My goal this year is to clean up my act! By that I mean mind, body and soul cleared out and ready for everything life has to give me. In my bones I can feel that 2018 is going to be amazing and I need to be ready to receive all the blessings. Some old Roman once said "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity" so I am preparing.  I cannot be ready for the new until I clear out all the old. Old stuff, Old resentments, Old thinking, Old behaviors.  One of my New Years resolution was to start each day with an intent and to end each day with gratitude. (Can you tell I've been streaming Oprah and Maya on YouTube)  Believe it or not, I am proud of myself that we are 1 week into the New Year and I have not yet broken that resolution. This morning I was reading this article on Houzz.com called Get Organized: Take a 10-Day Simplification Challenge.

Starting tomorrow I take the first step

1. Grab a trash bag. “Go through all the rooms in your house and look for trash,” Ley says. “You’ll be surprised at what’s just lying around.” Whether it’s expired coupons, boxes, empty shampoo bottles in the shower, dry-cleaning tags, a dead plant or wastebaskets that need emptying, just making this first step will make you feel better.

You may even decide you’re ready to make a second round with a light look for items you can donate, like books you’re never going to read again. “This will ease you into the process,” Ley says.

Two and a half years ago we moved across town into a much larger home.  When we first moved in we had empty drawers, cabinets and a fairly empty garage.  Now, just a few years later it is filled up.  That is upsetting for me, we certainly didn't NEED anything else but elbow room when we moved. Firstly, I need to stop bringing things into the house, my goal is to go 2 weeks without bringing anything not absolutely necessary into our home. Second, tomorrow morning I will grab my trash bag and go through the house to see what can be thrown out.  Then I will go back through and collect items for donation, I've already called the Veterans and they will be here in 4 days whether I am ready for them or not.  I'll post pictures of all the cleared away things, I hope its a mountain!

The article also recommended this book A Simplified Life: Tactical Tools for Intentional Living  I'm going to read it but from the library or digital, I'm not bringing it into this house!

[houzz=https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/98970790/list/get-organized-take-a-10-day-simplification-challenge w=300]

 

Written by Jenni Lovins

“What? You’re too old to go to school!” was the first thing my five-year old told me as I informed my two boys that I was starting school in a few weeks.  My eight year old son answers his little brother with an annoyed, “Anyone can go to school!”  He then looked up at me and said with a questioning look, “But why would you want to do that, Mom?”

I explained to my boys that now that they were both in school all day, I wanted to do something different with my days.  You see, since the minute I found out I was going to be a mom, I wanted nothing more than to get to spend as much time as I could with that little person God had given us.  I wanted to be the one to mold my children into the people they would become.  I didn’t want to pay someone else to do what I wanted to be doing.   I wanted to be the one to put them down for naps, to feed them ice cream for the first time, and see them take their first steps.  I wanted to hear their first words and to dry their tears.  I loved being a stay at home mom and my husband was great enough to support me in this choice for so many years.  We filled our days with park picnics, swimming, karate, play dates, bike rides and going to meet their dad for lunch as often as we could.  Now my boys were in third grade and kindergarten and I was not giving in to that babyurge to keep me home another five years!  It was time for a new chapter for mama!

My husband asked me one evening last fall, “Have you ever thought about being a real estate agent? You’d be great at it, you know everyone!” He got my wheels turning. . . Would I be good at selling houses? I know I’m good at organizing kindergarten class parties, community fundraisers and coaching little baseball players, but could I be good at helping people with one of the biggest financial decisions of their life? I took some time to think it through, talked about it, prayed about it and then one day, I enrolled at American Dream Real Estate School (sounded pretty amazing!).  I managed to finish the course, pass the test, find a broker who wanted to take a chance on me, and on December 2, I received my Colorado Broker License in the mail!  I still get to pick my kids up from school almost every day, be there for the class parties, and help them with homework in the evenings. I know life will get crazier as I get busier, but for now, this new chapter is pretty amazing and I truly appreciate getting to work with alongside another mom who understands and relates to this chapter of my life and shows me every day that I can be both a good mom and successful.