A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2005 You Must Be Contagious!

Ok, so I know I'm feeling better these days, better than I have felt in four years. So I've been avidly reading all your posts concerning your ambitious projects both inside and outside your homes, including the traveling project of Miss Bess.

Today I started the big clean-up and reorganization of the dining room and Max's play area. The apt remodel isn't going to happen and I can't stand things the way they are and neither can the kid. He made a big effort over the last two weeks to pick up his stuff and get rid of junk and now that he'll be away for the next week, I'm taking over the job.

I unearthed some long lost CD's, cranked up the volume because the lawyers aren't here on Sunday, and got myself started.

You guys are contagious! Thanks!

Merme

I'm mentally sending you all the energy I can. That's a chore, but it feels so good once it is done.

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Keep on Truckin' Merme

You'll get it all done Merme!! It always makes me feel proud when I really clean this place up in the spring--it's usually a lot of hard work........Hopefully you have a pretty easy time getting it all done.....

And there's no better way to clean than cranking up the music!!!!

Why does it seem like I always make a new mess cleaning up an old one?

Yes, I needed to tackle the big wall unit bookcase, and yes, the "Found" space will be wonderfully useful now that I've mostly emptied the thing from unneeded stuff that had gotten stashed in it, but GEEZ OH PETE! ya should see the temporary stacks of things I need to relocate. It makes me wince.

But still, I'm glad I did it and Maxi will be glad too when he gets home and finds a cool space to store his board games all set up.

Merme

I used to have a friend who had house cleaning down pat. I was always amazed that she didn't make a mess when she cleaned one up. I watched for years before I finally figured out the secret. She never let one develope. lol She would whip through the kitchen after cooking with a soapy rag and get everything including the cabinets. When she whizzed through a room all the little things that would get left out would be grabbed up and put away. It was amazing. At my place that always seemed to much trouble. But after watching her I started to try to get in the habit of doing the same thing. It helps, it helps alot. She even managed to keep her arts and crafts picked up. Pam had two things going for her that most of us don't. She didn't have any children and she had oddles of energy. But even though I can't reach her level the technique works to a lesser degree for me.

Wish I had sme ENERGY to send you Merme...but I am pooped. My biggest problem is that when gardening time hits, I have to let something "go" undone...to get something outside accomplished. SO...neddless to say, I have been working like crazy outside all of last week...from daylight to dark and now everything in the house is a MESS! I use to be able to get some of the inside stuff done at night since I don't sleep much..but Hubby has been having to bunk on the couch since his surgery...he can't lay on the bed...so now I am very limited as to not have lights on..and make noise that will wake him. And, having the whole yard thing to do all by myself this year has been a load...sure did help when hubby could do the mowing, trimming etc....I'm pooped! :rolleyes:

Raising my cup of tea to you Merme... or my ice tea- yes it is actually 80* here today.... nice and warm - even have shorts on... you will feel so much better with things reorganized- wish I could get there to help you- I am doing it at DD2's right now- working on gettin all her stuff organized and in places they are actually needed -course my house is a mess cause I am to tired to clean it now--- but there is always tomorrow...LOL

Merme, you inspire me. You are such a sweet person about all your disappointments in everything. You always make the best out of what life gives you and you always come bouncing back. Thanks for being you.

I need to start my spring cleaning, but with spring here, I find myself out in the gardens (or what I want to be gardens). I have always been the type person that would rather do yard work than house work. I guess I need to get started pretty soon, though, with the wedding coming up. Makes me wish sometimes that we were going to do it somewhere else, but I love this little piece of land more than anywhere and it will feel like we are being married in Heaven.

Dianna

Thanks so much for your kind remarks, Dianna....

Sometimes, though, I feel a little half crazy now and then.

Before I got sick, I used to keep my home immaculately clean using a very handy system of 3x5 cards itemizing tasks on a routine basis, with each completed task filed in the appropriate calendar slot for "next time".

