31 Days {Day 12} || Committing to Change – Organizing my Yarn

Posted on October 12, 2012 by gracieed

Did you know that today is “I Love Yarn” day?  Instituted by the Craft Yarn Council, this is the day we publicly affirm our passion for yarn.  Personally, I do that most days, but today, October 12th, is the “official” day.

My mom showing first blanket in process (circa 1976)

I have loved yarn since my mom taught me to crochet when I was 7.  We went to the yarn store and I picked out a skein of blue yarn.  She taught me the basic stitches and then started me on a blanket using the shell stitch.  As I reached the end of the skein, we would go back to the store to buy another color.  The blanket grew and by the time I was 12 it was large enough to fit a double bed.

During my teen years, my mom taught me how to knit, but I didn’t really take to knitting until I was in my late 20’s.  My grandmother was an expert knitter and I only wish I had paid more attention when she was alive.  I still have cardigans today that she knit for me and as I’ve improved I have a huge appreciation for her skill when I look at her work.

Today I’m going to deal with organizing my yarn.  Those that know me, know that as well as having a passion for yarn, I have A LOT of yarn.  Given my previous posts and my propensity for accumulation, this should be no surprise.  I have received several donations of yarn, but the bulk of my collection has been purchased.  But now I want to corral my stash, organize it and make good use of it.  I knit on a very regular basis, always have several projects on my needles and come up with many more ideas on a daily basis.

A website called Ravelry is a knitting/crochet community where you can find patterns, yarn, friends and also organize your stash.  My goal is to sort through my stash of yarn and patterns and get it organized through Ravelry.  Once it’s set up, I will be able to know at a moment’s notice if I have the right yarn for a particular project.  While it’s always exciting to go out and purchase new yarn, I have enough to safely last my lifetime and I want to start using it.  I, and many of my friends, knit squares for a wonderful organization called Knit-A-Square that sews those squares into blankets for AIDS orphans.  This is a fantastic way to use up the bits that are leftover from a project.

While organizing my supplies is a good and necessary idea, the larger change that I want to commit to is finishing projects.  I have several large projects in the halfway phase and I need to complete those before taking on others.  So here’s to completion…. 

 

 

“Would our dog sweaters be on your ‘projects to be completed list’?  Winter’s coming and you know how shivery I get.”

Posted in 31 Days, Crochet, DeCluttering, Knitting, Organization, Yarn | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

31 Days {Day 11} || Committing to Change – Walking my Dogs

Posted on October 11, 2012 by gracieed

People who know me might think today’s post is odd.  “You’re committing to walk your dogs?”  “Don’t you do this 40 times a day?”

It occurred to me that it’s important every now and then to reflect and think about some of the things we do well.  Not in a boastful or superior way, but as an exercise in confidence-building.  Too much inner critique can have a negative overall affect and besides we all probably do more things well in our lives than not.

So today, I’m focusing on something I do well.  Walking my dogs.  I even named my blog after the activity.

We head out every day (okay at least 6 days a week) for 40 minutes to an hour depending on the intensity of sniffing that takes place and the number of poop stops we have to make.  An exercised dog is a happy dog, but I also believe a dog that expects a routine is a better behaved dog.  Our routine is so cemented in their minds that I don’t have to tell them when it’s time to go, they tell me.

October happens to be “Adopt a Shelter Dog” Month.  If you’re thinking about getting a dog, your local shelter is a wonderful place to start.  Before I started my last job (the one I just left), I volunteered at our local SPCA as a dog walker.  The shelter is also a wonderful resource for obedience classes, puppy socialization classes, microchipping and spay/neutering services.  They have excellent, dedicated volunteers that will guide you through the process of finding the right dog/cat for your household.

This is how I met Woody.  As a dog walker, you couldn’t just show up one day and say, “Hey I want to walk dogs.”  I had to take several training classes and only then was I allowed to walk dogs with another trained volunteer.  It’s a wonderful system that protects and cares for both you and the animal.  But the day came when I was cleared for my first solo walk and I have to say I was nervous.  Don’t know why, but I was.  I walked about 5 dogs that morning and the last one was Woody, an English Pointer mix.  He was 3 1/2, knew all the obedience commands and was the sweetest boy.  During the months previous to meeting Woody, I had to put down Sugar and Little Bit, our first two dogs and our house was feeling incredible silent.  I was looking for another dog, but wasn’t rushing into it.  I knew I would know when the time was right.  Well, long story short, Woody was curled up all snuggly in our house by that evening.

