Thursday, June 30, 2011

junk food clutters too

Hello world,

In the days of genetically modified, hormonal injected, and processed foods, how does one know what to eat?? For every book or documentary out there claiming that one way is the best and that the other way is wrong, there is another book or documentary out there disproving everything the first said. I want to eat better. I do know that junk food is not good anyway you look at it. And right now my life is cluttered with junk food. I really like fried foods and chips and frozen foods that are easy to cook!

Who do we blame for this?? The age of the TV dinner I suppose and the invention of refrigerated trucks! Or maybe ourselves.. we have all of the information out there in front of us and with the internet we have no excuse not to educate ourselves. We wouldn't put bad gasoline in our cars but we put bad food in our bodies. I would hope that we are more important than a car! But then that goes back to - what do you believe?? Short of going out to the farms and becoming part of the process, there really is no way to know what is truth.  And then still, do you know 100% of the truth??

I'm becoming highly skeptical in my "old age" and I just don't know who to believe anymore. Everyone is out to make a buck, no matter who they hurt to get it. Politicians, doctors, and educators unfortunately are all people I grew up thinking were wonderful people and believed everything they said. But now - I don't. I find it hard to believe anything they say. And whats worse is I don't know how to find out the truth for myself. And for the record, I know that there are still good people out there that want to do the right thing - its just the bad people that create these dark shadows and ruin it for the good people. I mean I'm an educator, and I can assure you that I in no way shape or form am in it for the money. That thought is laughable - ha.

But besides all of that - I do have to start somewhere with eating better. Lets start with what I think I know. I know that processed foods aren't good for you and the homemade version is better. It usually tastes better, too. Fresh vegetables are better than canned. Frozen is better than canned but not as good as fresh. I assume sugary cereals aren't really that good for you, and really things that are high in sugar and salt aren't that good for you. My friend told me to shop on the outsides of the store, and that's what I plan on doing when we move - no point to do it right now because all of my stuff is packed up. But seeing as how we are moving in less than a week, then I think things are going to be good.

In short, I don't know what type of foods is better for me. Organic vs. not - I'm just going to start buying foods I feel are better for me, health wise and economically. And if I feel better than I do now, then I'm going to keep doing it. If not - then something has to change. I feel food should make you feel better and more energetic; not like taking a nap afterwards. Not only does life need to be decluttered from things, stuff, and more stuff - life needs to be decluttered of things that make you feel bad like bad food. I just hope I can maintain! Anyone want to come over for dinner??

Life's too short to have too much stuff,

Sandy

Monday, June 27, 2011

advised plan

Hello World,

There is a new plan in place for when we move! This weekend we are going to move the stuff we don't want (a large majority of the things we own right now) to my Dad's place in Spring. He is getting a warehouse to resale the things he buys. (He kind of does the storage wars thing.) So he said we can keep the stuff there and sell it! So if you are in need of anything, then when that website gets up and running - you should stop by and check it out. Then the next plan of action once we get all of those things out of here is to move on Wednesday, July 6. Then we can begin our life in a decluttered apartment!! I hope that I can reverse my pack rat ways and never let it get like this again.

Life's too short to have too much stuff,

Sandy

Sunday, June 26, 2011

technology to help

Hello,

The only thing left to do is to move! (and pack the stuff up that we use on a day to day basis) Now we play the waiting game. And I look forward to that day! But, until then I am just going to enjoy the summer!

So recently, (as in yesterday) Robert and I got a new laptop! It's awesome. We haven't gotten a new computer in a long time! (Well ever really.. we always got hand me downs. Both of us.) I mean I'm pretty sure the computer we have now is 6 or 7 years old if not older. I want to try and use the computer to help organize my life. I'm going to be searching the internet for things; anything I can use to help! If I find something, I will let you know how it works out. Also if there are any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

I will let you know how things go when we move and how the unpacking goes. Hopefully as efficient as it was all packed. Until then!

Life's too short to have too much stuff,

Sandy

slow progress is still progress

Hello world,

I haven't done much on the moving front but that's because we can't move in until after July 1. BUT, that is this weekend!! Originally, we were supposed to move at this time, but then it got pushed back to the middle of July. But we learned that it is back to the first-ish! WOOT!

I know I packed up early, but I packed slow and efficiently. Robert and I packed everything in boxes in a nice and orderly manner, and all of the boxes are labeled. The only difference we really had during this time moving, is I used towels to pack the dishes. It gave place for my towels and it kept my dishes from breaking (well so far at least.) Robert wanted me to use the Greensheets or something like that. But that just causes trash - and isn't very GREEN! ;-) But other than that its been pretty painless. Except now I have nothing to do until we move!

