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Post by desposito on Feb 1, 2024 9:45:42 GMT -5
New month, new (and old) goals!
Twenty-nine days to get things done!
Good luck, everyone!
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Post by bree on Feb 1, 2024 10:23:01 GMT -5
Hi Diane
my goals for this challenge: fix mistake on tax return 2022 complete tax return 2023
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Post by phoenixcat on Feb 1, 2024 10:33:37 GMT -5
Mainly just two specific goals for February which are both time intensive and break down into many tiny parts. 1) Get the home office/library to normal/regular use. Right now it has goat paths - unused furniture, unused electronics and paper, paper, paper everywhere. Not even an uncovered chair to sit on. The offshoot of this will be relocation of a lot of furniture, a lot of electronics and a lot of donation, trash, recycling, e-waste recycling out of the house. 2) Get all the tax material - office, personal and DM's trust to the various accountants. And, here we go............ Have a great February everyone! PC
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messmallo
New Member
Joined: August 2008
Posts: 39
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Post by messmallo on Feb 1, 2024 13:05:28 GMT -5
I retired last year and my goal was to declutter my home. Didn't happen. Getting a serious start now. February will be my month to start this for real. Embarrassed to have people in. At my age I should not live like this. Threw a bunch of empty boxes out so far today that were piled in my dining room.
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Post by desposito on Feb 1, 2024 13:57:59 GMT -5
Hi messmallo, I like your name! Can you break down your large goal into small ones? That helps you feel like you're accomplishing something and gives you motivation to continue. Do you have a lot of things in your home that just need to be thrown away? Or do you just have too much stuff you're attached to?
Phoenixcat, yes, each of your goals sounds like they involve a lot of work!
Bree, my decluttering client just told me yesterday that she thinks she made a mistake on last year's taxes and she might be owed a refund if only she could bring herself to investigate. How do you know you made a mistake, did the IRS notify you or did you just realize it yourself?
I'm still trying to make my list of goals shorter, but they all seem important. I will just go ahead with a long list since I haven't been finishing them anyway, this gives me lots of things to work on depending on my mood.
Diane
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Post by desposito on Feb 1, 2024 18:38:04 GMT -5
I'm keeping to 13 goals, for no other reason than I think I like the number 13!
I'm deleting the plant room cleaning goal because I made progress on the important parts in January--I cleaned off the work table and I mostly cleaned and organized the floor--I haven't cleaned off the plant tables but that's less important so I will probably just add this goal back in next month since it has to be constantly redone anyway.
I'm also deleting cleaning off the plant table in the dining room because a big part of that was moving the table and putting insulating tape on the windows behind, and I managed to put tape up on two of the three windows, and now the coldest month of winter is over anyway. The table still needs to be cleaned off, but it's not at all urgent.
I'm adding a clean out underneath the upstairs kitchen sink--I've just been throwing things in there and now it's a huge mess and I can't find anything that I need.
I'm also adding a goal for the end of the month--putting up the extra table and the extra grow-light in the living room downstairs, so that in March I can start growing seeds. I would wait until March, except that when I went to look at Amazon for the grow light, they have a newer model of the one I like, and I don't like the newer model! It took me a while to find the old model still for sale, so I figured I'd better buy it now in case I can't find it in March. It's going to be delivered tomorrow, which means I have to put it together and make sure it works before the 30 day period to return it is over. So, if I do it a week before the month ends I'll still have time if something is wrong and I have to return it. Yes it's a little weird to have a table with grow lights in my living room, but I don't use many of my rooms the way people traditionally do, so why not have a grow light table in my living room? I'm hoping to only need it through May or June, so it won't be there forever anyway. My plant goal this time is to do 8 things, since I can't remember how many cuttings I still need to take or repot, so a total of 8 all together.
And I have everything I need to finish my taxes now, so they should be done long before the end of the month!
So:
1-Get back to baseline every day 2-Clean underneath upstairs kitchen sink
3-Finish taxes
4-Make one crockpot dish 5-Work on second book box
6-File everything in my desk "to file" basket 7-Plant goal (total of 8 plants)
8-Continue refrigerating seeds that need cold stratification 9-Christmas card organizing and storing 10-Password project - 60 minutes 11-Old paper - 60 minutes 12-Book Data Entry - 60 minute 13-Set up new plant table and grow light in living room by 2/25
Diane
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Post by def6 on Feb 1, 2024 21:04:23 GMT -5
Thank you Diane for challenging us in February! PS It must be a leap year I was worried about "missing out"on 2024 or it being "half over" before I even realized it so I took last month to Spring Clean early. So for the month of February (and we have an extra day) I will maintain what I have done and keep the laundry done. Also add little 5 minute jobs that I know I have overlooked.
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Post by desposito on Feb 2, 2024 13:44:55 GMT -5
Hello def!
I was worried about "missing out"on 2024 or it being "half over" before I even realized
Yes, that is usually what happens to me! That's why I gave up the idea of taping the windows, suddenly the cold weather is mostly over. Of course, insulating windows is good during air conditioning weather too, so I will eventually get back to it.
You were so wise to get a head start!
Diane
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Post by catcats on Feb 2, 2024 23:17:39 GMT -5
I will again try to clean and organize under the kitchen sink. This will be difficult as it is a deep , diagonal sink. I will take some stuff from oven and find a better place for it. Maybe I will weed that little bit in back yard.
