FLY LADY WEEK 4 - Office

 Good morning!

A quick post this morning as I am multi-tasking all over the place to kick off the week.

For starters, I didn't get anything done in the bedroom last week except wash the bedding. 

I've been busy getting the 25 Days Of Christmas videos  up on my creative channel and taking a minimum of two hours every evening to work on my book... until Friday happened. LOL Isn't there always something?

Bob set up at a gun show in West Plains last weekend. I helped him set up on Friday after his eye appointment then did a couple of other errands. I wanted things out of the way because I had big plans for the office while he was gone.

I guess you can say, I got an early start on the office.

Saturday, I had a solid eleven hours to work in the office while he was gone. I put in 18,000 (yes, that many) steps pulling stuff off the floor out of the office, sorting it on the bed so I could bring it back into the office in an organized manner. 

Sunday, I pulled boxes/ baskets off the sofa and sorted the contents. Everything is now sorted and put away, donated, or pitched from those collectives.

I won't get anything done the next couple of days. Bob's going to man the house while I go pay bills then settle into a hotel (FREE night!) to get my planners set up for August so nothing drops into an abyss the next couple of months. I want to finish Q3 strong!

I use the HB90 method from Sarra Cannon for most of my planning. However, once I get my stickies done and on the kanban board, I almost never transfer anything into the planners, giving them their own time slot to be done. I just pull stickies off and work through them like a To Do list.  I've started dating the sticky notes so that is helping but there are still other things that really need to go into my planner.

I've made serious progress on An Ozarks Homecoming by working on it every day. I need to get the blurb written so I can order the cover so that's my goal for this week. I'd love to finish the components I need to enter the cover contest at the Ozark Creative Writers Conference. The deadline to enter is August 31st. No self-imposed deadline for me this time around, I need to get moving! I'm ready to put this book out there then start on Book 3 in the stand-alone series while I'm at the conference in October. This entire series takes place in Eureka Springs, Arkansas and Book 3 was inspired by my real life hero to set it at the conference, not just in the surrounding community. I can't think of a better time to write the opening then at the conference!

Back in the office later in the week I'll continue the sorting, pitching, donating, writing.

What's your plan this week? I hope it's somewhere cool.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 3 - Bedroom & Bathroom

 Good morning, everyone!

After a day of struggling with an email issue that's been going on for over a month, I think I've found a 'happy at the moment' place and get back to what I'm supposed to be doing.

This week is all about the bedroom & bath. 

While there are things that need tending to, I'm not diving in hard this round. For this week, I'm going to focus on making a list of what needs decluttered. One area is the bathroom cabinet on my side.

When we remodeled the house we used deep pantry cabinets on either side of the vanity, not realizing how easy things could get lost in there.  The other thing was I chose baskets to organize everything on each of the five shelves. After 20+ years, let's just say there's A LOT in there that can go.

My plan is to pull each basket out, pitch what no longer serves me then by individual 'refrigerator' type storage bins. They are quite deep in length so should work great in the cabinet. Something similar to these:

WAYFAIR

I think the bins system will allow me to keep things separated and not all dumped into one basket on each shelf.

If I can at least get the pitching done this week then I'll know the type of bins I need to purchase.

Do you have a cabinet in your bedroom/ bathroom that could use a serious pitch session? Maybe it's time to go through the winter clothes so you know what to purchase for the coming season. Reward yourself with a cozy fall sweather for your efforts.  

I meant to get in here last week with pictures of my #jaritupjuly progress but the computer/ email issues was more than I could deal with. I did get some things in jars. #jaritupjuly only runs through the 25th of the month, but I'm taking the entire month.

What's on your list for this week? Remember, any little step forward is still progress. You got this!

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 2 - Living Room & Dining Room

 Good afternoon!

Apologies for the late-day post. Still trying to get back on track after being at a writer's conference last weekend. Granted, the conference was virtual but I made sure last week's blog posts were up then focused on writing. 

Last night, I'd already shut down before realizing I hadn't scheduled today's post. Then up about every two hours last night made for a rough start to today.  

