Eliminate & Concentrate: A Dynamic Approach to Ditching Your Baggage

 

Everyone has baggage.


When I was a child my parents took our family to Disneyland and Hawaii over a Christmas vacation. (Apparently flight travel for a family of 7 was a lot cheaper in the 80's.) As I was merely 8, and my sister Angel just 6, another member of the family packed our suitcases for us. Our family spent a few days in California, with Angel and I wearing outfits retrieved from just one of our two shared suitcases. By the time we arrived in Hawaii our dirty laundry was piling up, so my mom instructed one of my older sisters to retrieve some fresh clothes for Angel and me from the suitcase we had yet to open. Much to my older sister's surprise, she opened the second suitcase and found nothing but doll clothes!

You see, in our shared bedroom at home, Angel and I had several baby dolls and scores of doll clothes; my mom used a spare suitcase to store all our doll clothes in one place. Apparently in the chaos of packing the entire family for our vacation someone assumed the doll clothes suitcase contained clothes for Angel and me. I still laugh when I think of us toting an extra suitcase from Alaska to California, to Hawaii, and then back to Alaska for no reason at all.

Nowadays that second suitcase would have cost us $25 for each leg of the trip. (sigh)  Aside from the obscenely big hair, the 80's really were a simpler time.


I have baggage.


A year and a half ago my sister Jaimee sent me a copy of this book by Anne Ortlund. I'm sorry to say it has taken me that long to finally read through it - I blame a tough pregnancy and adjusting to life with three kiddos.

In her book Anne details disciplines for godly women: making daily time with God a priority, consistently setting monthly/yearly/lifelong goals to work toward, and organizing one's life in order to best chase those goals. One key principle really stood out for me: Eliminate and Concentrate.


Eliminate and Concentrate.


As Anne says: "You want to manage your time? You eliminate clutter and concentrate on your goals."


The reason Anne's statement hit so close to home for me (quite literally) is because our home is a great source of stress for me right now. We have stuff everywhere. Too much stuff. So much stuff that when I seek out moments of peace and relaxation in my own home I find instead that I am blocked at every turn by another stack of mail in the kitchen, another mess of toys in the bathtub, paperwork on the desk that needs filing, piles of outgrown clothes in the closet that need to be purged or donated, stacks of magazines I love but never have a chance to read, another mess of toys on the dining room floor...

Okay yes, kids should be allowed to have toys and make messes, but there is such thing as too many toys.

Maybe for some people clutter is just clutter - nothing more, nothing less. Its not a source of stress. If that is you, more power to ya! But in this house the clutter is affecting our way of life. How can I be the mom and wife I want to be when I'm constantly stressing over the state of our home? How much more free time would we have if we stopped shuffling clutter from place to place and finally got rid of the things we don't need/use?

How much extra baggage (and subsequent stress/work) are we carrying year to year?


Matthew 6:19-21 says: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."


I love our home. While I wouldn't call it my treasure, I know that my priorities are out of whack when I focus more on my home and its messes than I do ministering to the needy and the lost. Which is why I'm on a new mission to eliminate unnecessary baggage in our home in order to better concentrate on our goals as a family.


You have baggage.


Most of us are quick to associate the term "baggage" with things like personal insecurities, poor body image or wounds from previous relationships, but I would challenge you to think of it on a broader scale. One definition I found is 'an abstract thing or idea which weighs upon a person, and ends up obstructing or inhibiting him/her'.

For my sister Stephanie, the 'eliminate and concentrate' principle challenged her to remove the Facebook and Words With Friends apps from her iPhone. As a result, she has freed up time to do more reading and write personal notes to friends, activities she is more likely to glean from.

Do you spend too much time on Facebook and Pinterest and then kick yourself later because you failed to accomplish your to-do list for the day? Try taking a break from social media and see how freeing it can be.

Are you the person who says 'yes' to every commitment and then can't figure out why you're always so exhausted or don't have time to yourself? As Money Saving Mom says, when you say 'yes' to one thing you are saying 'no' to something else. It is okay to limit your commitments.

Its time to check your baggage.


You're at the airport about to depart. The pilot is asking everyone to gate check any baggage they don't need for the flight. Take a good look at what you're carrying. Do you really need all that baggage?

