A "one month left of summer" bucket list!
I have a little less than a month left before school starts, which is making me feel a little twitchy.
Bucket lists are usually filled with fun things, but I can't lie: this list is really gonna be productive stuff because I will feel better going into my fall semester if I get my ducks in a row.
Also, I do actually find joy in crossing things off a list, so....
I'm sharing because I need some public accountability, so thank you for being here to keep me in line. 😉
1. Finish the @#$!% scuffed table
+
I am so tired of looking at this half-finished thing in my carport. I need to just find some good weather days and knock it out.
2. Hang some things on my walls
I did such a good job of settling right into my rental in almost every way except one: I have quite a few things I haven't hung on the walls.
And this is silly because my landlords told me from the start that it was fine to hang things up!
3. Go through my house room by room and declutter
I have lived here for two years now (how crazy is that??), which means that I have most certainly accumulated some things I could get rid of.
I know I will eventually move out of this house (my landlords are committed to keeping it as a rental, which means I cannot buy it), so that's gonna be my mindset as I go through my stuff.
I'll ask myself, "Do I want to pack this up and move it eventually?", and that will help me figure out what to get rid of and what to keep.
Rooms on my list:
- my bedroom
- my office
- Lisey's old room
- my bathroom
- the kitchen
- the living room
- the boiler room (our unfinished basement room)
4. Do my pre-school assignments
I have a little stack of assignments I have to knock out before school even begins. I printed them out and was reminded that my anatomy and physiology knowledge of the nervous system definitely needs some reviewing!
5. Practice my competency head to toe 2 times a day
I'm a little rusty on my head-to-toe assessment routine because PCTs do not do assessments!
My third-semester professors said a lot of students fail the first time around and have to come back for retesting in the fall because they did not remember to practice over the summer.
As we all know, I'd much prefer to pass competency on the first try, so I'm gonna be faithfully practicing between now and then.
Competency testing happens in the first few days of this fall semester so I gotta be ready by the time school starts.
(If you're new: competency testing happens every semester before clinicals. We go into the labs at school and do various skills while a professor watches us and grades us pass or fail.)
6. Eat down my kitchen freezer
If you've been here for any length of time, you know I am forever and always struggling to keep my kitchen freezer under control.
It's so easy to throw things in the freezer and think you're saving them. But if you don't keep on top of it, the freezer is just a pit stop on the way to the trash can.
Sooo, I wanna eat that down. And if I can manage to use up some things from my little chest freezer too, then great. But mainly the kitchen freezer contents are my focus.
____________________
Alrighty! I think that's enough for four weeks.
Wanna join me? You can make a list in the comments and we'll all check back in a few weeks and see how we did!
(and you can make your list more fun than mine if you want. hehe.)
This is such good timing for today! I have a day off from work, which is great, and I've had a nice leisurely run, relaxed and messed about BUT I have things I'd like to get done, nothing hugely overwhelming, but time is... awasting.
So. Off to take the pile of detritus to the dump along with the garden refuse from yesterday's garden crash-work. Get to Aldi. Fetch the parcel. Ya know. That stuff.
I wanted to make today count and dammit, it will happen!
@Caro,
I can only speak for myself, but I *require* time to relax, mess about, and do basically nothing for at least part of any day off of work (assuming I have no appointments, time-sensitive things, etc). Your day will still count! 🙂
Pretending you're moving is a great way to declutter. I'd like to add the additional layer of "If friends were helping us move, is ____ worth their effort?" We were going to rent a Uhaul when we moved from our >1000 sq/ft apartment to our <800 sq/ft house, but we didn't need to because so many friends volunteered to help. Asking oneself "Is this worth [friend's name] hauling on his motorcycle trailer?" really cuts through any doubts!
@N, What a great idea!!! I hope there's not another move in my future but if there us I'll remember to put this into practice!
@N, Another question is “Do I want this now but don’t want to move it?"
When we move, we've learned to---if one can swing it--to rent the new place a month before we actually need to move out of the old one. Then, to the new place, we move first the absolute essentials* (beds, clothes, the kids' computers for work and school, kitchen stuff---basic kitchen stuff, that is) and set everything up at the new place. THEN we go to the old place and take a good, hard look at everything we left behind. If we dread the idea of moving it, or it doesn't fit in the new place, we donate or junk it. In this way we've winnowed the belongings of a family of six down to fit in a 1600 sq ft house with attached garage.**
*books are a given, but I pack those up early, culling as I go. Books are heavy! So it's a good time to curate the collection.
**Disclaimer: we do have a small storage unit, mostly for some space heaters and portable AC units we needed at one rental place that was just...ugh. The HVAC was vastly undersized for the home. DH, understandably, thinks those might come in handy in the future, should the furnace or main AC poop out. We also keep his telescopes and work related stuff at the storage unit, as well. It's a small investment to keep our home less stuffed.
@Karen A., We closed on our house, then gave two months notice at our apartment of over a decade. The house needed some work--deep-cleaning, painting, refinishing wood floors, etc.--and I wanted time to do all that and move gradually without losing my mind. It was so worth the extra month of rent! My husband and I tag-teamed; I'd work on the house four days a week (DIY is more my wheelhouse than his), and he'd sort/pack/clean at the apartment while I was gone. I never traveled to our house without a full car load, and he'd have a weekend goal, be it number of packed boxes and/or stuff purged/given away. By Friend Moving Day, we were down to only big furniture and possessions that were worth our friends' generosity!