Woody’s 10 now and such a wonderful dog.  He has his little peculiarities, but his sweet spirit and gentle demeanour far outweigh any issues he has.

Now enter Ellie or rather Elinor.  One of the biggest problems I had with Woody was that he would absolutely freak out if he was left alone.  Thankfully I had a job and a boss that would let me bring him to work and he did love to stay in the car, but when the temperature would rise in the summer that wasn’t an option.  He was literally with me 24/7.  Everything I read and everyone I talked to said that getting another dog wasn’t the answer.  Another long story short, in our case it was.

Ellie was 7 weeks old when she came home.  At this point, I want to highlight something very important.  NEVER decide to adopt a puppy while they’re taking a nap.  I laugh about this now, but my first interaction with Ellie was while she was asleep.  She came home, woke up and never seemed to sleep again (at least that’s what my sleep-deprived mind thought).  She loved Woody, but he wasn’t so crazy about her especially when she would grab hold of his collar and just swing.  I think he’s finally forgiven me for upsetting the good thing we had going.

Ellie will be 7 in December and is my shadow.  She’s a Shepherd/Lab mix, very playful, smart and extremely protective.  We got past the awkward phase (lasted 2 years) and have settled into a comfortable routine.  Thankfully this beautiful girl loves food and I’ve been able to train her using treats.  I’ve managed to get her to wait before she eats, stay away from Woody’s food and sit when we see another dog/person on our walks.  These don’t seem like much, but for this strong-willed lass it’s borderline miraculous.

Obviously I could go on for many more paragraphs and completely bore you to death, but I won’t.  I will end by saying, take some time today to think about the things that you do well, the things that are working well in your life and celebrate them.  And have a wonderful day as well. 

 

 

“We think you do this very well.  We’d like you to take us more often and for longer, but that’s a conversation for another day.”

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31 Days {Day 10} || Committing to Change – Decluttering

Posted on October 10, 2012 by gracieed

Decluttering.  For some reason I really like the sound of the word and I do like the process, but it can become overwhelming.

Case in point.  This is my utensil drawer.  Can I just say:  Tip.of.the.Iceberg!

I have been threatening to declutter my entire house for the past two years and have yet to make any progress.  Actually that’s not true, I did declutter under my bathroom sink :-).  Last year.

Up until today in this 31 day challenge, I’ve been dealing with areas of my life that I consider maintenance.  What I mean is they are all areas where I need to do a little each day to achieve results and do those things every day for the rest of my life.  Decluttering is part one time activity and part maintenance.  The maintenance, however, maybe only has to happen on an annual or biannual basis.

We’ve lived in our house for 22 years and in that time we’ve managed to fill every nook and cranny with stuff.  I’d like to say that I’m not sure how it happens, but I’d be lying.  As I’ve run out of space for my stuff, it gets hidden and when I need that “hammer” and can’t find it quickly and easily, I run to the store to buy another one.  Pretty soon I discover that I have five hammers and feel rather silly.

So…  my plan is to spend however long it takes decluttering my home.  This includes the garage.  I’m going to work a little every day to not become overwhelmed and then book a day each month into my schedule to check previously decluttered areas.

This is an area I struggle with (as a self-confessed pack rat), so I would love to hear any thoughts and ideas you might have?

 

 

“We’ll hang out here while you declutter, but let’s be completely clear.  We don’t declutter bones, tennis balls, leashes, kibble, treats or anything dog-related, right?”

