Accomplishments #342-365

I think I did pretty good on my year of accomplishments.  Nothing earth shattering, but I have been making steady improvements on the clutter that surrounds me and in making sure I just did not become a complete vegetable every time I walked in the door.  Did I get back to the person I used to be with my house cleaning, cooking and such?  No, not any where close to that person, but this life is not that life or even close to it.  

I still hate laundry with a passion, but I bought more jeans recently so I won't have to do laundry even once a week now unless I just can't stand the laundry room another minute.  The door John put on the room helps with that a lot.

There is no mail piled up, and the filing made it to the box, if not the correct file.  

I spent a day this week going through almost 4 years of quilting magazines and taking out all the patterns I wanted and boxing up the rest to share with friends.  I am still in the process of putting the patterns into sleeves, but I cleared up two shelves on my bookcase. Of course I immediately filled one with books I had stacked on a table because the shelves were full.

I have a long way to go in certain areas, but if I hadn't worked on doing an accomplishment a day in 2011, I would have been further behind in 2012.

Accomplishments #293-#341

I have not forgotten my pledge to accomplish something every day this year.  I have kept the pledge.

I have accomplished something every day. Some of the things I have accomplished since my last posting:

• Cleaned out the room that has been the computer room, the music room, a bedroom, etc.  
• Slowly working on cleaning out my big storage closet, one shelf at a time.
• Organized files.
• Cleaned out a bedroom cabinet.
• Wrapped up some items for storage

I have also kept up with the mail on most days, some weeks it piles up a little because I don't feel like looking through coupons.

All in all this was a good pledge because I have accomplished things I would have probably let go another year or two if I hadn't made a pledge to myself about accomplishing something every day.  

Accomplishments #240-#292

Even though I hate blogging about it, I have kept my promise to myself to accomplish something new every day.  Sometimes it is a lot of accomplishments in one day, other times it is just moving one thing from one place to another just to say I did something.

The accomplishments that have been the most helpful since I last posted on this subject:

• Deleted old payees out of my online banking account. I had a lot of doctor's in the payee list from when I was paying off Raymond's and Mom's medical bills.  That is all done now so I was able to delete those along with some companies I no longer do business with and accounts I have closed.
• Cleaned out some old files and destroyed old documents, leaving me room for new files and no need to purchase another filing system.
• Reorganized my bedroom cabinets and drawers.

I did discover one bad thing about my accomplishments to date.  When the weather turned chilly this week I realized I had given away all but about three of my long sleeve shirts when I was cleaning out my closet.  That bummed me out.  Guess I will have to do some shopping.  I HATE SHOPPING!

Accomplishments #192 through #239

I find it boring to write about my year of accomplishments, but I must keep up with my promise to myself.

The heat has been so horrible this summer along with the drought that any outside plans I had were long ago tossed.  

On the inside of the house, I have made accomplishments. 

I am happy to say that I have kept up with the mail on a daily basis and tossed out recycling each day.  No big huge piles of mail on the table this year.  It has been very easy this summer because I just have the youngest stand next to me and I hand him all the recycling to put out as I go through the mail.I did have a small pile earlier this week, it had been sorted, but it was bills and such to pay on my day off, and it is now gone. All my filing it caught up too.

I did the last purge of my closet a week ago.  We ended up taking 7 bags of clothes to the Cancer Federation (they are asking for clothes right now).  I gave up a lot of old favorites, but not ratty robe.  Of course ratty robe is really just about a rag now and not up for donation.

I paid the youngest to clean out the workshop and since then I have done a little more cleaning up out there and have a lot more to do when it is cooler.  

I spent two weekends going through all my fabric and labeling how much I had of each piece and reorganizing my bedroom and stash.

Yesterday was spent cleaning out the 4th bedroom of the house which at some point was remodeled to not actually be a bedroom by previous owners.  In the past we have used it as a computer room, music room, bedroom, storage room, extra game room, etc.  Right now I am using it to store our games and some misc. items that I will need to go through a purge soon.  I purposefully left the floor open so that I could use it to lay out some quilt backs.

