FLY LADY - The Office!

That header so describes the week ahead!
Bob left this morning and I have a plan.

I've discovered I'm going about this office organization all wrong! Let me explain.

I've been trying to work around everything in here. To put something away, I have to relocate something else. Then something else has to be moved to put that 'something' away. A vicious circle to be sure.

What I need to do is clear EVERYTHING that needs put away OUT OF THE ROOM. Then I can do a deep clean before bringing items back in and putting them in their proper places.

As I said, Bob leaves this morning, then the whole living room/ dining room can be as cluttered as I need them to be until the task is finished (and before Bob comes back home in three weeks!) Talk about a deadline!!

In full disclosure, here are the pictures of the four main points of the office before I began moving everything out:

In front of the adhesives cabinet

In front of the altar

The scrap rack corner

sofa wall

Everything has a place, I just need to move everything out then start again from the beginning. 

So that's my plan for this week (and possibly next) - all while doing the daily office stuff and getting caught up on a course I'm taking.

I'm determined to whip this office into shape!

What is on your cleaning agenda this week? Any tips you'd care to share - tips that don't include a massive trash bag ;-)

Enjoy the Journey

FLYLADY - Bedroom & Bathroom

Man.. I do love naps. Why is it we hated them as children now crave them as adults?

This week is supposed to be all about deep-cleaning the bedroom but just not going to happen. I've run the robot over the floor and put fresh, line-dried sheets on the bed. Pretty much the extent when that room falls on Bob's time home. I would like to make time to deep-declutter my night stand.

We've talked about getting matching night stands but not sure how that is going to happen at the moment. I guess I"ll know when I find the perfect set. For now, just cleaning mine off would be a huge imporvement. How can an item I use so little bcome such a dumping ground for partially read books and cat toys?!

I think this week I will be doing more napping than cleaning.

Next week I'm off to the office. That room is still a work in progress.

What's your detail clean for this week?

Enjoy the Journey - and a nap!
~Kelly

FLY LADY - Laundry room/ Kitchen/ Christmas

Yes, you read that correctly. I said CHRISTMAS!

No.. I'm not behind LOL.. okay, maybe on one thing. The make-shift tree is still in the living room but for good reason. I'll get to that in a moment.

While most of the Christmas decor comes down around Epiphany my bathroom/ laundry room/ kitchen always stay up until Feb. 1. Why? Because I like the decor. Okay, so sometimes the laundry room/ kitchen comes down with everything else but the bathroom stays up. The decor is all about winter/ snowmen and that encompasses January. Well, if you look at the forecast for Wedneday (never mind we were 75* for Super Bowl Sunday!), winter is still here but come down they must. I need to get this house back in order.

I spent all day yesterday washing curtains, dusting decorations and packing everything away in the new Holiday Decorations storage unit we bought last fall. I wasn't ready to give up my Christmas pretties but time to move foreward.. in spite of our ground hog. Grrr.

The Christmas tree has stayed up way longer because we hadn't done anything more than put lights on and I had not had one single evening to sit and ENJOY my tree lights and a Hallmark moive. Every movie I recorded, save the one I watched Saturday night, is still on the DVR. But the tree must get put away and our living room back into shape.

I do like the idea of getting back into my clenaing routine. I've been so focused on trying to get the studio in shape that the rest of the house has been sorely neglected. As of this writing, Bob will be home tomorrow. Time I made the house look more like home.

While I won't be doing any deep detailing this month, I'm going to be thrilled to just do a basic clean.

What will you be focusing on this week? Share in the comments and let me know. I'd also love to hear if you have any challenges. Let's work together to make our homes at least presentable. ;-)

Happy Cleaing!

FLY LADY - Laundry & Kitchen

I am so thrilled to get back into my system. Everything has been kind of let go since May. I've done the basics but really need to do a deep clean, back on track and be ready to decorate for the holidays.

Things are so bad that I'm picking a day this week for different areas. So lets look at what I'm doing this week and what constitutes that area:

MONDAY - Clear the sorting table & clean the cat area in the laundry room.
I've had an 8' table in my kitchen for a couple of months. I've been using that as a sorting surface for mixed media items from the studio. Today is the day that stuff gets put away. The table will stay up.

