De-cluttering

After I watched one of my favorite TV shows a couple of nights ago, it occurred to me that I never used to be able to watch favorite shows in "real time." It seemed I never had time to sit down and enjoy anything, for that matter! I reflected on what has changed in my life...I mean, I still have an (almost) full time job, I still have six children (one that I'm parenting from a distance now that she's in college), and now I'm down to one car/driver in the house. It would seem that I would be even busier, right?

What has changed is that we de-cluttered our lives.

We started with de-cluttering our space. We cleared and got rid of some bookshelves and other little stands that seemed to catch tons of clutter. We pared kitchen items down to just what we use on a regular basis. Clothing was sorted and a lot was given away; the rest was organized into dressers or baskets on top of dressers (great for little ones to manage underwear and socks!). We started keeping things in the areas we use them. Even though we still have some trouble spots to work on, this has helped tremendously!!

When I can see what's around me, find what I'm looking for efficiently, and have more space to move and work, I feel much better. I'm more productive. I'm happier. (Ask the children...when they want to "butter me up," they simply tidy the kitchen and make sure the dishes are done).

The second thing we did is to de-clutter our calendars. We no longer have 6 activities going on each week. To be truthful, I had to come to some key understandings here.
1. I am only ONE person and cannot do everything.
2. If my children want to be somewhere badly enough, sometimes they have to get creative or ask for help to get a ride, both valuable skills.
3. My children will not be failures in life if they don't participate in soccer, basketball, hockey, dance, karate AND piano lessons all by the time they are 15 years old.
4. It's okay to say no to a life that society has created and feel free to create the life that's right for me and my children.

Seriously, we were over-scheduled. Every night consisted of rushing home, rushing dinner, rushing to an activity, rushing homework, rushing bedtime, and getting up to get back on that wheel the next morning. Homework was often neglected. Notes for school were often forgotten. Sometimes the little ones didn't even get a bath! I felt like a rotten parent most of the time.

It wasn't healthy. We weren't eating right, we weren't sleeping enough, we weren't enjoying our time together, and we were getting crankier by the day. At the rate we were going, we would have all become grumpy old people by the time the children were 20.

I de-cluttered my work schedule, too. I pared my days down by .1, which equates to 18 days in a school year. At this point in our lives, that bit of time with my children is more valuable than the bit of money I'm able to keep after subtracting mileage, daycare, and taxes.

NOW... we all try to come straight home every night, where we have a system for getting dinner on the table. We talk about our day. We laugh. We plan dinner for the next day. We go through the papers in the backpacks and work on homework together. We share favorite books. I have time to do dishes and clean up the house while I chat with my children. We all have some time to ourselves to play outside, to play a video game, to talk to friends on the phone, or simply to sit and do nothing. We have a system for evening showers and bed time. Everyone is clean and in bed by 10:00 on most nights, myself included. Sometimes I even go to bed at 9:00.

Now that we've de-cluttered, we will take stock again to be sure everyone's needs are being met. My children don't seem to miss running around every night. They have more time to be kids. I will make sure they are liking the new changes, and adjust where I need to.

But not now...my favorite show is on. :)