Posted in 31 Days, Cleaning, DeCluttering, Organization, Repurposing, Saving Money | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

31 Days {Day 9} || Committing to Change – Using my Organizer

Posted on October 9, 2012 by gracieed

Confession:  I love organizers, day planners, calendars, journals, post-it notes, you name it.  If it has a place to jot down events, plans, ideas, notes, I’m all for it.  That being said, I have yet to find the “perfect” planner.  I have used the Franklin System, Day Runner, the plain old pocket calendar, my phone calendar/list system, my computer, a college comp book, and many others all in search of a system that will help me get my stuff done!

In my search for the “perfect” planner, I’ve discovered that I suffer from what I like to call the “Goldilocks syndrome”.  I’m looking for a planner that is “just right”.  One that allows me to see my schedule from a global perspective (year at a glance) as well as at the microscopic level (each hour), one that helps me to remember every snippet of info that I need to remember, one that reminds me to clean/exercise/cook/(insert activity), one that keeps track of my spending and tells me when I need to reign the dollars in, one that cleans my car and washes my dogs and mows the lawn…  Wait I just slipped into fantasy land there!  As you can tell, I’m searching for something that doesn’t exist.

The truth is any system will work.  Some are better than others, and it is important that you find one that meets your particular needs, but it’s the operator that needs to work the system to achieve the results.  Writing stuff down doesn’t get it done.  Doing it gets it done.  I know this is elementary, but it’s also been a revolutionary thought for me.  Too often the activity of “writing down the task” felt very much like “doing the task” when it reality all I did was write it down.

So in my Committing to Change, I’m actually going to use my organizer as a system that moves me to finishing projects rather than having it be the project.

That being said, I have landed on a planner that I created myself and that seems to encompass my particular needs right now.  This could change next week, but here it is for now.  And the secret to all this is actually “doing the stuff that’s written down”.

Of course it’s covered with dog-themed scrapbook paper!  It’s 5 1/2 X 8 1/2, spiral bound and fits nicely into my purse.

It has a monthly calendar (through Dec, 2014) and a page for notes.

Following the notes, I have a page for each week of the month that is broken out by the days, Sunday through Saturday.  I have space to write out appointments/tasks for each day (Daily Plan), our dinner menu (Menu) and a spot to write down if I spent any money that day ($$$ Spent That Day).  At the bottom of the page, I have listed the areas of my house that get attention on each particular day.

It’s the central hub of all our activity and it’s great to have it all in one place.  I am notorious for keeping information in a variety of places and then forgetting where it is.  Having one “go to” spot has reduced that stress immensely.

 

 

 

 

“Look into our eyes.  We noticed the dog-themed scrapbook paper cover on your planner, and we thought it was a planner just about us.  We’ve discovered it’s not, but we want to make sure you are planning to walk us, feed us and generally devote your life to us, not just ‘write it down’.” 

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31 Days {Day 8} || Committing to Change – Meal Planning

Posted on October 8, 2012 by gracieed

In yesterday’s post I talked about Not Eating Out at least 95% of the time.  So far we’ve been able to do this because of meal planning.  I know this isn’t a new idea, but it will be revolutionary in our home if we have the discipline to stick to this.

Here’s how it goes:

1.  On Friday’s I sit down and come up with 7 dinners that fit within our dietary needs.  Because we are creatures of habit, most of the meals are repeats, but I’ve busted out the recipe books and am adding new recipes to our repertoire.  I made a Polenta Lasagna this past Friday that got a “2 thumbs up” from the hubby.

{The recipe was from a Pampered Chef book, so I can’t list it here, but this link  from SparkRecipes goes to one that’s very similar.  My changes:  I used chicken sausage-5 links, Prego spaghetti sauce, 4 cups shredded Mozzarella and 6 slices Provolone.  I worried about the zucchini not cooking, but it cooked beautifully}

I keep a master list of meals we’ve enjoyed and usually start there when choosing.  It’s a good idea to be a little hungry when you do this:  I had just eaten lunch this past Friday when I sat down to do this and nothing looked appetizing.  Makes the job difficult.

2.  As I am deciding on recipes, I write down the ingredients I need on a notepad.  I’m also writing the recipes in my day planner.  I should say that before I do that I’ve already gone through my week and made checked out schedule for nights when I don’t need to cook.

3.  I will then take my grocery list and check that I don’t already have items at home or items that could be substituted and used up.

