Summer To-Do List Update!
I'm back at school as of today (!!!), so I thought this would be a good day for a to-do/bucket list update. Let's see how I did!
1. Finish the @#$!% scuffed table
Ok, so, I am 99.99% finished with this.
I really just need to take some decent pictures of it, but I'll put those in another post, so the before and afters don't get lost here.
2. Hang some things on my walls
I did this! I hung up all of my flower prints from my Buy Nothing group. I know these would be better in a group of three, but that's not how my frames worked out, and I'm trying to work with what I've got!
I hung up my necklace holder (which I brought from my old house and then never hung up for two years. Ahahaha. Whoops.)
And I hung up a cat print Zoe had bought in Hawaii this past January.
Yay me!
3. Go through my house room by room and declutter
I did so-so on this one.
Rooms on my list:
my bedroommy officeLisey's old room- my bathroom
- the kitchen
the living room- the boiler room (our unfinished basement room)
Honestly, there's probably not tons of stuff in in the bathroom and kitchen that needs to go; mainly the issue is the boiler room.
But I'm sorta thinking that will have to wait until winter break now unless this semester turns out to be easier than everyone says it is.
(I have met multiple people at my job who have failed out of third semester, soo...I think the boiler room will probably have to be messy until December. I do not, not, not want to repeat a semester! Schoolwork is gonna be my priority.)
4. Do my pre-school assignments
These are all due at noon today so...you know I got those done. I do not turn things in late THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 😉
I also got all of my beginning-of-semester assignments done, like confidentiality forms, onboarding forms, the syllabus quiz, and so on.
5. Practice my competency head to toe 2 times a day
I've checked this off on most days except for the ones where I worked at the hospital. So, while I might be iffy on my IV med skills or my injections, I am pretty dang confident about my head-to-toe assessment skills.
(The phrase, "I'll be inspecting the skin for wounds, incisions, rashes, redness, and color." rolls right off my tongue. And same goes for all the rest of the extensive script we have to follow. 😉 )
6. Eat down my kitchen freezer
I did a good job with this one!
I used some frozen milk to make cinnamon bread.
I made a big ol' crockpot of chicken broth to use up my rotisserie chicken bones.
I thawed my frozen oil and used most of it to fry some meatballs (if I've used oil only a time or two, I strain it and freeze it for future use.) The meatballs handily used up a partial package of ground beef that was in the freezer too!
I cooked the marked-down package of beef slices.
I used some of the corn tortillas to make some cheese quesadillas.
And my freezer is looking way better than it did. Here's how it started:
And here's where we are now:
My updates...
1. I donated what was in my trunk, yay! I was able to add a few more things to the pile.
2. I cleaned out my paper files, and it's looking quite nice and tidy in there now. Phew!
3. I did not back up any photos from phone. This will go back on my to-do list.
4. I made sewing plans for the next 2 months. I typically underestimate how much I can accomplish, and I hope that's the case. I still need more clothes (especially pants) than I planned to make!
5. We got our furniture back from the refinisher, and I did some work to make everything fit in our apartment, but I still need to do a little more work. The pieces look amazing, though! And now one dresser has become a night stand, which is handy.
Mine:
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.
Did this!
2. Get kids to go through old furniture, then put out by curb on a non-rainy weekend.
½ done. Gone through old furniture, have not put out by curb.
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.)
Yes!
4. Cut new stained glass for sconces to replace LR sconces. Rewire other antique lamps.
Might cut the glass today.
5. Move piano against wall. Move hall tree next to front door.
Not happening until I get a couple burly movers
6. Hang 50000 pictures.
Nope.
7. Finish tweaking of new website I created and prototyped and work up proposal for new daily blog/newsletter to accompany the site.
Half done. Site was hijacked by the Chinese and I’ve been fixing it for days, which is why
8. Go to the beach and relax at least 2x a week. Sigh.
Has not happened.
However, in my world, summer doesn’t end for a week, so…
@Rose,
"6. Hang 50000 pictures.
Nope.”
That made me laugh.
@WilliamB, I hung one picture and one mirror. Just 49,998 to go!
@Rose,
.......and, as far as going to the beach, the crowds are typically much smaller after Labor Day, and the weather is still conducive to beach-going. (You do still have a week to get the rest of your list done. No pressure. ;-))
@Rose, I love, love, love putting a piece of furniture out by the mailbox and then peeking out to see when it's gone. I always like to think that someone is saying, "Oh, I got lucky today."
@Anne, I feel this way exactly whenever people stop at our Little Free Library. It’s a lot of fun if I happen to be walking past a window and catch folks pulling out books and looking them over. And grabbing books from their car to stuff them into it.
We have a high turnover rate!
