For those who don’t know, our clothes dryer conked out a little over a week ago, and it has been a crazy experience getting a new one! The old dryer had been purchased by the previous owners of our house in 1970, so it definitely had lived a full life. We measured it carefully before going out to buy a new one, but neglected to take into account the fact that the kitchen had been remodeled sometime in the 1980s.
It turns out the space between the edge of the wall oven and the edge of the counter on the other wall is now just over 27″, and the first dryer we purchased was 29″ wide. While it wasn’t quite that deep, it was still was over 27″ in that direction as well, and so back to the store it (and we) went. The new dryer is coming this afternoon, so as long as all goes well, the laundry marathon can commence!
Daily Priorities
- Follow morning routine each day.
- Declutter something every day.
- Stay on top of my afternoon/evening routines so dinner is done and cleaned up in time to get Michael in bed by 8:30.
- Spend some time decompressing (i.e. blogging or reading) once Michael is asleep.
- Go to bed at a decent hour myself so I am not too tired the next day.
Things to Do
- Catch up on all the laundry.
- Send in registration for TOPSoccer.
- Do homework for IEP workshop.
- Email school about Michael’s re-eval and about anxiety/headache from missing his break.
- Check ASD HOPE voice mail at least every other day.
- Figure out budget for February.
What’s on your to-do list?
To-Do Tuesday was started by Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting for the purpose of attacking our to-do lists each week, blogging about our lists and what we’ve got going on, and sharing it with each other to help keep each other accountable.
I can hardly believe the first month of 2010 is already over! I have definitely decluttered more than 31 things, although I am still working on the daily part of the challenge. 
Some of the stuff I got rid of this week:
- Two organizer units that fit over a toilet, both of which were stored under the basement stairs even though I knew we would likely never use them
- All the empty boxes from the Wii games and controllers we got at Christmas, which had been piled up against the kitchen wall but somehow never broken down for the recycling can
- Several old tops that were either too big or too small and were just taking up space in my closet, found as I searched for something to wear since I can’t do laundry right now
- A few other odds and ends from the basement that needed to be either thrown out or passed on to someone else
My back porch has quite a few things on it now, so my goal this week is to post them on Freecycle and move them out as soon as possible. I am also looking forward to decluttering our old clothes dryer and being able to do laundry again very soon!
If you’re looking for some inspiration to get organized, here are a few posts I would recommend:
How is everyone else doing with their own goals for 2010??
Over the last few days, I have been frustrated each time I think I’ll have some time to sit down and blog. I have missed posting the last few days and had a number of things I wanted to share, but it has just not worked out for me to take the time to do it.
I guess this is where I am having trouble accepting the limits I talked about the other day. Especially when it’s something I really want to do!
So, I’m stealing a few minutes to jot down a few updates:
- Although I have decluttered more than 7 things in the past week, I have to admit it was all in one day and I really got off track the rest of the week. So my nightstand shelf is usable again, but that’s about it. Tomorrow is a new day and I’m going to pick up right where I left off.
- On that note, Suzanne at 365 Days of Decluttering has decided to create new monthly challenges this year, and she posted her first one on the 22nd. The basic challenge is to focus on the room you see when you enter your home and find one thing each day to declutter in that room. Visit her to read more about it.
- Our clothes dryer seems to have died. Although it still get hots, the drum no longer turns. It might be worth trying to fix if either of us was handy enough to do it, but we’re not. Since the machine was originally purchased (by the previous owners of our home) in September 1970, I’m afraid that if we pay someone to come and fix it, something else might just go wrong next week. So right now I have Michael’s halfway dry clothes draped over all the available chairs, and we need to decide if we are shopping for a repairman or a new dryer.
- I am meeting with Michael’s psychologist tomorrow morning to discuss a couple of issues we have been having plus ask her advice about what testing to look for in his school re-evaluation, which is due this year.
So that’s what is going on in my world, and now I’m going to watch the rest of Worst Cooks in America and then go to bed. Night all!
I did much better this week by just focusing on the main things that need to happen every day. I finally saw our new dentist and am SOOOOOO much happier with them than our previous place. I was also pleased to hear that he will be happy to continue referring Michael to the pediatric dentist with special needs experience. He just wants to meet Michael and then will give us the form.
I also finally took the time to call the water company about why our bill has been increasing, and the representative I spoke to said that usually that means a toilet is running. She suggested I use food coloring in the tank to check in (by not flushing and waiting to see if the color gets into the bowl). Sure enough, the toilet in the basement, which we hardly ever use, was the culprit. Boy, I sure wish I had taken care of that a month ago!!
So for this week, I am going to just commit to the basics again and handle whatever else pops up as it comes.
Daily Priorities
- Follow morning routine each day.
- Declutter something every day.
- Stay on top of my afternoon/evening routines so dinner is done and cleaned up in time to get Michael in bed by 8:30.
- Spend some time decompressing (i.e. blogging or reading) once Michael is asleep.