As far as how my year of accomplishment is going, I have made sure to accomplish one thing each day, no matter how small. So I am happy with the year so far.

Accomplishments #187-#191

Wow, it has been a very successful week here at the house.  I am purging stuff, and doing a pretty darn good job of it too.

I am giving the youngest extra pay to clean out our workshop, greenhouse, and green building.  He started on the workshop this week and along with that I began to get rid of items that I have probably held on to for too long, but I was waiting to see if the boys would need them.

• Big tools of Raymond's are going, big electric saw, drill press etc.  
• I hope to find a buyer for Raymond's kiln and wheel (well he bought them for me, but he ended up liking throwing clay more than I did).  I have decided to sell his hobby items to support my hobby of quilting.
• I have a building full of items that I am donating to Salvation Army like bookcases, mirrors, clocks, tables, lamps, etc.  Yes, I could have a garage sale, but I just think it is too much work for the small amount of money I get out here off the beaten path.  
• Books and magazines have gone to the library.  
• Bags of clothes are ready for donating.
• Garbage bins are full and there are bags and bags of garbage ready for pick up.
• Three trips to the recycling bins have been made with cardboard, plus my at home bins are full of other recyclables.
• The boys have gone through their stored toys and old software and have them ready to donate.

In addition to all of the above, I have vacuumed, dusted, put away extra items, and straightened several rooms in the house.  I have also washed, dried and folded seven loads of laundry since yesterday, and the boys have done some on top of those loads.  

I am really looking forward to completing the purge.  It will probably be fall before it is all done, but it will be done.  The only thing I am concerned about is selling the kiln and wheel because I don't like to deal with selling items.

Accomplishment #183-#186

I did accomplish a few things over the July 4th long weekend, but not laundry.  Have I mentioned in this blog how much I hate laundry? 

In the last few days I have:

• Paid a lot of bills.
• Cleaned out the refrigerator of leftovers that were obviously not going to be eaten, or had frozen into a solid block because they were pushed to the back of the top shelf.
• Started purging the workshop, even though the youngest is doing the work, I have decided to let a lot of things go, some of them from my childhood, some from my life with Raymond.
• Cleaned the gas grill once the oldest had taken it apart for me. 
• Started on a new budget for the upcoming year.

Accomplishments #180-182

Keeping track of my accomplishments keeps me from being depressed because I am not doing anything after work.  I do a lot, it is just at odd hours.

• Mail, lots of junk to recycle this week
• Laundry, washed and dried, not put away
• A couple of Thank You cards written
• Birthday gifts for friends wrapped, cards written
• Still working on my closet. It seems I decide to donate another shirt about every other day.  I am afraid to take the donation basket out of my bedroom because I know I will stop cleaning out the closet.
• Dusted art work 

Accomplishments #173-178

Even though I have been concentrating on quilting projects lately, I have accomplished a few things in the last few days.  My accomplishments include:

•  Sorting out the junk mail from the "real" mail
• Sorting through a few drawers and cleaning them out
• Dusting
• Scrubbing the bathroom sink
• Puttering around in the garden a little
• Laundry
• Cleaned out the linen closet
• Picked pins up from floor
• Picked thread up from floor
• Picked up scraps of fabric from floor
• Emptied Dishwasher (that doesn't happen much because I have children home now)
• Started cleaning out magazines
• Cleaned the bathtub

Accomplishment #171

Paperwork.

Accomplishments #163 - #170

Laundry, mail, some cleaning of cabinets, and dusting.  That has been about it for the week, unless you want to count rearranging the refrigerator a hundred times to get things to fit.  

Accomplishment #162

Even though I was just piddling, I got a lot of things accomplished yesterday.

• Two loads of  laundry, washed and dried.
• One basket of clothes folded.
• The rolling library cart of laundry put away along with all hanging clothes.
• Emptied out my closet some more of items I am going to donate.
• Straightened my bedroom.
• Did some cleaning in the bathroom.
• Picked up around the living room.  

