To Do List

1. throw out soup
2. dishes
3. sweep/mop
4. return clothes
5. crockpot
6. meal plan
7. entry shelves
8. make laundry soap
9. redo calendar
10. kitchen trash
11. Put the stuff in the cardboard box away
12. Pay rent
13. put blender away
14. org entry shelves
15. org pantry
16. vacuum
17. shoes

This week...

This is going to be a weird week for me. For one, it's Christmas on Saturday. Two, that's the day my work schedule changes and I go from graveyard to day shift (so that means on Sat. I work at midnight and don't get off until noon. 12 hrs!). 3- my dad had hip surgery on Fri and so I'm pretty much "on call" to help my dad during the day when my mom has to return to work. and 4- sometime, I don't even know when, my brother is coming to town for the holiday.

I did okay on the dishes. I didn't do them everyday. But I don't have a stack of dishes in my sink, like I normally do so that's a success.
The daily chore I'm going to add: TBA

Also, there's a ton to do:
1. Take out the kitchen trash
2. vacuum
3. Sweep and mop
4. wash bed sheets
5. get hair cut
6. clean tank
7. deposit that check!

Did the dishes!

I did the dishes last night. Just like I was supposed to. I did them before I went to bed (at about 4 AM). I almost gave myself a pass because it was so late. But I didn't! And I'm a bit proud of myself.

I thought that since I would have to do the dishes every night, I would want to make fewer dishes but the opposite is happening. I make more, knowing I'll just do them tonight anyway. Hmm, I may want to become more conservative.

At least they're done.

Cleaning out the Pantry

Here's the thing. I always buy all these ingredients for things recipes I want to make and then I end up not making the recipe. So my pantry ends up stuffed with cans, etc... and I don't want to just throw them out- it's such a waste and maybe I will use it someday. I wish I thought to take a picture before this to show you how stuffed and unorganized it was. I was itching to clean it out, but didn't know what I wanted to do.

Then at work I saw a flyer about a man that works in the IT department. His wife has cancer and this Christmas they're accepting donations for toys for their children as well as any food donations. I mean, how perfect! Here I was, a single gal wondering "what am I going to do with all this extra food?" and here they are... So I went right home and I cleaned out my pantry.

Here's what it looks like now.

SO much better! I can't tell you how much better. 

I can't all remember what I gave away but I think it was:

1 box capri suns

1 box spaghetti noodles

1 can corn

3 cans of soup

1 can Manwich sloppy joe mix

1 box of those fruit cup things

I do think the kids will like the fruit cups and capri suns. I do feel a little guilty that I gave them noodles and no spaghetti sauce and sloppy joe mix and no hamburger meat (of course I couldn't donate a perishable). But I'd like to think that every bit counts. 

The total of everything I gave away came to (approx) just under $9. Not a huge amount. But hopefully it helps them. And hopefully more people do the same thing and donate all they can and then it would really  help out this family. 

To Do List

So my sis get's married on Thursday- so I'm going down early early Wednesday morning. So, there's LOTS to do before I go.
1. Cut hair
2. Pack
3. Wrap her present
4. pick up the laundry
5. dishes
6. clean Abel's tank
7. fix chair
8. take out all the trash
9. take food donations to work
10. dust// vacuum
11. sweep// mop
12. clean out fridge
13. return netflix
14. deposit check
15. Nails
16. DI

I'm back! With two eye lash curlers

I dunno what is up with my computer and why it won't recognize my camera's sim card thingy (can you tell I'm so not computer savvy?)
Anyway, I'm back and here's the motivating factor as to why:

I have two!!!!!!!
I needed an eye lash curler the other day and so I went to the store and bought one. About 1 week later, I was rustling around in one of my bathroom drawers and I found...another eye lash curler! I had one all along! But my drawers (and house) is such a mess that I didn't even know/ remember I already had one and I bought one for absolutely no reason. And there's absolutely no reason to have two eyelash curlers.
This made me realize that I really do need to keep my house in better shape!
I have a drawer FULL of crap that I never use and then when there is something I do need, I can't find it. What sense does that make??
So I got rid of a ton of stuff. Clothes, bath products (1/3 bottle of lotion from 2 years ago. Really?) even food from my pantry that I donated to a family for a Christmas drive thing.
I feel tons better already.

Now I need to get back to my daily chores. So here goes: dishes. every night.

To Do List

Ok, here's the list this week:

1. send laurel's present
2. call eye dr
3. clean out car...
4. ...then get car re-registered
5. Clean the kitchen
6. set up sewing machine
7. clean off entry shelves
8. update ledger
9. org protocol folder
10. go to the hairdresser if at all possible (prob not tho...)
11. clean out fridge (food waste?)
12. order bountiful basket

LOTS to do

I just got back from Vegas and my work schedule got all mixed up this week. (WHY OH WHY does the one day you make plans- that's the day my boss changes the schedule and I have to work???) Anyway, I've been slacking pretty much and need to do a lot to get my house back in shape.

1. org coupon book
2. laundry [[almost done! I just have to fold my pjs]]
3. sheets
4. Go over benefits info
5. DISHES!!!!
       ** make sure to wipe off stove!
6. entry shelf
7. sweep and mop
8. vacuum
9. clean the WHOLE bathroom!  (I cleaned a lot of my bathroom, so I'm going to call this one done.)
10. take can rack and mattress bag to storage.
11. clean off desk
12. org entertainment shelves  (ehh, I really could work on this some more)
13. fix charm
14. wipe off balcony railing
15. finish unpacking
16. find a place for my new steamer
17. put blanket away
18. put shoe org away
19. air filter!! [[oh dang it. I forgot to have Russ check it when he was over!]]
         (update- I checked the air filter! haven't replaced it yet tho...)
20. windows and mirrors
21. put TP away
22. Return pants to Walmart
23. org white drawers and bed drawers
24. Add laundry $ to ledger.
25. Put pink backpack away
26. B/W hat box
27. take out trash

to do list

1. put protocol pages in sheet protectors
2. computer cords
3. hang tree pic
4. redo nails
5. take out trash
6. hang up clothes
7. do laundry (sheets)
8. dishes
9. org shoes
10. take mattress bag to storage
11. soda cans
12. dye hair (roots?)
13. entry shelves
14. put tools away
15. put phone book away
16. BED?!

