This week, I'm back in my happy place. I'll be even happier when it's completely done!
This week's target is the corner that was originally going to be my writing space. Since I've been working and am set up on my long 4x8 work island, that space will be designated for working in my planners and storing office supplies.
I started clearing the space out last year when I got rid of nearly everything having to do with the music business after walking away from music promotion. I still miss that part of my life but honestly, I don't know how I had time for everything that entailed to begin with.
I need to pitch more stuff then figure out how to organize all of the planner things I have. I should probably do a destash. We'll see. I'll keep you posted.
In the mean time, do you use a planner? Multiple planners? Inquiring minds want to know, and remember, this is a judgement-free zone.
I'm setting this up a couple weeks in advance so I don't forget. If I have to come in and edit progress (or lack there of) I will but for now, here's the plan!
The master bedroom needs a serious clean but most of that will wait until the first of April.
Beginning the first of the month in each quarter. we flip the mattresses a half turn to keep even wear on the mattresses. Do you rotate yours?
Aside from running the robot, we've not deep cleaned the bed, either the railing system or the floor beneath since we bought the split King almost seven years ago. Now that we're down to one cat (who loves to throw up under the bed when she gets overheated at 5 a.m.) I want to tear the bed completely down, give the floor and the bed frame a good cleaning so we can start fresh.
Just running the robot requires getting down on a kneeling pad to unplug the bed, put all the chords up out of the way so Rosie Robot doesn't get hung up. Letting her do her job is my most important task for this week. I also didn't get to the deep clean on my night stand so Murphey's Oil soap will be used on that and the roll top desk. Beyond that, I can't do much more because I still have the folding table with the Christmas junk journal stuff there. I need to finish sorting everything and put on the scraprack or the 4-drawer cart. It's a process, but I'm making progress and that's what's important.
We finally got the Christmas stuff all packed away and the bathroom surfaces are back in order. I need to do a serious pitch/ organization of the cabinets but not sure if that will happen this time. Right now, I'm more focused on getting seedlings ready for Bob to take care of while I'm on a Junk Journal Retreat gathering next month as well as getting An Ozarks Homecoming ready to publish in late May.
How's the weather in your area? Are in the spring cleaning mode? Let me know what you're up to.
I think we'll be dry enough for a couple of days to clear out the living room. The task of putting the tree and other items away requires having at least one full warm day to pull Christmas tubs out of the warehouse, pack items away then put them back.
Big news of the week is we got the roll top desk moved to the bedroom! Now to unearth the vintage office chair from the warehouse. It is a process. LOL
Bob took a day last week to detail the living room sofa (blowing residual dog/ cat air from the mechanisms, breaking down the kennel, putting the new vintage end tables in place, fixing one of the laps. We really enjoyed the sofa for 2 nights before I pulled everything out of the sewing corner and sorted onto the sofa and floor. LOL It's a process but we're headed in the right direction.
I'm taking a bunch of stuff to thrift this week then moving my planner tub (to be sorted and put away when I get to that corner of the office) so we can put the hassock beds there out of the way. We don't use them for hassocks. We bought them for Abby and Adrian to sleep on when they came to visit. Each one opens up to a single bed. Folded up and slid together, they were HoneyB's favorite place to lay with his chew bone or just stretch out and crash.
Putting them behind the sofa in the corner will open up floor room so I can use the Wii again.
I won't do much in the dining room this week except empty things out of the sofa cabinet that can be donated and if I'm lucky, clean out the girls' dresser of things that we no longer need.
What is on your cleaning list for this week? Are you getting the spring cleaning bug? Boy, I am.
The geese are flying north, the skunks are coming out of hibernation meaning Spring is on it's way!
We're in for a rainy week, making this the perfect time to really dig in and start the spring cleaning.
My ribs are nearly healed. They don't bother me anymore but I know a wrong move could set me back. Can't have that. I think the knee issue last week was a result of almost 30k steps over the course of two days while I worked on the office. I was sorting everything on the largest flat surface in the house - the bed, so lots of trips back and forth across three adjoining rooms.
The sewing corner is nearly finished. However, the top of the cube unit where the sewing machines will go is currently a plant stand.
I got all of my quilting templates hung on the wall and paired up the sewing machines with their foot pedal. Once I can sew again, I will be able to find things.
I am so ready to dive in to these two rooms.
My main goal for the laundry room is to get rid of a lot of the pet stuff we no longer need. We're just down to Tabby so all the dog stuff can go. I'll reserve one bin for the outside birdies, one for Tabby then everything else can go. I'm hoping to pack up the santa village and put the laundry shelves back in order but we're in for rain every day this week so I might not get to the warehouse for tubs, or if I do, will be too muddy to take them back. We shall see. Finally, detail the floor across both of the room.
For the kitchen, I'll sanitize the drains and the sink tubs. I also want to strip everything down off the tea shelf and degrease. One thing I've always hated is we don't have a hood vent for the stove. When the people who first built this house, they put an addition off the East side, blocking any opportunity for a hood vent.
If you don't have one, have you noticed how that steam settles everywhere (even in the cabinets!) then attracts all the dust in the air? So tea shelf and fan blades are also on the list.
I was raised a 1950s housewife and I'm trying to get back to that efficiency throughout the house, excluding my office (but that's another issue all on it's own)
I'll leave you today with a house cleaning tips video I found yesterday:
When you take a break from cleaning, I hope you'll be able to see the Lunar eclipse. You'll find the information HERE.
Last week was a busy week. At least the ribs are healing. If I remember to take Advil Dual and pay attention to how I move ( still requiring Bob to lift or bend for me), I'm accomplishing quite a bit.
We started last week with getting the end tables for the living room. A little modification was needed to make them fit the height we needed because of the sofa arm rests but that's okay. I'll post pictures next week (if I remember lol)
I got the night stand cleaned off and washed down with Murphy's Oil Soap. The big thing was getting stuff moved from the bedroom back to the sewing corner in the office and the roll top desk in place in the bedroom. That's where I'll spend most of my Saturday's creating in my 'list' documenting traveler's notebook in Listing With Layle class. relaxing way to take time out to document milestones. You can check out her YouTube channel HERE as well as her Instagram HERE.
This week is all about progress in the office.
As much as I'd love to work on the sofa side of the room and begin emptying book cases I really want to get the planner desk set up and my HP printer Bob got me for Christmas in 2024. Does that tell you how behind I am. The printer finally got moved to where it needed to go last October but is still in the box. I'll be printing editing copies of Book 2 and being able to just hit print and let that go through while I do something else would be very helpful.
As we move toward the next Full Moon, this is the time to bring in what I want/ need to acquire in my life. For me this month, that is getting more stuff put in the pantry. Both in jar meals and canned. I may have more seed potatoes than I wanted since I hurt the ribs after buying #10 that are now starting to sprout. At least I can grow new potatoes and can them later this year. I'll just have to watch for potatoes on sale around Easter or Memorial Day and try canning the seasoned potatoes again.
With each phase, I'm getting the house in order. I just have to remember I can't do this all at once or alone. I have to remember to ask Bob for help and not push myself. Yeah, we'll see how I do. LOL
Well, I can't believe it's only been three weeks since I cracked the ribs. Some days I feel like I can do anything (with the help of Advil Dual) but know that I shouldn't and that is hard.
We might have found our end tables. Which means Bob is going to be ready to tear the living room apart, deep clean and set them up. I'm just not.
We are to have really nice weather this week (in the low 70s) so maybe we can get the Christmas stuff down. I think I'll start with decorations off the tree. Hey, in my current physical capabilities, anything is a start. LOL
I really do love my naps. Especially, if I can get the bedroom nice and cold. But I am trying to avoid them overall.
I told Bob yesterday that I want to start getting the sewing stuff back in the craft room so I an put the roll top desk in the bedroom. That will allow me to get the vintage wooden office chair out of storage (and out of the way so we can work on the Christmas stuff).
To get to the sewing corner, one of us needs to move a lot of small stuff out of the path. My plan is to move what I can to the bed where I can sort while Bob moves the sewing stuff back into position. That corner needs a deep cleaning, too. So far the mouse hasn't chewed on the chord to my vintage lamp. I think we finally got rid of him.
I've been watching quilting videos and I want to start sewing again. I need a quick baby quilt for a gal in Eureka Springs who's having the first girl in the family going back at least three generations, if memory serves me.
Plan for the week:
Get the sewing stuff back to the sewing room
Get roll top desk into position
Put all the crackers into jars
That last one has been tricky. We have almost two cases of Town House crackers but I've not been able to operate the jar sealer. I can put the sealer on the jar but I can't pull it off. I just haven't made time for Bob and I to do that together. Maybe that will be our first task.
If your refer back to THIS post, I can put 1- 1/2 sleeve of crackers in a quart jar. If my math is correct, that's approximately 48 quart jars of crackers for the pantry. That should sustain our pantry until next holiday season when they go on sale again. Though I got a good sale on them for the holidays, they had them almost $1 cheaper for Super Bowl. Grrr. I'll have to remember that for next year.
The ribs are still healing. Mostly just sore in one spot so I'm still taking it easy.
I'd love to get the tree down this week and do a deep vacuum. HoneyB's kennel is still at the far end of the sofa. That is Bob's end table. We've been looking around for a matching set but as yet haven't come up with anything we like in our price range. We are fine with a repurposed set. We don't need 'new' just 'new to us'.
Since I'm not pushing the ribs yet, there won't be any furniture moving and the weather has prevented us from getting to the storage unit in the back yard to get the containers needed to pack Christmas away but I can honestly say I'm ready. I just want to clean something. LOL
As to the dining room, there is a book case in serious need of decluttering but again, I can't push my body. I need the ribs to be completely healed come time to start the garden. Time is definitely a harsh speed bump when you want to do things you know you shouldn't. When I'm healed, look out!
At least I can work on the sorting. I also have a collection of books called Help Me Be Good. There are about twenty 6x6 books in the collection. My mom bought them for our daughter when she was about 5. Our daughter will be 43 this fall. The books have been read by daycare kids and our youngest granddaughter. I've thought about the library but the last time I took them almost 'new' books for the children's department they were a bit rude. I miss our original head librarian. She retired about four years ago and this one just doesn't have the personality you expect from someone who should love books and their patrons. The whole atmosphere of the library has changed and I don't go in there, often. As an author, that type of reception hurts my heart. Maybe it's just me. So I'm weighing options and will be 'testing' surrounding libraries to see if I can find an appreciative fit.
So much I want to do that I'm not capable of doing at this point and it's hard to adjust. I'll get there, I'm just a Veruka - I want it done now! Mind you that doesn't mean I'm entitled like her character. I just like to get things done then move on. Life is short and I have so much to do.
Which Charlie and the Chocolate Factory character do you relate to?
