Clothing Goal

About a year, maybe a year and a half ago I made a decision that I wouldn't purchase brand new clothes for myself. Used ones were ok. Oh, and undergarments were ok to buy new. I'm not that crazy.

I decided to do this as a way of making myself more conscious of reduce/reuse/recycle. I liked the idea of not giving in to the American consumerism also.

How'd I do? Pretty well. As far as I can remember I only bought 1 shirt that was new. But, I bought a ton of stuff that was used. Sure, I get pretty much all my clothes at Salvation Army. I especially love hitting the sale 5 items for $5.

Now, other people made purchases for me. Birthday and Christmas gifts. And also a few gift cards that I may have used for clothes. That doesn't really count. (My goal. My rules.)

I'm thinking about trying a new challenge. I will not buy ANY clothing items for myself. Nothing new. Nothing used. For 1 year.

Again, undergarments are exempt from this. Also, I will except hand-me-downs that people give me and also gifts of newly purchased clothes and will even use gift cards to purchase clothes. (My goal. My rules.)

My hope is that I will pare down what I own. I don't have as many clothes as the 'normal' American, but I still have a lot! I'm also hoping that I will wear the things that I love. And maybe learn to mix and match things up a little differently.

So, I'll keep you posted on how it works out! It's already tough. The one pair of pants that I have that are perfect for fall and spring are fraying in the legs. Not a pretty sight on a 35 year old overweight mom. So, I'm already having to think creatively. And, I need a new white t-shirt. Hoping my mom grabs me one of those in the next few weeks. I have no problem cheating!

Goal #1

I still haven't gotten around to sharing with you all my goals for this new year. I've got some pretty good ones. Some day I'll post about them.

But, I can share with you one of them. I own 2 bread machines. I lost a part to one of them and just never got around to replacing it. Machine #2 was given to me years ago and just never made a good loaf of bread. So, both machines have been sitting in my basement for about 4 years. Until 2009 came around!



One of my goals this year was to get one of them working well. Machine #2 was moldy. It was bad! I decided that it wouldn't be safe to bake bread in a machine filled with mold. Both yeast and mold thrive where it is warm and moist.

So, I had to find the part for machine #1. And I did! For a total of $10 I have fixed my machine. Still haven't used it yet. But, not bad for it only being January 13th.

Recap of '08

Remember the goals that I set for 2008? Neither did I until I looked back in my archives. Here they are and how I did.

1. Minimize childrens books - I cleared out a bunch. Pretty much all that I could. Although, I think I can purge some of Maggie's little board books. I'll get on that.

2. Take the kids to the public library once a week. Totally failed. I did take Maggie about once a week for story time. Never really checked out books though. Mainly movies. Still need to work on this goal.

3. Have a date night with Jamie once a month. Totally failed. I was shocked when I looked back in my archives at how little we actually went out together. I'm really going to work on this one again this year.

4. Pray before I react to the kids. I think I will always be working on this one! I'm a bit more patient with them on days that I begin with prayer. If I wake up before everyone and do a little Bible study lesson and pray alone my whole day goes smoother than when I don't. Thanks Lord for that wonderful blessing!

5. Bring down my grocery bill. I succeed sometimes and failed sometimes. I will continue to work on this. It's definitely getting easier and easier the more I work at it.

6. Dress more feminine. I'm giving up on this one. I've never really defined it so I was never sure what that goal really meant. I'll just keep dressing the way that I normally do. Well, I might try wearing lip gloss everyday. Who knows.

7. Paint and redo the downstairs bathroom. So did NOT happen. It's still this horrible bright mint green and I detest it. Maybe it will get down this year.

8. New dishes. Yippy! A goal that I actually met! Jamie's aunt had a set of all white dishes that she had from Jamie's grandma. No one else in the family wanted them. They are perfect for me! I got rid of all my other dishes. Brought out my flag style dishes and even redecorated the kitchen in my old american flag stuff. Looks nice.

9. Clear out plastic storage containers. I met this goal as well. My cupboard is less cluttered. Although, I think this will be one of those ongoing kind of goals. That stuff seems to breed all on it's own.