This past week...update

Well, this week was pretty much the hardest 7 days of my life. So, I didn't do so well keeping up with my chores. I really slacked on the dishes, especially which I feel pretty awful about because that really was the one thing I had to do. But basically, I just didn't want to do anything. So normally, I would make a new goal for the week, but I'm going to try again with my 1 goal of doing the dishes.
While not everything in my life is fixed, I do have a better handle on it all, so hopefully I can get a better handle on my chores as well. I will hopefully post a to do list soon. There will be a lot on it!

Review

I just want you to know that I did do the dishes last night. I waited till the very last second, but I did them. And thanks to going to lunch w/ my mom and then working so late, I have no dishes to do tonight. Well, okay I have 1 spoon, but really I'm not doing 1 spoon. That can wait. I'm giving myself that.

Day 1 of my new life

Well, maybe it's not entirely a new life but it's pretty darn close. I have a new home, new job, new schedule. And I'm super excited about it. I've lived in my apartment close to 2 weeks (WOW that went by fast!) and now that I seem to be unpacked and settled, not to mention the fact that I started my new job/schedule today, it's time to go back to the re-implement the plan I had going. But I'm going to ease my way back into it the same way I did it before.
So goal 1 is doing the dishes every night.
With 1 person, it shouldn't be that hard, but sometimes I think to myself, 'there's only 1 glass and 1 plate, maybe a fork or spoon. They can wait till tomorrow.'
Well, they can't wait. I need to do them every night before that one glass and plate turn into a big pile of dishes that I really won't want to do.

And yes, tonight I did the dishes.

To do List

Oh have I been slacking! Not good. I have a ton to do, and I'm going back to my specific, point by point list.
1. Throw out take out bags by bedside table
2. clean toilet
3. vacuum
4. dishes (k this isn't that specific, but...what more can I say?)
5. print BL pictures and Iron man pictures
6. Hang up diploma
7. pick up ALL clothes on floor and put in laundry basket.
8. Put books away in bookshelf
9. Find places for new shoes
10.make household folder thingy
11. cut coupons and org coupon folder
12. practice piano
13. wash towels and socks. (I used the last of my clean gym socks today)

To do List

Alright, last week I burned my left hand (so not good!) But everything's healed besides this big blister between my index and middle finger. I mention this because it's hard to do stuff one handed, so...I didn't do stuff.
So my place is a mess! 


1. laundry!! (sheets!)
2. dishes
3. bathroom
4. Finish BG paperwork.
5.take out all trash cans
6. take care of clothes in the corner
7. bookshelf
8. stuff in front of bookshelf

To do List

Ok, this is gonna be quite an interesting week.
Lots to get done.
1. unpack
2. print out baby pictures
3. go to the eye dr.
4. throw flower pot away
5. clean bathroom

there's more. I just can't think right now. Ugh my mind is just a muddled mess.

To do List

LOTS to do this week. I'm still not even sure on my schedule this week, which is tough but I just gotta try and to everything I can.

1. Wash the sheets
2. Clean out my purse
3. Clean out my car
4. Unpack
5. trash
6. Go through closet for stuff to donate
7. update MP3
8. go through photos (scrapbook??)
9. dye hair
10. review budget and saving plan
11. make freezer jam
12. bathroom
13. bookshelf
14. vacuum
15. org R's play shirts shelf

To do List

I've lost track of what week this is. I'm simply worn out from this weekend. It was my first weekend with Russ's family without Russ there. He's my buffer from the crazy that is his family and this past weekend at my sis in law's  baby shower I was without my buffer! haha. I do absolutely LOVE his family but they're...loud and um...a lot.
Anyway, so there's a lot to do and basically all I did today was go grocery shopping. That's it. And tomorrow I work late and then go over to my mother's house so not a lot will be done tomorrow either.
So who knows when I'm going to get everything done, but.... oh gosh I'm already exhausted.
1. Do the dishes
2. Unpack
3. laundry
4. Meal plan
5. Go through family pictures
6. Clean out the car
7. vacuum
8. Make freezer meals: Ravioli

Tuesday is my day.

It seems like every Tuesday, I'm up and at 'em and ready to work. That is the day I get stuff done. Tuesday is my day. It's a good day. It's also the day Biggest Loser is on which is my FAV show and I go to my mom's house and we watch it together.
I don't know why every other day of the week is so much harder for me. The weekends are really hard because Russ is home and I want to play with him all day instead of do chores. Mondays are hard because I so often work that day and let's face it, it's Monday. Wednesday, I've normally worked so hard the day before that 1) there's not much to do and 2) I feel like I get a little break. I don't know what happens on Thursday and then it's friday and it's almost the weekend and I'm lazy and well, I just don't. But Tuesday, that's my day. (oh. plus I hardly ever work on Tuesday. But of course I work on that day next week!)
Hmmm....
Not quite sure how I'm going to remedy this.


P.S. I'm at my father's house right now and the only letter on his keyboard that's rubbed out is the N. Weird? The rest are fine. Completely whole and clear. Yet the N is totally gone, rubbed off, blank. What's he typing that has so many N's? I mean I know it's a common letter but more than S? There's an S in his first name. More than R (also in his name) or T? Nope just the N. Funny. Now of course I'm totally aware every time I press the N key.

Yay really productive day!

Yay! I got a lot done today. That makes me happy! I:
got the spot up off the bathroom cabinets. I had no idea how dirty they were till I wiped them off. So I took a picture of my new magic eraser after I washed the cabinets.

