Hopefully good things for everyone. More specifically, I have some plans.
I'm going to (try to) send out regular challenges to the PCC group, beginning today with a resurrection of the 21 Days of Clutter series. I'm also planning a few PCCX reminders each month because I want to actually go through it for a change. I'll get some posts and emails scheduled in advance so I don't forget or skip it; hopefully that will help with my follow-through.
I have a few other thoughts brewing about other things to do, I just haven't decided which ones will apply to this group/blog. What are your plans for the year?
Showing posts with label before. Show all posts
Showing posts with label before. Show all posts
Monday, January 2, 2012
Monday, October 31, 2011
T-23
As usual, I start something and then it's 4 days later and nothing else has been done. So, Thursday I did start in the bathroom, but I didn't get very far. I dealt with about 2 square feet in the back corner between the toilet and the tub. My "after" looks like a normal person's "gee, this hasn't been cleaned in months, I'd better get on it."
In my (minimal) defense, a large part of that is issues we inherited with the house, like lousy caulking that won't come clean no matter what I do, and a floor that is a project unto itself. There were 3 layers of linoleum in there when we moved in. The bottom one is cemented to the wood floor and after trying to scrape it up I gave up about a foot into the door. There's no removing that stuff short of a sander or new planks. Above that was another layer, and above that linoleum tiles. The tiles were relatively easy to get up, and the middle layer only a little more difficult. This back corner had never been finished though, so I had two layers to remove. I have tiles I bought years ago but don't know if they will help or if I can put them down any better than this bottom layer is. Anyway, while I was down there I cleaned the bottom of that side of the toilet and tried to clean that seam between tub and floor and about then my back and knees decided there would be no more of that.
The weekend blew by uselessly. Today I'm back on it...as soon as I eat something.
In my (minimal) defense, a large part of that is issues we inherited with the house, like lousy caulking that won't come clean no matter what I do, and a floor that is a project unto itself. There were 3 layers of linoleum in there when we moved in. The bottom one is cemented to the wood floor and after trying to scrape it up I gave up about a foot into the door. There's no removing that stuff short of a sander or new planks. Above that was another layer, and above that linoleum tiles. The tiles were relatively easy to get up, and the middle layer only a little more difficult. This back corner had never been finished though, so I had two layers to remove. I have tiles I bought years ago but don't know if they will help or if I can put them down any better than this bottom layer is. Anyway, while I was down there I cleaned the bottom of that side of the toilet and tried to clean that seam between tub and floor and about then my back and knees decided there would be no more of that.
The weekend blew by uselessly. Today I'm back on it...as soon as I eat something.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
T-28
In 28 days my in-laws will be here. For 27 days I will be in hyper-clean mode and see if it is possible to run through a whole pccx in a month. Actually, I'm sure it is, but I'm not sure *I* can.
I don't always guarantee pictures, but I will post progress, hopefully daily.
I think I'll try to take things in order of the room-by-room track, so first up is the bathroom. That's both good and bad. Good because it's a very small space and therefore should take less time; bad because there is a lot of repair-type work to be done that I just can't right now.
More to come later today.
I don't always guarantee pictures, but I will post progress, hopefully daily.
I think I'll try to take things in order of the room-by-room track, so first up is the bathroom. That's both good and bad. Good because it's a very small space and therefore should take less time; bad because there is a lot of repair-type work to be done that I just can't right now.
More to come later today.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
5 & 1/2 Months Later
Yep, it's been over 5 months since I've posted which I just happened to notice because of Amanda's new post, so I'm posting an update and a few goals for the month of September.
I ended up slacking on the decluttering process back in April because I'd started college classes. Last week I'd finally decided that I was going to just have the garage sale with what I'd already decluttered and attempt to go through the garage as well (which I did). I'm pretty sure I sold well over 500 items, leaving me with 2 totes, a box and a rack of coats.
During the month of September, I plan to:
- Sort through the garage sale items and sort to donate or sell online.
- Drop off donation items
- Post items online for sale
- Scrub the shower & tub (I hate hard water...my tub is a "goldenrod" color (5 points if you know that color) and I'd like to see it white again
- Attempt to remove the paint from carpet in bedroom with goof off (pointless but going to try anyways)
- Begin job
- Start new college classes
- Clean out filing cabinet
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
A quick update
I do have another corner of the kitchen to talk about, but I thought I'd do a quick post about cleaning my desk today.
Before:
After:
It looks soooo much better now, don't you think?
Before:
After:
It looks soooo much better now, don't you think?
Monday, June 20, 2011
Knock, knock?
No, it's not a joke, I'm just coming back in from a long absence and thought it would be polite. :)
I've started up here and there with a plan or a poa or basics, but I just wasn't getting anywhere. And I could blame it on illness and things, or I could just suck it up and admit that I'm a lazy wench most of the time and just wasn't hauling my ample butt up out of this chair (or bed, more likely) to get any real work done. I'm not sure what bit me Saturday night, but suddenly I thought I was really ready to get moving. I decided to start in one end/corner of the house and move out from there doing anything and everything I could reasonably do along the way.
