Slow progress is still progress!

Okay! So here is what I achieved last night and this morning...

As you may recall the entrance porch was quite underwhelming...

And although there is now a rather large cage there I was able to remove some boxes to recycle...
I will get back to this space again, obviously, as it is far from welcoming, but I do have some improvements in the other spaces from yesterdays post.

Next is the living room...

AND... I now have a table!!!! (And clean laundry!)

Then there is this bit... to be honest I pretty much only put away my ironing board here...

And another bit...

And the dreaded kitchen, which is a constant work in progress, as unfortunately humans have to eat to keep living, thus the dilemma...

So not much of a difference here, but I will get there :)

The fact that the sun has shone occasionally today makes life a little brighter!

I was able to do most of yesterdays plan of action also,

 with an added bonus of decluttering my bag (woohoo!)

...except I didn't shine my sink... there is always tonight!

So a pretty successful 24 hours so far.  Back to it again tomorrow, as I am rejoining a bellydance class tonight.  Something I haven't done in about 6 years?!?

Stay tuned for some more 'before and afters'... til then, PEACE OUT!

New leaf?

*WARNING* THIS POST CONTAINS DISTURBING IMAGES OF DOMESTIC SQUALOR.

Well, This roller-coaster of a journey called life is pretty messy.
Literally.

I have (finally) married the love of my life and the aftermath to this event, not to mention the lead up, is pretty chaotic.

My housekeeping standards over the last 12 years have slipped to an incredibly depressing low.  It didn't happen overnight.  It had been a creeping, underhanded, all-consuming monster devouring my sanity bit by painstaking bit.

This house that we moved into in 2011 inspires nothing but dreariness in me.  So my desire to keep it clean, tidy, under control and pretty has eluded me enormously...

So my aim is to make it livable, comfortable and appealing. 

The first thing to do is give you the 'befores' for accountability, then using a combination of Flylady, Marie Kondo and the Bullet Journal systems, hopefully I can transform this dire mess into a welcoming haven for my beautiful, and very patient, family.

So here goes nothing!!!

The first thing that you see when you enter our 'home' is this:

...Nice.
I don't think so.

This is where some of the wedding stuff landed after the event, I was using the white cupboards to hold all the accumulated bits and pieces needed for our big day, so now it is mostly empty, and the contents are now strewn in this area and my dining room and library...

There is also some gardening supplies here and most of our camping stuff... and much random crap!

Are you scared yet?

No?

If you are brave enough we will venture further into the pit of despair.  Here you are greeted with this monstrous sight:

 

By the way, there is only 1 dog living here, she is just a very talented, albeit hairy, photobomber!

I will lead you deeper into the bowels of hell later on, but first let me fill you in on a little secret...

I am a dreamer and a crafter and all-round master procrastinator.

I dream of a life of minimalism, of living clutter-free.  And up until recently I thought I was just a consistent failure at following all the guides to 'get rid of your stuff'.   But when my beautiful little sister, who is very much a minimalist in her own right, came down to help me out and spend some time with me before my big day, she just said that maybe I have to face the fact that it was just 'not me'.  This whole minimalism lark, although it is something I desperately aspire to, might not actually be something I can realistically achieve. 

This is a thought I had never even considered before.  I have tried, failed miserably and given up, so many times.  I have discovered though, that inconsistency is my only consistent trait.

Now since I have started on this post this afternoon, I have eaten a very late breakfast (yes, that is nutella on a crumpet, don't judge me!)

I have also made the sure the kids are alive, and done two loads of laundry so the kids will have clean clothes for school tomorrow

I also went to a linen party, to support a friend who hosted it, which has left me feeling worse than before... I should know better than to go to those things.  It always accentuates how little our bank account holds and the poor quality of the stuff that we possess and those two factors mixed together make me feel rather poverty-stricken.  I can't help but look upon the others with envy as they purchase all the finery without having to consider weather they will still be able to feed their children for the rest of the week.  I, of course, bought nothing.  Even though I should feel proud for not spending money that I cannot afford, I feel a little on the glum side, especially because I came home to this:

 

Oh, yeah, and my kitchen...

 What can I say...? I am a lost cause and my poor children have to live like this.

My plan of action this evening, being that it is approaching 5.30, is this:
  * pop to the shop to buy some essential groceries for dinner, school lunches and to feed the pets
  * make a quick, healthy meal,wash the dishes and shine my sink (thank you Flylady!)
  * review my calendar to plan for the week ahead and list it in my bullet journal

I will post tomorrow to let you know how I went... Wish me LUCK!

...softly, softly...

  PRACTICE GRATITUDE, CHECK YOUR MINDSET, ACCEPTANCE.

These are the three things that I have taken from 21 quick actions to simplify your life.
 

