Resolutions! Day 14.

Almost halfway done! Wahoo!!

FlyLady Mission: get the cobwebs off the bathroom ceilings and clean the fan vent grill.
This one was more work than I expected, but it feels great to have it done! I've been looking at that nasty ceiling for quite some time.

Pretty nasty - cobwebs and dust - yuck!

Much better! (I took off the grate and cleaned inside, too!)

Gross ceiling corner, before.

Ceiling corner, after. Still gross, but MUCH better!

31-Day Challenge: Tackle the T's
Done on day 1!

My Moving List: Unused small appliances. I'm getting rid of the waffle-maker because it really was just a mess-maker, and the cake-pop maker that I never used. I don't think I even took it out of the box - The B in my blog name does NOT stand for "Baker"!!

And FlyLady's shiny sink habit:
If you look closely, you'll see evidence of the leftovers containers and bowl from making my "No-Chicken Noodle Soup"!!

My Shiny Sink! Day 14.

Good night!

Love!
Annette

B Vegan: No-Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a "clean-out-the-fridge" recipe, so bear with me on the ingredients!

Olive oil, yellow onion, TVP (with soy sauce and smoke flavor - leftover from Mr.B's breakfast creation the other day), leeks, sage...

Yellow quinoa, knorr vegetable bouillon...

Tofurkey gravy (leftover from our delicious Tofurkey meal the other night)...

Water, carrots, broken spaghetti...

Garbanzo beans, kidney beans, tomato paste.

Yumm Yum!! It truly was delicious :)

Now go empty your fridge into a soup and enjoy!

Love!
Annette

Resolutions! Day 13.

I had a good, productive day today! I didn't shine my sink, but everything else is done!

Good night!

Resolutions! Day 12.

Sorry the last two posts have been so brief. It was the only way I could stay on-track and still do what I agreed with myself that I would do, without running the risk of burn-out. I didn't put "lengthy, engaging daily blog post" on my resolution list. Maybe that will happen next year :) I'm truly proud of the work I've done and the progress I've made. And I'm really enjoying blogging, even if it's not pretty or engaging or particularly follow-worthy at this point ;) It's just a start, right? Yay!

So far, so good on today's resolution. The 31-day challenge is something I did on Day 1!!

Saturday is FlyLady's "Family Fun Day" but I'm working, so that's going to have to be postponed. My family consists of Me and Mr. B, and we have date night on Wednesdays anyway. He's getting stuff crossed off his list today, so it's fun for him :) Here's my shiny sink photo for today:

My Shiny Sink! Day 12!

So all that was left was my Moving List! I looked at my list and realized I keep avoiding the "built-in cabinet drawers" item because in the back of my mind I kept thinking it would be a "weekend project" like the Christmas boxes project was. But I stopped to think and realized I haven't actually looked into the bottom two drawers in a few months, and I organized the top drawer (wrapping paper and bags) when I organized the Christmas stuff to consolidate my wrapping. Sure enough, I took a look and didn't need to do a whole lot. What I got rid of most was scrap-booking supplies that my sister's friend can use, so I out them in an envelope ready to send out.

That was easy! Nice, neat drawers.

And a couple photos of things that made me smile today:

Tibetan Prayer-Flags from our wedding decor. They hang at the ceiling of our long hallway, welcoming us home or bidding us a good day as we leave.

Our happy flags :)

And some lovely chocolates sent to us from a friend in Germany!

Yum Yummy Yum!

Happy weekend!
Love!
Annette :)

Resolutions! Day 11.

Almost halfway.

I'm going to bed so here's the run-down, in photos.

Resolutions! Day 10.

I'm just going to get this one down on the books. Here's how it is...

31-Day Challenge: Platters, Pans, etc.
I don't have any platters or pans that I want to get rid of. I really did assess. Really.

FlyLady Mission: Counter Tops

Corner counter, before - not too bad, right?

Corner counter, before, uncovered - wrong! yuck!

Corner counter, after - lovely!

Corner counter, after - much better!

FlyLady Habit: Shine your sink

My Shiny Sink! Day 10!

My Moving List: Coats

Coats I'm getting rid of - 3 are already out of my house! The other 3 are going to my sis.

So that's it! One more day complete! Onward and upward! 

Love!
Annette

Inspiration!

Yep, I totally flaked on doing any of my resolutions yesterday. Wednesday has been date night in the past for Mr. B and me, and another one of my resolutions is to reinstate that. So of course, I made a mess of the kitchen and did absolutely nothing other than hang out with my hubs, relax, and go to bed early. It was glorious.

