Do Refinish or Not to Refinish

OK, I am about to really humiliate myself by showing you my side of the bed which will be my next cleaning project. Bad huh? The reason I'm showing you this atrocity is so you can see my night stand which I want to refinish. Below is the amour I recently refinished; it use to be red (really pretty) but it didn't fit into my newly painted (by me) blue room (OK, I paint so I don't have to clean, it's sick, I know) so I refinished it and made it white; I even distressed it. I think it looks great in the room.


So, do you think the night stands should match? They were all a matching pair at one time. When I got the set they were a bulky, dark 70's bedroom set but honey, they are real wood, not that pressed wood crap which is all anyone without a rich man's budget can afford. So, give me the old, real stuff and I'll make it pretty. Anyway, I redid them in a dark red and loved them until recently (got lots of complements on them too). Now, they need to change with the rest of the house. Anyway, the nightstand will look like this; only smaller. What'cha think? You can't really see the distressing on this piece so you'll have to take my word for it. Are you ready to go through a furniture re-do with me? I'm up for it if you are. Disclaimer: the rest of my house may fall apart during any type of painting project however, I am hoping that since most the house looks pretty good I can weather this project without complete household destruction.



I'll be gone this weekend so the re-finishing project will have to wait until the following weekend; I'm sure I can find plenty in this house to keep me busy until then. Ready?

Wow! I walked into my house today and it's clean. No shoes piles by the door, the table isn't cluttered with mail and junk, the living room is tidy. Wow! Is this my house? Then, I walked down the hall into the family room and viola - no laundry piles all over the sofa, floor, coffee table, etc. Nice! Now don't get me wrong, the place isn't a showcase but a showcase has never been my goal, we live here, but I love not walking into my house and wanting to walk back out the door because of the chaotic mess.

Now, I just have to keep it up (which I'm sure I can do with the help of you). I do have areas which still need attention but, I'm glad to say, the areas you see when you first walk into a room aren't bad, not bad at all. Nonetheless, I will move onto my next project which is: clean/declutter my side of the bed. Yes, my side of the bed is a bit cluttered with all the books and other reading material (magazines, newsletters, bible study guides) I'm currently reading, the ones I have finished reading and the ones I am going to read sometime soon. I love to read and my side of the bed can attest to that fact. Now really, do I need a stack of books to read when I can only read one thing at a time. You'd think I could find a spot to neatly store the ones I'm going to read and put away the one's I've finished.

So, tomorrow, I will tackle my side of the bed. This project should only take one day unless I decide to expand the project to include refinishing my night stand which, I must warn you, is extremely likely. Of course, that will lead me to re-finished my husband's night stand...I think you can see where this is going. A las, with the rest of my house looking so nice a little "furniture refinishing" project just might be in my near future. Ta, Ta for now loves.

Comments

Some of you said you've tried to leave a comment but couldn't figure out how. I changed the comment setting (just figured out I could) so maybe, just maybe it's easier now. Try to leave me one and we'll see. Together maybe we'll figure out this technology thing.

This is the day which the Lord hath made...

Proverbs 26:14

"As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns in his bed."

I have purposely NOT included what the bible says about being a sluggard because, folks, it ain't pretty. However, having read the bible on occasion (I read it frequently actually, I am a God fearing, Jesus loving Christian who loves the Lord) I do know what it says, which is probably the main reason I fight my desire not to clean house because I know I should take care of what God has blessed me with.

So, today, this day of worship and rest I will honor God for all the blessings He has bestowed upon me. He is faithful and has never left me and I will honor Him by continuing in my endeavor to take better care of the home and family He has given me. Here is just a short list of what He has done for me:

Loving, wonderful, hardworking husband who tells me I am his one and only daily
Healthy children whom are my heart
I was raised in a very loving home where my parents honored each other
I was raised in a Christian home where my Mom didn't just talk the talk (boy could she walk that talk; I aspire to be like her)
My sister (although I was a happy only child until she came along) is my loyal friend and I couldn't do life without her (even if I sometime act otherwise).
A family support system which allows me to know that I never have to do this life on earth alone, they will always love me (do you know how many people don't have that?)
A nice home (I never have to worry about where I will stay the night)
Every need has been met, over and over again
A lot of wants are even met
I live in a country where I can worship as I please and can work to make my dreams come true because I have freedom (let's work to keep this country that way, OK)

This is a short list but I just want everyone to know I am thankful. God has given me so much and I never, never want to take it for granted. Thank you Father! Please, if you are reading this, take a moment to be thankful.