Gross huh? Yup. I also:
did all the dishes. (i'll take them outta of washer tomorrow!)
Took out 1 bag of trash. We missed trash day last week (I absolutely hate that! So our big trash can is overflowing. I'm not sure what we're gonna do for the next 3 days)
Did 3 loads of laundry including the sheets and my work uniform. I folded and put away only 2 of those loads...
OOO and I found a place for my robe. I hated the idea of getting those hooks to stick on the door (like the last one that didn't really stick!) so I got one of those hooks that go over the door. Now my robe has a home. Finally.  see:

 Went to the grocery store
found a spot for the shoe boxed I can't bring myself to throw away
put away the little things that I've been collecting in one of those said shoe boxes
put russ's laptop bag away
made one of my old pringles cans into a change cup
vacuumed
bought insoles and cut them to the right size and put in my work shoes
returned netflix
Went to the DI and gave away a box of donations
Put movie case away
Put disney scene it away

And I went to the gym. And I went to my parents and talked to my mom for hours! And I even slept in. What a good day!!
I think the specifics were good. It made every task little and seemingly doable. Yes the list was long but look how much I did. And the more I do the more I want to get done. Yes, little simple specific tasks are much better.

Specific to do list

This time my list is going to be specific. My past ones have been pretty vague and not much got done. So my thinking is that if I'm specific about what needs to get done, I'll be more apt to doing it than giving myself some vague reference to something that kinda gets done. So...
1. Get that spot on the bathroom cabinet
2. Refill the water bottles. Put them in the old box they came in but throw the plastic out.
3. Do the dishes. Every single one in the sink.
4. Take out the trash can by Russ's desk and in the bathroom. now mine too.
5. Do laundry: sheets and uniforms
6. clean the toilet
7. Still need to find a place for my robe. (Or...get a new hook to replace the one that broke that use to hold up my robe behind the bathroom door.)
8. Research starting a garden. And by this I mean go to the hardware store and get prices for the supplies and find out what I need and what I need to know and read that article on The Grocery Cart Challenge about compost.
9. Clean out car. meaning: take out all the trash. replace the trash can. bring in all clothes and put those away. and then refill that plastic bucket on my passenger seat and get a cooler like the BL suggests.
10. Go to the bank and get cash for grocery budget
11. find a spot (or purpose) for the shoe box
12. put away all those little knick knacks I've been collecting in the old box.
13. Find old phone.
14. Bring donations to the DI
15. put russ's laptop case away
16. figure out meal plans (including lunches and produce) ...
17....and go grocery shopping (and get printer paper)
18. and cut up said produce for easy access and availablity
19. Make one of those empty pringles cans into a change cup and find spot for said cup
20. dust and vacuum the bedroom
21. Go over old camera. Erase old pictures and figure out what to do w/ it/. Donate?
22. buy insoles
23. throw tortilla chips away
24. return netflix
25. transcribe dads cd. (When oh when am I going to find the time to do this??)
26. throw out enchilada casserole
27. Put movie case away
28. Put disney scene it away
29. research (er. make) a playlist and try it out at the gym.

Oy maybe I just got the kick in the pants that I needed.

So Russ's friend came over just now. And our place is a mess. HOW EMBARRASSING! seriously dirty underwear on the floor, dirty dishes from dinner last night I didn't want to do just sitting there. Trash everywhere. Oy! I need to keep this place clean! Worst.

Productive day!

Even though I slept in WAY longer than I planned, I still got a lot done and I'm kinda proud. I did 2 loads of laundry, 2 loads of dishes, organized my coupon book and recipe book and cooked dinner, cleaned off the top of my bookshelf (mostly, haha) and took out 1 bag of trash. I still have to find a place for my robe. I thought I'd finally found a spot, but it didn't work out. Of my daily chores I
did the dishes
wiped off the stove
wiped off the desk.


still have to:
swish toilet
pick up for 5 min (which technically I did but didn't really focus about it so i'm not sure it counts)
wipe off mirror
and wipe off bathroom counter. This one might not get done...the counters practically covered!

Week 10 to do list

1. Still need a place for my robe!
2. dishes!
3. Trash
4. put up curtains
5. clean out car

That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure there's more that needs to be done tho. It's gonna be a long (crazy) week with Russ home all day!!

New task and new week

So I've written out a schedule that I want to start following and put some order back in my life. I don't want to sleep away the day (like I did today!) and I want to get more done. Here's the kicker tho. This week is spring break for Russell so he'll be home all week. It'll be especially more tough to do chores and things with him home to play with all day! But if I can get everything done then I'll know I can do it no matter what! So that's my main 'daily task' this week but I do want to add something simple and easy since I've been slacking for the past couple weeks, especially because I've taken the diet coke check off my list. So I'm going to wipe off the bathroom mirror every day. 

Decorations

Okay, I'm not the most creative person but I've been trying to spruce this place up a bit. Maybe if it looks nice,  I'll be more inclined to keep it clean! I haven't done much but here's what I have done.

I've framed a few things. Don't know why this is blurry but it's a pic of Russ with our nephew on his chest. SO cute!

This is me and Russ from behind. My sister took it when we went to Vegas to celebrate my birthday a couple years ago.  I love this one.
I bought both frames at a discount shop and spray painted them black. I went to walmart and printed out both pics in black and white and hung them on the very broad wall of our bedroom. It looks like this for now:

It's plain, but it's a start.
Above the door, I printed out a black and white almost paisley print and then I put it right back in the printer and printed a big C over it. I love it. I think this is my favorite thing. I put it in an old frame and hung it above the door.

This is blurry too, but it's so high up it was tough to get a good shot.

Then there's the ledge above the door to our bathroom. It's a plant shelf- very 1990 but I thought I could at least make it pretty. The flowers are old and I just printed out a sheet of music and wrapped it around an old vase. The frame on it's left is another discounted frame that I painted. I just printed out a silhouette of two birds that I thought was cute and wrote russell & lindsay in the top left corner and next to that is a candle and another frame I got at the DI and again, painted. Now everything is nice and uniform. I love it. The words say "Promise me you'll never forget me, because if I ever thought you would, I'd never leave. -Winne the Pooh" I saw this phrase on a plaque like thingy in the store and loved it! So i redid it my own way here. and then a simple candle to bring in the blue theme. We have a blue comforter (that I hate but I haven't found anything better yet)
Now I got this vase for free from work and I had my valentines flowers in it for a while, but they've officially died, so I threw them out this morning and turned it into this.