Eliminate and concentrate.


As a Christian, I prefer to view the analogy this way:

God, the True Pilot, is asking you to gate check any baggage you won't need for your journey with Him. Are you ready to let go?

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

{2}

We were in bed by 9:30 last night.

{3}

I fell short on my reading goal for 2012, but for good reason. Sleep has ranked a little higher than reading these last three months.

I am, however, kicking off 2013 with a bang and reading some Dr. Dobson:
The New Strong-Willed Child.

Please don't ask why I've waited until my own strong-willed child reached the age of three and a half years before finally reading this book.

{4}
This morning we made a two cupcake recipe (courtesy of Pinterest) and delivered one to a special gal on her 92nd birthday. {Kendry ate the other one.}

Happy Birthday, Grandma Ellen!



{5}

Can you really blame a kiddo for refusing to go potty on a public toilet that auto-flushes no less than six times while he is still sitting on it?

Seriously, McDonalds, use some of your millions to design a more kiddo-friendly bathroom... with non-intimidating toilets.

{6}

Crazy hat night at Awana:

As the parent helper that night I figured I should be an active participant. My viking hat was the envy of many a 3-4 year old, including Kendry who swapped me hats midway through the evening.

{Can you see the baby bump?}

{7}

Speaking of the bump, the wonderful down jacket Justin bought me last winter just ain't gonna cut it for my Alaska trip in two weeks...

unless I want to bust apart the zipper.

 

{8}

We recently introduced Kendry to the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie {circa 1990}.

Kendry has subsequently added the word "bodacious" to his vocabulary.

{9}

January always inspires the organizational side of me. With our family growing in 2013, there is no time like the present to do a little purging while organizing.

Inspired by my friend Cassie who did this last year, I'm taking on a 31 Bags in 31 Days challenge this month, with a goal of purging one bag per day of unnecesssary clutter and/or garbage from our home.

I'm already ahead of the game, with three garbage bags destined for Goodwill in the back of my car.


 

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

90% certain I have felt baby flutters the last two evenings.

Sixteen weeks tomorrow!

How Prepared Are You?

Google

Most readers of our blog know us in real life, in which case you already know that aside from my jobs as a wife and mom I am a paralegal from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday.

I started my career in 2004, working solely in estates/probate for two and a half years, before Justin graduated and we relocated. I have learned so much in my eight years as a paralegal - both professionally and personally - and one lesson I have learned time and time again is this:

- people can do crazy things when they are grieving -

What do I mean by that?

Allow me to use my family as an example. I come from a large family. My parents are still happily married (44 years now - woot! woot!)  My siblings and I get along great. An outsider looking in might naturally assume that upon the death of my parents, my siblings and I will graciously and lovingly work together to divide my parents' assets equally among us. I pray that is the case; but like I said, people are capable of crazy things in their grief.

My mother has a beautiful dining room table she found and refinished herself - a potential heirloom.

Suppose upon her death I decide I want that table for myself...and then my younger sister decides she wants it too. And then my older sister points out that she should get the table because she actually helped my mom refinish it. Throw in the grief that each of us is experiencing upon the loss of our mother and -wham!- family conflict.

As I said, this is just an example. Except now that I think about it I do wonder who will get mom's table down the road. Interesting...

DIBS! 

Ha, just kidding, Jaim.

Google

In all seriousness, this situation happens more often than you might think. Which is why I believe it is extremely important to execute a will. Yes, sometimes even with a will these family conflicts can still erupt, but at least the deceased has left something in writing indicating their exact wishes. If my mother leaves a list specifically saying that she wants my older sister to inherit her dining table, so be it.

If you're under 30 years of age you may be thinking: "I don't have anything of value anyway."

Are you married? Do you have children? Do you have a home?

Does your family know your wishes if you were, heaven forbid, ever in an accident and left in a vegetative state?

Never assume that just because you are young you don't need to consider estate planning. Justin and I were married just two months before we executed our estate planning documents. Granted, we got a nice discount since I was still working in estates; however, we knew without a doubt that we intended to buy a house and have kids in the near future. We wanted our bases covered in case anything happened.