4.  We usually shop on Saturdays.  This week we shopped on Sunday, or rather Mike shopped on Sunday.

I like working on this one week at a time.  It makes the task manageable and prevents me from buying too much food {and subsequently wasting it).

Our breakfasts and lunches are pretty simple and repetitive.  I have a veg/protein smoothie and Mike has eggs or yogurt and granola for breakfast.  And lunches are usually leftovers from the night before or salads.  At the beginning of each week, I boil a handful of eggs to keep on hand for snacks and we keep raw almonds, carrot sticks and plenty of apples around.

The key to success with this chore is preparation.  It’s a fairly simple process, but even simple processes can fall apart when they’re not worked. 

 

Ellie (whispering):”Hey Woody, make sure mom doesn’t forget to include our breakfast, lunch and dinner into her menu plan.”

Woody: “Don’t worry.  I’ll take care of it.”

 

{Sidenote:  Woody wakes me up at 6am everyday for their breakfast and stares me down {similar to the picture) at noon and 5pm if I’m not scooping out their kibble.}

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31 Days {Day 7} || Committing to Change – 95% No Eating Out

Posted on October 7, 2012 by gracieed

Well, don’t I just sound like I’m taking all the fun and joy out of my life?  And what’s up with 95%?  Keep reading…

Not really.  When I chose to leave my previous job for the unknown future, we created a budget that would meet all our financial responsibilities and allow us to save a little.  We also had to make some decisions on things we could live without.  One of those was “No Eating Out.”  There are other reasons, as well.

First.  We would eat out A LOT.  Most nights in fact and that’s pretty expensive, even though we stuck to places like Chipotle and Panda Express where you can get a decent meal for under $20.  As I started to evaluate what we were getting for our money (and having someone prepare your meal is worth money), I just couldn’t justify going out to eat.  For $20, I can buy enough food for 4 meals.  Yes, I am paying for more than just the food when I go out and there will be times when I do that, but not every night.

Second.  For me, it’s harder to control my weight when I eat out.  (It’s hard for me to control my weight period, but when I eat out it’s more difficult.)  It’s hard to make healthy choices when the menu looks so appetizing.  I gobble everything on my plate, wonder why I’m so full, vow to never do that again and forget that vow right before the next time I eat out.

Third.  I really like cooking and I haven’t done it in a while.  I love looking for new recipes, planning how I’m going to stretch a whole bag of frozen chicken to last through 3 recipes, looking for inventive ways to take out the wheat from all our favorite meals and coming up with a weeks worth of dinners.

Obviously there are going to be those times, when a meal out is going to happen.  In fact, I’m going to lunch with a friend tomorrow and really looking forward to it.  I’m aiming for 95% of time we eat at home.  That will make a world of difference for us.

I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

 

 

 

“This is me ‘eating out'” ~Ellie

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31 Days {Day 6} || Committing to Change – Daily Exercise

Posted on October 6, 2012 by gracieed

So far in this 31 day adventure, I’ve covered diet (specifically, no wheat), household chores, the backyard and reducing waste.  These are all areas where I’ve danced around committing to a consistent routine that would bring lasting, significant results.  I often wonder why it’s been such a challenge.  Is it that I’ve been too busy/bored/lazy/overwhelmed???  Who knows, probably a combination of all those things and many more I haven’t thought of.

Before I launch into today’s post, I thought a little update would be in order.
1.  No-wheat.  It hasn’t been a real struggle saying no to wheat this week.  Mostly because we haven’t had it in the house and we’ve eaten at home all week.  The real test will be when we’re in a situation where we have to choose to say no to a sandwich or a piece of bread with dinner.  Next week, we’ve been invited to an Octoberfest party and that’s going to test our resolve!  But that’s life and we have to learn how to make good choices no matter the circumstance.
2.  Household chores.  I’ve been following the Clean Mama schedule.  It’s really good because it covers all the high traffic areas.  I will be modifying it a bit to meet the uniques needs we have like vacuuming more than once a week.  Dog hair accumulates rapidly especially when Ellie and Woody have friends stay over.  And it’s not taking me all day like I thought it would :-).  I spend about 30 minutes each day and eventually I can see whittling that down to 20 minutes.  Totally doable.
3.  Yard.  I raked leaves this week, ordered wildflower seed and smoothed out a section of yard that we’re going to  lay bricks on today.
4.  Reducing waste.  Granted my small contribution may not save the world, but it certainly saved a 1/2 bag of spinach from being tossed.  I pureed the spinach, froze it into spinach cubes and are using them in my morning smoothies.  It’s really silly, but I felt soooooo good about that.  Next up, knitting a collection of dish cloths for use in the kitchen and whipping up a batch of dishwasher soap.

