2016 Declutter and Get Organized Thread

[Wisconsin Beth]

K's room now has her bed and dresser in it. And C's as well.

We're hosting Christmas and I need to make progress on painting. C's room is a huge pit of crap. I'm hoping to paint it over Thanksgiving.

[startsmart]

-sweep, vacuum and then wet vac in the living room
-do a final white coat of paint on the bench
-clean and pack away 3 table fans
-pull out 3 space heaters and set them up
-sort through the dog costumes & pull out the ones too small
-put away laundry
-catch up on dishes and wipe down the kitchen counters
-wash the blankets and comforters (rain = muddy paws)
-take out all the trash and recycling
-take the bricks out of my car trunk
-make the beds
-sort through papers in the office

Ug, I'm all dirty from working in the yard and annoyed because the 2 guys I hired have been MIA for going on 3 weeks. About to repost that ad on Craigslist because I officially hate dirt and digging in it! 

[wvugurl26]

I should tackle my piles of shredding while I watch football.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Spent the day being a dance mom. 
For the rest of tonight and Sunday, I need to do the following: 
--prep for the week of school
--menu plan for the week
--update YNAB
--vacuum bedroom area rug
--clean toilets
--deep clean laundry room
--sweep house
--swiffer mop kitchen
--reserve campsites for July
--
--
--

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Here's the latest in Holiday Cruising Missions from The Flylady. Thanksgiving is only 2.5 weeks away!


#11: If you are traveling then you need to think about what you would like to bring with you to contribute if necessary. If you are hosting a Holiday dinner you need to establish what your menu will be and start a shopping list. You also need to think about if you are having guests in your home for meals other than a main Holiday meal, what will you serve, and again, establish a menu and shopping list. Don't forget to think of all meals not just dinners. Breakfasts and lunches need to be written down and thought about. In the United States, Thanksgiving is coming and you need to include that in your Holiday planning as well. You need to be creative and adapt our Holiday Planning Missions to whatever Holidays you will be celebrating.

#12: For today, jot down a simple meal plan and a simple grocery list. You can add to this as we go but establish something to work with and for when you go shopping you can start working off of the grocery list to being some of the non-perishable food items home and stock up.

Don't forget to take a bit of time just for yourself today to go and PLAY! Even if you just take a 5 minute walk to look at the leaves changing colors, take time out today just for you!

#13: Your mission is to complete your mail order, catalog order, phone order or Internet order shopping! Do not wait until the last minute to place your orders and then find that the items you wanted are out of stock, back ordered or that you have waited too long and there will not be enough time to ship them.

Place your orders early so you avoid missing out on what you needed and also to allow time for errors. Take time out now to take care of this or you will have to find the time later to go shopping which then turns into impulse buying and overspending!

Have fun with this, you will feel so relieved when you take care of this!

#14: Review your shopping lists for gifts and see if anything that is on the list can be taken care of while you are on your errand run. Look over your grocery lists for the menus that you have chosen and you can add a few of those items on to your weekly grocery list to stock up ahead of time. Remember to consider other errands for the holidays as well, are there linens that need to be dry cleaned, clothing, coats, etc? Don't forget about the standards to get you through the Holidays as well: toilet paper, toothpaste, napkins, paper towels and plenty of window cleaner LOL! Have to keep those sinks shiny!

#15: Today is desk day and your mission for today is to review your budget for the holidays and look to see how and when you can take care of the shopping that you will need to do. Not just presents, you need to take into account meals, postage, cards, wrapping supplies, decorations etc.

Be careful and thoughtful, you do not want to rack up huge credit card bills that you will be paying until spring for the holidays. Try to fit your budget around what you can afford to pay for. If this means a little less than what you would like, try to remember how great it will feel not to be overwhelmed in January when the mail comes.

Set limits and try to work within them. Don't look to buy presents that will impress, look to give gifts that will be loved. Be creative. Talk to your friends and family and see if they would like a challenge for this year. Talk about theme gifts such as an ornament or t-shirt exchange with a price limit. Look for fun and creative ways to express your love without busting your budget.

