I previously posted a To Do List and I even thought that it might be interesting to post a daily to do list as the subject of a blog. A way for people to see what another person thinks are possible to accomplish in a single day. However, that isn't what this blog is about. Rather I think it will be an interesting concept to post a weekly to do list. So here is my to do list for the week of January 26, 2015:
Daily:
Wash, dry and put away the dishes
Laundry: wash, dry, fold and put away (as needed)
Sweep First and Second Floors
Make my bed
1 hour massage study
By Week's End:
1 task from my Weekly Organization/Declutter List
Business Proposal - draft letter to organization
Start Valentines Crafts
Complete Financial Aid Packet for Girls' Schooling
Keep in mind that this week my schedule looks like this:
Monday: out of the house 7:45am-5:30pm
Tuesday: out of the house 7:45-5:30pm
Wednesday: home
Thursday: home
Friday: out of the house 7:45-5:30pm
Saturday: out of the house 8:30-1:00pm
So what is on your to do list today? this week?
Showing posts with label home repair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home repair. Show all posts
Monday, January 26, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
A Simpler Way to Organize
As 2014 drew to a close I began to see pins, blog posts and facebook feeds about decluttering and organizing in 2015. Much of the organization was designed around the idea of tackling a small (something under 1 hour) task each and every day. This is a GREAT idea, but as we all know by now I have a hard time staying on track and missing a day or 10 would make me feel overwhelmed and even a bit like a failure. Then this caught my eye.
Victoria's idea seems so much more doable. To list out 52 things that can be accomplished simply by devoting a small amount of time to it each week. So I have decided to give her little challenge a try, but in my own way. I am not going to list out 52 projects (because it is already the middle of January) instead I have gone room to room to list the projects I want to accomplish to declutter. I will be done when I can walk through my home and NOT feel the need to declutter.
A home that is often messy is a sign of 1 of 2 problems. Problem 1: Too much stuff. If one has too much stuff then it tends to pile up. Problem 2: Too Little Space. If you have limited space then you have to decide is owning this item and giving up the precious real estate it is going to take up worth the item?
OK so there is one more possibility, that you have problem 1 and problem 2. In my 2000 square foot (living space not counting that same amount of non-living space) I do not have enough storage solutions and space AND I have too much stuff. I am an organize out, while Lu is an organize in.
Organize out means I like (need) to be able to see what I have, but I do want it to be organized. Organize in means that Lu doesn't want to see anything, but she wants where it is stored out of sight to be neat and easily accessible.
I also really, really like Victoria's rules, but I have to be Tree (Thank you Gretchen Rubin author of The Happiness Project) so I have set up my OWN rules:
3. Oven
4. White Rolling Cabinet
5. Built in Cabinets/Drawers
6. Baker's Rack
Breakfast Nook
7. Wire Rack #1
8. Wooden Rack
9. Wire Rack #2
Down Bathroom
10. Broken Chairs
11. Boxes
Dinning Room
12. Hutch
13. Display Case
14. Mantel and Bookcases
15. Table
Bedroom
16. My nightstand and corner Completed 1/26/2014
17. Top of dresser
18. Hub's nightstand and corner
Closet
19. Shelves
20. Laundry Basket
21. Milk crate
22. Rubbermade Tote
23. Briar Berry Bear's Basket
Up Office
24. Craft Table
25. Craft Bookcase
26. Boxes in front of Window #1
27. Dad's Bookcase
28. Boxes in front of Dad's Bookcase
29. Boxes in front of Window #2
30. Top of Desk
31. Under/in front of Desk
32. Shelf above hanging rod
33. Hanging Rod
34. Under Hanging Rod
35. Linen Closet
36. Stairwell Closet
37. Entry Closet
Front Porch
38. Exterior Wall Side
39. Interior Wall Side
40. Far Wall Side
Basement
41. E. Corner
42. W. Corner
43. N. Corner
44. S. Corner
45. Laundry Area
46. Chest Freezer
Basement Office
47. Desk Side
48. Sink Side
Attic
49. Attic Eve Storage
50. Attic Open Storage
This list can be edited as needed, adding items as I find them. While I will be posting new posts on my progress every Tuesday, I will be keeping tabs on this page with dates things are complete. Additionally, while I was looking for things to clean/organize/declutter in each room I could have also listed off items to be improved/repaired and I think I will start that list in pink in a new column and see how many tasks I come up with for that. The repair/improvement projects however are completely dependent on the financial situation at the time of the improvements.
So what do you think? Do you want to join us?
Victoria's idea seems so much more doable. To list out 52 things that can be accomplished simply by devoting a small amount of time to it each week. So I have decided to give her little challenge a try, but in my own way. I am not going to list out 52 projects (because it is already the middle of January) instead I have gone room to room to list the projects I want to accomplish to declutter. I will be done when I can walk through my home and NOT feel the need to declutter.