I'm tempted to hit rewind and try to make up for lost time, but I know that's where I've gone wrong in the past. As FlyLady says, "You are not behind! I don't want you to try to catch up; I just want you to jump in where we are. O.K.?" So that's what I'm going to do. And luckily for me, the 31-day challenge task that I'm skipping is still on my moving list.

Also, a big factor in making that task work is setting up a system. As I've been working on my New Year's Resolution, I've realized more and more where our systems are failing us. I REALLY want to aim for a good organization system for our ins and outs, preferably near the front door, which is where our mail comes in. I have an ineffective binder/catchall spot set up on the kitchen counter, with the calendar hanging on the wall there. Then I have our mail sorter/coat hooks/shoe rack/running equipment/bill paying stuff by the front door. I've been working on organizing each area, but I think what it's lacking is cohesion. It needs a complete overhaul, but how? I LOVE the system in the post in the link below, but the colors aren't really my style. Plus I don't want our guests to have to walk right into a big, overbearing mail sorting/family organizing station, but I can't have it anywhere else because we won't use it effectively.

After reading this blog post today, I'm inspired and hopeful that I'll figure out a system that works for our personalities, is aesthetically pleasing, and that is easy to keep contained. One thing I'm hearing in the back of my mind while I write this is that I feel so temporary in our apartment, especially since we're aiming to buy a house this year. So it's holding me back from making any long-term decisions about our organization. I'll have to keep that in mind and still try to come up with something that works temporarily as well as long-term. Wish me luck!

Love!
Annette 

Resolutions! Day 9.

I'm taking the night off.

Enjoy!

Resolutions! Day 8.

This isn't going to get easy, is it? Whew! I feel like I'm FORCING myself to take every step in this set of resolutions. I just have to do it for a month, right? And I'm just making the moving process easier, right? (Oh, speaking of, we see a house listed that we're interested in taking a look at. That means we need to get in touch with a new Realtor, but that's a whole different post. Wish us luck!)

FlyLady's mission: wipe down the doors of your cabinets
Thankfully I did this one right after I cleaned my kitchen ceiling yesterday, so I'm off the hook! Instead, I spent much of the evening returning Christmas gifts that we didn't give (found better ones/correct sizes before the exchange). I got home late, made a not-so-quick dinner, and got right to the lists. 

The 31-day challenge is a two-part challenge, so hopefully it will work in my favor. This one is about the mail situation. If any of you have been reading my moving list, you would have seen "dining room table (basket of stuff)" and probably wondered what that was all about. Well, the time has come to fess-up. It's our mail. And paperwork. And random, miscellaneous things that have landed on the table in the past couple months and not been picked up. As you can see, the registration is due for my car, and the notice has been in our house for about 6 weeks now. It's due on 2/26, but why wait? Because we can, I suppose.

Augh! Basket of miscellaneous paperwork is coming back to haunt me!

Anyway, the first part of the mail challenge was to make a place for the mail as it comes in. When I posted about organizing my entry table, I fibbed a bit. Well, I just left out some information - the TOP of the table. Nobody sees that, right? Right? Ugh. Wrong. If you look closely, you can see that it's a bit of a mess in the photo from day 2. So, as my momma would say, it's "time to face the music." I'm sorry, there's just no way I can handle going through that basket of stuff tonight, but I definitely found enough energy to make the table top look presentable. And don't worry, the basket remains on my moving list, so it will definitely get done by the end of this project.

The truth comes out! Entry table top mess.

Entry table top, after. Much better.

One thing I did have the energy to cross off my moving list was books. I knew this wouldn't be too difficult because I went through them about 4 months ago, when I moved the 2 bookcases in our hallway. I just pulled out a small stack of books that I'm willing to get rid of to make the move a little lighter.

Books on their way out!

And last but not least, my shiny sink. Angels are singing.

Shiny sink, day 8!

Good night!

Success

A friend of mine posted this today and it got me to thinking. I'm pretty sure I lie somewhere in between the two, but I feel like I need to explore each idea a little more.

