June 21, 2017

Organizing (and Wednesday Weigh-in)

What an exhausting day!

I'm only starting to write this at 10:00 pm. When I woke up this morning, I remembered it was Wednesday Weigh-in, but that feels like a million years ago. This has been such a long day.

I know I've said this before, but ever since my bipolar diagnosis and new medication, I've felt like a different person. In a great way! I have had SO much more energy, but not in a crazy/manic way like before. I just don't have the desire to sit and do nothing--right after breakfast, I want to work on a project or just get stuff done.

And somehow, my new "hobby" has been cleaning and organizing. It sounds so weird, but I actually really enjoy my daily cleaning routine (nothing major, but I look forward to folding and putting away laundry, cleaning out the litter box (!!), dusting, etc). Most of all, I enjoy organizing.

Before the medication, when I was in a hypomanic state, I would pick a project around the house to start, feeling excited and charged; and then I'd lose steam and never finish it. Now, I am able to focus on a task and complete it, which has been awesome! I've gotten almost my entire house organized now, just by taking on one project at a time over the last couple of months.

Today, I decided to organize photographs (the actual printed photos, not digital). As I was grabbing photos from several different places they'd been tucked away, I pulled out a big box of stuff that I have saved for memorabilia. I call it a "memory box", and it's just full of notes Jerry has given me, mementos from when I was a kid, my old school newspapers that I wrote articles for, copies of the magazines I've been in, etc.

Side note: Did I post this here yet? I can't remember. Sometimes I post on Instagram and think it was on the blog, and vice versa. Anyway, I walked into the pantry on one random day last week, and I noticed Jerry had taped all these hearts to the wall. On each one, he wrote something cute or funny. I couldn't believe how much time he'd spent on it! He had been up all night because he was on a midnight shift, so he worked on it during the night.



He's always been very corny, and that's one of the things I love most about him. We've been married for nearly 14 years and together for over 18 years, and he still does this stuff.

Anyway, the memory box was a huge mess, as I usually just throw things in there whenever I come across something I want to keep. So, I emptied and sorted it. Look at the mess in my living room as I was sorting photos! The memory box is in the bottom right, and I hadn't even started taking those things out yet.


Actually, that doesn't even look bad. I should have taken a picture later, when you couldn't even see the carpet!

It felt good to get all of that done. Then I went out to return some stuff to different stores (still trying to come up with as much money as possible for Eli's orthodontics) before making dinner and going to the boys' baseball game. That's another thing I've been really focused on lately--our budget. It's actually been kind of fun! We've never followed a budget for more than a day or two before, and this time, we've been at it for three weeks. It's been going really well, too.

I've discovered how much I used to buy out of impulse. It didn't matter where I was, I would always think, "Oh, we need this" or "We need that". But the reality is, we didn't need those things at all. Also, instead of buying things for the kids, we've started giving them allowance and they have to use their allowance to buy what they want (obviously, we provide their necessities). Jerry and I also give ourselves an allowance to use on things that aren't really necessary (I bought a few pairs of shorts at Salvation Army, for example, and Jerry buys his beloved craft beer). Having a certain amount of money to spend on things really makes me stop and think about what I want/need.

I even typed out a bunch of recipes that my family enjoys and that are cheap to make, and I made a binder full of them. I shop once a week to get the groceries for those recipes, and nothing else. No impulse buys. I was shocked when I saw how much money we saved last week just by cutting out the unnecessary things.

I feel like I have so much to say! But it'll be all over the place, so maybe I'll just try and write a little several times this week, instead of throwing it all into one place. The gist for today is just that I actually enjoy cleaning and organizing, which is totally crazy. I also enjoy budgeting our expenses, and paying down debt. I truly feel like a different person than I was just four months ago!

Anyway, Wednesday Weigh-in was good...


At 133.2, I am basically back at my goal weight. I haven't cared much about it at all, but I do notice that I feel more confident. Yesterday, the kids were staying the night at my parents' house, so I decided to surprise Jerry by putting on some cute lingerie. When my weight was up, I never felt comfortable doing that, because I noticed in the mirror all of the places the extra weight was sitting, and even though Jerry couldn't care less about it, I felt self-conscious.

Yesterday, I felt really good. And Jerry wasn't complaining ;)

I have definitely noticed that staying busy has helped me not to binge eat or just eat out of boredom. Since I am pretty much constantly moving or working on something now, I only stop to eat when it's a regular mealtime, and I quickly get back to whatever I was working on. There were a couple of evenings where I was home by myself and I tried to just sit and watch a movie, and I found the urge to start snacking. I realized it was because I wasn't keeping busy. I knew I wasn't hungry, but I was bored.

Staying busy has been a huge factor in getting back to my goal weight. I still haven't run in a long time, and I don't miss it. (Not sure if you noticed the new header on my blog--but it'll be a filler until I decide what to do with my url). Instead, I stay busy and active in other ways, and I am enjoying it so much more.

Anyway, I am exhausted, and my bed is sounding so comfy right now. G'night!

8 comments:

  1. You are doing great....me?? Well, still figuring out control, portions, and life...ha!!

    I think I may be here awhile too...ha ha ha

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  2. Are you a Youtube watcher? There are a bunch of "organizing" vlogs! My very favorite is Clutterbug! She's practical, adorable, and quirky!

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  3. I looooove organizing too. I even helped my neighbors organize their garage the other week , they were telling me of you don't have to but I was happy to do so hehe It gives a great feeling accomplishment when it's done. Oh and when I go over now, I look around to see if they keep it up lol

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  4. AnonymousJune 22, 2017

    I love organizing and I just finished work as a teacher and can't wait to tackle some projects around the house. It is a good feeling! Thank you for always being so inspiring!

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  5. I love organizing too! One of my favorite projects that I have worked on lately is putting all my recipes in Evernote, and getting rid of the three ring binder I had bursting with print copies of recipes. Evernote is cloud based, so you can even pull it up on your phone at the store to figure out what ingredients you need for a recipe. Try it, you will love it!

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  6. I noticed the header. RAN for cookies, lol! I feel the same way. I used to be such an avid runner, but after losing interest in it, I do not miss it AT ALL. I find activities like hiking or even the gym way more enjoyable!

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  7. You sound so "adult". The person you were, resonates with me so well. And the new you sounds like what I imagine Instagram curators of their image live like. Or people who Only post the best pics on Facebook or do podcasts. I just have no memory of ever being that productive or "adult"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmm, I'm not sure if you meant that in a good way or a bad way... but as long as I don't feel like I did a few months ago, I am beyond happy to be "adult"!

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