A home that is often messy is a sign of 1 of 2 problems. Problem 1: Too much stuff. If one has too much stuff then it tends to pile up. Problem 2: Too Little Space. If you have limited space then you have to decide is owning this item and giving up the precious real estate it is going to take up worth the item?
OK so there is one more possibility, that you have problem 1 and problem 2. In my 2000 square foot (living space not counting that same amount of non-living space) I do not have enough storage solutions and space AND I have too much stuff. I am an organize out, while Lu is an organize in.
Organize out means I like (need) to be able to see what I have, but I do want it to be organized. Organize in means that Lu doesn't want to see anything, but she wants where it is stored out of sight to be neat and easily accessible.
I also really, really like Victoria's rules, but I have to be Tree (Thank you Gretchen Rubin author of The Happiness Project) so I have set up my OWN rules:
One Week at a Time To A Simplified/Organized Home
- I can move ahead in my weekly list and the order the tasks are listed in is not the order I am moving through them. I will list what works for me.
- I will only save those items for resale if they will likely sell in my neighborhood garage sale the first weekend of June (rain date to apply). Victoria set a value for the items to be sold, but since I simply want the items to go to a good home I am pricing my items low $1 for most items. I do want to find a local thrift store that is NOT a VOA, Goodwill or Salvation Army Affiliate. (If anyone in my area knows of an independent thrift store that would accept good quality used items please let me know.) After my garage sale everything that does not sell is going straight to charity. I also know from experience that a garage sale with too many little items feels cluttered and overwhelming so I am going to make an effort to get rid of the little things as I go and not hold onto them. There will be no nickel boxes at my garage sale.
- I am setting up an area in the basement (as part of my office) for garage sale items. I do like this part of Victoria's rules: "I plan to date items with a sticky note when I place them in these boxes. I will go through them at the end of each month and any item that have been in them for longer than 4 weeks must be sold that very day, or it is off to the thrift store they go. No exceptions no matter what the value of the item." However, I plan to list items regularly on a Facebook page that I am part of. Those items will be up for sale on the FB page for two weeks. At the end of the two weeks they will get tagged for my community garage sale. At the end of my community garage sale EVERYTHING that didn't sell will go to charity.
- Victoria's approach to look at the items as if she was moving is one that I can completely embrace, but I am going to ask myself when the last time I used the item, when I can use the item and is there something else I can substitute?
- Like Victoria I need to respect the stage of life I am in. To this end I want to set a deadline on the items that I plan to use or craft with. Ideally I am setting a one month time frame. If within one month's time I have not found the time to craft with the item I am going to immediately donate it. I am not allowing myself to keep those items for garage sale purposes because I feel that I would not truly be decluttering and organizing.
I also like that Victoria is keeping herself accountable by posting weekly about her attempts and successes, so I plan to join her in that regard. I will be posting about my weekly attempt to declutter and organize on Tuesdays. I will also link to her weekly post so if you are interested you can see how she is doing as well. Here is my current weekly list, room by room:
Living Room:
1. Television Cabinet and Wii Game Basket
Kitchen:
2. Fridge/Freezer3. Oven
4. White Rolling Cabinet
5. Built in Cabinets/Drawers
6. Baker's Rack
Breakfast Nook
7. Wire Rack #1
8. Wooden Rack
9. Wire Rack #2
Down Bathroom
10. Broken Chairs
11. Boxes
Dinning Room
12. Hutch
13. Display Case
14. Mantel and Bookcases
15. Table
Bedroom
17. Top of dresser
18. Hub's nightstand and corner
Closet
19. Shelves
20. Laundry Basket
21. Milk crate
22. Rubbermade Tote
23. Briar Berry Bear's Basket
Up Office
24. Craft Table
25. Craft Bookcase
26. Boxes in front of Window #1
27. Dad's Bookcase
28. Boxes in front of Dad's Bookcase
29. Boxes in front of Window #2
30. Top of Desk
31. Under/in front of Desk
32. Shelf above hanging rod
33. Hanging Rod
34. Under Hanging Rod
35. Linen Closet
36. Stairwell Closet
37. Entry Closet
Front Porch
38. Exterior Wall Side
39. Interior Wall Side
40. Far Wall Side
Basement
41. E. Corner
42. W. Corner
43. N. Corner
44. S. Corner
45. Laundry Area
46. Chest Freezer
Basement Office
47. Desk Side
48. Sink Side
Attic
49. Attic Eve Storage
50. Attic Open Storage
This list can be edited as needed, adding items as I find them. While I will be posting new posts on my progress every Tuesday, I will be keeping tabs on this page with dates things are complete. Additionally, while I was looking for things to clean/organize/declutter in each room I could have also listed off items to be improved/repaired and I think I will start that list in pink in a new column and see how many tasks I come up with for that. The repair/improvement projects however are completely dependent on the financial situation at the time of the improvements.
So what do you think? Do you want to join us?