Don't look at budget planning as a chore and as something that is depressing. Look at it as a challenge that you know you can handle! Take pride in the fact that you are planning this year in a way that you never have!

[Iggy aka IG]

Last Wednesday's short list:
Dishes-done
Put away Sunday's 4 loads of laundry-done
Pack up and put away Halloween decorations-done
Dentist appt and other errands in the big city tomorrow-done
District Manager meeting today-done
Fuel up the truck-done
Deliver the rest of the political signs, and moving boxes to a client-Signs delivered. Still have the boxes in my truck.
Post office some time this week

I also processed 10 loads of laundry, made Budget Byes not-refried beans (thank you you know who) and froze 3/4 of them, steamed eggs for this week's breakfasts, assembled two salads for today and tomorrow, and made some pretty decent suppers.  Oh, and I watched my Raiders win last night.  

Considering I still have the crud, I got a lot accomplished.

[jeep108]

Nov 2, 2016 16:07:43 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Jeep I know this is a shock but the good thing is, wherever they send you, the surgeons will be very experienced.

Are you still working? Have you hired the cleaner or is your DH doing OK with the cleaning?

I think you need to do whatever helps you feel better as you go through this.

I'm still working, my husband and daughter have been doing a good job keeping up with the house chores and shopping.  I'm not as tired as I thought I would be.  The burn from the radiation is more annoying than painful.  They gave me Aquafor with lidocaine that helps. This is my last week of radiation.

I have an appointment with the surgeon tomorrow, so he can explain to me why I need a biopsy.  I am also going down to Tucson, Thursday to the U of A they have a sarcoma center.  For a second opinion.

[Chocolate Lover]

Nov 7, 2016 11:24:28 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Last Wednesday's short list:
Dishes-done
Put away Sunday's 4 loads of laundry-done
Pack up and put away Halloween decorations-done
Dentist appt and other errands in the big city tomorrow-done
District Manager meeting today-done
Fuel up the truck-done
Deliver the rest of the political signs, and moving boxes to a client-Signs delivered. Still have the boxes in my truck.
Post office some time this week

I also processed 10 loads of laundry, made Budget Byes not-refried beans (thank you you know who) and froze 3/4 of them, steamed eggs for this week's breakfasts, assembled two salads for today and tomorrow, and made some pretty decent suppers.  Oh, and I watched my Raiders win last night.  

Considering I still have the crud, I got a lot accomplished.

I   Budget Bytes. I'm probably making a recipe from that site tonight.

[debthaven]

I saw that site for the first time a few days ago. It looks great!

I came home late w 21 short papers I planned to do tonight. It's already 8.45 pm so not gonna happen. I get 4 long papers tomorrow.

Marking goal:
Tues: 21 short papers
Wed: 4 long papers

DS3 arrives Wed night, we pick him up at the airport. I wanted to get all my marking done before he arrives, but it's fine if I just finish the 21 short papers.

[Jaguar]

I just put the garbage out for tomorrow's pickup. It's pitch dark now at 5:30pm here, I hate this.

[msventoux]

Nov 7, 2016 19:57:20 GMT -5 Jaguar said:

I just put the garbage out for tomorrow's pickup. It's pitch dark now at 5:30pm here, I hate this.

Pitch dark early here and I haven't seen the sun for days.  It's just all gray and dreary. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

We just walked the dog because I realized if I didn't do immediately it was going to be too dark.   We got back at 5:10 and it's almost dark now at 5:25. 


Tonight,

--I need to complete scoring the remaining vocab tests. 
--dust
--swiffer mop the kitchen


Sigh...honestly, if I accomplish that and my evening routine, I"m calling it good. 

[busymom]

It's dark now here at 5 pm. HATE IT!

