Downszinging the Challenge

This is a bittersweet day. After a fun getaway from everyday life followed by a day where I hit a physical wall (my body succumbed to a terrible migraine), I woke up today with a fresh perspective on some things. As all of my faithful followers, loved ones,and friends know about me I lead a rather full life. Adding this downsizing venture 100 days ago made some of you think I had truly lost it. How could I add one more thing? But, as is my nature, I felt inspired and was lead by a passion to carry the torch of Reed's challenge. And, for the past 3 and 1/2 months I have felt challenged and fulfilled by ridding my home of things and recording the adventures on my blog. Yesterday, as I threw away yet a few more things found in high places (yes, Dajuan hid them there) I just couldn't find the energy to blog about them. By the original guidelines, this means I was still on track. But, as I woke up at 5:30am this morning and shared a long overdue cup of coffee with my husband, I realized through our conversation that some things have to come off of my very full plate. While downsizing might only take 30 minutes to an hour of each day, those are precious minutes that are being borrowed from another important task. Or, maybe even eating away at my sleep or exercise time. And so, on this the 100th day I am making a very difficult choice to downsize the downsizing challenge. I want to say thank you to all of my faithful followers and occasional readers. Your comments and support carried me through the previous 99 days and made this journey more entertaining than I ever thought it could be. I also want to tip my hat to Reed who completed his challenge through the birth of his first son and a move across the country. I have an even greater admiration for you now than I did as a reader of your blog. And lastly, I want to leave you with some things I learned through this partially completed journey:

1.) Writing every day is a good thing
2.) Getting rid of things is a better thing
3.) Time goes by fast and my kids are growing equally fast
4.) I should give my things to people who can use them and who will enjoy them more often
5.) Goodwill is a good thing
6.) I am $580 richer than I was 100 days ago
7.) I need to consider the amount of time I have to give before giving it
8.) My kids are watching my every move
9.) I am passionate and go after goals with a vengeance
10.) I am only human

Welcome sign gone

A picture of my 99th downsize....no time for a blog....

Leave Bag and Baggage

This morning I'll depart for my annual girl's weekend getaway with my dear old friend(not old in age, old in time spent together)Erica, Melanie (former owner of the bunk-y-beds), and several other friends. We'll spend the day shopping around here and then in Freeport before settling into a modest pub crawl in the Old Port and then crashing in hotel rooms, slumber party style. It is always quite a fun filled few days with tons of laughing, a bit of shopping, and a break away from all of our mommy responsibilities.

I felt it apropos to purge my stash of shopping bags for this occasion. I sorted through the reusable shopping bags, the paper handled bags, the embarrassing amount of plastic grocery bags, and the fancy striped Victoria's Secret bags with tissue enclosed. All of these sacks have been living in the bottom of my coat closet for an extended time. In a lame effort to be green, perhaps out of guilt, I stow the bags in hopes of an occasion to reuse them. Sadly, my accrual of bags outpaces my reuse and so I have a mounting problem.

My sorting resulted in a large amount of bags heading to the blue bin for next week's recycling day. I saved a manageable amount of grocery bags and placed them in the dispenser sleeve that hangs in the mud room. Let's face it, we all need a plastic bag for something once in a while.

The unintended product of my pre-shopping day purge was a renewed pledge to use those reusable bags that have been marketed so well. Let's face it, taking along a bag to the store - especially for those quick trips for a few things - requires extra forethought and effort. But, after again reading online about the toll all of those plastic bags have on our environment I have a renewed commitment to get off the single use bag train. I chuckled as I watched this mocumentary about the journey of a plastic bag. The producers left out the ever present leg of the journey - the long stop in the closet of folks who want to be green but haven't quite broken the habit. Come on faithful followers, how many of you have a large stash of bags hiding in your closet?

As I shove off for my 24 hours of foot loose and fancy free fun, I'll have a few reusable bags in hand. My hope is to return without a new supply of single use bags and refreshed and to be renewed by some time with girlfriends.

Cleaning House - err I Mean Garage

One of the errands on my to do list for today was to drop off and pick up dry cleaning for Dajuan. While loading up the laundry bag, the kids, the purse, and the potty (a necessity these days), I noticed something peculiar. Wedged between two stacks of leaf bags (which we should be filling very soon!) was a large mass of entangled dry cleaning plastic sheaths and hangers. Apparently Dajuan's affinity for hiding things in tall places (see this post) has spilled over to stashing useless clutter in the garage. Not very downsizey of him (check out the looks of shock and dismay on the girls' faces)! I specifically recall cleansing his closet of the dry cleaning waste products a few months ago and setting them on top of his bag to be dropped off with his cleaning. Apparently there was some breakdown in the transmission of goods from the back door to the vehicle.

As I delivered the dirty laundry and picked up fresh duds this evening, I hauled the amoeba of wire and plastic onto the counter of Pratt Abbott. The nice lady pointed me towards the "recycling center" in the foyer. After about 15 minutes of detangling and sorting I had made sense of the pile and put the metal and plastic into their appropriate bins.

