The longest 3 months of my life.

I am pleased to announce that my three month self inflicted shopping ban has FINALLY ended!!!!!!!! Three months of walking into stores, getting only what I needed and walking right out. Three months of being tempted by the change of season clothing like sundresses, shorts, tank tops and sandals. I can't say that I was a good girl the entire time. I came close to cheating SEVERAL times. Once, I was shopping with my sisters and mom (I do not recommend this if you're on a shopping ban. It's no fun to watch other people buy clothes). I found this fabulous navy blue and white peasant top that I could just picture with a white pair of shorts or a pair of jeans and a cute pair of flats. It had been a horrible week and the darn shirt was on clearance for an amazing $11. Against my better judgement, I picked the shirt up and carried it to the dressing room. Against my better judgement, I tried the shirt on. Just my luck, it looked fabulous. I walked around the store, shirt in hand and internal debate going on in my head. "You don't really need the shirt." "But it's so pretty!" "You're on a shopping ban." "It's so cheap!!" "You'll feel guilty after you buy it..." The argument continued as I walked up to the cash register. I could just feel the judgement being passed by my sister and mom. My rational side prevailed and I reluctantly walked back to the clearance rack and returned the shirt...a cute bargain for someone to find other than me. Temptation number two came in the form of a white linen dress at TJMaxx. Again, I ran into the clearance monster. It was adorable. It was perfect for summer. I could just picture wearing it to some of dad's campaign activities. I had a pair of bronze heels that would look AMAZING with this dress. Again, I made a trip to the dressing room (obviously, I'm a glutton for punishment). Twenty minutes of wandering around the store, I finally put the dress back and sulked out of the store. There are a million of little temptation stories I could share...a cute pair of shoes here, a jacket there....but the end of the story is, I resisted! I celebrated on Sunday by walking around Fayette Mall to BUY THINGS! Not just walk around and admire and feel jealous, but actually buy myself something. I ended up with two Anne Taylor shirts (both under $15, score!), a pair of flats and a pair of sandals. And I felt redeemed. I proved to myself that I could go three months without buying something for myself. I proved to other people that I was not materialistic and didn't have to buy a new article of clothing every time I made a trip to town. I can now go in a store and not feel the temptation to buy something every time. I can ignore the red clearance signs and just pick one thing. These past three months have been good for me. Unfortunately, I don't have a higher bank account balance due to my recent stomach issues, but my personal sense of accomplishment more than made up for it. So watch out malls! I'm free to shop again!!!

One room down, five more to go...

I am happy to announce that Phase One of declutter and organize my house is complete! The first task on my quest to organizational perfection was to attack (I mean that literally) our shared office/my art room. After browsing online and finding picture after picture of one perfectly organized office and craft room after another, I set it in my mind that I could do the same. I could make our office organized, pretty to look at and functional at the same time. When I set out to tackle this room, I never realized the amount of STUFF Marty and I had gathered over a year of marriage. Rolls of wrapping paper, acrylic paint bottles, a mountainous pile of Bluegrass Cellular pens and an endless supply of paper was the clutter that was taking over my life. There HAS to be a way to keep all the junk you need (and I was surprised how much of it we do need and couldn't just simply be thrown away) but keep it organized. With this in mind, my journey began. Target became my best friend. I picked up black media boxes, magazine holders and hanging file organizers for $3 apiece. I found a scrapbook storage box on sale for $2 thanks to a little nick in the side. Anything that looked halfway fashionable but could also double as storage and was cheap, I picked it up. I went through piles of old paperwork, magazines, newspaper clippings...wondering when I picked up the label of "packrat." Now that our stuff was organized, it was time to *gulp* paint. When we were in the process of buying our house, the builders had already painted most of the rooms when we entered the scene. They asked if I was okay with the color, and being the people-pleaser, conflict-avoider I am, I said it was just fine. And it is. It's a beautiful neutral shade of yellowish-tan that goes with almost everything in our house. Problem is, it's ALL over the house. When we started to move things out of the office, I saw the opportunity for color. A trip to Lowe's was planned. I practically skipped to the paint section, imagining all the possibilities. I drooled over Coral Passion, I fell in love with Tantalizing Teal and fantasized about Limolicious. When the time came to make a color purchase, I realized one very important thing: I am scared of color. Sure, Coral Passion looks beautiful on a 2"x4" card, but how's it going to look covering 4 walls of my room? What if I hate it?? How do I know what color is going to look good and make the room appear bigger than what it really is? Reluctantly, I left the paint section uncommitted to any certain shade and more confused than ever before. I showed my favorite paint samples and took a poll of several people and realized that I just needed to go for it...or in the words of my sister "Go big or go home." Yes, I may hate the color, but repainting the walls is an option (not one I would look forward to, but still an option). And if I don't take a risk, how will I ever know if it would have paid off? To Lowe's I returned. Two coats of Laguna Green later, I'm ecstatic. The black and white furniture looks AMAZING against the turquoise-y color and I couldn't be happier. Phase One is complete. :)

