The end is nigh!

Relax! I meant the end of the year. Yeah, I do think I'm funny. Anyway, the point of this post:

You can pretend all you want that you don't make them, but we all think about the changes we can make in each new year. Honestly, it'd be silly NOT to find ways to grow. Last year, I began the great purge of 2014...the purge is still going. Every single time I bring something new in, two things go out. If I come across something that I don't use, don't love, or have no sentimental tie to...gone. Slowly yet surely I'm minimizing all the clutter in our home.

So what do I plan on implementing this year? Actually, there are two major things I'm going to be working on (and of course work on losing the weight I gained during the holidays).

The first one is:

I have so many rooms that I haven't finished painting, so many projects laying around the house just begging to be finished!

The second one, and one so many people try every single year is:

This is something I've been pecking at for a while. It's hard to get organized, though, when you still have entirely too much junk in your home. In the meantime, I've come across this blog at Bits Of Everything. She has some fabulous downloadable printouts to help get your day organized. My problem is I try to finish one thing and then....

Just like so many THOUSANDS, TENS of thousands - okay, a majority of the population - I get distracted by so many things. Just today my husband and I were discussing why I don't work out at home. I would go into my room to change and make the bed. Of course, then I would notice the glass from the night before and would take it into the kitchen. In the kitchen is the breakfast dishes...so on and so forth. You get the point. You do it, too.

Earlier in the year I started using a housekeeping binder. The Retro Housewife has some awesome posts and videos on building your own cleaning schedule and homemaking binder. Once you get one aspect of your life organized, other things start to fall into place seamlessly.

I want to know what you're planning for the new year? Do you outwardly make New Year's Resolutions, or do you just know you'll be adding something new to help you grow as a person each year/month/whatever?

Pictures and Progress as Promised!!!

I've worked non stop for the past three days, today making four. I'm moving a little slower today as I'm pretty sore from all the trips up and down the stairs with bags full of everything from excess clothing, to fabric, even reptile supplies from when I had a reptile rescue years ago. I have one Iguana now and have no intention of getting anymore reptiles. So, if it's not used or loved, out the door it goes.

One van load, and there are bags on the kids' laps!

 

 

This was our first trip to a donation center, and there were two large garbage cans and about a dozen garbage bags full. I'm not even close to being finished yet. I can't wait!!!! Once it's all done and I've purged the clutter out of my home I can focus on finishing painting projects and such, not to mention my sewing projects I've been putting off simply because I couldn't find anything or even get to my sewing machine!

 

How is your great purge of 2013 going? Any progress?



Day 1 of the FLYlady challenge starts tomorrow.

I'm posting this tonight so that those of you interested can follow along and implement this into your own life. Supposedly, by following these steps you create habits for yourself. Of course, this isn't an exact science, and she doesn't promise to change your life, after all it's up to us to stick to it. This challenge will last thirty days at which I will post my results and sum up my experience.

Okay, so tomorrow is Monday. Here is what we're supposed to do, starting with waking up. The very first habit we are supposed to implement is shining your sink every morning and night. In other words, just make sure to dry out the sink when you're finished using it.

Monday is Home Blessing Hour. Here's the deal: you can only spend about ten minutes on each chore, thus taking approximately an hour to complete. Here's the list for the Blessing Hour:

Vacuum - center of the room only. No lifting furniture or getting on your knees to get all the crevices.

Dust - this is done with a feather duster, not deep and dirty dusting.

Quick Mop - supposed to be a damp mop, not carry a bucket around the house

Polish Mirrors and Doors - you can't be caught scrubbing. You're just cleaning these things.

Purge magazines/catalogs - self-explanatory

Change Sheets - Nice to have a specific day to do this each week. I've done my sheets twice in a week because I couldn't remember which day I'd done them.

Empty all trash cans - again, self-explanatory. I always recommend grabbing a garbage bag and emptying each can into it instead of carrying each can outside.

Seems simple enough, right? The real challenge to this is not trying to do everything at one time. You're supposed to stop with these chores at the end of ten minutes. We'll see how many of us can discard our perfectionist/defeatist personalities and stick to the plan. For more details on this, go here.

Also, there are zones we work in each week. If the method works the way it's supposed to you're not supposed to ever really need to spring clean again. Because we spend time on each zone, really purging unnecessary items and deep cleaning it's pretty much done on a regular basis instead of once or twice a month. So, this week's zone is Entrance, Front Porch, and Dining Room. Go to the link to get the details on this zone.

Here's the instructions:

 

Zone 1: Mission #1 Monday 

 We are in Zone 1 this week, that is the Front Porch, the Entrance area and the Dining Room.

Today you are to sweep your front porch area around your front door. Shake out your welcome mats and wipe down your front door. This makes a huge difference in how your home looks. We have a tendency to neglect this area and yet it is the first thing that people see when they come to your home.

Spend 15 minutes taking care of this, you will be pleased with the results!

I don't want to have to tell you every single word on this site, so make sure you go to Flylady's site and read everything. I would definitely do this when you don't have anything pressing; I got carried away soaking everything in for hours one night! lol Happy flying, and wish me luck!

Time to Make the List!!!

Going with my new theme of getting things done, and sticking to it, I've decided to make a list of major to-do's around the home. These are not major remodels, or even major repairs, but little projects I've neglected or put off out of sheer laziness. Of course, at the time I didn't call it laziness; I always had an excuse for something getting put off - laundry needs to be folded (even if I never got to it), my book needs to be finished (instead I'd play on the Internet)...you get the point.

So, without further adieu, here's the list. (pics of before and after to come later):

1. Living room needs to be painted. Already painted two walls, but it would be nice to finally finish.
2. Started "antiquing" my dining room chairs. Now, I have six chairs with four different colors.
3. Ceiling tiles in the basement really need to be rehung, and some more need to be bought for the rest of the spaces.
4. Chimney REALLY needs to be cleaned before I start a fire!
5. Tupperware and kitchen appliance cabinet needs to be organized.
6. Plastic needs to be hung over the rest of the windows.
7. Bathroom closet needs to be cleaned and organized.
8. Curtain in hall bath need to be hung.
9. New toilet seat for hall bath.
10. I have three patterns and fabric of dresses and aprons I bought and never finished.
11. Do you realize how much outdated makeup I have?
12. Garage needs to be cleaned. I had intended to have a garage sale over the summer and it flopped. I still have BAGS of clothing to take to the Goodwill. Plus, my poor husband can never find any of his tools due to my bad habit of just tossing the tools on the closest shelf.
13. Front porch needs to be cleaned off. (This is actually on this week's Flylady schedule.)
14. My coupon stash is out of control and desperately needs to be filed properly!

That's all I can think of at the moment. It's hard to think clearly when kids are constantly talking to you! I'm sure you can all sympathize.

Happy New Year!!!!!!