Keepin' it Simple

Right now we seem to be overloaded with things to do.  The kitchen ceiling still has a 13ft x 3ft section that is wide open.  We have no master bath as the toilet, sink and shower have all been demolished.  We are still awaiting estimates and willing contractors to come and actually do the work (surprisingly this is a challenge as they all seem to have plenty to do and don't show up).  One contractor actually appeared and will give us an estimate in the next week or so but that leaves us with one bath area for all five of us.  It's a little crazy, but I guess the upside is that there is only one bathroom to CLEAN, right?
My goal is to simplify things for our family (especially me).  I am just wearing too many hats and need to do fewer things better rather than a lot of things halfway.  It means that I turned down a deal on 15 pairs of shoes for kids in sizes 8-10 for a total of $15 the other day.  I don't have the space.  Nor do I have the mental capacity to keep track of shoes that far in advance.  They are still wearing sizes 5 and 1/2 to 7.  It  was a GREAT deal, but I said "no" and made sure to tell Troy that I did so because I know he thinks that I buy way too many "good deals" when we don't have the room and don't need to spend the money. 
He also suggested the other day that we try using paper plates for a while when feeding the kids.  We still handwash all of their dishes and that means about 2-3 times a day, I'm washing a pile of dishes, cups and toddler silverware.  I've tried the paper plate thing for 2-3 days and it does help reduce the stuff I have to deal with at the end of the day. 
I want to get  better at planning meals, shopping and couponing as well as using what we already have on hand.  Unfortunately, I'm afraid it's actually going to add to my already full plate, but in the long run, it will probably help the family as a whole.  We'll see how that goes.
So here is a picture of the simple life for now:

And here are the only pictures I got of the kids this evening while we played outside.  But I spent time playing with them instead of trying to photograph them, so this is all I have:

And that's my attempt at keeping it simple for today.  Tomorrow is another day.  I might not be helping the environment by using disposable plates, but for the moment it will help me get more done and have more time for the kids.  And later I will do my best to save some trees (or plant more). :)