Just a few pictures from around
the house.

I've been re-arranging and decorating
as I go.

When last I blogged (which would have been sooner,
but my internet has been down about as often as it's been up lately) --
I was saying how it is my goal to be
"crisply organized".

Since I made up the phrase, I'll give you my definition.

Crisply organized --
To be so organized and in control of my household
that 1). I could direct anyone else to easily find soap, scissors,
bandaids or blankets;
and 2). My husband could, in my absence, locate a pay stub,
car registration notice or a receipt.....AND be able
to tell what bill has or has not been taken of.

To be crisply organized is to be
deliberate and thoughtful about how we live
INside our home,
SO THAT
we can be free to live deliberately
and thoughtfully OUTside our home.

THIS is my goal.

Getting off work at 2:15 each day really has been
a wonderful thing.

I've been working each afternoon for

about 3hrs. and then he helps

me with the bigger stuff for anothe 2 hrs.

and

we still have time to work on our joint projects

like floating in the pool

and

catching up on Memphis Beat.

Now, I don't want you to have a false impression about
the level of upheaval in our home.
Company could walk in right this very moment
and they would be quite comfortable without me doing
very much at all.

Living room is tidy, vacuumed, smells good.
Dining table is clean with a nice centerpiece.
Kitchen has cleared surfaces and even the fridge isn't too bad.

The disorganized parts are all very well hidden --
in drawers,
behind doors,
under beds.

So this clean-up effort involves digging down deep --
cleaning,
purging,
pitching.

I've been dragging around here
for months now -- really taking this "working" thing hard.
I have truly been exhausted physically.

But spiritually -- I've been draggin' as well.

When you are draggin' spiritually - you just need a revival.
Nothing else will do.

Other things may jazz you up for a while,
but unless the changes are deep in my soul,
it ends up being just a flurry of activity
producing short-term results,
not the
TRUE
change
I
so
crave.

Two things have happened to me spiritually
over the past 3 weeks
that have been so impactful
and so from the LORD
that I am
motivated
to
get it together.
STOP whining.
and grumbling.
and
L-I-V-E

I know none of the above
tells you anything about my "battle with the paper".

Suffice it to say ---

I WON!!!!!!!!!

Really though, here's what I did -----

I gathered up ALL the paper in our house.
Yes, ALL.

It was quite a pile.

Then, I started going through it piece by piece.
Everything unnecessary was
either shredded or burned.

Everything else
I organized in folders
which were labeled
and are now stored in 2 plastic files
and several bankers boxes.

You can get really pretty bankers boxes
now at Wal-mart
and I bought 4 of those for
my office shelves where I want "pretty".

The not so pretty ones are under the
desk behind the cute black and white gingham
curtain.

The desktop is organized with
pretty black and white
folders --
Bills,
Tax info
House projects
Ranch work list

I also have implemented a little system
involving notebooks,
but this post is too, too long already
soooooooo...............

later.

I have to say here -- every day after work, William has
pitched in and helped.
He knows what a spiritual battle
this is for me and
has been so supportive.

I am in NO WAY finished......

I have much more to tackle.
Stay tuned ...................


Gwynie Pie

Help! Blub, blub, blub..............

Okay. This is it.
I'm declaring war.
Clutter and disorganization
are the enemies.

I've just let things slip lately.
And I've used the excuse that it's because I've gone to work.

This weekend though, I felt something
shift in my thinking.
Honestly, I'm just tired of feeling
swept under by things I can very well control.

See I have long believed the enemy would just as soon
see us consumed and shut down by our clutter and inefficiency
as he would to see us shut down by sexual sin,
gossip, hatred or any other sin.
One is just as effective as another
IF it takes us out of living our lives to the fullest.

I am a "cleanie" by nature. And also by nurture.
My mother and her mother were both cleanies.
Or at least, they were very, very good at cleaning, organizing and
taking care of a home.
And, thank you Lord, they passed it on to me.

I fully realize not everyone is born a "cleanie" and not
every girl grows up with a mom who can or will
teach her how to clean.

So, if you are one who did not have a "cleanie" for a mom,

I would be honored if you'd come along with me

on this little adventure.

Okay, so ---- back to conquering clutter.
I have begun the fight.
It is much easier and a lot more "fun" to begin
cleaning house by clearing off the tabletop
and straightening up the coffeetable in the living room.

Those things are immediately visible
and it is definitely instant gratification.
However, I spend my energies doing that
and STILL there are those things hidden in a drawer
or behind a closet or even "oh sweet Nellie,
what is that under the bed?"

It is so very easy to just walk on by, leave it alone
and have a don't wake up the sleeping bear
kind of attitude.

It has been said, and rightly so
Freedom is NOT free.

And personal individual freedoms are important
just as other freedoms we may pursue on a larger, even national scale.
Difference is --
Personal freedom is going to cost you
Personally !!!

So, I am embarking on a little journey
to get
FREE
in all areas of my life.

And I'm beginning with the inmost part of
my home....the guts of the house,
so to speak.

And-------
I'm beginning with the biggest area of
disorganization
and
clutter
that I have to deal with ---

PAPER !

Dealing with the paper --

That's an area where I can quite literally just cram
everything in a big ol box,
put a lid on it
and call it good.

Oh the bills get paid --
just not with any kind of ease.

So, here is my goal --

I am endeavoring to "set my house RIGHT side up"
over the next few days/weeks/however long it takes.

I desire to become
"crisply organized"
in every area --
EVEN under the beds.

I will be back later this week with an update on my own
journey and I'll have some ideas and "how-tos" as well.

Oh by the way,
the pictures are NOT of how we live on a daily basis.

I ask William to help me last night and we dragged
out every piece of paper in this house.

It's all spread out in the bedroom floor
and is a work in progress.
I'll be letting you know how this goes.

Until then ---
as William Wallace would say

"FREEEEEEEEDOM!!!!!"

Gwynie Pie