You know how it is -- you get busy with work, with the house, with the yard, with church, with charity, with extended family, with creativity, with travels -- it seems to never stop and having a good organization plan can be vital for survival.

An orderly home was important to me, particularly when Maxi was small, perhaps more important than how finely appointed it may or may not have been or even where we were located at the time.

So living in this chaos which makes me think maybe a hurricane blew through here while I was sleeping and maybe it should be declared a national disaster area has conjured up tense and annoyed feelings.

So now that I'm feeling better, it is time to get back in control again.

Feeling strong enough and well enough to tackle it is a blessing in of itself because it is a space I haven't been in for a few years now, so it feels GOOD!

The way this forum is so supportive keeps me moving forward, truth to tell.



Merme

Merme, I love your card idea...I live by "lists". The only problem with it is I start on my list and then find something else needs to be done and tackle it and so on. At the end of the day...I have gotten things done...BUT NOT WHAT WAS ON THE STINKIN LIST!!!!! So, I sit down and re-do the list and start over....it is pretty comical at times!

I have a small notepad that I keep in my purse. All of my lists are kept in it,oddball stuff to finish the kids rooms,household maintenance stuff,kids and hubbys sizes,etc. My family lovingly calls it "Moms Brain"

Last week I got an early start and pulled down all of the curtains in the house,I really meant to wash them but...then I remembered I needed to water the yard,while turning on the sprinkler I noticed some roses needed trimming,oops...the birdfeeders need filling,oh and theres the bulbs I needed to put in,oh goody goody theres some babies coming up,better move them,etc,etc,etc :rolleyes: Needless to say when my Hubby got home there were NO curtains on the windows

Yep.....


....becomming a man.

If we didn't count our "good intentions" we might not have anything to count

G-Mom

now tk do you really think that becoming a man would better you. take it from one who is willing to admit that if it wasn't for the females in my life i would be NOWHERE and i mean NOWHERE. i may not have the normal brain activity of a man (thank the goddess) but at times it comes out and i think wwmd (what would mum do )

Better? hahahaha

You see men get a list and make a joke about "honey do" and go fishing. And feel they are being put upon.

A woman on the other hand gets a verbal list from him, his mom, the kids, the kids teachers, the PTA, the chaplain and now her boss. She never says a word just manages to get most of it done and dinner on the table too. And she wonders why the things on her list just seem to get left undone.

G-mom & Vanessa, that's EXACTLY why I used my handy, color-coded 3x5 card system.

Weekly tasks were yellow, every-other-week were pink, monthly were blue, every six months were green, etc. Daily were ordinary white.

When a task was pulled out of the calender slot and accomplished, it would be filed away in the next time frame for it -- the next month or week or whathaveyou.

And because I knew my whole house was on a schedule, I didn't panic if I thought of something that needed doing. It wouldn't distract me from the task at hand because I knew that waiting chore already had it's day assigned to it and it would be taken care of in due order.

I also used my card file for storage information and a whole host of other really useful things.

If I packed a box for storage, I'd put a number on the box and make up a card for it. The card would get the same number and have a list of the contents of the box on it. So when I wondered where I'd put Aunt Betty's tea set or the tiny camping gear, I'd just flip through the cards. THAT saved me oodles of time and aggravation -- never having to hand search for something!

I promise you, I was so SO busy in those days, careful organization was a key not just to getting everything needful done, but providing me peace of mind and guaranteeing I had time for fun.

If I finished my cards for the day, I didn't care if I had an entire empty afternoon ahead -- that was my free time I could use however I wanted. The next days cards were waiting for the next day.

I love that guilt-free, stress-free time to play in the garden, lay in the sun or to go fool around with friends.

So I'm thinking once I get this place organized, I might devise a simple card system for Maxi and teach him how to do it, too.

Merme

Has anyone else here been tuned in to FlyLady.net? I know a couple have, but she has a really super website with ways to train yourself into organized habits by using "baby steps". I've been doing this since around Easter, and my house is looking pretty darn good!

