FLY LADY WEEK 2 - Living Room & Dining Room

 Good morning, friends!

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!

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 1 - Laundry Room & Kitchen

 Good morning, everyone!

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.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 4 - Office

 Good morning, friends!

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

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY Week 3 - Bedroom & Bathroom

 Good morning, friends!

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. 

Time to get busy.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 2 - Living Room, Dining Room

 Good morning, everyone!

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?

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed

FLY LADY WEEK 1 - Laundry Room/ Kitchen

Good morning, friends!

I've had a rough couple of weeks. The ribs are continuing to heal. I still can't bend over very well or lift things of any weight.  Canuary got put on hold. I did get the chunky apple butter made before the accident but I've kept it in a plastic keeper in the fridge and we've been working from the container with fried bread, fresh bread, biscuits and Bob made an amazing Betty Crocker Spice Cake, replacing the oil with the apple butter and putting a layer in the middle. DELISH!

With all the baking, I've not gained a pound; holding at 156 since October!

Because I have limitations, Bob has been a huge help. So glad he's retired. I've been through this rib issue one time without him and that was enough. 

I've been working on laundry. I can put it in the washer but Bob has to move it to the dryer, then to the bed where I can fold everything. He's also been putting most everything away because I can't bend to put things in drawers.

While I am healing. I'm off the ice packs and can breathe or sneeze without pain, I'm still going to take my time. I want to be able to get to the greenhouse and start working on the garden by end of the month. 

With all the snow, all of the Christmas decor is still up in the laundry room and wouldn't normally come down until after Valentine's Day anyway so I'm okay with that. I think I can manage running the electric broom/ Swiffer but that's going to be the extent of my cleaning this week.

How much snow did you get? 

The day after my fall we got about 5". Thank Old Man Winter, none of the ice. I've not left the house since the 15th and I'm okay with that. Thanks to a very well stocked pantry, we've not needed to go anywhere.

Did you catch Canuary? I didn't win any of the prizes but got some great recipes I've added to my canning list, hopefully before weather gets too warm.  

Next up, FREEZE DRIED FEBRUARY!!

Angela, at The Inquisitive Farm Wife is hosting this event and Harvest Right is sponsoring the collaboration by giving away a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer!!!  Just visit Angela's channel HERE for all the details!

I have several things I want to share but in limited amounts of time for a couple more weeks, so be kind while I recuperate.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

 

FLY LADY WEEK 3 - Bedroom/ Bathroom

 Good morning, friends!

As I suspected, not a lot got done in the living room last week. My start to the new year is still a bit slow. 

I did get nine pints of Salisbury steak patties canned. I had quite a bit of syphoning but everything came out okay. I had one pint that lost more than half of the juice but it sealed. I'd already planned to pop one open and try for dinner. Very tasty! I'll do more of those next fall. Still lots of other items to can while the weather is cool.

The bathroom will get a serious scrub-down. This includes wiping down the ledge all the way around the soaking tub and deliming around the faucet at the sink. The rest is pretty easy. 

With more canning to do this week for #Canuary, I'm not expecting as much from the bedroom as I'd like.  My two big things for the bedroom are 1 - start jarring up the two cases of Town House Crackers sitting in the 'pantry' closet and to 2 - get the mattresses rotated.

I rotate the mattresses a half turn the beginning of every quarter. At some point, I want to totally dismantle the bed so I can clean underneath and the frame really. That won't be this week but maybe April at the beginning of the next quarter. Since this is the beginning of the week, I'll strip the bed and wash the bedding. 

If I want to add one more item, that would be to clean off my nightstand. 

One of the things I do every morning is to turn the bedding down, open the windows to allow the cold air in to freeze out any germs. When I remake the bed, I spray the mattress top with Lysol as well as the top edge of the sheet/ blankets where we breathe and both sides of each of the pillows. I think this daily sanitizing has a lot to do with why Bob and are are lucky if we are sick once a year. For me, that's usually sinus, not a head/ chest cold type of issue. This practice has served us well for almost twenty years.  If colds are a regularity in your home, give this a try and encourage hand washing. Let me know if you notice a difference.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly