I haven't been able to set aside time to do any blogging in the last 12 days or so, as I have been on a cleaning and organizing spree, both inside and outside of the house.  We also had company last week for several days, which we loved and enjoyed.  And, when it comes down to getting on the computer or taking care of little children, the computer loses!  That's OK, too.  After all, my real calling in life at this time is wife and mother and homemaker, not blogger.  So, first things first, and one thing at a time.

We have been in this current home for almost two years.  I learned from our military life that usually about the time you got good and settled, it was time to move again.  And we moved, on average, every 2 years or so, though twice we stayed in one place for 3 or more years.  Now that we have been here a while, we have been able to sort through and clean out the garage.  A few weeks ago, I decided to go through mine and everyone elses (except my husband's) clothes.  Ordinarily this would be an overwhelming job, but I realized that it probably was a bigger job in my mind than it was in actuality.  That turned out to be true. 

To simplify the process, I got out the big, black garbage bags.  The best ones are the thick, oversized leaf bags.  I went through my closet and drawers, and put everything that was in good shape, but had not been worn in 2 or 3 years (regardless of whether they fit or not), and put in the give-a-way bag.  The ones that were stained or torn (even if they could be repaired but I knew that I would not get around to it), I put in the throw-a-way bag.  A few things I handed down to my daughters, but then I was going to go through that process with them as well, so I thought carefully about whether they really needed my hand-me-downs or not.  In a few hours my closet and drawers were cleaned out and organized, and I had a couple of neat, large trash bags to show for it.  I put these in the garage to await their destinies.

I didn't get around to the children's rooms until several days later, and some clothes sat out for a few days until I could finish up.  The children enjoyed helping me, because over the years, people have given us some really nice clothes that they never got around to wearing.  So we decided that we needed to pass them on for others to use.  If we ever needed to, we could buy more.  The more important task was to make their closets organized so they could neatly keep up with things, and would feel encouraged everytime they opened up their closets to put things away.  Taking about half of the stuff out of their closets and drawers was helpful for us, because we really don't need that much stuff to live our daily lives.  I and the children tend to wear the same things over and over until they are worn out.  So a couple of every day outfits and a few dressy outfits are all we need. And I am really learning that in a houseful of people, less is more.  The less we have to put away, the cleaner the house stays.  The less clothing we use, the less laundry there is.  When we know we don't "need" any more toys or clothes right now, we don't buy them, and thus save money.  The less junk you have, the less time you spend organizing it or trying to figure out where to put it or cleaning it or cleaning around it.

This applies to outside as well.  Because our garden spot is down a slope in the front of our home beyond our yard (because the former owners installed a sprinkler system hooked up to the well water and already had a garden spot, we sort of had to stick to that area, even though I don't think I would have picked out that area had it been my choice), it needs to be neat and attractive.  We decided that we had to fence it in because the cats on our little farm think that everytime you till up an area, it is for them to go potty.  So we made a rustic fence out of trees we cut down on our property and deer netting.  Now so far,  the cats have not used our garden beds for their outhouse.  Thanks be to God for that!  We are trying really hard to keep the garden clean, keep the tools put away when we aren't using them, and not leave plastic buckets or bags of compost sitting around skullying up the landscape.  People might think I am a little over-board on this, but it is so much easier to take care of now.  We also put weed mat down between the beds, and put straw on top.  This makes it easier to walk on and it looks clean and it is keeping the weeds from growing out of control between the beds.  This makes being in the garden more pleasant, and, as the weather gets hotter and the weeds grow faster and the bugs come out, we will be glad we went to that initial trouble.  It is true that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

My good friend Burt, who with her family visited last week, made the point that "God gives grace for the moment, and not before."  What she meant was that God gives us grace to do the tasks we need to do at the right time.  Sometimes a job sits on my to-do list or in the back of my mind for a long time before I ever get around to doing it.  This is why I have to lift my plans up to the Lord in prayer, so that as He wills, I might have the grace to accomplish something with His help.  When things work like this, things get done and it is not totally exhausting, but rather invigorating!

Enjoy the month of May!