I agree with N pretending to move helps me decide.
I struggle with giving myself credit for how much I have already tackled.
I still have boxes of mom's stuff to go through. And my clothes. Now that we can dress casual for work I do not need so many dress pants.
@Mar, I feel ya about the clothes. I thought about that - then I punted. I have the space for my old work clothes, I can go through them later.
@Mar,
If the dressy pants are still stylish, take them to a consignment store at the appropriate season. You may get a bit of cash out of the deal.
This weekend I tore up and threw away (recycled, actually) my summer bucket list because I was becoming discouraged by it. Today is our homeschool's "soft" start because we need to get started but we have so many interruptions for the next two weeks.
The good news is that I got a few things off the list before I gave up; my favorites were the fun things 🙂
@Jody S, I make to-do lists not because I enjoy checking off tasks (I really don't care) but because I will forget things. But then I see a huge long list and I get overwhelmed and anxious. And then I choose three must-dos for the day and get more anxious. Sigh.
@Jody S, when a list looks too daunting, I break it into steps so that I can inch toward completion. Really small steps: 1. find the phone number; 2. call and leave a message; 3. call again, etc. . .
@Rose, I use a 3-section spiral bound notebook for my lists.
One section is this week’s to-do list. The second section is my brain dump list. I write down anything that I see that needs to be done. I use this section to help me make my weekly list.
The third section is for specific lists such as books I want to read, shopping lists or trip planning.
So yes, I have lists to keep track of my lists and lists to make other lists. It works for me even if it sounds crazy.
@Bee, That doesn't sound crazy. It sounds really organized!
@Rose, I do a little bit of both--writing to remember things and to feel good about accomplishing something. My daily lists are always loaded with things I know I'll get done like shower, do my face therapy, feed the kids, etc.
@Bee,
Genius! I need to borrow this idea!
@Bee, I love this! My lists are on my phone, but I love the brain dump list! I'm going to start doing this too! I have separate lists for books to read(authors too) and movies to watch.
I need this. I get distracted and then don't go back.
1. Finish CE credits before 9/13. 10/16
2. Declutter Kitchen and Livingroom.
3. Finish desk.
4. Organize pantry.
5. Freezer meal prep before 9/13.
@Amy cheapohmom, Gosh! What happens on 9/13? Does your carriage turn back into a pumpkin? I can't stand the suspense!
@JDinNM, I prepare taxes and have a break before extension season starts. Basically, at least for me, it starts on 9/13. I am trying to get all of my classes done before that. In the past extension season turns into the holidays and then I am still working on CE on 12/31. I get my taxes done by the end of January for the same reason. STRESS is really what rules my world.
@Amy cheapohmom, they have to be doen by midnight 12/31.
@Amy cheapohmom, Freezer meal prep... that's a good one!
Ahh, the freezer saga. Ever ongoing! I have the best intentions but then things get pushed to the back and sometimes are hopelessly ruined before I get them out. When our chest freezer had to be replaced, we got an upright which has helped somewhat, but some things still have a way of getting lost in there!
@Addy, I have had an upright and a chest freezer and no matter which one, things got lost. I have tried keeping a list, and tried keeping a blackboard...to no avail, things still get lost. I need a freezer where you have rotating shelves that present themselves while I stand there and watch them scroll by, so nothing gets lost.
@Lindsey, Better yet, maybe bag clasps that are triggered by the freezer door opening, causing them to scream out how long they have been sitting in the freezer.
@Lindsey, ha ha! You’d think someone could invent something to help us out here!
@Lindsey, @Addy @Kristen - you need my better half. He is army organized when it comes to ensuring items in the freezer are consumed. We may have a day or two during the week called eating out of the freezer. Sometimes only the protein portion (aka meat) from the freezer , some times only side dishes, some times the entire meal.
Unless a leftover item is specifically going to be eaten in the next day or two, it gets put in the freezer. Our food waste is almost non-existent.
@Lindsey, lol, rotating food. I like that idea.
First and foremost I am sitting here without power as Debby dumps tons of rain and blows huge limbs out of trees, knocks things over and shoves things around. So I am putting “get a )&;!! generator and propane set up,” at the top of my list. Two hurricanes within one year is ENOUGH.
And East Coast, look out.
Next, my craft room needs work. That includes getting the wooden blinds we splurged on years ago hung back up since the new windows were installed. The new windows are thicker than the old and the brackets have to be reinstalled in new positions. I think they might hit the metal corners under the drywall so I don’t want to do them myself.
De-clutter. I now have too many skillets. I need to make a decision on what to keep. I really like all of them. And closets always need de-cluttering.
Practice more sewing and try to learn or relearn hand needle crafts .
Be good to myself. Eat off the good dishes more. Slow down. Keep better track of expenses as I approach retirement but include a bit more room for fun.
@JD, Praying for the best as we endure another storm, especially those of you closer to the Gulf! We have only lost power for a few minutes so far, but the day is still young. Flooding is our greatest worry here.
Bucket list goals:
1. Donate what's in my trunk, haha. Also go through the apartment again to add to the pile.
2. Finish going through my paper files and get rid of whatever is no longer needed (primarily estate paperwork).
3. Back up photos from my phone.
4. Plan out sewing plans for the next month or two and try not to get distracted by new sewing pattern releases. Ha.
5. Get apartment ready for furniture that will be coming back from the refinisher in the next few weeks. This will coordinate nicely with #1 on my list, make room!
