September Fireplace

The fall cleaning schedule had the great room listed as the room to clean and organize last week.  I got in and worked hard on Tuesday to get that room clean.  Mine is rather large, encompassing 2 halls, the entry area, the formal dinning room, the living room, and the breakfast area.  The ceiling has several different heights, 9 ft, 10 ft and 12 ft.  There are a total of 12 windows and all the floors are hardwood.  By the end of the day my right arm and lower back were terribly sore but my great room was sparkling!

I work from the top to the bottom of a room.  So, for most of the room, my swiffer duster works well to reach all the ceiling corners but when I come to the entry area and the 12 ft ceilings not so much.  In the past I have gotten a ladder inched my way around the entry but I wanted to work faster this time so I created a new tool.  I taped a feather duster to the end of an old swiffer sweeper and taa daa . . . a very long duster!

With this, I was able to reach the 12 ft ceiling without a ladder.  It was helpful with the 10 ft ceilings as well.  No more tippy toes.  Woo Hoo!  And at the end of the day I ripped off the tape and it can all be used for what it was originally designed for.

But, I digress,  My New Favorite Tool is not the title of this blog entry September Fireplace is.  Decorating
my fireplace mantle is something I really struggle with.  I do OK with it at Halloween and Christmas but the rest of the year it looks rather odd or its completely bare.  Here is what it has looked like all summer.

I don't know what to do with the TV up there.  I like the TV in that location and we used it every day so I don't want to cover it up in any way but how do I decorate around it?   

I came across this school subway art before school started.

Thanks, Melissa.  You should defiantly check out her blog here.

I have used subway art before up there so I thought I would try that again.  But one lone piece of subway art was gonna look kinda odd so what else could I do?  And then I remembered.  My cousin Cathy and her family visited this summer and while she was here she ask if I still had that old school slate with the handle.  She said she had looked and looked for one but had never seen another one like it.  Hmm... I could create a display on my mantle with all my old school antiques for the month of September and then do Halloween stuff for October and so on and so forth.  I haven't found a place in our new home to put all that stuff and it was just wasting away in a box in the basement.  I should get it out and at least display it one month out of the year.  So here it is my September Fireplace.

I made the banner,  Its not much, but if you like it you can get it here.

Have a great evening, B.

Laundry Room Update

I know it’s been a while since my last post.  I’ve been having lots of summer fun and avoiding the Fall Cleaning Cycle.  But my dd is back in school and it’s time to get back in the groove.  Last time I shared pictures of my disaster of a laundry room.  I did get that room cleaned & organized so I wanted to post some “After” photos.

We have lived in this house for almost 5 years now and although I had a nice sink in the laundry room I didn’t have soap and a towel to use it.  I managed to get those items in the room and we are all enjoying having another place to wash & dry our hands.

Although the linen closet, coat closet and media closet have been on the schedule the past few weeks I haven’t gotten to them yet.  I hope to catch up over the next few weeks.  I will post photos as I get to them.  As for this week, the Great Room is on schedule.  I should get that cleaned tomorrow and hopefully finish adding some new décor items by the end of the week.  Look for photos then.

Have a great day, B.

On the Serene Front . . .

Several years ago I was a Mary Kay consultant and the directors would often tell us, “Get your priorities straight.  God first, family second and career third.”  So I think that is where I need to start.  God first.  One of my yearly goals is to read the Bible daily and to read through the Bible in a year.  I have yet to achieve this goal, but it’s still a good goal.  At the end of last year in preparation for this goal I purchased “The Daily Bible.”  I really like this Bible, although, again I wasn’t able to achieve my goal.  I managed to read through to May 7^th before summer vacation started and all was lost.  But this is where I’m starting in order to make my life serene.  Yesterday, I began again with my daily Bible reading.  Instead of picking up where I left off on May 7^th and trying to catch up I gave myself a break and started on August 28^th.  I know my life will be more serene by spending time with God each day.  If you aren’t in God’s word daily then I encourage you to start.  It doesn’t matter where you start.  Just that you start.  And if you would like to read along with me then pick up a copy of this:

And start on today’s date.

Blessing, B.

Restarting

Ok, so when I last posted on August 2nd, my Lean Goal of the Week was to drink 3 bottles of water a day.  Unfortunately I didn't follow through.  So today I'm restarting.  My Lean Goal of the Week is to drink at lest 3 bottles of water a day.

Lean Goal of the Week

Ok, so I've got a pretty good start on what I need to do to get my home clean.  Now, what am I going to do to get my body lean?  This is a little (a lot) harder because I don't enjoy dieting & exercise. LOL  Who does?  Anyway, let's focus, here.  I think I need to start with easy goals that I can work into my lifestyle.  So this week's Lean Goal of the Week is ...drum roll, please ... Drinking at least 60 ounces of water a day.  TaaDaa

I know the recommendation is to drink 8 glasses (or 64 ounces) of water a day but I don't like the taste of our local tap water so I have to buy bottled water.  So I buy this...

... and it come in 20 ounce bottles.  So if I drink 3 of these a day combined with what I drink when I take my meds I should get the 64 ounces I need each day.

Now I'm off to get a bottle of water and get started on that Laundry Room.

Have a great day,  B.

Fall Cleaning Cycle Starts this WeeK

Can you believe its August already?  Can you believe how hot it is?  This is the forecast for southwest Missouri this week! 

Notice how the graphic doesn’t have enough space for 3 digits?  One day’s high temperature just blends right in with the next.  It is so weird for southwest MO to have a whole week of hundred degree temperatures.

Anyway, enough talk about the weather.  Have you noticed the calendar?  This week starts the Fall Cleaning Cycle.  Ok, call me crazy, but I’m kinda excited.  Tomorrow’s Task List says, “Clean & organize laundry room.”

Here are some “Before” shots of my laundry room (hanging my head in shame.)  

Now I should say that my laundry room is usually a little bit better than this.  My daughter and I dumped all that stuff on top of the washer and dryer this morning right before we walked out the door and I haven’t done my Morning Pick-up yet today.  But, even with that, it still needs some work. 

My daughter has theater camp all week so I’m kinda on my regular schedule.  I better go get to it.

Have a great day, B.

The Clean House Calendar

Update - Links removed 12-30-12.

The first step on my journey is to have a planner with a Daily Task List.  This is the one I created for myself.  You are welcome to download it and use it for yourself if you would like.

There are two sizes.  The first one fits in an 8 1/2 x 11 binder.  You can print one day per sheet and have space to write on the back or print front to back.

You can get the full page version here:



The second one fits in a 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 binder.  It is designed to print front to back but you could print 2 days per page and leave the back blank.  However, you will need to watch as you put your planner together because the pages wil not print off in order.

You can get the half page version here:


Finally, I created this a while ago so it has pages for all of 2011.  You probably will only want to print those pages pertaining to August thru December.

Have a great day, B.

Welcome

Hey all,  Welcome to Get it Together,Already!  This blog documents my own little journey to getting my home clean, my body lean and my life serene.  You're welcome just observe or join in.  So let's get started!

Emergency Planning

Bible

Couponing

Scrapbooking

Food & Fitness

Cleaning & Organization

Planner