FLY LADY - Week 4 - Office

 Good morning, friends!

I'd love to say I'm diving hard into the office this week, but there's a slight change. The weather is finally cooling down here in the southern Ozarks and I can work on the 'warehouse' where the overflow of craft supplies as well as holiday decor is stored. I am sooo ready to dive in to see what can go to the thrift store, trashed or reorganized. Primarily the Christmas decor.

We've been in this house twenty years and have figured out the decor for each holiday in the various rooms that I am happy with. Everything else can get donated so maybe someone else can use the items.

Reorganizing the Christmas decor will also make room for the four big village tubs I have in the basement in our 'safe' corner. I'd love for Bob to be able to build a storage bench where they are now that we can put stuff to be protected in case of a tornado and that we can sit on. 

Over the course of forty-one years of marriage we've developed an amazing working relationship. Either I design something and he builds, we design and he builds, or we design and build together. This office desk I'm working on was an 8' kitchen island with storage I designed and he built over 35 years ago. Nothing fancy but served as a kitchen island initially that could seat 12 people if needed as well as store all of my baking pans. Then it served as an island against one wall in our first purchased home turning our narrow kitchen into a galley kitchen. In this house it was a crafting/ sewing table downstairs before we built the office/ studio almost 11 years ago. Here it remained a craft table until about 3 years ago when the cat took over my writing desk and I moved my 'office' space to this huge work table. I can move stuff easily enough if I need the 4'x8' space to cut fabric and one side still functions as space for my die-cutting machines when necessary. 

That's me for the week. Next week, I'll be back in the kitchen/ laundry with a bit more of a detailed list of what I do there.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY - Week 3 - Bedroom/ Bathroom

 Good morning!

After getting the bedroom temperature down to between 65*-67* (optimal sleeping temperature for diabetics) I finally got a really good night's sleep - the first in weeks! Poor Bob, I'm pretty sure he thinks he sleeps in an igloo. hehe

Speaking of the bedroom...

While I love naps, I don't think I'll need one today. Doesn't mean I won't WANT one. LOL Too much to do.

I'm still in sorting mode in the office. 

Last all, we had a split unit (heating ac) put in my office. That required moving everything out of my sewing corner. Guess where to. Yep.

I did the bedding on Saturday so that's done. We also did my shoe shelves last month to make room for Bob's shoes/ boots. I think I mentioned last month all of his were on five bake rack shelves in the closet. now that baker's rack holds all of the last three orders from Thrive Life. (I'll have freeze dried info coming Friday) 

So, my gal this week is goal this week is to get the sewing stuff out of the bedroom, back into the office, and my night stand tidied up. This whole sorting thing has been a process. Getting those two things done will be a major accomplishment. Getting my small roll top desk into the bedroom where my clay cart sits now will be a major improvement. 

I have a bonus item for you this week. 

I invite you to check out Clutterbug.com. Take their quiz to find out which friendly 'clutter' bug you are. Don't over-think the questions. Just go with your first instinctive answer. You may (or may not) be surprised but the results either way may help you on your journey to a 'company's coming and the house is suitable for visitors'  home.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLYLADY - Week 2 Living Room/ Dining Room

Good morning, friends.

Trying to get the day started when a nap sounds really good. LOL I had a long three days of late nights.

Friday night, I saw the Bellamy Brothers in concert at the Mountain Grove Heritage Festival. Not often you see these guys in a free show (though I always did as an entertainment journalist) The weather was 100* until about 7 p.m. when they took the stage. Then it was only in the 70s. LOL I got home after 10 p. m. (I normally find my pillow by 7:30)

Saturday Bob and I went to Poplar Bluff to Ollie's in search of some of the amazing craft deals people are finding. Me, not so much. That location didn't have hardly any of the stuff the East coast stores have. Apparently American Crafts is closing their doors and Ollie's bought ballets of everything from the AC warehouse. We went to dinner and got home after 9 p.m.

Then yesterday, I just spent all day on one project, not realizing until I started supper how time had flown by. I found my pillow at 8:30.

Today, I'm trying to get work done here in the office and just want a nap.

I'm on Living Room/ Dining room detail this week. I didn't get everything done in the kitchen last week but made a little progress. I managed to get some laundry done and unpacked eight boxes of Thrive Life and organized on the pantry shelf. I'm really going to miss Thrive Life Freeze Dried Foods. Sad that they are closing their doors in a couple of weeks.

