Bean's Life: December 2011

Friday, December 30, 2011

De-cluttering

Today we put away all of the Christmas decorations, except for our nativity scene which will remain out through epiphany, and the tree went off to our local drop off point for recycling. I stored everything in two storage bins and wrote on the lids exactly what was contained inside and ran them up to the attic.
Then I went to our bedroom and decided to sort our my closet, I simply went through everything in my closet and pitched anything that I have not worn in a very long time, this created quite a large pile of clothing to donate to the Goodwill along with a rarely worn pair of gym shoes. I then sorted out one drawer in my dresser that needed a going through. As I was sorting things out Dave came upstairs and was motivated to sort out his clothing, now he can fit everything into his chest of drawers, he threw out a lot of totally worn out items. We loaded up the van, piled in the grandsons and headed off to run a few errands and make a donation to Goodwill. It is freeing to clean things out, organize and eliminate no longer needed items.
Next week I plan to sort out some storage bins in the attic. Last spring I had a major sort out in the attic and we purged many, many things, I now would like to empty some of the storage bins. Some contain outgrown clothing from our children, two of whom are now married and have their own homes, we will donate it since it was kept because it was in good shape. Another bin contains the collection of stuffed animals, most are Emily's, I think she will want to keep her Build A Bear animals, but everything else can be donated. Another box contains junk, so I will decide what needs to be donated and what needs to be pitched. I would also like to sort out the closets in my sewing room, they have become a dumping ground for items that we don't know what else to do with, again I think I will end up with a large donation pile. Anyway this should get me well on my way to purging 365 items from our home for 2012!
What areas of your home do you need to sort out, de-clutter, and/or organize?

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Two Fun Projects for a Winters Afternoon & a Thought for the New Year

A few months ago my mother gave me many yards of fleece, I have not yet decided what to do with it all, but had thought that it would be excellent to use to make hot water-bottle covers and super-hero capes for grandsons Henry and Patrick. Not only did these items cost nothing to make, except for a little time with a pair of scissors, the water-bottle covers will be useful and the entertainment factor of the super-hero capes is very high!!

The boys in their splendid super-hero capes

Two warm fleecy hot water-bottle covers

On another note Ember at http://kindredofthequietway.blogspot.com/2011/12/365.html had a good thought for de-cluttering with the suggestion of getting rid of something each day for one year, with the thought that if you acquire something new you not only get rid of one thing for the day but you also get rid of something in place of the new item. With the goal of having 365 less things cluttering your home. I started today, I cleaned out the drawers of the sideboard in the dining room, a haven for sticking things that I don't know what to do with, I then cleaned out the junk drawer in the kitchen, and the cabinet that contains some basic first aid items phone books and infrequently used glassware. I am not sure why I had three years of phone books, I decided to keep the most current one and pitched the others into the recycling bin. After my efforts I had two plastic grocery bags of trash - why I housed this trash in the sideboard drawers for so many years I cannot imagine :). Anyway, it is a chore that needed to be taken care of and now it is done!

What are your goals for the new year?

PS please vote in the poll at the top left of my blog - Thank YOU!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

28 Years and Counting

Today is our twenty-eighth wedding anniversary!

Our wedding day, December 27, 1983

And, twenty eight years later, :)

Monday, December 26, 2011

What a Wonderful Day

As Dave and I sat on the sofa yesterday evening recuperating with a glass of wine and an episode of Doc Martin on Netflix we agreed that we had enjoyed a wonderful Christmas day with our family.
The day started out early, literally at the very beginning of December 25, as we went to midnight mass at St. Peters to begin our celebration of Christmas day.
At eight in the morning we ran over to our daughter and son-in-law's home to watch grandsons Henry and Patrick open their gifts. Let me tell you, little children really make day, they are so excited and so caught up in the moment and of course they are just so gosh darn cute!!
We headed back to our house so Dave could carve the ham while I finished some other meal prep. Then then we waited for our younger two, Ben and Emily, to emerge from their bedrooms, and our oldest son Matt and his wife Traci, and Brad, Amber and the boys to arrive. By eleven everyone was assembled in the living room and a fun and crazy chaos took over as we opened gifts. My sister Marika, husband Brian, and nieces Carly and Caitie arrived at one thirty and the feasting began. After dinner, dessert, much snacking and glasses of wine, everyone staggered to the family room for a Chinese gift exchange! The rest of the afternoon we chit-chatted and enjoyed each others company. By six everyone had gone home, our younger two left with their dates, and Dave and I put the house back together. We really enjoyed our day, it was a wonderful Christmas and we feel truly blessed. Some pictures for your enjoyment.