I have decided that instead of feeling hopeless and helpless in my 'dead calm' life situation that I shall embrace this static period and make the most of it.

I listened to a 'pogpast' yesterday from slow your home and the interview was with a girl in Canada, Morgan, who also lives an intentional life and offers monthly insights on her own blog the simple life project .  I found it very comforting to listen to.  It felt like having a cuppa with good friends. 

As a result of that comfort I decided to 'change my mind' and felt a calmness and contentment with that choice wash over me. 

My last post was pretty low and grim, and that is okay.  That is what I was feeling and I can accept that.  There is only one me and if I can't appreciate myself for who I am, then how can I expect others to?  I can make this a good life and changing my mind to achieve that is a good start.

Here's to a bright and happy future!  One day at a time. :) 

hard

Its groundhog day!

I feel like Bill Murray waking up to the same song on the radio, over and over again.  If only I was waking up to a nice room in a nice town and robbing a bank so money wasn't an obstacle... if only!

Instead, I wake up to a messy room in an ugly, falling-apart house, with no light at the end of our dark financial tunnel, and feel like crap!

I am struggling to get on top of my medication to feel vaguely 'normal' again.  This last year has been a complete write-off for me.  My mental health is generally quite low, after a period of a month when it was very terrible... new month, new medication.

Waking up and wishing I hadn't, with no motivation to get out of bed, but eventually getting up after hitting the snooze button five times.  Helping get the lunches packed and the kids ready for school.  Then having no goals or enthusiasm to do anything til the kids get home and wonder where the day went.  Screens til showers and dinner time and then more screens til sleep.  Repeat.

Not good.  

Pinterest is turned to daily so I can see there is beauty in the world and maybe start to build some kind of plan to healing.  

There are many ideas out there, good ideas.  I just can't seem to find ones that fit me or to make them work for me.  Inspiration is not so inspiring... and I am not sure how to reignite my spark. 

screens.

People are having babies.  As much as I would love to have more babies I can't justify having another of my own because I struggle to look after and engage with the precious two I already have.  

I am not providing them with the childhood they deserve and it breaks my heart.  So I sit here desperately wanting to change but being cripplingly paralyzed mentally, nothing changes. 

Mr G is undergoing some extensive dental work recently as he has been loosing teeth due to a loss in bone density in his jaw.  So although he has finished his enrolled nursing course, he has not started working.  I am also not working, therefore, we are still $100 per week below the poverty line.

We are getting married in October.  I don't know how we are going to do it.  Obviously our budget is minuscule.  Small scale, nothing fancy.  I was counting on G working when I set the date last year, and I can't change it now because most of our guests are coming from interstate and overseas and have started organising their flights and accommodation.  Creativity will be needed to pull it off and that is exactly what I am lacking.

Is ten years of hardship normal?  I wish we had someone to look out for our struggling little family.

 

wyns room ideas

wyns room ideas by katandra featuring modern hanging lights

Battery lamp
70 AUD - cottonon.com

Crystal Art battery powered light
49 AUD - nordstrom.com

Modern hanging light
16 AUD - parrotuncle.com

Hearts Attic tapestry bedding
110 AUD - heartsattic.com

Bluebellgray cotton flat sheet
115 AUD - amara.com

Feather bedding
56 AUD - modcloth.com

Dot bedding
48 AUD - amara.com

Contemporary bedding
42 AUD - target.com

Chevron pattern bedding
41 AUD - next.co.uk

Black and white blanket
14 AUD - amazon.com

Text sign
170 AUD - jcpenney.com

Pattern wall decal
hardtofind.com.au

ICanvas green painting
84 AUD - nordstrom.com

Outside wall art
55 AUD - society6.com

Watercolor wall art
19 AUD - etsy.com

Snow day!!!

  

Our first snow day!

On Monday we woke up to a blanket of white outside our windows... it was breathtaking.

It snows on Mount Roland every Winter and it has, on occasion, snowed in Sheffield, but only a light flutter for a few minutes that never settles.

So, when we received a letter from the school on Friday of snowfall down to 100m above sea level and there may be a possibility of the closure of the school on Monday, we had a little chuckle.

 I have never been so pleased to be wrong!

It turns out that it was the coldest day with the heaviest snowfall (a whole 2 inches!) recorded in over 25 years.

My lovely G, the kids, the dog and I wandered around the garden

 and neighbourhood in awe-struck amazement.

We met some friends at the park 

and made snowmen

and snow angels (even our pup had a go at making one!!)

and of course there where many a snowball thrown. Absolutely necessary.

Mr G came home early to make hot cocoa on the wood heater for when we returned.  Perfection.

It continued to snow steadily for most of the day until it cleared in the afternoon, just in time to take Miss E to gymnastics.

BEST DAY EVER!!!!