I did go today but I forgot my cane so I got dizzy standing by the water. However--I've walked up and down the stairs in my house and it was OK, and I walked from my car (I went to bay beach because of rips in the ocean) with my chair and beach bag and didn't drop dead, so there's that. Heh. And I have my totally cute white catseye prescription shades to wear.
I wish I could have a LFL--BFF was so happy to put one in front of her house--but the road is too busy. There is another by the post office, which I go to often, because I have no mailbox to put furniture by, because I have a nondeliverable USPS address. Sooooo I need to go to the post office oftenish.
I often get dizzy at the water's edge because the sand is uneven.
Also, fixed my sites today, removing malware, and went to the beach. IT'S ALMOST LIKE I'M A FUNCTIONAL ADULT AGAIN. sigh. I know how pathetic "I carried a beach chair and a bag with a couple of books and a bottle of Evian" is when it comes to triumphs, but whatever. [Insert Chariots of Fire theme music]
@Anne,
Lol! Yes! I also like being the "it's my lucky day" person.:-)
@Rose,
I don't think that's pathetic. With all of the health issues that you've been dealing with, that DOES sound like a triumph to me. It's like after I had my knee replacement - walking from the living room to the kitchen was a big deal. Take the win!
@Erika JS,
I love those Little libraries. Our rural area has a lot of them.
We only had one week of summer left at the time of the previous post, so my list was pretty easy.
1 – High School orientation night … Yes.
2 – Elementary School – Meet your teacher night … Yes.
3 – Go to the pool! … No 🙁 That cool weather came in. It was great for everything but swimming!
4 – Get up earlier to transition into school schedule … Yes. We are now back to the 6am wake up.
5 – Possibly fit in another kitten visit at the Orchard near our house … Yes! Kittens and apple donuts. That place is always a favorite.
@JenRR, Kittens and apple donuts sounds so fun!
@JenRR,
Kittens and apple donuts for the win!
My husband and I have a list that we both work on. I make it at the end of the school year, since both of us have school-related jobs. Last year we had completed everything on it within a month of school being out. This year, only half the things are crossed off. And almost all of those were things I could do by myself. It was a challenging summer. That's the way it goes sometimes. But eventually, the new Oriental rug will get put down in the living room! And then I can proudly announce this fact to my sister, who gave us the rug and has asked more than once if it's been put down yet. 🙂
@kristin@going country, I have a beautiful new rug I'm dying to put down, but I'm waiting till I'm certain about housebreaking the younger puppy.
This summer I focused on my Daughter, who is Autistic. I did clean out a few areas. You did an amazing job!
@Tamyra, supporting family is what we, in my family, call “too important to be on the to-do list."
@WilliamB,
I love that.
I didn't test, but pretty sure I had Covid. I've been dealing with fatigue the past two weeks as a result. So, I've been in survival mode and only the bare minimum has been accomplished.
@Tammy, Hope you feel better fast!
@Tammy, Very sorry to hear that! My family also had covid this summer, for the second time.
Free at-home tests and vaccines will be available again late this September.
I wonder why you write you made a cheese quesadilla. I thought the quesa part of the word means cheese. Do you usually do your quesadilla without cheese?
Haha, yes, you are right. I was being redundant. I mostly meant to distinguish it from a quesadilla with other things like chicken or steak, as pictured in this post.
1) clean out paperwork files (including documents from an estate settled 7 years ago), shred tax returns we no longer need to retain, cull miscellaneous files - done
2) update password list (digital estate) and other end of life type information- 75% done
3) replace 34 year old toilet (works but it's worn) - not even started (it's been a challenging summer of caregiving and we don't have the bandwidth to do much more than caregive and do routine tasks)
4) harvest the garden tomatoes - roasted tomatoes with garlic and onions and then puréed and simmered down to a delicious sauce. No fussing with skins or seeds - easy peasy. Made spaghetti sauce and froze the rest. Tried a new "basic" recipe that I read about in NYT. Basically fresh or canned tomatoes, onions and butter. I was tentative, but it really was delicious and I see why it is a favorite.
5) ruthlessly go through closets/drawers and donate or pass on. 60% done - realistically I am never done (smile)
1. I went through several boxes of things that I saved from my children’s childhood. I pared things down to 1 small box per child. I enjoyed this. There were so many memories.
2. DH and I began cleaning out and reorganizing the garage. I put a few things out by the curb, and I gave a few things away on BN. He started putting together heavy duty shelving. This week while he is out of state working. I have more things to list on BN, some items to bring to charity shops, and some to sort. This is a huge job, but realistically it won’t be completed until the end of September.
3. I did not sort through my overstuffed coat closet. I looked in it. Does that count?
4. I did not tackle decluttering the kitchen at all.
Best wishes for a great start to your school year.
@Bee, " I looked in it" made me smile. So many times I look at the job and go take a break from looking!!
@Bee, I sometimes take a break by looking at completed jobs. It makes me happy.
