It has been so long that I don't really know what day it is today. It's not that I have given up on this adventure but it has slowed to a crawl these past few months. I can say one thing that I feel strongly about...since the last election...it is very important that I get organized in my own life. My home, finances, job, time everything. I don't know what is coming in the future if anything. We may have more of the same. The economy could improve and things for everyone get better. But I don't think so. I feel that there is a need to be prepare. Call it a nesting instinct, call it inspiration, call it whatever you want. I just feel the need to get things in order.
Day Thirty Three
The 2012 budget is up to date. Each month of the year has it's own page. Each page shows how much and where the money is coming from as well as how much and where the money is going. I guess the phrase "eyes wide shut" applies to me because I paid the bills but really didn't know how much money we really go through. It is amazing how much money we have put out this year on car repairs. It is also amazing how much money we waste on junk food.
Although I can now see where everything is going the budget isn't nearly complete. I can see all sorts of ways to tweak what I have created into a living, breathing monster. Yeah, I said monster. Why? Well because I waste so much money. Maybe my little monster will help me to keep things in perspective and get to the next stage of this whole thing (at least with the money part) which is to prepare every NEEDFUL thing. I don't think that all the junk food that I go through counts as needful.
Although I can now see where everything is going the budget isn't nearly complete. I can see all sorts of ways to tweak what I have created into a living, breathing monster. Yeah, I said monster. Why? Well because I waste so much money. Maybe my little monster will help me to keep things in perspective and get to the next stage of this whole thing (at least with the money part) which is to prepare every NEEDFUL thing. I don't think that all the junk food that I go through counts as needful.
Day Twenty Nine
My plan to post my daily progress hasn't quite worked out the way that I wanted it to. But that doesn't mean I haven't been moving forward. The second bin of recycling has been taken away and a donation for the local DI is growing and will be taken tomorrow. Though the journey is slow it is moving forward which makes me happy. My new montra of "organize yourself" has helped me to plan my time a little better as well. Even though I still procrastinate it isn't as much as it used to be.
One problem that is emerging from all this going through and clearing out is what to do with the things that I want to save. Although piles of things have been reduced significantly or eliminated all togther there are a few things that need to be kept. I really need to address what to do with those things that I am keeping. Storing those things on the kitchen table isn't going to work for very long. Any suggestions???
My next goal is a chest of drawers in the bedroom. It is a flat surface that things have just gotten piled up on. Even though there are a lot of things on there that will just go I know there are some treasures that I will keep.
So the journey continues, one step at a time.
One problem that is emerging from all this going through and clearing out is what to do with the things that I want to save. Although piles of things have been reduced significantly or eliminated all togther there are a few things that need to be kept. I really need to address what to do with those things that I am keeping. Storing those things on the kitchen table isn't going to work for very long. Any suggestions???
My next goal is a chest of drawers in the bedroom. It is a flat surface that things have just gotten piled up on. Even though there are a lot of things on there that will just go I know there are some treasures that I will keep.
So the journey continues, one step at a time.
Day Fifteen
So one of the things that I have always been good at has been the bills. They get paid on time, I know exactly what's going on etc. But lately I've let them slide. Don't really know why. Some times I miss the due date by a day so get the late charge, UGH!
Since Bill has no idea where the money is going, when it needs to be paid or how much we owe on anything I realized that I am more unorganized with the budget than I thought. After all if we are partners then we both need to have full knowledge of what is going on with OUR money. (we consider anything either of us gets OUR money, not his and hers but ours.) We always talk about everything before we purchase things but Bill asks me if we can afford it. That should not be the way it is.
So I dug through all my emails and low and behold there is one from Ryan. . . I knew it was there just hadn't done anything with it . . . from about two years ago???? It was a budget program that he had created for himself. I pulled it up, got on a tutorial about how to use excell to get the formulas etc that I would need and prepared a budget program customized for us. It's not perfect. I have a few more things to do like learning more complex formulas to get what I want done. But the basics are there and we can start to use it. I think it will open up our eyes a little more to the ways we spend our money and find ways to cut back.
Thanks Ryan for the template. . . although you won't recognize it when you see what I've done with it.
