Tuesday, January 29, 2013

January Cure w2

I've been co caught up in mini-projects and catching up on week 1 that I haven't really been focusing on week 2 of the January Cure, but surprisingly I completed 75% of my assignments and I'm moving on course toward having a more organized home.

Day 8: Weekend Chores - Flowers, Kitchen Cleaning & Make Yourself a Meal
The whole kitchen sadly didn't get cleared out, but the floor was swept and steamed mopped, and I cleaned out the fridge and even added fun hand scripted labels.  The cabinets are still pretty clean and organized, except 2 or 3, but those will have to wait a bit and there is still a very large pile in the middle of my floor of items to sell  that have yet to be listed, but I did upload 6 of our large furniture pieces to Craigslist on Sunday so I don't feel to bad about the pile.  Though my goal is to have them all listed in the next 2 weeks.

The shelves were wiped down with warm soapy water along with the drawers and all the old food was cleared out.


 Find a Recipe and Make Yourself a Simple, Enjoyable Meal:
I decided to keep it yummy and simple and I had been craving pancakes anyways so I made protein pancakes.


Day 9: Create a Landing Strip & Start Using it
            {January 14}

I don't have current image of my entry way as it changes frequently, but this is the latest photo I took when reorganizing my living room layout.  Really the only difference is that under mirror I have an IKEA media stand and everything else is moved to the right just a bit.

A Doormat
I'm quite content with my exterior doormat, but my interior rug is not the right fit.  It's a nice black rug from IKEA, but it's a bit small for the space and shows far to much dog hair so at some point when I find exactly what I'm looking for I'll get anther one, but for now it does the job okay. 

Coat Hooks/Hangers
Right now I have an IKEA Adobe Wardrobe in Birch, but I'm in the process of getting it sold and out of the house.  It's far to deep for my entry way and needs to go and is one of my projects for the living room.  I've had several inquiries, but no one has come to take a look.  I plan to swap it out for a TJUSIG coat stand by IKEA

A Landing Strip
I'm still on a debate for my entry table, but am currently using an extra IKEA TV stand that seems to be working for now.  I'm still trying to figure out what to do with incoming mail.  This is a constant issue that I have yet to resolve.  I've thought about putting a binder system together, but haven't gotten to it yet. 

Day 10: Work on Your Goal Project
I selected 2 projects as noted in week 1 Day 5  to complete this month and 1 is completed and the other is still in process.

#1 is to find a replacement shelf for our extra toiletries and this project is completed last week.
#2 was to sell my IKEA Adobe Wardrobe.  As noted above I have it posted on Craigslist, but it's not sold yet.

Day 11: Try a Media Fast
This I have not done this week.

Day 12: Declutter Books and Media
Saturday and Sunday I took some of my extra books and looked them up on Amazon.  Most of them were no more than $3 and had more than 10 copies avaialble so I didn't feel the need to try to resell them and added them to my outbox.  There are about 6 there and I have another 10 to check still.

My mom went through a bunch of books in her room, mostly this came about because she's looking for a particular DVD set that we've misplaced, but at this point I don't care what inspired her all I care is that she is finally sorting through her books, which have mostly consisted of overflowing pile and excess messes in her bookshelves.  Plus, most of them are for resell so I'm glad to finally see her put them in the basement until we are able to actually list them.  

My goal is to clean out the house and sort through everything - take out the things we are willing to give away and put together the items we would like to sell so we're not so overwhelmed with trying to do everything at once.  Once we have a space that is cohesive for flow we will be able to better keep organized with the items we would like to sell. 

Day 13: Weekend Chores - Flower & Bedroom
I still have yet to buy flowers.  I'm really just not a flower person, and the smell sometimes stuffs me up.  I've also neglected on buying any green plans.  It's really just because I have issues with commitment.  I did find a pretty flower from IKEA {yep it's real}, but I was hesitant on buying it since I had plans that evening and didn't want a live plant in my car for several hours in freezing temperatures.

I did complete a  few things in my bedroom.  One being that I bought myself a new bed frame Friday. It's pretty fantastic and works well in my space.  The only downside is it's not on wheels, but luckily I really like where it's located and don't plan on moving it so it still works out.I found it at our local secondhand furniture store for only $20 for the whole set - headboard, foot-board, and metal bed frame.  You can't beat that price and I love finish and pattern in the headboard.


I also organized my dresser drawers with the 2 packs of  SKUBB drawer organizer's that I picked up at the Baltimore IKEA Saturday.  so far I like the organized look and it was only $16 minus a few dollars since I had 3 bins to spare.


Day 14: Get Papers and Files together
I have been sorting though my papers little by litter the last few months and pretty much most of it is done.  I do have a small pile on my desk, but that's only about 3 weeks old, and really isn't much.  It's sitting there because it's all 2013 files and I need to archive my 2012 and shred any minor papers I no longer need.   I also need to gather my tax papers so I can get those done early this year.   Currently, I'm just awaiting my work W-2.  It's nice only having to worry about 1 address and 1 job this year.

I would like to reconfigure my current filing binders, mainly, because how I have it filed is far to confusing and some files just need to be put in the same binder like all my bills that come via paper each month.  Plus Id like to keep it simple like Bowl Full of Lemons did.

One of the major things I need to do is create a specific financial binder / folder where I can track my spending.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know.  One of my unspoken goals is to be aware of where my money is going so I know when I'm overspending on my nonexistent budget, but I really do need one and where to cut back.

I'm not sure if I should be prod of this or just ashamed, but I'm one of those people who will return a $3 item if I'm not using it, or if it's been sitting around the house for months, even a year and if I don't have a use for it or it really wasn't used much and is in as new condition condition I'll gather the receipt and original packing and return it back to the store for a store credit.  I've done that a few times when I've changed the scheme or design of a room and the item I bought (still in the original packing) will be returned.   I especially LOVE Target's 90-day return policy.  It's worked for my benefit many a times.  I will also return stuff for friends when they are to ashamed to return things.  I don't feel it's right if something doesn't work for your intended purpose that you should have to lose out on any money, especially if it can be resold.

 

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