making do

I have declared 2014 the year of "making do" in our house (nobody else got a say).  For the last 2 years I have made resolutions to become more organized in ALL aspects of my life. I have bought agendas and calendars and boxes and bins but each year with the arrival of December  I was still disorganized and not any further ahead.  I WASTED A LOT OF TIME!!!  After reading the Minimalists' Memoir, Everything that Remains (amazing btw), I realized that the kind of organizing I was doing was like a form of hoarding.  I was just putting all my "stuff" in pretty boxes and forgetting about it.  So I say "enough of that" and will move onto to getting rid of what we don't need and start making do with what we DO have.  

The first project on my list was a calendar.  Each year I choose a calendar for the fridge that I think will suit everyone's needs.  Last year I chose one that while big enough to fit everyone's activities and the kids huge handwriting it was UGLY++ and kept falling off the fridge.  

I'm irritated looking at this!!!!

I knew we had paper, a ruler, a clip board and some markers.  We were going to make our 2014 calendar.  

Anthony's

Ava's 

Mine

I LOVE this calendar, much more than any other one we have had in that spot.  A+ for our first "make do" of 2014!  

The kids quickly abandoned the project to re-enact West Side Story with their Beanie Boos... and yes, they have way too many!!!  

We came out the other side unscathed!

We made it through Christmas!  As a family we did a great job of buying very well thought out gifts for the people around us.  We tried to focus on giving  experiences rather than things but lets face it, in most cases "things" won out.  We gave and received in moderation... it was perfect!

At the beginning of our challenge I proclaimed that" I WAS GOING TO MAKE ALL GIFTS".  This was actually a ridiculous proclamation ...as most of you smartly thought when I made it!  Firstly, I am just not that organized and secondly, not everyone WANTS a handmade gift from me or something crazily scribbled on construction paper from the kids.   Let's take my kids for instance, while I love making them Christmas gifts, they would prefer a Furby or something else equally annoying.   Who could blame them.... they are 4 and 7!!!!!

Fast forward to where we are today.  As a family, we have  committed to continuing our challenge until May 2014.  With the new year we have made a few modifications.  I will make as many gifts as possible but not drive myself crazy over it!  We will treat ourselves to a few eat out meals a month... we deserve it!  We will continue to focus on quality vs quantity, experiences vs things and needs over wants.  We will only be purchasing and bringing items that we NEED into our home.  We will also be working on eliminating the excess that we have. 

obviously before

Tah-Dah!!!

On that note, let me introduce you to my new and improved creative space.    With the help of a good friend I was able to work through editing my over-crowded fabric/ craft stash.  I focused on the items I loved and said goodbye to those I hung onto "just because".  I started off the process in a serious cold sweat but the more I looked at what I really felt drawn to the easier it was to let go of  the rest of the "maybe one day" items.  The end result is a clean and stream-lined space where I feel inspired and motivated to create.   The process was hard but the result was well worth it.  I am proud to announce that I am no longer hoarding fabric.... now Sharpies, that's another issue!