It's simple but I love it. I just went to my backyard that has like 2 square feet of grass and the rest is rock. (Grass is a rare commodity in ol' St. George!) So I just picked up some that I like the color and so it was totally free! I put it up on my plant shelf to the left of the blue candle and to the left of this I put on old keepsake box. I like it. I just need to find more goodies at the DI to fill in the gaps!
Then lastly, I found this frame at Michaels and made letter art and posted it above our bed.

but I hated the cream/yellow color of the mat. oy did I hate it. So I spray painted it! Now it looks like this:

better.
That's it for now. I'll have to post when I get that plant shelf finish!

Yay! Lots got done today!

I got a later start than I'd planned this morning, but I got a lot done today. Hopefully I don't flake out on my daily tasks! (That are more like my nightly tasks). I:
-did 2 loads of laundry start to finish.
-did some decorating
-practiced the piano
-bought new shoes!
-finished the curtains. I just need to hang them! I had quite the time trying to hang them this afternoon. I'll try again tomorrow.
-went to the library
-cleaned the bathroom- that's 1 daily chore done
-parted with some pjs (post to come)

and dinner's in the oven. There's still a ton to do! The work's never done!

week 9 to do list

Ok, I need to get out of this funk I seem to be in.
Don't know what's up.

Anyway, here's my new list of things to do. I've barely crossed anything off in the past 2 weeks!
1. Throw out Valentine's roses. They've been on the way out for a few days now but they're so pretty I can't bare to! Even if they are wilting. But I have a plan for the vase, so I gotta give them up.
2. Take pictures to show you of all my new decorations.
3. Go to the bank
4. Make Curtains- I'll still need to pick up some more fabric!
5. clean out purse
6. clean out car
7. Take out trash
8. Clean bathroom
9. Vacuum floor
10. Vacuum blinds
11. Find a place for my robe- still haven't done this!
12. Follow my new schedule re: gym/ piano practice/ DI
13.  Org bookself again
14. Spray paint the LOVE frame
15. move those things (I have no clue what they're called.) on the top shelf.
16. Make smoothies: I've been wanting to make smoothies and freeze them for later breakfasts for some time now, and I accidentally bought vanilla yogurt this week, so the best way to use it up is smoothies!
17. Get water outta my trunk! I've given up dt. coke so now I'm stalking up on water. not the most economically or environmentally sound but I actually did the math. It cost me .21 for 1 can of dt coke and it cost me .11 for a bottle of water. So I save about .30 a day (I would easily drink 3 cans a day and I drink around 2-3 bottles of water. much healthier at least and I am saving a little bit of $) I am planning on saving my bottles and refilling them, I just need some kind of filter system first!

Daily Check in

K today I worked pretty much all day. From 11-7 and since I didn't even get up till about 10:35, not much got done. I did:
-make dinner
- I didn't technically wash the dishes but I put them all in the sink to be washed first thing in the a.m.
- did a 5 min pick up
-wiped down bathroom sink/counter
-swished out toilet
-checked for dt coke cans
-took pills
-and now posted. '
I think that's all my tasks but to be honest I can't quite remember. I'm going to have to go through old posts and remind myself what they are.
Oh and today should be the last day of my diet coke check. I have officially given up diet coke. After years and years of drinking it, and I mean like 3-4 cans a day! I've been wanting to give it up for a while now but my desire for it has been a lot stronger than my desire to be w/o it. Russ has been telling me to give it up for a while too. Mainly because of aspartame. And the cost, and the sugar and the other chemicals. Ok. So my last 12 pack ran out on Sunday so I have been official 2 days sober. haha. maybe my new daily task should be don't drink a dt coke.

Daily check in

**I swear I posted this last night. Not sure what happened! Anyway here it is.

K. So I'm posting. that's one daily task down down.
I also:
did 3 loads of laundry start to finish
organized my POH photos into my album
Went to costco w/ Russ. I shouldn't have to grocery shop for 2 weeks at least!
took out 1 bag of trash

as of the daily tasks I:
Cleared away all of the dt coke cans
wiped the bathroom sink and mirror
took pills
swished toilet
and now posted.

Not nearly as much as I wanted got done today. I played too much with my new decorations for our bedroom. (pictures to come) and I didn't make dinner because Russ brought home leftovers from his lunch so I just ate a sandwich. Tomorrow I work 11-7 but I still can make dinner and I still have to do my daily tasks.

week 8 to do list

1. Clean the bathroom from top to bottom
2. Make curtains- I ran out of fabric! I'll have to put these on hold.
3. Clean out car
4. Print pictures from POH
5. laundry- sheets
6. Take out trash
7. Gym at 3 no excuses!
8. put the pillow cases back on the bed
9. Get up the stains on the carpet
10. Find a place for my robe.


As for my new daily task? Well, I think I've already gone so easy on myself in the past few weeks, but I'm falling off the wagon and I need simple baby steps to get back on track here. The only thing I want to add is just to make sure I blog each night about what I've done.  And I want to be honest about it. Blogging here, even if there's no one out there that read it, gives me a sense of accountability. So even if I haven't done anything at all I need to post that. Simple. 

Week 7 To Do List

Oh boy. What a week! This weekend especially was just a wonderful mess and I finally got back into town last night around 1 am. and I had to be at work this morning at 7! Yeah, I'm definitely sleeping in tomorrow!
There's a LOT to be done this week
1. Clean the bathroom: mainly the toilet but really everything needs to be wiped down!
2. Get Russ new pants
3. Clean out car
4. dishes!
5. finish taxes (mail whatever that needs to be mailed
6. unpack (almost)
7. Gym
8. put the pillow cases back on the bed
9. Take out trash esp. on Russ's side
10. org all my photos from this weekend
11. Get up the stains on the carpet

I'm already tired just thinking about everything.
I'm sure I'll add more to this list soon!


