One Year To An Organized Life - June Week One

Regina Leeds speaks about travel in the chapters for the month of June. We are not planning on doing any traveling any time soon, but I am not going to skip this month. My reading and implementing will be more relaxed, but there are many principles to be applied and thought through.

Growing up in a family with 3 brothers, and living on the road for up to 6 weeks each summer, Mom taught me a lot about packing light. (I was just reading Week One for June in Leeds' book and it talks about packing light.) Everyone got one small suitcase. We had camping gear and activities for in the van. We had display items and videos. The minivan was always packed to the ceiling, under the seats and between kids. We washed clothes once a week while away (she washed once a week at home too; not sure how she managed it!) She would put one day's worth of clothing in a one gallon zip closed bag, suck all the air out of it and pack it into the bag. She'd follow that with 6 more little bags. And then the extras - jammies, swimming suits, cosemetics. With 6 people living out of a minivan for a month and a half, she found every trick in the book.

Now DH and I have just worked around that idea and always had a vehicle that has too much room! I pack way way way too much stuff for our family (or at least I have until this point). I pack strollers and baby carriers. I pack clothes for 2 weeks, easy. I pack toys and more diapers than we'll need. More meds than we could use, just in case. Our suburban has always been over full.

Time to start thinking and packing like my mom and like Regina Leeds suggests. I think my family and I will be happier. I'll have less laundry and less stress trying to keep track of everything. Now, granted, there are 7 of us and even small amounts of everything is going to add up, but I think I can learn to curt tail it a little.

Leeds asks us to make 3 (I think) lists in this chapter to get us thinking about what we pack and why. I'll have to go back through and read what those entail again.

I especially enjoyed the section of the chapter where Regina tells of her parents allowing her to plan a trip overseas. She had to do it all; all the planning, requests for information, scheduling flights, booking hotels and transportation, getting the needed ID and shots and other paperwork. As a "life is learning" mom, I love love love this idea! What a great learning experience. One trip (my Dad's idea since he was young!)that has been discussed in our home (both mine growing up and since J and I have been married) is a cross country trip on horse back. (We live in Canada.) We may just have to do it yet! Our kids are so little yet that expecting them to plan it right now would be out of the question, but in a few years. Planning is one of the steps toward doing!

Striving to learn and live God's purposes,