Since Bill has no idea where the money is going, when it needs to be paid or how much we owe on anything I realized that I am more unorganized with the budget than I thought. After all if we are partners then we both need to have full knowledge of what is going on with OUR money. (we consider anything either of us gets OUR money, not his and hers but ours.) We always talk about everything before we purchase things but Bill asks me if we can afford it. That should not be the way it is.
So I dug through all my emails and low and behold there is one from Ryan. . . I knew it was there just hadn't done anything with it . . . from about two years ago???? It was a budget program that he had created for himself. I pulled it up, got on a tutorial about how to use excell to get the formulas etc that I would need and prepared a budget program customized for us. It's not perfect. I have a few more things to do like learning more complex formulas to get what I want done. But the basics are there and we can start to use it. I think it will open up our eyes a little more to the ways we spend our money and find ways to cut back.
Thanks Ryan for the template. . . although you won't recognize it when you see what I've done with it.
Day Fourteen
For the last week I have been using the shredder overtime. I shredded a bag of junkmail today isn't the most exciting thing to report. Just know that the journey continues on.
The recycling truck came today and took all the shredded documents, unusful items and boxes away. I've gone through several small piles of endless junkmail and saved receipts that I just don't need to hang on to. There are some things that I do need though, so now I'm beginning to face the actual problem. How do I effectively organize the things I do need to keep around.
I told you this journey started out very slowly a while ago. One of the things that we did to help with the problem was hire a contractor to build a storage shed under our existing deck. The idea was to go through the garage and clear out all the yard and gardening equipment. We were going to inventory everything we had and only keep the things we truly need and use. The rest was going to get recycled or thrown out. The shed is half finished, the contractor took far too long so had to stop for the wet winter months, made a ton of mistakes which is adding $$$ to the whole project, our backyard is a mess and now that the weather is warm again the contractor is keeping very silent. So to try to correct some of the problems created by the poor communication skills of our general contractor Bill and I have gone over the yard and project, decided exactly what we would like done and Bill is having it drawn up professionally. This way there will be no more misunderstandings of what we want this to be like when it is done. We are going to CAN the first contractor and go with another to finish the work. We are going to have to do the electrical, insulation and drywall ourselves. When all that is done then we can move things into the shed.
In the meantime we have stuff all over that will eventually be stored in the shed (like the yard and gardening equipment, seasonal stuff for holidays and folding chairs). So as I'm clearing out the mounds of paperwork that has piled up over the years I really don't have anywhere organized for the things we do need to keep. So for now a box will have to do. I still feel good about my progress.
Two more weeks until the recycling truck comes back around. I am sure the can will be full to overflowing again.
The recycling truck came today and took all the shredded documents, unusful items and boxes away. I've gone through several small piles of endless junkmail and saved receipts that I just don't need to hang on to. There are some things that I do need though, so now I'm beginning to face the actual problem. How do I effectively organize the things I do need to keep around.
I told you this journey started out very slowly a while ago. One of the things that we did to help with the problem was hire a contractor to build a storage shed under our existing deck. The idea was to go through the garage and clear out all the yard and gardening equipment. We were going to inventory everything we had and only keep the things we truly need and use. The rest was going to get recycled or thrown out. The shed is half finished, the contractor took far too long so had to stop for the wet winter months, made a ton of mistakes which is adding $$$ to the whole project, our backyard is a mess and now that the weather is warm again the contractor is keeping very silent. So to try to correct some of the problems created by the poor communication skills of our general contractor Bill and I have gone over the yard and project, decided exactly what we would like done and Bill is having it drawn up professionally. This way there will be no more misunderstandings of what we want this to be like when it is done. We are going to CAN the first contractor and go with another to finish the work. We are going to have to do the electrical, insulation and drywall ourselves. When all that is done then we can move things into the shed.
In the meantime we have stuff all over that will eventually be stored in the shed (like the yard and gardening equipment, seasonal stuff for holidays and folding chairs). So as I'm clearing out the mounds of paperwork that has piled up over the years I really don't have anywhere organized for the things we do need to keep. So for now a box will have to do. I still feel good about my progress.
Two more weeks until the recycling truck comes back around. I am sure the can will be full to overflowing again.
Day Three
Still working on "organize yourselves". Before I can really get organized around the house I need to clean up some of the mess.
