THE BOOK PROJECT

Okay. I will be honest with you. I thought I picked a really easy project. Matter of fact I thought I could pull it of in just 2 or 3 days and feel like a total hero. Turns out the first 7 days are up and I have done nothing but put 7 books on a shelf. And I am not very happy about the spot I found. It is in my wardrobe and lets face it. Putting something IN FRONT of something else is never a good idea. That is one way to start a hoard. Cramming too much stuff into too little space. And on top of not getting any books out of the house 2 new ones arrived by mail. How can something that looked so easy turn out to be so hard?


7 a day: the usual little things like kid's art and rock but no serious effort ongetting more tangible stuff out

surface of the day: dresser tops in the hall

NEW PROJECT

I have decided that I need to start a new decluttering project. I am just not sure what, and most for all WHEN! Seriously. Taxi Tuesday was as challenging as very with 2 additional appointments. Fortunately one of the rides was canceled, but lets faced it. Logistically I am doing a great job. I know, it is just one day per week, but I have 2 more days with rides for kids and of course there is homework, household, cooking and all kind of other things. Decluttering? Uhm. No. I do a lot better not hanging onto every little thing. And I can tell a difference. But I can tell without a project, a plan, a CHALLENGE and a deadline progress is so small it is not really visible. 

I would love to have "declutter every Saturday challenge" but that is simply not going to happen. The attic is too cold by now, I would hate to bring the stuff down. I know. Excuses, excuses. Books. I think I will declutter books. The kids have 2 huge shelves full of books that nobody ever seems to read. That'S what I'll do! I will go through all our shelves this month. Wish me luck! 

Surface of the day: Are you kidding me? It's TAXI TUESDAY!

7 a day: How d you feel about 5 matches and 2 burnt down candles?

CAKE'S THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS

Cakes's therapeutic effects lie in making it, not eating it. It is most effective when the cake is made without occasion. For the pure joy of making one. That is what I did yesterday. I finally made a cake that I've been wanting to try for years. 

It turned out better than I expected considering it was a first try. Let's face it. Nothing sophisticated. Just a layer of yellow and a layer of dark dough, with some cherries, then once it is out of the oven, a layer of pudding and a top layer of chocolate ganache. 

The pudding was a disaster in my opinion. The consistency and taste just simply didn't match my expectations.  

But do I give up now? No. So the pudding didn't work for me, I'll just come up with something else. 

How does this tie in with hoarding?

Quite simple. Even hoarders have a life and some times things just have to be about something else then decluttering. Something like making cake.

TOSSING THE PIECES!

The nice part about deciding to get rid of something like the puzzle book is having made ONE DECISION that affects MANY PIECES. In this case 289 pieces to be exact. I am afraid only a small part of them have left the house so far. But every time I find one, I just re-experience that feeling of relief. "I do not have to deal with you! You go in the trash!"

Today's loot just doing normal household chores. And I know, there are a lot more to come!

surface of the day: insides of 2 kitchen cabinets

7 a day: well, count for yourself!

DELEGATE

Who says you have to do it all by yourself? Oh. The hoarder in you. Because the little hoarder wants to be in control. Well, tell the little hoarder to hush it and learn to delegate. Nobody says you have to delegate the sorting process. But at least stay out of other people's stuff. If they want to get rid of it, let them.

Delegate taking out the recycling, delegate dropping off things for charity. Delegate selling stuff on eBay. You can even pay a a little commission. I am sure your kids are dying to make a little money. My hope is, that by delegating jobs I will learn to give up control. My ultimate goal is to let James make decisions on stuff in the attic. Okay. Maybe not in this life. HAHAHA!

surface of the day: 1 kitchen cabinet

7 a day: a monkey, puzzle pieces, paper, paper, more paper, homework (don't ask)

THE PUZZLE BOOK

I had a major break through today. A few years back I bought a puzzle book. On the right pages of the book there are puzzles. In this case 6 of them. With 48 pieces each. Usually those pieces stay in quite well. But not with this book. Every time you attempted to turn a page puzzle pieces kept tumbling out. The boys hated the book and refused to use it. I tried to push it, but they simply ignored it. The girls kind of liked it, but the pictures to look at, the puzzles, were always gone. Kind of stupid. I know. Each puzzle had a different colored back side so you could keep them apart more easily. As the puzzle pieces had two layers the eventually started falling apart. As I collected the pieces for the umpteenth time, telling myself that I better glue those backs on, so I could pass the book on, yup, the book that nobody liked, I thought:"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! TOSS IT!!!"

And I did. Felt good!

Surface of the day: 1 dresser top in the hall

7 a day: 4 coloring books, A PUZZLE BOOK, a bucket, a Halloween costume