Oh! by the by. The only new task I want to add this week is take my pills every day. I've really been slacking on my tasks and I want to focus on them more before I add a new one, but I have to take my pills! No excuses.

-Holy cow! I didn't get anything done did I? I keep saying this but really next week, I've got to and I mean got to get back on track!

Daily Check in

Well, as I write this, I'm currently in bed, still sick and in pain. I keep thinking it will ease up and it still hasn't. Maybe I should see a dr about this. I really hate drs tho. and medical bills....
anyway. not much got done today again because of it.
I did wash my shower curtain
did the dishes
and filed my taxes.
yeah that's basically all i've done in the past 2 days. That's pretty depressing.
I'm mostly packed for this weekend, all but the toiletries.
and I work all day tomorrow so most likely tomorrow night I'll be out of it.
and then Fri I'm gone till monday.
not the most productive week, but I think I have an excuse. Maybe I should just buck up and work through the pain. Luckily I got a lot done on Monday so this place still looks decent. But there's always something to do.

ugh I hate being sick

Yesterday I had a really productive morning. I

-restocked our supply of toilet paper

-cleaned out the bottom of the closet

-found a spot for the little handheld vacuum

-did 4 loads of laundry (3 start to finish, 1 I folded and put away this morning)

-picked up All the trash on the floor

-took out like 3 bags of trash

-vacuumed the bedroom

-cleaned off my desk

-cleaned out my lunch box

-went bra and jean shopping (just ick!)

-picked out the clothes I want to pack for this weekend.

-cut out my coupons

-wiped off the bathroom counter/sink

-wiped off the mirror

but then 6 o'clock hit and I just got wiped out. My insides were churning and I just couldn't do anything more. But I still had to put the sheets on the bed-oy! Have you ever had to put sheets on a bed when it feels like you're being stabbed in the stomach when you bend over. Ouch! I think in my haste I put them on sideways.

So I finally got into bed and didn't get up for the rest of the night. There's still a lot of things left on my to do list, but I don't know how much I'm going to be able to get done today. I want to get better!!

Week 6 To Do List

There's a LOT to do this week.
1. Laundry- including sheets, uniform and jeans!
2. Dishes
3. Pick up the bedroom floor
4. Take out trash- especially bathroom trash
5. Vacuum
6. Clean off the desk and wipe down
7. wash out lunch box
8. go bra shopping (I really hate doing this! I've put it off far too long.)
9. file taxes
10. Pack to go to my parents house this weekend for Parade of Homes. (My favorite thing! Can't wait)
11. Bathroom- pretty much ALL. especially the sink/ counter, mirror and toilet
12. go to the gym- just to walk. Tan
13. Clean off the bookshelf
14. Watch and return Flight of the Conchords DVD
15. Watch Glee (this one's kinda a want, but I want to watch the dvd before I go to my parents so I can give it to my sis)
16. Organize coupons and add to price book
17. I really want to dye my hair. We'll have to see if there's time (there's not.)
18. Hang diploma

week check in

Normally, I try to check in every day about the tasks I've done that day, but this week i've failed quite miserably. I don't really know what happened the first few days but Tuesday I went to the drs to have a procedure that pretty much knocked  my out for the rest of the week. They told me it wouldn't hurt. They LIED!! It hurt. I've barely gotten out of bed all week. And so the last thing I wanted to do was clean my house. In fact I pretty much just started throwing my trash on the ground. Sorry. It sounds awful-- yeah very awful, but I wasn't about to get out of bed just to throw something away. heck no. So my house is a freaking mess. I'm feeling a little better and I worked all day tomorrow then we're off to my parents house tomorrow night for Superbowl Sunday, so Monday, it's back to normal.
As far as my new task, I haven't quite mastered these tasks I already have. Plus tomorrow and this weekend are going to be quite crazy. My sister and friend are coming to town for Parade of Homes. Our favorite thing EVER!
So for this week I'm going to focus on the tasks I already have and hopefully next week I should be able to add a new one. A reminder as to what tasks I have:
1. Dishes
2. Wipe bathroom sink/counter
3. 5 minute pickup
4. wipe off desk
5. Swish out toilet
6. Diet coke check
7. Wipe off stove. (didn't do this one once this week.)

New Daily Task

Well, I didn't do all that great keeping up with my daily tasks this week. The first part of the week went okay, the rest of the week, well...

Okay. This week should be better. And now it's time to decide on a new daily tasks.

Wipe off the stove.
I do this almost every time anyway.  Normally when I wash the dishes, I just wipe off the sink and the stove anyway, so I decided I should just make this a task anyway.
Maybe that's a cop out, but it's what I want. So it's what I'm going to do.

Lazy days

So a little about my personal life. I'm always sick. Well not always because if someone reads that and believes it, I'll feel bad since there are people who are actually always sick. Anyway, I'm sick a lot. Just this morning I woke up at 6am (which to me that hr is just obscene!!) due to abdominal pain and puked twice. Fun. I take at least 4 pills a day. I have a long laundry list of things I am just never going to be able to eat again. (I also have a laundry list of things I shouldn't eat but just can seem to excise them from my life.) Why did I say all that. Because I've realized something lately. I either have good days or bad days. Either I'm productive and hard working or I barely get up and do anything. I want to say that my illnesses has something to do with it. I feel better now, but I don't have high hopes about getting tons done today.
By the way, Russ is still sleeping. It's a quarter to 2 in the afternoon. Today's going to be a lazy day.

It's kinda funny...