These two rooms are pretty much non-committal. I need to prep for being unavailable Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The writer's retreat is virtual, as well, so I have stuff to get done. Focusing on deep-diving into a room or two is not on my agenda this week. Part of the issue will be sitting my car bag in the living room so that we have room in the back of Angel for something else this weekend. It's always something.  

I did get the living room sofa cleared last night so Bob and I could both sit and enjoy back-to-back episodes of Forged In Fire while we ate supper. Up to that point, Bob was the only one with sofa room. I had my Patriotic Journal kit items on my end. 

I'm also hoping to get more of the jars out of the living room. I have three weeks left of the #JarItUpJuly and I really want to get more items in jars. I did get the Dinner Rolls mix in jars yesterday. I got 9 pints of mix from a #5 bag of self-rising flour. 

Summer is always a busy time. If you have kids, I suggest just focusing on keeping things in some semblance of order while educating them on taking care of their own things. You are not their maid, nor are you serving them by picking up after them. They can, and need, to pick up their stuff. 

I'll see you later in the week with #jaritupjuly pictures.

In the mean time....

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 1 - Kitchen & Laundry Room

 Good morning, friends!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend. Sometimes, it's hard to comprehend our country as we know it has been in existence for 250 years. But then, as I approach 65 I find that hard to believe as well.

I got a head start on the this area last week. We had a nice day so I stripped out the items I could move. I began by a deep sweep of the floor followed by a serious mopping. Mind you, I still need to steam clean and use the bissel but that will wait until I do the deep clean for the holidays. But this was a start. While the recycle bins were empty, I gave them a good scrubbing before putting them back in place. How you can wash the cans & plastics and still wind up with crud in the bottom of the baskets baffles me. 

I have one goal for each of the two areas; laundry room & kitchen:

LAUNDRY - the pet bins. I don't need any of the things that belong to Honey B anymore. I want to use one of the bins for the bird food containers. I also need a better place to put the box where I collect magazines for recycling. We'll see how this goes as I don't have a definitive plan, yet.

KITCHEN - the corner where the coffee pot used to sit at an angle. We changed that when we got the new pot system. Now the area has become a catch all for all manner of things we use routinely. I want to change that out so the area is ready for the Fall tiered trays I bought a couple of years ago and have  yet to put into place. I have one for Fall and one for Christmas. I'd like to find a white one for the rest of the year. Maybe I need a 'me' day of shopping. I've not done one of those in a long time.

I'm planning to have a check list for each of the weeks by the first week in August. While not all of the items on the list will apply to everyone, they might get you looking at your area with a new perspective.

In the mean time...

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

 ~Kelly

#JARITUPJULY

ANGELA - THE INQUISITIVE FARMWIFE

Good morning, everyone!

Welcome to Jar It Up July!

I don't know about where you are but summer has arrived with temperatures near 100* with heat indexes topping that.  The heat is exactly why I'm not going to be doing any water bath or pressure canning for the challenge this month. Instead, I'm going to be giving my jar vacuum sealer a work out. If you're curious, THIS is the one I use and am very happy with the appliance. The item has gone up about $5 since purchasing ours but is still a great deal.  

I have a long list of what I want to put up this year, most of which I've gotten from Jara at Wicked Prepared on YouTube.  Here's a direct link to her Meals In A Jar Playlist.

Basic mixes:

Cheese sauce

Alfredo sauce

Chicken gravy

Brown gravy

Mulling spices

Baking mixes:

Dinner Rolls

Muffin Mix

Quick Brad

Bread In A Jar

Meals:

Mountain Man Casserole

Creamy Lasagna Skillet

Hamburger Lasagna

Shepherds Pie

Chicken Ala King

Philly Cheesesteak Pasta

Italian Stew

Burrito Filling

Chicken & Rice Bake

Vegetable Beef Soup

We've tried several of these and very happy with the results. They are something Bob can dump and fix if I'm not home or need help with dinner on a busy day. 

These are all made using freeze dried products (some ingredients may be substituted with dehydrated but the rehydrating will differ a bit. 

My plan is to do these on Sundays and possibly one other day during the week. I can do all the Baking mixes in one day. Same with the Basics. The meals will take a bit more so will probably do two a week, pairing up similar ingredients for specific dishes.