10. Recycle cereal boxes. Another goal met. I take my pile every few weeks or so to the recycling center since our curbside doesn't pick it up.

Whew. I had some great goals. Unfortunately not all of them were met. But, I'm pretty pleased with myself. Now on to a new year!

Christmas Gifts for 2008

So, I got this great digital camera from my husband for Christmas. I. Love. It. It takes really good pictures. I keep it in my purse all the time. Did I mention that I love it? This is probably the first picture I took with it. Michael and Jamie are reading a book that my mother and father-in-law bought Michael. If you have boys you must get this book!! It's called 'The Dangerous Book for Boys'.

Not sure if you all remember or know of our Christmas gift giving tradition for our family. Here's a little recap. We give gifts to each other that fit into three categories. God Provides - He takes care of even our simplest needs. Growth - God desires a growing relationship with us. Good Gifts - God blesses us even when we don't deserve it or expect it. We don't necessarily limit the amount of gits to 3, but we do buy for each other in those categories.

Michael got socks for 'God Provides'. Pretty sure he's gotten socks every year! Maggie was actually tougher to buy in this category. I got her a comb and a brush. Jamie bought me long johns. I bought Jamie a lunch box. I know, it was a stetch for that category. But, I figured God provides food for us daily and one of my goals this year is to try to make him lunch more regularly.

We bought Michael some Christian comic books for his 'Growth'. Maggie got the Playmobile Nativity Set. I bought Jamie a music CD. And Jamie got me a subscription to a magazine called Just Between Us.

We were pretty conservative with the 'Good Gifts' category. Michael got a Star Wars ship and a baseball hat (pictured above). Maggie got a little Polly Pocket set. I bought Jamie a tool belt and season one of "How I Met Your Mother". Oh, and I got my camera. YeeeHaaa!! The kids also got various great gifts in their stockings. Toothbrushes, tooth paste, snow globe, key chain, ... Oh, and tons and tons of wonderful things from grandparents and aunts and uncles!

Back to School

Michael had his first day back at school yesterday. It seemed to go pretty swell :) I didn't get much info out of him. Typical. I'm hoping to be a bit more energetic tonight at bed time and see if I can get him talking.

Great news... I'm losing weight! 1 lb. a week... nothing too crazy. But, after awhile it will add up to a great amount!

I've been involved in a Christian program called First Place 4 Health. It focuses on the four sides of a person. Your spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health. I've been in it almost 2 years. I think the most weight I lost was 5 lbs. And that was about a year ago.

So, what am I doing different now that I wasn't before?* Praying. Early in the morning. Yup, I'm getting up before the rest of the family and I'm doing my Bible Study lesson for the day, reading my Bible, writing in a prayer journal, and praying.

Having a 'quiet time' in the morning just never seemed to work for me before. I never liked getting up earlier than I needed to. Our children always served as my alarm clock. I think with Michael starting school it has changed my season of life a bit. And I am loving it! I'm not even tired when I'm doing it. I feel awake and refreshed and excited to spend time with my Lord.

If you don't do a 'quiet time' in the morning, I would greatly encourage you to do it. Make that the first thing you do and I know God will bless your efforts!

*I have made some other significant changes to my lifestyle as well. I don't drink any pop and I exercise about 5 times a week for about 30 each time. It's been a long process for me. I think I finally get it!

Back in Business

All right, I'll give this blogging thing a try again. I have a pretty good handle on my computer time and I think I can manage a post every so often. I'd like to post more about our life so everyone can keep up to date with us. (Not that there's anything super huge going on.)

I'm not going to even try to give a quick update on all the areas of our life. I'm just going to post a bit here and there.

Enjoy :)

Pop Free

I thought I'd give you a little update... I was pop free on Monday and Tuesday!

I feel pretty good. The other good news about that is I didn't replace that 'treat' with something else. Actually, maybe I did. I've been drinking hot tea. I have my little 'tea time' twice a day. I like it :) And my water intake is so much that I have totally lost count.

I feel lighter all ready! A little bloated, but definitely healthier!

Downsizing

Ok, here's my pop strategy that I've been mulling over the past couple of days. Brace yourself, I'm going to honest with you all. Be nice to me :)

I like the bubbles of pop. I think I like the caffeine. I don't grab one because I'm feeling low on caffeine. It's really for the sugary taste (fake sugar in my case) and bubbly feel. It's usually the first thing I grab if I'm thirsty, hungry, or hot. I'm picky about my pop. Not really the brand, but the flavor. Vanilla is my favorite. I have to drink it from a can. I don't like pop that is even slightly stale. Most of the time I don't finish the can because it's gotten too warm or has lost it's bubbles.

Each week I buy a 12 pack of diet pop. This costs between 3-4 dollars. I consume all of this and sometimes more a week. So, about 3-4 cans a day. Which brings the rough total to $24 per month. We recycle the cans regularly. I tried recycling the box but there is not a place around here that takes box board that is specially treated to go in the fridge. (Actually, I'm going to call around at our other centers nearby and see if it's different.)

Since I don't think it would be a sure thing to just quit cold turkey I'll start small. I'll buy a 2 liter. They cost about $1. It's very cost effective for the amount, and it's only one thing and it it recyclable. Only buy this on Friday's and when it runs out, it runs out. I probably won't drink it all because I hate flat pop. Cost per month about $5.

Next, I'm going to have tea time each day. Making sure I don't become an addict to caffeine. I'll aim for drinking probably 2 cups a day, morning and late afternoon. Maybe even be so frugal to using the same tea bag. I'll have to test that one out. Tea is great in compost, so I'll hook up with my mother-in-law and get that going. The box it comes in is recyclable. The plastic outside, I'll have to check on that.

I just bought two boxes of tea today at $1.59 each. They each have 20 bags in them. I'd love to switch to loose tea eventually. It's very cost effective and very low in waste. Plus? They have those awesome tea pots that I've always wanted. So, even if I had 3 per day (not re-using them) it would cost $7.20 a month.

That's a big cost difference! Oh, and of course, a better health choice :)

#10 Recycling

Well, my board box recycling isn't going quite as well as I had hoped. I started saving all of our boxes. I went to the recycling center this week and read the sign on the dumpster very carefully. I didn't want to make a mistake :) It specifically said that they can not recycle boxes that can be refrigerated. Apparently they are sealed with a special coating = chemical that can not be recycled. Boxes like pop can boxes, yogurt boxes, or healthy choice frozen meals. Poop! That was half of my load.

So, now before I buy something I'm actually paying attention to how it's packaged to see how much of it is recyclable. Duh... it all comes down to convenience foods. Fresh food has the least amount of wasted materials. Fruits and veggies.

That'll be a huge challenge for next year, not this time around.

But, I am starting to rethink my pop addiction. Yes, I know I have a problem. Well, I don't call it a problem. I like it and that's that. But, I think I may come up with a better plan that is safer for my body and the environment. More on that later.

#6 dress more feminine

Well, I'm still not totally set of what type of clothes I'm aiming to buy to dress more feminine, but I think I found a little something that I like... necklaces. My mother-in-law bought me a beautiful pink one that I love to wear! It has four layers? with gold and different shades of pinks. Love it!

Next up... earrings! If you know me, you know that I have no ear lobes. Yup, I was the freak in biology class that always had to show my ears when studying genetics. But, with my somewhat new hairstyle I think the smaller dangle type might be quite nice. We shall see.

#5 - Reduce weekly grocery costs

I've decided for the next two weeks or so to keep track of how much I'm spending on each meal that I make. Sound tedious? It is. But, I think I need to do that in order to really visualize my spending. I can easily look up how much I spent at Meijer each week. But I want more than that. I want to see how much it takes to feed my family a meal.

I figured after a few weeks worth of meals I'd be able to see which meals are less expensive yet filling. I can adjust my meal planning after that. I'm going to pay more attention to each and every item that I purchase. Is it for a meal or a snack? Can I make it cheaper myself? Yes, sometimes I can. Are we eating more food simply because it's in the house? You bet. The more cereal we have in the house the more we eat it.