I've said that when I get overwhelmed, it's hard for me to do chores, but today I buckled down and got stuff done and then I remembered, I LIKE to get stuff done. I love the feeling of accomplishing a task and crossing it off my list. And the more I crossed stuff off, the more things I wanted to do, and the more I got done, the better I felt. PLUS the cleaner my house got, the better I felt. A clean house just feels better  than a dirty/disorganized one. Here's what I did today (besides go to the dr- Ick. What a horrible way to start the day.)
1. Picked up all the stuff off the floor and vacuumed. Look how pretty our floor looks:

Ok, it's not perfect. And our carpet is stained, but it's clear! and SOOO much better than it was yesterday.
2. Swished out the toilet
3. Washed my sheets and made the bed
4. Wiped off the bath counter

5. Took the dishes out of the dishwasher

6. "Found" this bucket:

Here's the story behind this. One day I was in a big hurry and wanted the perfect outfit. So I tried on a bunch of outfits and didn't want to take the time to hang them back up so I threw them in this bucket that sits on the bottom of my closet. I thought this was a much better alternative to my (apparently--in my head) only other option: throwing them in a pile on the floor. So here they sat. For some time. I can't even remember what I was getting dressed for. So I put all these clothes away and put the empty container back in my closet.

Not sure what I'm going to do with it now.

7. Found a place for my cleaning products.

There's not much storage space in our place and I could never find a good place for my bucket of cleaning products. For a long time it sat at the foot of the bed. It was a weird spot and Russ kept tripping over in the mornings. So today I thought about it and the only place it can go is under the sink. But the sink is stuffed. There's no room. So I did some reorganizing and even got rid of somethings- such as really old gross ratty towels and I made room.

It's a small thing, but I'm excited. Most of these products are only used in the bathroom anyway, so this just makes so much more sense. It's the little things I guess.

Anyway, my mood is sooo much better and I have a lot more hope in my doing all of my daily tasks the rest of the week.

I still have problems

1. Whenever I get upset/depressed/overwhelmed I cannot do housework. Why is that?  No idea. I'm trying to work through it but it's as if housework is like 20 times harder to do during these off times. Right now is one of those times. I told myself over and over I have to do my daily tasks at least, and I did do my dishes, but I doubt anything more will get done today.
2. I think that I'm not 'hoarding' it if it has a place to go. See this thing:

I think I've had this thing for over 3 years. But it had a spot. So it wasn't in anyone's way. And I could use it one day, so I thought it still held value. But I never did use it, but I also never threw it out. I kind of assume that if it has 'a place to go' then it's okay to hold on to it. This can't go on. I have to learn that even though it's not on a pile on the floor that it's still junk. Anyway, I saw it today and I realized how old it was and just had that thought to myself, 'why am I still holding on to this?'

I still have a lot of progress to make. It's okay though. I have to remind myself that it's okay. That this is about the progress, not about what I didn't do, or what still needs to happen. Before I probably would have thought about how old this was and left it there. That's progress!

Week 5 To Do List

This week's to-do list is going to be a little on the light side. I just want to get through this week, and then I can sleep again. That's how I feel.

1. Wash sheets
2. Make the chicken in the fridge before it goes bad!
3. Pick up the stuff that's piled on the floor
4. Work on Code 5 stuff. Mainly: finish E.R. Interview
5. Organize recipe folder
6. Just keep up with daily tasks.

That's it. I'm sure I'll think of more things that need to get done, but I have so much to do: work, appts, gym...I can't let it overwhelm me so much. Life goes on.

Oh boy!!

So I don't think I have ever checked off everything on my to-do list for the day. I usually make a very long list on purpose, do all that I can, and carry the rest over to the next day, adding more tasks to the list and on and on I go. So I always have something to do. There's always something that needs to happen. I'm never done. Normally it doesn't get to me but sometimes weeks like this happen. Where there's SO MUCH to do, I get so overwhelmed.I have to be at work at 8 in the morning (which to me is like having to go to work at 2AM!!)  And then, I have a drs. appointment- ICK and then I have to work again on Wednesday at 3-11. 

And this place is starting to look like it did before I even started this blog. And then because it's a mess again (and how easy it was to become a mess again) I get even more overwhelmed. It's a vicious cycle! And one I know I need to break out of, but it's still very hard for me. I have really failed in my daily tasks this week, which makes me disappointed in myself. Hopefully this week, even though it's going to be full, I can still get this place back on track and make myself proud again. 

My new daily task for this week will be: Swish out the toilet everyday.

Cleaning the bathroom is hard for me, especially the toilet. It's the last thing I do. And I've seen my progress on the bathroom counter, so I'm hoping I can have this effect on my toilet. I don't want to do a full deep-cleaning, Just take the toilet brush and a little cleaner, and just swish it out. 

Daily check in

Yeah! I feel great. I worked for 8 hours today so not a lot got done but I did do ALL of my daily tasks! Plus I made dinner. (I love love love my crock pot!!) I:
did the dishes
wiped down bathroom sink
checked for diet cokes
picked up for 5 minutes.

Hopefully I get a lot done tomorrow but I do have to go to work for part of the day, so we'll see...

Daily check in for yesterday

I didn't check in yesterday. I was just too tired. I worked all day, either doing chores or my actual job, and then at 7:00 I went to my parents house. When I came home I cooked dinner. Then Russ and  I went to his sister's house till 1:00. Then we had to swing by his parents house to drop something off and they both live 20 minutes away. So we didn't even get home till 1:30 and I had to work at 9:00 this morning. I'm tired. Yeah, I got 6 hours of sleep, but I need at least nine to function. It was bad this morning!
Anyway....

I did:
do the dishes
check for cokes
wiped off the bath/sink
wiped my desk.

I didn't do the pick up even though it needs it, but I was just too tired and I knew I needed to wake up in early in the morning.
Excuses excuses I know. But this is a process. I'm growing I know I am and that's what matters to me. My house looks good and Russ and I are happy.

The Shelves behind my toilet

What are they called? You know what I mean.

Anyway, I organized them today. And once again I forgot to take a before picture. but here it is now:

Here we have: two jars (ok, I'm too cheap to buy apothecary jars and instead they're just drinking glasses that my parents were going to throw out) filled with the essential toothpicks and q-tips. next to that is a basket full of all my extras. Extra lotions, body wash, shaving cream all that. On the bottom shelf is the emergency extra rolls of toilet paper and then the tissue box. I used to have all the extra bath towels and wash clothes there which was a mess, but I had an extra basket so I switched them to that and stuck it in the cabinets under the sink. I tried my best to organize that space as much as I could, but it's still a little crazy. I need to get to that soon. But these shelves look much better.

