Embracing Change at the Thomas's

Ok, so let's just address the 'Elephant in the room' right now since I'm sure there has been some interest peeked, and one or two conspiracy theories are already circling through the CBC Grapevine.

No, we are not pregnant.

No, I'm not quitting my job and staying home. 

No, we have not finally found a home to purchase. 

There, now that we have that settled I want to share what I am excited and proud of, despite the fact that some might feel like they are anti-climatic.

We are one week into a month without purchasing paper plates or plastic cups

One week into washing the dishes after each meal

I expected my kitchen to be cleaner from doing the dishes and to save money from not purchasing the paper products,and have less trash, however I did not realize the impact these two things would have on the rest of our house. I'm no longer collecting tons of dirty disposables from every room, and repeating the action every day.

I didn't realize I was spending as much time collecting trash as I now spend doing one load of dishes by hand. Conveniences. Perhaps this post should have been titled The Inconveniences of Conveniences.

So, after years of having piles and piles of dishes, how did we finally get into a routine that (I feel) will be easy to maintain?

I kept one plate, cup, and bowl for each member of the family in our cupboard and then hid all of our other dishes.  This might sound a little off the wall or unconventional, but I had to do something and I've honestly seen a major difference. This way, we MUST wash our bowl when we are done with it or before the next time we use it. It keeps the amount of dishes that could possibly get dirty to a manageable amount and as a result that dreaded silent dish off battle between me and my hubs has been eliminated.

I actually did something similar with our laundry a few months back. I have made a concious effort to make sure the clothes we put in our drawers and hang in our closets are clothes we will actually wear or let the kids wear. Since then I've found it's much easier (not a piece of pie, but easier none the less) to keep the laundry washed and our bedroom floors clean. I still have trouble getting the whole process completed, but I'm doing better.

Another change is that we are in another exercise and diet phase. Not entirely surprising as this is our second attempt of 2011 but this time it's getting warmer out so we can do some of our exercise outside and we are both fired up and encouraged. It's been fun to compare notes and do a set of push-ups or crunches together at the end of the day.

Finally, a very exciting 'change' is that in just a few weeks my hubby and I are turning a friends wedding into a special getaway weekend for ourselves. I am so excited to go explore a new city together, see the largest aquarium in the world, tour coca-cola, try new food, and sleep in together!  And amidst it all I'll get to see this beauty in her wedding dress and perhaps we can take a 'matching' picture.