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?

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!!!!!!

I have a game plan!!!

Okay, so this is the second post of the day. I've done so much since my last post, and still have so much to do to get my home where I want it. I've heard of people doing just fifteen minutes a day to keep their homes up, but they don't live with my kids. They have dirtied the same room three times now, so I've put them to work.

I came across a website some time ago and revisited it today. It's called flylady.net. The way these women do it is by forming routines, or habits. They're big on "not being behind, but starting right where you are". Their program splits up the home into zones, and you work on these zones throughout the week, while doing your usual upkeep of the home. In other words, your home gets a deep clean every month, rather than just your typical spring cleaning.

Another huge focus is getting dressed to lace up shoes as soon as you get up. In other words, get up, get dressed all the way to your shoes (including hair and face) before starting anything else for the day. Now, I don't know about doing my hair and face first thing in the morning, but there's no reason I can't get dressed, brush my hair and teeth and have my shoes on before I start my coffee or wake up the kids. I mean, really, how long does it take to throw on some clothes and run a brush through your hair. Granted, we start our day at 6am, but that's no excuse for looking like a slob every day!

Okay, so there's my game plan. While I'm working the steps on Flylady.net, I will also tackle one project every day. I have so many projects that need to be done, anything from socks to be darned (yes, I do this. I see no reason to throw them out if the elastic is still good in them), to walls that still need to be painted. We've lived in this house for over a year and I still haven't finished painting.

Here's the deal: I will post a pic of what I'm wearing and what project I've tackled every day (or at least I will try to. I do work from home as a published author, and writing must be done in order to get paid). I will also post what I've accomplished on the Flybaby list for the day. I hope you will join me in reclaiming my life!

Have a great New Year's!