@Kathy, I looked in it just long enough to decide it was still a mess and very full. Sometimes I wish decluttering elves would come and take care of these things for me.
@Bee, Maybe if you look three times while holding your breath and hopping up and down on one foot ...
@Bee, if you ever find out how to get hold of those decluttering elves, send them to me after your work is finished. I keep trying, but sometimes it seems as if all I'm doing is decluttering my recent cluttering.
@Bee, Hire an organizing expert. Mine has done wonders. Worth every penny.
as usual you are too hard on yourself. i give you a 95%. we just got home from a wedding in PA. spent 4 days in jim thorpe after the wedding. really nice place. very dog friendly. most stores have signs saying no public restrooms. but the visitor center has extremely friendly people to help you and very nice restrooms.
Ohh, that's so fun you went there! You had nice weather, I bet!
My list (described at the time as "incomplete and ongoing") included the following:
(1) Late summer/fall garden cleanup. [Moving right along, though of course this is a job that won't be completed till well after first frost. I'm particularly glad that I've gotten the cilantro bed cleaned out and re-sowed for a fall crop.]
(2) Putting together sets of dried herbs for holiday giving. [Very little progress. My excuses have been that it was first too hot to go up in the attic for my bunches of herbs, and then too humid to do the work. But I plan to get going on this project this week, now that the heat and humidity have abated.]
(3) Taking the Element to my usual shop for NYS inspection, oil change, and 29-point checkup (and hoping it won’t need any additional work). [I did get this done, but alas, my hopes were in vain. Old Nellybelle has her appointment for the replacement of the exhaust system on Wednesday.]
(4) And, gosh darn it, having some fun. [Indeed, I have had some fun. JASNA BFF's visit and our Triple Birthday Celebration with JASNA Panera were hugely enjoyable; I've been appreciating the lovely weather of the last few days; and I had an excellent day of garage saling on Saturday (more about this in tomorrow's FFT).]
The garage door still hasn't been painted and I haven't done sewing machine maintenance yet.
However our wooden garden furniture has been cleaned and oiled and I am ahead of garden chores/entrance cleaning generally. Also eldest mucked out his room, resulting in a number of runs to the tip and the thrift shop.
I reorganized my wardrobe and ordered my clothes by "function" (work, sports, summer and winter) so as to make it easier to make new combinations. Previously I would keep boxes of clothes that were meeh or for another season. Now I have one meter of clothes that I really like and that fit me well, and all other clothes can go. The wardobe does not hold shoes or coats, but otherwise all my clothes are in there. I have one smallish box at the bottom of the clothes cupboard that holds the clothes that I will wear for really dirty jobs. Again, all other stained or torn clothes can go.
I would still need to polish all shoes and handbags, that would be a nice chore before autumn starts.
@JNL, "Mucked out his room" sounds like there were more runs to the tip than the thrift shop. ;-}
@JDinNM,
How true!
He was well pleased at the number of square meters he gained and I am well pleased that the room will be easier to clean now. Not that I will be doing that as he is grown up. Or I would have to start signing The Maid.
@JNL, I used to refer to my daughter's room as the Augean Stables.
Weirdly, she's now even more of a clean freak than my son.
@Rose,
Good to know there is hope! (My mother never let us do house chores growing up, because she said we would break something and she could do it better. It is a miracle that I got to be such a good housekeeper as I am (and I am). It must be in the genes - mildly obsessive cumpulsive).
After moving this spring I didn’t really have a summer to-do list, I wanted a little time off. But now that we are in back-to-school mode, I have my eyes on a “before the snow falls” to-do list.
I am making progress on the reading challenge I set for myself for the year. I’m trying to read a book that starts with each letter of the alphabet. The only letters I have left are K, U, T, and Z. I have books lined up for these letters so I think I will be done before the end of the year.
@Geneva, When you're finished, maybe you can share your list from A to Z. "Have books lined up" = don't need any suggestions from the commentariat! But I'd love to get a peek at your list.
@JDinNM, My Goodreads reading challenge link includes the authors! https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/48143519
A – (The) Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian
B – Book Lovers, (The) Bookshop of Yesterdays
C – (The) Castaways
D – (The) Due Date
E – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
F – Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice
G – (The) Guncle, (The) Guest List
H – (The) Heart Goes Last
I – (The) It Girl, In the Unlikely Event
J – (Finlay Donovan) Jumps the Gun
L – Life After Life, (The) Likeness
M - Mary
N – (The) Night the Lights Went Out
O – Other People’s Lives
P – (The) Perfect Tenant
Q – Queens of Geek
R – Rock Paper Scissors
S – (The) 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
V – Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank
W – (The) Wicked Ones
X - X
Y – You’d Be Home Now
On Deck:
K - Katherine by Anya Seton
T - Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
U - Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
Z - Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Anna Therese Fowler
@Geneva, This is so fun!!!