"Successful people" traits:
1. Complement - I could work on this one. I've been better in the past. I tend to keep my thoughts about others to myself in general, so it's not automatic for me to get out there and complement people outwardly. I'll try to keep it in mind.
2. Have a Sense of Gratitude - Definitely something I can work on, but "having a sense" is a pretty vague term, so I'm gonna go with a yes.
3. Forgive Others - I'd say I'm above the curve on this one, but I could work on it, I'm sure.
4. Give Other People Credit for their Victories - Yes. I'd like to say I'm pretty good at that one. Didn't used to be, but I've worked on that and still do.
5. Accept Responsibility for their Failures - Reluctantly, yes. Definitely could use some work.
6. Keep a Journal - I truly feel that having this blog is making me more successful with my de-cluttering attempts. This is actually the point that really piqued my interest in this thing to begin with, and made me want to explore it more. I'm really going to try to keep blogging about my projects from now on!
7. Read Every Day - Um, NO. Not if you don't count other blogs. I'll have to make this a higher priority...maybe after the 31 day challenge and my moving list are done.
8. Want Others to Succeed - I'd give that a genuine Yes. I'm always excited about a new project, whether it's mine or someone else's, and I always want to find a way to be involved and help my loved ones succeed with them if I can.
9. Talk About Ideas - Boy, do I! Just ask the other Board Members of my Women's Group! Many of our meetings go late because I have several new ideas to tack on to the end of our agenda :)
10. Share Information and Data - That's a hard one because I don't feel that I'm often in a position of collecting or sharing data, but I believe I would if I could.
11. Keep a "To-Be" List -That's a good one! Clearly, no. And #13 will tell you all about it. I do like the idea, though. I could see it helping me with my long-term goal setting.
12. Exude Joy - Yikes, I didn't see that one until now. Unfortunately, I don't feel like I do. That's something I've been wanting to work on, but how? How do I exude joy if I'm not feeling it? I'm definitely not one to pretend. I guess this one is going on the list, and I'll put it above reading.
13. Set Goals and Develop Life Plans - No fair! these are 2 separate ideas! I know, I know, they're actually not. The problem is that I'm REALLY GOOD at setting short-term goals and TERRIBLE at setting long-term goals. Life Plan? The words make me shiver inside like a ghost just crossed a black cat's path...or something. That's definitely going on the priority list, and I'm gonna have to put it above exuding joy, because this just might be the answer to pretending.
14. Embrace Change - Funny, I was just talking to my sister about this characteristic that we share. We both can't stand it when things we're counting on change mid-stream, but when the change is OUR idea, we're ALL about it!! And I mean passionate, gung-ho, rally-the-troops into it. Once I realized that about myself (this was only about a month ago, unfortunately), my world spun around and became much more clear.
15. Continuously Learn - Ugh. No! Another shiver-me-timbers word. I understand the value in learning, I really do. Maybe I'll put that on the list under reading.
16. Keep a To-Do/Project List - Yep. At any given time you can find 2-5 to-do lists on my person. I LOVE checking items off lists!
17. Operate From a Transformational Perspective -  I had to read the "Unsuccessful" side to understand what they were getting at. The contrasting point is "Operate from a Transactional Perspective".  I'd say I'm a little of both, with an emphasis on transformational. I try to surround myself with people and activities that encourage that in me, but it's not necessarily automatic.

So that's my success story. I'll be revisiting this. Now to sleep and ponder.

Good night!

Resolutions! Day 7.

Day 7! Whew! I worked my bum off today! As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I was rather unproductive, so I guess I made up for it today.

FlyLady's Mission: get those dusties and cobwebs that are hanging on the upper walls of your kitchen. Well, I didn't have any cobwebs or dust (that I could see, anyway), but I did have a nasty splash from who-knows-when a pot got dropped on the floor. It was on the ceiling! And I frequently noticed it, but with high ceilings, I never took the time to get up there and clean it off. Well, I did today! And I realized that our ceiling was oily and dirty looking, too, because we don't have a hood vent over our stove (our building was built in 1930). So now it's a nice, shiny, CLEAN kitchen ceiling. But I forgot to take an "after" photo while it was still daylight so you'll have to believe me. 

Splashity Splash is no longer! Gross!

FlyLady Monday: Home Blessing Hour
Believe it or not, I was really looking forward to doing this one, but after dealing with the rest of my list today, I just didn't have time! :( Now I'll be extra-pumped to do it next week - I hope! 

31-Day Challenge Today: Unmentionables
Wow, my dresser drawers are looking sharp these days! After doing the sock challenge (2 drawers for me!) and now the unmentionables, (another 2 drawers!), I only have a PJ drawer and a running-clothes drawer left. I wonder if either of those are going to be on the list...

31-day challenge yesterday: Towels
I'm actually a bit OCD about my storage (probably because I have so little of it) so my towel situation was not too crazy. We're also newlyweds (under 3 years is still newlyweds, right?) so we haven't collected the array of linens that a couple married for, say, 30 years may have collected. So all I found was this one towel with an un-hemmed hem. I decided not to throw it away because it is otherwise perfectly fine and non-sandpapery, so I put it in my newly-purged project basket so I can sew the one necessary line of thread through it. I'm just hoping it will get done before I have another de-clutter exercise. 

A 13-second trip to the sewing machine should make this towel good as new!

