we use for coats is just outside the master bedroom and it is very roomy. I also put a laundry basket in there that holds gloves, hats, and scarfs. In the top of the closet is a basket which holds the boys backpacks. I really wish I understood how a homeschool family ends up with over 12 backpacks for 4 boys. The boys picked the ones they wanted to keep and I kept a couple of extra for backups. The rest are going somewhere else.

I only had a couple of areas in the kitchen that needed work so I tackled those today. I moved some things off the top of the fridge because it really isn't a storage area! I put my supplies for cook outs together with tablecloths that I only use when we have guests over.

I thought I was finished for the day but after dinner I cleaned out my bathroom. I went through all the medicine and vitamins and tossed everything that was expired. Please tell me that I am not the only one with old stuff in my cabinet. I also cleaned out my makeup and lotions. I had a couple of products that didn't work for me and I finally (after a year) decided that I could get rid of them. I rearranged the drawers and cabinet so that things were in a better location. I also cleaned out my jewelry box of items that I don't wear.

Mission Organization in Review

Day 5 was quick work putting our files in binders. I finished our personal files and still have to work on Tim's professional files. Quick day because we invited several friends over to spend the day playing.

Mission Organization in Review

Combining Day 3 and 4

On Day 3 I cleaned up the mess I made from day one and two. Listed the clothes to find a new home and made list of storage containers that we could use.

Day 4 I started in Tim's office. I moved a bookcase in from the school room. This really helped give me more storage space. Also it allowed me to have a place to use this Binder Filing System. I love having our files at my fingertips. I also love being able to get rid of our file cabinet.

In the process of day 4 I finished up Tim's closet. Moved a shelf in their for his shoe storage. I refolded the sheets and blankets so that they sit neatly on the shelf and picked out a few things of his that we can donate.

I also used this time to add some more books to Library Thing.

Interrupting my Mission Organization posts to say...

Happy Anniversary!



Twenty one years ago I had no idea how much I would grow to love you. I had no idea what being a partner in marriage would mean. I had no idea that you would become more than my husband that you would become my best friend. I had no idea that we would dream big dreams and then learn to watch as God moved in ways that were even bigger than our dreams.

Twenty one years ago I had no idea that my heart would still flutter when you called me Beautiful. I love you and am looking forward to the next 21 years.

Mission Organization in Review

Day 2 in this challenge began in the boys closet. First, I went through their clothes and really thinned them out. They had way too many things and since they only wear some of them I pulled out the extras. I kept probably about 10 outfits per child (give or take). I pulled their storage bins out from the garage and also sorted through those. I ended up with 2 laundry baskets full of clothes to give away.

I am listing some on Thred Up and the rest are going to a friend whose daughters are having a garage sale.

I also moved extra blankets out of this closet into the top of Tim's closet. I already had our sheets stored there so this made more sense. I put their bins of next season clothes in the closet. I also used the freed up space to store sports equipment like cleats, soccer shorts, baseball pants, socks and shin guards. At the end of summer I will get one more bin to store swimming gear.

On the side I hung a coat rack we had and bought new laundry bags for each boy. My goal this fall is to teach the oldest two to do their own laundry.

Mission Organization in Review

I used the month of July to organize and clean our house. We are on summer break from school and I wanted to use the time to reorganize things so that we would be set to start back in the fall.

Day one - my closet

I went through my closet and using ideas on my Pinterest style board I begin to clean things out. I only kept things that I loved and that fit. I ended up with an overflowing laundry basket of clothes. I also cleaned out my shoes and purses bags.

I rearranged my shoes and added my smaller purses and wallets into my shoe storage system. A friend gave me these nifty shoe boxes that come in two sizes and fit together in a honeycomb pattern. When you pull out one box the others stay in place. Handy Dandy Shoe Storage. I love these.

I still need to find a storage solution for my larger purses and bags. That is the last thing I need to finish up my closet.