Thursday, January 15, 2015
My To Do List
This is my current "To Do List":
Launder the Sheets
Clean Out the Clutter in the Powder Room
Clean Out the Clutter in my Up Office
Set Up a Functioning Down Office
Laundry
Clear Off Dinning Table so it can be used for Dinners
This is a long to do list and it is not intended to be a list that can be completed in a single day. Instead it is a list of items that I want to focus on until they are completed. I will update and adjust my to do list daily, possibly even hourly.
The point of a to do list for me is to have a guide for what I want to focus on, something to help keep me on track. I have heard over the years that for women in particular the longer the paper used to write the to do list on the longer the to do list. For many people it is important to keep the to do list short and simple. Something that can be achieved, something that can be checked off and completed. A sense of accomplishment.
A long to do list is overwhelming. Even for me. I am willing to be flexible and adjust as needed.
This morning I thought I would start with my downstairs office. The bulb burned out last week and I decided to find a replacement.
Search as I might I could only find bulbs intended for decorative candle lights or one single light for this lamp:
So I decided to be flexible, the bulb broke more than 3 years ago. I don't even remember how it broke. I think I was changing the sheets and maybe flicked the comforter to hard causing the bulb to smash into the ceiling. I left it alone because changing it meant to much work. Well today I decided to simply do it. I unplugged the light and used a pair of pliers to removed the base of the bulb. All the glass was gone or I would have tried the potato trick. It took me less than 60 seconds to remove the old bulb base. I replaced the bulb and while I was up there I noticed how dirty the top of the lamp was so I quickly dusted it off.
Then it made sense for me to change the sheets and launder the old ones. So less than 5 minutes later I had changed a bulb that had been broken for years and a freshly made bed to boot.
Now I am not super happy with my bedding, but it keeps us warm at night. The purple and grey comforter is what we registered for more than 15 years ago. I dream of fresh brightly colored comforters and sheets. I dream of soft organic cotton sheets. I have a plan but that plan will simply have to wait, because there are other projects that need to be completed and hey the comforter and blankets currently work.
Back to my to do list. I took the two candle bulbs down to my basement office and decided I would give them a try, then I remembered I had a floor lamp in there that had a bulb in it. So I swapped that bulb. The problem I had been struggling with in the basement office is the lack of an outlet.......
Look what I found when I changed the light bulb:
An outlet! I have a surge bar that I think I can work into the ceiling to allow me to plug in an additional floor lamp, a space heater for the winter and run my laptop. Now I need to get on to the organization of the space. I know this won't be a single day project (or maybe it will). (I did string up the surge protector but when I plugged in the space heater and the radio is tripped the switch, so I still need a solution to being able to power the space.)
I made some progress in the basement office. It is not done, but progress was made.
The dishes have been washed, dryed and put away, just in time to make new dishes for dinner. If I am really motivated I will wash, dry and put away the dishes after dinner.
Launder the Sheets
Clean Out the Clutter in my Up Office
Set Up a Functioning Down Office
Dishes:
Laundry
Clear Off Dinning Table so it can be used for Dinners
This is a long to do list and it is not intended to be a list that can be completed in a single day. Instead it is a list of items that I want to focus on until they are completed. I will update and adjust my to do list daily, possibly even hourly.
The point of a to do list for me is to have a guide for what I want to focus on, something to help keep me on track. I have heard over the years that for women in particular the longer the paper used to write the to do list on the longer the to do list. For many people it is important to keep the to do list short and simple. Something that can be achieved, something that can be checked off and completed. A sense of accomplishment.
A long to do list is overwhelming. Even for me. I am willing to be flexible and adjust as needed.
This morning I thought I would start with my downstairs office. The bulb burned out last week and I decided to find a replacement.
So I decided to be flexible, the bulb broke more than 3 years ago. I don't even remember how it broke. I think I was changing the sheets and maybe flicked the comforter to hard causing the bulb to smash into the ceiling. I left it alone because changing it meant to much work. Well today I decided to simply do it. I unplugged the light and used a pair of pliers to removed the base of the bulb. All the glass was gone or I would have tried the potato trick. It took me less than 60 seconds to remove the old bulb base. I replaced the bulb and while I was up there I noticed how dirty the top of the lamp was so I quickly dusted it off.
Then it made sense for me to change the sheets and launder the old ones. So less than 5 minutes later I had changed a bulb that had been broken for years and a freshly made bed to boot.
Now I am not super happy with my bedding, but it keeps us warm at night. The purple and grey comforter is what we registered for more than 15 years ago. I dream of fresh brightly colored comforters and sheets. I dream of soft organic cotton sheets. I have a plan but that plan will simply have to wait, because there are other projects that need to be completed and hey the comforter and blankets currently work.
Back to my to do list. I took the two candle bulbs down to my basement office and decided I would give them a try, then I remembered I had a floor lamp in there that had a bulb in it. So I swapped that bulb. The problem I had been struggling with in the basement office is the lack of an outlet.......