Okay onto today’s commitment to change.  Daily Exercise.  This is another area where confession is necessary.  I am more of an athlete in my mind than I am in real life.  Oh I make sure the dogs are walked every day (hence the name of this blog), at least 2 miles and every now and I then I train (I use the word train loosely) to walk a half marathon or marathon, but daily exercise?  Not something that happens.

So, yesterday when I was walking the dogs, I bumped into a lady in our neighborhood that I’ve seen pretty much every day for the past 20 years.  She walks her dog every morning and then goes out herself.  I would guess she’s in her late 60’s, early 70’s now, but she told me she’s 82.  82!  I was astounded.  She’s not sure of her secret, probably a bunch of things, but I’d bet money that daily exercise and healthy eating are in the mix.

And it’s not like I have to exercise all day.  When I’m faced with a daunting, joy-lacking task, I tend to think that it will be all-consuming.  The experts say 30 minutes a day, a mixture of cardio and strength exercises it all that is required. I can do 30 minutes.  The dogs take about 40 minutes, but it’s not cardio when you stop every 5 minutes to sniff every blade of grass in the neighborhood.  Oh, sure, we put miles on our legs, but they’re really slow miles.  I’m not knocking the movement, just the end result.  Besides that’s their time, not mine.

I’m going to commit to 30 minutes, 3 days and week and eventually work up to 5 days a week.  I have a variety of DVD’s and a subscription to Daily Burn (an exercise website).  I also have a bike that is home to a spider family at the moment, but I think they’re going to be getting an eviction notice!

What are ways you incorporate exercise into your life?  I’d love to hear.

 

 

“Just so you know, we’re totally willing to go on longer walks, or even more than one walk a day.  Just wanted to put it out there as an option.”

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31 Days {Day 5} || Committing to Change – Reducing Waste

Posted on October 5, 2012 by gracieed

Have you heard the phrase, “Use it Up. Wear is Out. Make it Do. Or do Without.“?  I did years ago and was recently reintroduced to it when I started following the Non-Consumer Advocate’s blog.  It’s a place I find myself these days.  Some of that has to do with living on a smaller income, but I have been moving toward the “reducing waste” lifestyle for a couple of years now.

Since this month is about committing to change, I want to commit to continuing doing the “non-wasty” things I do now and begin to add others.

Food:  I have followed the Frugal Girl’s blog for a couple of years now and she has a feature she calls “Food Waste Friday”.  This has been incredibly helpful in being mindful of wasting food.  For years I was really good at buying vegetables in an attempt to be healthy and stocking up on sale items, but inevitably much of it went to waste because I was too busy/tired/lazy to cook dinner.  Additionally, this past year Mike (my husband) and I started supporting a child called Tom who lives in South Sudan near the border of Darfur through Make Way Partners.  As I educated myself about Tom’s living situation and the global food crisis facing that area, I became convicted about how much food I waste and have made efforts to menu and just buy what I need each week.  I also try to shop in the bulk bins at our local Winco to reduce container waste.  I haven’t always been successful, but it’s getting better.

Potential craft supplies:  In my previous job, I worked with kids and regularly had to come up with craft projects.  For the past couple of years I have collected egg cartons, cardboard from boxes, tin cans and about a billion toilet paper tubes (a slight exaggeration:  it feels like a billion).  I get absolutely giddy when I take an item that is considered trash and turn it into a teaching tool or a cool craft.  This race car on the right is made from a toilet paper tube and you can link to the instructions if you’re interested.  Not only does this help to reduce container waste, but it’s wonderful for the budget.  Pinterest has links to tons of ideas and I created a board on Pinterest dedicated to Repurposing and Recycling.

I want to be better at:  reducing my use of Ziploc bags, not needing to buy new, when used is just as good, using cloth napkins (need to make some), line-drying out clothes (I will need to address the dust issue in our backyard first) and remembering to use the coffee cozies I knit when I go to Starbucks.  Mostly I want to be a better caretaker of what we’ve been blessed with.  I’m sure there are a hundred other things I could be doing, but these are where I want to start.

What kind of things do you do to help reduce waste/repurpose/recycle?  I’m always looking for good ideas.

 

“Our contribution will be to solemnly swear not to waste a single kibble or treat.  Is that a deal?”

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31 Days {Day 4} || Committing to Change – the Backyard

Posted on October 4, 2012 by gracieed

“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. It is the accumulative weight of our disciplines and our judgments that leads us to either fortune or failure.”  ~Jim Rohn

{Quotes by Jim Rohn, America’s Foremost Business Philosopher, reprinted with permission from Jim Rohn International ©2011. As a world-renowned author and success expert, Jim Rohn touched millions of lives during his 46-year career as a motivational speaker and messenger of positive life change. For more information on Jim and his popular personal achievement resources or to subscribe to the weekly Jim Rohn Newsletter, visit www.JimRohn.com.}

Our backyard isn’t very big, but it’s big enough to end up looking a mess without consistent attention.  Along the same lines as the housework issue I want to commit to working a little every day so I can have a beautiful, usable backyard.

So a few simple disciplines, practiced every day…

I have great dreams for our backyard.  It’s a odd layout because our house is built into a hill, but it has great potential despite it’s design.  The hill part you see in the picture poses some interesting challenges.  First, it has a great big, gorgeous oak tree smack dab in the middle.  Any sort of ground cover I get needs to require very little water or else I risk killing the oak.  Second, without ground cover it’s a scene from the Grapes of Wrath, with piles of dust accumulating everywhere.  Third, because of the great big, georgous oak tree, the area is covered with a mixture of full light and shade (dappled light, as I like to call it) which makes my head want to explode when trying to find plants.  And fourth, we’re on a budget!

So, yesterday (while walking the dogs) I had a thought about wildflowers and wondered if they would work.  I did some research and finally bought some wildflower seed that is supposed to be good as a ground cover, looks pretty, can handle dogs running through it, is perennial, doesn’t require too much water, can be planted in the fall, fits into our budget and will be okay in dappled light.  Here’s keeping my fingers crossed!

My job over the next 31 days will be to prepare the ground (a little section every day), plant the seed, water it, keep the dogs off it and pray, pray, pray.

As far as the overall maintenance of the yard, I think I will work up a little schedule, just like the one I have for household chores and commit to a different section every day.  I find it’s easier to tackle huge projects when I break them into small chunks.

Do you have a green thumb?  

“Can we still invite our friends over to play when the yard’s all pretty?”

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31 Days {Day 3} || Committing to Change – Household Chores

Posted on October 3, 2012 by gracieed

Confession:  I really don’t like to do housework.

I can think of endless possibilities of things to do with my time and housework just never makes the list.  However, in this quest of lasting change in various areas of my life, I want to better in this area.  I do clean our home, but the deep cleaning usually happens the day before we’ve invited people over and even then I don’t get to everything.

Through Pinterest, I discovered Clean Mama who has cleaning plans for each month.  Here’s a link to October’s plan, if you’re interested.  Appealing to my love of all things lists and planning, I have downloaded the cleaning plan for October and am well on my way to spotless living.

This will be a challenge for me because I have a habit of not making housework a priority.  It’s too easy for other things to crowd into my day, but for the next 31 days at least, I’m going to work on prioritizing and coming up with a manageable schedule that will help me go a level deeper than surface clean.

What’s your most favorite/least favorite household chore?

 

 

 

“We’d love to help with the housework, but we’re afraid it might interfere with our nap/looking out the window time.  Besides you know we don’t like the vacuum.”

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