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Post by BetsyMarie on Jul 31, 2021 10:01:05 GMT -5
I totally missed out on Diane's July challenge thread, but would like to be all-in for an August Challenge. The truth is I'm happier and more contented when I'm getting things done around the house. So here we are at the beginning of a new month with great expectations....
Previous July Challenge Thread: takeonestepatatime.proboards.com/thread/33243/july-challenge-welcome
desposito said in starting the July Challenge: (Months updated)
Do a little, do a lot. The more the merrier.
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Post by BetsyMarie on Jul 31, 2021 10:25:34 GMT -5
There are so many things that need doing, so part of the challenge for me is deciding what to do, and what form it will take. So I think I'll start with what seems a simple challenge - for the month of August, I'll spend a total of 155 minutes of doing anything that improves the house or yard. That breaks down to 5 minutes per day for the month. It's a total number, not necessarily an every day 'must do' thing. And I can change the specifies of my goal at any time - I mainly want to get started working regularly at 'it' again.
So August, ready or not, here we come...
General areas that need attention: -keeping the main living areas tidy -keeping up with dishes -keeping cat related jobs up to date - litter boxes, cat feeding area, cat toys picked up -the garage -donations actually donated -electronic waste dropped off -green and regular trash cans totally filled each week -yard work -and of course - getting rid of more stuff!!!
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Post by desposito on Aug 1, 2021 9:07:35 GMT -5
Okay, I have decided that with my health issues this month I will only keep track of time spent on paper as well as time spent on office supplies.
Paper will include not just old paper but all new filing, mail--any kind of paperwork.
These are jobs I can do sitting down so if I have to sit a lot I have no excuse not to work!
Good luck everyone, with whatever you choose for August!
Diane
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Post by phoenixcat on Aug 1, 2021 10:24:15 GMT -5
Didn't really do anything in July except a lot of "thinking" and planning. I originally thought I was just going to sort of clean out cupboards and drawers then add in DM's stuff. That is still part of the plan. But I'm also going to re-organize. Move things. DH is whimpering - I did a major re-org in 2020 and he had to learn where things are . Fortunately for him - I probably won't be doing that much damage this time! So once again - my plan for August is the same as July: My plan for July is to work on the kitchen/dining room/family room area. It has A LOT to be absorbed and sorted from my DM's move earlier this year. And, I will also empty out under the guest bed which has four bags of kitchen overflow. PC
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Post by Ally on Aug 1, 2021 14:01:25 GMT -5
GOALS for AUGUST: 1. Declutter Kitchen. 4 shelves (A bag will be a plastic shopping bag full) 2. Declutter 4 bags from bathrooms 3. Declutter 4 bags from laundry room 4. Declutter 4 bags from bedroom 5. Project: 4 hours working on Anthologie quilt 6. Project: 4 hours work on tiling in my shower stall 7. Complete assignments for next chapter in Buried in Treasures. Note: My mom is in poor health, and really should go help help my parents when I can, so we'll see how that affects things. My goal has been to go for a couple of days every-other week, I should have gone last weekend but I didn't. I might go for this evening and tomorrow. This may affect my ability to get some of this done. Honestly, I'll be happy if I can get half of this stuff done! ETA: My sister sent some texts this morning. my mom's health has been declining, and my sister is asking for more help. At this point, she just needs someone to be there to help with meals, and to help with trips to the bathroom, bathing, etc.. Depending on how this all goes, I may extend my goals into September.
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Post by wildpony on Aug 1, 2021 15:19:29 GMT -5
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Post by BetsyMarie on Aug 1, 2021 17:40:03 GMT -5
I've been thinking more about the August Challenge, and have come up with a few refinements. The basic is to spend 5 minutes a day, which will act as an invitation to do more - which I generally will want to do. MFA, and all (motivation follows Action).
Another refinement is to be aware of doing the little things. Pick up that one envelope or piece of paper. The one cat toy underfoot. the one dirty dish that should go to the sink. And then these multiplying on their own to more before my eyes. So in the daily 5 minutes, instead of just concentrating on the big things that need doing, to notice and deal with 'the little things'. I have a bad tendency to back-slide, and I think this will help.
And a third refinement is to accentuate the beautiful and pleasing things. The keepers. (Isn;t that why I'm keeping so much 'cool' stuff?). I have a lot of things I appreciate, but too often they have been pushed aside, or ignored... but I want to emphasize them now. Fresh flowers if available, pictures dusted and straightened, little items kept nice and not covered up with who knows what, and using the good things - the nice dishes and the fragrant soaps.
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Post by creativechaos on Aug 2, 2021 10:32:19 GMT -5
thank you for starting the Aug challenge thread, as i totally missed June and July, BetsyMarie. i love your little 5 minute steps and refinements. they all give incentive and lead toward the lives we want to have with the beauty we love around us so we can SEE it.
i am so terrified of stating goals; i never seem to get them done. i have hopes... and then fail at those.
i have a terrible time with backsliding and have difficulty staying focused to keep anything clean or picked up; in summer especially but really, all the time. Already on my plate for August: a) gardening in my own garden and my friend's - in order to help us all with our bereavement. this is something i want to do for the long haul because i love them a lot. I am watering the downstairs older grumpy man's garden too - he has been in the hospital for a month with pneumonia that never went away the first time. b) I have two mosaics to do where i'll be working outdoors this month and next - one will take a lot of time i think. c) although i made a lot of progress in July with the junkyard outside my garden plot, i still have to finish it. i'm about 3/4 there.
my back has been acting up a LOT - so my goals will be small and i will do only baby steps toward them - no heavy lifting and crazy all day marathons; I've had enough of those this summer. so here is my wish/goal list for August:
1) i will try to just start every day, for at least 5 minutes, on anything that is in front of me - no matter how exhausted or sore i am. BDG method. starting is the hard part - entropy and sloth come easily to me.
2) The swallows have flown, yay! - so I won't be bothering them anymore at my storage units in that hall. Between those bigger must-do projects listed above, i will try to work in the storage unit and come up with a plan for August. For years i had said i wanted to get out of one of the small ones - i have 3 units - two small and one large. A lot has to happen in order for me to move out of even one small one. I first have to build more shelves in the small unit I'm keeping. That means getting stuff out on the one side, but that is the easiest thing of all the projects to envision, so I will start with that project . If I make enough progress on that where I can start moving "keep" items in from the other unit, and IF my back holds up, I will list a second storage unit goal. i get so anxious when i even walk in to any of them. my mantra is, "the life i have now, or the life i want..." - that seems to help calm the anxiety and overwhelm, since the life i have now is unmanageable and causes me a lot of sadness and angst.
3) The apt is unlivable. the kitchen is almost completely non functional. I will commit to working in the kitchen and bathroom to at least gain some floor access and function back in the kitchen. that means some stuff has to leave; trash out, daily pick up and clean up... but i will start slower. I will start with trash.
4) I will finish tidying junkyard outside of my big garden away from home this month. those are huge goals and i will try to celebrate ANY progress I can make on those because any progress will get me closer to getting them done. i SO want to be home more and not so tired.
and in all of this, I must rough-sort and clean out my shameful car today, since i have to go to the mainland tomorrow for half a day. i will start there.
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Post by Ally on Aug 2, 2021 10:33:34 GMT -5
I've been thinking more about the August Challenge, and have come up with a few refinements. The basic is to spend 5 minutes a day, which will act as an invitation to do more - which I generally will want to do. MFA, and all (motivation follows Action). Another refinement is to be aware of doing the little things. Pick up that one envelope or piece of paper. The one cat toy underfoot. the one dirty dish that should go to the sink. And then these multiplying on their own to more before my eyes. So in the daily 5 minutes, instead of just concentrating on the big things that need doing, to notice and deal with 'the little things'. I have a bad tendency to back-slide, and I think this will help. And a third refinement is to accentuate the beautiful and pleasing things. The keepers. (Isn;t that why I'm keeping so much 'cool' stuff?). I have a lot of things I appreciate, but too often they have been pushed aside, or ignored... but I want to emphasize them now. Fresh flowers if available, pictures dusted and straightened, little items kept nice and not covered up with who knows what, and using the good things - the nice dishes and the fragrant soaps. Thanks for posting this. I have a tendency to want to set significant goals, but then when I feel overwhelmed, I find it hard to get started. I can do 5 minutes most days... or one or two small tasks. Some days I just feel so motivated, but once I have to start making decisions, my energy is gone.
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Post by gillian on Aug 2, 2021 12:52:11 GMT -5
We need to sell our motorhome and people have been asking about it, but our son sleeps in it when he comes for a weekend to help - dh had a stroke last year and can't do much. Our daughter's bed broke several months ago and because she just moved into a younger son's room, we put buying a new bed on hold. Now we're going to have to clear her room so that we can get the bed out and get a new one in order for her or our eldest to sleep in there. I just don't have a lot of time to do it all but I think it has priority over all the other areas that need decluttered.
Gillian
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Post by doodles on Aug 3, 2021 2:05:06 GMT -5
Hi all Thanks to BetsyMarie for starting this thread. I want to go beyond maintenance and start larger projects and get bigger numbers of things out of the house. In the next 28 days I plan to work on: mending and washing bedding to get it back into circulation (started) put bedding away in vacuum bags and in cupboards and closets keep surfaces clear in the kitchen ( tiny start) sort through 1 large box of papers get at least 6 boxes of books out for donation Let's hope that the August threat will auger well for all of us!
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Post by eatingbonbons on Aug 3, 2021 12:52:58 GMT -5
In August, I need to eliminate all the boxes and baskets in my bedroom. I don't want to count them now, but I can count them as I finish. Today, I have completed two boxes.
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Post by mouseanne on Aug 3, 2021 19:14:30 GMT -5
Heya, all! Any & Every little bit forward, right? Whatever works. I'm using the challenge for special projects. I'll still be posting maint tasks in Listzilla/WITS. I'm very happy with my July challenge achievements. ☆ de-label and flatten boxes ☆ bag up packing materials ☆ drop bags at consignment ☆ Clear bar table enough to: ☆ stack new (used pfalzgraff) on bar table ☆ pondering on dish cupboard, I think I have it worked out ☆ clear dish cupboard 2 shelves □ measure for dish arrangement shelf insert □ cut wood, make insert □ clean it up ☆ arrange dishes, using 2 Wal-Mart shelf extenders ☆ Clear counter ☆ purge freezer get out the new vac sealer (don't be intimidated by your own servants) Chop leeks, jalapenoes bag em & freeze em Bag the prepared freezer rice & beans Put away the vac sealer ☆ Set up a drip dry place ☆ w-clear 2 fridge shelves/bins ☆ x-clear a couple fridge door bins ☆ y-Run all through the dishwasher ☆ z-rinse & set on prepared place ☆ ditto w-x-y-z ☆ ditto w-x-y-z ☆ clean bottom fridge shelf in tub kitchen sink ☆ Wipe out the fridge ☆ Put it all back together plaster closet holes Plaster final layer 3 closet holes put in wood to mount the closet rod holders paint closet hmm...figure out if I need to cut the rod down (1' steel pipe) gah!!!** remount the closet rod Peel wallpaper Sweep up the mess Peel wallpaper Sweep up the mess Peel wallpaper sweep peel wallpaper sweep 8/15 adding ☆customize inside kitchen cupboard doors □put up some canned good storage in laundry room □Put up some bracket/standard shelves in laundry room (this is tricky as one end is over the basement stairs, so 10-12 feet off the ground) □buy a 10' ladder □put together blanket drying rack □make a place to hang the drying rack in laundry room □laundry room, hang a bar for empty hangers □laundry room, hang shelves for plants/plant starter trays over the machines BACKLOG LAUNDRY□wool blanket □ " □ " □ " □ " □other wools to launder **8/25 edit: Looked at pipe cutters on Amazon. Good ones $45, cheapo $17. Hmmm. Asked a GF if her hubby had a pipe cutter. She called me back, said he'd use a hack saw. Oh! Duh! I have one, just need a metal cutting blade. □buy hacksaw blade
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Post by def6 on Aug 4, 2021 13:06:17 GMT -5
Congrats to everyone working together for this August challenge... May we all be victorious in this battle of sheer will. I have to reduce clutter in my house starting with working at least 5 minutes per day every day this month. Committing to this attainable goal will help me with my problem of just getting started. So release the dancing elephants This struggle is real.
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Post by BetsyMarie on Aug 4, 2021 13:40:02 GMT -5
It's so very nice to see so many people accepting this challenge, and the wide range of goals and methods they are going to use. It's not too late for anyone to join either for the rest of the month, or just a few days. Large or small goals - it's all good! It's the starting that counts. @ally said upthread:
Yes to this. When i first started a number of years ago, I was a 'goat path' hoarder in a large home. Yes, past tense, though I still have hoarding tendencies, and frankly never was taught how to keep a home neat. At the time when I was at 'peak hoarder' I was totally overwhelmed whenever I looked around and realized all that needed doing, so I did nothing. Total gridlock. Back then, there was literally no more room to put anything new. The hoarder shows on tv had not yet started, so I didn't even know what one was, and that I was one. If someone were to come into my home now, they would not automatically think 'hoarder'. They would think 'messy' however. I have rooms that are cleared and look pretty nice. The kitchen is generally ok, with occasional problems. Dishes are under control, etc. Prior to covid, I was having people over for dinner to neat public rooms. There are still semi hoarded areas, but nowhere as bad as before. I say some of my worst stuff so people will know because hoarding is often hiding. I also believe there is a way out, and I'm going to get there, though it's far more difficult than just organizing and cleaning it all out, though that is essential too. A decade ago it was my impressioin that doing 'just 15 minutes' was a common suggestion to get started, but I couldnt commit to even that. I dropped it down to 5 minutes per day which I knew I could do. It is still my 'go to' method. I don't do long lists (which obviously help some people), but I can do a few mini tasks, or 5 minutes. And that usually leads to more. I still can feel overwhelmed if thinking of all of it still there, so I have to be careful and keep to what works for me. Progress not perfection. And so I'm here, committing to 5 minutes/day for the rest of August, with being mindful of 'the little things' and 'beautification'. Thus far, on Aug 4, Ive been putting in my daily time.
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