Story telling

Well, having a son, I like the idea of telling him different stories, some real and others made up. But just with playing around with this I find it a bit more difficult then expected. I lack a natural flow. My stories are full of pauses. But I have learned a few things from going through the Christy Miller books with Julie. She really likes the books and they are well written and actually pretty fun.

Each main character needs some defining descriptions. Usually there are a few short phrases that help to quickly describe and identify a character. These are memory tools. It may be hard to remember someone's name, but if the name is coupled with a short key attribute then it becomes easier. For example there is a character in the books named Katie. The main description associated with her is her copper hair. But it isn't only a physical description each time, there is also a bit of personality that is sometimes mentioned. Katie is known for her adventurous spirit too. She is commonly associated with failure to plan along with an excitement about things.

So if you think about it, those short descriptions add a lot to the character but don't take much to think up. I just thought this was a fun point to share

Get Organized Part 5: Common Areas

This refers to areas like the living room, kitchen, and dining room.

In my house the common areas seem to be prone to clutter. I think it is related to the fact that we don't use most of the space very much. There are only two of us that sit at the kitchen table, so that allows a good portion of the table to accumulate clutter. Same with our couches. We rarely use the love seat, so it gets to hold stuff for us. Basically this is simply caused by laziness and isn't hard to clean. Using the space is fine, it just needs to be temporary and cleaned up afterwords.

Decorations become somewhat of a conflict for me and Julie. She really likes them, but there comes a point when there are too many and they take up too much space. These decorations typically take up some useful shelf space or something. In my opinion the best decorations are pictures that you can simply hang on the wall.

Well, that is it for my Get Organized series. What have we learned? I know nothing about cleaning and organizing? Probably. That would explain why I have to clean the house before guests arrive.

Get organized Part 4: Dependent's Stuff

I made this section because of my baby boy. He can really make a mess, and he has a lot of stuff. Being so little he lacks the ability to truly organize. At this stage all he can do is put stuff in a bin. The problem with this is he thinks putting anything in the bin is good even if it doesn't belong in the bin.

How do you decide if an item is a keep or discard. I usually can't make this decision, but Julie can since she deals with him all day long each day. With a child you have an extra option. You can discard, keep, or hide it for later. The hide it for later typically takes care of itself in our house. David will run around and put things where they don't belong. Then when we get around to really cleaning the house we will find these toys just scattered here and there.

I don't have a whole lot to say on this subject since I lack experience in the area. Maybe my parents can post some tips or something. At this age David doesn't really have just a favorite toy, so anything is up for grabs with him.

Ah, so I thought of something worth mentioning. I like how many of his toys are kept in his room, but we also have this ottoman that can store things. This is great for the living room. We can store several toys for him to play with. And the thing with his toys right now is that it doesn't have to be very organized, the bin works great because he enjoys digging through it and seeing all the toys.

Now I want to talk about his room. This area is more difficult because he likes to make a mess. Julie had the wonderful insight of putting things in small bins on the shelves to help keep it organized, and this helps David just from seeing it all on the shelf and throwing it on the floor. He typically will leave these bins alone. The closet is a wonderful thing because the door allows you to block access to those things, but at the same time it is also harder access for us to use.

Well, I can hear my baby boy even though it is way too early for him to be up. So i guess it is time for me to go.

Get organized Part 3: Other's Stuff

Now things get complicated. You may have a say in the matter, and it could even be the final say, but someone else is involved in this. You can easily make someone frustrated by simply moving there stuff or they could become angry when you discard something of great sentimental value.

In my opinion it is best to handle this with the "other" helping. Ask their opinion or what they want done with it, and offer suggestions with respect. You don't want to be responsible for them having regrets, so unlike your stuff it is better to lean towards keep than discard. Another thing to keep in mind when helping to organize someone's stuff is that it can be a bit overwhelming. They are doing their best to clean up, and all you are doing is adding to the difficulty by continuously asking them what they want done with this or that.

