This and That

Well...it's pretty obvious, this post, that was scheduled to be sent out Nov 12th... didn't get sent when it was supposed to...not sure what I am doing wrong and I didn't catch that it didn't post, till just now.  So, I am sending it anyway.  Then, I will comment at the end :-)


Just curious....how many of you have your Christmas cards done for this year?  How many are still working on them and last but not least.....how many of you have decided to fore go sending homemade cards or any cards this year?


With all that is going on around our home the next couple of months, I am not sure I'll get my Christmas cards....homemade or otherwise...finished in time to send to everyone.  So, I have decided that I will just send to those that I will not be seeing or hearing from before Christmas.  The rest will get a phone call or a visit.

Every month, I turn the calendar and it's fairly empty and then day by day....things get added to it and I don't get done all I had planned on getting done....no matter how early I get up or how late I stay up and then I start to get stressed out.

Having a teenage girl that is active in so many activities...and no driver's license...means I need to reshuffle what is on my list of things to do...to be available to chauffeur her around.   It's ok, she can't help that she isn't old enough to drive yet.  I just need to be able to find a happy medium for myself so that I don't burn out.

I made a decision, last year, to get my home cleaned and organized before Thanksgiving so that I could thoroughly enjoy the holiday season. I loved it!!!  I had time to actually watch the holiday programs, take part in holiday activities and just BE.

Well, I am doing that again this year and a couple of weeks ago, I made another decision..and that is that I need to take care of myself...first and foremost...so that I am able to take care of my hubby's and Granddaughter's needs and stay on top of all there is to do around home.

If my house is clean and organized and my family's needs are met, then I feel a great sense of  mental 'freedom'. I didn't realize until I let my stamp room get such a mess.....that there definitely IS a link between how we 'feel' depending on how messy our house is and how much STUFF we cling to...that we really don't need.

So, in order to have that sense of  'mental freedom' I need to constantly make decisions on what things I can take part in and what things I have to say 'no' to in order to stay focused and find a balance.

I subscribe to CannyWoman and they believe in doing instead of buying and shop at home first and I have been trying to follow that theory.  It actually works!!  I have started to look before I buy.  So many times, I actually HAVE the item I thought I needed to buy....but because my house was so disorganized, I didn't remember I had it.  NO....I am not a hoarder, just was getting very disorganized.

My hubby is a 'collector/saver' and he hates to throw ANYTHING away, especially if he thinks he can fix it or use it for making something else.  Now, I do have to admit that occasionally something he has saved has come in handy.  Most times, it just builds up and takes up room!

I have been also reading some minimalist blogs.  I know that I will NEVER get to where I live out of a suitcase and only have 100 things to my name, but they do have a lot of good advice about paring our 'things' down. We don't need 2-3 of everything...I have been going through all the drawers and closets in our home....getting rid of 'extras'.  Some times it's extremely hard to get rid of something that is perfectly good, but how many coats do you really need?  How many DVD's or VHS do you need when all you have to do is rent them from Netflix.  That being said, I do hang onto favorites that we like to watch over and over and over....especially our Christmas favorites.

Ok....enough for today.  I am going to schedule this post to go out in a few days.  We shall see if I get it right this time.  Thanks for hanging in there while I figure it out again!

UPDATE: NOPE!!  I don't know what I am doing wrong....but I'll figure it out eventually.  :-)

Anyway, I have completed my Fall cleaning, organizing and have followed Countdown to Christmas and have to say it has helped me tremendously to get a handle on all the stuff that goes on this time of year.  I have to admit...it takes a lot of planning and staying focused but I LOVE having everything done on time and being ahead of a few things!  That's two years in a row....I guess this plan is a 'keeper'.

If you would like to take part in Organized Christmas next year, you can get a head start here:  Organized Christmas

I just took what worked for my family.....and went with it!  I loved the daily reminders of things to do.  It helped me to stay focused!

Hope you have a great day!!!!

Hugs,
Char

After

As promised, here are the AFTER photos!!!  It is absolutely WONDERFUL to finally have my 'space' completely clean?  I actually FEEL like stamping now....duh....go figure!!

As you enter our office/stamp room 

My desk is on the left and my hubby's is on the right.  My Stamp desk is center. 

On the top rack above my desk are plastic totes that hold finished cards according to theme; Fall/Winter, Thinking of You, etc. The bottom rack holds 12x12 designer paper and my TAC 12 x 12 cardstock/ 

The 8 CD racks directly above my desk hold CD's with my unmounted stamps in them.

In the bottom drawer on the left is my 8 1/2 x 11" cardstock.  The top drawer on the right holds my templates and instructions for different cards/projects.

A closer view of my stamp desk 

My office area.  Hubby installed another shelf unit directly above my desk to hold my binders and other things that were taking up room on my desk.

My small storage units hold all my embellishments, ink pads and most everything else needed to make a card/project. 

We had to remove the closet doors to get the unfinished dresser inside that holds my office supplies, ribbons, shipping materials and 12x12 card stock.  See the red boxes and tote on top?  Those are full of 'scraps' that I intend to work out of for the next few months....to finally get rid of them.

The top shelves hold my envelopes, clear envelopes, empty CD's (for unmounted stamps), and other supplies.

Plus a Iris cart to hold other supplies.  You can barely make it out, but on the left of the closet is another Iris cart that holds more embellishments and supplies.  

 To the left of the closet area, under a window, is a roll around wire file drawers system...which holds some paper scraps organized by color.  Directly to the left of that...which you can barely make out is another Iris cart which houses Big Shot and Sizzix dies, non TAC dye ink pads, Kaleidacolor ink pads, stickers, micro beads and other stuff.  On top of the Iris cart is my copier and two boxes of scraps which will be used first.

NOW....to keep it this way!!!

Ok, well that worked GREAT

I have scheduled posts to post days later, before,  but for some reason it didn't work this time.  So...what is up with that?

Oh well....something went wonky just as I was saving it...so maybe that's what happened.  I think I'll try again to schedule a post.  IF it doesn't work and it comes through, anyway.....forgive me ;-)

Hugs,
Char

Before

Hi,

I have been in my cozy down mode for the past few weeks.   Summer is OVER, Fall is in full swing and Winter is upon us .  It's Cozy Down time!!

What that means, for me,  is getting my house in order so that I can fully enjoy the holidays, baking, spending time with family and enjoying a hibernation period, so to speak.  Well...not really hibernating, but as much hibernating as one can do with a 15 year old living with you.

I have to admit, I haven't done much stamping since mid September.  Except for an occasional card to my other Granddaughter.

But, I plan to change that now that winter is upon us.
I turned the page on my calendar and heaved a big sigh.....it was fairly empty.....so now was the time to do some Fall cleaning and reorganize and clean my stamp room/office and other rooms in my home.
.
Here are some before photos!  It normally isn't THIS much of a disaster....but I came home from WAG (Western Angel Gathering) mid September and just tossed everything in my stamp room....not putting things away like I normally would within a reasonable time limit.

And, things just kept piling up in the stamp room when we didn't want to take time to put them where they belonged.
So, I took the plunge and spent 3 days cleaning, organizing and going through EVERY drawer and small organizing unit, shelf in the entire room.  EVERYTHING is now clean and organized.

But....you have to wait till tomorrow to see the transformation!  :-)
How does YOUR stamp room look?  If you can't get to your stamp table, there isn't much chance of getting any stamping done, not to mention your creativity being stifled IF you could.

See you tomorrow!!!
Char