I'm trying to catch up on all of my filing. (LOL! When I first typed it, the word came up "failing".)   I've lost control of my paperwork pile, so I'm not starting anything new until I regain control on it.

[Sharon]

Tonight after work I got the lawn mowed.  While the lawn was slightly long I was really doing a quick raking of the leaves.   The ones in the flower bed I will get later but the yard looks better to get the leaves off the lawn.  I also worked on the berries for about 10 minutes.  My new leather garden gloves were well worth the price when it came to handling berry vines.

Tomorrow it garbage day so the cans are all out at the curb.

[moneysquirrel]

This week's list (with quite a few lingering on from last few weeks)

Home/Personal:

*Maintain progress
*Clear off flat surfaces in BR -- 
*Re-pot plant
*Craft Show -- Saturday

School:

*Correct 6th project @100
*Exam Information -- Update and run off

Crafts: (Not Adding to this list as I don't think anything will get done this week on it either)

*Finish CR Necklace
*One new item for Craft show --
*Repair Bracelet 2 -- This will take time as I have to undo most of it and re-stitch it.  Noticed that several beads were broken off.

Survived the crazy busy week last week.  Beginning to  come down with something -- feeling below the norm so I cancelled exercise and took a long nap this afternoon.  I did manage to fix the first broken bracelet so it will be ready for this week's craft show.  

Hope everyone is doing well.  Will check in when I can.

[debthaven]

It's dark here at 5 too. I hate the period between changing the clocks and 22 Dec when the days finally start getting longer again.

I stayed at school 2.5h after I was done because I had a dentist appt and he's near school. I thought I'd basically finish my 20 short papers but I still have 7 left. I want to finish those before DS3 comes home tomorrow night so I'll get up early (but not at 6 like today!) I'm working tomorrow from 12-4.30 and I still have to prep for that.

This week's marking
- Tues: 6 20 short papers
- Wed: finish short papers
- : 4 long papers

I also picked up the grocery items that DS3 asked for. I wasn't planning to shop again so soon but I couldn't refuse him his "treats".

Emptied dishwasher, started laundry.

[WholeLottaNothin]

I am planning on doing some cleaning tonight, so that I don't have to pay attention to any more political stuff. I'm so over it, and am glad that the end of the stupid commercials is in sight. I told DH that it can be a movie night for him and the boys, so that the cable can stay off. We are going to vote after work (hope the lines aren't too long), then picking up the boys, making dinner, and then cleaning.

I need to:
- Finish the load of laundry I started at lunch time
- Start/finish other load of laundry
- Do dinner dishes
- Sort through Baby D's clothes and donate the ones that are too small now
- Do the same for older son's clothes, pack up ones we want to keep and donate the rest
- Do the same for my clothes

Whatever I don't get done tonight, I will work on on Thursday and Friday as I am off both days.

[debthaven]

Wed morning:
- finish last 6 short papers
- prep Wed afternoon job
- send main job emails (Int X 1, Deb X2)

I stayed up all night for the last two elections but since I work Wednesdays now I won't be able to manage that this year.

[startsmart]

In an attempt to avoid the election I'm working on my list:


-sweep, vacuum and then wet vac in the living room
-do a final white coat of paint on the bench
-clean and pack away 3 table fans
-pull out 3 space heaters and set them up
-sort through the dog costumes & pull out the ones too small
-put away laundry
-catch up on dishes and wipe down the kitchen counters
-wash the blankets and comforters (rain = muddy paws)
-take out all the trash and recycling
-take the bricks out of my car trunk
-make the beds
-sort through papers in the office

[Jaguar]

Depending on the election results I might start cleaning my place out really good, starting tomorrow.

[debthaven]

I can't believe I managed to get anything done today. I'm in shock.

Finished the short papers, went to the bottle bank and the post office. Worked from 12-4.30. Finished cooking two dinners.

Will do the long papers this weekend.

[Iggy aka IG]

Okay.  The election is over.  Time to refocus.

