My Least Favorite Things

Paper clutter and taxes.  My least favorite things and right now, they seem to go hand in hand.

I have a terrible aversion to paper.  I don't know why.  I don't like the amount of it that comes into the house, I can't seem to throw it all away, and I hate filing.  There, I said it.

The result is that I have small piles of paper stashed all over the house.  None of it is organized, and probably most of it is not necessary.  I causes no end of frustration because I'm constantly shifting piles from one surface to another.  I never throw away a paper that might be important but when I need to put my hands on it, I can't.

That's where taxes come in.

Preparing my taxes

I'm not against paying my taxes at all.  I do believe that I live in the best country in the world, however flawed the government may be.  I wish we were more fiscally responsible but there is still much good that comes out of our tax money.  But paying my taxes requires so much paper work!!!

So today, to kill two birds with one stone, I started sorting through all the piles of paper to locate the few things I need for my taxes.  The rest went into the trash can or (gasp!) were filed away appropriately.

Surprisingly, it only took a couple hours to sort through it all.  It's a huge load off my mind.  Now, I have to discipline myself to file papers right away instead of letting it lay around.

21 Days to Simple

It's common knowledge that forming new habits takes 21 days of repetition.  There are so many things that I wish came naturally.  Honestly, I envy some who are obsessive about cleanliness in their home.  I'm not.  But I wish I were.

Since January 6th, I have made my bed every day in hopes of starting a new habit.  A made up bed makes the bedroom feel tidy and it's very comforting to crawl into snug sheets.  It takes so little time and I immediately feel like I've accomplished something so early in the day.

Making my bed

I was not prepared for how strong this new habit would feel.  There have been a couple of occasions when I had to leave the house before my husband was out of bed.  I didn't think about making the bed when I left or even when I returned.  But when I walked into my bedroom and saw the bed, the sight of it startled me!  It looked out of the ordinary and it hurt my brain to walk by it.  I had to stop what I was doing and make the bed before I could continue with my task.  It let me know that a new habit had truly been formed.

My hope is to form some other new habits.  Like not filing papers instead of letting them stack up.  Or refraining from using the dining table as dumping grounds.  To not leave books or papers on the floor.  Maybe to bake something every day.

Pineapple cake

I have been reading my Bible everyday after I make my bed, start a load of laundry, and get my coffee.  Doing these 4 simple things every day help me to feel like I have order in my life.  And that gives me peace.

Not So Long Ago

In September of 2013, I officially closed my housekeeping business to return to homeschooling my children.  We had homeschooled for several years but for the 2012-13 school year we tried a local private school.  It solidified my love for homeschooling.

My children are 12 and 9.  I didn't think I was spending many hours away from home, but I didn't realize the effect it was having at home.  I worked hard at being the best I could be at work, so it was hard to let the biz go.  It was part of my identity.  However, I kept reminding myself that I would never regret spending the time with my children, but I might regret NOT spending the time with them.  That made the decision easier!

So began the endeavor to not only homeschool again, but to step into the role homemaker and home economist, and to ENJOY doing it!

My new uniform!

I suppose everyone looks for some purpose in their lives.  I always wanted to have a big impact on my world that stretched beyond my immediate surroundings.  So, my biggest struggle was myself.  I made the choice to be the best I could be at the work I had to do at home.  To take pride in that work like I did in my business.  To build strong relationships with the people that I love the most and set myself up to make the transition to the next phase of life as smooth as possible.

The first thing I did was clean house.  I mean, clean OUT the house!  I threw away, donated, and gifted everything that I saw as excess!  The kids got involved and went through their rooms, toys, and clothes.  I wondered some weeks if the trash pick-up workers thought we were moving out. I took my wardrobe down to only the things that I love and fit well.  I promised myself to not buy any new clothes for the year of 2014.  I kept only the dishes that we use regularly.  Extra decorations were taken down and packed away.

My house is small and I had been lamenting how cramped I felt.  But now!  It feels comfortable and manageable again.  It's becoming my favorite place!

It's amazing how cleaning out your surroundings always leads to being aware of other areas that need to be cleaned out.  I cleaned out the refrigerator and the pantry.  I realized that we eat far too many processed foods and not enough REAL food!  So part of my new journey is to not replace boxed foods with more boxed foods.  I want to learn how to make it from scratch at home.  I also want to produce as much as I can at home for my family.  That means stepping up the garden and taking it seriously instead of it being a mere pastime.

I feel like I've taken great strides already.  Mostly in my attitude.  Home is my favorite place to be with my favorite people, doing the things that I like the most.  And I always look forward to tomorrow!