Look what I found when I changed the light bulb:
An outlet! I have a surge bar that I think I can work into the ceiling to allow me to plug in an additional floor lamp, a space heater for the winter and run my laptop. Now I need to get on to the organization of the space. I know this won't be a single day project (or maybe it will). (I did string up the surge protector but when I plugged in the space heater and the radio is tripped the switch, so I still need a solution to being able to power the space.)
I made some progress in the basement office. It is not done, but progress was made.
The dishes have been washed, dryed and put away, just in time to make new dishes for dinner. If I am really motivated I will wash, dry and put away the dishes after dinner.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
What The New Year Holds For Me!
Another day draws to a close, and I have accomplished nothing. I have decided that it is important for me to get up and get dressed. I am also going to give myself a to do list with 5 items on it. I plan to accomplish those 5 things before I sit down to the computer or to the television.
What I have accomplished is keeping up with the dishes. Since before Christmas I have managed to keep up with the dishes and not head to bed until the dishes are washed. This is where I began.
Tomorrow I am going to clean the stove top.
I also stumbled upon the blog Refashionista and I am inspired. While I cannot sew a stitch, I am inspired to turn the clothes I no longer fit or wear into something new. In the past year I have lost nearly 20 pounds and have quite a few items that no longer fit or flatter. I could head to the thrift store and find some new pieces, but money is tight and I would prefer not to spend what I don't have to spend.
I am also going to begin the year of the purge. I am getting rid of everything that doesn't serve a purpose. My plan is to go room by room and simply ask myself: keep, sell, toss, recycle, upcycle or gift.
Anything I am keeping will have to be put in its permanent home.
Those items I want to sell will be cleaned and prepped for selling and a tag added. They will be listed on the facebook page I am part of. Items will be listed for two weeks only and then either donated to the thrift store or stored for my summer neighborhood garage sale.
Items to be tossed will be taken directly out to the trash bin, and those items that can be recycled will be placed in the recycle bin.
Upcycled items will be placed on a shelf in my office with a tag for what I plan to up-cycle it. If at the end of the month I haven't upcycled the item then it will go the way of trash, recycle or donation.
Gift items will be stored on a separate shelf in my office.
Any item I am iffy about will find a home in a box in my office. It can sit in that box until the end of the month and then it will find a new home.
These are my guidelines, and I will break them if need be. For example if I want to upcycle an item and it requires materials I do not have the funds for I will consider setting that project aside until I have the funds to complete the project.
This is almost a one touch rule.
What I have accomplished is keeping up with the dishes. Since before Christmas I have managed to keep up with the dishes and not head to bed until the dishes are washed. This is where I began.
Tomorrow I am going to clean the stove top.
I also stumbled upon the blog Refashionista and I am inspired. While I cannot sew a stitch, I am inspired to turn the clothes I no longer fit or wear into something new. In the past year I have lost nearly 20 pounds and have quite a few items that no longer fit or flatter. I could head to the thrift store and find some new pieces, but money is tight and I would prefer not to spend what I don't have to spend.
I am also going to begin the year of the purge. I am getting rid of everything that doesn't serve a purpose. My plan is to go room by room and simply ask myself: keep, sell, toss, recycle, upcycle or gift.
Anything I am keeping will have to be put in its permanent home.
Those items I want to sell will be cleaned and prepped for selling and a tag added. They will be listed on the facebook page I am part of. Items will be listed for two weeks only and then either donated to the thrift store or stored for my summer neighborhood garage sale.
Items to be tossed will be taken directly out to the trash bin, and those items that can be recycled will be placed in the recycle bin.
Upcycled items will be placed on a shelf in my office with a tag for what I plan to up-cycle it. If at the end of the month I haven't upcycled the item then it will go the way of trash, recycle or donation.
Gift items will be stored on a separate shelf in my office.
Any item I am iffy about will find a home in a box in my office. It can sit in that box until the end of the month and then it will find a new home.
These are my guidelines, and I will break them if need be. For example if I want to upcycle an item and it requires materials I do not have the funds for I will consider setting that project aside until I have the funds to complete the project.
This is almost a one touch rule.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Cleaning - The Down and Dirty!
Google green cleaners and you will find articles and links to commercial "Greenwashed" products as well as recipes for all sorts of cleaners.
You can clean most everything in your house with:
Baking Soda (washing soda for laundry)
Vinegar (plain white)
Citrus (soak your waste citrus peels in white vinegar and you have a powerful window and surface cleaner)
Liquid Castile Soap
Most of the cleaning in this house is done with just plain white vinegar. White vinegar kills MOST germs, but not salmonella bacteria. You can kill Salmonella bacteria with warm (notice I did not say HOT) soapy water.
The best cleaner in your arsenal is plain liquid castile soap. We do not need to disinfect surfaces (we really would be healthier if we had limited and regular exposure to common bacteria and germs).