Laundry - at least it's better than soap scum

OK, you all know my feelings on soap scum (which I think I actually figured out; see previous post if you don't know my feeling on soap scum) now let's talk laundry. Piles and piles of laundry. Anyway, I have completed project #3 which was gaining control of laundry and establishing a "system" to help keep it under control; time will tell if my "system" works or not.

My clothes are all put away and hung up in closets (yes, I now use two closets to house my clothing; this is a real humanitarian problem for me which I will need to address another time; not today though) and the laundry room is nice and clean and I even found room (in the laundry room, no less) for three baskets: one for me, one for my husband and one for my son. I have another basket located right outside the laundry room for "other" stuff like dish towels, towels, other household items which don't belong to any one person. My eldest son (who I miss so much) is off to college so maybe, just maybe, laundry for three will be easier to keep control of than laundry for four. Now, to convince my husband, who absolutely does not like to change a way of doing something, to use the baskets and NOT the floor, couch, etc. My husband is not known for change - as in if your great-great-great grandmother did it this way than that is the way it is to be done for all eternity and the world will explode if you dare try something new. I, on the other hand, don't care how something is accomplished as long as you get it done...someday. A "fly by the seat of your pants" woman married to a regimented man - ahh, love at it's best.

Tomorrow, after church, I will do "upkeep" on all the projects I've completed so far because, as you all know, upkeep is the hardest part of cleaning. If it weren't for upkeep everything would just stay clean and this dilemma wouldn't exist - I like that thought.

I need a housekeeper - I really do. I should tell my boss I need a huge raise so I can afford to hire a housekeeper. I think in this day and age of lay-offs and the poor economy I can sell the idea to her, don't you? OK...maybe not. Guess I'll just keep blogging - at least I won't be unemployed. I'll inform you all of my next project when I figure it out - after the upkeep cleaning of my completed projects; hmmm, what fun.

The weekend is here

Saturday, ahh, a day to sleep in...not - I awoke at 6:00 a.m. turned over and...nothing, wide awake. I really did have dreams of sleeping in until...7:00 - 7:30 maybe. Oh well, up and at 'em. I have read my e-mail, scanned other blogs, drank coffee and put off getting my day started as long as I can so it is time to get started on completing my laundry control project. I'm off - will report back later. Have a good, relaxing or productive day (whichever you choose; today I shall be productive tomorrow I shall nap - after church that is).

I Don't Wanna

I don't wanna so I'm not gonna.

Getting Control of Laundry

A simple walk around the downstairs of my house made my next project obvious, more than obvious, is there a word which means more obvious than obvious? How about abundantly apparent? Crystal clear? In-your-face? No matter the word, laundry and clothing control is my next project. As a matter of fact, I have already begun working on it (aren't you proud of me?). So, here's the list:

Day One (that's today):
Make room between the extra closet upstairs and my downstairs closet for all my clothes to have a proper home - meaning not draped over a chair. (I'm getting that little urge that my clothing is going to cause another worldly injustice if I allow it to...so, I won't think about it).
Get all washed clothing into their proper place
Put all socks, underwear, etc. away
Get all clothing items in the pink room either put away or packed away for Goodwill

Day Two:
All clothing items belong to my sons into their rooms and put away
Establish an organizational system for clean laundry to be stored (individual baskets for all members of the home maybe?)
Disclaimer: my husband loves to wash laundry, he just doesn't put it away; he piles it all around for me to do and well....we've already talked about my problem with putting things away - hence this blog.
Establishing some kind of organization system will be the challenge. I need to come up with a place for my husband to pile the clean laundry yet a place it can stay a day or two until I can get to it. Hmm, that's going to take a bit of consideration. Ideas anyone?

Day Three:
Clean laundry room (it's quite small so that's why we don't store clean laundry in there).
Dust and mop floor.

OK, that's a good start on my next project. Now, I'm off to finish day one. See you!

Tuesday??? Already??

Time does fly when you're not watching it doesn't it? Sorry to have not written in a couple of days. Let's see, I left off with discovering I own way more shoes than I realized. Now that I realize it I have to face the fact that yes, I do indeed own that many pairs of shoes and there is no reason whatsoever for a person with only two feet to have that many pairs of shoes. I mean, really, there are starving, shoeless people out there and my shoes are piled up in my entry (well, they use to be) and some of them I didn't even miss because I forgot I owned them. That, ladies and gentlemen is wrong - really wrong. Now, what to do about this worldly injustice residing in my own home at the hands of none other than...myself??? Hmm, that will take a bit of pondering.

In the meantime, I have completed my last project. The entry, living room and dining room table are now nice and neat; though everyone I live with is doing their best to make sure it doesn't stay that way which, my dear friends, is where the problem to housecleaning lies in the first place. No matter how much I clean, it just doesn't stay that way. I'm the type who picks a project, works hard, gets it done and moves on but with house work I can't move on because it just piles up again. I have a life, interests, hobbies - I need to nap. Housework and the continuous upkeep just does not fit into my "big picture", not that I know what my "big picture" is, but I do know it does not involve daily dusting, vacuuming and endless picking up of crap, crap, and more crap. Maybe if I just packed a few clothes and one, no two, pairs of shoes and just moved away by myself I could keep things down to the minimal basics. That sounds promising but considering the shoe incident maybe, just maybe, I'm my own worst enemy? Hmm, could that be possible?

OK, I'm done for the day. I'm off to ponder the worldly injustice of owning too many shoes.

Humbling experience

Day one on project #2. The entry. What a humbling experience. I begin to pick up all the shoes which have piled up in the entry with the intent of giving them to their respectful owners to put away; imagine my dismay to discover almost all the shoes belong to me. Hmm, that's an eye-opener. My husband owns two pairs of the shoes, my son one pair and the rest are...mine. Now here is the real confession - there are 17 pairs (yes, that's 34 individual shoes/flip flops) of footwear, piled around the entry and they are all mine. That, ladies and gentlemen, is humbling, embarrassing and humiliating all at once.

OK, now to find homes for all those shoes. You know, I didn't even know I owned that many pairs of footwear, guess I do. That would explain why I can never find the shoes I'm looking for, huh?

Anyway, I cleaned up the pile of shoes and used used Clorox to clean the tile and the area looks really nice. Now...where to put all those shoes? Day two of project #2 - tomorrow. Until then I'll be looking for a place to store all those shoes. Do I really even need that many shoes, I only have two feet? This might be a good time to consider a more minimal lifestyle. Ahhh, things to ponder.

Day four even though it's really day five

OK, so it's day five even though, technically, I was suppose to finish by day four, nonetheless I have completed my first project; the master bathroom. The mirrors shine, the sinks and counter are dust free, clutter free and clean, clean, clean. The tub and toilet are sparkly and even the shower is clean except for bits of soap scum which are determined to live in my home no matter how hard I scrub. I will figure out how to get rid of that evil stuff.

Now onto another room. Which one shall it be??? I think I shall focus on the entry, living and dining areas since those are the first rooms you see upon entering the house.

Day one: (Entry area)
Organize all those shoes which never seem to make it past the front door entry
Clean tile
Wipe down front door
Dust the floor edging
Get that big chair moved to where it belongs (which is not where it is)
Clean off and wipe down the ledge thingy
Clean off and dust alcove

Day two: (Living room)
Dust and organize entertainment center
Vacuum couch and under cushions
Organize and clean coffee table
Dust window sills and blinds
Make that room shine
Get rid of crap we don't need anymore

Day three: (Dining area)
Clean off dining table
Vacuum
Dust window sills and blinds
Get rid of any and all crap lying around where it shouldn't be

OK, the project continues so until tomorrow. Good night, sleep tight and may God bless and keep you all safe.

Shower scum

Today is Thursday, it's 5:50 a.m. and I'm thinking...shower scum. Is that not crazy? I even looked shower scum up on-line and this is what I learned. Shower scum is the gradual accumulation of soap residue and body oil. Yep! That stuff built up on the walls of your tub or shower is your very own (and anyone else who uses the shower) body oil. So, basically, you have weeks, or months or even years for some (not me) of your good ol' body oil built up on that shower wall. Now in't that nice (said with a southern accent for emphasis)? Yuk! That stuff has got to go.

So, I think, hmmm, body oil - a good de-greaser should work and one of the best is ammonia. Yep, good, stinky, old fashion ammonia - it's cheap too, about $1.00 or $2.00 for a whole bottle; if you can stand the smell. Well, I got up this morning, ran the shower (with the hope of loosening that horrible stuff) and sprayed my shower down with ammonia (I am now fully awake). I let it sit while I dried my hair and then I wiped, then scrubbed, then scrubbed harder - nah, stuff's still there (although not quite as much).

Can you believe I actually got up at 5:30 a.m. with soap scum on my mind (before coffee I might add) and scrubbed shower scum? I who detests housework scrubbed shower scum at 5:30 a.m., in the morning, before the sun was even awake. So, the moral of this story is...sleeping and being in bed really is much better than house work. I knew I had it right and the rest of the world had it wrong but the expectations of society made me feel like it was me. Me? Hmm, proven wrong by soap scum, who knew.

Today is day four and I completed days two and three which means I am still one day behind but I will complete day four on day five which, lucky for me, I haven't scheduled any housework for.

OK, I need help with shower scum. That is awful stuff! I scrubbed and scrubbed and used this Lime-away stuff that's suppose to just "melt" it away but I do not believe my carpel tunnel is now flared-up because of the "melting" process which was supposedly taking place. The shower looks much better but perfect it is not. Anyway, I am now on the search for the perfect shower scum dissolver. Maybe I'll discover it somewhere along the way like I did the cure to dust allergies, make millions and then hire a live-in maid (ahhh, to dream).

Good news, not only did I complete days two and three (albeit late) but I also prepared dinner for my husband. Do I rock or what? OK, maybe if I rocked at all this domestication stuff I wouldn't have started this blog but hey, baby steps people baby steps.

Tomorrow I will complete day four and assess the damage of another room so I can proceed with my house cleaning, organization project. Next week, I may even add an exercise plan to the mix...or not.

Good night and God bless.

Off to a good start???

Well, I was off to a good start. Day one went beautifully, then came day two and then day three. On day two I left for work at 6:00 a.m. and did not return home for more than 20 min. until about 8:30 p.m. at which time I fell into bed, read my bible and dropped into a dead sleep. My son is heading off to college and we held a good-bye party for him so when I got home from work I gathered food and other "party" stuff and headed off, to my wonderful friend, Dondie's house (she has a pool and offered to host the party) for the party. OK, I am just sure my only eldest son getting ready to travel across the country, away from his mother, to live, away from his mother (that's me), should not only buy me a bit of leeway in not cleaning but I absolutely have the perfect excuse to fall into bed for an entire week and sleep away the misery and sorrow of my baby leaving me.

Now day three: Well, I had to take my youngest son to get his driver's license (which is almost the same as sending him across the country to live since he'll never, ever be home anymore), then work the late shift getting home at 6:15 p.m., eat (can never miss out on that) and then I was off to bible study. Then I came home around 8:45 p.m. and fell into bed once again. Notice days two and three did not involve a nap so I not only gave up cleaning I gave up my my nap because there was simply no time (now anyone who knows me knows that no nap is BIG).

Today is day four and I don't believe I have to run off anywhere after work so we'll see if I can get caught up a bit. I'll let you know later today. Off to work for now, have a blessed day all.

Mission accomplished

Day one went down without a hitch. My master bathroom counter is clutter and dust free, my sinks are shining and you can see in my mirror. Actually, I'm not sure I don't prefer the mirror smudgy because I am sure I see more winkles on my face than the last time it was clean. Nonetheless, all this with nary a need for a nap. Not to worry, I'm sure a nap is still in order sometime before this day is over - it is the day of rest you know and I wouldn't want to ignore the day God Himself said I should rest; now would I?

I also discovered, in my endeavor to overcome being a sluggard, the cure for dust allergies. How can that be? You ask. Well, you see, I haven't had bad allergies in a while and I wondered why that was (though I'm glad for it) and when I began to clean off that bathroom counter and discovered all the dust which has slowly accumulated I realized I have unintentionally used the homeopathic method of curing my allergies. Brilliant! Don't you agree.

Those of you familiar with homeopathy will understand this, those of you who are not let me explain. Homeopathic medicine is an alternative form of medicine which basically very slowly introduces the matter (in this case dust) which causes the problem in very small amounts into the system of the victim (that would be me) resulting in the build up immunities by the body, thus curing the person of the symptoms. I think it is entirely plausible that the slow, consistent accumulation of dust in my bathroom may have, unbeknown est to me, cured my dust allergies. OK, that may seem like a far stretch to you but I'm going with it, if you don't mind, because at least that gives me justification for allowing that much dust to be in my house.

The Plan

OK, I said I'd devise a plan and I have. The first thing I will do is: assess the damage. I will do this room by room but not all at once; I could do it all at once but I believe that will be way too overwhelming and cause me to feel the need for yet another nap or cause me to go into a deep, dark depression which can only be relieved by leaving the house to get away from it all.

So, I will take one room at a time, assess the damage and then proceed with cleaning and organizing that room. Once that room is done I will move on to the next room until, viola the entire house has been cleaned and organized. Sounds easy enough, right? Right?

Master bathroom:

Assessment:
clutter on counter
dust on counter
dirty mirror
dirty counter
clutter under counter cabinet
tub needs cleaning
window sills dusty
blinds dusty
shower stall dirty
shower stall glass has scum build-up
toilet room floor needs mopped
toilet needs cleaned everyone (top to bottom)

Solution:

Day one: de-clutter and clean counter top
throw away old, never used products and stuff
clean sinks
clean mirrors

Day two: de-clutter and clean under counter
throw away old, never used products and stuff
damp wipe/dust bottom of counter
organize area

Day three: Scrub shower and tub
Clean scum build-up from glass and tile.
Dust window sills and blinds

Day four: Clean toilet
Mop toilet floor
Empty trash
Vacuum bathroom carpet

Wow! Four days to clean one room. Seems like a long time but I suppose that beats what I've been doing which isn't much of anything.

Disclaimer: Nothing in my house (except the shower stall, actually has anything growing on it) I do actually manage to keep things sanitary but I absolutely hate it and the clutter has gotten out of control. I cannot stand to let dishes pile up and the kitchen garbage is emptied regularly so I am hopeful that I am not a lost cause.

I will begin on day one - tomorrow which is Sunday. I know it's the day of rest but I promise I'll take a nap after completing day one.

By the way, today is my son's birthday and he is craving PaPa Murphy's Pizza for dinner so I'm off the hook for cooking. Ho hum, well, it is his day.

Devising a plan

OK, everyone needs a plan. A mission statement maybe??? No, just a good ol' plan should suffice. My plan today, other than taking a nap, will be to devise a plan. I need to start slow and planning doesn't actually require me to clean anything; I think I'm off to a good, slow start don't you?

First and foremost I am committing NOT to buy anything to assist me in planning this plan of mine. I say this because I am famous for buying "how to" books only to have them become part of the endless clutter. I know how, it's the doing I'm having a problem with. I have book after book on cleaning and organization...if only I could find them. I have so much stuff already that I will only buy something which is absolutely necessary to the "cleaning of my house" process but only AFTER I have tried to find an adequate substitute which I probably already own anyway. I will confess all purchases here on this blog to hold me accountable to you, not that there is any you out there but hey a girl's gotta feel important, for any unnecessary expenditures.

Did I mention I cleaned my sister's kitchen this morning? I did. She fed me and kept me, I cleaned; maybe there's hope for me yet.

Friday night

Well, I'm at my sister's house for the night so I managed to get out of cleaning house for another day. Tomorrow I will return home to an utterly out of control mess and rather than clean it I'll probably take a nap. I promise I will be devising a "plan" to get my house under control but really, I'm sure it can wait a day or two.

OK, maybe I'm not actually a sluggard but when it comes to housework I am. I hate house work and anything to do with domestication. I don't like to clean and I don't like to cook. The problem with all this dislike is: 1) I am not of the income level to hire it out and 2) It keeps piling up when you ignore it.

I am a 46 year old wife and mother. I have two boys almost 16 (in two days) and an 18 year old heading off to college. I also have a wonderful, loving husband who, thank God, loves to cooks (so we are well fed).

I am hoping to devise a plan with this blog to overcome or at least get a handle on this house of mine and figure out how to get over being a housework sluggard.