I heard geese!

It's SPRING! :-) There is still snow (and ice!) on the ground, but if you hear geese it is spring. That is the rule.

We aren't doing much on this Sunny Palm Sunday. I'm making 20 cups of rice and hoping to have some left over for soup tonight or tomorrow, but honestly I'm not even counting on it. It will save on disappointment later...

Cauliflower is $2/ head this week so that could be delicious. They are always tiny heads this time of year, but it is better than the middle of winter.

It's my day off so I have to go lay on the couch and ignore my responsibilities now. :-)

So lots going on

My finger is still healing - did I mention that I got cut at work? Well, I did and it's still healing.

We set up the easel in the 'man cave' AKA the computer room and we are going to do a family art project. The men protested strongly, but I told them it wasn't optional.

I'm still digging stuff out of hidden spots to declutter or garbage. I've got about a bag and a half, so far, for Value Village and a couple bags of garbage. I just have to vacuum the living room carpet and it is clean.

Remember at towards the end of Poltergeist the short woman says, "this house is CLEAN"... well it is a little like that at my house. ;-P

:-)

By now you must all know me well enough to know that I've been off cleaning and organizing.

I grew up in a very clean and orderly house. My mother could have taught the Flylady everything she knows. It is not like I grew up in squalor and don't know how to clean something- so what the heck is wrong with me?

Okay- true enough- I don't live by myself! I have many people helping me make this mess and I think they don't have the same standard of cleanliness that I do...

At some point the house should get noticeably better, though, right? I've decluttered every room and every closet, but I think I better start over from the beginning and do it all again. And again and again and again... until I can get more than one room at a time looking clean and organized.

Why is it so hard?!

Well it's a big day...

DD#1 (don't know, don't care) turns the big *2-0*.

The other big news is that I realized that I get holiday pay! I can take 3 or 4 days off with pay and I'm going to next month. I can't wait. Too bad I didn't realize that when my sister was here! :-/ Sorry, Jam Tart!

I read decluttering and organizing books last month, but this month I'm reading stress books. I have one for home and one for work. The one at work was written by an art therapist so she mostly recommends doing crafts... Okay.... If I must... :-)

I want to get the house all clean and organized before I come home and have my de-stress Stay-cation. I don't want to waste my vacation organizing the house, right? I want to waste my Stay-cation IN my organized house. :-)

Well blog fans... I'm out of rice.

I know it doesn't seem like I should be, but I am. We *really* like rice! I thought a forty pound bag would last longer, but apparently not.

I have a lot of oatmeal and a lot of popcorn so I guess we'll have to work on those for a couple weeks to even things out a little. Dh recommends a lot of corn bread. :-)

We cleaned out the pantry and filled all the gallon jars with whole grains and anything that didn't fit in the jar is going into the soup pot for supper. So it will be millet, wild rice, and lentils with garlic and yams... and sourdough corn bread...

Barrier #3- No time.

I understand no time. I really, really do. My life is a tightly controlled chaos with everything neatly categorized into its own time spot. It's a little like Pandora's box- if anything escapes all the evil of the world is unleashed. That is why it is tightly controlled and things don't run over. The only way to get anything extra done is to squeeze something extra between other things.

For example, I got ready for work quickly and 5 extra minutes so I got a bag and picked up the garbage and recycling in my bedroom.

Sometimes you don't have a minute you only have thirty seconds or fifteen seconds. I've found that is usually enough time to clear off the bathroom counter. In fact most jobs around the house take less than five minutes if everything is generally kept up and organized.

I've got a spot where people can put their things to go to charity and it makes it a LOT easier to separate stuff as you find it a piece at a time. When the box is full - out it goes. :-)

So if you have no time and can't cut back on any of your commitments consider the tiny snippets of time because they do add up. :-)

The guilt gift

The guilt gift is anything that you are given with the understanding that you must keep it forever. I am widely known as someone that will take bags of clothes or household things, but I *always* take them with the understanding that I can pass them on if they don't work for me. Most people will say, "sure," but sometimes you will find people who expect you to be a guardian of their junk.

For example- "You can't get rid of THAT painting! Your great aunt Lucy's second husband's stepdaughter from his third marriage painted that for you! You don't remember her? Of course you do! I know it doesn't really "go" in here, but she was *FAMILY*... Until Lucy started taking tennis lessons and George married that floozy of a waitress!"

Sometimes it is better to work without a buddy- especially if the buddy has strong opinions about what you should keep and decorate your home with. :-)

Lately I've seen a lot of older people sending things home with their children who don't have room for it so they bring it to *their* adult children who may or may not have room for it and may or may not WANT it. I bet you can hear it already, can't you? But it was GRANDMA'S!

If something is a precious heirloom (and you want it...) then by all means take it and use it or display it in a beautiful way. Don't take it, though, if it is going to end up on the junk pile at the bottom of your closet! Let's be honest- most things aren't beautiful heirlooms from grandma. They are afghans in 1970's colours. Very retro... May be suitable for your house. I have to tell you, though, I am NOT interested!