What bases did we cover exactly?  We executed wills, living wills, powers of attorney and a community property agreement.  {An attorney can help you determine which documents you might need.}

If you already have your estate planning documents in order, way to go!  Just make sure you refer back to them every few years to make sure they are still applicable, particularly with regard to your children. Don't be like us and wait until your child is nearly three years old before you revise your wills to include a guardian selection for your child.

See? Even I am not completely organized in every aspect of my life.

For those of you in the infertile community, make sure you consider things like frozen eggs, frozen sperm, and frozen embryos. While our fertility clinic already requires us to fill out a stack of paperwork an inch high with regard to frozen embryos, Justin and I felt it was important to include language in our wills specifying exactly what we want done with any frozen embryos if we were to die.

Also, while I'm on a roll here, you might consider putting together what Dave Ramsey refers to as a Legacy Drawer.

"The drawer should be somewhere in your home and contain everything your spouse or family needs to know if you aren't around—anything that has to do with your financial life should be in that drawer. You must organize it in a way that anyone can find a specific document in 30 seconds. All files should be clearly marked, in order, and easy for a grieving family member to find. There's no need to go into extreme detail when creating your Legacy Drawer. Simply include the appropriate documents in an easy-to-understand format, and you're good to go!"

I hope this post inspires you to look into estate planning if you haven't already. And please don't let this information overwhelm you or cause you to ponder your own morbidity for a week straight. That is not my intent. I would simply encourage you to either speak with an attorney or take a look at some legal forms available online and decide what sort of estate planning might be appropriate for you at this stage in your life.

{Disclaimer: I am not an attorney and cannot give legal advice, nor should any of the above information be considered as such. This information is simply provided as a recommendation. If you have questions about what estate planning documents you should have I highly suggest you contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. If you live in Idaho or Washington, I know a few good ones.}

Becoming a Money Saving Mom

As a Money Saving Mom reader, I was delighted to be selected to review Crystal Paine's new book, The Money Saving Mom's Budget, on audiobook.



The first thing I loved is that the book is read aloud by Crystal herself. I think this allows the listener to get a better glimpse of Crystal's personality. Honestly, its what I have seen of Crystal's personality on her blog that drew me to this book in the first place. The 'budget' theme of the book wasn't a huge pull for me because the hubs and I have figured out our budget pretty well. That being said, I didn't doubt that Crystal would have some great advice that I could still apply in my own life and home.

Crystal covers topics like constructing a budget spreadsheet, beginning couponing, menu planning, simplistic living, organizing, and executing a successful yard sale. While she doesn't dive super deep into each of these topics, I feel like she provided sufficient information to spark my motivation and pursue some of these money-saving options on my own.  And I feel like that was truly Crystal's intent in writing this book - to help readers identify some of the day to day ways they can save money, in addition to following a budget.

I was excited to find that some of Crystal's money-saving tips were things our family is already putting into practice; but listening to her book also inspired me to tackle a few more arenas, like making our own homemade bread, constructing a time budget for myself (for the first time in 10 years I just bought a day planner), and making a habit of regularly purging each room of our house to minimize clutter.

I particularly love Crystal's attitude toward simple living and being content. This is a theme that resonates throughout her entire book. If you have clutter in your house that you aren't using, give it to someone who can use it. Check out movies and books from your local library instead of buying them. If you find yourself stressing at 4pm each day what you're going to make for dinner, plan ahead! Set aside time each week to plan your menu and buy the necessary groceries. These are just a few of the simple tips Crystal highlights.

I think everyone can glean something from this book.

If you have never visited Crystal's blog, you can check it out HERE.

------------------

Are you looking for ways to be more frugal in your day to day life?

Here are some actions our family has taken to cut unnecessary costs:

1. We ditched our DirecTV subscription a few months ago when our contract expired. We get only a few basic channels now, but can watch most of our favorite shows online. Not only is this saving us cash but we also have the TV on less. This does mean that the hubs misses a few of his favorite sports aired primarily on the 'luxury' channels, but we make do. For instance, he paid $4 to watch March Madness online.

2. We haven't had a cell phone plan for years. We ditched our individual cell phones and overpriced plan back in 2007 and replaced them with a single pay-as-you-go phone. We pay about $26 every 2-3 months to recharge it and try to only use it for emergencies or on trips. We use our landline through Vonage for the majority of our calls.