@Geneva, If you're up for another challenge when you finish this one, try the American Library Association's 52 week Banned Book Challenge (spoiler alert, you'll only have to read 51 because The Absolutely True Story of a part-time Indian is on that list too!)
@Geneva, I was pleasantly surprised by Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine...I enjoyed the book and her quirkiness.
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald I read years ago and remember really liking it.
Not on the list, but for some reason I think of it whenever I think of the Zelda Fitzgerald book is "A Pilot's Wife" about Anne Lindberg. It was very good.
@JDinNM and Everyone,
I was also going to mention Goodreads, a place where, for free, you can get book reviews, book suggestions, but also see the reading lists of those you connect with. And their Want to Read lists.
It’s a good way to lightly keep in touch with friends and relatives who also like to read.
@Marlena, I also loved Eleanor Oliphant.
@Erika JS, I rely heavily on GoodReads to keep track of what I've read, to read reviews, to keep a list of Want-To-Read (TBR in Bookspeak = To Be Read), and peek at a few friends' lists.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, @Marlena @Geneva - I also really enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant. It was beautifully written and encompass a wide range of emotions and experiences. I laughed and I cried.
I also love everything that I’ve ever read by Fredrick Backman. I wonder if Us Against You will have the same impact if you haven’t read Bear Town.
@Bee, Fredrick Backman is a favorite of mine! I read Beartown last year so I was excited to read the next in the series.
I didn't have a summer bucket list but I do have a fridge now packed with expired food which I either forgot to freeze or couldn't eat after having my wisdom teeth. So the opposite of freezer challenge success lol.
I did, however, manage to travel, see friends, go to the beach, eat icecream and generally relax which, if you ask me, is what summer is all about 🙂
@Sophie in Denmark, Let's see... Travel! Friends! Beach! Ice Cream! Relaxing! Sounds like a five star summer to me. Even with the wisdom teeth...
@JDinNM, exactly! The wisdom teeth were the low point but the rest was great!
@Sophie in Denmark, I realized this summer that I have an official "monkey on my back". (A phrase from the '50s referring to drug addiction.) I absolutely must have ice cream on a regular basis, preferably fancied up with cake or cookies or in a malt. I don't know why this should attack me so late in life. My older sister and I bemoan our constant craving for sugar in our senior years.
I have some vague, unlikely hope that this will pass away in autumn. But probably not.
@Anne, as we age we have fewer taste buds, which also shrink in size. I thought it was well known that older people love sweets.
@Rose, I never heard this before. I would then be going against nature to cut back on ice cream. You have made my day.
@Rose, I've found my sweet tooth has immensely decreased as I've gotten older. I'm choosy about what sweets I eat, mostly dark chocolate.
My mom developed a massive sweet tooth when dementia set in. She also ate all kinds of other foods she would have never touched prior to then. Yet keeping weight on her was a challenge.
Update on some to dos:
I had become a little obsessed with dinnerware. I donated all plates that were dangerously cracked, chipped or over heated ( or didn't heat the food) in the microwave. I have promised myself to use the time I have in retirement and not money to replace. I struck GOLD in the miner's town of Grass Valley. The best thrift shop ever! It is the only not for profit Hospice in the county. It has rooms of well curated and well priced stuff. They have 50% off day this Friday. I am going to choose a casual bone china and then work slowly to get the set. Bone china in my research is the strongest and less likely to heat up. No metallic trims, however.
I know this sounds trivial but I spent 35 years on non-trivial teaching. I think I am recuperating still 80 days into my new life. In this process, I found a serving platter for my Grandma's Franciscan Apple in perfect condition for $3.00. Couldn't believe it. I also found a Wedgewood candy dish for $4 and listed it .
My 14 night Pack through of the Tahoe rim trail is set for September 15. I did a 10.5 mile, 2800 ft training pack with very little weight because I was nursing a slightly swollen ankle. All was well and I am getting excited.
@mary ann,
I'm impressed by that hike !
@mary ann, I saw that they had a rare august snow in Tahoe!
@Bee, It was crazy! We were hiking in 4 inches of snow at the summit. Part of it was very slippery.
Good job, Kristen! You look very well prepared for school to resume.
I had no summer to-do list, but did finally get into a routine of what chores should be done when. Having a vegetable garden that requires daily care has really helped structure the day. I also did a big reorganization of my sewing supplies to make sewing go more smoothly. This has needed doing for ages and I am really pleased with it.
First of all, Kristen, I apologize for fussing at your about the cool "sweatshirt" weather you had, while we were enduring a sweltering heat wave of triple digits. Apparently you DID send us some cool weather. Friday, I left the school where I was substitute teaching and my dashboard thermometer read 107 degrees F. I went to my retail job and all of the sudden it started to rain, and the temps fell to the upper 80s and lower 90s. Yesterday it was "only" 95 for a high. Thanks for sending us the cooler weather as requested, LOL.