For me this is the hardest part to do. It requires patience and also endurance. So just remember to show respect and be patient and things should move along nicely and you can end up making great improvements to getting organized.

Get Organized Part 2: Your Stuff

The best place to start when getting organized is with your own stuff. These are the things that you get to decide what to do with it. The choices are numerous, but I can list a few choices you have. The first choice is weather to keep it or not.

I definitely want to keep it
If you decide to keep it then you must make another choice of "where" to keep it. Where to keep something is a personal decision. But this can be broken down into several easier questions. Storage or easily accessible? If storage then it should probably go in a box with similar items. If easily accessible then you must decide what room. To make this decision even easier you can start by asking if it belongs in the room currently being organized. If not then put it in a pile of things that needs to be moved and deal with it later. If it belongs in this room then you need to find a home for it and then you are done with that item.

I think I want to keep it
Are you sure? When was the last time it was used? If it hasn't been used for a couple years you probably want to get rid of it. If it is just rarely used then it probably belongs in storage.

I guess I can part with this treasure
Great, quickly put it in in a pile/bag/box that will be sorted through later of things to get rid of, and try to do it before you change your mind. Also, this isn't the final good by, so if you have a little doubt go ahead and still get rid of it at this point, it can be rescued later when it is evaluated.

I definitely don't want it
Place in the pile/bag/box of things you are getting rid of.

This is trash
Trash it, simple enough.

So, you have finally cleaned up a room and are left with a few piles of stuff which doesn't seem like an improvement, but it is. For the keep pile you need to start finding a home for each item, weather in storage or just a different room. For the discard pile you must evaluate how to handle each object. Do you know someone that could use this item, or would like to have it. Then make a new pile/box/bag of give away items. If the item has some value then put it in the sell pile/box/bag. If the item doesn't fit in any other categories, then trash/recycle it.

This is basically a compilation of tips I have read from other places. I usually don't break it down into piles to be reevaluated later, I like to have the room getting clean. So if you think you are up for it then make the decision what to do with each item and handle it immediately. If it belongs somewhere else, put it there. If it is a give away we have a collection of stuff for that. If it is sell we have a pile in our home for those items too.

Get organized Part 1.5: Timing

So I realized this morning that I missed an important aspect of getting organized.

I don't know about everyone else, but I have a strange natural ability to clean. For some reason when I procrastinate I typically try to do other productive things. So if I'm trying to avoid something I will do something like clean house as procrastination. Another timing aspect that may be more common is just to go on some sort of kick where you feel like cleaning house. Sometimes I ignore this and do something else, but in reality I shouldn't. Cleaning house isn't bad if I feel like doing it.

I say cleaning, but I rarely have a desire to clean, it is to de-clutter/organize. I rarely want to scrub anything, but I like moving things around or trashing stuff and making a visible difference.

This morning I did a bunch of organizing, and I found the timing worked out well. For some strange reason my son woke up early. Well, organizing the house with him can be slightly challenging. You have to be fast. Over all though, it is a great time to organize the house. He enjoys going to the different rooms and exploring and watching me. He follows me around pretty well. I can enjoy this because I am fast and having him adds a bit of a challenge. Another note to mention is that even if I am just cleaning up after him it is better than just sitting around doing nothing. At least to me it is. I don't really like to sit and be bored.

So there it is. My comments on timing. So let's review. Good times are when you feel like it; with a toddler; and that is it. Not much to work with, but hey I'm a guy and somehow it seems to get done occasionally. Maybe not as often as it should.

And in case you are wondering and haven't realized it yet this entire post is because I have a get organize kick that I am working with.

Get organized Part 1: Overview

I'm going to try something different, because this is something I'm wanting to do. I want to get organized, especially with only a month before a new baby arrives. So for now I plan to use this blog to help get my thoughts together on how to proceed.

