Post-Christmas Goals

All of us are home today except for my husband.  I'll work tomorrow but he'll be home.  We're having company this weekend for a few days -- friends we usually have over for New Year's!  I'm excited.

I'm sooo not motivated today -- I want to tuck back into bed, which is sad considering the amount of sleep I've been able to catch up on over the last few days.  I really just need to martial us all together and get some things done.  And still manage to have fun and lots of free time.  :)

So...  goal-making time? 

1. Get WHB (weekly home blessing per Flylady) chores done
1. Vacuum (just the middles)  IN PROGRESS -- downstairs done!
2. Dust (just the highlights)
3. Change sheets
4. Purge magazines
5. Empty trash -- DONE!  Did this yesterday including the kitty litter!
6. Glass & Mirror (highlights) DONE!  Kids did it :)
7. Mop  Kitchen is DONE!  I did it :)
2. Dailies
1. Dishes
1. Empty dishwasher and drainer  DONE!  I did it!
2. Put in or wash all dirty dishes around kitchen and common areas  Working on -- I had a lot of dirty pots and pans... almost all done now, big cooking day yesterday :)
2. Laundry -- Make sure everyone has clean clothes
1. Every hour, reboot the laundry  NEED TO UPDATE THIS
2. Wash clothes for anyone who doesn't have clean clothes
3. Wash bedlinens for DS
4. Ensure clean towels in all bathrooms
3. Trash -- DONE!
4. Clutter
1. Sweep all common areas -- get kids to pick up and put away anything they want to keep from the piles  DONE!
2. Sort all odds and ends into purple baskets and have each kid empty theirs and return the empty baskets
5. Paper -- Spend 10 minutes sorting a pile or box of papers until I'm caught up :)
3. Declutter areas -- My room!
1. Hope chest
2. Dresser
3. Chair
4. Area by Tim's side of bed
5. My nightstand
6. Short bookshelf
7. Tall bookshelf
8. Tall chest
9. Area in front of closet  WORKING ON
10. Floor DONE!
4. Kids' rooms -- oy are these a mess again or what?!
1. Which rooms
1. DS #1's room  DONE FOR TODAY
2. DD's room  DONE!
3. DS #2's room  DONE FIRST!  WHATTA CHAMP!
2. What items -- sort into piles and put away
1. Clothing
1. Clean --> dresser/closet
2. Dirty --> hamper
2. Toys --> toy bin
3. Books --> book shelf
4. Desk stuff (papers, art & school supplies, coins, photos) --> desk
5. Trash  --> trash can or bag -->empty this when done
6. Elsewheres -- things that go in another room --> put in hamper and take to FR couch
5. Dinner
1. Plan what to make
2. Purchase anything we need
3. Make it

Kids can help with most of these areas -- not my room though!

Update:  1:50 pm -- Bipolar kid is throwing a massive tantrum.  In response, I'm not behaving so well either.  Other two kids, behaving wonderfully.  Everyone is pitching in.  Why does it have to be WWIII?

Update:  4:24 pm -- All kids settled down, then got some stuff done, then son threw another massive tantrum and other son threw one too.  Both sons have lost screen time and are in their rooms.  Son #1 also did a piercing terroristic high-pitched lengthy scream, so his iPod is in an indeterminate time-out pending some good behavior on his part.  And he threw a book.  Not a stellar mommy day.  DD is behaving under the radar right now but I'm not sure how much she's really getting done and how much she's stirring the other two pots.  The thing that kills me is that we had their rooms and the playroom clean one week ago, and had the common areas picked up yesterday without stuff on the floors. They knew we were going to have to do ths again soon.  They're all like, "Why do we have to vacuum and wipe glass?  Why do we have to pick up stuff off the floor?"  I'm all like, "When you have a home, you have to vacuum and wipe and mop about once a week at least, and you have to take care of your stuff and keep it off the floor every day.  If you didn't put it on the floor, you wouldn't have to pick it up from there."  Sigh.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night.

Teamwork -- Family Chore Time

I am so excited!  My kids are home from school because of snow... second day in a row.  Today I HAD to get stuff done... they're now off for Christmas break.  Sometimes I give them lists of chores to do to help out and we do a chore time.  My bipolar kid, especially, has the tendency to throw a MASSIVE temper tantrum, and then he loses screen time or whatnot.