Right now out of our whole apartment, we are keeping 13 boxes (we have a few more boxes that need to be packed - however, its a whole lot of things we use on a day to day basis.) I would say that we got rid of a bunch of unneeded things! I'm excited about that! Operation "De-Clutter" is working! I can't wait to see it in the new apartment though. I have a feeling I'll be getting rid of more things once we move and I find I have no place for them. In that case, I think it will be OK. I would rather have an uncluttered space from now on, than trying to find a spot for everything. It's almost a cleansing effect. =)

It takes 21 days to make a habit. I will be counting down those days until we get into the habit of doing things right! =) And I'm talking everything. The way we eat. (We have got to be healthier - especially if we want to have kids. I want to be able to keep up with my children and pass on good diet habits so they'll have a healthier life!) The way we house keep. (Which should be soo much easier seeing as how we have less space! To be honest, the only rooms that we really kept clean were the rooms that people were in. Now everyone is going to be in every room! And NO CLUTTER!!!!) The way we spend money. (We have to pay off all of our stupid debt and start saving money for a house!!) And just the way we do anything in life. I just want to be a better person all around. =) Here's to our second chance in life!

Life's too short to have too much stuff,

Sandy

Sunday, June 19, 2011

progress is sweet!

Hello world,

We are through with the extra room and the living room finally! Those two rooms had the most stuff. Since our house kind of looks like a store right now (I'm just not sure you fully understand how much stuff I've stickered) we are going to move everything we are keeping into the extra room (minus the big furniture that we are trying to sell off of craigslist). Then everything we are going to sell next weekend, is going into the living room for easy access for when we have to haul it all down. Not looking forward to that day - well I kind of am. More so for the stuff to be out of my way! All we have left is the kitchen, which won't take much packing. And the bedroom which is mostly clothes. Oh and the bathroom, but we are getting new everything so I'll just need to pack the toiletries we still use (so that will obviously have to wait haha). I wish it were time to move now!

I've been thinking though; about the new apartment, and how life will be in said new apartment. Since we are moving to a first floor my excuse for not exercising is null. I don't do it now because I live on a second floor in which you can hear every single move we make... so I try not to add to the noise, because it's a lot. But in the new apartment we are on the first floor and have no worries. So I'm going to start playing my PS3 game that I got for my birthday this year. Zumba!! I'm totally excited - but I can't dance. Maybe the more I do it, the better I will get... right? That's how it works?? Eventually if I can do it and not look completely foolish, there are classes down the road that I would like to start taking. I love watching shows like So You Think You Can Dance because they move so artistically and controlled and it takes a mean body to do what they do. I mean dancers, to me, have the best looking bodies. So perhaps Zumba can do a little of that for me! I also think I forgot to mention that there was a workout facility at the new apartment as well. So that will help, too. Husband will be forced (I'm sure it won't take too much forcing) to go to the facility with me. Haha, I won't, however, force him to do Zumba with me, unless he just absolutely wants to.

I'm also thinking about the kind of food that we are going to be eating. I'm not sure yet. All I know from what little I've studied and been told is that all I need is natural food. Less processed foods. Which means I need to cook from scratch more. I have some great recipe books. The kitchen is slightly bigger so I'm hoping that will help that end of the problem as well. Right now we have a tiny kitchen and I really don't like to cook (which is why we end up eating out all of the time...) But you know what? I just need to suck it up and just do it right. The whole slogan for the new apartment: Just do it right.

Oh and I was right, throwing things away made a huge difference! I'm very happy!! :-) Now to go and spend Father's Day with a couple of fathers and one day, the father of my children. Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads out there!







Life's too short to have too much stuff,

Sandy

Saturday, June 18, 2011

no progress..

Yesterday we didn't have any progress in the moving department because lucky ole' me got a migraine. Took me out from like 3 o'clock yesterday until I woke up this morning. It was pretty bad. I need to go to the chiropractor but even with insurance the doctor is too expensive and I would have to get a "health credit card" and pay it off over time. Which I guess wouldn't be that bad, but we are trying to get out of debt. Not make more.

Getting out of debt is something else I want my family to do right. We kind of follow the Dave Ramsey plan... kind of. Our goal is to pay off the smallest debt first (a credit card) and then when that's paid off take the money we used to spend on that and roll it over to the next smallest, etc. In theory it works. No it works. We've done it before. All of our credit cards were paid off before we got married... and then we bought things for the wedding and other things. And now we are back to where we were 2 years ago. Except now we have added a car (needed) and bedroom furniture (not as needed but super nice!). We can't add anymore "not needed" items to our debt list. It is irresponsible.

I am looking forward to today getting a lot of packing knocked out. And a lot more things thrown away. I think the more trips we make out to the dumpster today the more our old apartment will look "packed up". So no time like the present!

Life's too short to have too much stuff,

Sandy

Friday, June 17, 2011

does junk mulitply?!

