FLYLADY WEEK 2 - Living Room/ Dining Room

Good morning, everyone!

How are you? Have stocked your pantry ahead of price increases? Both of my freezers are bulging. I anxiously await when I can turn on the AC and start running the pressure canner. Between now and then, I need to figure out where all of the filled jars will go on the shelves.

For the next couple of weeks (at the very least) nothing but basic pick up is going to be done in any of the rooms. At this moment, we're still waiting for a good hard rain to see if we have the leak fixed. In the mean time, a lot of the photo boxes containing my polymer and rubber stamps as well as cardstock and 6x6 paper pads are in the living room and the bedroom. There isn't any point in putting stuff in new boxes and back on the shelves.

I also have a lot of boxes of jars stationed in the living room on a card table waiting to be filled. I can't see hauling them back to the basement to bring them back up again. I'm also gradually filling the quart jars with dry mixes/ jar meals. 

If you want to look back at last week and compare with your cleaning duties, you'll find that blog post HERE.

I'm working hard in the office the entire month trying to get ahead of work that needs done before I leave for a writer's conference in October. One thing I'm doing is the popular 31 Days of Halloween on my blog/ YouTube channel. A lot of videos will have to be done up ahead of time.

If you're a paper crafter in any vein, I invite you to visit my YouTube channel or my creative blog.

In the mean time,

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 2 - Living Room/dining Room

 Good morning, everyone!

Another hot day in south-central Missouri. I am so over summer. 

I did get the patriotic decor taken down yesterday and all the fabric stuff washed. Well, except for one mat. Have you ever thought you had everything in the washer only to discover you missed something AFTER the load is finished? That one mat will go in with the curtains, hopefully later this week. I try to have my fall decor up by our anniversary on the twenty-fifth. This will be our forty-second anniversary.

I'm determined to really dive in deep to the living room this week. Get the last of the dry mixes done so the canning jars can go back to the basement. I won't be pressure canning or making preserves for a couple more months. Finally get the tub of boxes for wrapping gifts taken care of. From there, it's general cleaning.

LIVING ROOM:

*  Put away anything that doesn't belong in the space. Have children? Get them to help. I'll bet most of it is theirs anyway. 

* Curtains, take them down. If you can, take them outside to shake out. If not, a no-heating setting on the dryer with a previously used dryer sheet will help. NOTE: Check the cleaning instructions for your drapes/ curtains.

* Dust Everything.

Door/ window frames

Wash the windows (I will add this to last week's list), including tacks. HERE'S a short VIDEO for tips. Clean window tracks help keep the windows energy efficient.

Remove knick knacks from shelves, wipe them down and dust the shelves. (this used to be part of my every Saturday house cleaning as a teenager. Did you have weekly chores?)

Fan Blades/ Light Fixtures

*Furniture

Using a vacuum hose attackment, clean between sofa/ chair cushions. 

Sweep under/ behind all the furniture you can

Sweep/ vacuum/ mop the floor.

Often times, just picking up what doesn't belong in a room can make a huge difference in the asthetics.

DINING ROOM:

If you don't have a dining room, swap out for another room in your home. The basics will fly anywhere thoughout your cleaning routine.

* Put things away that don't belong. 

This is a great time to see if you're putting the same things away every week and can you create a better storage system for them. Because we practically live at our dining room table. Bob built us each a cart for our respective sides of the table for the things we like to keep handy.

* Shake out drapes/ curtains (same application as for the Living Room)

* Windows & sills (same as for Living Room & other rooms in your home)

*Change linens such as table cloth/ runner

* Dust everything

Shelves

Sideboard

Table/ Chair legs & cross boards

Fan Blades

Door frames/ base boards

*China Hutch/ cabinets

Dust will seep in between the doors. 

I deep clean mine once a year - prepping for Christmas decor. I take everything out, rinse/ dry them, wipe down the inside and shelves then put dishes back in place.

Sweep/ vacuum/ mop

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Once you get into this routine, you won't need to be as detailed with things like the window tracks (maybe once a quarter) unless you've had storms that blow everything in through the screen to settle in the tracks.

HERE IS A VIDEO on cleaning tips collected from 'professionals on Tik Tok. The first one they show is using a Swiffer. I use this trick because I'm less than tall so reaching things like the top of the mirror can be a challenge without climbing or asking Bob to wipe it down.  I also use a shorter handle with a cloth on my swiffer to wipe down the inside of my oven after I've run the cleaning cycle. 

If you have any tips to share or questions about how to clean something, please post them in the comments below.

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 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 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 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 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 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 2 - Living Room/ Dining Room

 Good morning, friends.

Been a busy few days here. 

RIP HoneyB

March 2016 - January 2026

He would have been 12 years old in March

i got only what had to be done in the Laundry Room/ Kitchen last week. Mostly focusing on giving the kitchen a good clean ahead of a project for this week.

Last Thursday we sent our adorable, Beagle/ Bassett mix over the rainbow. We are not sure what happened but have our suspicions. He went from being an excited, rambunctious dog to a very quick decline over night and the course of about eight days. A vet check-up showed his vitals all good yet he didn't want food or move around. He also, suddenly, wanted to stay outside in the cold air. We'd bring him in after a chance to do his business only to want right back out a short time later.  I hated to see this sweet boy leave us. He showed up on my deck litter box trained and would bring me his food bowl when it was empty. The house is much quieter now.