When I'm through with this project, I'll know what I need to restock in my freeze-dried food pantry. Now that Thrive doesn't exist anymore, I'm looking at ThriveAList  I know a couple of ladies that were with Thrive, have moved to Thrive A List and are very happy. Leisa and Jara both work closely with the company.

I'll be back soon. In the mean time, let me know in the comments if you are participating in the challenge and what you are most excited to have a supply of in your pantry.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

 

FLYLADY WEEK 5 - Basement

 Good morning, friends!

Appears as if the rain has finally moved out and now it's just going to be HOT! 

This should be the week I work on the basement, but other things have to be taken care of.

Bob did spend some time last week organizing the boxes/ tubs in the shower room. He opened up a tub that said 'restaurant pans' on the label then promptly left the tub sit open in the room rather than putting it back where I had it stored.

I do need to do some decluttering and rearranging. There are cardboard boxes that I can break down and take out to the greenhouse for the strawberry bed mulching and I'm sure there's a few things that can go to thrift but right now there are three other important things I have to take care of.

Wednesday starts #jaritupjuly. I'll be making up all kinds of jar mixes such as both chicken and beef gravy, alfredo sauce mix and cheese sauce mix.  Then there are 'meals in a jar' that I need to replenish or didn't get to in January. None of these require the pressure canner, water bath canner, or the dehydrator. I'll share my complete list with you later this week.  

I'd also hoped to share my 4th of July decor. We got the front deck cleaned then rain/ thunderstorms visited several days in a row. I hope to squeeze in time tomorrow morning to get that done. I also want my coffee bar set up. 

This is a Rough Draft Challenge (writing challenge) month with Sarra Cannon in the Heartbreathings community. I'm determined to be inspired by the patriotic theme of the month and finish pulling this book together. I've already told Bob I need two hours every evening except what we do for the 4th celebration. 

To round things out, I'm doing 25 Days of Christmas in July in my creative community (KellysCreativeDreams on YouTube and Blogger). Aside from a Christmas themed thing every day for the first 25 days, I'm hoping to get another journal kit done up and out of the way with a Pink Christmas theme.  

Not a lot of cleaning this month at all except the basics and trying to declutter the studio as I work through kits. I'll keep the Fly Lady posts coming and I have other posts to pepper in throughout the month on my schedule. 

I hope you have a great & safe 4th of July!

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly 

PANTRY PREP - #JarItUpJuly

 Good morning, friends!

I'd hoped to be doing more of these Pantry Prep posts. Some days, it's really hard for me to come into the office and focus when sitting at the table playing cards or dice games with Bob are much more inviting. 

courtesy of Ray Shrewsberry - Pixabay

One thing you will never see on this blog or my YouTube channel is a pantry tour. In one side, people talk about safety then on the other side they show everything they have stored and where! While I don't buy into the apocalyptic scenario (completely), that doesn't mean I want people to know what I have and where I store.  That said, let's move on. ;-)

So what is #jaritupjuly?  Well, the easiest description is to visit Angela @TheInquisitiveFarmWife on her YouTube channel. You'll find the video with all of the information and participants links HERE. 

I'll be talking about my complete list in my video HERE.

For now, here's the overview:

Since I have no desire to boot up either canner nor the dehydrator in summer heat (why make the AC work any harder than necessary) I'm going to focus on Meals In A Jar, Mixes, and dry canning such as oatmeal, flour, rice, cereals, etc. 

Next week is Week 5 in the Fly Lady cleaning zone so Bob and I will be doing an inventory of the shelves and making a list of what needs replaced. My #jaritupjuly list will grow from there. 

Leisa at Suttons Daze has a VIDEO explaining how are food supply is going to affected and seeing price hikes this fall, so we're out to get ahead of that. If you missed that post, HERE is Leisa's video. She doesn't spout nonsense, or believe in fear-mongering. She gives you statistics and where she gets her information from - reputable sources. I love her.

I hope you'll join the rest of us squirrels and start stocking your pantry.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 4 - Office

Good morning, friends!

I think this is  my favorite week. I'm sure you know by now I'm trying hard to make sense of the office/ studio.

By the time you read this, I will have FINALLY gotten the gift box tub put together and out of the Living Room. I've also taken care of the canning items except for the table holding wide-mouth quarts for a project I'll be talking about on the 26th in the Pantry Prep post. 

I'm only seven days from the next Full Moon. so pitching really isn't my agenda for this week. The best time to purge is between the Full Moon and the New Moon. Get rid of what no longer fits you or that you don't want to grow back (or at least at a slower pace)

With that in mind, this week will be all about organizing what I DO want to keep. I don't need in the sewing corner at the moment so I'm going to move all of my kits to that end of the room so I can get around in here, then stage what I do want to pitch after the 29th when the next Full Moon makes an appearance. 

I have other things I need to do in here that doesn't pertain to cleaning. July is going to be a really busy month so I'm trying to prep what I can  now.

* RoughDraftChallenge to finally get this book pulled together. 30 days of FOCUSED writing

* Ozark Creative Writers short pieces. Deadline is August 31st.

* #JarItUpJuly (I'll be talking about that on the 26th)

* 25 Days of Christmas (cards) on the Creative blog/ Youtube channel

* Pink Christmas journal kit (I've had this kit in a bag for 5 years! Time to get it done. 

I'm trying to work through all of my kits, one journal per month. We'll see how this goes but so far, so good. As I type this on Sunday, I'm hoping to finish one this afternoon. I've had all the elements and the signatures for about three years. I'd intended to finish it at the retreat in April but when I opened things up, I realized I didn't have a cover. Instead, I used what I did have to make MORE elements for the journal. LOL 

If you don't have an office or a craft room, what will you work on this week? With school out for the summer, maybe work with your kids to declutter their room and give them a fresh start for the coming school year.  Please let me know what you'll be working on.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 3 - Bedroom & Bathroom

 Good morning!

I don't know about you but I've had my share of weather, either for me or for family & friends.

I did get the canning stuff moved to the basement. The basement organization is the last week of the month but Bob got motivated to do some rearranging. The good thing is, I now have a place to put the extra jars from up here away. I may be packing meat sales in the freezer for the next couple of months but I'm not doing any canning until later this fall.

I did get the night stand cleared last week. Looks nice, and I have room for the keepsake box Bob got me for Christmas.

This week, I want to focus on getting the roll top desk in order so I can start listing projects again. Get photos off my phone and into the respective holders. Some are for the list journal and others are for the Yearly/ Monthly albums.  I'll worry about my clothes closet next month. I need to try stuff on and think about what I'll need for conference in October. One thing at a time.

The bathroom is in really good shape except for the cabinets. They need a good going through/ purge. If I take one basket of stuff a month, I'll have a fresh start by January... Baby steps.

What do you want to work on this week? Is there a space in one of these rooms you've been putting off tackling? Now is the time. Purging in the span of time between a Full Moon and a New Moon is the best time to help insure none of what you get rid of finds it's way back in some form. We have about 16 days left.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 2 - Living Room & Dinning Room

 Good morning, friends!

A bit wet and dreary here in the Ozarks but that's okay. The plants all need a good soak and I can stay inside.

While there is still a lot to do in the house over all, I have two main focuses this week.

Living Room:

* take the canning stuff back to the basement. I'm done doing any canning until fall. 

* FINALLY get the gift box tub taken care of

Dining Room:

* go through the pile of 'state' flyers/ brochures in prep for finishing the States Junk Journal this year.

* go through more of the cooking magazines. I'll note any recipes I want to try then take the rest to recycling

Sometimes you just need to find a FOCUS point rather than looking at the room as a whole. That's my plan of attack for this week. What's yours?

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 1 - Kitchen & Laundry Room

 Good morning!

How can we be entering a new rotation already? Where does the time go?

Well, I can tell you a good portion of my time is spent with Bob. Though over the course of May a lot of my time was canning potatoes and baked beans. As you read this, I'll be processing the last of those #40 of potatoes. I am so ready to be done with those! I'm also putting the pressure canner away until fall. We're going to move into summer temperatures pretty quick and, if you've not experienced pressure canning, the task is a hot job. I don't want to work my AC any more than necessary.

For the most part, I'm done canning though I am planning on some blueberry and strawberry jam. I can put those in the water bath canner and they don't have a long processing time. An early morning task.

Now I can focus on serious cleaning.

I'm hoping for next month to focus on an actual task list that I can share with you. Things to look for in your own home you might not have thought of. For this last month in quarter 2, I just want to spruce things up a bit.

Laundry:

Go through the 3-cubby unit and get rid of anything I no longer need. We have no plans to get another dog so the bath towels, extra bowls, vet back pack, etc. can go! That will free up at least 2 cubbies for bird feed. LOL Yes, we have a wide variety of birds (and squirrels and raccoons) we feed on the front deck. Bob has gone from we aren't going to be able to afford bird feed to, 'let's grab a couple extra bags while they're on sale'. LOL He's so funny. He even researched what squirrel prefer and their visiting habits. He's such a softy. 

So cubby/ wild life food is the priority for that room. I also run the cleaning pod for the washing machine. 

From there it's the weekly run of the rumba and detailing the litter box area.

Kitchen:

I have 2 main areas of interest this week. 

The back area of the corner counter top. I want to declutter, add a lazy susan and possibly a couple of 4th of July/ Patriotic decor pieces.

The other area is my baking island. I already have the Patriotic decor for that space, I just need to clear everything else off so I can bring that in. I have planned to show you what that looks like in a later post.

Getting those areas done this week will be a big win. Can't wait for those two rooms to start looking inviting again.

Are you following this cleaning routine or have you developed your own? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 4 - Office

 Good morning, everyone!

Looks like we get a day or two break in the rain. Saturday, I finally found healthy strawberry plants as well as Marigolds. Who knew those flowers would be so hard to find! I'll be planting my own next year, so that will help. I'm putting the marigolds in the tomato and zucchini tubs. We're going to put the strawberries in a holding pattern in the tower pots until we get the bed built. I need to wait for the 4-th of July firework tents to go up so I can haul a massive amount of cardboard. 

As you read this, the two areas of my bedroom will be done. I still need to take care of the 2'x4' table holding my Christmas paper crafting but not ready to bring it back into the office yet. But I will be able to sit at my roll-top desk and work on planning out the next big personal project - Alchemy180. I'll talk about it more in a later post. 

For this week, I'm back hard on the office. I have multiple areas to work on so I'm taking each area and using my Your Path Forward game board for inspiration. If you want to know more about that, I'll link the video HERE. I need to do an updated video this week that I hope to have posted by Wednesday, so if you are interested in that, please subscribe and click notifications on the linked video. That channel is my author account, Angela Drake. If you like Hallmark quality stories, I think you'll enjoy my books. I need to re-release one I got rights back to and Book 2 of the Eureka Springs series is coming soon.

Let's start with the Ugly Truth of this office. Watch the brief video then you'll understand. I'm being fully transparent here.

I know this looks bad. I'm not a hoarder. I USE my stuff and, most of the time, I can get exactly what I need in the moment. However, I want to be able to sit on my sofa and write or read the current book I need to write a review for. Come into my office, shut the door and just do my thing. 

The main things I need to focus on are:

1 - The filming corner

2 - The space in front of the scrap rack binder shelf

3 - Record videos then put the retreat items away 

4 - Clear the sofa, stacking the kits in front of the work table

5 - Finish 3 Bee journals and get one of them in the mail

6 - Organize the stamps that we moved. Some hadn't been included into the boxes yet.

7 - Put digital kits away

Next month I plan to focus on my Tim Holtz storage area.

Using the Game Board Strategy of Your Path Forward (brain child of YA Fantasy author, Sarra Cannon), I'm just going to pick one area, map it out on the game board then get started. If I can get through at least three areas this week, I'll count it as a win. 

The red bag has been returned to the car. One task down! The rolling craft bag is taken care of. Some items were put back where they belonged. Duplicate items stayed in the retreat bag. I've also cleared the filming table... then put stuff on it again. LOL It's a process!

So, as you can see I've made some progress.

What area are you focusing on this week? What major project could you make progress on using the Your Path Forward game board strategy? I'd love to hear from you.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FRIDAY FREEBIE - 25 Free Ways to Cut Your Electric Bill

 Good morning, everyone!

This is the beginning of a regular to semi-regular post. I plan to try for every week but at least twice a week. Stay tuned.

The theme of this post will be whatever comes to mind regarding everything household, prepper pantry, gardening, etc. Usually sharing a trusted YouTuber.

Courtesy of https://pixabay.com/users/geralt-9301/

This week I want to share a video by my favorite homesteading youtuber, Leisa from SuttonsDaze. A year ago, she posted a video about FREE ways to cut your electric bill. Before you watch the video, I understand not all of the items will be feasible for you. But, if you can apply even a percentage of these, I think you'll be less stressed when you look at future statements.

I can say I've tried a couple of these for sure and they WORK! Our electric bill was almost $300 about four months ago. Mind you, we were using our 'back up' electric heat (rather than the wood burner I prefer) and because of that the house wasn't keeping as warm, forcing the heat to run more as well as a space heater for Bob in his mancave and one in my office to compensate for what my Split can't handle when temps got into the teens. We've learned a few things.

One, Bob will spend less time in his mancave and in the main part of the house when it's really cold. The trade off is he can work downstairs more in the summer where it's cooler as opposed to running the AC upstairs as much. As for the split in my office, it's energy efficient but not always able to handle the super cold temps. They just aren't made for that.

Two, I've gone back to hanging clothes on the line whenever possible. Sometimes laundry will wait until I can if weather is severely cold or wet. Clothes will dry mostly in cold temps. A few minutes in the dryer in the evening to top dry them and heat the house a bit is another great trade off.

I understand a lot of you will say you can't hang clothes outside for whatever reason. You Do You. That said, if it's a pollen issue, let them dry outside then bring them in and toss in the dryer with a dryer sheet as you normally wood EXCEPT you only need to run the dryer (possibly even with NO HEAT) or low heat for about 10-15 minutes. You'll be amazed how much you'll save.

I'm also using electric appliances less with most even unplugged (I'll get to that next) Our stove is a gas range and the only thing we run on a 250 propane tank. A fill lasts us between 4-5 years!!

As to unplugging things, we moved as much as we could to power strips. When not in use, I simply turn the strip off. I've done this with my dehydrator, our bed (we have serta system that raises & lowers), the tv in the bedroom (I only use for a couple hours in the evening when I go to bed, as well as the Emeril Multi-oven, the mixer and the toaster in the kitchen. 

Making these small changes have cut our bill in HALF! Mind you, I know we won't be using the back up heat, but we're using the AC as little as we can.

So check out Leisa's video below then see how many of the changes you can make. Also, please subscribe to her channel. She does in-depth research in a lot of things that affect our Pantry Preparedness. You'll be glad you did.

Be safe, Be prepared, be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLYLADY WEEK 3 - Bedroom & Bath

 Good morning, friends!

Looks like another wet week in the Ozarks. Great time to focus on the inside cleaning.

I do love my naps but I really need to get the bedroom in order. This week I'm going to focus on getting the roll-top desk organized. I have a basket of stuff to use there. I started participating in 'listing' with a content/ product creator called Listing With Layle. Layle walks you through documenting life in a 2-page spread of a traveler's notebook. I love the concept and I played along for a few weeks but I didn't have a place where I could really lock myself away for 4-5 hours journaling & visiting with others. Yes, I have a studio but everything goes on here. When I found that vintage roll-top desk at a yard sale for $40 I knew that would be my journaling spot. Once we got it moved from the warehouse to the bedroom, I never took the time to actually set it up. That will be my main focus for this week. That and clearing off my nightstand. The piece is actually a vintage vanity that has seen better days. The top needs stripped. Not my task. Just to clean it off and declutter the two drawers. 

I'd love to wash the bedding & put it on the line. Sadly, with the forecast I'll have to get an early start one morning so I can put everything through the dryer. Our power bill has dropped considerably since I've stopped using the dryer so much. I'll be posting a video from a YouTuber I follow where she talks about saving on the electric bill. In the mean time, what are you focusing on this week?

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

Those two tasks will do me while I focus on clearing the craft room/ office so I can work in here next week.

FLY LADY WEEK 2 - Living Room & Dining Room

 Good morning, friends!

This week we focus on the living room & dining room. For you, that might just be one or the other. Ours is a combined 26' x 12' living space separated by our sofa and a sofa cabinet we use for our board games. 

I should go through those this morning, first thing and add to the car full of stuff to go to Goodwill this week. Yes, I know there is a lot of controversy about Goodwill but here's something some people may not be aware of. While there is a huge financial payout the higher you go up the corporate ladder, they help a lot of people. They have education centers that help people get their GED and other learning opportunities, (some) offer daycare while those people are learning. They higher disabled (in a variety of ways), giving them a chance to gain life experience while receiving a paycheck and help the community. For the most part, the ones I've been in are clean. I have a local thrift store (former furniture store) that smells of cat urine and their receiving room is stacked with bags of stuff that literally go the full width of the room and to the ceiling. I realize this is partly due to lack of volunteers, but seriously, I won't even donate there anymore. 

When you look at your living room, what do you see?

End tables/ coffee table tidy, ready for your beverage while you watch a movie? Or do you see clutter to the point you don't even know what lays beneath? For us, we have both. Bob's end table houses a small storage box to keep 'his things' in, a coaster, a lamp. Mine has a lamp, a coaster... and stuff left over from when I sorted out my car console. yeah. I'm the collector here LOL. 

Our sofa/ recliner arms have a storage section beneath. I've not cleaned mine out in forever. Bob's is home to the remotes.

I did a lot of decluttering in here on Friday but there is still more to do. Out of frame on the far left is a card table with my current canning supplies. I spent last week canning sausage and hamburger. I still have #25 of potatoes left to do this week. After that, I plan to canned baked beans. The basket that looks like a bassinet holds the kitchen towels I've not had the chance to fold. That's first on my list after writing this post. The box on the Gazelle on the far back sits on top of an empty tub. I plan to clean that out today. The tub is going to hold reusable boxes we can use for gifts at Christmas. I'll finally have them all in one place. So, not a lot left in the living room.

The dining room will take a bit more work so I've decided to work in stages starting with the game cabinet. I not only have games in there we no longer play (over 40 years we've chosen our favorites) but vintage candle holders, puzzles and a variety of candles. Next will be the immediate stack in the foreground. Those two stacks are in need of breaking down for images to put in my States Junk Journal. I really want to get that journal done and the remains gone. I had a 3' lateral file drawer at one point full of travel books/ brochures by state. Those stacks are all that's left for me to break down into the actual images I want to use.  

The key is to look at your space, make a list of the areas you want to focus on then start with one. If one section is all you get done this week, that's one completed area towards your goal to a tidier, more welcoming home. 

Did I mention Bob may have friends visiting from Iowa later in the month? LOL Yep, expecting company is always a good incentive. 

Please tell me in the comments... What is the one thing you can do in your space this week?

Here's to progress.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 1 - Kitchen & Laundry Room

 Hi everyone!

Welcome to May.

When I came in to write the blog post I realized weeks three and four never got posted. I thought I'd scheduled everything before I left. Was a crazy couple of weeks. ::: laugh :::

I had a great time at the retreat but am so glad to be home and really dig into this house. I have no travel plans until October. With that said, let's do this!

Bob's turn to be gone this week so I can really dig in. I've been busy canning stuff. (I'll show that post later in the week). As you read this I am working on canning #40 of potatoes I brought home from my trip. At least ten of the potatoes weigh just over #1 each! The skins are thin so they'll peel easy but that's going to possibly a two-day process.

Once potatoes are out of the way, my plan is to go through the bottom kitchen cabinets & purge (again) and to do a deep detail on the kitchen floor. Hopefully, wipe down the cabinets, too. The steam tool on my steamer should make that relatively easy.

The laundry room is pretty much the way it needs to be except for getting rid of dog stuff so I can store the bird/ cat foods in the tubs and off the counter. Crossing fingers. 

Since I'm not sure which day Bob is coming home I want to get a car load of stuff taken to Goodwill and the rest of my stuff out of the living room so we can both sit on the sofa and watch TV together.

