desparate need to simplify

I promised myself when I got a big-girl job I would do many many things to avoid major meltdown due to the craziness and busy busy busyness that come with being away from the house all day.  This summer I will be doing many many things in preparation for the fall, all in the name of decluttering, healthifying downsizing, and simplifying so that we (I) can have more time to spend doing things we want to do, and less time doing things we don't.

I.  Getting rid of clothes we never wear, don't fit into, and don't want/need anymore.  If you know either Nick or I at all, you know we love to be involved in our community (school, church, etc.) which has landed us with more t-shirts than probably most families have total.  It is ridiculous!  The worst part is, we keep trying to downsize, but the t-shirts just keep coming!  I am thinking about keeping approximately 10 t-shirts (which is a serious cut, trust me) per person, and getting rid of or donating the others.  No more "this t-shirt means so much to me and I have had it since my junior year of high school and it is really soft and and and!"  Nope.  We can take a picture in the shirt and that can serve to hold its memory in our hearts forever.  We just don't need so many!  Not only will we actually be able to fit all of our clothes in the drawers we have for them, but I won't be doing 47,083 loads of laundry all the time!  Because we will only have a few t-shirts to wear, we will have to wash them more often.  Thus the clothes will be washed and we will not end up with a giant mountain of laundry sitting in the hallway because we have 14,000 other shirts we might as well just wear instead of washing the one we actually want to wear!  And, should our t-shirts start to fade, stink, or wear out?  With just 10, we can retire that one, and get a new one!  (Or wait three weeks and there will be another event and we'll get a free one from something!) 

We also have wayyyy too many other clothes we never wear and will never wear again!  When we seriously evaluate our stuff this summer, we can get rid of the clothes we don't like or even really want, and, yet again, actually have space for the ones we do!  This will allow both Nick and i to know if we really do "need" something new or different.  As well as with fewer clothes to choose from, just like with the t-shirts, I will be forced to keep up with the laundry because, duh, we have to wear clothes everyday and cannot leave naked! 

I think this is a HUGE way I can stay sane and happy next fall, knowing that I am not coming home to mountainous piles of dirty clothes, having to search through the other mountain of clean clothes to find something to wear each morning, and actually having a spot to put the clothes after they are clean!  I am seriously so excited. 

2. MENU-PLANNING. Dun dun dunnnnnn... I know I have made weary attempts at this before, but I know that in order to avoid coming home tired and without any ideas of what to make for supper and turning to expensive, super delicious but ohsobadforme restaurant food every other night, I have to do this.  I need to do this.  In the process, I know we will consistently eat way healthier and save some money in the process.  I love having a plan and knowing what we will eat that night, as well as having the supplies at the beginning of the week so I am not running to the store every single stinking day to pick up a couple things for the last-minute meal I decided I could throw together for supper.  This will also please Nick a hundred times over because we wont be eating the same (ish) chicken meal every other night!  [Forgive me, but I seriously L O V E chicken!  Thank you, MCC Campus Center!]

With the stress and fast-pace I will more than likely be running at most of the time, as well as with being gone most of the day, I want to be able to really enjoy the time I have in the evening to be with the ones I care about and taking advantage of the rest and peace that come with having a plan.  This summer we will start practicing eating off a plan and shopping with a week's meals in mind.  I also want to try some freezer-cooking and start using my crock-pot a little more often.  [I know with summer comes spontaneous BBQs and lots of nights out of town, but that is why this is practice time, we will do the best we can and be flexible when it doesn't work out just as planned!]

3. A place for everything and everything in its place.  Now, most of you know me in real life and probably have even been over to my lovely apartment...which is typically cluttered and semi-messy, and I spend the first three minutes of our time together frantically apologizing as I rush around trying to pick up and hide all my mess.  I CAN'T DO IT ANYMORE!  I go to friends' homes and it seems as if everything truly does have a place and it is clean and decorated and I need (want) that in my home.  So this summer we will not only get rid of (does anyone see a pattern here?  We have too much stuff!) the stuff we have laying around, the stuff we are not using, the stuff we do not really need, etc. but we will also find a place for everything.  I am the Q U E E N of piles.  I love to pile!  Making a pile is simply a way to make the clutter look less like clutter (and it is an even better way to lose the cable bill...and your Christmas money from Grandpa...and the list you made...and so on and so on...) catchin my drift yet?  I simply must do these things in order to remain even halfway sane next year!  I need my home to be my solace, my place of peace, and I cannot find peace in all the clutter!  [In case anyone is wondering, I am most definitely the one who is more messy and cluttered, not Nick. Ok just had to say that in case he reads it.] 

4.  In order to maintain the amount of energy I will need, as well keep my positive attitude and happiness at the optimum level, I WILL workout either before or after school in the fall.  The habit begins this summer, though.  I recognize the importance of working out not only for my physical appearance's sake, but even more so for my emotional health.  I will need a place to blow off steam, and I will need a place to find the extra energy (because realistically, working out and being active actually gives me more energy), and I will need a place to maintain my rockin' bod!  ;)  Meh meh mehhhh... But seriously, I struggle so much with my body image (duh, what girl doesn't), and do not want that to be something I let take hold of me!  I feel so much better about myself and simply better in general when I am living healthy, and in order to stay afloat despite busyness at school and life, I will be active.  [I mean, we do have that gym membership...and the gym is literally on my way to and from work...so it will be mainly a mental battle for me.  Prayers appreciated!] 


5.  And very most importantly, I am seriously committed to remaining in the Word and in prayer with our Father.  I will have more time this summer, and sometimes that is good for me, but often it makes it even harder to be intentional with my time with the Lord.  I know, as I am sure most of you do, that every single thing in my life is better when I am seeking His purpose with all of myself.  That will be the number one most important thing to help me healthify and maintain balance and sanity in the fall. 

In conclusion, much prayer, encouragement, and accountability is appreciated!  I will try to stay consistent with my blog, which we all know may or may not actually happen... oops... but most of you I see or communicate with on at least a semi-regular basis (and if not already, shoot, let's start communicatin!), so if you would be willing, help me!  :) 

For the sake of my marriage, my emotional and physical health, my students and colleagues, and my family and friends, I commit to doing these things to the best of my ability.