@JD,
Good morning. Yes, we are having some weather here on the East Coast.
Here we go again!
@JD, my fingers are crossed for you, @Brooke, @Bee, and everyone else in the Commentariat who is being or may be affected by Debby.
@JD, Having just endured a power outage and massive cleanup of tree parts I’m keeping you in my prayers. All of you. And, we are close to the East Coast.
@JD, I am in Tampa Bay area and endured the wrath of Debby ALLLLL day yesterday and through the night......she is a VERY slow mover and just wreaking havoc due to that. Prayers to all in her path, Be prepared.
@JD, I found one way to help declutter things I like but don’t need, is realizing that someone else will like them just as much and needs it more. I can bless them with it by passing it on.
Here are a few things I need to do (it's an incomplete and ongoing list):
(1) Now that the garden is passing its summer peak, it's not too soon to think about late summer/fall cleanup--starting with pulling out spent dill plants and other annuals that have run their course.
(2) I need to start putting together sets of dried herbs for holiday giving.
(3) I'm taking the Element to my usual shop this Wednesday for NYS inspection, oil change, and 29-point checkup (and hoping it won't need any additional work, though with a 15-year-old vehicle, you never know).
(4) And, gosh darn it, I'm gonna have some fun. JASNA BFF is coming up next week for our traditional Triple Birthday Celebration with our JASNA Panera friend in the next city over (we all have second-half-of-August birthdays). And I'd like to get out and enjoy the rest of the summer any time it isn't too hot and humid to do so. As DH used to say, "We'll be dreaming of this in February."
@A. Marie, As my daughter says when we get a lovely summer day, “we live in Boston, we earned this”.
@A. Marie, Oooh, yes. I need to add fall planting to my list. I think I'm going to do some of it this Friday. Thanks for the reminder.
@A. Marie,
After this hurricane passes, I may well be pulling everything out and starting a fall garden. It’s not looking great out there right now.
Enjoy the birthdays!
@A. Marie, Happy Birthday! May all your Jane Austen-inspired dreams come true. (And all the other ones, too.)
@A. Marie, The happiest of birthdays to you, and many more.
Hoo boy. I'm going back to school myself this fall and am panicking a bit.
On my list: take the TEAS test, hopefully pass. (If not, I'll have until May to do so, but like Kristen, I'd like to get it done the first time!)
Take my learning driver for a longer drive than usual.
Hammer out the issues with my transcripts in the hopes I won't have to retake College Composition (I TAUGHT composition back in grad school, for heaven's sake!)
Dig up a weedy flower bed and prepare it for an herb garden.
At some point get the kids and myself in for eye exams--not sure when I'll fit this in, but I can tell I'm needing new lenses.
Declutter my bureau for what feels like the millionth time. It would probably feel less cluttered if i folded things and I didn't have a lot of the same color.
Trim the cat's claws.
Deep clean the kitchen and laundry room.
Oop, almost forgot--pay the bills for mine and DS#2's classes.
@Karen A., what are you going to school for? 🙂
@Andrea G / Midwest Andrea, Nursing! One of my sons is also in the program, so this should get interesting. At least I have a built in study buddy. 😉
My kids go back to school next Monday, so we only have one week left of summer break. I’m sad! We all want to do nothing as much as possible, before we’re back into the school schedule. My to-do list before our “end of summer” on Aug 12:
1 - High School orientation night
2 - Elementary School - Meet your teacher night
3 - Go to the pool!
4 - Get up earlier to transition into school schedule
5 - Possibly fit in another kitten visit at the Orchard near our house
Do you really need to (ahem/cough!) review your textbook knowledge of anatomy and physiology or are you just looking for an excuse to fix your gaze on the (ahem/cough!) “fundamentals” of that cover illustration? Hmmm?
Over this insanely hot summer my bucket list melted into a f*&k-it list. The garage did NOT get emptied out, cleaned and sorted. I have, however, been sorting through my out of control library and selling/donating a lot of books. Although of course that also results in too much couch time reading and re-reading books I had forgotten I had…
@JDinNM, hot weather is not a motivator! My flower beds can attest to that!
@JDinNM, I was wondering the same thing about that book cover. It is a nice pix.
@WilliamB, He sure looks like he's getting enough protein...
If he had a buzzed head and beard, THEN we’d be talking. 😉
@Kristen, God, people are weird. Facial hair is gross! Buzzed just looks apologetic.
This makes as little sense to me as another friend's preference for men with a kazillion tattoos. YUCK.
I know, I know, more for you. Ya weirdos.
You can leave all the bald headed bearded men for me. 😉 Hehe.
@Kristen, I love a bald head. The beard varies. Some I like some-nooo way.
Haha, I agree. Long, unkempt beards are NOT my thing. But a neatly trimmed dark beard? Yes, that will work just fine for me, thank you.
Oh this is a timely post aimed at me! Most of my end-of-summer bucket list is post-move related:
1. Re-post items on Buy Nothing group.
2. Drop off other items for donation.
3. Organize storage shed.
4. Go through more bins/boxes.
5. Shred old paperwork.
We are having a heat wave this week with heat warnings & advisories. Trying to do any outside work before 10 am.
I have lived in my home for 25 years this year. It is easy to allow things to accumulate. I have been working on a major declutter on and off for a few months. However, I have a few hotspots that I would like to tackle over the next few weeks. Today is the perfect day to start because of the storm.
• The coat closet in the foyer - how can someone who lives in Florida have over a dozen coats in her coat closet? It is crammed full.
• The boxes in the storage closets that has mementos from my children’s early years . I started sorting through these a paring things down. This takes a little while for each box is filled with memories.
• My cookware. As a mom of 3 active kiddos, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen. I don’t cook like a used to and I don’t really want to anymore. I need to sort through my pots and pans as well as my baking items. Perhaps I no longer need 3 stock pots in varying sizes.
• My garage. In Florida, we do not have basements and in most houses usable attics. My garage is filled with things. Many belong to my adult children. It’s time for them to decide on what they want to keep. This declutter may not be completed this month, but I can plug along.
Wishing everyone good luck with your list!
@Bee,
Re:your coat closet.
I have the same problem! Some were gifts and some are so old, but definitely too many coats. I’ll donate a lot of nicer ones to the church outerwear clothing drive.
@Bee, Your comment about the coats made me laugh. I live in Amarillo TX. When I moved from the PNW, I had the same problem. I think I'm good for the time being. One has to think about traveling to other places. I go home for visits and I might need that coat. 🙂
Sounds like an ambitious list! But you are a powerhouse and can totally knock it out. 😉 My list is going to be way more fun. I have 3 weeks left of summer. Week 1 = drama camp for my oldest + I'm babysitting, ending the week with 2 show performances. Week 2 = camping in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. So my fun bucket list is all fitting into Week 3!
1. Zoo with friends.
2. Swimming playdate with friends.
3. Trip to Greenfield Village.
I need 3 of the 5 days in the last week of summer to have beautiful weather. 🙂
Oh, I guess I need to add some responsibility stuff, too. This stuff can't be neglected.
4. Get my calendars figured out, written in my planner, and entered into my phone.
5. Get kids registered for fall sports.
6. Get my ducks in a row (planning, printing, training plan, social media posts) and shopping done for my big ministry role.
A lot of stuff on your list related to your house is going on my fall list since this will be my first year with all of my kids in school!
Hm. I was getting my house nicely decluttered when I bit the bullet and moved my 10 x 15 storage rental space here. So now everything is back to being a mess. it's annoying, too, because some of the stuff which needs to be given away (three chests of drawers and two large desks at the very least) needs to be gone through by my kids and they're lazy. Well, maybe I can think of rewards for us.
1. Take all large canvases and enormous nursery rhyme posters (teaching aids from 1915 which hung in my daughter's room) to the shed. My daughter wouldn't care if we sold them but I would! Actually I might be able to let them go...we'll see I guess. They are so cute though.
2. Get kids to go through old furniture, then put out by curb on a non-rainy weekend.
3. Put daughter's dressing table which I bought for her as a baby because I loved it so much in storage somewhere. (There seems to be a running theme here.)
4. Cut new stained glass for sconces to replace LR sconces. Rewire other antique lamps.
5. Move piano against wall. Move hall tree next to front door.
6. Hang 50000 pictures.
7. Finish tweaking of new website I created and prototyped and work up proposal for new daily blog/newsletter to accompany the site.
8. Go to the beach and relax at least 2x a week. Sigh.
@Rose, I know that feeling of attachment to things. It is a continual battle. Perhaps you can photograph those 1915 posters and then move then on for someone else's enjoyment. Same with the dressing table, because you won't be able to enjoy it if it is in storage.
And you know how to cut stained glass?? Is there ANYTHING you don't know about??
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, Easy stuff is easy. Heh.
I can always find pix of the posters online--Mary Louise Spoor was the artist. My girl had (has) Hickory Dickory Dock, Bye Baby Bunting, and Jack & Jill.
https://internationalposter.com/product/bye-baby-bunting-nursery-rhyme-triptych/ (hers has the wording)
https://seesaw.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54fabf0ec88330168e6e71162970c-pi
etc.
When I was hanging up Bye Baby Bunting in my daughter's room decades ago, my sister looked at it and said, "I like how the baby's cradle is decorated with rabbits just as a special FU to the bunnies he shot."
@Rose, I too love that style of art. Thank you for the links.
@Rose, only 50000? I might have a few less. I moved into my apartment in March. I started hanging some of my stuff. And I still had a bunch of wall space so I bought a bunch of stuff and some of it is still not hung. Maybe that should be on my bucket list. Hanging some of those things I already got.
Future Kristen is going to be so pleased when you knock out that list!
Occasionally I go through the house and deal only with the things annoying me -- all the tiny chips, snags, and needs mending items that catch my attention repeatedly while moving around the house. It feels great to not be having to see them any more. The other day the perpetually loose cover on the small sofa in my husband's home office finally got anchored with screw-in upholstery pins, thus saving me a daily session of tucking it in. Should have done it sooner!
@Ruby,
You do a wonderful job of mending things. I am constantly admiring not only your skills but your timeliness. I find that often my little jobs become big ones because I don’t mend things as quickly as I should.
Thinking of moving is definitely a good way to get rid of clutter. We were in our house for 18 years and we had so much junk. We've filled a dumpster twice with junk. We're finding that our kids are not really interested in the sentimental items that we've saved from their childhood. Those things have been harder for me to purge.
My end of summer bucket list includes unpacking all the boxes currently stored in the garage, hanging pictures on the walls, purchasing and hanging window treatments, and clearing out the flower bed of weeds after figuring out what is weeds and what plants are supposed to be there.
@Beverly, Yes, anything connected to our kids' childhood is so hard for me to purge.
@Beverly, @Erika JS, about that children's memorabilia: my mom gave it to each of her offspring and made us decide what to do with it. I looked mine over and then dropped it in the trash. I have no offspring, and nobody cares now nor will care in the future about that stuff. It ain't easy—takes internal fortitude, teeth-gritting toughness, and long-term vision to be able to do that. But it can be done!
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, You are very inspiring! Side gig as a motivational organizer?
@Erika JS, I had my kids purge their papers et al. Made in USA toys will be sold and some toys have been re-homed.
@Erika JS, just an odd obsession. I get a real charge out of decluttering. It’s kind of sick really, The opposite of a hoarder, I guess. But I also do struggle with attachment to things so it is an ongoing battle.
@Central Calif. Artist, my daughter too gets a charge out of purging and decluttering. A couple years ago she did a "thousand things" challenge for a year where her goal was to get rid of 1000 things. She and her family of 8 live in about a 1600 sq ft house. Since she is such a purger, I didn't know how she'd have even 100! She had several hundred items in just a few days. Then, she spent a few days sorting all of the Lego sets so the boys could sell them. She's very organized and a little bit obsessive lol! Unlike my younger daughter and I who tend to accumulate because "it was a great deal" and, "I might need it again." I'm working reeaaalllly hard on breaking this mindset!
Best wishes for completing your list!
The pictures for the walls in the photo don't all look very heavy. I found that simply using push pins would work for a lot of lighter hangings. Fast and not much marking on the wall.
@Heidi Lousie, Hey Lousie, is the misspelling a typo or to be funny? You've been lousie for several days now.
@Rose, Ooh-- I hadn't noticed that that secret aspect of me was showing!
Thank you for pointing it out so I can clear up my online persona.
I'm a total list person so I'll hop on board.
Top six (beyond everyday stuff) to do's:
1. Finish decluttering closet and re evaluate wardrobe.
2. Flavored salts will be part of Christmas gift baskets this year so I need to order some things to get the ball rolling on that....need to start a Christmas list to now that I think of it.
3. Practice making homemade bagels...another gift basket item for Christmas...I don't do cut out cookies anymore thank goodness. I gave myself permission to ditch that source of irritation.
4. Came across a package of chicken livers in the freezer so I'll borrow the neighbors freeze dryer and make cat treats.
5. Outside chores and prepping for winter needs to get done.
6. Desperately need a haircut.
I have plenty to add to this list. When I was first not working, I was super motivated to tackle all of my chores on my "some day" list. Once I did that for a few months, I basically stopped & became a slug. Still plenty to do!
1) Deal with unwanted jewelry
2) Follow the No S eating plan
3) Clean up eBay closet
4) Declutter 10 items
5) Help DS18 go through his room (pre leaving for college)
6) Help DS17 with college essays/applications
7) Deep clean the house
Today: Wash windows. Tackle one shelf in the shop - declutter. Sell & organize.
Gather up all old broken necklaces, single earrings, pendants to sell at jewelry store.
Take in found money jar (1 gallon jar) This is money found in the car & pick up, laundry, parking lots, etc. Deliver lawnmower to guy who bought it off of FBMP. Pick up a stack of 5 gallon buckets off the Buy Nothing group. These are food buckets with some lids.
Before September:
1. Road trip to Oregon (leaving today)
2. Clean the whole house (currently masquerading as a refuge for homeless spiders and sneaky wayward lizards—maybe just one, but dang it anyway!)
3. Restock and clean all the drawing lessons supplies (lessons resume after Labor Day)
4. Have all the paintings and decisions made about upcoming solo art show (opening Oct. 19)
5. Succeed in unloading the junk I am hauling to Oregon to participate in my sister's annual yard sale. (That's a gimme, because I am NOT bringing that stuff back home.)
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, Have fun on your road trip and please tell us some details about your solo exhibition as they develop.
@Erika JS, thank you for your interest! It’s in the small nonprofit gallery where I rent the workshop room to teach drawing lessons. The show will last through December. My goal is 50 oil paintings and I am almost there unless of course something sells before the show. Because I am just “a regionalist from Quaintsville”, I’m thinking about calling the show“Right Here“but I don’t fully trust that title because I thought of it at 2 AM.
I so feel you on this one! I was in a bit of the doldrums this summer and also several big unexpected things happened (hello car being totaled) and Stuff To Do really stacked up. This week I knocked back a lot of it and feel … honestly I feel free. It’s not all done yet but it’s no longer weighing me down.
@WilliamB, Whoa, hope everyone in the car is ok.
@Erika JS, No personal injuries at all. It wasn’t worth trying to fix a mis-alligned frame on a car that old.
Some things I want to do this month are:
1. Continue decluttering my bookshelves and list the saleable ones on Ebay.
2. Finish the paint-by-number I started.
3. Cook something from scratch most days - yes, it's hot, but I have way too much food in the pantry and freezer to buy more convenience foods.
