Under the Weather

I went to bed last night with a sore spot in my throat and it was still there when I woke up. I went ahead and stayed home. Not 100% sure if I'm sick, it's allergies, or something I ate might have scratched me even. But when you're boss is undergoing chemotherapy it's important to not compromise his immune system and best to play it safe. Unfortunately I was planning on taking Friday off so I could clean house before the party. Which means today's sick day has also become today's cleaning house day. And hopefully I'll be feeling fine for work tomorrow and can do a half day on Friday so I'll still have time for some party prep. I have to say it is hard to motivate yourself to clean when you aren't feeling tip-top (hence the blog post, procrastinating), but then I remember I'd prefer if kitty tumbleweeds weren't meandering past our friends Friday night.

Clean Laundry

I'm having kind of a rough day so far. I left the cat outside longer than I probably should have in this cold weather, overslept this morning, and then- well, let's just say having your faults pointed out to you, while a wonderful opportunity for growth and personal improvement, isn't exactly my idea of a fun time. So, let's wash all that no-good stuff away by concentrating on my newly organized laundry area. I finally finished the little bit I had left to do on it last weekend. I knew I wanted to improve my hang drying capabilities, have a place to store my soap and other laundry accoutrement, and something on the floor so dropped clothes don't hit the concrete. Most of my problems where solved by a trip to IKEA. Well, let's face it, when does IKEA not solve most of my problems? I picked up three ANTONIUS drying racks along with the 70 7/8" wall supports to hang them. I was hoping to find the HALSTED runner, but they were out at our IKEA. Instead I picked up two of these HALSTED door mats. And then lastly I ordered a slim storage cart from Target, after not finding what I was looking for in-store or at Container Store. I've been really pleased with the efficiency of the area since the improvements. I can hang/flat dry much more than I could before, I don't have stuff piled on my washer and dryer, and I can more easily reach my cleaners since they're no longer on the shelf above. Here are some before and after pics.

Before:


Afters:

Drying racks down


Drying racks up


Cart next to washer and dryer

Weekend Roundup

Friday:
-Sleep in
-Peanut butter toast, banana and coffee
-Move fridge and clean behind/under
-Clean cabinet fronts
-Salad, pita w/ hummus and smoothie
-Dishes
-Scrub counters & grout with baking soda paste
-Flush sink drains with boiling water and baking soda/vinegar
-Scrub sink
-Sweep and mop
-Clean baseboards
-Clean dining room table and chairs
-Sweep and mop
-Amy's burrito for dinner while watching Glee
-Popcorn and a beer while watching Crimes and Misdemeanors
-Bedtime

Saturday:
-Sleep in
-Cereal, banana, smoothie and coffee
-Clean master bath and bedroom
-Wash sheets and remake bed
-Order Swell Season tickets!
-Clean hall bath
-Salad, pretzels w/ mustard and apple
-Clean drum room, wash curtains
-Clean living room, sweep and mop hall and living room
-Wash rugs
-Shower
-Rosemary roasted potatoes and sourdough grilled cheese for dinner
-Bridget Jones Diary and Girl With a Pearl Earring with some wine
-Bedtime

Sunday:
-Try to sleep in despite cat's incessant meowing
-Clean up last night's dishes
-Leftover potatoes and fried eggs with coffee
-Meal plan and grocery list for week and party
-Start reading Mansfield Park
-Josh is home
-Get ready
-Grocery shopping for eternity
-Unload cargo
-Start laundry
-Salads and shells & cheese for dinner
-Watch Glee again with Josh
-Shower
-Go over grocery receipts and budget while watching an American Experience
-Finish laundry
-Insomnia followed by cat-interrupted sleep, blerg

New Tool

I'm hoping this will help tip the cleaning scales in favor of the white furniture. And the cheap Big Lots price didn't hurt.

Weekend Roundup

Whew! Got a lot done, and still so much left to do!