For the cat area, I take the litterbox outside and give that a good cleaning, shake out and wash the throw rugs underneath, sweep, steam, mop the laundry room floor. Put the cat box back with clean rugs and litter.

TUESDAY - Sort out the kitchen cupboards
Since I need to go grocery shopping, this is a good time to see what's up there. Some things can go back down to over-stock. Some probably just needs pitched or turned into bird/ squirrel food.

WEDNESDAY - Take down the Halloween decor and pack away. Set up the minimal fall decor
Put the sorting table away.
Sweep/ mop kitchen floor and wash down cabinets

THURSDAY - Clean out fridge for garbage day
Make Fall curtains and shelf liners so I'll have them for next fall.

FRIDAY -  Give everything a once-over and be ready for next week's new room.

That's it for this week.
Feel overwhelmed about where to start?

TIP - Pick one area to focus on. Put blinders on to the entire room then just pick ONE task.
One bite at a time.

Enjoy the Journey!

FLYLADY - Office/ Studio

I wanted to kick this series in weeks ago but I just couldn't get time to sit and put the posts together. This week is a great place to start as it's the area needing the most work - except the basement but we'll get to that later.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, my sister and her SO are planning to be here on Thursday for a 4-day weekend. Aside from my birthday, the main reason for their visit is that Kitty really needs to look at my studio with fresh eyes.

She has seen my studio lots of times in the past but as she said "she didn't really know what she was looking at". Now that she is into Junk Journals, my stash takes on a whole new perspective for her.
Right now, the room is a disaster. I've not done anything as far as organizing since February. Between the grandgirls' visit and my own crafting, organization hasn't been a priority.

I'd promised Bob the living room would be back in order when he got home. I've been using the girls' beds as 'sorting central'.

My goal for the week: To be able to go right to anything Kitty might need or want to see.
1) Sort all of the Mixed Media items and put them away properly
2) File away past Paper Pumpkin kits
3) Bag stamps for the Etsy store
4) Have a clear area for each of us to work on our September journals.

Aside from the office, I need to put the rest of the house in order, clean the front deck and put up Fall/ Halloween decor. I'm about two weeks behind in getting that done. The laundry room is almost finished. Just need to hang a few things :-)

That's my housekeeping week. What's on yours? Do you decorate for the fall/ Halloween? If so, I'd love to see pics! you can follow me on Facebook

FLYLADY - Office

I'm not focusing much on the actual cleaning of the Office this week. Bob is home so not a lot of time spent in here. Also, the retired list for Stampin' Up! was released on the 9th so when I do get time in here not 'work' related, I've been trying to integrate retired items into the general populace of stamps/ supplies and making room for the items I'm pre-ordering in preparation for the new catalog launch in June.

I also have an 11-day trip planned just prior to the release so I need things in order so I'll be ready to jump in with both feet as soon as the catalog launches. That means A LOT of prep work before my trip. 

GOAL:

Keep the work surface cleared after each project

If I can accomplish that, then I can Enjoy the Journey!

What's your Zone this week? Any area you particularly would like to have in order before the outdoor activities call you away?

Enjoy the Journey

FLY LADY - Master Bed & Bath

I smile every time I read this header. Yes, I love naps. Though now days it's more about either putting my feet up for awhile between the cool sheets so they'll stop aching or snuggling with the two cats that are pretty much banished to the bedroom during the day because they and Tabby can't get along.. and I can't sleep with them at night. Goddess, my nursemaid of a cat, has to sleep right up on m y shoulder. Breathing her dander all night about kills me - but we do okay for an hour or two during the day.

Oh, right, back to cleaning.
The bedroom has become more manageable since Bob built the laundry sorter tower in one corner. He hates when I find ideas on Pinterest but is more agreeable when he sees it is something that is really useful - not just a 'want'.

Okay.. so projects this week are:

BEDROOM
sort through the basket of pet sheets and eliminate that basket from under my nightstand
Clean my shoe shelves. They seem to become a catch - all :: sigh ::

BATHROOM
Under the sink orgnaized similar to the kitchen

Regarding the under the sink organization in both the Kitchen and the Master Bath - I have the drawer units I need to put in both of these places. Just a matter of making myself get down on the floor to do this particular task. Getting down is one thing, getting back up has become a bit tougher these days.

What's your Zone for this week? Is there a challenge spot you've been avoiding? Tell us what it is. Maybe we can help!

Enjoy the Journey!

FLYLADY - Living Room

The living room is the one area of the house I see most of my waking hours when Bob is gone. Our living room/ dining room area is one open space  - 15' x 24'. When Bob is gone and my 'office' is set up on the dining room table, I can see it all! The living room isn't bad but the dining room needs serious work. I have two major tasks for this week:

LIVING ROOM:
Dust everything!
Put the items for the girls scrapbooks in a tote that I can keep in the office.

DINING ROOM:
The girls' old book case has become a catch-all for garden books and recently-purchased cook books. I want that shelf to be strictly garden books. I have shelves in the garden shed for my books/ magazines but I also have mice that are destroying them.

Dresser we had for Adrian when she lived here. I want to get that cleared out of accumulation so the girls can use it when they're here this summer. That's still kind of up in the air due to travel issues on Sue's end but we're sending good vibes all works out and we can have them again this summer.

This is the week Bob may be home (I'm typing this up on the 2nd). I'd really like to have this area looking sharp and at least less-cluttered when he comes home. We spend a lot of time in these two areas - either watching TV or playing cards. We shall see!

What's your focus area this week?
Whatever I'm able to accomplish, I'm going to Enjoy the Journey and I hope you do to!

FLYLADY - Kitchen & Laundry

We are back to the Laundry Room and Kitchen for Zone Deep Clean this week. Tasks I hope to accomplish include:

LAUNDRY ROOM:
Decorative Shelf above the washer/ dryer
Recyclables taken into town
Sanitize the cat counter

KITCHEN:
Create new storage for under the sink
Inventory the canned/ dry goods cabinets
Declutter the silverware drawer (I swear utensils multiply!)

I've already started a big box to deposit thrift store donations as I come across them in each zone this month.

There is one thing I'll need to wait on Bob for with the under the kitchen sink area. We bought baskets to hang on the inside of one of the doors for storing cleaning rags. We measured the basket with a cabinet at Menards only to find out when we got home that our door area is a bit wider. The basket will still fit, Bob just needs to put a piece in to screw the baskets to. I could do that part but his shop is such a disaster that I can't get to the miter saw or the small circular saw. Maybe I need to add a battery powered circular saw to my tool collection.

Speaking of tools, I bought a set of tools for my vacuum cleaner last week. I had a set that came with my small shop vac and we had a set that goes with the Kirby. Well, both my shop vac and the tool caddy for the Kirby were in Bob's shop and guess what... not a single tool to go with either of them. I swear I'm putting my shop vac under lock and key. As for the crevice, upholstery, and dusting brush I bought last week. I have them in a tool bag under my work station. They won't leave the office unless I am the one using them. Do you ladies have that problem with your tools?

Recap for last week, I didn't get anything done in the basement. I was too busy creating in the craft room. I'd lost my mojo earlier in the year but when the creating energy spark lit last week, I created card after card after card... well, you get the idea. I finally have enough cards to mail off to everyone with birthdays and anniversaries this month... something I failed to do in February and March.

I'm hoping the April Showers (that we've had in place since February) will pass soon so I can start working outside. Even  my Great Pyrenees is getting depressed. He is shedding his winter coat. When the rain stops long enough for him to come out of his dog house, he lays in his favorite corners -which are mud puddles most of the time these days and has become a matted mess. I can't wait for a warm day so I can get him brushed and clipped. That is going to be a task but he's a good boy and trusts me to do pretty much whatever I need to do. For now, he's so depressed he doesn't even bark. Poor baby. I'm hoping a few days of sun will turn him around.

What is your focus area for this week? Whatever it is, remember to Enjoy the Journey!

