Simple Solutions

For a while now I have been hounding my hubs to get a "recycling center"... fancy for " small bins to throw your trash in at home until you take your trash somewhere else to throw in bigger bins". Yea, so it took me a while to come to the realization on the whole "seriously, they are just bins" idea. I thought I needed the ones with labels, holes specific to what you were throwing in the bin, color coordinated, slanted lids, yada yada...you know bells and whistles. But once again, "seriously, they are just bins".

So, shortly after Christmas, the hubs and I made our way to Lowe's because, of course, what happens after Christmas...SALES! We weren't specifically looking for anything that had to do with recycling. But we were looking for things to help us get organized. Along the way we came across a great deal on bins like these...
Regularly this little ditty is about $14 and we snagged it (along with as many we could find and thought we might have a use for) for only $5!! Five buckaroos, is way cheaper than any piece of a recycling center I could find.

As for labels, well my handy dandy label maker set to the largest letter option worked fine for me.

A grand total of $20 later, plus a few labels and my recycle center was up a running. It may not be as small as other options, but it saved me a good chunk of change and the bins are big enough to hold all the garb that we are throwing in until we can make it to the "bigger bins" to unload!

Hope this inspires some simple solutions around your ranch! Do you have any to share? Until next time...

PS- there has been some progress on the buffet redo...more to come on that later!

All wrapped up

Another Holiday season, New Year celebration....another year, all wrapped up. I really can't believe it is 2011, already. I feel like I just graduated from high school, just finished college, just got married... Time passes so quickly. I'm sure there were millions of resolutions made this New Year, usually all along the lines of eat better, work out, drop a bad habit, read more, etc. I won't lie, I'm right there with everyone else when it comes to cliche resolutions. In fact, mine were 3 of the 4 that I mentioned. But recent events, have forced me to push my focus in a different direction this year. While I still want to eat better, work out more, and all of that, I want to do it with different purpose.

Time does pass quickly and before you know it all the things we allow ourselves to get so wrapped up in aren't such a big deal anymore. The world has presented so many things to distract us from the simple beauty's, truth's, and joy's in life. It's easy to forget, or better yet...overlook, that which is supposed to mean the most to us. I am guilty. I need to refocus.

God, family, true friends, simplicity...this is where I resolve to keep my focus in 2011. I'm not saying it won't be easy to get distracted, it's always easy to stray. But I am entering the year knowing this is my goal and knowing that on the other end is real happiness.

I hope your New Year celebration was blessed and the blessing continues through the entire year. Resolutions are just decisions until they are put into motion. So it's time to get moving. Thanks for stopping in, until next time.

Take the time to smile :0)

Sometimes I find it's easy to get lost in the "do this's" and "don't do that's" of the day to day schedule we create for ourselves. It's easy to become a creature of habit and repetitive motion. For example, each morning I have a routine...a schedule...I have to keep otherwise I wouldn't be able to meet my next scheduled happening of the day. (Now that I am thinking about it, I am actually ashamed to say that I know the exact amount of time it takes me to brush my teeth, to put on my makeup (in the same order every time), to dry my hair, to decide what it is I will be wearing for the day, and the list goes on and on. Am I alone?) I wish it weren't that way. I wish I could wake up chirpy and ready for the day, routine met or unmet, and really be ready to take in the day. Even as I am writing this I am thinking, 'That's what I'll do tomorrow...I'm gonna do it...just get up and go with the flow!' But there is also a small voice saying, 'Yea, right!'.

Ok...I'm ranting...anyway...

So, really my point of this post, as mentioned in the title, is to share something what made me smile this evening. As usual, I had my plans all worked out, I knew exactly what I was going to be doing and I even made a list to check off. It all started wonderfully...and then I changed my mind. I stressed for a split second and then I decided to go with the flow of the evening and see what happened. Even though I didn't get the 50 loads of laundry done that were on my list (no, really...you should see my laundry room I'm pretty sure there are close to 50 loads down there) and I didn't vacuum, dust, clean windows, etc...I survived the night and even better than if I had done all those things. Because I decided I would run with what presented itself to me I was able to spend time with a couple great friends over supper (BIG SMILE there) and I was able to catch up with another great friend later on (another BIG SMILE).

Sometimes just letting life unfold and taking the time to set your "list" down is totally worth it. I know lists are necessary at times to make smiles happen, but I guess what I just realized is that you can't let the list create blinders for the "smiles" that are already there waiting to happen. Whether it is something waiting to make you smile or something you might do to make someone else smile.

I know in about a week (probably more like a day) I will be totally reverted back to list making and schedule keeping...but I hope I will be more able to notice all the little things that are there waiting to bring out smiles.

What about you? Have you been wearing "blinders"? What is something you have been meaning to do or say to someone else that would make them smile? Maybe its something as simple as giving someone a call after so many years to say, "Hey." or taking the time to send someone a letter who wouldn't expect it. Maybe its realizing you do need a break to watch the sun set with a glass of wine or finding time to read that book you have been wanting to dive into. It's not an easy task with all the pressures and demands of what surrounds us...but I hope this post helps you to find the time to create your own smile or pass one on. :0)

xoxo
~HAL