New Daily Task

Ok. I decided. And I came right here to share. My new daily task is:

Wipe off desk every night.

Here's why: my desk is small. I bought a small one on purpose. But it gets cluttered WAY fast. Whenever I clean it off, it's a mess the next day. A MESS! I think I've shared photos before. Here it is today (in relatively good shape.)

Ever since I decided to wipe my bathroom counter off every night, it hasn't gotten cluttered! It's stayed clean. In fact....

This is what my bathroom looks like today. Ok, it's not pristine, but remember what it used to look like? Huge difference and I'm proud of that. So I got to thinking, that if I wipe off my desk every day, i'll keep it cleaner and more organized like my bath counter.

Hello again

So, I've been absent for a few days now. Russ's brother and sister-in-law moved this weekend, so we went to NV to help them. We just got back tonight and I'm worn out. Tonight I'm going to get a MUCH needed night's sleep and tomorrow I'm going to get to my long list of things to do:

1. Meal plan/ grocery shop. (All I know about this weeks menu is tomorrow Pot stickers and for dinner)
2. unpack
3. laundry
4. Get to the dishes that I didn't do on Thurs.
5. Gym
6. clean off showerhead
7. decide on a new daily task. (I've been thinking about it since Thurs and still not sure...)

Daily check in

Today I worked alllllllll day. Well it feels like it anyway. I did:
-make dinner.
-did the dishes
-checked for diet cokes
-did a quick wipe of the bath counter

I tried to do a 5 min pick up but like two minutes in, there was nothing left on the floor to put away. So I plucked my eyebrows for the rest of the time. It needed to be done!

The bookshelf

Remember when I cleaned up my bookshelf. It looked so nice. It stayed so nice for a while, but then...it got cluttered again. How? Dunno. How am I going to stop this in the future. Dunno.

But I cleaned it off again. I forgot to take a before pic, but here's the after. Here's the top of the bookshelf that got cluttered up. I have a thing about my purse being on the floor but that's where it often goes, since there's no place for it.  Then I decided that this would be a perfect spot since the bookshelf's right by the front door, but... the bookshelf's always too big of a mess to put it here. I need to keep this cleared off for that reason alone. The other is I bought flowers the other day, to bring life and brightness to the room, the whole feng shui thing, but there was no place to put them. So here they are. Very nice. 

here's the whole bookshelf.

Not super clean and organized but it's functional and it suits my needs and I'm very proud. 

Daily Check in

Today I:
-cleaned off the top of the bookshelf
-Called the Dr. and made an appt
-Folded the laundry from yesterday
-Took the dishes out of the dishwasher
-Vacuumed the bedroom
-swept and mopped the bathroom
-worked for 3 hours
-did the daily tasks: dishes, diet coke check and bath counter. I would do the 5 min pickup but there;s nothing to pick up! The room looks so good today I'm so excited. Even russ said how good it looks! I love it.
I did pick up the floor since I vacuumed so it's still nice.

The nightstand

For some reason, we keep everything on our nightstand. Are we that lazy, that once we're in bed we need everything to be at hand's reach. It's been a mess for ages now and so I decided to tackle it today.
The before:

If you're wondering why there's a diet coke there since I did my coke check last night, it's because I got it this morning but never opened it. So there it is in the photo. There are some other embarrassing objects in this photo too, but I wanted to show it accurately. This is what this looks like every day. And I call it a nightstand, but really it's Russ's laptop table. We never used it for that, and it got set up by our bed and here it is today. Anyway on the table is the essentials: alarm clock, remotes, etc...
But there's also Vitamin C pills. Why? Business cards.Deodorant. Really weird stuff that doesn't belong.
Here's the after:

It's from a totally different angle, but when I went to take another, my camera died. So this is what you get. The essentials are still there. The rest has found a new home. Mostly they got tossed in the junk box. This is MUCH better. Hopefully it'll stay this way for a while.

Daily Check In

Good day. Today I:
-Went to my first class at Sage Hills Yoga and it kicked my butt!
-emptied dishwasher
-did 2 loads of laundry (1 load is folded, 1 load is awaiting folding)
-went to the bank (ick but necessary)
-folded the load of laundry from Friday. Yes, Friday
-cleaned off the nightstand
-Refilled perscriptions
-"donated" a pile of old magazines to the break room at work
-recycled a whole bunch of plastic bags that I've accumulated 
-Returned Netflix
-wiped off bath mirror
-boiled some eggs for future lunches/dinners
-did a PILE of dishes. Ran dishwasher
-wiped off kitchen counters and stove
-swept and mopped
-Made dinner: healthy nachos from Cook This Not That
-took out the bedroom trash
-took out the kitchen trash
-did daily tasks: dishes. bath counter/sink. 5 min pickup. diet coke check.

daily check in(s)

I forgot to check in on sat and sun. What is it about the weekends? everything gets out of rhythm. The daily routine gets outta whack. Russ is home all day and I just wanna play instead of do any actually chores. I can't quite remember what I did in the way of daily tasks, other than I tried. On Sat, Russ and I shopped all day mainly groceries. And on Sunday it was a way lazy morning and then I worked all day so no projects got done. Today should be much more productive.

Week 4 To Do List

Week 4 is here! New to do list

1. Sweep and mop kitchen
2. Clean the bathroom
3. Vacuum the bedroom
4. Practice piano
5. Make EME flyers
6. Clean off the top of desk
7. Clean off bookshelf
8. Clean up side of freezer
9. Clean and org nightstand
10. Go to the bank
11. Grocery shop

New Daily Task

This week is wrapping up and I have to admit I failed at the task this week. I made my bed like twice this whole week. Honestly, it didn't add anything to my life. With the other tasks, I've really noticed a difference and it (sorry if this is corny) but it felt good to have those things done and clean. It wasn't this way with the bed. Honestly. I'm not just trying to get out of making my bed.