When I want a gentle scrubbing agent I use baking soda, castile soap and a touch of vinegar.
Adding Essential Oils to your homemade cleaning products can make them smell good, may increase their ability to cut (emulsify) grease (like citrus), may add to the anti-bacterial effect, but they are not necessary.
In 2015 I'll share one cleaning tip per week and share all my tried and true cleaning solution recipes (all 2 of them).
The best advice on cleaning is to keep up with it. So whether or not you are way behind (I am) or you clean regularly, doing a little bit each day/week makes all the difference.
If you try to clean you whole home at once you'll be so exhausted (if you are able to finish) that you won't want to do any kind of maintenance the next day and thus the cycle continues.
The holidays have started for some (Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice) and are just around the corner for others (Merry Christmas), but if you have company coming and you need to clean-up your home and your act here are some simple tips and guidelines:
1. They are there to see you, so unless you live in a place that is truly filthy relax.
2. Clean only those areas they are likely to see.
3. Pick your battles.
Remember your guests are your guests. They are there to visit with you and celebrate the holidays. They are not there to judge your housekeeping. Not many people actually keep homes worthy of being in a magazine. My house is lived in, and yes it could be cleaner (and it will be in 2015) but it is my home. I am grateful to have a home.
Are your guests likely to be in your basement, will any bedrooms not be used, how about your home office? Concentrate on the following rooms in this order:
Bathrooms - Bathrooms should always be clean
Kitchen - if you are cooking or they are eating in your home you want the kitchen clean. We are not talking about cleaning the fridge, instead give the floor a sweep and mop, wipe the counters and stove down with warm soapy water and put away any unnecessary clutter.
Dinning/Living room - Clean the floors, wipe down table surfaces for dust, put away the clutter, and shake the furniture cushions (preferably outside)
Guest Room(s) - Clean up only if they are in fact staying with you or if they have small children who might need to nap. I just shut the down on my and Thia's bedrooms.....
So take a moment prioritize and remember that your guests are coming to visit with you not judge your home.
You can clean most everything in your house with:
Baking Soda (washing soda for laundry)
Vinegar (plain white)
Citrus (soak your waste citrus peels in white vinegar and you have a powerful window and surface cleaner)
Liquid Castile Soap
Most of the cleaning in this house is done with just plain white vinegar. White vinegar kills MOST germs, but not salmonella bacteria. You can kill Salmonella bacteria with warm (notice I did not say HOT) soapy water.
The best cleaner in your arsenal is plain liquid castile soap. We do not need to disinfect surfaces (we really would be healthier if we had limited and regular exposure to common bacteria and germs).
When I want a gentle scrubbing agent I use baking soda, castile soap and a touch of vinegar.
Adding Essential Oils to your homemade cleaning products can make them smell good, may increase their ability to cut (emulsify) grease (like citrus), may add to the anti-bacterial effect, but they are not necessary.
In 2015 I'll share one cleaning tip per week and share all my tried and true cleaning solution recipes (all 2 of them).
The best advice on cleaning is to keep up with it. So whether or not you are way behind (I am) or you clean regularly, doing a little bit each day/week makes all the difference.
If you try to clean you whole home at once you'll be so exhausted (if you are able to finish) that you won't want to do any kind of maintenance the next day and thus the cycle continues.
The holidays have started for some (Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice) and are just around the corner for others (Merry Christmas), but if you have company coming and you need to clean-up your home and your act here are some simple tips and guidelines:
1. They are there to see you, so unless you live in a place that is truly filthy relax.
2. Clean only those areas they are likely to see.
3. Pick your battles.
Remember your guests are your guests. They are there to visit with you and celebrate the holidays. They are not there to judge your housekeeping. Not many people actually keep homes worthy of being in a magazine. My house is lived in, and yes it could be cleaner (and it will be in 2015) but it is my home. I am grateful to have a home.
Are your guests likely to be in your basement, will any bedrooms not be used, how about your home office? Concentrate on the following rooms in this order:
Bathrooms - Bathrooms should always be clean
Kitchen - if you are cooking or they are eating in your home you want the kitchen clean. We are not talking about cleaning the fridge, instead give the floor a sweep and mop, wipe the counters and stove down with warm soapy water and put away any unnecessary clutter.
Dinning/Living room - Clean the floors, wipe down table surfaces for dust, put away the clutter, and shake the furniture cushions (preferably outside)
Guest Room(s) - Clean up only if they are in fact staying with you or if they have small children who might need to nap. I just shut the down on my and Thia's bedrooms.....
So take a moment prioritize and remember that your guests are coming to visit with you not judge your home.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Why Organic is Worthless!
I have for the past five or so years been yelling from the rooftops... OK so I just tell anyone who will listen to me... that commercial organic products are absolutely worthless. Check out this article which I found in my facebook feed from Ever Growing Farm about why commercial organic and organic for that matter are currently worthless.