4. Fix up my easy chair to make it more comfortable.
5. Make a cushion for my window seat.
6. Slow down and have more fun, listen to music, spend time outside when it isn't too scorchingly hot, play games, etc.
D’you know what? None of us will mind if you chuck the table in a skip. Sometimes getting the bugbear off your plate helps you focus on other things. No failure here. Think of it as triage 🙂
@Victoria, That's what I would do! :-} Which is how I know it's not what Kristen will do. :-{
Excellent timing! We are on the downhill now. The kids' school starts in two weeks, and my classes start in three weeks.
We have had such a wonderful summer. It was the break I needed from work and health care issues. I'm an academic, and a big part of deal is getting summers off. Well, the last four summers have been bonkers because of COVID and keeping plates spinning and lots of stuff. This summer was the first real summer I had since 2019. (And that summer I had a newborn, so it wasn't exactly easy breezy.) I have also being doing constant cancer care since I was diagnosed in July of 2023. I did my last radiation treatment three days after the kids got out of school. (Now I am just on long term meds and regular CT scans.) All that is to say that I finally had the quietly productive but fun and relaxing summer I have been craving for years.
I've still got a few things to do though! Namely:
1) Go swimming a few more times. We've been swimming almost every day this summer. It has been glorious. I want to get these kids to the pool a few more times.
2) Respond to my reader reports. This is a letter due in 10 (10!!!!) days.
3) Continue to work at least 1/2 hour each day on my book. I have lost a little steam, so I gotta get it back. I need as much of this bad boy done as possible by the time job applications are due.
4) Finish my syllabus by 8/23 because classes start 8/27!
@Amanda in VA, Wow. Nobody deserved a fun summer more than you!
@Amanda in VA, three hearty huzzahs for your excellent and well-earned summer!
This is the first week in 35 years I will NOT be going Back to school this week. We teachers in Californias start on the 9th. I realize look forward to this summer back in Spring I WAY overbooked. This morning I accepted that from now until November I am EXTREMELY busy and need to start making hard choices or I will be miserable trying to achieve all my goals. Also, I need to make my food plan/ training top priority for the big 162 TRT hike at the end of September. So, I need to do less and enjoy more. Therefore I made three big decisions:
1. First decision up was to transfer my sailing class from this week to the first week in Sept. This saves me being out of 105 degree heat four hours each evening and driving round trip 2 hours. So glad I thought to call the place begging off due to possible heat exhaustion instead of just not show up and lose the money. They were happy to change for a &10 fee. Excellent. Now I have evenings with visiting son from college.
2. Next huge decision is February's Antartica cruise. As a family we decided that is better for son not to join us.. His schedule is in flux and I will fret until February about losing deposits. I wish I am the kind of person not to fret wouldn't fret but I know I will. ( hubby insisted we could wait till November to choose but I am not him) So now I can save a bucketful of money, transfer son's deposit to our new balance and save anxiety. We will visit my son wherever he gets his new job instead.
3. I will allow a complimentary hotel night voucher to expire. I simply could not find a weekend that is free and nearby to minimize expense. Better to waste a free $300 night voucher then spend an additional $600 for added stress.
Phew! that was exhausting. The rest of the day is easy. I'll putter with laundry and workout. Dinner is already made for the boys tonite; food plan is recorded; and checks have been deposited. Excellent.
@mary ann, You could try calling the hotel and asking for an extension, saying you were really looking forward to the trip but just couldn’t get it in this year. It helps if you have a sympathetic reason, it potentially gives the person you’re talking with another reason to want to help you.
Or maybe you don’t want to have to think about it, and just let it expire.
@mary ann, TRT?? What trail is that? 162 miles in what amount of time? If I were you, I’d be doing nothing but training. That sounds like an enormous undertaking.
@Central Calif. Artist,
The Tahoe Rim Trail - 2 weeks.
Goodness I love this exercise. School has already started here so I will call this my before fall to do list 🙂
1. Get to the farmers market to purchase tomatoes & peaches to can and green beans to freeze. These are staples in our home through fall and winter so I definitely want to get this accomplished.
2. Finish decluttering the guest room; unpack the remaining boxes, style/make the bed & hang curtains & find a used crib for my great niece to use when she comes to visit this November 🙂
3. Clean out and organize our garage. It is dreadful and I just have to get this tackled before it drives me totally insane.
4. Prepare garden beds for fall planting. Since we just got moved back into our home mid April I was not able to plant a Spring/Summer garden. I am determined to have a fall/winter garden. All kinds of greens, cabbage, broccoli, celery, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, pumpkins and anything else I can think of.
5. We had a tree fall in a recent storm and I want to get that cut up and removed along with cleaning out my backyard beds in preparation for the coming fall season.
@Angie, holy guacamole, I hope you have a good supply of strong coffee to accomplish all that!!
Ooh good idea! I want to:
Declutter my closet
Reorganize my fabric stash
Work on eating down the dry goods in the pantry
I'm afraid my summer bucket list has sprung a hole. Right along with the freon thingy on my refrigerator...which I've detailed on the NCA website. (I'll repost it here next time we do 5FT, it's pretty funny.)
For the summer, I had ambitions of decluttering (did some but much more left to do), putting new flooring down in the areas the bad roommate ruined (I've done the hall, but not her bedroom or the LR-DR area), finding and going to a new dentist, fixing up the patio (check!), repainting Grandma's old chaise lounge, installing a bigger yard light, redoing the kitchen counters and losing weight.
School starts next week, and I still haven't gotten any substitute teacher assignments. Which I really, really need.