My summer vacation to-do list didn't get finished.
1. I didn't declutter although I donated some books to Little Free Libraries and our church's book nook. The later is like a LFL only it's inside and meant for members of the parish. (Goodbye, Stephanie Plum hardbacks, I will miss you! ) I had a whole set of the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum mystery series, and if you haven't read them, they are a hoot! But she's up to almost 30 volumes and I seriously need to thin out my bookshelves here.
2. Maybe this doesn't count as something I did, but I got the yardman to take down the dead red oak in the back yard. Oh, I miss its shade! But if a big storm comes around, it would probably have toppled the large tree, with disasterous results.
2.5The yard man left a mess and I got out there with my trusty limb cutters and hacked up the brush and branches and limbs. I put them in the yard waste dumpsters and the city hauled it all away. I didn't have to pay a free to take it to the landfill -- frugal win! (Now, if I can just interest someone in the parts of the trunk and huge limbs for firewood. I have a big pile of it that's too heavy to move!)
3. Major accomplishment IMHO: I got the covered patio cleaned off and fixed up, complete with lighting, and have enjoyed some cool mornings and evenings out there.
4. Didn't get the flooring put in except for the hallway. The LR-DR is still a mess.
5. Shopped for, and got, a new refrigerator, courtesy of the Salvation Army Thrift Store. (If you haven't read my long post about all the problems we had getting rid of the old one, you should -- all the problems we had are laugh out loud funny, except for the bee stings.)
5.5 Update: So far the fridge is working out well. I haven't gotten its icemaker connected but I found out a drive-through restaurant sells 8 lbs of crushed ice for $2.77 and that will hold me for a while. Gotta admit I'm spoiled on having automatic icemakers!
6. I didn't hold a garage sale this summer, either.
@Fru-gal Lisa, I'm afraid Kristen is in for some definitely non-sweatshirt weather later this week. We're just beginning to get a break, with lows in the low 60's and highs in the mid-80's. And some rain! Big difference from the 100-plus.
You are correct. I will try not to be a whiny fussbudget about it, but the upcoming 6 days of weather in my app have labels like, "extremely humid", and "uncomfortably humid".
My bucket list is for a slightly longer period than just the season, more like three times a year I think of goals.
Health:
1. Got back into an exercise routine after being laid up for 6 weeks in the spring due to surgery. Have been going regularly to the gym for strength classes. My running is not quite up to speed as the hot, humid season started quickly. But I have been biking more also.
Did NOT go to the pool to swim hardly every, and as our kids have also outgrown the pool I don't think we will renew the membership next year.
2. Found a new primary care doctor to replace my old one who moved away. Have taken care to be up-to-date with prescriptions and screening, though some diagnostics testing is still ongoing due to delayed appointments.
Creative life:
3. I have been finding pockets of time to paint and knit.
Family:
4. Spent my annual vacation traveling to visit my family (it's in a different country, so it takes a lot of resources and money). As a rare occasion, my whole family of six was together to see my mother, due to my oldest child's nuptials.
5. Got some creative presents together for my family living overseas (I give my Christmas presents when I see them in person, as mailing is very expensive).
House:
6. Decluttering the laundry room is almost done. It's a boiler room on the main floor of the house without a basement, in sore need of a renovation (always lurking on every bucket list).
7. Found some vintage furniture and wall art for an empty wall to finish redecorating.
Fun:
8. Went camping this summer and to the beach for a weekend.
9. Ate outdoor ice cream a few times.
Friends:
10. Been making an effort to reach out to friends and initiate fun every other week or so. Have gone to trivia night, kayaking, on a walk, coffee and lunch. I'm an introvert so this doesn't come easily, but making connections is still important.
@Kristina M., Impressive list!
@Bobi, thanks! Definitely needed more time for this list than just the summer, more like April to August 🙂
You are such a good student! My son teaches college math and most students try to do the least they can get by with. I'm pulling for you...Go get um girl!!!!
My To Do list was pretty short.
Sorting more of mom's stuff. Donated a lot to Goodwill.
Cleaning out a couple of gardens. I had to stop with one once I seen baby bunnies in it. I did not think they had bunnies this time of the year but I covered them back up.
I made a little progress in my clothes closet.
My garden was a huge bust this year, I assume too much rain. It was easier to pull it out and buy at the Farmers Market.
On my list was to walk the dogs every day, or as much as I could. There was a big check mark next to that one! 🙂
My bucket list was de-cluttering, straightening up my craft room and trying to hang the blinds back up in there, sew more and be good to myself a little more.
Well, none of that happened. After Hurricane Debby came through, I found myself in a state of aimlessness. All the bad memories of Hurricane Idalia, 11 months before Debby, came back, and it doesn't help that I still daily see tarps on roofs, dead and downed trees (including in the woods beside my house), toppled carports and store signs still blown out from last year.
Still, I made a little progress on some things that were not on my bucket list:
My upright freezer is cleaned and reorganized, thanks to the door not quite closing one day recently.
The Confederate star jasmine that one of the yard guys accidentally cut off is trying to grow back, but I've added a new one that is a good bit bigger and should cover a lot of the fence even if the cut one fails to regrow.
Debby's deluge ruined most of my raised beds - only the okra survived - but I got the old plants pulled and have black plastic on the beds, "solarizing" the soil before freshening it and starting an autumn/winter garden.
I went through some of DH's clothes and donated some of the nicest and newest ones. I guess that could be de-cluttering, but I still have a lot left to do and I can't see any difference in his closet yet, so I'm not counting that as part of my decluttering goal. Still, I got that much done.
My pineapple sage was planted in two pots with a supposedly good brand of potting soil, but the dirt would dry out twice as fast as the dirt in my other pots which hold another brand of soil. I dug the sages out of the pots and replanted them back in the pots in the other, better brand, which I'd needed to do for at least a year, ahem.
@JD, I am praying for a relatively quiet hurricane season. I hope your jasmine will come back. When I moved into my house 25 years ago, I planted a one gallon plant. It is now huge and a little out of control at the moment. When it becomes a bit cooler in the evenings, I’ll begin gardening again. One of the first things I need to do is to tame the jasmine.
@JD, I’m sorry this hurricane year has been so hard on you, and that’s not the only hard thing. I would 100% making progress going through DH’s clothes as progress. Some jobs are never done, you know?
@JD, kudos for being choosy about what you donated. Sibling and I went through mom's clothes (that alone should have been dad's first clue she wasn't running on all 8 cylinders. AND we had already dealt with her shoes, so many pairs...). Some items got put in the rag pile, a few we pitched. Dad was otherwise occupied that day. However, there was yet another stash in another part of the house that we had to go through later. Thankfully an in-town donation place.
I wasn't aware of making a list but now that I do mental inventory of the summer, here is a list.
1. Saw a neurologist for peripheral neuropathy, and learned it is likely due to pre-diabetes. (Such a disappointment.)
2. Ongoing–do NOT become diabetic (Huge thank you to friend who gave me her unused continuous glucose monitor and to Kristen for an article citing studies linking the 2 conditions!)
3. Road trip to Oregon, hauling a bunch of unwanted items for my sister's yard sale.
4. Upcoming solo art exhibit: Almost finished the paintings (49 of 51); named the show "Simply Home"; established the opening date (Oct. 19); went through the paintings with a friend to discern what could be improved; worked on accompanying events to get people to return to the show after the opening reception.
5. Stopped using excuses to not walk daily (friend didn't show up; feet too numb; too smoky out; didn't sleep well last night. . .) SEE NUMBER 2 ABOVE!
6. Finally sent a book to the publisher after working on it with an author for SEVEN years! The index is wonky, the author is re-proofing it AFTER it has been formatted, I will have to keep dogging the project, but it is mostly out of my hands.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, wow on your no. 2. I also saw a neurologist for peripheral neuropathy. After running tests he told me (in polite medical-speak) that he had n0 idea what was causing it and to "keep an eye on it". He never said a word about pre diabetes, thank God, or I would possibly have to give up ice cream. (See above.)
@Anne, my GP pooh-poohed that diagnosis until I shared with him the article that Kristen sent. The neurologist said it was the only possible indicator. She also said that 50% of people with neuropathy never find the cause. She suggested genetic testing to see if it was hereditary, but I told her that since I have no children, nobody cares. "Idiopathic peripheral neuropathy" is scarier than "might be caused by pre-diabetes", because then I have a hope of stopping the progression. I gave up ice cream a long time ago and I will ALWAYS miss it and ALWAYS be thrilled to have it.
Has your p.n. lessened? Do you have a way to deal with it? Do you have any tips for me?
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, I think I told you I had peripheral neuropathy for a year or two. Do they still use the electrical needle to test nerve impulses. And no, we never found out the cause and I'm not diabetic.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, p.n. has not lessened, have not noticed any increase. No pain, whatsoever, just numbness. I prefer your GPs opinion. I don't think I could give up sweets unless a doctor told me I was seriously teetering on the edge of diabetes. Even then I'm not so sure.
I'm 75 and have had a good run. Some hills are worth dying on. 😀
@Rose, thank you Rose. Now, I'll go have dish of ice cream.
@Rose, I forgot that you had this. Did you regain nerve function? The doc said that a nerve conduction test won't identify the cause so no need to subject myself to that torture (had it done for carpal tunnel and said, "Never again".)
