May Clutter Totals

In the middle of May I did a clutter update which included the following 193 items I had sold on ebay:

20 Homemade Gourmet items (wrought iron, recipe card sets, etc.)
3 Longaberger pieces
125 Imaginext items (sets and accessories - it's more than this, but I didn't count every single little piece) in two different auctions
45 Rescue Heroes and accessories

I still had auctions that had closed but had not shipped out yet, and I also had auctions ongoing. By the end of May, these are the other items I sold on ebay:

72 Disney Narnia Figurines and Accessories
32 Homeschool Books
86 Rubber Duckies
677 Rokenbok Pieces (six different sets)

That's another 867 items.

I made one trip to the Salvation Army. I got rid of at least one of the things in our garage that has been like an elephant. The kids and I actually maneuvered it into the van by tipping it to get the angled top in. It was pretty impressive.

The hutch complete with glass shelves that weren't even opened after we got here, because we simply didn't have a place for it.

So these are the items I donated for May:

1 Hutch
3 boys' jeans
1 boys' jean shorts
6 boys' dress pants
8 boys' knits shirts
2 boys' long-sleeve knit shirts
2 boys' short-sleeve polo shirts
1 boys' long-sleeve polo shirt
1 boys' short-sleeve dress shirt
5 girls' knit short-sleeve shirts
2 men's dress pants
1 ladies' wool jacket
1 ladies' dress shirt
1 VCR/DVD player
1 Narnia game
1 Triominoes game
1 Granny Apples game
1 In a Pickle game

That's an additional 39 items for a grand total of 1,099 items in May, and 1,805 items for the year, and I just started in April! Even if I counted the Rokenbok as 6 sets instead of 677 pieces (and those little pieces deserve to be counted they are such a pain!), I would still be at 1,134 for the year.

I have trouble getting rid of books, and I'm going through all of my homeschool books this weekend because there is a used book sale I'm participating in next Tuesday. I not only want to try to get rid of my excess, because I obviously have it, I am trying to find ways to benefit my family since I don't work outside the home. This is one way I can do that right now.

I suppose I'll challenge myself now and start over. I think it might be harder to do a second time, but I'm going to try my best and challenge my kids too when I need to. Hopefully the book sale next week will be a start.

Amy at The Finer Things hosts the 730 in 365 Declutter Challenge if you'd like to see who is participating or link up yourself.

Cheesy Potato Casserole

This is a great dish for potlucks and cookouts, very easy prep, just start it early to allow for the cooking time. It's definitely worth it!

Cheesy Potato Casserole
from my friend, Monica

1 pkg of frozen, cubed Ore-Ida hash browns
2 cans cream of potato soup
1-16 oz container of sour cream (I used light)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic salt

Mix it all together, throw it in a 9x13 pan, top with about half a stick of butter cut up and scattered across the top, and cook at 325 degrees for 2 hours (covered with foil for the first hour; uncovered for the second hour).

No one touched the store brand potato salad. It was in a regular bowl so no one knew. I just saw Lori put it in there. These potatoes are just that good.

We Will Never Forget

Hubby's immediate return from Kuwait in March, 2004.

Homemade Trail Mix

This is perfect to take along on camping trips (Hubby and the kids have been doing some of that), hiking, or birding (we've been doing a lot of that).

Trail Mix

1 Large Container of Mixed Nuts (no peanuts) - the size you get at Sam's Club
Part of a large container of Cashews since we're cashew crazy
Peanut m&m's to suit you (from the large bag at Sam's Club)
Regular m&m's to suit you and so Hubby has some without peanuts (also from the large bag at Sam's Club)
Craisins to suit you (a little redundant, but also from the large bag at Sam's Club)

Toss it all together in a big bowl.

I split mine up between two gallon sized Ziploc bags. It filled them a little more than halfway each.

I'm going to add some other dried fruits next time, but I wanted to keep it simple to start. It was a good idea since the boys and Chatty didn't like the Craisins.

If It's Not Working, You Can Change It

I reorganized my laundry room and the walk-in closet directly off of my laundry room last year right before Labor Day. You can click here to check it out if you'd like.

The biggest change was adding a white folding table as a folding surface for clothes.

I thought it was a brilliant idea and it would be so helpful for me.

It became a surface for stuff and took up valuable space. I was tripping over the laundry baskets that we use to sort the clothes that need to be washed, plus I'd rather watch a few minutes of tv in my bedroom while I'm folding towels rather than stare at a wall.

So I moved out the table and moved the three laundry baskets over in place of it. I still hang the clothes up as I take them out of the dryer on the rods. You can tell they need to be taken upstairs right now.

Clothes that need folded so they don't get wrinkled do get folded straight out of the dryer, but I just do it over by the dryer. The table wasn't worth it.

It's been this way for about a month and it's working much better.

Stupid Arachnophobe Girl Takes Pictures Of Spiders

Mating no less. On the windows we looked through just two days ago at a cute little baby robin entertaining our cat.

Unfortunately, I am the screaming arachnophobe girl and will only kill a spider if I have to when it is in my house and I can't holler at someone else to do it or use my vacuum cleaner hose attachment to suck it up.

Which means that we will have more spiders running around due to this uncensored window activity in the near future.

I do not like them this close to my door.

It was a free and unnecessary homeschooling lesson.

Archives

I was looking at my drafts where I started posts I hadn't finished, or put a few thoughts down so I wouldn't forget what I thought I wanted to say, and found these pictures I never posted from last summer when my parents came to visit.

You can't get much better than having Santa for your grandpa.

He also makes balloon animals and stuff. These were ant antennae.

I suppose that's how you'd make it plural.