My Moving List: Christmas Decorations
I knew I would need more than just an evening to sort through my Christmas decor, but I had no idea it would be such a doosey! I chose to do it today because I had a small amount of decorations out from this year's failed attempt at bringing home the Christmas spirit, and I really wanted to put them away, so I figured I'd feed two birds with one seed (I don't kill birds - not even figuratively ;) )  Als, Monday is my day off so I knew I would have some good time to spend on this. The best way I could wrap my head around the project was to take all the Christmas boxes I have in the garage and bring them inside, unpack, and purge. I decided to add my winter clothes to the pile because I knew it had been a few years since I had even opened that box. (We live in Southern California, so "winter clothes" to us are for our rare snowboarding trips.) After a grueling 5 hours and a sore back, I was able to consolidate and get rid of a decent amount of stuff. I even brought in Mr. B's winter clothes and added them to my box because I made some room in there! Now we have a big empty space on a shelf in our closet that I'm gonna have to fill!

Pile of Christmas stuff before

Christmas explosion, during.

After - what a neat stack of boxes. The grey bin on the bottom right holds our combined winter clothes!

Last but not least, the FlyLady January Habit: Shine your sink
What a great way to force encourage me to wash my dishes each night. That's really a challenge most of the time. Off to a great start this week! See you tomorrow!

My shiny sink, day 7!

Resolutions! Day 6.

Wait, what? I'm supposed to be sticking to resolutions? EVERY day?

Mmmm Hmmmm.....

That's how my brain works.

Okay, so I guess I'll start with the excuses. I was in Bakersfield yesterday and today! I washed more dishes in that time than I have all week! I had to stop on my way home and drop something off for my other sister that she forgot! I was only home for a minute before Mr B and I had to go help Mom B find her escaped terrier! I had to make dinner while Mr B went back and got my phone from Mom B's house! I had to watch TV while we ate dinner! I had to watch more TV after we ate dinner! I...I...I...!!! I got nothin'.

That's it, I'm tired, I'm done, I'm going to bed.

But I promise I'll do tomorrow's tasks tomorrow, and maybe even throw in today's tasks because it's my day off.

Good Night!

Resolutions! Day 5.

Saturday is FlyLady's "Family Fun Day", so I'm off to Bakersfield to visit my sis and her kiddos!
I'll take a break from my moving list, but I did make sure to put my dishes away for the shiny sink habit :)
Happy weekend!

Resolutions! Day 4.

Today was a challenging one for me. Not because the individual tasks were difficult, but because I wasn't mentally in it. I had a productive day working on the Winter Newsletter for my womens' group, got home and made dinner before Mr. B got home. Then I sat. And didn't. Do. Anything. Until dinner was ready and Mr. B came in. We ate, and he went right to sleep because his night-owlness got the best of him last night and he only had two hours of sleep! Then I sat. And read. Blogs. So at 8:30pm I finally started, reluctantly, on my tasks! I knew the first one would be easy so I did it right away. It was the day 4 challenge from this blog.

Clean remotes! (I'm not willing to add a dish or tray to the mix because that's just more clutter for me to deal with)

Friday is FlyLady's "clean your purse and car day" but the car was a bit much for me to handle in the cold night air, plus it's not too bad, so I'm just not gonna do it. But I DID clean my purse - which I'm pretty good at keeping up, so that was an easy one too.

My purse - nicely organized :)

Now for MY list. I'm really determined to stay on top of this list because this is the one that spurred on these projects to begin with. So I decided to tackle the 2 containers of paperwork that needs shredding, and realized the shredder doesn't work. Either that or our 83-year-old electrical system can't handle the pull. I think it's the latter. Anyway, as you can see, I didn't even get through ONE SHEET, so I forced myself to choose another task instead of giving up.

Half a sheet!?! Ugh.

Another task on my list is to purge some of the sewing/mending projects that have been sitting in my basket for too long.

My overflowing project basket

I pulled everything out and made a "keep" pile and a "toss/donate" pile, and then put all the "keeps" back in. WHAT?? I didn't even get rid of enough to go below he top rim. EER! Try again.

Hmm, try again Mrs. B!

Okay, second time's a charm. I got the pile to a reasonable level that I could live with, and put all the "toss/donate" in a garbage bag in my kitchen...
I guess I'll have to add "get rid of garbage bag full of projects" to my list. It never stops!!

Okay, I can live with this.

I almost forgot! FlyLady's shiny sink habit! That meant I had to clean my kitchen (sorry FlyLady, I can't leave the dirty dishes on the floor. I just can't). So my work is finally done, and it only took 2 hours! I really need to stop counting.

Shiny sink, day 4!

Now to send the newsletter and go to bed!
Good Night!