Oh, February!

February is quite the month.  I'm not going to get in to all the jazz which has made the first 15 days of February fly (and somehow drag) by.  All that I can tell you for sure is that I'm looking forward to March.  And I'm also thinking March may bring with it my return to facebook.  I haven't decided for sure yet.  And honestly, after this much time away I find myself a bit nervous at going back.  I wonder if all that information will overwhelm me.  I will return though.  I do miss it.  For all of it's drama, it actually is a great form of staying in touch with so many.

As for me and my challenge; it's going quite well!  I find myself ready to purge more items than I'd imagined I would.  Now the thought of 10 towels seems excessive.  I have one person, me, and only one bathroom.  All I need are a few towels for me and a guest.  That's it.  Time to purge!  Yet I find myself waiting.  Focusing on towels is an afterthought to the stacks of mess I still have.  One thing at a time, Woman!

Valentine's Day found me offline for a day.  Unplugged from the world around me.  It was lovely.  I tackled laundry, some minor errands, and dog-sitting for one of my favorite couples.  Just a low-key day where *most* singles would whine and mope, and possibly toss on Bridget Jone's Diary, I just had a normal, relaxed, day. 

Actually, wait no, I spiced it up just a little.

Three or four years ago I bought this:

It's a self-adhesive jewelry organizer for earrings, rings, necklaces and bracelets.  The reason I bought it was because FINALLY I'd found one that held studs and not just hanging earrings!  I was so excited.  I organized all of my jewelry on the walls of my bedroom and absolutely loved it.  Until my tiny kitten started growing.  My mutt of a kitten turned out to be part Maine Coon.  Maine Coon's are one of the largest breed of cats, and also one of the smartest.  That growing boy began to stretch up and find great joy in knocking all of my jewelry off.  This is why we can't have nice things.

 

They were awesome for a few months but now they needed to be taken down and thrown away.

 

Funny thing was, the instructions failed to relay to the consumer (read:me) that when you remove them, they will rip down your wall.  Okay, not the entire wall but a huge portion of the paint came off with them.  All the way down to the drywall.  Awesome.

 

Now, Valentine's Day like four years later, I decided to repair the four giant holes in my paint.  With drywall tape, putty, a spackling knife and a razor blade I patched up the holes in my wall with pink filler that dries white.  It was glorious.  How romantic.

 

 

 

Even though I looked like a hot mess, I got the job done.  It felt so rewarding to get that checked off the list.  So rewarding in fact that the next day I sanded and painted the wall a new color.  Now I need to do the other three walls.  How long will that take?  Heh heh heh.



The List

On the back of my front door there is a dry erase board.  And on that board I write my to-do lists.  Currently, the board says:

My task, tomorrow, is to go through the entire bathroom and kitchen, and purge.  Throw out any expired items or items I am not using.  Organize spices, baking items and canned goods.  Check the baskets of onions to toss out the ones with new growth. Wash and put dishes away.  And if, IF, there is time, clean.

The biggest distraction that I face in life is myself.  I am artistic by nature and can allow that to make me A.D.D. at times.  I can make a goal of cleaning out the pantry, but notice that their is dust on the curtains.  All of the sudden I am taking down every curtain in my house and washing it.  Well, if I'm doing laundry now, I might as well change my bedding and wash that too!  While doing that I notice that my TVs are dusty, so I clean them.  And suddenly every hour of the day has slipped from my grasp and I am left with...a pantry so full that I have jars and boxes on the counter and elsewhere.  Looking in from the outside, not a thing in the house looks different.  Yet I'm exhausted and forced to wait for another weekend to face down the beast.

Not this weekend.  I need to stick to my guns.  And if that means that not one cleaning product is used this weekend...I will live, hopefully.  I love cleaning.  This is a challenge to me.  But it is time.

Let's DO this!