With those boxes out of the way, my focus this week is to get the sofa cleared. I have boxes of spice mix bases to do up and get in jars and jar meal (think hamburger helper but healthier) to get made up and put in the cabinet. Neither of those will take long. 

For the dining room, it's time to clean out one side of the game cabinet. That side also has candles galore that need gone through. We'll see what I decide to keep to turn into wax melts and which ones go in the thrift store box. I'm trying to fill those boxes so I can take them with me on errands Friday.

That's it for me this week. What are you working on? Remember... even if you only spend fifteen minutes on an area, that's progress - Progress is all that is Required. Baby steps.  We got this!

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

 

FLYLADY - Week 1

 Good morning, everyone!

Looks like I have one more 'cool' day to accomplish something. The cooler weather sure has made a difference in my energy level. I got a lot done in the office yesterday, prepping for my work week.

Temperatures are to start going back up this week after a very fall-like feel the past four days. I am so not ready. I have an outdoor concert on Friday to meet up with friends, The Bellamy Brothers. We're to be back in the 90s. Those temperatures and hot pavement are not a good pairing. Hoping most everyone crowds under the trees. LOL

As usual, I start the month out with the kitchen and laundry room.

Laundry room:

sweep/ mop floor

wipe down appliances

put away anything that's not been put away properly over the past few weeks.

The laundry room is pretty easy for the most part. I really go deep on the weeks I switch out the holiday decor, which comes up next month when the task list grows a bit.

Normally, this room would include taking recyclables in but Bob took care of that last week. I just need to temporarily move them out to the deck so I can do the floor. 

The kitchen is another matter. 

My main focus is to get the spice mixes done up so I can revamp that cabinet.

I also need to pull everything off the counters, give them a good clean then back again.

I can get the card table down this week, I think. I used it for sorting/ cleaning a couple of months ago. I wanted to leave it until I get the last of the Meals In A Jar put together. My second-to-last ThriveLife order should be here Wednesday. 

I had the last order still in their boxes sitting on the card table, waiting for this order so I could rotate the stock only one time. Bob got antsy and moved them to the bedroom closet where the ThriveLife pantry baker's rack is located. Cook, dry, dark.

The only non- kitchen thing I want to get done today (not later in the week) is to take HoneyB's kennel apart, wash/ air out his bedding and clean the floor good around there. 

What's on your cleaning agenda for this week? Are you following along? What is your main focus?

Until next time...

Be safe, Be prepared, Be blessed!

~ Kelly

FLYLADY - Week 4 - The Office

 Good morning, friends!

I can't believe we are going in to week four of the month already! Where is the time going so quickly? The only bright spot is that we are moving closer to fall. I am sooo ready for the cooler temperatures.

While I've been doing a gradual pitch of things in the office, this week I'm diving in deep and doing a serious declutter of some areas. There are only three days left until the New Moon. The time between Full Moon and New Moon is the time to 'get rid of stuff', both physically and emotionally.  From the Full Moon to the New Moon, you work on things like want to attract or bring in to your life. So let the final four days of pitching begin!

I did get the work table cleared off to a large degree. Mostly what is on here now are the things I'm sorting through or using. 

My focus in the office this week is all about pitching junk journal items I've accumulated that I no longer need.  My thought process is in the following lists:

* Pitch things I might want to use but come in to the house on a regular basis or easy to acquire

* Keep only things that I can move to themed kits, such as pets, coffee, chocolate, etc. 

Following these two categories is going to help me get rid of a lot of items I thought might be good in a junk journal but I've since found either I'll never use them or I can replace them easily when the time comes.

The other project I hope to complete this week is the paint cabinet. At some point I pulled all the paints off, was going to add in more shelves & lay my paints on their sides, giving me more room for shelves. Then we couldn't find the glass shelves that went with the unit. Someone moved them from where I knew they were (could have been me lol) Then we couldn't find the shelf clips so I had to wait until I could purchase more. Basically, a 1-day project became a multi-month project. In the mean time, all of my paints are sitting in boxes/ bins on the floor in the studio. Time to get them put away!