That was in the morning.  I spent the afternoon and evening making coasters and then putting a quilt up on the design wall.

I also went to Fabric Fanatics and JoAnn's with Jill and Loni.  

Good day.

Accomplishments #148 through #161

I admit that since I have my own personal maid (youngest) home for the summer, I have slacked off on my accomplishments, but I still do the mail daily.

I have managed to accomplish a few things in days 148-161.  I have:

• Completed about 3 loads of laundry. (Youngest and Loni have been doing the rest)
• Still cleaning out my closet some each day
• Cleaned out the old leftovers in the fridge
• Dusted some knick knacks
• Went through several boxes of paperwork and either refiled or destroyed papers
• I have put away clothes

I am also working on a plan that involves rearranging some things in the house, but I will keep that secret for now.  My boys hate it when I decide to rearrange everything.

Accomplishments #120 thru #147

Yes, I have accomplished something every day, but all of it minor stuff until day #140 where I had my youngest help me totally redo some of the items in my kitchen.  I took out my large baker's rack, put away some of my pottery collection, and changed the position of my large rectangular table in my kitchen.  It was a lot of change.  So much so, that Loni kept saying "That's a lot of change in one day Mama." 

Accomplishment #116 - #119

I will admit to not accomplishing much this week.  Other than the dishwasher, sorting mail, paying bills, and cleaning out part of the refrigerator, I have nothing extra to report.

Of course, that list is better than no list.

Accomplishment #115

Sorted mail, paid bills, shredded documents, sorted laundry, loaded dishwasher, and picked up in living room.

Accomplishment #99 and Accomplishment #100

Yesterday was day number 99 of my Accomplishments.  I was able to get a little dusting done, and some small things put away, but it was also a day of pain so I did not push it with my shoulder.

Today is Day #100 and I have been really trying to take care of my new bathroom.  I am almost done, just have the toilet and floor left, but I have spent the last 2 hours cleaning in the bathroom, mainly because I have to rest my shoulder between items.  The tub/shower is scrubbed, as is the sink.  The mirrors have been polished and the wood dusted.  The inside of the vanity has been wiped down with the mirror cleaned.  The artwork and window sill have been dusted and cleaned.  The rest should not take very long, and then I am going to be done for the day and sit with my shoulder iced.  

I am going to try to finish the kitchen later, but that will depend on how I feel.  

All in all I am pretty happy with Accomplishment #100.

Accomplishments #94, #95, #96, #97 and #98

Accomplishments #94-#97 were all the same.  I sorted mail and picked up the kitchen a little each day.

Accomplishment #98 was today, and a non-work day so I had plenty of time to rest between chores and managed to get some things done:

• Vacuumed the living room, kitchen, and Man Cave in the parts that really needed it.  
• Mopped the kitchen in the areas that were bothering me.
• Managed to wash, dry and fold four loads of laundry.
• Dusted a few areas in the living room

These chores took me most of the day since I would have to rest during them, and the folding of the clothes is not the greatest because I found out real quick that my left shoulder was not up to folding sheets, or towels. However, I feel better about the house, and I am glad I was able to get a start on some of the problem areas.  

Sunday I will tackle the bathroom.  

Accomplishment #90

Laundry, mail sorting, and general light picking up with my right arm. 

Not very exciting or productive. 

Accomplishments #86 to #89

With the shoulder still recovering, the accomplishments have not been very exciting.  In fact they have been the same every day.

Sort the mail, pay any bills that come in, put dishes in dishwasher, laundry, and some light dusting.  

I am doing my shoulder exercises each day and I have been doing some straight line stitching on the Big Bernina because it doesn't really require me to do much with my left arm.  

Accomplishment #85

I cleaned a couch pillow, started a load of laundry, and put away clothes.  The trick to all of this is not using my left arm.  Not always easy, but believe me when I say if I forget, it is just a second before I remember.