- Go to bed at a decent hour myself so I am not too tired the next day.
How is your week looking?
To-Do Tuesday was started by Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting for the purpose of attacking our to-do lists each week, blogging about our lists and what we’ve got going on, and sharing it with each other to help keep each other accountable.
This past week has turned out to be pretty good for me on the decluttering front. I’m only committed to getting rid of one thing each day, so anything more than that is a bonus – and there have been a lot of bonuses this week!
Michael and I went through and organized his toys, getting rid of some that he no longer plays with or that were broken. I also tackled the bathroom cabinet and linen closet, removing all the empty and expired stuff that was just taking up space.
Some other casualties were a unneeded piece that had broken off a small clock in the living room but has just been sitting on the shelf for several weeks and a bunch of empty juice boxes and food wrappers from the backseat of my car.
The biggest project of all was the file box with every piece of paper that has come home from school since the beginning of the year – I went through and found all the items that were important or sentimental and got rid of the rest. The rest of the household papers that I am keeping went downstairs to be filed in the cabinet – hopefully I will get to that next week. At least it’s out of the dining area now. 
I recently came across an article on Small Notebook about what motivates or inspires us to declutter. The author shares her top 5 reasons for decluttering, starting with a sense of calm.
I can certainly relate to that as I love the feeling of sitting down in a room that is peaceful and organized. I also love the feeling of being able to find what you need and do the things you want to do without having to clear off a space first!
What motivates you to declutter?
I have been feeling stretched in many directions lately, on just about every front. Even at work, I am dealing with a variety of tasks coming in from several sources and getting to know a new boss who works out of a different office than I do.
Since I am focusing on decluttering this year, I thought I would extend that concept to my to do list. I have never felt like I really got into a good daily routine since last summer, so I have decided it’s time to pare the list down to the basics.
Daily Priorities
- Follow morning routine each day.
- Declutter something every day.
- Stay on top of my afternoon/evening routines so dinner is done and cleaned up in time to get Michael in bed by 8:30.
- Spend some time decompressing (i.e. blogging or reading) once Michael is asleep.
- Go to bed at a decent hour myself. For now, I’m going to shoot for 11:00.
I have done pretty well with this the last two days, and the whole family has been less stressed out. Honestly, I know my stress has more to do with my own mental state than anything else. There are times when things are totally unorganized and I am still relaxed, and there other other times that no amount of structure helps me feel okay.
On the topic of getting enough sleep, I read a fascinating blog post over at Small Notebook called Conversion Experience: How a Night Owl Became an Early Bird and Liked It and was glad to hear that I’m not the only one who struggles with going to bed at a decent hour. I have been staying up later and later over the last couple of years but am not sure that’s the best thing for me, even if I can sleep in a little later than most people.
So what are your daily priorities? And are you a night owl or an early bird?
To-Do Tuesday was started by Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting for the purpose of attacking our to-do lists each week, blogging about our lists and what we’ve got going on, and sharing it with each other to help keep each other accountable.
Well, it has been one week since the 365 Days of Decluttering Challenge started, and I’m loving it! If you missed my earlier post and have no idea what I am talking about, the basic idea of the challenge is “to donate, sell or toss one unused item from your home every day for a year.” For more details, you can check out the intro post and the first day post.
Focus Challenge Update
Each month, there will be a focus challenge to help us stay motivated – or to restart us if we lose momentum. For the first month, the challenge was to identify specify areas in our homes that bother us and then to focus our decluttering efforts on those areas for the first week of the month.
I have so many trouble spots that it’s hard to narrow them down. The various flat surfaces like the side table and hutch seem to attract the most papers and other items that don’t belong on them, however, and since they are what people see first when they come into my house, that’s mainly where I looked this week for items that could go.
Here are a few of the items I’ve decluttered:
- Old books from Michael’s bookshelf
- The envelopes from the Christmas cards we received – after I updated any new address info in my files.
- Magazines from November and December (the two subscriptions we have should be ending soon, thus ending that clutter permanently)
- A package of emery boards that was in my Christmas stocking (anyone who has seen the state of my fingernails knows I will never use them!)
- The remnants of my last two stamping projects (I also organized this area and was actually able to sit down and make some cards again!)
- Two sweatshirts that were way past the point of being comfortable
So, How Are You Doing?
If you left a comment before joining in, have you been able to part with some things over the last week? Do you feel good about getting rid of something every day, or does it still seem like too little?
For anyone who hasn’t been doing this and wants to, you can start at any time. There’s nothing more special about any one day, so just jump in whenever you want!
I’d love to be able to celebrate with and encourage each other in this. If you’re participating and have posted about the challenge (or post about it sometime in the next week), please link your post to the inlinkz list below. Whether you’ve posted or not, leave a comment and let me know how it’s going!
This challenge was inspired by Suzanne Sergis at 365 Days of Decluttering Challenge and Taking Care of You. The concept and the monthly focus challenges are being used with her permission. If you use the badge, please link it to her intro post.