As many of you know, I walked out of my house one morning after a phone call for emergency help, and I did not return to my house for 6.5 weeks. I've been home 5 days now and such a lengthy time away has made me see my house and my projects in a whole new light. This morning I took a load to the thrift store. I have listed many items on FB marketplace and ebay and I will work on Etsy listings next. Some projects I have simply dumped. Some I will get to (the garden) but only a tiny bit at a time. Living out of a tote bag for 6 weeks was quite liberating, I didn't have any of my stuff to manage. Of course I was managing a toddler and my son and daughter-in-law's house entirely. And of course my daughter-in-law walked out of her house that night not knowing that she wouldn't be home for 5 weeks. It all has made me want to keep up with things better and not have so many unfinished things. I suspect that feeling will fade over time, but I think it's a good thing to ponder. I look at my garden with an eye for how I can make it less work, more self sustaining.
I have thrown away 2 shirts that I took with me that should have been in the trash at least 2 years ago. Looking in the mirror at myself wearing them repeatedly gave me the needed push. One more is in the donate bag, it's just not my color.
I think living with a life and death situation every day for 4 weeks has made me want to live my best life every day. Less frumpy clothes, less bad hair. Every day matters. A few more (frugal) treats.
@Kara, That's fantastic to hear and you are so right. I just caught myself in a longish mirror and I look just awful. Shame on me, seriously. An old stretched out T shirt with a gapping neck and too large baggy pants. It's also bad enough that I cut my hair short 10 days ago and suddenly I look like my mother when old. My mom was gorgeous when young but suddenly looked ancient and sick after her stroke. oh well, guess I need to get over it.
@Kara, Hugs and welcome home.
@Kara, what a journey! Glad you are home and that all is well. I am always trying to do more Swedish Death Cleaning while we are pretty much confined to home with caregiving (which due to advancing age of the patient (and us too) has become more challenging and consuming). One upside is I have taken a good hard look at my wardrobe and eliminated/donated many items that are no longer flattering (or never were) or fit into this season of life. I have been deliberately trying to wear my nicer clothes for everyday and am enjoying upping my game a bit.
@Jean C, Best to you in your caregiving.
@Rose, Glad to hear I'm not the only one with too-old clothes. We can always make a change!
I love this!
I have a “by 8/16” section of my to do list for the same reason. We’ll go away for a bit and then boom into the busy part of my year. We even have a kids birthday party the day we get back and I want to have the present ready to go before we even leave.
- also trying to use up things in the freezer
- making sure everything that might need to be returned or mailed is set
- iron my work clothes for the first week back so I don’t have to do that
- have an ice cream - can’t do this on vacation bc I have a few allergies, but there is one place here that has dairy free and nut free ice cream so I have to do that at least once this summer
- enjoy some of the summer streets events nearby (closing off some streets and having music and food trucks and things)
- visit two nearby towns that are college towns - before the students come back
Making this list should be a great motivator!
1. Like Kristen, I need to go through each room of the house and declutter. Coffee table and tops of dressers are especially distressing at this point.
2. Weed along a very long fence area and brick wall (over which my neighbor's weeds invade my yard).
3. Mend or toss items in a rather large pile beside my sewing machine.
4. Find new homes for an upholstered chair and love seat currently in my basement apartment. A generous friend has given us nicer ones. I haven't had great luck with FB Marketplace in the past and it's so much easier to haul them to the dump. But they are still usable, and I hate to generate trash unnecessarily. Any suggestions?
5. Build a new habit - call my sisters every two weeks. We have such great conversations whenever we talk, but don't have a habit of touching base regularly.
Almost all my things are dog related. No, giant dog related.
1. clean drool off the walls. I have had three Irish wolfhounds. They did not drool. I somehow missed that Great Danes drool like they were being paid to do so. We always wanted a blood hound but they drooled too much---well, the Danes might win the title of most drooly only the droll hits the walls much higher because they are so tall.
2. fill the graves he has dug for us in the backyard. Once it snows, they will be a real hazard because you could disappear into one. Relly, I saw him standing in one, working away, and I could not see him until I got close to the hole, it was that deep.
3. find someone who knows how to repair a rag rug. My grandmother made this one and now it has a large hole in the center. The husband unhelpfully suggested I just wear it as a poncho instead of using it as a rug.
4. Find new places to store flour when we buy a 50 pound sack. I had them in buckets with gamma lids. He chewed off every lid, dragged the buckets through the dog door, and scattered flour everyplace. Flour and dog drool could be marketed as another type of gorilla glue.
5. Paint a peeling window frame. If I work hard enough, I can probably find some way to blame the dog for this, too.
I know he is only a puppy, and knowledgeable trainers had told me that giants cannot really benefit much from training until they are about a year and a half old---it is like their energy is being used for their body growth, not their brain growth. But we have had giants before and never had to use a trainer because we managed it quite well, but some days this boy plucks every nerve I have. He came from a sad situation and so had no manners, and he is a puppy, but honestly I have days where I regret adopting him. He has noticed that we put food on top of the fridge, where he cannot reach it---but two days ago I saw him on his back paws, front paws just reaching the top of the fridge so if he gets much taller we will have to think of something else. Luckily he is loving and always eager for an adventure, so I can't stay frustrated for long periods.
@Lindsey, Know how you feel, ish, even though I don't have giant breeds. (My cousins just adopted their latest set of Danes; the male is constantly sneaking into their bed and taking up approximently half the continental US.) I love all four of mine but between two puppies, one older and extremely jealous beagle and one utterly insane and huge coonhound, it's a LOT.
