Skip to main content

Uncluttered Course? Baby Step #2 Update.


I am contemplating as to whether I should sign up for Joshua Becker's Uncluttered Course.

I've tried two other decluttering courses before. The first one I tried, I ended up asking for a refund within an hour. I listened to the whole course, but it just wasn't for me. It mentioned what should be thrown away, but didn't cover much of the emotional aspect of getting rid of things, which is what I struggle the most with. It's not that I need to be given suggestions of what to give away, I need to work through the emotional attachment and fear I have of giving away of things that are deemed important to me.

The next course I took was in written format, and did cover the emotional aspect a bit more, so it was a bit more helpful. But again, I feel like for my own needs I need to really work through that part a bit more.

The deadline for the fall course ends tomorrow night I believe, so I will have to decide by then. 😶We have donated over 20 bags within the past year, but I really feel that I can/should get rid of a little more. As I've mentioned before, getting rid of my daughter's belongings is where I struggle the most. My current struggle is baby clothes. I've been able to get rid of most, but there are some outfits I am having a very hard time letting go of. If I sign up for this course, I really hope is goes into depth about that kind of stuff.

Speaking of getting rid of stuff, we have paid off $4200.52 worth of debt so far since beginning Baby Step #2 (end of Mayish?). We still have a ways to go, but it is nice to see things being paid off. We did this on mostly one income. I just returned to work three weeks ago after maternity leave and was able to contribute about $700 this last paycheck (after other necessities had been paid). I also have been making about $300 a month with selling Norwex, so I've also been able to contribute that, but I've only been selling that for about two months. So paying off this debt thus far has mostly been on one income.
Some of the things we've done to achieve this include the following:

  • We put our cable on hold, and may discontinue it all together. 
  • We take some used clothes from my teen and baby to a store that takes them in for store credit. With this we've been able to buy gifts for other kiddos' birthdays by shopping on store credit. 
  • I didn't get my eyebrows waxed for about six months. 
  • I got my hair cut for free at a community college (I still tipped). I also got a pedicure there too this summer for $7. 
  • Husband has been packing more lunch for work and barely uses his weekly pocket money. 
  • We keep the air at a reasonable temperature so our electricity bill isn't too high. 
  • I've been using Norwex for over two years (only been selling for two months) and we were only buying paper towels every three months or so because husband likes them. Well, since we were on one income while I was on maternity leave, we haven't bought paper towels in about seven months. The EnviroCloth suffices and saves us money.
  • We check ads and shop at two stores (mostly Trader Joe's and Sprouts), sometimes three if another store is having a good deal on eggs mostly. We keep our budget to $160 a week for groceries because we do want to eat healthy and not buy too much unhealthy food just because it's cheaper.
  • We use reusable diapers when we are at home to save one spending money on throw aways.
  • Most importantly, we budget. We budget and quickly subtract whatever we have spent. We are using the Dave Ramsey suggested app of EveryDollar. It has been helpful, but we enter paychecks as we get them and bills in the order of when they are due. 
  • **** I also forgot to mention that I worked as an extra on Better Call Saul and Graves. That was lots of fun! That money also helped us out. 
I do miss being home 😞but I keep reminding myself we are going to be debt free sooner rather than later now.

***Has anyone out there taken the Joshua Becker course? Would you recommend it??


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Decluttering-Getting Rid of Facebook

I have a month left of maternity leave. To say that I'm overwhelmed is an understatement. I've spent the last year decluttering my house. I recently realized that I need to declutter my social media as well. I don't have a Twitter or Instagram. I only recently got a Snap Chat. I joined a decluttering group about a month ago. At first it was very helpful. I was glad to find other people who were on the same journey as I. I noticed a few shared blogs of their journeys. I thought that was a fantastic idea and shared three posts of my own. It was then announced that posting your own blog wouldn't be allowed. I panicked. I felt like I was in trouble, that I did something wrong. I am in a state right now where I am struggling postpartum so what some may have seen as not a big deal, was a big deal to me. I apologized for sharing my blog, trying to explain that my own posts would be too long so that's why I shared it. But I continued to panic, and with fight or flight, I...
1 comment
Read more

Teachers: Enjoy Your Parental Leave

This time last year, I was planning for every day that I would be on maternity leave. My due date was August 25, so I would only be with my kids for two weeks before I would be gone. I worked tirelessly, uploading lessons to  tes.com , so all the substitute would have to do was hit "play" on the slideshows. I got copies made, planned on speaking with my substitute weekly (which I did), and thought I would also connect with the students somehow if I read their journals and wrote them back, along with their personal narrative essays. I was going to take only two months off so that it would be like I was never absent. I ended up not going back . Prior to all of this, I asked other teachers what they did while on leave. Almost all said that they provided lesson plans and graded EVERYTHING while on leave. I also heard a horrifying story of a teacher mom who was getting phone calls while her baby was in NICU because the substitute couldn't find a binder with copies that...
Post a Comment
Read more

Seventh Generation Pod Laundry Detergent Review

I've been really interested in simplifying everything we use, including what we use in our surroundings. I've cut down on most things in the laundry room. I purchased some Norwex dryer balls two years ago and stopped using fabric softener. I tried using All Free & Clear, but found it would leave an odd smell to my clothes after. I started using Seventh Generation Dishwasher detergent; I purchased it from Sprouts and it came in a  box and is in loose powder form. It has lasted us quite a long time vs. the Sprouts pods we were using! We are very much all about saving money while using better products for our family, so I thought that if the dishwasher detergent was great deal, then I'd like to try the laundry detergent. I looked up the company and they have a program called Generation Good  that will let you try free samples if you give a review of their product after. So I reached out because I wanted to try them. I'm not getting paid or anything like that, I j...
Post a Comment
Read more