FLYLADY - Basement

The basement is probably the last place in the house anyone wants to clean. That portion of the house is the 'catch-all'. While ours does have some accumulation of unnecessary items, for the most part, each area has it's designation.

This week my focus will be on the Furnace Room... The 'catch all' area that shouldn't be!

Since we still have the storage unit, I'm thinking seriously of taking the chairs that go with the dining room table there. We use office chairs. I'd like to find a table at an auction that has the chairs on casters. We'd looked at those new when we were furniture shopping but they were out of our price range. While new still is, we have a table to tide us until a casters set comes along. But the chairs could go.

There are also two tubs and multiple whatever of blankets/ beddings/ afghans etc. Those are part of what I talked about last week that needs to be sorted through so that I'm going to attempt this week.

And finally, in that room is a tub of magazines I want to go through and cull images for art journals. There are times I think of chucking the whole tub then I think about the golden nuggets for my art work buried within the pages and  I just can't do it. I think I'll put that tub on my list for the next time Bob is out.

What is the 'catch all' area of your house? Find one area you can declutter this week. Even if you only spend 15 minutes per day in that area, by week's end you'll see a healthier difference.

Enjoy the Journey!

FLY LADY - Office

I'm getting closer to that 'Angels Singing' moment in my office.

This week I am determined to eliminate one pile of clutter that does NOT belong in there. Just because I have the sofa sleeper in here, apparently that means all the spare blankets belong as well.

Um... NO.

My major task this week is not so much the office but to gather ALL of the blankets, bedding, pillows, etc into one area then begin sorting. Each bed only requires two sets of sheets (in case someone has an accident or gets sick), same for pillow cases and X # of pillows plus a blanket and a comforter. I have our bed - which is a split King iComfort Serta Sleeper, the sofa bed and a roll away. Then I'll keep a set for two twin air mattresses and a King air mattress for camping.

Everything else is GOING! Thrift store, Animal Shelter... don't care. Just going. I'm so tired of the clutter!

My other goal for this week is to be able to work on my sofa in the office. I like that place in the morning. It's MY SPACE... though HoneyB - the basset/ beagle/ spaniel has decided he really likes the sofa. Which is fine. I can work on one end and he'll snore on the other. It's all good. The cats might not be happy but they want to lay in my lap and if I intend to do any needle work, I can't be covered in cat hair - as much as I love the little beasts. LOL

Spring is on the way. Do you get the Spring Cleaning bug? What would you most like to purge this spring?  Let me know! because it's all a part of...

Enjoying The Journey!

FLYLADY - Living Room

I am moving Fly Lady to Tuesdays for now. I'm getting better at having recipes for Wednesday so Tuesday's it is.

This week is all about the Living Room.
After what seemed forever, I finally got the Christmas tree down over the weekend. Don't judge! I had not been putting the task off because it was difficult but because I love the colored lights.

Every morning, I would come out and turn the tree on. Seemed so peaceful while I enjoyed a cup of fluffy and cruised Pinterest or watched YouTube videos. The living room looks soul-less without the pretty lights. But I have a plan... :-D

However, the tree coming down meant there was room to pull the Gazelle out so I can finally start getting the exercise I so desperately need. I'll be talking more about the Gazelle on Thursday.

We use sheets to cover our micro-fiber relciners. I detest micro-fiber fabric but since Bob was graciously spending money to build my office AND I was getting the sleeper sofa in the bargain, I told Bob to pick out the new recliners.  Two Words - ANIMAL HAIR! We have 3 cats in the house and a Beagle/ Basset/ Spaniel mix. All shed horribly and trying to keep that micro-fiber clean was a task I just don't have time for. So sheets it is. Didn't our grandparents cover their furniture? Remember those pretty crocheted arm and head rest covers. So pretty.

Ours are covered with $15 flat sheets from Walmart with a coordinating pillow case on the headrest. I have brown ones with cream pillowcases for fall. White with red pillow cases for Christmas. This week when I go shopping I'll pick up a couple of cream sheets and soft blue pillow cases - or vice versa. The everyday drapes, which are blue, need to go back up so that will work. I've already purchased flannel backed table clothes in spring blues/ yellows for under and on top of the dog kennel.. which sits between the two recliners, serving as a coffee table.

Now if I could just make myself tackle the small book case and top of Adrian's dresser that sits here in the dining room. A MUST! but I'm thinking next month's deep clean zone of that part will be soon enough.

A Clean House is a Healthy House and all a part of...

Enjoying the Journey!

FLYLADY WEDNESDAY - Coffee anyone?

I know I thought I'd have pictures of the laundry sorting unit but Bob hasn't finished it quite yet. Hopefully this week. Deer season will be starting soon so I need to get some of these projects out of the way before he disappears into the timber. 

While I'm not talking food this week, we are in the kitchen.

I wish I'd thought to take a picture of the before mess. The Keurig we had sat pretty much where this Hamilton Beach sits now. But there was an old fashioned trio of candy jar canisters in a wooden rack we'd gotten as a wedding present thirty-three years ago. They canisters collected a variety of tea/ cocoa packets we never used. Mostly because they were behind and we never thought to look there. We'd go for one of the tea boxes piled on top of it (or themselves). There had to be a better way.

I loved the idea of having the tea bags in glass jars. I've been moving a lot of items to glass canning jars over the past couple of years. So my mind went into planning mode. While I decided what I wanted to put the jars in, I removed all the tea bags from various boxes/ containers and put them into their own wide-mouth pint jar and labeled them.

I pondered the storage issue for several weeks then I came across THESE crates at Hobby Lobby. 

I knew four cubbies wasn't going to be enough but four together would work. I painted them all white. leaving the hardware it's natural state. Then my husband glued them all together. 

I still have a couple of labels to make.

Because this still sits behind the pot, I put the jars of tea we use most often on the top two rows and down the left side. If we need the others, they're easy enough to get to. 

If you look on the right side of the first photo, you'll see we had to move the K-cup drawer unit to a new location. The unit fit under the Keurig but the Hamilton Beach is a bit taller. We moved it to the side and Bob built a box for me to keep the cooking wines/ oils contained in one place. I can move these easily when I clean the counters on my Kitchen Zone cleaning when I move things and scrub the entire counter.

RECIPE WEDNESDAY - Meal Planning

I guess I've shown the planner in the past month. but I like this cover shot better. I finally got the opportunity to sit and menu plan last week. I showed the planner to Bob so he knows what's for dinner on which day. I'm also keeping the shopping list handy so as I think of something, I can just flip open to the next shopping week and add it to the list. This next shot isn't very clear but does show the a shopping list in progress.

This week:

Monday - Leftover Pot Roast (from freezer)

Tuesday - Chicken Enchiladas

Wednesday - Meatloaf/ Scalloped taters/ cheesy green beans

Thursday - Tilapia/ Wild Rice/ peas

Friday - Chicken Fried Steak/ mashed taters

Saturday - Raid the Fridge/ Freezer

Sunday - Pot Roast and homemade rolls.

The Chicken Enchiladas were super easy. Sunday night when we got home from shopping I put 4 large boneless/ skinless chicken breasts in the crock pot with a 1/2 C water and about 4T Taco Seasoning Mix. Put the lid on and set to LOW. Monday morning, they were perfectly cooked. I turned the crock pot off and let them cool while we ate breakfast. Then Bob forked the meat apart and put it in the refrigerator until Tuesday.

Last night I added about another 3 T. Taco Seasoning and 1/2 can petite diced tomatoes for moistness to about half of the shredded chicken and heated it up.

I heated 8" flour tortilla shells in the microwave on a paper towel for 15 seconds. One at a time, then sprinkled a bit of shredded taco blend cheese down the center, topped with a generous 1/4 C of the chicken, rolled them up and placed them seam side down in a  9x12 glass casserole dish that I'd pretreated with a butter cooking spray and a cup of homemade cheese sauce. I got 6 enchiladas in the dish then poured another cup of the cheese sauce over top, making sure to cover all of the tortilla shell so they'd stay soft during cooking. I put uncovered in a 350* oven for about 20 minutes... the length of time it took me to mix up a batch of breakfast muffins. (I'll share that recipe next week)

We each started with two (though Bob went back for a 3rd). I topped mine with diced tomato, shredded lettuce, sour cream, guacamole and Taco Bell taco sauce. Bob just had tomato and sour cream.