Today, I've done 6 things on my list -- all my top priority things.  I gave the kids little lists, even the 4 year old.  They're finishing the last items now -- and my bp kid didn't bat an eyelash and IS DONE!!!  He's earned the privilege of playing in the snow and is happy as a lark out there.

Here are my lists for today.  I'm playing a new game I learned from the awesome ladies on the Flylady chat... Twist & Shout II.  This is where you make a list of 6 To Do items which don't take longer than 10 minutes, then right before the top or bottom of the hour, you roll a die or draw from a hat and pick 2 numbers.  You do each of those items on your list -- one for ten minutes, then the next for ten minutes, and then you get ten minutes to chat or play Farmville or whatever you want -- just as long as you drink some water to stay hydrated.  Then it's top or bottom of the hour again and you pick two more numbers and go again.  It's fun!  I sometimes have items on my list that take longer than 10 minutes -- I just do what I can in 10 minutes and then jot them down for use on a list another time. 

My A list today was:

1 = locate checks to take to bank, endorse, fill deposit slip  DONE
2 = go to bank DONE (ok I had to take extra time on this but got back on the clock as soon as I got back, made no other stops, etc.)
3 = online gift order DONE
4 = dress DONE
5 = clutter in kitchen/FR DONE
6 = playroom clutter DONE

My kids' lists were:

DS 10 -- DONE with all items!

1 = retrieve anything he wanted to keep from piles I raked up (!!!) on the playroom floor *and put away these items!***

2 = empty dish drainer, put dirty dishes in dishwasher, hand wash all non-dishwasher dishes and put in drainer

3 = empty all downstairs trash cans and take to outside bin

4 = swish and swipe main bathroom (wipe down sinks and toilet rim, quick-scrub toilet); restock w/ toilet paper, clean towel and soap if empty; remove all dirty clothes and such from the floor and put away properly


DD, 8 --

1 = same as above DONE

2 = vacuum area rugs in living room and entry DONE

3 = empty all upstairs trash cans and take to outside bin DONE

4 = same as #4 above but with downstairs bathroom IN PROGRESS


DS, 4 --  ALL done!  (I need to revac the rug when he's not around)

1 = same as #1 above

2 = vacuum area rug in f.r. and kitchen

3 = pick up all trash on bedroom floor and throw away properly

4 = clean glass on front storm door and on entertainment center door



Here's my B list I'm getting ready to tackle:  It's 2 pm and I just rolled the die.  Going to do #2 from 2-2:10 and #4 from 2:10-2:20.  Free time 2:20-2:30.  :)
     2:45 pm and this is a late update -- I did the paper pile and discarded a TON.  Big progress.  I rounded up all the Christmas cards we've received and put them in a Christmas-y box I have.  I wrote out 3 cards/notes and addressed and sealed them.  Now I just need to stamp and mail them.  Checked off the envelopes of the folks I sent to (I mean I put a check on the envelope they had sent me).  Christmas cards are wayy fun but not easy for an addled mom!  :)
     I'm going to goof off for 12 more minutes and then get back on track at the top of the hour -- # 1 and then #6. 
     Well... it's 5:12.  I've been obsessively doing the FACE thing since I last updated.  So much for sticking to 10 min tasks.  Can you say Hyperfocus???  Oy.  But I have dragged myself away from my evil-looking budget book.  I'll have to patch things up there later. 
     Time to get onto the next task. 
     Oops.  Messed up!  I did #6 in the next list by mistake... so my article is done and submitted.  Yay.  I guess I'll do #5 and then #3 this time around. 
     Done with #3 and #6.  I got goofed up and haven't done #5.  So this next round is #5 and then #1 on the C list... for my own clarity, that's laundry and then 10 minutes of grocery game. 

1 = FACE (Flylady thing = Financial Awareness Continually Empowers -- "FACE" your finances daily; I'm going to update my budget book and make sure I'm don't need to write any checks; figure out where I've overspent!!!)   DONE

2 = file papers (just do 10 min of throwing away, sorting, filing, whatever)  Done!

3 = dejunking (I'm going to do the rest of that computer armoire top I started the other day in the other post)  Done -- I can pretty much see the top of the computer armoire!  Woohoo!

4 = cards (10 minutes work on Christmas cards)  Done!