I woke up Sunday morning, ran over to the dollar store across town (which of course uses "run" in the sense that I drove, because there's no running from me, especially across our admittedly small town), and plunked down a bunch of money on cleaning supplies and came home to get to work. Incidentally, all that stuff I bought? 2 things I thought I was out of I had several of, 2 things I thought I had I can't find, and in the first 5 minutes the new long-handled duster went missing. Oh, and I still don't have anything that will cut through grease effectively. And so it goes.
I really did work yesterday. Probably a solid 4 hours all together. What I got done was a generally unused, small corner of my kitchen - but it's DONE, man. I'll give you the tour:
Oh yes, let's start here. I was mixing dilutions of a few cleaners into empty spray bottles, when I spilled straight-up bleach onto my navy stretch capris. *headsmack*
I remembered to start taking pics after I moved the popcorn machine out of this corner and picked up the first few things - including the lid to a round, covered trash can which we haven't owned in about 2 years. This is possibly the "deepest, darkest" corner of my house, kind of an afterthought corner in the back end of the kitchen. The only thing it's good for is storing the popcorn machine, and as such has been much neglected an abused.
After picking up, sweeping, and scrubbing, this is as good as the floor gets. The vinyl flooring came with the house all scratched up that badly, I swear. The tall piece of wood leaning in the corner is part of the door frame of C's room...a story for another day. It's staying there, out of the way, until I work my way around to there and figure out how to reattach it decently. Or maybe it's the one from my room? One of us is missing part of a door frame.
That's my large freezer on the left, which at one point - when my desk was in this part of the house - was "cleverly" used as a white board. The last brainstorm session stayed too long and now it won't come off. At least you can't see it from the rest of the kitchen. Oh, and one of the kids *coughCcough* added to it later, I found. The hanging cords were disGUSting. I barely remembered to unplug them before cleaning, but I did.
There are 2 windows in this corner, which was lovely when I spent the day there at my desk. Now, they're really just pointless. Worse, they're awful. I cleaned the glass and trim inside, but they're no better to look through than when I started. It doesn't photograph well, but the screens are torn, and there are hundreds of bugs, leaves, and other things stuck between the screens or storm windows and the interior pane. I don't even know how to clean that all out. I'll work on that later, when I'm cleaning outside I guess.
Here is the aforementioned popcorn machine. It, itself, still needs to be cleaned, but it's back in its home now that the surroundings are much better. It's hiding the cleaned and better contained cords.
Once again I started moving things before taking the opening picture. Perhaps you can see above that there were random dishes stacked to the left of the microwave and others on top, in addition to Santa there.
The microwave was actually worse than it appears, because half the mess was on the glass plate that I'd already put in the dishwasher with everything else I moved from this area. This poor microwave, by the way, is from around 1983. I distinctly remember when we got it; it was such a "new" thing that the appliance store that sold them held cooking classes free with purchase for something like 6 weeks, to teach new owners how to use them. I used to have the microwave fudge recipe from a class memorized. The fancy button settings don't work anymore, the meat probe thermometer is long gone, and it isn't even-heating anymore, but by golly it's still kicking.
The left side done...
...the right side, not so much. Those boxes there have been sitting, unpacked, since my mom moved in, in 2007. I found Christmas plates, crystal glasses, and an almost full (large) bottle of rum.
The microwave done...
...and there it is. That's a lot of Pediasure on the left, that used to be stacked on the floor in front of the microwave. The picture on the windowsill is an old one of the family from when C was a baby; I found it with the boxes and cleaned it up. Inside the buffet is almost entirely Christmas dishes, so I'll clean those and the interior shelves in November when I get them out. There's no need to open it until then so I'll leave it alone for now.
So that was my Sunday triumph: one useless corner, one piece of furniture (exterior), and one countertop appliance. Onward and upward from here.
I've started up here and there with a plan or a poa or basics, but I just wasn't getting anywhere. And I could blame it on illness and things, or I could just suck it up and admit that I'm a lazy wench most of the time and just wasn't hauling my ample butt up out of this chair (or bed, more likely) to get any real work done. I'm not sure what bit me Saturday night, but suddenly I thought I was really ready to get moving. I decided to start in one end/corner of the house and move out from there doing anything and everything I could reasonably do along the way.
I woke up Sunday morning, ran over to the dollar store across town (which of course uses "run" in the sense that I drove, because there's no running from me, especially across our admittedly small town), and plunked down a bunch of money on cleaning supplies and came home to get to work. Incidentally, all that stuff I bought? 2 things I thought I was out of I had several of, 2 things I thought I had I can't find, and in the first 5 minutes the new long-handled duster went missing. Oh, and I still don't have anything that will cut through grease effectively. And so it goes.