FlyLady.net

Merme, you are the QUEEN of skill & organization! I admire you & your knowledge so much...I now walk around and say..."When I grow up, I want to be just like Merme!"
I think that would be a wonderful thing for Maxi....(and Peanut in a few years)

Merme, what a terrific idea! now, I have something concrete to work on with the family. And a “carrot vs a stick” to use with them. Just wait, they will either hate me or love me one!!!! (or both )

If anyone is thinking of trying this system, these are the supplies you'll need:

A file box for 3x5 cards

3x5 cards in an assortment of colors OR plain white cards plus colored stickers to go on top

divider cards with the months of the year on the tabs

divider cards with numbers to 31 on the tabs

divider cards with tabs you fill in for preferences.

Set up your box with the current month in the front, and the next month immediately behind it, and so on through the year, so that the previous month is the last month in the row.

Next add in your number cards, starting with the current date in front, then to the end of the month. So if you begin your box on May 5th, May 5th would be your first card, then the months would be consecutive after that with June next, then July, and so on, until April was at the end. The 1,2,3,4 cards would be filed in June.

Next, divide up your chores according to how often you want to do them, making a card for each chore, using the color code of your choice. You can even include directions if other people will be using your cards or if there is something special you want to add to the task.

Then, start filing your chores by day, week, month. So that if it is a six month chore such as defrosting the chest freezer and you do it in April, when the task is complete, you file it away for October. A weekly chore just moves ahead to the next week.

As the days pass, you move the number cards to the next month.

If your box is big enough, behind the rotating calendar cards you can place your other divider cards. I used dividers for STORAGE, CLOTHES SIZES, SPECIAL OCCASION IDEAS, DOCTOR'S, etc.

You can also make up a Birthday/Annaversary list card for each month, recording the name and date of each person whose birthday will come in that month and file it in the front of that months section. NO MORE FORGOTTEN BIRTHDAYS!

It is also a handy place to toss those appointment cards we all get and then forget where we put them. We KNOW we made an appointment for six months from the last time, but what date and time? Just put the card in the correct month and you'll see it as it approaches.

And I'll confess here that I was a bit of a pain when it came to being a hostess. I made up cards concerning my guests and kept them in a separate section. On the cards I listed handy info such as food allergies or "HATES spaghetti, loves elbow macaroni" or DECAF TEA only, or DIET SODA. Then when I invited people and was planning the menu, I would be sure not to include peanuts in the main course dish for the person with the allergies or have that decaf drink on hand.

I think Maxi is going to like the simplified box I am going to make for him. I am thinking of including Reward cards as well that he will come across as he moves through the month, like small surprises tucked into his work.

Merme

Ok, so this was a cute poem that was forwarded to me, via a pogo friend.. thought I'd share. (Pogo is an online game site, with lots of varieties of games.. card, board, arcade, etc..)

I asked the Lord to tell me
Why my house is such a mess?
He asked if I'd been Pogo-ing,
And I had to answer "yes"
~o~
He told me to get off my butt
And tidy up the house
And so I started cleaning up...
The smudges off my mouse.
~o~
I wiped and shined the topside
That really did the trick...
I was just admiring my work...
I didn't mean to 'click'
~o~
But click, I did, and LOL I found
A real absorbing site
That I got SO way into it...
I was into it all night
<<Sigh>>
~o~
Nothing's changed except my mouse
It's very, very shiny
I, guess my house will stay a mess...
While I sit here on my hiney.
~o~
author unknown

Meg

rofl

Merme, that sounds like a great system! I may have to try that.

Meg, that poem is hilarious. And so very true for me except mine would be "The Garden Helper Forum and gardening in the yard!!!


Dianna

Hi Merme,

I love your system - I copied your post to give to my dd- she needs a system and I think this just might work for her- she needs something she can see--- me I just keep it all in my head or in my book of lists.... yes keep my lists in a book- sure beats writing them over and over... may just head to the store and get the supplies to make one up for her and one for the boys too- love the reward card idea for them-- bet her hubby could use one too..... but will let her do that one-LOL!!