I might try to re-organize Christmas things in the attic---1/2 hour x2.
catcats
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Post by mylittlescholar on Feb 3, 2024 17:38:51 GMT -5
Hi everypony, I will be building my list. It worked well last month, so I'll try it again.
META GOAL: set up at least the first draft of my systems
ART/SOCIAL: prep for Valentine Card making gatherings - take pics of cards
- send w/ RSVP request--maybe three people?
- assess card making supplies
- get more?
- finish putting away stuff in LR/finding homes
- set up tables
- lay out and rep supplies
- look for templates and print them out
collect addresses research hand-stamp fee sign, address, stamp,
take to PO
do four weeks of art homework
KITCHEN: research and purchase a large cabinet for big pots and appliances (this means trips with the RV to other towns)
reorganize the countertop set up new blender for spring smoothies and soups research getting the vintage chairs reupholstered (I'd rather not do it myself, but it's probably prohibitively expensive) reorganize the glass jars create a mini office basket integrate inventory and shopping lists
OFFICE: hang calendar
organize 14"x14" cabinet - empty everything out
- create seven categories
- label drawers
- puzzle things in
- put drawers back
- clean half a dozen 12x12 bins
- sort scrapbooking materials into them
- label them
- store them on top shelves
buy hangers hang art create an inbox create a scrapbook catch-all create a receipt catch-all retrieve shredder? process paperwork: four sessions 15+ minutes each
FINANCES: make appt to switch to credit union open a new account put my savings to work ask about financing a car
update all of my automatic payments with new info
make appt for help with 2023 tax form got number to call call with my question
locate relevant documents download 2024 tax form (or online?) set up spreadsheet record spending update long term cash flow determine how much I can spend on a new vehicle
NUTRITION: display weekly goals complete inventory and shopping list system
review meds for heartburn (looking at you, metformin)
FITNESS: set up resistance band station go for four walks try yoga once to see if I can add it back in do knee exercises as close to daily as I can muster
ORGANIZATION: work on the BBQ/laundry room: - create home for organizing supplies
- sort jars between backstock and current
- contemplate shelves
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Post by catcats on Feb 7, 2024 0:00:50 GMT -5
Today I cleared out under the kitchen sink, dusted it all out, and replaced the cleaning supplies, etc. in clean clear bins. It was physically way too much to do in one day, but I did it and I am so glad it is over.
catcats
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Post by maryinaz on Feb 7, 2024 8:42:27 GMT -5
I was worried about "missing out"on 2024 or it being "half over" before I even realized it so I took last month to Spring Clean early. So for the month of February (and we have an extra day) I will maintain what I have done and keep the laundry done. Also add little 5 minute jobs that I know I have overlooked. I thought that was only me! I think I must have what Dana K. White calls "time passage disorder". Like it was just Spring, how can Christmas be next week.... OMG How is it almost Valentines! My major goals at the moment are to just keep going, one foot in front of the other, anything I do is forward progress even if it doesn't look like I did anything at all. There is just too much to do around here.... But for this month I want to try and do at least one 15 min declutter session a day. I'll get in a good number of them over the next few days because it's raining like crazy and then when it clears off I'll need to get busy on garden stuff outside.
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Post by maryinaz on Feb 7, 2024 21:44:03 GMT -5
pretty pleased with myself today; I did about an hour and fortyfive min of declutter / cleaning today. One session in the bathroom, two in my bedroom and the rest in the LR and entry. I only got that much done because it rained all day so I didn't do any outside stuff. catcats great job getting under the sink done! That is sometimes a dark and scary place to crawl into. Glad you made it out safely!
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Post by desposito on Feb 8, 2024 19:25:09 GMT -5
Hello catcats and scholar!
Welcome mary, it sounds like you got a great start with taking advantage of your rainy day! You are right, we have to keep putting one foot in front of the other no matter what's going on or we will never get anywhere.
Today is reporting day, I finished 2 goals this week, cleaning under the sink and my taxes--even though in the end I decided to wait to send in my state tax payment until next month. Everything else is done though, so I'm counting it as done.
I also did 40 minutes on book site data entry, 10 minutes on filing and 10 minutes on old paper. I did well on baseline until yesterday because it was a shopping day which disrupts everything, but I'm back to it tonight.
1-Get back to baseline every day - all but one day this week
2-Clean underneath upstairs kitchen sink - this project is DONE!
3-Finish taxes - this project is DONE!
4-Make one crockpot dish 5-Work on second book box
6-File everything in my desk "to file" basket - 10 minutes done
7-Plant goal (total of 8 plants)
8-Continue refrigerating seeds that need cold stratification 9-Christmas card organizing and storing 10-Password project - 60 minutes 11-Old paper - 60 minutes - 10 minutes done
12-Book Data Entry - 60 minute - 40 minutes done
13-Set up new plant table and grow light in living room by 2/25
Diane
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Post by maryinaz on Feb 8, 2024 23:04:04 GMT -5
desposito you got so much done! Good for you! Well it was bedtime and I wasn't super ready to go to bed and realized I had not done any 15 min today because I worked my part time job. I was going to skip it but then I decided I ought to do it anyway, it's just 15 min. Well I did it. Just putzed around in a corner of the LR, threw some stuff away, found some books to give away, poked at some piles just to see what's in there. Didn't make a huge impact but some stuff is going away and I did it so yay for me. Now it's really past bedtime.
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