Man! We sort... we pack.. we sticker... and this stuff just seems to never end!! Man.. I'm a better hoarder than I thought. All of this stuff was neatly packed away in the million closets and bookshelves I have in this apartment... I would say that we are half way done - close to being half way done. We still have to pack the kitchen and bedroom and bathroom. But man... Husband doesn't feel we have put a dent in this mess, but I know we have. I have a lot of things off to the side to be sold, and so far we have packed 7 boxes. I underestimated how many boxes we would need, too; I thought we would only need 10. But I was wrong. If we have already filled 7 and there are three more rooms... yes we will need more. And to make myself feel better... I'm going to call it "pre-hoarding" because I could still walk around haha.

In the new apartment things will not get this crazy... ever. We will have an "Out with Old and In with New" rule. If it can be exchanged with something - then it will. Clothes included... why do I have 2+ months worth of clothes I don't even wear?? I always have too much laundry to do. Hopefully life in the new apartment will be everything I hope it will be, but if I just do it right then it should be.... right??

Once we start selling things and they start exiting the house, I think we will really feel that we've put a dent in it. Next weekend is the weekend! Hopefully we can get all of the smaller stuff out of the house. But for now, its time to make breakfast (chikfila style) and get the momentum back up and running! I must have wore Husband out yesterday, he fell asleep early! So I'll surprise him with some chicken-minis. My favorite!

Life's too short to have too much stuff,

Sandy

Thursday, June 16, 2011

overwhelming

So we started the packing process last night. And just one word can describe what we went through. OVERWHELMING! We are no where near being done... the BS has just taken over everything we own. I would love to just run my hand across and just empty everything in to a trashcan... but what if we throw away something important!? Now I guess I can just think well if I haven't seen it in the 4 years we've lived at this apartment, then we should be good, right? No... there's still a bit of pack rat inside of me. So I'm going through everything. But on a good note, I'm pretty sure I've stickered more than I've kept! So that's good! It really doesn't even look like we've put a dent in this mess...

Next weekend, we are taking a bunch of stuff to Trader's Village, a flea market-esque place in Houston. I've labeled everything really cheaply, so I'm hoping to not come back with anything. If I do - I am very tempted to just donate it all, just to be rid of the stuff forever. We are selling the big stuff on Craigslist and hopefully we can get rid of a bunch of stuff that way, too. The plan is to move everything we want to the new place and then have a moving sale, where people go into our old apartment and just look at the stuff we have to buy, which will also be advertised on Craigslist. With the money we get (if any) from selling our old life style away, a new couch will be bought! To signify a new beginning. :)

Anywho... I should get back to packing... this crap won't pack itself!

Life is too short to have too much stuff,

Sandy

getting to know me

I just wanted to start out by letting you know a little bit about who I am.

I'm married to one of the most amazing guys in the world, we are very compatible and I love him for that! I am a teacher in Houston, TX and love every minute of it! And we also have a dog named Prissy, who is 14 1/2 years old. She is my best friend, and I have had her since I was in the fifth grade.

OK now let me tell you what I want this blog to be about. My husband and I are starting over this summer. Right now we live in a 2/2 apartment that's just under 1000 sq. ft. We have so much stuff, we could fill a 3 to 4 bedroom house with no problem. We have so much BULLSH*T in our lives,  that we just have to get rid of it! We are looking for no BS kind of life. Our solution? We are moving to a 1/1 apartment that is a little over 600 sq. ft. and we are getting rid of EVERYTHING! I swear I am almost bordering on "Hoarder" and that scares the crap out of me! So I'm stopping it now before it becomes too much of a problem that we can't handle anymore, and we end up on TV...

Right now, we are going through the stuff "Things we want to keep" and "Things we want to get rid of" and I'm stickering everything! You know with little garage sell stickers. I'm going to try and get some money off of all this crap - One woman's trash may be another woman's treasure! And to be fair, this stuff isn't exactly crappy, it just isn't needed by us. Most of the stuff got replaced when we got married and people bought us stuff. (Awesome!) Or it was just "college stuff" to fill an apartment. We have big kid furniture now! :)

But another way we are starting it over is with our weight. We are both overweight and unhealthy. We have succumbed to the temptations of the fast food places too many times. Yes its cheap and fast. And cheap being mostly the key word there. But in the new apartment, we are going to eat better! When we move I will let you know what we end up eating. We still have a month. I know you're saying why not start now? No time like the present! Well ... if were only that easy. We are packing away a lot of stuff. Because we are both going to be out of town several days/weeks out of the summer visiting various friends (it's our version of a vacation.) And in between visits - we will be moving. Which is why we are packing now.

Well that is a little bit about our situation and I'm going to try and blog everything I do mostly to make sure I keep on track but maybe it could help someone else, too. Who knows if anyone will even read this! BUT if you are, wish us luck as we start this journey of doing things right! :)

Life's too short to have too much stuff,

Sandy