5 = laundry (make sure clean stuff is folded and put away, "reboot" laundry and stick something else in the washer -- it's a never-ending process with 5 family members and one serious bedwetter)

6 = gift list (I keep a spreadsheet of what I'm buying, whether it's bought/delivered/wrapped, how much it cost, and a running total of how much budget I have left to spend on each person on the list  -- need to update, wrap a few gifts sometime)  DONE




Here's the C list:

1 = grocery list (I use the Grocery Game website -- need to look at the list today and start my online grocery shopping)

2 = bake (need to make more choc chip banana bread)

3 = cut Sandy's nails (dog)

4 = big kids' wrapping (each big kid has 2 gifts to wrap, one for each of his/her sibs)

5 = Sandy's bath (still the dog)

6 = articles (I write online freelance articles and have one I need to polish and send off)

Dejunking

OK I'm going to concentrate my decluttering efforts on two rooms between now and Christmas:  my bedroom and the family room.

Here are the top three spots in each room which need some attention plus all the embarrassing details:

FAMILY ROOM

1.  Mantel -- We have every kid-sculpture known to man on the mantle.  It's sentimental but soooo not attractive and is dusty!  I believe I'll put them all on the kitchen table, call in the kids, and have everyone take theirs to their rooms.  Also to go:  the coasters (I can only assume I put them up out of the way of a baby several years ago, LOL), the empty picture frame, the garden gnome statue which would look cuter elsewhere, and some computer paraphanalia.  Agh.  --  YAY!  This is done.  Took about 5-10 minutes.  :)  Sooo much better, and we can hang our stockings now.

2.  Top of the Computer Cabinet -- This one blows up fast!  Things which can stay but need editing and organizing:  bill basket, office supplies, empty basket for computer parts (see a theme here?!).  Things which must go:  large basket of random cables for various electronics, random other junk.  I think I'll have my husband go through the cables and pick out any which we use regularly.  (I can't tell the difference.)  I'll then label them with masking tape and a sharpie so I can.  :)  The others, I'll box up and put in the basement storage room w/ an expiration date -- if we haven't used them by then, they'll be recycled at Best Buy's electronics recycling.  This was awful.  But gratifying.  I took our bill-pay "basket" which was something like a TON of paperwork and went through it.  I filed all paid bills from 2010 by month in an accordion folder.  I filed all medical paperwork in another accordion folder.  I made a "to file" folder for the stuff I just couldn't deal with yet.  I made a very small "to act" folder which is now on the paper pile.  Education paperwork is in the file drawer awaiting, you guessed it, another accordion folder.  :P  All that's left in the bill-pay basket now is a few current bills.  I'll have to tackle those manana.  Also, I put about 8" of paperwork in the to shred/to burn pile and a good 10-12" in the discard pile.  I have to get these statements online.  This paperwork is killing me!  Mostly because I sat hunched over on the floor sorting, and I'm wayyy tooo old to do that.  :)

The rest of the top of the computer cabinet?  Ha.  That is a story for a different day.  I did get the better half to agree to stashing all the miscellaneous cables in a sort of cable-purgatory in the storage room.  At least they won't be in plain sight on the computer cabinet anymore.  Too tired to carry them downstairs right now though...

Pfffft.

3.  Area in Front of Built-Ins -- Oh the shame of a messy house.  OK there are papers here that need going through -- not sure what the heck they are but most can likely go straight to discarding.  There's a box of play-doh tools and toys which needs a home.  Let's see -- how often used?  Hmmm.  I would say less than once a month (only because I hate cleaning it up!)... that means it would normally go to basement storage but it's cold for play-doh -- probably will put in the top of a closet?  Or in a very remote cupboard near the fam rm/kitchen?  Then there are two baskets of video-game stuff.  This is tricky -- both are starting to overflow.  Both are mostly filled with boxes from the cartridges and disks though which never get kept in them.  I'd pitch the boxes but we might sell them at Gamestop if they stop playing them -- so... I'll box up the empty cartridge boxes and put them in storage.  That should free up usable room in the baskets.  Hopefully I can relocate them somewhere more convenient after awhile -- but for now, they're ok as is.




My Messy Room:

I think instead of areas, I need to deal with categories first:

Clothing:  This is out of control.  I have too many, apparently.  I only wear some.  I need to fix my closet doors (they stick), fix my dresser drawer (the front fell off), and then go through my closet.  I edited out the dresser not long ago -- although it's time to pack away the summer stuff, huh?  :)  Dirty clothes need washing. 

Papers.  Yes, these got transferred in here during Thanksgiving.  They need to go pronto.  Each kid has a memory box -- not very full, quite empty really.  These can go downstairs to storage.  Problem for the future:  clear out the storage room.  Other papers need to be quickly gone through. 

Elsewheres:  I need to grab a basket and throw in it everything that doesn't belong in my room but has migrated there.  Think: preschooler's toys he drags in while I am getting ready in the morning.  :)  And assorted other junk.  When the basket is full, I will play the sorting game on the couch and have everyone take stuff to their rooms.

Lovely Day Yesterday

I'm trying to figure out how to put this.  Yesterday was a lovely lovely day in my house.  We were all home, nowhere we *had* to be.  Finally the Christmas tree was in the house, and my husband had strung lights on it the night prior.  Outside was cold and pouring rain, and almost dark as dusk.  We had the lights on, the heat on, and all of us home. 

We were tired, getting over or trying to get over colds.  We watched movies all day in our jammies and then decorated the Christmas tree.  I spent the first couple of hours (!) obsessing about how I "should" be out and about, getting cards, gifts, wrapping things, running errands... the weather was awful though and the house was cozy. 

After a little bit, I realized that who cared?  Why did I need to feel guilty?  Christmas isn't tomorrow.  It's not this week.  And traditions don't have to be organized.  Sometimes they can just *be*... why be formal all the time?  Why define what we do year after year?  Some of that is great.  We have our traditions and treasure them.  But yesterday was a rare gift... a day when we all just watched goofy holiday movies and then hung ornaments. 

The kids were hyper.  We fussed.  It wasn't a Hallmark card.  What family really is?  But we love each other.  The tree, laden with glittered popsicle stick ornaments, is kind of the same.  It's not a themed tree, not a showcase.  Not what it "should" be, perhaps.  But it's dear to us because the ornaments represent the little preschoolers who made them -- like my son who is now wearing larger shoes than mine.  (Where did the time go?!)  Like the ornaments we picked up here and there on vacations over the years, some pre-dating the kids at all.  We talked about them as we hung them.  My husband and my train-obsessed four-year-old set up the train around the base of the tree. 

My husband also dug out a set of little bears playing bass drums which actually are bells that play 25 different Christmas carols.  (We're not sure we've unburied them since our eldest was in diapers -- it was all new to the kids.  My oldest son's issues sometimes preclude putting out breakables at Christmas since he gets so wound up -- and hypes out the other two -- that things are unwittingly destroyed.  OR he takes them apart to see how they work -- !)

When the bears finally stopped playing their bell tunes, and the tree glowed and we ate Christmas cookies my mom and dad had given us, I started playing carols on the piano so my daughter could sing.  She loves to sing.  She found the lyrics-only book to accompany a music book I have and made request after request.  I'm so rusty from not playing -- who takes the time?!  that it was pretty awful, but awfully fun. 

Soup and sammies for supper... baths and bedtime in fresh jammies.  Who could ask for more?

This could be a tradition after all...

12/6/10 Christmas To Dos

I have a huge amount of things to accomplish today and pretty much no energy. The family and I went away for the weekend and I'm exhausted! We had fun, but I can see so many things I wish I had done differently. AND it's 4 pm and I'm sooooo drowsy! I think I'm getting a cold.

Enough whining. Time to take a look at just the Christmas portion of the list:

Gifts

• Listing -- est. 80%
• Purchasing -- 13%
• Wrapping -- 0%

Cards -- 0%  50% but waiting until I can pay for them!
Stockings -- 0%
Decorations -- 0%
Traditions -- 0%
Baking -- 0%
Company -- 0%
Social Calendar -- 0%

Getting Going Today

So tonight, the hub is going out.  That leaves me and the kiddos, and I'm beat-tired.  Also, it's cold and raining.  I could not sleep last night.  There are so many things I need to do and so few I wish to do...  lasagna's baking in the oven and won't be in much longer so I might as well knock out a few chores while I wait for it and continue to supervise homework.

Let's do the DLTCP thing, shall we?

Dishes: 
Empty dishwasher, fill back up.  Same w/ drainer.  Gather all dishes from everywhere and put in.

Be right back...

Back with your scintillating 5 minute report.  In 5 minutes, I emptied both the washer and drainer and then emptied the dishes in the sink (put in the d.w.).  I have a few more to gather, then it's on to The Laundry.

Laundry plan:  start a load of sheets/blankets/pjs. 

Be right back again...