@Anne, ice cream isn't as bad as something with white flour + sugar. Ice cream has fat which slows down the big sugar rush. With the continuous glucose monitor, I'm learning ways to mitigate the big hit of glucose because I am not going full no-sugar. Some fruit and potatoes can be worse than various sweets, so I'm glad to know methods of continuing to eat more than just vegetables and meat.
The pictures look very nice! And I'm impressed with the amount of decluttering you got done.
Here's my update:
1. I haven't done any more decluttering, but I did list about half of the books I was planning to put on Ebay.
2. I made some progress on my paint-by-number but haven't finished it. I always seem to underestimate how much time it will take me to do things like this.
3. I have cooked almost every day and made good progress on eating down the pantry and freezer.
4. I did fix up my easy chair to make it more comfortable.
5. I did not make a cushion for my window seat.
6. I did pretty well at this last one, which was honestly the most important: "Slow down and have more fun, listen to music, spend time outside when it isn’t too scorchingly hot, play games, etc."
Go you! You don’t need the validation but here it is anyway: you’re making the right choice to prioritize your education (and other people’s health) over tidying your boiler room.
I don’t have a specific Summer To-Do List but I have knocked off a few disproportionately finicky chores:
1) Found a crayon or marker that’s (close to) the color of my powder room’s painted wallpaper so I can cover up the places where the paint chipped off. I don’t have any extra of the paint and I didn’t want to buy a big box of crayons for just a single one, so I’ve been watching Freecycle. Someone gave away 3 quarts of crayons and after several hours of work, I just gave away one crayon less than 3 quarts. PS: the best match is Crayola maroon.
2) Dealt with 3 UFOs[1]. In my case, it involved ripping a knit sweater which wasn’t quite right[2], and ripping a half-made sweater because of gauge changes[3] as I didn’t want to risk the top half of the sweater being a different size than the bottom half.
3) Set up online bill pay for a lot of bills. I think it’s awesome that if you’re using direct transfer, some companies allow you to schedule when the transfer is made. Pity you can’t do that with credit card payments, then it’d be easy to get it done now *and* get the rebate.
4) Got elevator fixed. That was a long 2.5 months for my handicapped roommate.
5) STILL not quite done redoing the leaky shower. Since we had to remove tiles anyway, it was obviously the right time to convert it to curbless. An allegedly 6-day job took 12 days and, somehow, figuring the shower curtain is quite complicated so that’s not done yet. The shower started leaking in March. Details available upon request.
I have a list for when I get back from vacation:
1. Find appropriate lighting for the dining room. I’ve been here a year, maybe it’s time?
2. Push my guy about the new stove. It’s more complicated than it sounds (or I would have gotten it done already, eh?) but still…
3. Find local auctioneers or consignment shops to sell the things that the NYC auctioneer didn’t want to haul to NYC, then sell the things.
[1] UnFinished Objects, which is crafter-speak for things you started but put aside.
[2] The border tension wasn’t quite right, making the fit a little off.
[3] How tight or loose one knits can change over time, even when one is using the same yarn and needles.
@WilliamB, Elevator is FIXED!!! Hallelujah.
@WilliamB,
Some estate sale companies will conduct online auctions. You may want to look at estatesales.net.
AuctionNinja is another. Maybe look around and see what's in your area?
Completed:
1. Zoo with friends.
2. Swimming playdate with friends.
3. Trip to Greenfield Village.
4. Get kids registered for fall sports.
5. Get my calendars figured out, written in my planner, and entered into my phone. At least, I've done all that I can with the information I have. I'm still waiting on a couple of sports calendars.
Partially completed:
1. Get my ducks in a row (planning, printing, training plan, social media posts) and shopping done for my big ministry role. I still need to print more (I'm doing that tomorrow) and figure out my training plan.
We also started school today. I dropped my baby off at kindergarten. I didn't think I'd cry, but I did. All 3 of my kids are in school now!
I only had decluttering the house on the list for summer. I got through every bit of that. Everything else is dependent on weather and it has been too hot to even put things on a list!
I do, however, have a fall list and I did some of it this weekend since the weather has been much cooler.
When we first moved in the house there were a couple mice in the attic. We caught the mice, treated the attic, etc, but I'm afraid others may try to come back this winter when it is cold. So, we cleaned out the attic this weekend including getting rid of everything that had been put in there til we got around to it (old stove top when we bought a new one, over the stove microwave we took out, light fixtures we replaced when we moved in, etc). I gave allll the stuff away and it was actually all picked up this weekend. All that is left in the attic is 3 totes with DH's old military stuff in them. We cleaned everything in there well and the next cool weekend we will blow in some TAP insulation which mice/bugs/etc are supposed to hate. But the prep work is all done.
DH and son have prepped his screened in porch for tile. The lady that lived there before had like an indoor/outdoor rug over the concrete that was gross from the humid summers here. The tile is bought and the grout and next cool weekend with no rain they can lay it and be done.