So next time someone tries to give you things you don't want or keep things you want to pass on- think about their motivation. Why are they so insistent? Do they want you to become a guardian of 'precious' junk like they are? What do their homes look like... :-)

Another form of guilt gift is something that ties you to the past- photographs of old boyfriends, things you bought for a different time in your life, etc. These things might still be good, but maybe they could be passed on to people who would be happy to have them. This is one of the reasons that decluttering can be so emotional. It brings up a lot of feelings when you are going through things from your past. Maybe you really always MEANT to finish that project and you have a little stab of guilt every time you see it so you just put it back in the box. That colour doesn't really go with anything... but you can't get RID of it.

Trust me - you can and it gets easier every time you do. I don't think it is a good idea to start with the really emotional stuff. It's better to start somewhere that is easy so you can get a little practice and momentum.

OH! And you might need an Oasis of Calm if you are decluttering your whole house and you think it might be very overwhelming. The Oasis of Calm is an area that isn't very large and you can do it first. It might be a cozy chair in the corner of a room. The first time I decluttered I did my bedroom first and it was my oasis. When things get too tough you can go to your oasis and sit quietly for a few minutes. Maybe you can have a cup of tea (because tea fixes everything-according to Sunshine) and be proud of your progress.

This is a two-fer. When you declutter the guilt gifts the guilt goes with them. :-)

Barriers to decluttering

I'm just going to mention a couple barriers of decluttering today. These are the hardest or most memorable to me.

1. I don't want to just 'get rid' of it. I don't want to be wasteful.

2. The guilt gift. Examining the motivation of someone who gives you a gift.

3. I don't have time. I don't have energy.

Let's just talk about #1 for today. Decluttering can be upsetting and overwhelming- particularly if you involve people who aren't motivated to help you. Some of us had (or perhaps still have) depression era parents or grandparents and they firmly believed WASTE NOT. I believe in waste not, as well, but I think we need to be a little more realistic about how life is today.

So some rules that go with barrier #1.

Do you need it? It doesn't matter how fantastic and beautiful it is -if you don't NEED it, it's clutter. The exception to this would be if you need it AND use it. For example, I have a very wonderful warm coat. I use it a couple times a year here. If I lived anywhere else it would hang in the closet forever and I would never use it. Another exception might be jewelery or things that are decorative. You might not need them, but you use them and love them.

I think the things a person surrounds themselves with should be useful *and* beautiful.

It's not wasteful to get rid of things that you aren't using. It is wasteful to KEEP things you aren't using. If something is still good there are many charities and thrift shops that you can support with your still- good stuff. Just check on the rules before you load up your car. Since bedbugs are on the rise you aren't going to be able to donate things like old mattresses anywhere.

Just keep in mind that if things are fit for the landfill then send them to the landfill. Your *HOME* should not be the place where junk goes to die. Your home should be warm and inviting and filled with the things that you love.

Things you can get rid of today:

Recycling
Clothes that are ripped, stained or don't fit.
Shoes that don't fit and ugly purses.
Extra coffee mugs- Mine always seem to multiply.
Anything that reminds you of a really unhappy time in your life.

You can begin with a grocery store bag and stop when it is full! :-)

Okay... I have to say it!

I'm not over the way that nice girl sang the national anthem during the opening of the Olympics. Perhaps I'm jaded, but you know that I am a little more used to something like this. You just can't compete with that... :-)

So we might be having a chinook. The snow isn't really blowing the right direction, but I suspect that we are on the line for one because we went from cold and icy to warm with dry sidewalks overnight. My supervisor informed me that there was a 'strange glow' in the Eastern sky, too. Dh says it is Spring, but I reserve all judgment and continue to believe the weather guy that predicts -40 C temps for March.

I'm going to get back to some decluttering pretty soon so I'm pretty sure I'll be posting about that this month. I'm also planning on doing some baking if I ever get the kitchen organized the way I want.

Jam Tart went home today so it is back to real life now. :-/

Happy March to you all! :-)

It's a big month and we're all still pretty stoked about Canada winning the gold medal game... Sorry, Americans! =8-)

I have to share what I just found out. Apples (and other sources of pectin) are a good detox food. Apparently they are being used with success in the Ukraine in the post Chernobyl detox. I am pretty interested in that!

This month I've got the baby of the family turning 16 and the oldest turning 20. It's a month of changes at my house, I think.

I am feeling a LOT better since I quit dairy. My dairy-free buddies didn't notice a difference, but I *REALLY* did. It took three days of craziness to feel better, but after that food started digesting well and my stomach got flat. I didn't realize that it was bloated, but it was.

You are probably still thinking about apples and how good they are. Lately we've been making personal apple crisps. You chop an apple (or two if you are extra hungry) and top with whatever you like. We chop raisins, crystallized ginger, nuts and seeds then put about 1/4 cup/ apple on top. 1/4 is about a serving size for nuts so I think that is a reasonable amount to use. I also like dried, chopped dates ... BUT you can use brown sugar if you prefer. If you do a little margarine and brown sugar together it will get those delicious crunchy bits. We also like cinnamon so use that according to taste.

Warm everything in the microwave and top with a little cinnamon flavoured cashew cream (same as CHEEZ, but with cinnamon instead of garlic) or non-dairy ice cream or frozen whipped topping.

And so I leave you with a quote: "If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." Carl Sagan. :-)