A few months ago I was visiting Alex and Ryan in Vegas. While there I was introduced to a show called "Hoarders" that documents people who are compulsive hoarders. Their houses are over run with possessions and garbage sometimes stacked to the ceiling. It's embarrassing for those people to have others come into their houses with cameras and go through their things. Since then I have watched more episodes of this show on Netflicks. It amazes me as I watch these people going through the process of organizing their stuff. Sometimes they are so slow you wonder why can't they see that there is no value in that thing and just toss it. But then I look at the piles of things I have around the house and I feel like I need to go through that stuff before it goes. Alex has offered to come up and help us go through stuff in the garage. She says she would love it, and I believe she would. But I don't think I can do that. . .maybe I'm a little like those people in the show.
Bill and I watch the Biggest Loser. Bill says it motivates him to loose weight. I watch it and think that I would never let myself get that out of control. As I've watch Hoarders and also think I would never let myself get that out of control. But what I'm thinking today is maybe I have let myself get out of control to the point where I am now uncomfortable with my weight and with my mess. Don't get me wrong you can come into my home and walk through the house, use the bathroom, eat at the table, sit on the couch and feel good about it. If you see me on the street you wouldn't think of me as an overweight person, maybe average. The problem is I do over eat the wrong types of foods and I do fill every flat surface in my house with stuff, usually bills/papers. And there are now clothes piled up (folded neatly of course) on the cedar chest which I don't have room for in the closet or the drawers.
I have begun this journey without any psychologists or professional organizers to help me. Maybe there will be a time when I'll ask Alex to help me figure out how to organize what's left. But for now I will tackle each pile one at a time, going through each item to make sure I don't accidentally grind up a check...I did find one the other day so it is possible.
Today my efforts yielded this garbage bag half filled with shredded documents. Another bag was taken to recycling with papers that didn't need to be recycled. So it's not the throwing out that bothers me it is the making sure I don't get rid of something I need. It's going to go slow, but it is going.
A few months ago I was visiting Alex and Ryan in Vegas. While there I was introduced to a show called "Hoarders" that documents people who are compulsive hoarders. Their houses are over run with possessions and garbage sometimes stacked to the ceiling. It's embarrassing for those people to have others come into their houses with cameras and go through their things. Since then I have watched more episodes of this show on Netflicks. It amazes me as I watch these people going through the process of organizing their stuff. Sometimes they are so slow you wonder why can't they see that there is no value in that thing and just toss it. But then I look at the piles of things I have around the house and I feel like I need to go through that stuff before it goes. Alex has offered to come up and help us go through stuff in the garage. She says she would love it, and I believe she would. But I don't think I can do that. . .maybe I'm a little like those people in the show.
Bill and I watch the Biggest Loser. Bill says it motivates him to loose weight. I watch it and think that I would never let myself get that out of control. As I've watch Hoarders and also think I would never let myself get that out of control. But what I'm thinking today is maybe I have let myself get out of control to the point where I am now uncomfortable with my weight and with my mess. Don't get me wrong you can come into my home and walk through the house, use the bathroom, eat at the table, sit on the couch and feel good about it. If you see me on the street you wouldn't think of me as an overweight person, maybe average. The problem is I do over eat the wrong types of foods and I do fill every flat surface in my house with stuff, usually bills/papers. And there are now clothes piled up (folded neatly of course) on the cedar chest which I don't have room for in the closet or the drawers.
I have begun this journey without any psychologists or professional organizers to help me. Maybe there will be a time when I'll ask Alex to help me figure out how to organize what's left. But for now I will tackle each pile one at a time, going through each item to make sure I don't accidentally grind up a check...I did find one the other day so it is possible.
Today my efforts yielded this garbage bag half filled with shredded documents. Another bag was taken to recycling with papers that didn't need to be recycled. So it's not the throwing out that bothers me it is the making sure I don't get rid of something I need. It's going to go slow, but it is going.
Day Two
I planned on showing you some pictures of a couple of first steps I've taken today. I had a beautiful picture of the shredder. . .covered with a thick layer of dust, buried under 18 inches of papers waiting patiently for it's services. I had a beautiful picture of it's new "temporary" home in the kitchen ready to start the job it was bought to do. And then a picture of the garbage bag full of shredded documents (cross cut at that) ready to be taken to recycling. But in all my disorganization I have never really learned how to use the camera phone properly and didn't realize the pictures didn't save automatically. So for now just know I have begun.
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