Two Big Projects Today

I have two big projects planned for today, as well as tidying and vacuuming the whole house, running some errands and doing some shopping. Unfortunately, I feel like I may be getting sick, so I will have to pace myself.

The first project is the pantry in my kitchen that holds all of our homeschooling supplies, books and art supplies. My method is this:

1. Remove large items which block the shelves
2. Beginning at the top shelf, remove items, wipe shelf, re-organize items from shelf and replace, all the while sorting to remove unnecessary items, or items that belong elsewhere.
3. Work through all shelves. I should mention that I drew a picture of the inside of the closet the other day. I organized the items I wanted to keep in the closet thereby eliminating guess work.
4. Once the shelves are done (I think there are 5) I will box the items that remain on the desktop. The items that were removed to begin with I will sort through and place where they should be.
5. Then I will set up the desktop they way I have planned it. And again, distribute what is left over.
6. Next, empty everything out of the floor area. Clean the floor. Replace what is staying, take care of the rest.
7. Done!

I also want to finish emptying the rec room. The boxes are gone but what is left is a bit trickier. There are items that need to be removed, others that should be sorted and still others that I don't know what to do with, like my driftwood collection, for instance. In this room I will just work through it one item at a time. That will be the easiest way.

Before
During....
I really thought that these pictures would show a big difference, but it really isn't apparent what I have done so far! Ugh. Hopefully by the end of today the difference will be greater.

Here I go again.

DMC

Coat Closet Cleaning

I didn't get as much done today as I would have liked. I did, however, clean out the whole coat closet instead of doing a little on all three closets. Before.....
After...

I will have to make this a short post as I am tired today.

DMC

My Plan

I took some time today to make a plan. We have taken the month of April off from formal homeschooling, but E is still finishing up projects, like this one, that Cali our oldest cat, is holding. This is the cover of E's story, Solomon the Plow Horse. This project incorporated a study of Beatrix Potter, watercolour painting, drawing and colouring with pencil crayons, and writing about her favourite topic, horses. She has also been doing some hands on stuff, like helping in the curriculum sale, and sorting/painting in the basement. I am doing the planning for the rest of Grade 7 and Grade 8, filing Semester 2 work, and doing the report card.


The plan for today is...

• do 2 shelves in the school closet
• do the shelves in the coat closet
• do the shelves in E's closet
• move the boxes into the storage room
• try to move the furniture
• finish planning Canadian History class
• work on Report Card for 15 minutes (I had to redo it)
• complete the new menu plan I am starting (in which you plan meals for 4 weeks instead of 1)(I will try to post a link for this soon)
• some other stuff I can't remember right now, but might add on later.

Here goes....

DMC

Household Binder

The end of another day and I actually feel as though I have accomplished something. After moving about 10 boxes out of the rec room, I realize that the mountain is not so big after all. And, after washing the floor in the storage room, I realize that replacing that flooring must be included in my renovation budget. I admit I completely forgot about doing the pantry, but I had an unexpected errand to run. Maybe tomorrow I will begin with that.

The thing that I did today that most excites me is all of the forms and things that I created for my household binder. This sounds silly, but I have had this vision of having a household organizer for years. I have always had a basic one, but awhile ago I revamped it only to discover that I really couldn't find anything anymore. See how it is overflowing and messy.

Then I started to do some research on the web and by reading blogs and I found some wonderful ideas. For instance, I have been carrying around my day scheduler all this time, instead of purchasing a purse size calendar that I can use for notes and appointments, etc. Here is the one I got the other day. This is really a must have for those appointments, like the one I made today, that will not happen for several months.
I am chronically misplacing things and this will hopefully help me keep appointments straight at least. Also, a bonus, it matches the new stationary that I got at the dollar store for $1. It has mountains on it, which reminds me of a special place I used to live.

DMC

A Slow Start

Ok. It is after lunch, my daughter is sick, and I haven't done any work in this house yet today.

I did do some stuff on my computer though. I made some lovely forms for menu planning, shopping lists, weekly chore lists and many dividers for my refurbished Household Binder. I also finished my daughters Semester 2 Report Card. Normally I don't do report cards but we got a great template with Microsoft Office, and it is always handy and prudent to have a record.

So here is my agenda for after I get off the computer...

1. Clean out kitty litter.
This is a big job: carry in 50 lbs. of litter, throw out the old litter, clean the boxes, and refill them with fresh litter and baking soda.

2. Wash the floor in the storage room.

3. Sort the laundry and start it.

4. Start moving boxes from the rec room to the storage room.

4. Box the contents of my pantry, aka The Beast

I guess I had better get going. First though I have to cancel lessons for this week (as daughter is sick) and make any other calls necessary.

Have a good one,
Donna

The Beast

The week ahead looks full. We have lots of projects on the go including getting all those boxes, desks and stuff into the storage room; decluttering 'the beast' which used to be a pantry before we renovated the kitchen and got more cupboard space, but now contains all of our homeschool supplies, curriculum, equipment, and lots of other stuff that doesn't belong there. Somewhere buried in there is some filing and other important stuff I can't quite remember right now. This is a must do.

I'm also planning on getting our coat closet and entrance ready for spring by storing all of the winter items, and removing the carpet which protects my hardwood flooring from salt damage. And I would love to spring clean and rearrange my living room which is feeling a bit blahhh right now.

Then there is my daughter's closet which need an overhaul, collecting estimates for the work on the basement, planting grass seed in my yard, planting seedlings and herbs indoors, and finally cleaning out the trunk of my car which still has toboggans in it. Should be a fun week.

Have a good weekend.

DMC

Mission Impossible Accomplished At Last

I am so happy that I have finally finished clearing out the storage/laundry room. My new storage area complete with my trimmed shelf and new resin shelf, is packed with all of our excess stuff. Here is a picture of it. I have included before and after pictures of the storage room. I can hardly believe the difference.

This is the before picture...

...this is the after picture.

Tomorrow it's off to a curriculum sale. We managed to pull together a bunch of boxes full of books and curriculum, and get them all priced.

DMC