So I'm replacing this task. Russ and I were talking today, and he gets upset at my diet coke cans. You see, I love diet coke and sometimes I cannot finish a whole can and the forgotten can just lays around the house till it get knocked over and we have to rush to clean up the mess. K, it really is a bad habit. So this new daily task is to pick up ALL the diet coke cans at the end of the night and recycle them.

My daily tasks:

-dishes every night

-wipe bath counter/sink

-pick up for 5 focused minutes

-pick up ALL diet coke cans

The microwave

Today I did two things I cannot remember the last time I did. (did that make sense?)
1. Wiped the kitchen counters
2. Cleaned out the microwave.

Not the best quality of picture, but here is the microwave before. Actually it's in the middle. I started wiping it up when I realized I should take a picture. So here it is.
And after:

Much better. Sad thing is I didn't even know that the ridge in the bottom there is white. It's been yellowish for forever. Gross! Oh and that dark spot back there is from when Russ's old roommate burned popcorn.
Anyway, the kitchen looks ten times better. I still haven't swept or mopped yet though. gotta save something for tomorrow!

Daily Check in

Busy day today. This isn't quite a check in post, just a...recap of today I guess.

Went to the gym and worked out for like 1.5 hrs!

Cleaned the kitchen (did every dish! wiped down the counters and cleaned the microwave- pictures to come)

took out the trash (trash day tomorrow. I kinda love trash day)

dyed hair

did a load of laundry (that's yet to be folded)

got my work schedule

scheduled my new yoga class. (An old friend opened her own studio! Can't wait. I've really missed yoga in my life)

Did not make my bed though.

Daily check in

Just a quick check in today. Not much got done due to work but i did:

-wipe off the counter

-pick up for 5 min.

No dishes still. I will clean the whole kitchen tomorrow so hopefully that task will pick back up. And like I mentioned before I forgot to make the bed. I'm not liking that one.

Oh man

I forgot to check in last night! I normally wait to check in till all of my tasks are done, but I forgot to do my tasks last night! Yikes. Plus I forgot to make my bed this morning!

Yesterday I:
-did 1 load of laundry from start to finish
-wiped the bath counter
-drano'd the tub
-went grocery shopping
-dropped off donations to the DI
-organized shoes and the bottom of the closet (should've taken pictures)
-found a place for my keepsake box and culled what was inside
-sewed the hole in my apron

Tonight I just want to do my daily tasks
Tomorrow I need to:
-Go to the gym!
-Take out the trash
-Clean the kitchen (it's getting gross)

Daily check in

K, today was not a good day. Just not a good day! So not a lot got done.
I:
-organized my coupons
-picked up the floor
-made a meal plan
-sewed my apron
-made the bed.

I'm still struggling with those dishes. I'll probably do them tomorrow. I haven't done the sink yet, but there's still time.

And as for the bed, I'm not quite sure of it yet. There's a difference, yes, but it's a small one. I'm not quitting on it but I don't think the fact that I hate our comforter helps. Maybe if we had better bedding. Russ (probably) wouldn't even let me bring a throw pillow into this house, but a new comforter would be nice. I'll give it at least 1 week to see if it's worth it. hmmm....

Week 3 To Do List

There's a lot on my list this week:


1. Pick  up over the door hooks
2. Organize shoes
3. Find a place for my keepsake chest
4. take out trash
5. daily tasks including make bed
6. Drop off stuff at the DI
7. organize coupons
8. Add to price book
9. Go to Anytime Fitness
10. Schedule dr appt
11. Go to Costco: apples, breakfast sandwiches
12. vacuum
13. practice the piano
14. Laundry- Russ's sweatshirts
15. Draino the tub
16. sew apron
17. put diploma up
18. organize nightstand
19. make EME flyers


Thats it. I really wanted to make it a nice round number but, I couldn't think of anything else. I probably will by the end of the day though. 

Daily check in

The dishes still aren't done. Russ promises he'll do them, and I am that stubborn that I'm going to wait for him.
Today I
-vacuumed the floor
-cleaned the bathroom

Wiping the counter was part of cleaning the bathroom which I only finished doing about oh..15 min ago. Plus when I vacuumed this afternoon I had to pick everything up off the floor so there's really nothing to pick up tonight. Kinda lazy but two big projects got done today.

While we're on the subject, I've decided what  my new daily task should me: make my bed.
I've always been in the camp that making one's bed is unnecessary since you're just gonna mess it up anyway. My bed also seems to serve as extra shelving. It's very informal. I practically never make my bed.
But I read somewhere that if your serious about this whole project of cleaning and reorganizing your home, than you'll begin to make your bed. Apparently, it makes quite a difference. I guess we'll see.

Daily check in

well Russ never did the dishes.
nothing has gone right today and I'm in a very sad mood. I don't want to do my tasks. I'm not gonna do the dishes. Russ has to! I guess I'll get up now and do my other two.
K did 'em.
-wiped the bathroom counter.
-picked up the floor for 5 min.

You know it's amazing what 5 minutes'll do. At the beginning of the week, this place was a wreck and now, it's actually starting to look dare I say, clean?
Remember the foot of the bed? You couldn't even see the floor. And now:

K it's not perfect, but hey it's a good start. (despite the dishes debacle) I'm quite proud of my progress.

Daily check in

Just getting around to the check in post, with all the festivities and all. (Happy New Year!) Tonight, I:
-wiped the bath counter
-picked up for 5 min

I didn't do the dishes because Russ made a whole lot of them and I told him that he has to do them tonight. If he doesn't I'll do them tomorrow...hopefully. I work till 8 tomorrow and then Russ and I are going to a friends house till I don't know when. I'm warning everyone that I may be too wiped out to do the tasks. But Ok, stop.
It's 2010.
Wiping off the counter takes 1 min. Picking up takes 5 (I set my alarm [mainly to make sure I last the whole 5 min, not flake out at like 3]) and doing the dishes takes about 15 minutes. None of these take a lot of energy.
I will do my tasks tomorrow. I cannot be that tired that I can't do these simple things required of me.
It's a new year. No more excuses!!