3. We monitor our thermostat. The hubs has our programmable thermostat set to drop a few degrees during the day while we're at work; it heats up again around the time we get home. He also has it set to drop a few degrees at night. Those few degrees can add up to a big difference on your utility bill.

4. I make my own liquid laundry detergent. In the last six months we have spent a mere $10 on the necessary ingredients to make liquid detergent. Each batch makes two gallons of detergent. I anticipate that $10 worth of ingredients will produce 8-10 gallons of detergent before I need to restock. (This isn't for everyone - I have a friend who tried it recently but her sensitive skin didn't like the detergent. For us, however, it has been a fun and easy way to save a few bucks.)

5. We cut the boys' hair at home. To be fair, Justin has pointed out this savings for a few years now, and I admit that it wasn't until a few months ago it finally occurred to me we were saving at least $20 each month by doing home haircuts. Thats over a quarter tank of gas in savings each month!

6. We menu plan and take our lunch to work. We usually plan a monthly menu and do one primary shopping trip, with a small trip two weeks later to replenish our perishables like dairy products and produce. Since both Justin and I work full-time, it relieves a lot of stress knowing ahead of time what we're eating and when. I have found that we eat much healthier when we menu plan; not only do we have vegetables planned with each meal, but if dinner is already in the crockpot at home we are less apt to go out to eat or pick up a pizza. Then we take the leftovers for lunch.

Put these all together and they add up to some great savings! 

What fun ways have you found to save some cash?

Linking up here:

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Spring is here,

and the yard sale season has begun!

My first purchase of 2012:

{2}

Thanks for the encouragement on my 10k last weekend.

The last two miles were a little rough but I managed to stay under a 9 minute mile pace.

Then I went straight home and took a nap.

{3}
Anyone have a grocery shopping app they recommend?
I'm looking at Mighty Grocery right now, but I am open to suggestions.

{4}
I have granny smith apples with a touch of cinnamon dehydrating as I type this.
The aroma is heavenly.



{5}

We Justin got a new saw.

And yes, I am itchin' to get my hot little hands on it.

Apparently I'm not the only one.

Don't worry, we didn't really let Kendry operate it; we just thought it made a cute picture.

{6}

My Weekend Creativity:

a jewelry organizer!

This was my first time working with chicken wire. I followed fellow bloggers' advice and used leather gloves while snipping it down to size and stapling it into my frame. This precaution paid off - I came away with only one scratch.

This organizer was made entirely with supplies I had on hand:

old wooden frame

chicken wire

spray paint

metal hooks


Do you have any fun projects in the works?



{7}
Ain't this the truth!


Facebook



{8}
Somehow I got signed up for a subscription to SKI magazine.

The last time I went skiing was in 2002.



{9}
My baby turns 3 in less than 2 months.






{10}
This Week's Blessing:
Renewing my membership at the gym.
Gosh I have missed lifting weights.

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Purgin'! Purgin'! Purgin'!

I've got spring cleaning fever, baby!

{2}

PINNED IT, DID IT!
{As a Pinterest addict I will occasionally post pinned ideas that I have tried myself}

As part of my spring organizing/cleaning over the weekend I scrubbed my bathroom from top to bottom, Justin and I installed a much-needed new wax ring on the toilet (eww!), and I cleaned out every drawer and cabinet. Then I hot-glued a strip of magnet to the inside of my cabinet like so:


source

Its a beautiful sight.

 

{3}

Only 31 more days until the Hunger Games release!

The hubs isn't a big fan of going to movies at the theater, but since we read this series together I think I can convince him to go.

{4}

I am already doing some birthday shopping for my little man.

He reminds me at least once a week that he is turning three in May.

He's just in it for the cake.

{5}

Kendry hardly stops to take a breath these days; he talks non. stop.

Actual sentence tonight at dinner:
"Mommy, are you having a sandwich do you remember when we went camping I need to roll my sleeves up."

{6}

I have given 4 and 5 star reviews on the last 10 books I've read. Does this mean I only select books I know I will enjoy? And if so, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

{7}

Confession:
Valentine's Day has come and gone and I still have our Christmas cards on display.

See, just when I fool you into thinking I am uber-organized I admit a shortcoming like this.