I have a spreadsheet that I started about a year ago with lists of foods/brands and their costs. I list out the price at Meijer, Walmart, and Kroger. I even fill in if I found it on sale. It is not a complete list. I don't have every price down for every store. I usually fill it in after I shop. But, I'm going to work harder at looking at it and seeing if it's worth splitting my shopping trips with a few stores.

Included in my spreadsheet is a section where I've begun to track each meal. To my surprise, homemade pizza is actually less expensive than our Little Caesar's $5 deal. Who knew? And, it's a lot less fattening! I don't have a goal for how much each meal should cost. I'm hoping to get a better handle on that after the trial period. But, so far it's been between $2.95 and $4.95 to feed all four of us. Although, I haven't made a 'normal' meal yet. It will be interesting to see how that changes.

Some sites that I like to browse are:
www.hillbillyhousewife.com - Great site for simple recipes for convenience foods.
www.miserlymoms.com - Another great site for recipes and great simple money saving tips. The book is great to flip through too. That's where I started a few years ago.

Goals for 2008

All right, here's my list of goals for 2008. Like most people, I struggle with the term 'resolutions'. That makes it sound like I have to change something radical about myself in a one years time. That's way too stressful for me. I like to call them goals or even refer to them as challenges.

My main focus is changing little habits in myself that I can carry over to my family. Changes that make this world a better place. I also have listed things that I just want to get done. So, here's my list. In no particular order.

1. Minimize children's books. We have too many. I'll keep the old favorites and even ones that were gifts. We have so many that only a few get looked at. It's just a messy thing to me.

2. Take both kids to the public library once a week. Because of the de-cluttering of children's books I want to keep them interested in new ones.

3. Go out with my husband once a month. Right now we're on this quarterly schedule. Not by choice really. Just because neither of us makes the effort. I'm not really complaining about it. I see Jamie a lot during the week. Our evenings are usually spent alone. But, it would be nice to just get out of the house more often together.

4. Pray before reacting with the kids. This is one of my biggies. This will require more than just making a few phone calls. I find that I yell easily. I want to change that.

5. Bring down the weekly grocery bill. Not sure how much. But, I want to take my time with meal planning and find new recipes that are less expensive.

6. Dress more feminine. I still need to figure out what that means for me. Dresses? Skirts? Florals? Colors? I need to find a style and then shop accordingly.

7. Paint/Re-do the downstairs bathroom. Remember it's that awful bright mint green color? It has to go!

8. New dishes. Our everyday dishes are getting pretty chipped. They'll be 12 years old this year. I'm going to figure out what I want and take my time shopping accordingly.

9. Clear out my 'collection' of plastic storage containers. Figure out how to use/store less of them. They tend to take over my cupboards. If I have cupboards filled with plastic containers that are not being used, I have too many. Time to de-clutter!

10. Recycle cereal boxes and the like. I'm already half way there! I found a drop off site nearby that will take them. All I need to do is get a system in place for getting them ready to go and then actually taking them.

There, that's the list. Hopefully it will inspire you to set a few goals this year too!

2007 Goals Re-Cap

I had made some goals last year for 2007 and I think I did a pretty good job reaching them. I made goals about weight loss, Bible reading, and prayer that I'm not going to get into on this post. Just know that I'm still working on those things and that I try to put God first in my daily life.

1 - I wanted to get reconnected with people from my jr. high and high school years. I did! I found two of my old friends online. One of whom, Karen, I keep up with regularly via our blogs.

2 - Switch to clothe napkins. I did it! I have a whole drawer full of clothe napkins. I rarely buy paper ones anymore. The same goes for paper towels. I don't even have them in the house anymore.

3 - Clothe bags for grocery's. This one took me a long time. I'm still struggling with it. Thankfully, Meijer (our local big grocery store) started selling clothe bags for $1 each. I love them! They are made perfectly to fit on the baggers turn stile. It makes it easy for them. I'm glad that I'm not making their job more difficult. The only problem is I have a hard time remembering to take them shopping with me. I need a system!

4 - Wear more feminine clothes. I didn't accomplish this at all. Probably because it was too vague. I didn't have a clear enough goal in mind. What style I was going for. I'll work on it again this year.