I plan to do 5 parts for this thought.
Part 1: Overview - laying out the framework
Part 2: Your Stuff - what to do with the stuff that you get the final say in
Part 3: Other's Stuff - what to do with the stuff you don't get the final say in
Part 4: Dependent's Stuff - how to handle the stuff of someone who can't handle it
Part 5: Common Areas - How to handle common areas like the living room

I'm just starting this and not sure how to proceed exactly, but I think this is a decent framework to start with. I'll probably be using links to other places, and maybe I'll get Julie's input too, that would be cool.

Some basic ideas that should apply to all categories.
Start with one room and stick with that room till it is done.
Evaluate all items, if not used at least once in two years get rid of it.
When evaluating an item it is either keep or discard.
Keep items can be in the current room, different room, or store
Discard can be sell, donate, or trash
Schedule maintenance times - usually for common areas
Some things should be done daily, others weekly, some monthly and others biannually or just annually.

Toys and stuff

I like electronics, and have been thinking of getting a new pda and maybe making it a smart phone. But my wife is so good about reminding me that I don't need it. My stuff works fine, I don't need to buy more things. Well, she is right. I need to get away from the throw away mentality of life. I get to conserve this way. Conserve money for one thing, but also contribute less to the electronic waste.

I like to declutter. I like to simplify my "stuff", so combining a phone and pda makes since, but to do so I have to buy more, not reduce what I have. Looking around my house I think how much of all this do I actually need, and the answer is very little. Now the house is typically filled with baby toys, which he rarely plays with. He has a few, but in reality we could stand to sell several of the toys that he has simply lost interest in. He seems more interested in remotes and cell phones than his toys. But we can't get rid of them, he has a sister coming in a month, so she may have interest in different toys. So I think I'm stuff with only decluttering my own stuff.

What it is all about

Read first part of Psalm 89 this morning. At least I think it is 89.

Don't have a whole lot to say other than I want my life to be all about Jesus. Wouldn't that be great?

Big or Little Problem

Two days ago my palm pilot wouldn't turn on. Well, this is an unusual problem, so I did what I had to do and pressed the reset button in the back. Pressing the button had the wonderful result of turning on the unit, but with it I lost all my data. I mean all my data, except for the date, somehow it remembered it was Aug 13th. As a result, this loss of data was an inconvenience, but not really a big one. I knew I hadn't backed up my palm in several weeks, so that was a disappointment, but still nothing really big. But for some people I could see them reacting horribly. They would think this was some really big problem, but I just can't see why. It is annoying yes, but not a real issue. The PDA is a convenience, and you can live without it. Just like a cell phone, people seem way too attached to them.

On a completely separate note my health is fine, apparently my past illness caused my stomach acid to act up but I have some meds to take care of that, and I'm doing well.

Hobbies

So I was thinking about how much time we have and how we fill it with different hobbies. I was thinking about getting more into athletics, but the time requirement is pretty high. I spend a good chunk of time playing games that I have thought about cutting out. But this morning it occurred to me. I need to make sure I'm serving God in all I do. So am I doing so in my hobbies. Video games are typically a big waste of money and time, but there is something gained from athletics (besides the injuries).

Just something I thought worth noting. Is what I do beneficial to God?
Some may counter and say they need their own personal time to unwind and reflect, but I don't think that is the case. But what about burn out? Well, I think that has more to do with over doing it, and less with actually doing what God desires of you.

A bit on health and some wisdom

So I was reading in 1 Corinthians last night and it really stood out how Paul says that he did not come with "superiority of speech or of wisdom" (1 Cor 2:1). What he did was what any of us can do, "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." (1 Cor 2:2)

That really is the core issue that needs to be addressed, not the other matters. Later on Paul speaks of feeding the Christians in Corinth milk instead of meat because they can't handle it. So why is it that I get into debates about meatier matters when we don't get the easy stuff. When dealing with non Christians especially, why debate the more difficult issues when they haven't accepted the core concept.

On the health and unrelated note, I have been having some strange health issues that are simply annoying. For now it doesn't seem to be of significance, but I often ask God why, and then I look forward to getting the answer, because I'm sure I'll get the answer. It could be something as simple as gaining empathy for someone else, but I'm excited to see how God can use this.