Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Lets face it (Project Simplify)

Lets face it. How many of us stay at home moms really like the question, "so, what to do you do all day?" Even though I myself do not like this question much at all, I have found myself guilty of asking that very thing of other stay at home moms, probably in an effort to either 1. feel better about my lack of productivity, or 2. glean any amount of good ideas from other stay at home moms. You may be wondering what the highlight of my day was today, so for your viewing pleasure I have included a picture:
What? You can't tell what that is? Well, Randy was lucky enough to receive a call from me at exactly 9:04 am just to tell him about the picture above. Are you still wondering what this most remarkable phone conversation had to do with? I measured my daughters and marked how tall they are on the inside door frame of my laundry room. Remarkable, right!!! Are you starting to see why the question, "what do you do all day?" is not a good one?
I was asked by a lady in my ward last week if I felt like all I did was clean all day long. My honest answer to her was "no, I just sit in my messy house all day long." Sad, but true. There are some of you out there who have it all figured out. Or you may be like some people I know who claim to have a talent for homemaking. Well, that is very well and good, and yes I could be spending all day cleaning without taking a break, but I'm not super human yet. And well, my kids have an extraordinary talent for messing things up.
No joke, there was this one day I seriously cleaned the living room at least 3 times before Randy came home and when he did, he never could have guessed. I know this will not always be my life and someday my young children will grow up and be a little better at contributing to the cleaning up, but for now I have to be realistic and practical. So I have decided that the easiest way to keep things clean is to get rid of stuff. Lets face it, the less stuff you have, the less you have to clean up. So I have decided to include all of you who may or may not be interested in this most exciting adventure I will be calling "Project Simplify."
Lets face it again, some weeks it is just not practical with children running around you all day long to dejunk/organize the whole kitchen. So the goal will be to do a small space at least once a week (or day if you're really ambitious and you find the extra time). I must confess I have a bit of a head start already. I have already gone through the playroom and the girls bathroom. So I will have to post those pictures for another time. My most recent project was the master closet. Are you ready for another confession, I didn't even do this with the kids around. Randy and I did this for one of our date nights while we sent the kids to the neighbors house. That's how pathetic it is sometimes!!! So get ready to see the real me. Even if you really don't want to. That's right you will be taking a quick tour through my master closet!!!!
I finally got rid of the shirt that I wore on my very first date when I was sixteen years old!! It was still in really great condition which is why I probably hadn't gotten rid of it until now, but when its time, IT'S TIME!
Here are our shirts, pajamas, and sweatshirts organized. You may notice the most embarrassing rainbow pajama pants. Almost without fail someone will knock on my door (ladies in my ward, bishopbric member, etc.) when I am wearing those pants. Maybe those should have gone in my donation pile, hmmmm maybe next time.

Confession: we still had a load of laundry to do. So this isn't exactly how empty our closet is, but it definitely isn't full. You get the idea.



For some of you this next picture will be a sin because this picture is the sum total of all the shoes that Randy and I own (minus the pair Randy wore to work today). Just remember (for those of you who may be shocked) we are trying to simplify, right?

And here is the donation pile. Now I just need to go through the kids clothes. I think that will be my next project.

So for all you ambitious mommas out there. Project Simplify is underway. I invite you to join me one area at a time. If you are interested in simplifying your own closet, blog about it and leave me a comment. Whoever shows me the most durastic change or well organized master closet. You will be crowned (recognized on my blog as) "Super stay at home mom for the week."


I feel like I should just add a little side note. Keep in mind that it takes guts to let you see the clutter in my life, for most of us out there, we feel like if we are a stay at home mom more is expected of us in the way of cleanliness. It can sometimes feel overwhelming or embarrassing (especially if you have little kids running around). So, that being said, no judgments are allowed on this blog. I won't judge you, you won't judge me!!!

7 comments:

Angela said...

Haha! This post made me laugh! You are so funny the way you put it all! And I think the picture of the day is fantastic! :) And I'm sure every stay at home mom could relate in some way or another to those kinds of days! I have those kinds of days way too often as well! I'll just come visit you on those days and we can be awesome moms together ok? Love ya tons! Thanks for inspiring ME to be a better mom! You really are doing fantastic!

Alison Rae said...

I love this! It warms my heart that you still have those rainbow pants and I am so glad you didn't get rid of them!! You were wearing those the first night we met in our little dorm at BYU-I!!

Carrie said...

brittney! hello! first of all, i can TOTALLY relate. i clean over and over and over during the day, but when brad comes home from work, the house is STILL a disaster. it's always hard walking into other moms houses and seeing them spotless. it just isn't possible for me.

second, i wanted to tell you what we're doing for homeschooling. 'the well-trained mind' is a GREAT homeschooling resource (if you're interested in a classical education, which i am). i read it, taking notes and buying books as i went along. after every chapter, there is a resource section, with suggestions of good books to buy for that particular subject. it tells you HOW to use the books, how to structure your day, what books to buy for each grade level (colson is in first grade), how to teach, etc. i love this book. the history projects that we do, come right from the 'story of the world' activity book, one of the suggestions from 'the well-trained mind'. if you have any other questions, ask away. i'd be happy to answer.

Cristie Jensen said...

What about all your sewing projects, and cake decorating, I don't even have time or open space to do that. I ask mom's that question to see what I can do with my time or how I can do it with three little ones - that is my main issue for not doing much. Love the declutter, going through that myself right now (kids stuff not quite mine yet!)

Belinda said...

I bet that feels good to get rid of stuff. I seriously need to do the same in my own life.

Wileen said...

You go Girl! Sounds to me like you are a productive mom. Organizing, gardening, cleaning often, all the activities going on with your kids, home schooling. Your amazing.

Scott & Annedria said...

Way to go! I have been meaning to go through my closet also but keep putting it off, I cleaned out my dresser month ago. You have inspired me to clean out my closet!!