Improve yourself 2010 update

Update time!

I guess there's not much to report, except I'm still here, plugging away at being a better mom. I've continued to do the basics: Keeping my temper/irritation in check, trying to feed my family's minds and bodies better things, getting down to play more, taking better care of myself so I'm a happier mom, etc. I'm doing pretty well in all those area. Still not getting enough sleep, but I've given the No-Cry Sleep Solution a read and am about to go back, re-read some sections and formulate a plan to tackle these sleep issues. I just know a well-rested Mommy is a better Mommy. Last night Jordan slept for 4 1/2 hours IN A ROW and I feel a lot better, just from that. I hope it continues to improve.

One thing I have been working on slowly but surely this week is my organization dilemma. We live in a pretty small house and have a lot of stuff. I am working to find a place for everything, and once I get to that point, it's going to be a lot easier to do a lot of things, including spending quality time with my kids, since that mountain of clutter on the counter won't be beckoning.

(I'm not kidding about the counter. Our kitchen island is a catch-all. It unfortunately looks somewhat like this more often than it's clean--although today it's pretty darn bad, due to the dishes needing to be washed. I'm sorry Mom and Hubby and whoever else is embarrassed by me posting this photo.)



So, you can see why I can't rest easy when the kitchen looks like this. Especially because we have a REALLY pretty kitchen when it's clean.

So, I have been working on uncluttering this week, with the help of a great book I actually won in one of the weekly giveaways from this Improve Yourself 2010 challenge at Engaged Marriage. It's called Unclutter Your Life in One Week by Erin R. Doland and David Allen.



The book lays out a plan that allows you to tackle specific areas of your home and life each day of the week. However, the tasks can be time-consuming and with work (including stay-at-home mom work) it might not be do-able in one actual week.

I am currently working on the "Monday" plan, which starts with your closet.

In fact, this weekend, I cleaned out our front coat closet and got a hanging organizer for all the hats, gloves, mittens and scarves floating around. Ahhh... much better!

Also, on Saturday I tackled my half of our bedroom closet and dresser and pulled out an entire laundry basket full of clothing and shoes that I haven't worn in years. Stuff that is worn out, ugly, doesn't fit, etc. I could get rid of more, but I am holding on to a few things to get me through 'til I lose the rest of the baby weight, then another round of too-big and worn-out stuff will be on its way to Goodwill.

So, going back to Last week's Improve yourself post, I'm taking baby steps to make these improvements!

This week's post is about prioritizing your time to make your improvements. I'm working on it. Trying to carve out times to do what I need. There's a lot to do, but it will get done! I just have to keep at it.

OK, well, more on my improvements next week!