I have been encouraging people to make their first priority to know their farmer. It is not about the label that is slapped on the food, or the government regulations. The reality is that when it comes to big farm business they will slap any label on the food to make extra money, and they have the money to buy the label in the first place, and pay the minimal fines IF they get caught.
I remember when farmers used to have to defend that they did not have the organic label because the process to become certified was more about making money for the state and less about organic foods. There was a lot of red tape and cost that small farmers could not afford. There were also regulations (proof that there had been no chemicals applied to the land in the last decade) that some small farmers just couldn't meet. Those farmers were passionate about the organic methods that they used, despite not being certified. I used to purchase from those farmers (and still do).
Then when big businesses (like the cereal companies) started getting into the organic market I knew that the standard would be diluted (and it has been, there is a percentage of non-organic components allowed in a product labeled organic, and now some amounts of pesticides and chemical fertilizers are allowed on organic lands).
If you know farmers, then you know that there has been a movement from the term organic to the term sustainable. This is a self-imposed standard for which there is no regulation. I believe the government regulation is the problem. It leads the average individual to the false security that someone else (the government) has their (the individual's) best interest at heart and has already investigated and protected the individual. The REALITY of government oversight is that the government creates a lot of red tape and a process for everything they oversee. Big businesses have no problem keeping up with the red tape, they can pay someone to deal with the red tape and fill out the applications.
What government is concerned with is keeping its seat in office (which means making the lobbyists and moneyed constituents happy, and if you haven't figured it out yet that means keeping big business happy).
Instead if we removed regulation of industries like Organic and took personal responsibility to investigate our farmers and their farms WE would know our food and the conditions it comes from.
It is my intention to interview and visit several local farms, meat and produce and share those interviews on this blog.
For the time being I challenge all of you to find out who the parent company of Cascadian Farms is. Then ask yourself what does that REALLY mean for Cascadian Farms' "organic" products?
Friday, November 28, 2014
Priorities and the Small Wins
Truth be told my Thanksgiving post was written 3 weeks ago, and for whatever reason I left it in draft. Immediately after typing the post I did some work to clean out the downstairs bathroom and even pinned up the blanket. Check out my progress:
My downstairs bathroom is in better shape and I am going to keep working on it, but the next weekend, when it was time to update my progress, I was battling a head cold and I needed a simple win. Instead of doing more work on the downstairs bathroom, I decided to tackle something I could complete (the laundry I had waiting for me). I did not take pictures of all the laundry I had before me because when I pulled out the camera the battery was dead. I did take pictures once the battery was charged.
I also established what will be my office. I have had an office for years, but it is overwhelmed with clutter. I decided to establish a new space that I can feel like I am not disturbing people.
From the downstairs bathroom I removed a dishpan and some cast iron cookware which I need to clean and put to use. I also cleaned out some junk and listed a few items on a Facebook garage sale site. It is looking better, but then we get to priorities.
Christmas is just around the corner and I have been out of work since March. Funds are non-existent for this year's celebration. I am determined to make this a holiday to remember and not to be remembered as that holiday we didn't have any money. That is where the priorities come in. I have been pinning on Pinterest (follow me I am Tree), but I stopped because I felt like I was never going to get back to those pins to try them. I have decided that for 2015 my goal will be to attempt all the pins on my Pinterest and let you know how they shake out.
I am going to start with the things on my boards that I can make for Holiday gift giving. Fortunately my darling husband and I have a tradition of not gifting to each other on Christmas. If we find something that is just perfect we might purchase it, but we don't feel obligated to purchase. That leaves me with needing gifts for:
LuLu (16 year old girl)
Thia (13 year old girl)
My Momma
My Father
My MIL
My Step FIL
My FIL and Step MIL
Dear Hubby's younger brother's (Billy a Freshman at the Merchant Marine Academy in King's Point, and Joey an adult embarking on his own life with a wonderful woman named Amanda).
I don't gift to my friends.
I have a few bath salts and whipped body butter recipes I want to try out and that I will use as gifts for my Mom, Step MIL and MIL. I know Lulu plans on using some of those items for her gift to her little sister.
For Thia I found a Toothless Plushie Tutorial on Pinterest and I am hoping I can come up with the fabric to make a toothless. That would be her "big" gift. We typically only do one big gift, an ornament and then something they have asked for. I have a few pins that might help me to fill her stocking. I was thinking about making a Coupon book for each of my girls and for my mother. Since I am hopeful to be back to work come early January I am going to keep the monthly tasks under $10 till at least June and then I am hopeful that we will be back on track and able to do more fun things.
I am a big believer in experiences and time spent together being more important that material gifts.
I have to keep mum on the items that are for Lulu since she is also on this blog, so I'll let you know post-holiday what items ended up being for her.
Lulu is launching her own business. She is making mini Octapi and Mochi as well as pencil cases. I have attached a picture of her Octapi model and hope she does well.
