Fluff the Nest Friday: Purgo!

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a FTNF! But this post today is about more than a fluff. Let’s talk New Year’s PURGE!

The Latin word PURGO means “I clean; I purge“.

It’s not just a fluff. It’s a total cleaning out. It’s where our English word PURE is derived. And this week I’ve been working on purifying my 4-H: my house, my homeschool, my health, and my heart.

We usually start our second semester of homeschooling the week immediately following New Year’s Day, but having been out of town New Year’s week, I wasn’t able to get my usual mid-school year cleaning out and reorganizing accomplished. I know from experience that when I start a semester before my house, homeschool, health, and heart are ready, I feel defeated from the start and I’m playing catchup the entire semester. So, I prayerfully decided to give myself one more week before starting back to school, and asked God’s blessing on my time and efforts. I told my homeschoolers that they too had one more week of holiday break, but it would be a work week for me, so I would not be available to entertain them. They (mainly speaking of the youngest child here 😉) were not to ask me to set up playdates, make trips to stores, or start fun projects that involved me. I know that sounds harsh, but I can be a softy sometimes so I had to set my boundaries, and they had plennnnnty to keep them busy with numerous Christmas gifts of toys, books, kits, and crafts.

I also told myself that if God and my children were going to allow me one more week, I needed to stay focused and make good use of the time. Anytime I started to get distracted, God gave me a gentle reminder to stay on task and keep plugging along. Before our beach trip I deactivated my Instagram account for at least through January, and that helped a lot!

So, here’s what got accomplished, and this is not me bragging about myself! God gifted me the time, energy, and drive to get ‘er done. I could never get this much completed on my own!!

House: Cleaned out closets, drawers, bathroom cabinets; hung some pictures back on my bedroom wall (from a summer painting project, yikes); filed the holiday recipes.

Homeschool: Completed semester reports and soccer registration for our cover school; cleaned out homeschool shelves, cabinets, and drawer; returned completed books to the attic; rotated our den books; mapped out our second semester subjects and lessons.

Health: Cleaned out the the pantry, fridges, and freezers of all the holiday junk and sugar; set some health goals for the new year; made healthy menus and grocery list (I usually take January to get us back on cleaner whole foods.); resumed my usual morning exercise routine (I did keep this up as much as possible through the holidays but not perfectly consistent.)

Heart: Cleaned out my Bible study corner; selected my Bible reading plan for the year; freshened up my prayer journal; finished reading a book about friendships. Most importantly, I’ve soaked in the Word and prayed a lot about the new year, asking God to help me declutter down to my soul, and consider all that needs to be weeded out from my heart and mind.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Psalm 51:10

So, it’s now Friday, and with the Lord’s help, I’ve marked off most of the items on my list, the kids have made great use of those Christmas gifts, annnd it was without tv or movies all week! They were real champs! They let me zoom through my to-do list while they immersed themselves in their own little worlds of books and projects and exploration and rest.

Today I’m working on my laundry room and coffee cabinet, and then over the next couple of weeks I’ll work on my kitchen cabinets and drawers in 15-minute increments a day until they’re completed.

We start school Monday, and I’m ready!