I really did work yesterday. Probably a solid 4 hours all together. What I got done was a generally unused, small corner of my kitchen - but it's DONE, man. I'll give you the tour:
I remembered to start taking pics after I moved the popcorn machine out of this corner and picked up the first few things - including the lid to a round, covered trash can which we haven't owned in about 2 years. This is possibly the "deepest, darkest" corner of my house, kind of an afterthought corner in the back end of the kitchen. The only thing it's good for is storing the popcorn machine, and as such has been much neglected an abused.
After picking up, sweeping, and scrubbing, this is as good as the floor gets. The vinyl flooring came with the house all scratched up that badly, I swear. The tall piece of wood leaning in the corner is part of the door frame of C's room...a story for another day. It's staying there, out of the way, until I work my way around to there and figure out how to reattach it decently. Or maybe it's the one from my room? One of us is missing part of a door frame.
That's my large freezer on the left, which at one point - when my desk was in this part of the house - was "cleverly" used as a white board. The last brainstorm session stayed too long and now it won't come off. At least you can't see it from the rest of the kitchen. Oh, and one of the kids *coughCcough* added to it later, I found. The hanging cords were disGUSting. I barely remembered to unplug them before cleaning, but I did.
There are 2 windows in this corner, which was lovely when I spent the day there at my desk. Now, they're really just pointless. Worse, they're awful. I cleaned the glass and trim inside, but they're no better to look through than when I started. It doesn't photograph well, but the screens are torn, and there are hundreds of bugs, leaves, and other things stuck between the screens or storm windows and the interior pane. I don't even know how to clean that all out. I'll work on that later, when I'm cleaning outside I guess.
Here is the aforementioned popcorn machine. It, itself, still needs to be cleaned, but it's back in its home now that the surroundings are much better. It's hiding the cleaned and better contained cords.
Once again I started moving things before taking the opening picture. Perhaps you can see above that there were random dishes stacked to the left of the microwave and others on top, in addition to Santa there.
The microwave was actually worse than it appears, because half the mess was on the glass plate that I'd already put in the dishwasher with everything else I moved from this area. This poor microwave, by the way, is from around 1983. I distinctly remember when we got it; it was such a "new" thing that the appliance store that sold them held cooking classes free with purchase for something like 6 weeks, to teach new owners how to use them. I used to have the microwave fudge recipe from a class memorized. The fancy button settings don't work anymore, the meat probe thermometer is long gone, and it isn't even-heating anymore, but by golly it's still kicking.
The left side done...
...the right side, not so much. Those boxes there have been sitting, unpacked, since my mom moved in, in 2007. I found Christmas plates, crystal glasses, and an almost full (large) bottle of rum.
The microwave done...
...and there it is. That's a lot of Pediasure on the left, that used to be stacked on the floor in front of the microwave. The picture on the windowsill is an old one of the family from when C was a baby; I found it with the boxes and cleaned it up. Inside the buffet is almost entirely Christmas dishes, so I'll clean those and the interior shelves in November when I get them out. There's no need to open it until then so I'll leave it alone for now.
So that was my Sunday triumph: one useless corner, one piece of furniture (exterior), and one countertop appliance. Onward and upward from here.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
I need to get a move on
I'm having a hard enough time getting through the day-to-day so I haven't even looked at the back pages. So today I brought one of the office tasks forward as one of the daily challenges: clean an office (or playroom, or similar) wall, ceiling to floor including molding. I didn't do it today of course, but I gave us all weekend to complete it for bonus points.so, just for grins, here are a couple of pictures of my wall before, and hopefully by Sunday I'll have an after picture that actually looks better. Any ideas how to get the blue, um, marker? I think? off of badly painted paneling?
Friday, January 14, 2011
EGADS! What happened to my desk?
So my desk area has become the catch all for mail, school papers, jewelry making supplies and other misc papers. Everything has taken over to the point there's not a clear surface to be had.
I've taken before pics of it, and will try to take after pics when I finish it. I forgot after pics of my house but will try to get the desk pics up.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
New year new me!
The new year has come and gone and I've been doing alot of thinking.... it's time for a new outlook on life. I've decided I need to get my house in order, I need to lose weight, I need to quit smoking and I need to get back on track with school. I know those are all things everyone has said before but this year is my year. I'm sick of being fat, I'm sick of the CHAOS in my house, I'm sick of smoking, and I want to have a college degree.
So I was telling my grandma about my new plan and she told me I needed to schedule my day. My therapist said the same thing. So last week I sat down and planned out my entire day. Making time for cleaning, exercise, family time, school work and even a couple hours for making jewelry. Monday I start my new schedule. My husband is going out of town for the month of January and I'll have plenty of time to get the schedule in place while he is gone.
I've taken pictures of my house in it's current state, trashed. And when I finish cleaning today I'll post after pictures.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
So, uh, yeah
PCCX went out without so much as a whimper. Gee, that went well. Congratulations to those of you who accomplished things. I did too, a couple, but not near "enough". