|
|
Post by desposito on Dec 31, 2022 21:04:15 GMT -5
It's a new year and a new fresh start! 
Let's challenge ourselves to get some projects done by February 28th.
They can be about decluttering, cleaning, gardening, organizing, repairing--anything that will make your home and your life better.
The rules are up to you--psychologists say goals are more achievable if they're measurable and specific. BUT--if specific goals scare you, make them open-ended--anything that will help you get something done.
One goal or more, counted by time or items or square feet of space--or any other way you want--think of something that you'll be happy to accomplish by the end of February.
And remember, our goals can be guideposts--we don't have to finish everything perfectly, we just need to try our best!
Then post and let everyone know how it's going.
|
|
|
|
Post by phoenixcat on Jan 1, 2023 11:56:22 GMT -5
Thanks Diane for starting us up again! I find these threads very helpful. No choice projects - 1) Major purge and clear out of our master bathroom, master closet and some of our master bedroom. We are doing a full gut renovation of our master bath. We have to completely empty the bathroom and closet (large walk in- the size of a bedroom). The bedroom will have to be cleaned out somewhat and everything moved to the other side of the room and tented with plastic. We are "hoping" that this is only for about 6 weeks. All the supplies are in to the distributor except for one trim piece on plumbing. Right now, 1/2 our garage is full of tile and cabinetry. Plumbing is probably moving in next week. 2) Because we are moving into the guest room in the other side of the house - I have to clear out portions of that room (the closet) and the guest bathroom to make room for the things we will use daily. And, I will have to clear out portions of DM's old room in order to store all the stuff we don't need during the renovation but don't want to throw away either. Her room is on the side of the house with our room so it will be too dusty and dirty in that area to use. I'm trying to figure out laundry - maybe on Sundays when they are taking the day off.  . We may just need to tent that side of the house and take our laundry elsewhere. Which brings up cleaning out our laundry room as well because we have a second fridge in there we probably can't access. Things get complicated! 3) We are establishing a trust and we will have to do A LOT OF PAPERWORK regarding it as well as shutting down my DM's trust. 4) Put away all the holiday decorations. I'm usually pretty organized with it. But it is a big job. This year I want to evaluate what didn't make it out and why - maybe some things can be donated? I'm very stressed and tired looking at this list   . BUT THINK HOW GOOD I WILL FEEL WHEN IT IS DONE! PC |
|
|
|
Post by desposito on Jan 1, 2023 18:47:35 GMT -5
Hello phoenixcat! So, the big remodeling project is near--when does it start? It sounds like a huge amount of work but it will be so worth it, it's amazing how a new bathroom makes you feel. After having a bathroom that had most things in it not working properly for several years, moving here where the bathroom was new (not large or fancy, but everything in it was NEW and WORKED!) felt like such a luxury!
I spent some time today thinking about this challenge and I came up with several new goals, but I can't list them all because almost all my old goals are do overs this time--I think I only finished two of them. And because I am stubborn, I am going to keep all the old goals going until I finish them, even if it takes another few challenges (that darn cleaning goal...)
Having about 20 goals is probably crazy but I still feel like I get more done with specific goals than without, so I will probably have that many. I will probably post them tomorrow.
Diane
|
|
|
|
Post by desposito on Jan 2, 2023 12:53:05 GMT -5
Okay, I am ready to post, but I must admit I have too many goals again. Even when I don't finish them, I still think I do better with lots of goals, it gives me a variety of things to work on and keeps things in the front of my mind.
I'm keeping everything I didn't finish last time, including the ones I knew I wouldn't finish but that would be ongoing, like office supplies and enclosed spaces. I'm adding a few, the new ones are getting rid of two piles that have accumulated on my upstairs floor, cleaning out and partially repurposing a small bookshelf in the second floor hallway, cleaning out my food, etc. pantry again (tied to the bookshelf, I'm going to move some things there) and I'm going to go through one box of books in my storage area. I'm also adding the brand new book site I joined, a small goal to prep for spring gardening, a small goal of cleaning out my 3 desk files, and I'm bringing back the old food goal since I got out of that habit within a week of the end of the fall challenge.
And as if these aren't enough challenges, I'm going to join the 2023 items thread this year, I always felt like after my big purges I never had enough things, but I realized I could move the old paper to that effort. I checked around to make sure I wasn't missing any box of old paper but I think I went through a lot since moving here--there isn't nearly as much as I pictured.
Diane
|
|
|
|
Post by desposito on Jan 2, 2023 13:26:00 GMT -5
1. CLOTHING--get ready for winter, alter a couple of things GOAL 40 minutes remaining from last challenge
2. CLEANING--other than routine things GOAL 3 hours and 10 minutes remaining from last challenge
3. BASEMENT GOAL 1 hour and 20 minutes remaining from last challenge. This one wasn't my fault, I couldn't get the handyman out--however I have purchased some tools that will let me take apart one of the 3 items I need to break down and get rid of so I should be able to meet this one now.
4. FRIDGE CLEANING Did some but did not finish
5. PLANT ROOM CLEANING I turned this into a more complicated job than intended, so am not even half way through. But that's okay, it needed to be done.
6. POST MORE BOOKS FOR TRADING GOAL of 10
7. READ BOOKS FROM MY OWN STASH GOAL 2
8. PLANT CUTTINGS GOAL - Finish potting up the last cuttings. I did do several last challenge, but there were a few stragglers plus I added some coleus and pothos cuttings when I had to take plants in for the winter.
9. ENCLOSED SPACES GOAL - Reorganize as many of them as possible
10. OFFICE SUPPLIES & STATIONERY ORGANIZATION
11. REORGANIZE FOOD PANTRY This is a closet that holds food as well as plant supplies and bathroom supplies and is always crowded
12. REORGANIZE BOOKSHELF IN HALLWAY This holds supplies, not books, and some of the space is wasted, so I'm hoping to move some small bathroom supplies from the closet to this bookshelf right outside the bathroom
13. ELIMINATE PILE IN HALLWAY It consists of things I don't know what to do with so will be difficult
14. ELIMINATE PILE IN PORCH ROOM This consists of extra Christmas cards and other things that accumulated during Christmas card season, so it will be easier to deal with. And, it's in front of a storage dresser so it drives me crazy!
15. GO THROUGH ONE BOX OF BOOKS IN STORAGE AREA I have hopes I can get rid of some of them now that my tastes seem to be changing
16. DATA ENTRY ON BOOK SITE There is a new book site that keeps track of series books, I've been waiting for it to become active for a while and now starts the work of adding all my authors and books
17. COLD STRATIFICATION FOR SEEDS Which is a fancy way of saying that a few of the seeds I bought to plant this spring need to be cold and damp for a while before they will germinate, as though they were outside in the ground. Most gardeners just throw them outside where they want them in the fall and thin them out when they start growing, but I don't do that, I grow them inside under grow lights in smaller numbers. So the alternate method is putting the seeds in damp paper towels in plastic bags in the fridge for the appropriate time, then when planted they will grow because the "think" they've been outside during winter. I need to check my seed packets for the ones that need it, there aren't many--then get them into the fridge so I'll be able to plant them inside at the right time.
18. CLEAN OUT 3 DESKTOP FILES Two of them were cleaned out recently so shouldn't take long, the third will be more time consuming.
19. EAT OR DISCARD OLD FOOD - GOAL 30 days, which is approximately EOD of the challenge It worked well when this was part of a prior challenge but I forgot about it soon after. Old food means anything I haven't eaten recently, so it doesn't have to be ancient--the really old stuff is mostly gone, but since I don't drive I need to keep a larger stock of food in the house and inevitably some of it goes to waste if I don't keep on top of it.
That makes 19 goals, which is a little ridiculous, but I'm going to try my best. And, I resisted adding a 20th goal just so it would be an even number! 
I'll time some of these, and will start at 0 for the ones I'm timing that didn't have a specific time goal last challenge. And I'll try to report every 5 days and see if that works.
Diane
|
|
|
|
Post by jendela on Jan 3, 2023 20:23:36 GMT -5
Happy New Year Diane & phoenixcat, I might join you in this challenge to see if I can make some progress over the next 2 months. It would be good if some of your persistence and focus could rub off on me. I am making a rough draft of tasks to start with but I expect to come back and update my list if this is ok. Starting on Wednesday 4th January. 1. TAKE ONE BAG OF DONATIONS TO OP SHOP. Technically this should be an easy goal except my local op shops often do not accept donations over the January holidays. So I will need to see what the situation is and be ready with a bag to drop at the first opportunity. (I can get frustrated when something that should be simple turns out to have an obstacle so that it becomes unnecessarily complex.) 2. PURCHASE SOME ITEMS THAT WILL MAKE MY LIFE EASIER. I find it easy to buy things I don’t really need, but I can get stuck on buying things that would make life easier. For example, a 2nd pet feeding mat. 3. CREATE AN OFFICE IN A BOX. Just an idea to see if it will work for me. 4. SORT THROUGH OLD FOOD. See what I can use up or donate 5. SEND A PACKAGE TO MY DAD. He loves getting mail, so I need to find something small that I can send to him. 6. START A KNITTING PROJECT FOR A CHARITY. There is plenty of yarn around the house (see item #2) so I need to start using it. 7. DO SOME GARDENING. Specifically dealing with invasive weeds. 8. MAKE BETTER USE OF STORAGE 9. UPDATE NEW CALENDAR & DIARY. Things like reminder to cancel Apple TV, etc 10. 5,000 STEPS EVERY DAY |
|
|
|
Post by desposito on Jan 3, 2023 20:45:41 GMT -5
Jendela! I'm so happy to see you join the challenge!  You have some great goals, and I hope you find posting here helps you as much as it does me.
Diane
|
|
|
|
Post by catcats on Jan 3, 2023 22:37:25 GMT -5
Hi ! I may alter some of these within a few days, but here is my initial list. 1---Revisit my goal of reorganizing my DR desk. Parts of it are already done. 2---Reorganize my den desk, with computer on it. 3---Filing---File all loose papers in my filing cabinet in my BR, and toss whatever can be tossed. 4---Kitchen---Pack away some of things in cabinets and/or donate things not needed,, as cabinets are too overloaded. Wipe out what I can reach. 5---Get things off floor and under bed so I can begin to use new Roomba, as yet unnamed. 6---Toss a few pieces of clothing or donate some. First, I will have to pack away neatly all of the Christmas decor, starting tomorrow. I wish all who participate in this much good luck in doing what you plan to do. That includes me,  . catcats |
|
|
|
Post by ClimbingPyramids on Jan 3, 2023 22:48:44 GMT -5
First goal(s):
1) Priority: Need to open the space in the basement toward the washer/dryer. This will involve going through clothes to keep or donate. I have way too many sheets. Also, unmatched socks is an ongoing issue with me; DH and others want to throw them away. I just can't do it (see my post yesterday).
2) Try to sell home decor and other items on f.b. marketplace or elsewhere. If anyone has ideas about where to do so, please let me know!
3) Over 30 years ago a friend said, "you have a paper problem." It was so simple, but so profound a statement. I need to go through boxes of work-related paper, old mail, etc.
|
|
|
|
Post by imamess on Jan 4, 2023 14:01:58 GMT -5
I think I will join.
1. Dust all furniture in every room plus around ceilings and baseboards.
2. Mop all floors at least once in January and once in February.
3. Reorganize right side of closet in Project Room. This involves removing everything from shelves, removing shelves, installing pegboard and already purchased (not put together) set of shelves that will hopefully make things easier to find and put away.
4. Gather all small sentimental items and papers in the house and pare down to 1 box only.
|
|
madmogs
New Member
Joined: March 2016
Posts: 61
|
Post by madmogs on Jan 5, 2023 17:00:05 GMT -5
So I haven't posted on here since forever, but I might as well get back into being a functional human again
1. Finish building my desk so that I actually have somewhere to do my day job
2. Go through bags of misc junk and find homes for things
3. Rehouse CDs and DVDs
4. Book that ADHD assessment finally!
|
|
|
|
Post by desposito on Jan 5, 2023 20:34:44 GMT -5
Hello catcats, CP, ima and mm! I'm so glad to see you all here!
I've done a few small things towards my goals, and if I report after 5 days as I said I would, that would be tomorrow night. I'm enjoying having lots of choices of goals, I won't get bored!
Diane
|
|
|
|
Post by imamess on Jan 6, 2023 6:20:11 GMT -5
Goal 1 - Dusting
Yesterday: 3 shelves of bookcase, secretary that tv is on, console table and secretary in hall
|
|
|
|
Post by desposito on Jan 6, 2023 18:33:29 GMT -5
Ima, dusting is one of my most hated cleaning tasks so I admire you for getting some of it done!
I'm going to report tonight and try to stick to an every 5 day report schedule.
So far I have done 20 minutes in the basement, 10 on office supplies, 10 on my food pantry, 10 on the hallway bookcase, 30 on sorting out a box of books (which resulted in 3 trading books posted) and 10 on book data. I also did 1 day of eating old food and organized 5 kitchen drawers--only one was messy, the rest were fairly organized already so just needed a quick look.
1. CLOTHING--get ready for winter, alter a couple of things GOAL 40 minutes remaining from last challenge
2. CLEANING--other than routine things GOAL 3 hours and 10 minutes remaining from last challenge
3. BASEMENT GOAL 1 hour remaining from last challenge.
4. FRIDGE CLEANING
5. PLANT ROOM CLEANING
6. POST MORE BOOKS FOR TRADING 3 books posted out of a GOAL of 10
7. READ BOOKS FROM MY OWN STASH GOAL 2
8. PLANT CUTTINGS GOAL
9. ENCLOSED SPACES 5 1st floor kitchen drawers done
10. OFFICE SUPPLIES & STATIONERY ORGANIZATION 10 minutes done
11. REORGANIZE FOOD PANTRY 10 minutes done
12. REORGANIZE BOOKSHELF IN HALLWAY 10 minutes done
13. ELIMINATE PILE IN HALLWAY
14. ELIMINATE PILE IN PORCH ROOM
15. GO THROUGH ONE BOX OF BOOKS IN STORAGE AREA 30 minutes done
16. DATA ENTRY ON BOOK SITE 10 minutes done
17. COLD STRATIFICATION FOR SEEDS
18. CLEAN OUT 3 DESKTOP FILES
19. EAT OR DISCARD OLD FOOD - 1 day out of a GOAL of 30
Diane
|
|
|
|
Post by catcats on Jan 6, 2023 22:58:35 GMT -5
Today I took down and packed away every ornament from the Christmas tree. I take longer than most people to do this job every year because most of the ornaments get put into small sandwich bags with notes in them, saying who gave them to me or who made them , etc. Then the bags go into the box with dividers. This was part of my goal list because I don't want to start anything else until Christmas is packed away.
catcats
|
|