As I get stuff cleared out, I'll have a more detailed cleaning list. For this week, take a look at your kitchen and laundry area. Are there things you could pitch? When's the last time you wiped down the cabinets? The appliances? Do you clean the inside of your washing machine? Clean the lint tube/ vent?

I'll see you later this week. promise :-)

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 2 - Living Room & Dining Room

 Good morning, friends!

I did accomplish part of what I wanted to do last week.  The Santa Village is packed away and that side of the laundry room got a refresh.

Christmas

Everyday

I've made progress on the living room already today (Sunday).  

I'll post pictures of what we did. For most of last week all of my 12x12 scrapbook paper was in the living room/ dining room while Bob created new shelving for me so I could move stuff around.

Now to get holiday tubs (Easter/ St. Patrick's/ misc. Christmas) back out to the warehouse. I think we're just going to leave those stacked in the corner until we get a day later in the week to take them out to the warehouse. Some things will need to be rearranged first.

I'm trying to get as much writing on the book done as I can this week. Next week will be all about prepping stuff for the Junk Journal Retreat. I leave on the 18th. Blog posts will be scheduled so you can still clean in my absence. ;-)

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK - Kitchen & Laundry Room

 

Good morning!

The sun is shining and we should have a high in the 80s* today. I've already started putting laundry on the line.

A lot of things did not get done last month, as I'd planned. Between getting the oven repaired, dealing with a sinus infection then doctoring Bob's foot, it was a month. I'm going to say March is going out like a lamb here between the nicer temperatures and all of the afore mentioned things behind us.

As I hung the laundry this morning, I got the earliest scents from the Cherry Blossom Bush. I love that bush. Unfortunately, the honeysuckle and blackberry roots have crept beneath ground, across the back yard and trying to take up residence. I pulled a couple of the larger honeysuckle vines down this morning where I could get to clip them. There is still more to do. Always more to do.

With all of the illness/ injuries/ ect. going on here, the Christmas decor is still up in these two rooms. That's all coming down today. The curtains will be first, followed by the Santa village in the living room. 

Did I mention, this has been a year?! LOL I'm never this late getting things down. I'm also realizing the issue is, in part, to my age and issues with my knees. The other thing is, while Bob has been retired for eighteen months, I'm still trying to find my old routine. I know the old routine isn't going to work but I just work better on my own. It's a process. 

So, this week:

** Santa Village

** Curtains in both rooms

** Tea shelf

** Floor

I'm also adding...

** Pack Bathroom Holiday

** Put every day linens back into place

I'm only adding those last two points because I don't want to wait three weeks to get that room back in order.

On top of this, I'll be trying to finish Book 2, An Ozarks Homecoming, so I can work on the edits when I travel the middle of April. 

After the way this year began, I am so ready to get back to a normal cleaning routine. This is the month I prove it is never too late to get back to basics.

Our local grocers had great sales last week. I now have #72 of butter in the freezers. I bought two #5 of russet potatoes. I plan to get seasoned potato wedges in jars later this week. 

What are you working on? Is there a spot in your laundry room/ kitchen you've been putting off tackling? This is the week!

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 5 - Basement

 Good morning!

This room only shows up on the cleaning schedule when we have a fifth week to play with.

The basement really consists of three rooms I need  contend with. The fourth room is Bob's mancave. 

My target this week is the center of the shower room where stuff just seems to get piled. The pile becomes an island we have to negotiate to get to part of the store-purchased can foods on the South wall, the beverage cabinet, home canned food shelves, pan/ cookware (the things you might use three times a on the West wall, the medical/ personals/ towel cabinet on the North wall then the tub/ shower on the East wall. Well nothing needs pitched, just needs better organization. 

The second room is the pantry room. Not much to do in there except to check stock for gaps in food prep items.

The third room is the furnace and under the stairs storage. That will wait for another month. LOL

I'm just trying to get as much out of Bob's way before I leave for retreat in two weeks.

How are you doing? Would love to know.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 4 - Office

 Hi friends!

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. 

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 3 - Bedroom & Bathroom

 Hi friends!

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.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

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