week flying by. . . stuff flying out the door

I am in CRAZY productive mode this week, folks!  It is kinda not good,  because I am riding on a medium level of stress, and have bitten off all my nails again, and am having trouble sleeping at night.  But I'll just focus on the good--such as painting my bathroom!  and sorting through the kids' toys!  and finally getting to work in my garden, which has been neglected since last Fall!  And purging this year's homeschool accumulation!  And going through a whole groccery sack of unopened junk mail! Not bad for two days of work.  Oh, and in there I did feed my children and meet with our homeschool liason, and lead Bible study discussion too. 

I actually don't know where this stress is coming from.  I am very excited about my sister and her girls and my parents coming to visit in a month's time, yes, and am wanting use their visit to get a lot of things done, but that should not be keeping me awake at night.  My in-laws are coming this Friday and staying for 4 days, which might be part of it--possibly a lot of it.  (That's a loooooooong time, people.)  But my MIL and I have emailed this week, and she knows I am in "go" mode and sounded very supportive and glad to let me work while she takes charge of the kids, so it could be a great weekend. 

But I'll just run with it--whatever is going on with me, I'll just choose to focus on the positive, which at this moment means getting a whole heck of a lot done. 

If anyone wants to join me in the purging fun, please do!  I was going to make a separate post about it, since my goal is to get rid of ONE HUNDRED THINGS this week!  But frankly, I don't want to take the time to list the things in a blog post like I have in the past--I'm just getting it all OUT OF HERE.  If I counted all those pieces of paper I handled yesterday individually, ala FlyLady, I am sure I easily met my goal.  But I am being tougher--and that big bag of mail counts as "one."  But still, I would say I am nearing the half-way mark already!  Esp. because I WILL count all the plastic pieces to an old, broken game that I held onto for years, hoping someone on freecycle somewhere could use them. . . I finally threw them in the trash yesterday, and since I was digging them out of the toy baskets individually, I am counting them individually.  This is a big deal for me--the pieces were for a game that was very cool, and could be added to someone else's set. . . but without knowing who to give them to, they are just junk making my house more cluttered.   I tried to give them a second life, but now it's good to let them go.

And it feels GREAT!  That's my goal this week--to just get rid of the broken things hanging over me, the things no one likes or needs, etc.  The cheap leggings worn by two girls which would be fine for #3 except for the small holes, which could be repaired, but that would involve making the time to do it, and not even being sure of the outcome (since I am not a seamstress)--gone to a freecycle bag.  The bazillion free and cheap toys the kids end up bringing home from everywhere from church to birthday parties--gone to a freecycle "treasure box" or my Operation Christmas Child bin under the house (this counts as gone, since it will be when we assemble our boxes in the fall).  All the adorable artwork the girls have done this year--photographed and gone to the trash/recycling.  All the adorable tops friends have passed on to me in the past three years that are cute but ultimately just not my style--gone, to our church clothing drive for needy women in our community.

Let me tell you, people, it's freedom.  FREEDOM I say!

So, anyone out there wish to join in the thrill of release from the stuff that is weighing you down?  Share your personal triumphs this week in the comments!   Or if you get into "go" mode yourself and do something that has been weighing on your psyche for a long time--let us know your victory, and we will celebrate together!

Hope you are all having a great week!