This month, my husband was out of town for a bit. This causes two reactions in me-how many projects can I get done while he’s gone? And yay! I don’t have to cook as much this month, giving me more time for projects and books. (there is also the missing him reaction, but after being a Marine wife for 25 years, a business trip isn’t so bad.)

Cleaning Things Out is Hard, but Liberating

I mentioned before that I could never have a capsule wardrobe, but I was interested in Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. So, I decided to tackle my closet while he was gone. We share a small-ish walk-in closet, and it was impossible to navigate before he left. I had crap all over the floor, hangers jammed in at all angles, and shoes everywhere. Kondo recommends taking everything of one category and putting it on the floor and then going through it one piece at a time. So, I took all of my clothes, out of drawers, out of under bed boxes, seasonal things that were stowed away, and everything hanging or folded in my closet and put them on my bed and the floor. I had to do the floor bit one type of clothing at a time- too much to work around otherwise. My bed was a mess. So I started with tops, as she recommended. This whole process took me about two and a half days to complete. My closet is now a joy to walk into (and you can actually walk into it!) and I know all of the clothes fit me and I like them. I no longer have to have things stowed away, because everything fits into the closet and dresser I have. I’ve put together a few new outfits from my old stuff, and I’m really enjoying it. Sometimes I open the closet door just to look at the order that was crafted from the chaos. It makes me happy.

I need Adult Supervision

When my husband is gone, I tend to stay up too late and not eat well. It’s easy to let myself go and not think about the consequences. Reading until 3 in the morning doesn’t seem crazy when there’s no one in the bed next to you sleeping. Having my daughter home with me helped this time, so at least my bedtime stayed pretty much the same.

Deadlines (artificial or not) Motivate Me

Knowing the day my husband was returning spurred me on to completion on a few things that I might not have finished by now without that artificial deadline. My husband really doesn’t like clutter and projects that require things to be left out over a period of days, so I use that to make me finish certain things by the time he gets back. Having a dinner party serves as the same deadline effect. Lots will get done in the days leading up to a party, or to the day I leave on a trip, or to the day my husband gets home from a business trip or deployment.

Preparing for Something Heightens My Appreciation for It

This past week, I prepared the foundation pages for my December Daily album. Just pulling out all of the supplies and things to get it ready made me anxious for December. I love Christmas so much, and working with those Christmas themed products made me love it even more. I can’t wait for the holidays!