Back to Work, at my Desk!

It's amazing how much more motivated one is to sit down at their computer when they can actually sit down.  Hunching over a pile of crap to reach your keyboard is not helpful when trying to accomplish things.  So, with my glorious clean desk in front of me I got to work!

Tonight I spent about an hour:

• Physically organizing my Daisy Troop's paperwork and filing it properly in my file carrier.
• Labeling said files
• Creating a spreadsheet containing the last three months of accounting for said Daisy Troop

I only purged about 15-20 sheets of paper, but at least there is a system for the incoming paper.  Despite what GI Joe says, filing systems are half the battle.  

Change of Heart

It has been five days since I last posted, and four of them I spent in bed with Strep, fun.  Not sure what the deal is with me getting it twice in four months, but I am not a fan.  Don't get me wrong, it could be a MILLION other worse things, but it is still a pain in the butt throat.

While convalescing, I decided (pause for pat on the back-I actually spelled convalescing right the first time and thought my spell check must be broken!) that the living room really wasn't motivating me to get organized.  It's like getting motivated to loose that last pound.  Usually you just hope for a big poop, and figure you'll get there eventually.  So, I picked the spare bedroom instead.

I didn't pick this room in the first place out of shame.  I had hoped that I would have another month to slightly get it in shape so that you wouldn't have to see these pictures:

Now, most of my friends know that I pride myself on being relaxed about household chores, but no one has a real idea of how bad it can get.  OK, maybe one, but she has been paid to be quiet (literally she is our old nanny and was paid well for her silence).

This mess has developed since Christmas, since two people actually slept comfortably in this room over the holidays.  In theory, a mess that only took six weeks to develop should not take too long to clean up. We'll see, as there is a lot below the surface.

Anyway, for today's 15 minutes, I thought getting to the desk might be nice!  So I spent 15 minutes clearing the desk, organizing the piles of paper on the floor so that their contents are at least homogenous in nature, put a few boxes away in the closet, and moved the glider back to it's original location as the desk chair is finally free again.  Here are the results.

What you can't see in these pictures won't hurt you :)

Here is me at my desk!

Finally, an update on the playroom:  the hubby has finally spackled and I have a few more pieces to my DIY puzzle completed.  I think we will all be happy when we can put that room in the books.

Say Adios Dora!

• First, you come out of the drawer, 
• next you get stacked with other annoying DVDs and,
• last you get donated to Mommy's school.

I am about to have a serious fiesta over the evacuation of Dora DVD's from my house.  If I had tequila available, there would be margaritas involved. ( On the rocks with salt-who's buying?)  It's not that I don't like Dora, but she has served her purpose, and I have done my time.  

It has been almost five years since she made her first appearance in our hacienda and she has out worn her welcome.  Even my six year old has recently started to say, "Do you know why I don't like Dora anymore?  It's because she always goes three places.  It's kinda predictable."  Yes, I really do have a six year old who uses the word predicable.  It's probably all that Dora watching that made her so smart ;)

So, after sorting through the DVDs for grownups and children, I am gladly parting with this stack (if you need some, feel free to comment below and they are yours-just do it quick, because they are going to work with me tomorrow.):

Second Month, and Second Room Here I come!

Ok, so technically the first room isn't "finished", but I have dove into the second none-the-less.  I am almost done the playroom (really, I'm waiting on the hubby to spackle but he has had a really yucky last couple of weeks, so I don't want to nag) and am so excited that the shelves no longer look like this:

Stay tuned for the reveal, as soon as the hubby gets off of his ...

My choice for the second room is our family room.  It is large, laid out pretty well, and actually pretty uncluttered.  I chose it because:  I am getting a late start, it is a short month, I still need to finish the playroom, and I will only be in town two weekends this month.  The changes won't be as dramatic, but it will keep me to my resolution and give me an "easy win".

So here is my living room now:

Stay tuned!

First month is almost over, and I'm almost finished!

No pics this time, as I have been doing mostly painting this week.  I have 80% of the shelves done, and will tackle the ones that require a ladder tomorrow.  Since Wednesday I have spent about four hours total doing:

• painting shelves
• washing and ironing curtains
• taping newly painted shelves in preparation for wall painting
• a little bit of work on the mystery DIY project

Here is what remains to be done:

• painting high shelves and ceiling (we had a leaky, rusty toilet situation a few months back)
• painting walls (after my husband finishes repairing holes in the plaster)
• replacing toys on the shelves
• finishing the DIY project

Since I can only make paint dry so fast, I won't quite be done in the month alloted, but that is ok.  The secret perfectionist in me is screaming, but I think I will feed her some chocolate and she'll be fine.  I am choosing a pretty easy room for February anyway, so getting a late start should be fine.  

So glad the State of the Union was on...

Bet you didn't hear that too often today.  I heard more people grumbling about missing their fav TV shows tonight than anything.  I was one of them until about 7:45 when I realized that no good TV = time to work on the playroom!  Apparently paying attention to the goings on of our government during this critical time in our nation's history doesn't fit into my equation.

I used to watch every State of the Union Address, even in college (that saxophone player sure was charismatic wasn't he?).  I have since grown tired of the incessant clapping for everything little word we like, and my small protest is to not watch and consequently hurt no one but myself.  But I really digress...

Back to my efforts in the playroom today.  I spent two full hours in there tonight, technically putting me 4 days ahead, and this is what I accomplished!

I repainted two doors, complete with trim, and one of four columns of the glorious shelving unit.  I started the night by trying to clean them and quickly realized it would be more gratifying (and faster) to repaint them.  After all, five years and two kids do a number on white paint.

As you can see in the picture, I purposefully got white paint on the wall to force myself to repaint them too. Tricky aren't I?

Getting Crafty!

So, today's time was way too fun!  I spent one hour on a DIY crafty-type project, leaving me only three days behind on my time, but years ahead in motivation.  I only stopped because I had to feed my children dinner (greedy little kids!).

I will not be revealing the project until it is completed, because you might be as frightened as my husband currently is.  He came downstairs to investigate the hammering and just lovingly chuckled and headed back to his office.  I love that he never tells me to stop regardless of how much work it might mean for him later.

Here are some clues to my newest adventure.