I had heated up a can of refried beans but we forgot they were in the microwave. Today I'll buy a small beef roast and make a batch of burritos for the freezer. One can of refried beans, a tiny can of diced green chiles and a small beef or pork roast will make over two dozen burritos!

We're moving in to week 2. We'll see how this goes. With Bob being off work until things on the river pick up again, I need to make use of the contents in our freezer and pantry. As cold temps move in really early, I'm thinking a pot of chili. Leftovers will go great on top of the burritos. 

This week we're combining the Master Bedroom and the bathroom. 

For most of the time we've lived here, we've kept collapsible laundry hampers in the bathtub to sort laundry in to. Of course, that means moving them to another location when we want to use the bubble tub. And frankly, they really take away from the beauty of one of my favorite rooms in the house. So after seeing THIS on pinterest, I decided while Bob is off we need to fix the blight.

Putting this laundry sorting unit into an empty corner of the bedroom will bring the beauty back to the bathroom and get rid of those horrid collapsible hampers. Bob will be able to put his clothes in the basket rather than piling them on the floor by his side of the bed and I can grab a basket on my way out in the morning and start a load without wondering if I have everything. 

I hope to have pictures of the build next week. 

PLANNING FOR THE WEEKEND & FLY-LADY UPDATE

I apologize for not getting in here on Wednesday. I was determined to get my music work done for the entire month as well as catch up some stuff for my boss. I did promise to show you the first section of my office that is FINISHED!

Here are a couple shots of the BEFORE.

Stamp storage and Scrap Rack Unit.

Anchored by two 2-drawer filing cabinets that hold adhesives

and large tape rolls such as packing/ painters/ carpet, etc.

This is the paper unit Bob built me earlier this year. 

This unit is supposed to be primarily Stampin' UP! product

as well as other scrapbook paper companies that I use

Okay, full disclosure nightmare aside, cleaning this area really didn't take that long. Was more a matter of just putting things where they belonged. I wanted this area completely cleaned as I will use this area for filming YouTube and Periscope videos.

Here's the results:

The general stamp cabinet as well as my triple base Scrap Rack

All of my stamps, including retired Stampin' UP! are stored by theme

in the Recollections Photo Boxes. Photo Boxes from Hobby Lobby are 

approximately 1/8" - 1/4" narrower and will not hold the stamp cases horizontally.

The top 1/2 of the paper cabinet. 

Top Shelf: 

Completed Christmas cards, Project items, Binder Clips, December Daily basket.

1st Row of Cubbies (L-R): 

SU 12x12 cardstock, Xyron sticker machine, Awards Cubbie, Past Catalogs and Business binders

2nd Row of Cubbies:

8.5 x 11" Stampin' UP! cardstock (rainbow order) Neutrals and precut/ scored cardbases. 12x12 Designer Series Paper

3rd Row of Cubbies:

Glitters/ micro beads (both non-SU), Current SU Stamp sets/ Embossing Folders, 6x6 paper pads, Paper Pumpkin kits/ stamp sets

The Bottom half of the unit

Narrow drawers are all ribbon, on cards and $1 stamp sets (narrow boxes next to drawers)

First Row of Cubbies:

Recollections cardstock, washi tape storage unit and larger paper tools, non- SU Paper pads, Seasonal/ Themed scrapbook paper

Bottom Row of Cubbies:

Light box, Cinch machine, Watercolor painting tote, 12x12 Paper pads in individual sleeves. 

The two magazine holders in the center cubby on the right are Stamping magazines from the UK.

The rest of the area has been in order but thought I'd show them off quick, too.

Storage rolling carts beneath the West window. 

Stores SU business files, past SU embellishments (for now), micro beads

Here you have a better shot of the top of the shelf below the West window.

This is where I store all of my mini ink pads, coordinating ink refills and mister bottles.

Then a shot into the corner. Wire rack holds the wifi modem as well as fruit jars of silk flowers.

 Above the West Window

A display shelf. Holds pre-made cards by theme/ occasion

Looks like a little row of houses.

Printers Box 

some of my my artsy style stamps as well as holiday stamps.

To the left of the West Window

My TV/ entertainment unit with a shadow box covering the electrical panel

Close up of the Shadow Box

This display of ACTs was made by friends from my scrapbook class 

when I worked at Michaels. Co-workers also signed it when I left.

One part of the office is complete... now to finish the rest of the office THIS weekend. I HAVE to have the room finished and the hide-a-bed pulled out and made for company before I leave on Thursday. They will arrive on Monday.. the day after I get back from conference. Going to be a busy weekend.

Whatever you have planned for the weekend, remember to Enjoy the Journey!

RECIPE WEDNESDAY - Flylady

Yes, I know it's Thursday. But considering I was part of the way through yesterday before I realized Wednesday was half gone....

Anyhow... I'm showcasing Living Room progress this week. Keep in mind, that a week ago there was a path between stuff and our chairs, with an opening big enough to see the TV screen through.

I never seem to take 'before' pictures. Not because I'm embarrased for people to see the CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) but because I just dive right in to the cleaning and don't think about taking a 'before' photo. I'm going to make a point to do that for the office this weekend. 

Anyhow... this is the East side of the living room. Prior to it looking like this, there was a large Sterilite tub in front of the window (which may go back because it's a favorite sleeping spot for the cats) as well as the portable kitchen island and the dog supply cart. This is also where the treadmill used to take up twice the space the gazelle does. This side of the entertainment unit holds Bob's videos and also has a couple of shelves designated for the girls' coloring books/ games/ videos. The empty shelf on the bottom is used to house the Wii board. I'm going to move the girls' videos to this shelf.

The Gazelle is heavier than it looks when it comes to folding it up. I'm going to buy short bungi chords this weekend so that when I fold it up against the book case, it doesn't roll back out on it's own. Once the office is cleaned up, I can move it in there for the holidays as this is where our big 8' tree goes.. the one I've been unable to put up in the past four years! The last time our big tree saw the light of day was in 2013. You can see it HERE

This is the West side of the living room. A little more bare. We have to have the blanket rack to keep the cats from laying on our lap blankets when not in use, otherwise I'd get rid of it. The black tripod is temporary. That's where I'm putting my blog boards this weekend while the office cleaning is in progress. I should be able to move it back to the office by the following weekend at the latest.

I have little things on the shelves that don't belong that I'll move to their appropriate homes over the next couple of weeks. This was about decluttering the big items.

The point of this first step is that I can see the floor. 

Next week - the office. And I promise... before pictures will be taken. They will come with a warning :-)  

Enjoy the Journey!

Kelly

RECIPE WEDNESDAY - FlyLady

While this week is supposed to be all about the Living Room - Zone 3, I am backtracking to show you what I did in the Master Bedroom last week.

I will get the zones on track the way they should be... just going to take some time. Baby Steps

I told you last week I was going to tackle the closet before Bob left back out. I knew I needed a second shelf towards the back of the top shelf and while I had everything out of the way for Bob to install that, I wanted to go through everything.  Here's the photo gallery with captions:

Top Shelf - West end

Top Shelf - East end

Full clothing rod

Drawers

When we first moved in, we had 2 sets of waterbed storage bases from our old waterbed. The bedroom is too small for dressers - though we have book cases. Go figure LOL The drawer bases fit perfectly the width of the closet. Bob has the same configuration on his side. 

First, I took everything out of the closet except the drawers/ contents. I'd gone through those in the spring so didn't need to go back through them.

Loose items from shelf on bed for sorting/ trying on.

Bob's empty shoe rack with storage boxes from the shelf as well as some loose items.

Incidentally, we had taken his shoe rack apart and moved it out of the closet when the girls came. Adrian's mattress was in the open closet space. 

Abby's roll a way sat where the shoe rack is in the picture.

We put the rack back together in preparation for putting back in the closet but utilized it for this.