I'll spend this week clearing out the remaining items of HoneyB like his toy bucket and figuring out if we're leaving his kennel up until we find an end table. Currently, the top of his kennel serves as an end table on Bob's end of the sofa. I also want to clean up as much hair as I can both around the rooms and in the couch crevices. For a tight-haired dog he could shed a ton! I'll focus mostly on the living room for the deep clean and start taking care of things just lying around in the dining room.

I mentioned last week I was taking part in the Pantry Challenge and Canuary. As I type this on Sunday afternoon, Bob and I canned 7 quarts of Beef Pot Pie filling. You'll find Leisa's video HERE. There's a link to the recipe she used in her description box of the video. Today we'll be canning Beef Tips & Mushrooms in wide mouth pints. We'll use them for stroganoff or just over rice. That recipe is HERE. If there's canner room, I'll add a couple pints of Salisbury Steak patties. That recipe is on Linda's Pantry channel HERE.

Wednesday, I'll b emptying jars of too-soft apple pie filling into the crock pot to cook down to apple butter as well as canning the apple cider I have yet to do. I also think I've found a recipe for powdered mulling spices but since that doesn't require heat, I'll come back to that this fall.

We're adjusting to the new normal around here but we're moving forward.

How are y'all doin? Drop a comment down below. Do you can foods?

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY - Week 2 - Living/ Dining Room

 Good morning!

Week 2 into November. Bob will leave Wednesday for a wedding in Oklahoma. I'll have 5 days to deep clean ahead of Christmas decorating and working on my book. My goal is to write 1086 words per day. I didn't write the first two days of the Rough Draft Challenge so I'll have some words to make up.

I still need to get the Halloween/ Christmas craft stuff out of the living room where the tree needs to go.

I have the craft binders ready to put those items in so I'm planning Halloween one day and the Christmas stuff another day so that table can come down before Bob gets home on the 17th.

The Dining Room will have more of it's focus next month.

Accomplishing that this week will be a HUGE win for me and for the house.

What's your plan of attack this week? I'd love to hear.

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 2 - Living Room/ Dining Room

 Good morning!

Welcome to Week 2 on the cleaning agenda.

While I REALLY need to dig out the living room and dining room this week, I have a short span of time to accomplish anything. Let's talk about what I'd like to get done.

First, the sofa has the jar kits in boxes for Meals in a Jar and Homemade Spice Blends. I'd LOVE to get those take care of this week but I have a hiccup - or two. LOL There can NEVER be just one. 

HoneyB at 1 year old

1 - First thing this morning, I need to call the vet. I'm thinking HoneyB may have a UTI and I need to get that taken care of. As a human, I know first hand those are not comfortable to deal with. HoneyB

is a Beagle/ Bassett mix and about ten years old. He's spoiled. I try to keep his weight under control so he doesn't have to have hip surgery. He banged it once several years ago on a bedding bag of all things! He's struggled with it ever since but he's mostly a lazy dog so we keep the weight under control as best we can - though if you ask him, we are starving him! He loves to lick the kitchen floor so I've had to switch to a cleaner safe for the linoleum. I call him my Swiffer puppy. LOL

2 - This is bill pay week. I could send Bob but I'd still have to go into the bank since I've not had a chance to set up the cash envelope yet. I'd love to drop HB off for his appointment then run the errands and pick him up on my way back. We shall see.

Okay, so there's a third. LOL

3 - I have an on-line writer's conference Thursday - Saturday. I've known this one was coming up but the trip to Illinois last week put me behind the 8-ball a bit more than I would have liked. I've been spending all of my free time getting the blogs and videos set up to auto-run this week and mostly next so I can spend the evenings working on my book again. the first full week after the conference will be about FINALLY getting my website up and running. There are lots of parts to accomplishing that and the beginning stages will take all week.

So, yeah. Do you see a time slot when I'm going to get anything done in the living room this week? 

When life throws you things, let them go splat and move on.

I'll be back here on Thursday with the Thrive Life specials for July and hopefully, a video on Friday. Not one I'll record but I think I can share the ones from Thrive Life. 

So how's your summer going so far? Let me know in the comments below if you're ready for fall. ;-)

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY - Living Room/ Dining Room

 

The first full week of October is dedicated to the living room. I'm not sure a lot of  deep cleaning will get done as we'll be focusing on the changes we need to make to the green house and reorganizing the garden shed.

Traditionally, when Deep Clean week for the living room, I make sure to do the following:

* Detail the recliners

* Clean the ceiling fan blades and lamp globes

* Dust the Entertainment Center

* Sweep/ Mop  floor

The Living Room also includes the Dining Room since we have an open floor plan for this part of the house.

* Clean off the sofa table

* Dust china hutch and clean glassware

* Go through the garden book shelves

* Detail the pet food corner

* Sweep/ Mop floor

This month may be left to what I can do around the outside chores that have a specific deadline... they must be done before Bob goes back out on the 13th. 

Are you a Fly Lady Follower? Whether you are or not, I'd love to hear your cleaning schedule in the comments below!

~Kelly