Home:
Dishes
Bake cookies
Pack for trip

Office:
Work through the two stacks on my desk
Prepare for agent meetings

Volunteer:
Chamber meetings tomorrow
Prepare minutes and agenda for one of the meetings

Personal:
Get over this crud already!

Have an excellent day, everyone! 

[plugginaway22]

God help us.  I just worked a 9 hour day after watching TV until 2 am and then sleeping for only 4 hours.  I am too depressed to do ANYTHING.

[startsmart]

I know what you mean pluggin, I had to stop watching about 9pm, got a few hours of nightmares, woke up, saw the news at 3am and had to immediately leave my house. I needed to get out of town and spent about 4 hours driving the country roads before I was remotely ready to face the day.

I just finished my live call and am now back to wallowing. 

[Iggy aka IG]

Nov 9, 2016 12:41:31 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Okay.  The election is over.  Time to refocus.

Home:
Dishes
Bake cookies
Pack for trip

Office:
Work through the two stacks on my desk-one stack plowed through
Prepare for agent meetings

Volunteer:
Chamber meetings tomorrow-on my way
Prepare minutes and agenda for one of the meetings

Personal:
Get over this crud already!-Annoying cough almost gone, still feeling like poo.

Have an excellent day, everyone! 

[debthaven]

LONG day today. DS3 is home!

I've decided the marking will get done when it gets done. I have a ton of emails to write for school and I plan to do those tomorrow, but I want to enjoy these 3 days with DS3 at home.

[busymom]

Called the contractor today to see when he could finish up a couple of small projects he'd begun at my house, & he's got the flu. I'd just prefer he'd stay away now until he can't share.

Still trying to catch up on errands & such.  (And cleaning.)  Maybe tomorrow I'll tackle some more paperwork.

[debthaven]

In the end I sent most of my school emails tonight so I have less to do tomorrow.

This weekend:
- Year 1 email A X 2 Thurs
- Year 1 email B X 2 Thurs
- MSc email A X 2 Thurs
- MSc email B X 2 Thurs
- Year 2 email A X 2 Thurs
- Year 2 email B X 1 Fri
- Finish Year 2 Final Exam Fri
- Gather DS1's things
- Mark 4 long papers? (stretch goal)

Later:
- Write MSc Final Exam

Sadly DH's uncle in the UK had a stroke yesterday and he's not doing well. So I've decided I need to keep on top of things in case we need to go over there on short notice. But I'm only working when DS3 is busy. He's seeing a friend for coffee tomorrow so I'll do more then.

Also the boiler guy finally called back ... he's coming Wed morning to check the boiler and sweep the chimney (obligatory for insurance here). $$ but it needs to be done.

I'm very pleased because I was able to buy DS3 a winter coat (he needed one) and pay the last installment for his gym subscription. I know the gym is not a "need" but it is required for the sport he's doing. Without the gym subscription he would have had to drop his sport, and we didn't want that. We're definitely not out of the woods yet, but the pantry / freezer eating makes a big difference. I froze the leftovers from last night and tonight. I'm making DS3 his favorite meals but the frozen leftovers will feed DH and I after DS3 goes back to school.

We have decided to continue decluttering the pantry till Christmas, except for Thanksgiving (because we have guests). By then it should be bare.

Speaking of decluttering, since DH is a Brit, everybody always gives him tea, but he only drinks one sort. He finally let me get rid of some ... I gave one tin to a friend, mixed one package with the tea DH drinks (I'm hoping he won't notice lol) and took a third package into work. We still have TONS left, but it's progress! 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Hi, friends!
I need to bust through grading 50 essays this weekend. 
Then, I'm taking a road trip as a favor. That'll keep me up until 3am Saturday morning. 
I don't have work tomorrow, so I'm hoping I'll accomplish all of the weekend chores. 
--deep clean kitchen
--mopping the house
--all the laundry (DH is out of town; he normally does this during football season)

I should be home by Sunday afternoon. 

[debthaven]

Safe trip Chloe!