So while I am looking for accountability, I know that I have to prioritize and right now I need to prioritize to clean out the dinning room, living room and kitchen for the upcoming holiday. I also need to work on the crafts that will help me put together a wonderful and fun holiday.
My downstairs bathroom is in better shape and I am going to keep working on it, but the next weekend, when it was time to update my progress, I was battling a head cold and I needed a simple win. Instead of doing more work on the downstairs bathroom, I decided to tackle something I could complete (the laundry I had waiting for me). I did not take pictures of all the laundry I had before me because when I pulled out the camera the battery was dead. I did take pictures once the battery was charged.
I also established what will be my office. I have had an office for years, but it is overwhelmed with clutter. I decided to establish a new space that I can feel like I am not disturbing people.
From the downstairs bathroom I removed a dishpan and some cast iron cookware which I need to clean and put to use. I also cleaned out some junk and listed a few items on a Facebook garage sale site. It is looking better, but then we get to priorities.
Christmas is just around the corner and I have been out of work since March. Funds are non-existent for this year's celebration. I am determined to make this a holiday to remember and not to be remembered as that holiday we didn't have any money. That is where the priorities come in. I have been pinning on Pinterest (follow me I am Tree), but I stopped because I felt like I was never going to get back to those pins to try them. I have decided that for 2015 my goal will be to attempt all the pins on my Pinterest and let you know how they shake out.
I am going to start with the things on my boards that I can make for Holiday gift giving. Fortunately my darling husband and I have a tradition of not gifting to each other on Christmas. If we find something that is just perfect we might purchase it, but we don't feel obligated to purchase. That leaves me with needing gifts for:
LuLu (16 year old girl)
Thia (13 year old girl)
My Momma
My Father
My MIL
My Step FIL
My FIL and Step MIL
Dear Hubby's younger brother's (Billy a Freshman at the Merchant Marine Academy in King's Point, and Joey an adult embarking on his own life with a wonderful woman named Amanda).
I don't gift to my friends.
I have a few bath salts and whipped body butter recipes I want to try out and that I will use as gifts for my Mom, Step MIL and MIL. I know Lulu plans on using some of those items for her gift to her little sister.
For Thia I found a Toothless Plushie Tutorial on Pinterest and I am hoping I can come up with the fabric to make a toothless. That would be her "big" gift. We typically only do one big gift, an ornament and then something they have asked for. I have a few pins that might help me to fill her stocking. I was thinking about making a Coupon book for each of my girls and for my mother. Since I am hopeful to be back to work come early January I am going to keep the monthly tasks under $10 till at least June and then I am hopeful that we will be back on track and able to do more fun things.
I am a big believer in experiences and time spent together being more important that material gifts.
I have to keep mum on the items that are for Lulu since she is also on this blog, so I'll let you know post-holiday what items ended up being for her.
Lulu is launching her own business. She is making mini Octapi and Mochi as well as pencil cases. I have attached a picture of her Octapi model and hope she does well.
So while I am looking for accountability, I know that I have to prioritize and right now I need to prioritize to clean out the dinning room, living room and kitchen for the upcoming holiday. I also need to work on the crafts that will help me put together a wonderful and fun holiday.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Accountability
I need some accountability in my life right now. Since July my life has been a whirlwind of long days, some 12 hours long and 6 days a week. I want more. I recently finished reading Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project. It took me more than 8 months to finish reading it. I would read some and put it down, then weeks, months later pick it up and read some more. Recently an acquaintance suggested it as a book club read. I think I am going to join the book club. When I first purchased the book, I thought I would read the book and do my own version of a happiness project. Right now, I don't think that is what I need in my life. I need some accountability. I have a ton of projects to finish and lots of de-cluttering to do. If I did as Gretchen did and started my year long happiness project with a de-cluttering phase, I would feel overwhelmed. I understand the importance of having a deadline, I work really well with deadlines. Not really, I just leave everything until a day or two before the deadline and then stay up late and get really grumpy trying to make the deadline. Instead I would like to suggest that for me the happiness project is going to be a lifetime undertaking.
I have lived much of my life with happy moments, but not truly happy. I want to live a life that is full of happy. I know there will be sadness (without sadness there can be no true appreciation of happiness), but I want to strive for a generally happy outlook and life. To this end I believe I need to complete the projects I have hanging over my head and to completely remove the clutter. I am going to spend some time evaluating the objects in my life and asking myself if they truly serve a purpose, if they add to my happiness or if they are just another something in my life.
To keep myself on track I plan to use this blog as an accountability tool. I will list 1 outstanding project each week, post a photo of one room/area of clutter, and state one goal for the week. At the end of the week I will give an update on the project stating the progress I have or have not made, post a new photo of the room/area of clutter and give feedback on how I am doing toward reaching my current goal. When the project is done, the area/room is organized and the goal is achieved I will simply move on to the next.
