Keeping myself busy...

I have been working really hard around the house these past couple of weeks. I have gotten a crazy amount of things done, and much more to do.

This past Sunday, we went to Jamie's mom's house, and took a ton of starts from her garden.  We then came back and planted them (making for a busy mothers day for us). 

Im excited, they all seem to be doing really well, which I was worried about since they were transplants.

We got Lilly of the Valley, antique Irises, and some ferns for the hill in our backyard.

I also got some mint and lemon mint, which you can dry and steep to add to tea flavoring.

Pretty excited about that.

We were also given some palm tree sprouts from their trip to Florida.  

Jamie's super excited about them (I'm not holding out much hope for their life in Indiana, though.)

But, we did get a patio mandarin tree from a local greenhouse that I am pretty pumped about.  It is bred to  be fairly small, but still yield mandarins.  You just have to bring it inside during the winter.

I'm pretty happy with it, although it will be a few years before we will have fruit. 

I also did the semi-annual great Goodwill purge.  

It was nuts.

I try to go through all of my clothes twice a year, once at the beginning of summer, and once at the beginning of winter, and get rid of anything I haven't worn in a year.

I pulled everything out of my drawers and closet, and created piles based on the type of clothes (winter/summer) and whether I was keeping them or not.  Then I reorganize them when I put them back.

This is my closet afterwards,

And this is the bag I'm giving to Goodwill.  Woah.

Now back to the yard.  

I finally have my garden!!

Jamie tilled it yesterday while I was at work, and I came home and planted it.

Tada!

It is so awesome.

There is Sweet Corn, Asparagus, Strawberries, Green Beans, Lettuce, Basil, Oregano, and Parsley.

I also left room for one tomato plant, one onion plant, and one pepper plant, so Jamie can make salsa, so I should be adding those soon.

There will also eventually be a fence, we can't seem to agree on what kind we want.

I love that I finally have my garden, and am looking forward to fresh veggies.

I'm also planning something big. Composting. 

Instead of writing it out, check out these articles

Here

and

Here

if you want to know more about it. 

This is my plan for building my composting bin, which there are about a million of.

Pretty basic, just some chicken wire to hold it together, and I'm going to put stakes in it to make it more stable, and a lid to keep critters out. 

We already have a huge amount of yard waste to use, and we've been keeping the bag in the area where we are going to build the bin.

I've also started collecting kitchen waste, which I have quickly realized we go through much faster than I thought.  

Once I get the bin built, It will be relatively easy to maintain.

I'm really excited about this. 

It makes me feel good to know that I'm doing something to keep my garden organic, and reduce waste.

So this has essentially consumed my life lately.

I've been working really hard on it, and still have a lot to do.

But, I feel very accomplished.

I need this right now,

as it's a problem in other areas of my life.

Like school.

I'll get to that another day, though, the wounds are still a bit to fresh.

For now, I just want the rain to stop, so I can work on my yard again!

♥