What project are you hoping to tackle this week? Let me know in the comments below. If you have storage/ organization questions, post those as well and I'll try to help.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

#FREEZEDRIEDFRIDAY - Burritos & Thrive Life News

 Good morning, everyone.

I wanted to pop in here and post the recipe for today's video. Once the video is available in the morning, I'll link it here for all the details, tips.

Because the following products are on special this month, I used them to make my homemade burritos.

I used 1 serving give on each of the can directions. This was enough to make 4 Large tortilla burritos

Pulled Pork - 1 C of pork to 1/2 C of hot water. Stir every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes.

Instant Refried Beans - 1-1/3 C refried beans to 1-1/3 C of water... Simmer 4-6 min on low.

Tomato Dices - 1 C. tomato dices to 1/3 C. of water. Stir to moisten

Cheddar Cheese - 1 C. cheddar cheese to 3-1/2 Tablespoons water. Mix then refrigerate 35 minutes.

Now, for the Thrive Life news.

Thrive Live will be closing their doors Augusts 31, 2025.

This news saddens me. They are a great company, providing a much-needed service. We can all afford a freeze-dryer but they made it possible for the consumer to stock their pantry with quality products.

I had to miss the meeting as HoneyB had a vet appointment so I don't have all the details yet, but since hearing the news, I've assessed my pantry and placed an order to fill in gaps for WHAT WE EAT on a regular basis. 

If I can help you navigate what you might need in your pantry, please reach out. 

My direct email is: kellyscountry (at) missouri (dot) usa (dot) com

As always...

Be safe Be prepared Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY - Week 3 - Bedroom and Bathroom

 Good morning, everyone!

Well, I knew last week would be busy and it was. I'll update you about Honey B at the end of this post. 

Let's talk about the rooms we'll be working on this week.

While I do love my naps, the bedroom needs a serious deep clean!

One thing is to clear off a 5-shelf book case unit. Currently holds more clutter than needs to be there. Have I mentioned I've been in a pitching mode lately? Seriously! I'm so tired of the clutter. I'll be talking more about that next week.

For now, it's all about the bedroom/ bathroom.  

The bathroom just needs a basic clean for now. At some point I want to go through all the stuff in the cabinets - particularly my side - and pitch a lot of stuff! For now, just make sure it's sanitary and ready for use.

The bedroom is where I want to work on first. I mentioned the cluttered book case. We are clearing it all off, keeping just what we need on there.

Currently, all of Bob's shoes are on a bakers rack in the closet he purchased for the purpose. If you have a male in your house that wears a size 13EEE then you understand. One pair takes up as much room as three of mine. 

The GOAL is to clear off everything on those shelves, put his shoes/ boots on the bottom two, mine on the next two then the top shelf for my jewelry boxes.  That will clear off the bakers rack in the closet. 

We have a plan.

I've already given my side of the closet a good purge. I'm hoping I can encourage Bob to do the same this week. He has a lot of shirts that he doesn't/ or can't wear any more. 

When I began the stock up pantry process prior to Bob's retirement, I began looking for places in the house to store food in an organized fashion. I purged most of the top shelf on my side of the closet to store toilet paper. The pantry cabinet in the kitchen used hold baking supplies, now holds paper towels. the top shelf in the food cabinet holds napkins/ paper plates. 

The key is to find ways to store things in your home you truly NEED and pitch what you really don't. Make room for what's IMPORTANT.

Our basement is full of the pantry supplies - except all of my Thrive Life foods are still in boxes in the pantry room. I hate digging through the boxes to get what I want.

Freeze Dried Foods need to be stored in a Cool/ Dry place. Trust me, our bedroom qualifies. I can't make it cold enough to sleep comfortably for me. With the bakers rack in the closet, it's cool/ dark/ dry. So, since we use the foods on the main level of the house, we're going to stock the Thrive Life in the closet. Easy to access when we need to.  I've already rearranged the kitchen cabinets with one shelf holding the open cans we use regularly like the eggs, sausage, beef, chicken, onions, broccoli... etc. 

So that, and building my author website are on the board for this week. 

One quick thing. 

At some point I want to create google doc lists of what I do to deep clean each of these rooms on their weekly rotation. You'll be able to move it to your own google docs and modify, OR you can get a PDF from my etsy shop. 

That's it for me this week. Remember....

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly