The tote is done! I announced it last week on my Instagram and half of my followers liked it! (I have only two followers, one of whom I think forgot she even has an Instagram account.)
As you can see from the photo, I fixed the stripe situation. I unraveled only about 10 rows (vice the planned 24) . When I got to the top stripe this time, the they aligned properly. I have no idea what I did differently, so, sadly, I cannot learn from my mistake.
Since it’s Sunday and I just got my second COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer—we didn’t get a choice), I thought I’d list a few things I’m excited to be able to do after a year of uncertainty. So, without further ado, here are:
So there you have it.. Looks like it’ll be a busy spring!
(P.S. I’m trying something new with WordPress. I wrote this post on Saturday, Mar 27, but am scheduling it to publish on Sunday the 28th. You know, since it IS a Sunday Seven.)
There’s a movement called “The Last 90 Days.” The idea is to end the year strong, concentrating on October, November, and December to improve yourself—whatever that may be. Personally, I think it’s a gimmick to buy feel-good guru Rachel Hollis’ merchandise. Still , either with or without journals, checklists, etc., it’s a great idea since most of us wait until the New Year to improve ourselves.
Since I missed October and November, I decided to start in December and rename my foray into self improvement The Last 30 Days. Sure, December can be a tough month because of all the extra holiday doings we force upon ourselves. But there’s still room to be better, at least there is for me.
There are lots of things I have to do before I can move to my retirement place, wherever that may be. I was going to start with kitchen new appliances and living room furniture this year. The latter might not improve the resale value, but it will make me feel better, which will give me a sense of peace and encourage me to do more Then…
Continue reading “The Last 30 Days—Organize Everything”[All in the form of a “Sunday Seven,” but on Friday instead of Sunday. Apparently, my mind only works in increments of seven now.]
Two weeks ago—TWO WEEKS! FOURTEEN DAYS!—on January 19, I was working on my Outlander season 3 favorite episodes post. I began having difficulty saving the in-progress post as I had no internet connection. Not a big problem, I thought. My router is getting old and it sometimes “burps” offline for a few minutes. I had the backup plan to write the post offline, then copy and paste when the time was right.
When beginning to organize your home and life, The One Minute Organizer says to begin by dealing with “today’s mess,” i.e., today’s dishes, today’s laundry, and today’s mail. But what constitutes “today’s dishes” if you don’t run the dishwasher every day? I suppose it means putting today’s dirty dishes in the dishwasher and washing by hand those items that shouldn’t go in the dishwasher, like crystal and knives. Of course, this means you have to empty the dishwasher promptly.
I’m reasonably good about loading the dishwasher, and only slightly less reasonably good at emptying it. It’s the hand washing that stymies me.
When I emptied the dishwasher, the dishes were clean, but I noticed water standing in the bottom. Obviously there’s a clog somewhere in the drain. If it’s reachable by hand, I couldn’t find it. But then, I’m not really sure what I’m looking for.
So it was a good day to tackle “today’s dishes,” which included today’s dishes, yesterday’s dishes, the day before’s dishes… you get the idea. Looking on the positive side, the term “today’s dishes” is now well defined. The bonus is having clean crystal in which to drink this evening’s wine.
My short-term dilemma resolved, now I must decide what to do long-term. Do I call the repairman or bite the bullet and get new appliances? The dishwasher is several years old, but I like it. If necessary, I could just buy a new dishwasher, but since I’m planning to remodel the kitchen, I’m not sure updating just one appliance is worth it. Both the refrigerator and stove are ancient (original to the aging home) and in sore need of updating. But I’m not yet ready to do the full remodel. The one time I watched The Nate Berkus Show, he recommended (to an audience member on a budget) to buy new appliances first, then save up for the rest of the remodel.
What should I do? I’m terrible at making decisions.
Clearing things out always offers a surprise or two. Having washed the dishes and put away the laundry this morning, I decided to spend a little time clearing off the kitchen table. Here’s what I found:
Hmm, I see I need to straighten Mr. Whiskers around.
(The metal black and white sculpture belongs to my Boston terrier-loving neighbor. She kindly left her Welcome Dog when she moved. Since she’s renting her place, she comes back now and then.)
While waiting for an appointment yesterday, I came upon an interesting book called One-Minute Organizer Plain & Simple by Danna Smallin. Leafing through it, I found some excellent quick tips for cleaning out clutter and getting my home (and life) in order. I attempted to capture its wisdom with my tablet, first by taking pictures of the pertinent pages. When that proved horrendously cumbersome, I tried to jot down notes on my tablet, only slightly less horrendously cumbersome. I would have used the old tried-and-true pen-to-paper method, but had no paper.
After mentioning the book to my therapist (the appointment), she told me to take it with me. So I did—with the intention of returning it after I’ve reaped its beneits.
The book is much like Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and other inspirational books, with little tidbits of help on every page.
The first chapter is titled “Getting Started.” It discusses the importance of goals, consistency, accountability, and rewards. For me, one tip stands out from all the others: take care of today’s mess. Tackle those chores that need to be done regularly, such as the daily mail, dishes, and laundry. To those, I would add email and paying bills.
That tip was a light-bulb moment. My to-do lists have always been about “keeping up” and never about “moving forward.” Just that one sentence has changed my thinking. Now I can separate those things I need to do every day from those things that will help me reach my goals.
I’ve addressed today’s mess, having cleaned and put away the dishes, folded and put away the laundry, and dealt with the mail. Tomorrow, the goals!
Happy (almost) New Year! The new year brings with it the chance to reboot ourselves, however mundane or all-encompassing that might be. It’s filled with hope, a time to start afresh, to look at our lives and figure out what needs improving. It’s not just the standard “eat less, exercise more” routine. It encompasses all aspects of our lives.
I stopped making resolutions years ago, but it hasn’t prevented me from trying to establish or reestablish good habits. It’s an on-going process which lasts throughout the year. That doesn’t mean I’m always successful or that I don’t backslide, but it’s a constant attempt to improve my life. And it avoids that dreadful “all or nothing” thinking.
This new year presents itself with an opportunity to renew and revitalize The New Stream of Conscience. I certainly have plenty to write about. Why not make this daunting kitchen remodel (and its prerequisite cleaning and clearing) a focus? Why not write about how I adapt FlyLady’s principles to my own life? And let’s not forget about exploring cookbooks in an effort to eat better.
Hey! That’s a plan!
Photo credit: Small Kitchen Ideas
How am I doing with the plan to get my home in order? I’ve made some progress, but hit a plateau in the last couple weeks. The home appraisal came back (it rose slightly in value, which is nice; but also means higher taxes) and closed on the mortgage refinance. Now that I’m not distracted by all the paperwork a refinance entails, I can get back on track.
Like most people, I do much better when I have a plan. So let’s take the time to plan things to do for the upcoming week, and let’s do it in the form of a Sunday Seven (since I don’t have anything else to write about).
Our property manager mentioned his cousin started hauling metal items. The televisions aren’t metal, but I do have a few things that are. And he doesn’t charge! (Apparently there’s good money to be had in scrap metal.)
*The credit card is from Navy Federal Credit Union, one of the perks of being a Navy vet—now open to all military services and Department of Defense employees. Their redemption program also had a Bose iPod sound dock I coveted, but it’s no longer available. Damn my procrastination!
I survived the home appraisal! To celebrate, I took a break from the decluttering schedule for most of the week. But I did make a date for a couple to help me remove some of the larger, heavy items from my living room.
Yesterday I jumped back into my schedule of cleaning two rooms for 15 minutes each twice a week. You know what that means? More found surprises!
And the list doesn’t include the several large cardboard boxes I broke down for recycling. I thought about keeping them to us for hauling things to Goodwill. But I’d prefer to just get them out of the house.
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