I am open to the idea of turning some projects over to professionals, but at this moment in time, while I am unemployed those projects will simply be quoted for a price and set aside until I can afford to have someone else finish them for me.
My first project is my quilt. The quilt was started by my Oma (who passed away) and finished by my mother. The edge of the quilt has come apart and I would like to hand sew it back together. That is my first project. I will let you know what progress I have made come next week.
My first area/room is my downstairs powder room. This room has been torn apart for the better half of a decade. It was a poorly designed and barely functioning bathroom. We decided to move the door (done) and to redo the entire bathroom. We have the materials (most of them) to redo the bathroom. Currently it is acting as a store room for my clutter. So I have decided that I will start clearing it out. Eventually I would like it to be a bathroom again. I will probably need to hire out some of the work (laying the tile floor and the plumbing) since I do not possess the skills or tools for those two projects, but none of that can be done until I have cleared it out and gotten it ready for work.
Everything in that room will be evaluated for its usefulness to myself. Anything that I don't need/want will be sold, tossed or donated. I hope that by selling some of the junk I have collected in the past 15 or so years I can pull together the funds to complete some projects (or to pay others to complete the projects).
I am currently unemployed and have been since March. I am in school for massage therapy and that full time program leaves me no time to work a $10/hr part time job. My unemployment benefits ran out at the end of September and there are no funds left in savings. Some of the money I bring in from selling off items I am not using will go toward groceries and other bills, anything above that will go toward finishing one project at a time.
Part of the reason I choose the quilt as my first project is because it only requires the basic sewing skills I possess. We have plenty of thread, so there is no cost in completing it. There are plenty of projects that will require some money to complete.
The reason I am choosing to start in the downstairs bathroom, is because I believe it is small enough to make me feel like I am making progress and might bring in a small amount of money.
My goal is to be less critical, less critical of myself, my family and of people in general. Like most I find myself judging and gossiping. I am going to work at reminding myself that I gain nothing from judging others or from gossiping, but that happiness is found in enjoying the life and things I do have.
This is the room I am starting on:
I have lived much of my life with happy moments, but not truly happy. I want to live a life that is full of happy. I know there will be sadness (without sadness there can be no true appreciation of happiness), but I want to strive for a generally happy outlook and life. To this end I believe I need to complete the projects I have hanging over my head and to completely remove the clutter. I am going to spend some time evaluating the objects in my life and asking myself if they truly serve a purpose, if they add to my happiness or if they are just another something in my life.
To keep myself on track I plan to use this blog as an accountability tool. I will list 1 outstanding project each week, post a photo of one room/area of clutter, and state one goal for the week. At the end of the week I will give an update on the project stating the progress I have or have not made, post a new photo of the room/area of clutter and give feedback on how I am doing toward reaching my current goal. When the project is done, the area/room is organized and the goal is achieved I will simply move on to the next.
I am open to the idea of turning some projects over to professionals, but at this moment in time, while I am unemployed those projects will simply be quoted for a price and set aside until I can afford to have someone else finish them for me.
My first project is my quilt. The quilt was started by my Oma (who passed away) and finished by my mother. The edge of the quilt has come apart and I would like to hand sew it back together. That is my first project. I will let you know what progress I have made come next week.
My first area/room is my downstairs powder room. This room has been torn apart for the better half of a decade. It was a poorly designed and barely functioning bathroom. We decided to move the door (done) and to redo the entire bathroom. We have the materials (most of them) to redo the bathroom. Currently it is acting as a store room for my clutter. So I have decided that I will start clearing it out. Eventually I would like it to be a bathroom again. I will probably need to hire out some of the work (laying the tile floor and the plumbing) since I do not possess the skills or tools for those two projects, but none of that can be done until I have cleared it out and gotten it ready for work.
Everything in that room will be evaluated for its usefulness to myself. Anything that I don't need/want will be sold, tossed or donated. I hope that by selling some of the junk I have collected in the past 15 or so years I can pull together the funds to complete some projects (or to pay others to complete the projects).
I am currently unemployed and have been since March. I am in school for massage therapy and that full time program leaves me no time to work a $10/hr part time job. My unemployment benefits ran out at the end of September and there are no funds left in savings. Some of the money I bring in from selling off items I am not using will go toward groceries and other bills, anything above that will go toward finishing one project at a time.
Part of the reason I choose the quilt as my first project is because it only requires the basic sewing skills I possess. We have plenty of thread, so there is no cost in completing it. There are plenty of projects that will require some money to complete.
The reason I am choosing to start in the downstairs bathroom, is because I believe it is small enough to make me feel like I am making progress and might bring in a small amount of money.
My goal is to be less critical, less critical of myself, my family and of people in general. Like most I find myself judging and gossiping. I am going to work at reminding myself that I gain nothing from judging others or from gossiping, but that happiness is found in enjoying the life and things I do have.
This is the room I am starting on:
This is the blanket I am working on:
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