Ugh. Plus so expensive. The old beagle is off for teeth cleaning tomorrow, the younger pup needs yet more shots and fairly soon The Big Snip and I'm hoping that's it till next year! I googled prices for cat grooming nearby--$450 for a longhair. I guess I will brave the Gus bites and dunk him in the kitchen sink.
@Lindsey, I sympathize with both the humor and the frustration. My roommate can’t take care of his large (but not giant or puppy) dog any more so seems like he’s more-or-less mine now. Lovely dog but impossible to train so yeah, there are moments. He’s also a rescue. Hang in there, your dog’s brain will kick in eventually. Do you think he’d be able to defeat child-proof locks?
If I were to write a list, it would be endless. I can look in every direction and see something major to do. So I will write about what I have done that has motivated me to carry on little by little. The truth is, if I accomplish anything, it is progress.
I cleared my desk by throwing away much unnecessary paper stuff and filed pertinent information. I cleared off the kitchen table to change the seasonal theme to "lemons." I like to decorate with little touches for the season. For a while the table was so cluttered, I was a little afraid I'd already be into Thanksgiving. Also cleared off the buffet. I maintain a tray of ready to serve items for drop in guests (which I never have, but still am ready). This one has lemonade mix and a lemon embossed pitcher, lemon shortbread (from Marshalls), lemon-lavender candle. I also have a tiered fruit stand with veggies from my garden and what else? lemons and limes to make citrus pie (2 cans swt condensed milk 2/3 c. juice, 3 egg yolks, blended well. May add some zest. Pour into a 9" graham cracker crust, bake for 20 min. Let set for an hour or two before serving w whipped cream. Refrigerate leftovers.) Because it is a small house, with minimal counter space, the microwave is on the end of the buffet.
I need to purge the craft room. I no longer do many of the things that I have items for. Will look to FBMP or thrift store drop off. Silk flowers for wreaths (mostly high end. If it's not real, I want it to look like it is) and flower arrangements.
Want to take down living room drapes and wash them, replace them with the long curtains in the kitchen (that are not really kitchen curtains). It is imperative to have backed drapes or heavy curtains for winter in case of subzero weather even though I cover the inside of the windows w plastic. When I was thinking of new drapes/curtains for living room, I found/thought about using the kitchen ones. I also already have some very cute cafe curtains I made for the kitchen a few years ago of colorful realistic looking flowers. What's old becomes new again. Wash windows in the process.
Clean out pantry cabinet of large and shaped cake pans. I no longer make three tiered wedding cakes w 16" bases. Want to keep madeline pans, molded teacake pans, etc. for tea party treats. Want to inventory and measure table cloths (I have over 30 lace table cloths in white and off white for church tea parties, and mixed assortment of white and seasonal ones.) Also want to inventory tea pots, china tea cups, and china sets and serving ware. I have opened totes of dishes and thought "Oh, I don't remember having this."
Will stop with the long term. Still have several things to do in the short term.
Kristen, I can totally relate to your list. I, too, love to cross things off my to-do list, which is paper. I've tried using online "to do" apps, but nope, I'm old school. I really admire how conscientious you are about prepping for school, too.
My own list:
1. I *WILL* get my niece's high school graduation gift to her *BEFORE* she moves away to college. She graduated in May. (Hangs head in shame). Life happened, DH offered to take it on, then he ignored it for a couple of weeks (sigh, I knew better, he was in a super busy phase of work), and here we are. I'm just waiting on one gift card to arrive in the mail, then will put it all together to send to her.
2. I will clean out my raised bed (that is full of weeds) in time to cover it over in the fall. First, I have to transplant the coneflowers growing in there, that someone in my Buy Nothing group gave me last year.
3. I will read the continuing education book I bought last year (!!) and take the quiz to get continuing ed credits....the quiz expires at the end of this month.
4. I need, and must, use up what's in my kitchen freezer, too. I'm not entirely sure what's in there (at least one package of bacon, that much I know, lol). Your freezer looks 1000% better than mine.
5. I will clean out our garage (with DH's help) so we can get our garage door opener serviced. It's about a year old, and still under warranty.
That's plenty to do! Good luck, Kristen and everyone!
I do have a list of August goals:
-have my late parents’ accountant file
a final return on their estate. ( It
makes me really sad, so I have been
procrastinating.)
-buy a new refrigerator (I knew it was
on its last legs, but I thought I had
more time! I did not. It died, and I
bought a new one yesterday)
- lose 10 lbs
- have the car serviced
- go to the gym 12 times
- walk on the beach or swim 12 times
- schedule and have a mammogram
- schedule an endoscopy
- make sure my HOA board approved
impact windows
- Try to transfer my late husband’s car
title to my name so I can donate it.
- have my house spotlessly clean by
the end of the month
On my to do list is:
1. Sort my family photos and get them labelled and into albums
2. List the clothes I’ve culled on ebay
3. Declutter my study/home office
My short list includes:
-scheduling well child and dental appointments for the kids
- grilling at least once more
-back to school shopping
-reading a book at the public pool
-a weekend away to bring the kids to visit their grandparents
- working out school carpool schedule
-as many ears of fresh corn as I can work into meals while they last
- helping a relative recover from surgery
- going in an evening bike ride just for fun…at my own slow speed