Clean Closet!

If you've stayed at our house anytime in the last 6 months or so you may or may not have noticed the disaster that our guest bedroom closet has become. It's sort of a "catch all" for everything, games, kids toys, the vacuum, crafting supplies, books, old computers and cords...you name it...it was probably in the closet.

Well, recently the kids have wanted to go in there to get their own toys, resulting in the toys around the one they want tumbling down to the ground and being left there. We've put a craft drawer for Lucy in one of the dressers so that needed to be accessible and basically I just became sick of opening the door to a giant mess!

Solution: Mrs. Erdt took the kids to her house for the day and Nick and I cleaned! We emptied every single item out of the closet and either found a new home for it, disposed of it, or donated it. What a great feeling! We stopped midday to get Lucy and take her to preschool and had a little lunch date ourselves.

After lunch we were to the point of putting things back in the closet. I can not believe the difference it has made! We have empty shelves on the bookcase and the walls of the closet don't seem to be falling in on us! We put "grown up" games on the high closet shelves and made different games accessible to the kids...with a strict warning of only 1 game comes out at a time!!!!

We also unstacked the dressers and are planning on making a little computer desk in there for the kids...out of the way and it will need to be turned on by a grown up, so hopefully they won't ask for it all the time!

The best part about this cleaning experience, besides the end result of the clean closet is the realization of reaching the next chapter in our lives. This was the start of preparing the house not only for a new baby, but also for our adventure in homeschooling. We made the baby clothes easy to get at once we know the gender, and we made sure we left high up shelves empty to fill with kindergarten books and curriculum when we order it this spring.

The kids love that they can find and easily get their games and puzzles and we've been busy playing with them this morning...now all we need to do are the kids' closets and the basement...I think we'll wait a bit for that though!

Thankful Thursdays

Is it Thursday already? I guess I'm thankful for this week flying by...it's been a busy one! I had a meeting at church on Tuesday and another one tonight...it's tough going out in the evening, but it's nice to miss the craziness of bedtime. Not that the kids are asleep when I get home, but they're in pjs, teeth brushed and anxiously awaiting their kisses from me when I get home.

What I'm most thankful for this week is actually not here yet...it's what I'm anticipating...a QUIET WEEKEND!!! Nick and I sat down last night to connect about schedules, (yep it's been that busy!) and we realized that we have no commitments all weekend! We have a free Friday night, my short Bible Study Saturday morning and Church on Sunday...yes, that is something everyday...but not much!

I am so excited for a nice quiet weekend at home as a family. What is most exciting is the idea of organizing! We arranged for a friend to take the kids on Monday so we can clean out the guest room closet and playroom without any comments from little people...I'm so excited to get started on this project and super excited to have less and more organized toys!

I'm also thankful that I gained 1/2 a pound...that may be a strange thing to be thankful for, but my weight has consistently been up a little this week and I think it's a great sign!

Lots to be thankful for in the midst of the winter doldrums....things like a helpful husband who puts boots on kids and takes them for a walk at the end of a restless day inside....warm drinks...and grapes finally going on sale at the grocery store. It's been a week full of thanksgiving at our house....what are you thankful for?