De-clutter....or else!

Ask anyone. At work, I am one of those insanely, super, sickeningly organized people. There is not a stray paperclip, loan document or manilla folder to be found. Everything is labeled, alphabetized and filed neatly away. I take pride in leaving my desk completely spot free at the end of everyday. If I need a paper, I know exactly where to find it at a moment's notice. Clutter sends me into a mini-panic and I quickly find a place for things that are set on my desk. I confess that I am semi-OCD when it comes to my workspace. I was never like this before. In college, I was too busy with extra-curricular activities, a part time job and college in general, that I really didn't care what my room looked like. Knick-knacks, papers, college books and dirty clothes were the story of my life. Now that I feel like an adult instead of a sloppy college student, I have shed my unorganized ways and my office is a true testament to the super organized person I strive to be. A few days ago, I had a customer walk into my office and promptly announce "Now THIS is what I want my office to look like." I beamed with pride. But then it made me think....what if she saw my house?? Would should wish she had the organization that I display in my home, or lack thereof? I spend 8 hours a day being OCD at work that by the time I make it home, I don't have the energy to be super organized there as well. When the customer complimented my uber-organization at work, I realized that I should be this organized at home too. I feel good when I'm at work, knowing that everything has a place. Shouldn't I feel just as good at home? So, I'm embarking on a major organizational overhaul. Focusing on one room at a time, I am going to make my way through my home, figuring out what works, what doesn't and most importantly, THROWING THINGS AWAY. Is it really necessary that I saved birthday cards from my 16th birthday? Or the map from Disney World where Marty and I got engaged? Yes, they're sentimental and I enjoyed looking at them, but in the end all it does is make for extra clutter. And in a fairly small house, clutter is not a good thing. This week begins "Operation Declutter-Organize-and Feel Good about my House." Task number one: attacking our office/my art room. At the risk of having all of you judge me, here are the before pictures, just so we can measure my growth:

As you can see, our office is kind of the catch-all room for everything. I had to move my dresses into the office because
there wasn't enough room in the master bedroom closet. Papers pile up in the desk drawers, books get shoved on the bookshelf, my art supplies sit out haphazardly around the room. In short, this room drives me absolutely insane. It makes the organized, OCD me want to scream. But the tired, worn out, I have 6 loads of laundry to finish me just can't find the energy to even begin. I began sorting through papers, mementos and odds and ends last night. I had no idea I was such a packrat. I took a trip to Target and purchased media boxes, file folders and magazine holders to help me in my quest to de-clutter. I organized my books and clothing and found my Helping Hand/yard sale pile growing larger by the minute. I organized file folders into paid bills, tax information and little newspaper clippings I couldn't bring myself to throw away. I can have mementos, as long as I have them organized. I am going to do this. To help me along, I've found some inspirations, thanks to google. I WILL have my office looking like some of these. If these ladies can be this ridiculously organized in their own homes, why can't I? Enjoy drooling over these pictures like I did:

It amazes me that they can mix organization, function and elegance in an office! I always thought of an office to be a place where your junk piled up and you only visited it to get on the internet. Not anymore! I am going to make my office the portrait of organization and beauty. If you have any organizational secrets, you'd love to share, send them my way. I've got a blank canvas and I can't wait to fill it with ideas :) I'll keep you updated on my journey to perfection (organizational perfection, that is).