Cut back a lot of bushes is on the list for this fall also. Will also have a full day at the boys' houses doing the same since they never know what to cut and what to leave...it becomes a whole day of 5 adults cutting back the bushes, getting the leaves up, and cleaning the gutters on the two places...but that usually happens first week of November or so...after most of the leaves have fallen here.
I feel like my garage is a never-ending project. I have decluttered it this summer, but there's just so many things we need (tools, yard stuff, etc), but it always seems junky in there even when I get done cleaning it.
Lastly, I plan to paint all the windowsills. The blinds have caused little gouges in the paint.
I am going to bend the rule a tad and call it my Summer To-Do List. I work at a school so I get summers off, and I plan big jobs to do then. What I got done:
1) Cleaned out a file box of old, out-dated papers that I do not need anymore in the internet age. Some went back 15 years. Shredded all. Donated file box.
2) Cleaned out and donated 98 percent of a cabinet that was mostly linens: table cloths, table napkins, furniture doilies. I never used it all! Gone.
3) Decluttered and cleaned out a media cabinet of old chargers, empty iphone boxes, old cameras, etc.
4) Organized a linen closet of old, worn sheet sets in our empty-nester home. Saved the best, put the worn ones on the rag pile.
5) Organized my pantry and did a small decluttering.
Felt SO much better!
Plus I edited down my books, donated most to the Little Free Library in my neighborhood, several books at a time over about six months. I got my book collection to fit on one bookshelf and sold the second that was sitting empty. It was an antique too so I got some good $s!
Major kudos for getting pictures on the wall. It can be hard to make progress on a project like that when you know it would look better if it could be different.
I love the colors of the %@#*! scuffed table! Great job on your list!
My summer to-do list update:
1. Send my niece's high school graduation gift before she leaves for college: done! I sent it about three weeks ago, and she moved into her dorm this past weekend. Whew! This sister and her family are not good about acknowledging gifts, so let's just say I *assume* it got there in time.
2. Clean out raised garden bed full of weeds: not done, but I did transplant the coneflowers from this raised bed to a new spot. AND I did start cleaning out the bazillion Rose of Sharon seedlings out of a different garden bed, AND trimmed a bush near this garden bed (AND got stung by a wasp! Ouch!). So, gardening was done elsewhere. 🙂
3. Read book and complete quiz for continuing education that expires at the end of this month: started, but hoo boy, is this book BORING. Way too much researchy stuffiness, statistics, blah blah blah....BUT I found out it doesn't expire until August 3, *2025*. So I have another year to slog through it.
4. Freezer clean out: nope. Not even close. If anything, I've put more stuff in there, not less.
5. Clean out the garage with DH's help: not yet, but next week, we're both taking time off work to tackle this beast. We both realized that we need more than a weekend to really do it right.
I also started a side project - cleaning/sorting/tidying an area in our bedroom that had become a dumping ground for Wayward Things, as well as cleaning/sorting/tidying the top of my cedar chest at the foot of our bed, which was a dumping ground for clean clothes that no longer fit (donated), singleton socks awaiting their mates, and other misfits. I was gifted a huge basket with a lid that fits perfectly on the cedar chest, so I can hide things that need mending, singleton socks, etc. It looks 1000% better. (The cedar chest was handed down from my mom).
Kristen, so excited for you to begin school again.
Taking advantage of the neighbor's "rained on" round hay bales I picked up 3 to rebale using my other neighbor's mini baler. These we will sell to florists and event planners. They are so cute!
Finished washing 4 board white fence (surrounding homestead and driveways)
Put safe-for-environment soap flakes on roofs before the big rain storms this past weekend.
Collected the soapy rainwater and used it to spray down the barns.
Washed windows inside and out (house, barns & shop)
Cleaned and labelled garage sale items for next weekend's open house/garage sale at one of our flipper projects.
Fun garage sale find: 2 in round ice cube molds. Paid .50 ea and have made 16 balls a day for a couple of days. The only reason I bought the molds is to mess with my bestie who bought a fancy schmancy fridge that makes round ice cubes. I filled my auto ice cube maker bin with the round ones so she could freak out when she got ice tea. It was so worth the effort. My fridge is a plain jane no frills standard fridge. Her "where did these come from" query was priceless. Gotcha!
Real life use for Seroquel - can help with sun downers in dementia patients. Hides well in ice cream too.
Good job att cleaning your house! Most people could save tons of money if they eat everything they have instead of waiting and throwing it away later. Every garage/closet have loads of stuffs that we dont need, could bring some extra income. Having a side hustle could also improve our lifes! All the best from Sweden!
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Go to book clubs and parties to socialize. Yes
Weed and harvest garden. Yes
Dehydrate basil, parsley and clover. Yes
Volunteer....quilts and day for girls liners. Yes
Do Bible study. Somewhat