Friday:
-Work
-Grab some Chipotle
-Watch the new 30 Rock episode
-Finish next week's menu plan
-Play a little Sims 2
-Hit the hay

Saturday:
-Rise and shine
-Cereal and coffee
-Tune into NPR
-Clean the windows, remove dining room and bedroom curtains
-Put up clean laundry
-Scrub the bathtub and tile
-Clean toilet
-Clean mirror, counter top, and scrub sink
-Clean catbox
-Sweep bathroom floor
-Dust bedroom and living room
-Clean coffee table
-Break for Chipotle leftovers
-Dishes
-Clean kitchen counters
-Scrub cutting board
-Scrub kitchen sink
-Clean kitchen drains with boiling water, baking soda, and vinegar
-Make apple crumb coffee cake
-Sweep kitchen
-Purge a bit from hall closet
-Shower
-Watch dvr'd Everyday Food & Baking
-Josh got home and made dinner for us
-Watch some of Pete Seeger American Experience
-Call Steph, wake Josh up, and head over for birthday hang out
-Head home super late
-Head to pillow

Sunday:
-Oversleep
-Coffee and coffee cake for breakfast
-Finish grocery list
-Grocery shopping at Target & Central Market
-Unload cargo
-Start laundry: bath rug, towels, curtains, sheets, sofa blanket & delicates
-Lunch: delicious tomato, mozzarella & basil swch with strawberries and grapes
-Watch Sense & Sensibility and Blue Skies while doing ironing and finishing laundry
-Sonic for dinner
-Shower
-Night-night

Spring Cleaning

With Josh rehearsing with one band Saturday morning, and another one Saturday evening I find myself with some time on my hands. Unfortunately, I already have the perfect time-filler, that old Spring cleaning list. Able to remove a couple of things from my old list, but needed to add a couple on. And there needs to be a big-time purge of all the closets. Time to say goodbye to all those useless items I hoard. Trying to reform your pack-rat ways can be a challenge!

Bedroom:
-Wash sheets and blanket
-Vacuum mattress
-Put up clean laundry
-Tidy closet and bedside area
-Dust bedroom
-Vacuum floor and walls

Living room:
-Wash sofa blanket
-Vacuum sofa and chair
-Tidy and clean off coffee table
-Lint-roll curtains
-Dust TV stand, bookcases, and desk
-Vacuum floor and walls

Dining room:
-Clean off table and wipe down
-Vacuum floor and walls

Kitchen:
-Dishes
-Wipe down cabinet fronts and counter tops
-Clean out fridge and freezer
-Clean sink and drains
-Clean microwave
-Microwave sponge
-Empty and clean trash can
-Sweep and mop floor

Bathroom:
-Scrub bathtub, tile and shower doors
-Clean toilet
-Scrub sink
-Clean counter top and mirror
-Sweep and mop
-Wash floor mat

Other:
-Clean cat box
-Clean windows
-Make next week's menu plan & grocery list
-Grocery shopping

Weekend Roundup

Friday:
-Go to work
-Spend about 7 hours sorting through old e-mails
-Realize my brains are melting from said e-mails
-Leave early to head to bank
-Open joint checking with Josh. Only took us 10 months, jeez.
-Head to Target to look for Gifts
-Stop by new Chipotle for dinner
-Chow down at home while watching dvr'd 30 Rock
-Run to other Target to look for what I didn't find earlier
-Head home and get sick
-Spend the evening laying on the bed and watching TV
-Go to bed

Saturday:
-Get up and have coffee
-Discover Pride & Prejudice on TV- jackpot! Not that I don't own it on DVD or anything.
-Alphabetize our LP's
-Hang rest of pictures in bedroom. Only been waiting almost as long as the checking account.
-Clean and reorganize bedroom bookcase
-Vacuum baseboards, door jams, and dining room wall
-Dismantle and clean vacuum brush while watching dvr'd POV
-File paperwork
-Take a shower to wash away the cleaning grime
-Watch Le Divorce and lay around on the bed
-Wait for Josh to get home from rehearsals and recording
-Grab some Sonic
-Watch Muppets episodes
-Go night-night

Sunday:
-Wake up early- 8:30, what the heck?
-Read half my issue of Newsweek
-Plan my menu and grocery list
-Grocery shop
-Sort and start laundry
-Reorganize under-bed storage and purge old winter clothes
-Finish laundry
-Clean closet
-Eat Sonic again. I know, we have a problem!
-Shower
-Work on budget plan for our banking and savings
-Watch super funny first half of final Vicar of Dibley, set second half to record
-Fall asleep watching Muppets. Up quite late, paying the price of that evening Cherry Coke.

