Operation Organization

The holidays are over and Christmas is put away. What is next? Retailers want to help us with our New Year Resolutions. The sales flyers are full of fitness and home organization products. I would argue you could do this anytime during the year but traditionally it seems like we all do it after New Years and before Easter. The secret is to get everything organized before your momentum is gone.

My mission this weekend was to put Christmas away in an orderly manner (aka the lights). The biggest deterrent to decorating the outside of our house with lights is the task of testing/repairing the lights before we can put them up. Mission accomplished. All the lights were tested and bulbs replaced as needed before each strand was individually bagged and labeled. The job was made easier with a handy testing device I purchased at Target. This was time consuming but worth it. Next year Marston will be able to select the lights he wants without the hassle of a tangled mess that needs testing. Generally my method of organizing the other Christmas items has worked, except the totes were not labelled. Lack of labeling means all the Christmas totes arrive in the house at the same time (overwhelming). Next year I will be able to select totes as I need them.

Makes finding the problem easy. Target $18.99

Operation organization moved to the garage on Sunday. Every time I walk into the garage I realize how much my husband loves me. HIS garage is full of MY stuff and I have it everywhere. Some of you are probably wondering why I am keeping extra stuff in the garage? How much stuff do I need? The majority of the space is storing furniture I have bought at auctions for the new house. Then there are those totes of collectables that did not fit in our existing home. Plus the Christmas totes. By the end of the day: Marston was able to reclaim his workbench (he is happy); some totes have been sorted and labeled; three boxes of stuff will go to charity; another box of stuff is ready to be given to new owners; and our recycle bins and garbage can are full. Operation organization is not done with the garage but progress was made.

Saying Goodbye to Christmas

Some people take their Christmas tree down Christmas Day after the gifts have been opened. I still have my Christmas trees (there are two of them) up, decorated and lit. I love how beautiful they look and the way they make me feel each time I look at them. I decorate other parts of our home and Marston loves to put lights on the outside but nothing is as important as our tree. There is a variety of ornaments but our favorites are gifts from family and friends, souvenirs from the trips we have taken, and ornaments we made. Our tree doesn't have a theme and would not suit some tastes but it is perfect for us.

The very idea of people bringing a large tree inside their home seems irrational but we do it. There is a magic in our home when it is lit that suggests the unlikely and impossible could happen. Last year was supposed to be our last Christmas in our current home but the impossible happened. We were fortunate enough to celebrate one more time in the place we first celebrated together. It was the greatest gift. I am now ready to move forward and share our future celebrations together in our new home. So many of the gifts in my life once seemed impossible. The greatest of these is my husband. I was so excited when he got home last night. I told him, "I love our Christmas tree and never want to take it down!" He just smiled and laughed. Of course, we will be taking it down this weekend but tonight we will share one more night basking in the magic - believing that all things are possible.

Jack enjoying one last night under the tree. He thinks he is the greatest gift.