Ten Day Challenge

Moving 8 times in 8 years really changes the way that you keep house.  For example when you live somewhere for less then a year, do you really need to wash your windows?  Answer: Nope!  You just move to a place with cleaner windows.  So I could tell that I was really starting to settle into my home of 1 year 5 months when I broke out the Windex and cleaned my windows! 

Another thing that hasn't happened in years is getting everything organized.  I have had my life functional, but things haven't been really organized for several moves.  For example: my knitting and yarn can be found in every room of the house.  That is not organized!  And because everything is everywhere nothing is being used and enjoyed to its fullest potential.

My first plan was to jump on one of the preexisting "cleaning/organization" challenges that are filling up the Pinterest feeds.  There are only a few problems with that.  A lot of those challenges are for long spans of time.  One blogger is doing a 52 week challenge!  52 weeks!  I have moved 2 times in 52 years, clearly this challenge was not designed for me!  The other problem with a long challenge is that I know myself and I wouldn’t stick with it.  I really, really like starting projects.  Its like starting a new relationship, all roses and chocolate and no problems.  Once a cleaning conflict arises or I bite off more then I can chew, I am apt to blot.  (Thankfully this only pertains to projects and cleaning, and not relationships. I've been happily and successfully married for almost ten years and have worked through my fair share of issues.) 

While the shorter challenges lacked that problem, they still didn’t fit.  After all they were designed by people who have already settled in and who were actually looking to clean.  I needed something for me to tackle that addressed my needs.  Where would I find that?  Umm…

So I decided to develop my own list of 10 things to tackle.  They had to be small projects that I could complete in an hour in order to keep up the motivation and they had to be things that I don't normally do as part of my house cleaning routine.  I am giving myself a month to complete these challenges and will document some of them to help with the motivation to continue. 

10 Day Challenge

1. Gather the Yarn-remember it is scattered to the four corners

2. Organize Yarn into bins

3. Fold Fabric & Store in Craft Closet

4. Organize Linen Closet  

5. Sort Hannah's Shirts-this girl outgrows so quickly!

6. Round Up Lurking Trash

7. Round Up Donations & Donate them!

8.  Sort 1 Basement Box

9.  Sort Box of Pre-Baby Clothes

10. Blog & Photograph it

Sensory Fun: Wipe Box Scarf Pull

          Little kiddos get a big kick out of pulling anything out of everything.  Hannah is now proudly in that developmental stage.  She enjoys pulling things out of baskets, drawers, tissue boxes, purses, and boxes.  She has also started transferring items from one container to the next.  I think that this is part of the reason why I am not bored as a homemaker!  The teacher and counselor in me relishes each sign of each developmental stage.  I feel like I have been given a front row seat to watch my child become. 

          To encourage and properly channel her enthusiastic discovering I gathered three of my scarves and placed them inside clean, dry wipe container.  In the video she spends time pulling them out and hugging the scarves.  She is into hugging right now.  She hugs everything from her dolly to my potholder!  

Hannah the Explorer

Hannah took her first steps the week of her first birthday and now she is unstoppable!


Hannah still enjoys crawling for the speed that she can move with.  During outside play time she went from not wanting to touch the grass at all with her hands to zooming all over the place within a two week time span. She can even tackle mountains!  I love that when she goes down a hill she turns herself around to scoot down backwards, which is the same way she scoots down the stairs.  (I think that is her cautious nature. )

Nature Walk-Family Legacy

My mother encouraged a love of nature in me as a child.  She encouraged us to play outside, to get dirty, and to explore.  She trusted us to be safe and to act sensible, but didn't need to hover over us.  Some of my fondest memories are playing across the corn field in the stream in the woods both with friends and by myself for hours at a time.  Her trust helped me to trust myself and built confidence in my ability to explore my world. While my mom took us on hikes, she would point out various things of interest with a sense of awe in her voice.  She helped me appreciate the beauty all around. 

I want to do the same for my daughter.  I want to nurture her inquisitive little spirit.  I get the privilege of seeing the world fresh through her eyes and I get to imagine and remember what "new" feels like.  This week we have been going on a lot of nature walks.  My desire is to play outside every day as the weather permits.  Once things warm up, I want to try to have us outside at least an hour every day.  Playing in the fresh air develops strong and hearty children.

We went to a stream this week and for the first time I allowed Hannah to explore it.  She did not run into or even splash her hands in it as one might expect.  She sat down next t

o it and observed it and played with rocks.  And tasted the rocks!  After many minutes, for a one year old, she stuck a little finger into the water.  Then ignored it and played with rocks.  Eventually she stuck both hands into the cold water exploring how it ran over the bridge.  She discovered slime and old leaves.  By the time we left she had developed the confidence to crawl into the water and was exploring everything from her new perspective.  I l
ove how simple it is to enrich my daughter's world and to pass this legacy on to her.