Weekend Roundup

Friday amounted to:
-Cleaning the kitchen drains
-Emptying and cleaning fridge
-Cleaning microwave
-Emptying and cleaning trash can
-Sweeping and mopping floor
-Planning weekly menu
-Grocery shopping
-Chipotle, a return to barbacoa

Saturday was full of:
-Visiting vet's office for flea medicine and changing cat's last name
-Eating donuts I picked up on the way home
-Scrubbing the bathtub and shower doors
-Scrubbing sink and toilet
-Wiping down counter and mirror
-Sweeping and mopping floor
-Trip to Target for gifts
-Talking to sis, tentatively planning Galveston trip
-We were thinking Arby's
-Cleaning and organizing both our closets
-Organizing Goodwill pile

Sunday found us:
-Dropping off Goodwill donations
-Visiting Target, again
-Watching Pirates of the Caribbean 2, mostly on fast forward
-Meeting In-laws at the Movie Tavern for little bro-in-law's birthday
-Missing original movie time, eating at Olive Garden to pass time before next showing
-Watching Pirates of The Caribbean 3, while enjoying a pitcher of Shiner Bock
-Noting to self to never return to dirtiest Movie Tavern location ever
-Heading to In-Laws for cake and presents
-Getting home and hitting the hay

Monday was spent:
-Sleeping in
-Doing 8 loads of laundry
-Pawning old furniture off on friends
-Munching on chips & dip
-Attempting to watch movie, but thwarted by Netflix's crap copy
-Hanging pictures in bedroom
-Watching an exorbitant amount of peculiar television.
-Playing, and losing, Risk
-Crashing into bed to enjoy my recurring insomnia, finally falling asleep sometime after midnight

Progress Report

This list makes it look like less work than it is. Well, not for everything, but the kitchen list is definitely the Reader's Digest version of the amount of effort exerted today. Over a gallon of boiling water for each drain, and almost an entire box of baking soda for the drains and cleaning the fridge. I also cleaned up the front of the fridge, retired some of the older photos on there. I put up some newer ones, but I limited the amount of junk I'm displaying. Tomorrow- hopefully a trip to the goodwill drop off is in our future, after tidying the closets.

Bedroom:
-Wash sheets and blanket
-Vacuum mattress topper and mattress
-Put up clean laundry & drying rack
-Tidy closet & bedside area
-Dust bedroom
-Vacuum floor & walls

Living room:
-Wash sofa blanket
-Vacuum sofa and chair
-Tidy and clean coffee table
-Lint-roll curtains
-Dust TV stand, bookcases, and desk
-Vacuum floor & walls

Dining room:
-Clean off table and wipe down
-Clean off piano
-Vacuum floor and walls

Kitchen:
-Do any dishes needed
-Wipe down cabinet fronts and counter tops
-Empty fridge and wipe down surfaces
-Clean sink and drains
-Clean microwave
-Empty and clean trash can
-Sweep and mop floor

Bathroom:
-Scrub bathtub, tile, and shower doors
-Clean toilet
-Scrub sink
-Clean counter top and mirror
-Sweep and mop
-Wash floor mat

To-Done

My normal work week is M-Th 6:30 AM to 5:30 PM. That's 11 hour days, which isn't as bad as it sounds, especially since it means I have Fridays off. I try to use my Fridays for house cleaning, so then Josh and I have the weekend to spend time together and have fun. Last week I was out sick on Monday, so I was going to make it up on Friday. Then the cat got sick Thursday night, and I ended up staying home with him on Friday, keeping an eye on him and calling vets. His regular vet was out of town, that's why it's plural. I'm a good cat mommy, I swear. :) Anyway, I was gonna work all 5 days this week, to make up the day I didn't make up. I woke up this morning and there was just no doing it. You know you have a good husband when you nudge him at 5:45 in the morning to ask him if he minds if you stay home from work to clean house, and he says no. So, I lost out on a little bit of money, but I gotta a good chunk of work done. I'd rather clean house than go to work any day.

Bedroom:
-Wash sheets and blanket
-Vacuum mattress topper and mattress
-Put up clean laundry & drying rack
-Tidy closet & bedside area
-Dust bedroom
-Vacuum floor & walls

Living room:
-Wash sofa blanket
-Vacuum sofa and chair
-Tidy and clean coffee table
-Lint-roll curtains
-Dust TV stand, bookcases, and desk
-Vacuum floor & walls

Dining room:
-Clean off table and wipe down
-Clean off piano
-Vacuum floor and walls

Kitchen:
-Do any dishes needed
-Wipe down cabinet fronts and counter tops
-Empty fridge and wipe down surfaces
-Clean sink and drains
-Microwave sponge
-Empty and clean trash can
-Sweep and mop floor

Bathroom:
-Scrub bathtub, tile, and shower doors
-Clean toilet
-Scrub sink
-Clean counter top and mirror
-Sweep and mop
-Wash floor mat

Other:
-Make next week's menu plan & grocery list
-Grocery shopping

In other news, it's Chipotle Friday! And even Marvin is excited about it....