Then the sorting began. I tried on everything on the shelf. If it didn't fit or wasn't going to fit in the next #5 loss, then it went in the thrift store bag. I got rid of a lot of things I haven't worn in years and knew I never would. Some of the items dated back to my days as an Undercover Wear agent. I loved the pieces but they just didn't belong in my closet any longer.

This was the end result...

Look at all those EMPTY hangers!

Thrift Store

When I dropped them off, the gal asked if I'd had a garage sale!

A much more organized space! There are things to the back of the shelf yet, but those are 'keeper' things like funeral books and keepsakes.

Top shelf neat and tidy. Bulky things I wear every day easily accessed.

Jeans and the soon to be worn sweaters

A lot less crowded clothing bar. 

Next week I'll show you how I've decluttered the Week 3 Zone - the Living Room.

Are you decluttering? Should you be? Think how much easier you'll breathe!

Enjoy the Journey!

RECIPE WEDNESDAY - House Cleaning

I know when we think Recipe our mind automatically goes to food. Well, there are recipes for everything - including Housekeeping. So here's my recipe for today. 

CHAOS - Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome?

FLYLADY is the answer!

Yep, that would be our house about now.  Between everything not being in place the way they should have been before the girls arrived, add in the chaos of a 5 & 9 year old with toys, constant activity and trips the house is a disaster. And shall I remind you, I've never completely put the office together the way I envision it. Angels are not singing when I open the door. Rather, they are hiding in tiny corners for fear any noise might send something toppling onto their angelic heads.

I was a Flybaby several years ago. Marla Ciley's formula was the only thing that kept our home in some semblance of order between a 7-kid daycare and six Girl Scout troops - two of which required me driving out of town an hour each way one night a week.

I came across a post on YouTube the other day that reminded me of the program and I knew that's what I needed right now. I needed to become a flybaby again.

I've spent the past week in bits and pieces putting my Flylady notebook together. Let's do a quick walk-through.

I began with a six-ring planner I found at a thrift store for $2. Just hanging out in the cabinet waiting for a use.

The front pattern is covered with a clear plastic so I slit that at the top so that I could personalize the planner a bit, using papers and embellishments from Simple Stories - Domestic Bliss line:

I used one of their embellishment packs throughout the planner, including the cover... The card actually says "Bless This Mess". Since I'm all about getting rid of the 'mess', I covered the last word up with one of the ephemera pieces:

Come on, you knew there had to be paper crafting involved! 😀

The Flylady system breaks your house down into Zone's - one zone per week. I bought a package of tab dividers. I had to trim them to fit and punch the holes.

What the Flylady system is all about!

There are specific tasks to do each week. 

Once we're past the Decluttering Process no task should take more than 15 minutes.

I've laminated all of the cards I'll be showing you. 

This made the TO DO page a great write on/ wipe off surface. I've slit the holes on both of these cards so I can move them freely through the planner without having to open the rings every time.

I printed the calendar made for a Traveler's Notebook from Scattered Squirrel. The Weekly Planner pages were inside the planner when I bought it. I'll use the weekly pages to make notes of what is on the Zone plan for that week - day by day bites.

Aside from the weekly pages that were in the planner, there was also a two-sided sheet listing each day of the month. I put one behind each monthly tab and will move this from month-to month as I meal plan each week.

ZONE 1 - Kitchen/ Laundry

ZONE 2 - Office

ZONE 3 - Living Room/ Dining Room

ZONE 4 - Master Bedroom/ Bathroom

ZONE 5 - Basement/ Pantry

I'll be using these images as post headers from here on out.

The Keys to flylady are:

1 - Declutter 

     Working within the Zone for that week, spend 15 min. each day decluttering the room

2- 15 Minutes

     Everyone has 15 minutes and by doing things in small bites, you do not get overwhelmed

3 - Routine

      There is a Morning Routine, Afternoon Routine, Bedtime Routine

If you're in a state of CHAOS - I encourage you to check out Flylady and join us! After all, isn't a clean house part of our Journey to Living Healthy?

I'll be back Friday to let you know how the week went. Until then...

Enjoy the Journey!

Kelly