Unfortunately, I left the cleaners with a fresh batch of cleaning waste. Not only is the service of dry cleaning expensive but with the amount of hangers and plastic used I can only imagine there is an adverse environmental effect. To top it all off, the solvents used are potentially toxic and harmful to our health! Somehow, a neatly pressed shirt or freshened sweater doesn't seem worth these risks. But, I am not the one dressing for a business job everyday. I have the good fortune of wearing scrubs that are laundered by the hospital.

A Day in the Life of a Downsizer

(Please note, all times are approximate)

4am - alarm goes off
4:30am breakfast and get ready for work
5:30 depart for work
6am punch in and arrive on the unit
6-11:30am - Care for various patients
11:30-12 - lunch!
12-2:30pm Care for more patients
3pm Pick up Kendra from Amity's house
3:15pm Change poopy pull up
3:40pm Arrive home and greet the big kids
3:45-4:30pm - unpack from the day, feed kids snack, answer emails and phone messages, prepare for basketball practice
4:30pm Depart for Practice
4:45pm Drop Kiera and Kendra off at Amy's house, pick up Hannah for practice
5pm-6pm Coach Basketball practice
6:15pm Pick up Kiera and Kendra from Amy's, drop off Hannah
6:40pm Arrive home
6:45 -7pm Heat up and eat dinner (thank goodness for the chili I prepared yesterday!)
7-8pm Assist with homework, clean up pee soaked undies and pants, all kids bathed and in PJ's and tucked in
8pm Lug all laundry to the basement and start a load (Kiera declared that she had no pants left to wear tomorrow!)
8:30pm Fold clean laundry in baskets from a few days ago
9pm Catch up on email, Facebook, and blog
10:03 -barely awake....

Dizzying isn't it? I am not detailing my day to brag and say that my days are any different than all of your days. What I am explicitly pointing out is the lack of time for downsizing on days like today!
After putting the kids to bed, I staggered to the basement and peered at the mountain of laundry and once again pondered letting myself off of the downsizing hook for a day. Then I felt a pang of guilt. Woven into our post practice dinner and bedtime routine, Shayla had a mini meltdown. The bottom line is that she got a pep talk from both Dajuan and I about digging deep, challenging herself, and not being a quitter. There is no way I can skip a day of this challenge after forbidding a quitter's attitude! With renewed energy (maybe a stretch) I looked up onto the top shelf of the laundry room organizer and spotted 2 very old items that I never use. Both a Bissell Air Freshner, and generic Fabric Refresher have perched their useless, perfumed selves on this shelf since we moved in. That was in 2005. That makes them over 5 years old. What a perfect downsize at the end of a long day. The thought did cross my mind that perhaps I could spray refresher on all of the clothes in lieu of washing and drying them but, I thought better of that and tossed both cans in the trash.
With a load of jeans in the dryer, my duties for the day are complete. Now off to bed for a short respite before the race begins again in the morning!

Shampoo Snob

My husband often says I'm a food snob - and while I detest the label I must say it is fairly accurate. I can't stomach fast food (even in a pinch) and I insist on fresh healthy fixings at home.

Tonight, I admit to another venue of snobbery in my life - hair care products. For as long as I can remember I have used salon products for everything to do with the care of my hair with the exception of some cheap hair spray here and there. Today, after a trip to see my stylist Michelle at Bliss, I arrived home with new bottles of shampoo and conditioner. While restocking my cupboard under the sink I came upon a bottle of grocery store variety shampoo. I vaguely recall purchasing it about 2 years ago in a pinch and thinking I might get by with it until I got to the salon. No go. From a quick shake of the bottle I would assess that I used it all of once. Tonight I tossed it in the trash knowing that it would sit under the sink for years to come. I have no scientific reason behind my choice to use higher priced products. It is just one of my things. After yesterday's dilemma about the age to begin wearing proper footwear, perhaps I should ask tonight when I'll gain my wits about me and begin buying cheaper hair products. My guess is it will be when I go to short hair with a perm that needs a blue rinse to be shiny.

Gaining a Foothold

I remember being in college and pondering how old I would be when I would begin to wear proper footwear in inclement weather or when I would start to wear a hat to cover my ears in the cold without worrying about my hair. Back in my teens and early twenties I still had enough vanity to care more about style than comfort. And, while I still would like to think I make relatively good fashion choices, I believe the time has come where practicality supercedes vanity. Allow me to share the moment in time when I crossed over.

Last week I was getting dressed to volunteer at Hall School in the school nurse's office. As I selected my shoes, I pushed aside my supportive Dansko clogs in favor of a higher heeled pair of Born shoes. After all, they would look better and I would only be on my feet for 3 hours. Bad move. My 3 hours turned into many more as immediately after leaving the school, I stayed at my friend Elania's house with her brood of 5 and my own Kendra Dee as a small return favor. By the time I came home my left arch, knee and IT band were killing me. As some of you know, I had arthroscopic surgery on my left knee and began wearing orthotics about 6 months ago. I am still struggling to get back into running form and battle various aches and pains most days. Needless to say, the high heeled Born shoes don't work with orthotics nor do they help my knee. My wave of vanity in the morning turned into pain. That pain continued through the remainder of the week and the weekend. Finally, after pampering my feet and wearing the right shoes for a stretch of time, my gimpyness is subsiding.

This story leads me to my downsize for today. I declared my coming of age and my commitment to make wise footwear and clothing choices by taking the Born shoes to Goodwill. Apparently 35 is the magic age.