Ahh well, nobody's perfect.

Did you know that you can donate used Christmas cards to St. Jude's? They recycle/refurbish the cards and then sell them as a fundraiser. I believe they are accepting all occasion cards now too, such as birthdays, sympathy, thinking of you, etc.

This is my first year doing it. So if you're like me and still have cards lying around, be sure to look at this site and see if any of your cards qualify.

{8}

We're currently on a wind storm warning, with gusts up to 60 and 70 mph predicted for tomorrow.

Wind makes me incredibly irritable.


 

{9}

The Rescue Heroes have invaded!
{I'll explain tomorrow}


 

{10}

This Week's Blessing:
A lost heirloom ring was found. God is so great!

The Prettiest Inbox You Ever Did See

Remember when I assured you I was still working on projects, I just hadn't finished any?

Well get ready to see some fun reveals, people!

I've got plenty of projects to work on - the hubs has issued an ultimatum on my growing stash of projects in the basement (EEK!) - and I have lots of time on my hands now that my half-marathon is over.

Let the creativity resume!

I found this piece years ago at Ross.

Loved the price ($5 maybe?).

Loved the distressed sage green.

Loved the flowers.

Loved that it could hold some cute decorative plates in my kitchen.

(please excuse my icky kitchen cabinets)

Except this piece never actually held plates, plural.

This little stinker has the funniest spaced shelves and no matter how hard I tried, its shape was never conducive to any plates I liked well enough to display.

See the square plate on there right now?

That plate has a twin to go on the top shelf, except that it won't fit on the top shelf because the bottom plate sticks up too far.

Oh the dilemmas in my life, right?

 So there the lonely shelf and plate hung.

Totally drab.

Mostly useless -

except for every so often when the hubs would use it as a mail catcher.
(as seen above)

Drive me crazy will ya?

Bills sitting out for the world to see?

Okay, so I don't have quite that many visitors in my kitchen, but still...

I don't like having my financial business just lying around the house.

And then it hit me.

**LIGHTBULB ABOVE MY HEAD**

Re-purpose, baby!

This piece obviously wasn't cutting it as a plate display so I needed to think outside the box.

First, I gave it a little makeover with some Krylon silver spray paint.

Then I cut two small strips of wood an inch shorter than the width of the shelves.

After sanding each strip I marked and drilled two small holes into each one.

Each strip of wood received a light coat of Sherwin Williams Creamy followed by a little distressing.

I stenciled the word "IN" on one and "OUT" on the other.

Lastly, I cut four pieces of thin wire and hung the "IN" and "OUT" on the shelves, like so:

I love it!

For $5 (wire and wood) I turned this piece into something we actually use.

It now hangs in our command center.

TA-DAAA!

Finally completing this area was such a relief.

You saw the desk makeover back in July.

Now we have a place to work on the computer, jot down our grocery list and miscellaneous notes (dry erase board tutorial to come), keep tabs on our to-do's with the Honey Do Board, and organize our incoming and outgoing mail -

all in one spot!

You know how much my OCD self loves this kind of organization.

You're getting two before and afters today.

{BEFORE}

Plate display

{AFTER}

Turned mail organizer

{BEFORE}

Laundry/hallway

{AFTER}

Turned command center

Next up?

A Halloween costume.

I am a DIYer mommy after all.


Linking up at:

How Do You Spell L-O-V-E?

Is it your kiddo's smile?

Your husband's eyes?

Or is it with the Brother Personal Labeler Machine (PT90)?

Yes, sirree, this organizational freak got an Amazon gift card from the hubs for Valentine's Day

and recently had a little shopping fun.

I'm sure your normal girl would use a gift card for some make-up, a cute pair of shoes, a new handbag, or even a few new books.

Not this gal.

The gift card took a little while to arrive so I had ample time to brainstorm my options.

I finally narrowed it down to the label maker or a 3M respirator.

No really, I'm completely serious.

I've been doing a lot of sanding and painting lately

and finally realized it was important for me to have proper safety gear.

When it came down to it the decision between the two was quite simple.

 Its not too different from the basic 'chicken and the egg' principle:

{How am I supposed to label the respirator if I buy that before the label maker?}

I knew you would understand.

Now let the fun begin!