I have not been posting very often this week- I dont' know why that sometimes happens, I just get busy doing other things I guess.
Anyway in my goal of getting organized before the new year this week I was working on going through clothes here at our house as well as trying to keep my newly cleaned inbox, clean. I haven't been perfectly successful but it is still much better than before.
As far as working on clothes, first we did laundry on Sunday and Monday (Monday is my normal day for laundry but I also had a meeting, cleaning, homeschooling and piano lessons that day so I decided to get a head start) to get everything ready for sorting.
Tuesday was Aaron's birthday and since we were focusing on that and doing other things I didn't get much done on that day. Wednesday was the day I really went to work. We pulled out all the clothes from all the kids' dressers as well as the ones in boxes in their closets. We went through them all, getting rid of things that were to small or not liked (We ended up with a bunch of boxes of these!), putting those that needed mending in a pile, putting those that needed to be treated with oxygen bleach in another pile and separating some to be made into rags or rag rugs.
I am always amazed when I go through our clothes at how very blessed we are. We do so very, very little clothes shopping- and we don't spend much money on them but we always have an abundance! God is so very good!
On Thursday I besides homeschooling and household duties in the morning I worked on listing a bunch of clothes and other things on the barter site and then answered all the questions that came up there. I was amazed at how quickly Megan's old clothes were snatched up. I still have to meet people but I have arranged to get things like peanut butter, butter, nuts, soap, a hula hoop (for rug making) and tennis shoes for Aaron and Mara in exchange. I am pretty happy about that!
On Thursday afternoon we went out to my parents for a while as my older sister and family had come up to visit. We were back out there again today for the whole day. Fun times with family! I feel so blessed that both of us homeschool and are able to have a flexible schedule.
Today while out there visiting I brought along some things to work on. First I cut out patches for about a dozen pairs of jeans (I haven't mended in a while!) and pinned them on. Hopefully I can sew them soon. Then Anna (my sister) and I cut out a dozen pairs of mittens which I will sew up later. I am making them for a fundraiser. Then a bunch of us (My sisters, sister in law, my mom, my daughters, nieces and I had fun making some of the flowers that I told you about on earlier this week.
Anyway in my goal of getting organized before the new year this week I was working on going through clothes here at our house as well as trying to keep my newly cleaned inbox, clean. I haven't been perfectly successful but it is still much better than before.
As far as working on clothes, first we did laundry on Sunday and Monday (Monday is my normal day for laundry but I also had a meeting, cleaning, homeschooling and piano lessons that day so I decided to get a head start) to get everything ready for sorting.
Tuesday was Aaron's birthday and since we were focusing on that and doing other things I didn't get much done on that day. Wednesday was the day I really went to work. We pulled out all the clothes from all the kids' dressers as well as the ones in boxes in their closets. We went through them all, getting rid of things that were to small or not liked (We ended up with a bunch of boxes of these!), putting those that needed mending in a pile, putting those that needed to be treated with oxygen bleach in another pile and separating some to be made into rags or rag rugs.
I am always amazed when I go through our clothes at how very blessed we are. We do so very, very little clothes shopping- and we don't spend much money on them but we always have an abundance! God is so very good!
On Thursday I besides homeschooling and household duties in the morning I worked on listing a bunch of clothes and other things on the barter site and then answered all the questions that came up there. I was amazed at how quickly Megan's old clothes were snatched up. I still have to meet people but I have arranged to get things like peanut butter, butter, nuts, soap, a hula hoop (for rug making) and tennis shoes for Aaron and Mara in exchange. I am pretty happy about that!
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| some of the stuff I bartered. |
Today while out there visiting I brought along some things to work on. First I cut out patches for about a dozen pairs of jeans (I haven't mended in a while!) and pinned them on. Hopefully I can sew them soon. Then Anna (my sister) and I cut out a dozen pairs of mittens which I will sew up later. I am making them for a fundraiser. Then a bunch of us (My sisters, sister in law, my mom, my daughters, nieces and I had fun making some of the flowers that I told you about on earlier this week.
Here is some of what we made. I wish I would have taken pictures of some of the others that were made. They were pretty cute! This picture doesn't allow you to see the neat detail on the dark ones- sorry!
Tomorrow (actually today now- I guess it is getting late!) I am going to do something I think will be fun- I am going to a Homeschool Mom's day. It is in a small town nearby and there is a Homeschool Mom and Speaker coming who will present 3 interesting sounding seminars, we will have lunch and have opportunities to spend visiting. I am planning on bringing my knitting along to keep my hands busy and am really looking forward to this fun day of spending time with other homeschooling moms.
If I have any extra time tomorrow I would love to accomplish a bit more on my project of organizing our clothes. On my list of things I would still like to do are:
- Go through winter gear (coats, snow pants, boots, ice skates, mittens, hats and scarves). Get rid of things that don't fit or we don't use.
- Go through shoes and polish and care for the ones that we keep.
- Go through my clothes - I go through these more continually than the kids but the drawers could still use arranging and I think there might be some things I should just get rid of.
- Mend!
If has been a fun week of going through things and trying to get things fixed up around here. I hope your week has gone well too! Do you have any tips for keeping clothes organized?
So I got totally inspired by your bartering post and decided to start a bartering group in my town. Turns out you're supposed to pay tax on bartered goods. Am sooo tired of this sort of interference! We homeschool and are getting by!
ReplyDeleteIts really inspiring to see how you are able to clothe your entire family. I only have one child still at home, and your blog convinces me it can be done!
Happy birthday to Aaron! I am intrigued by the fact that you only do laundry on one day. Where do you put all of the dirty clothes 6 people produce in the meantime? Also, do you get everything folded and put away that day, too? I am always curious about laundry since it often is the bane of my existence.
ReplyDeleteI think it is cool that you were able to barter for some great items. That is such a good idea.
Goodluck on the rest of your to-do list. Thanks for linking up!
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you have found me blog encouraging. That is always my goal!
That is to bad that you have to pay tax on bartered stuff. Is that just your state? I am hoping I am not messing up somehow with my bartering!
As far as clothing goes- I feel so very blessed. We also have more than we need. Sometimes we are missing a certian item that we want (shoes generally) but we try to be patient and use what we do have and keep looking for a economical option and God blesses in that search!
Jackie,
ReplyDeleteLaundry is one of the things I have a hard time with as well. My schedule (when I follow it!) is actually to do laundry 2 days a week. On Mondays and Thursdays. I forgot to mention that I washed a couple of loads on Thursday. I do still obviously not do it every day. Each bedroom has a dirty clothes basket in it as well as the kids bathroom and the laundry room. Thankfully they don't all fill up but still we have quite a lot of space for dirty clothes. My dream goal is that I would wash, dry, fold and put away all in one day but this summer especially that has basically just been a dream. When I hang clothes on the line (which I try to do during nice weather)the usually take all day to dry and often by evening there is something else going on or I am simply too tired (or maybe more accurately not in the mood). Baskets of clean clothes is unfortunately not an uncommon sight around here! I try to involve the kids but sometimes I just do it all myself because sometimes that feels easier.
I was at a homeschooling workshop yesterday and the speaker gave me a new idea that I want to try and that is to have a lingerie bag for each child (with their name on it) and hang it in their room and when they undress they would throw all of their socks and underwear in it and then you would send the whole bag, contents and all throw the washer and dryer. Then you just hand them the bag and they can match up their own socks and fold their own underwear. It would eliminate a lot of the sorting that takes up good laundry time. I can so some logistical difficulties with this but I would like to try to make it work!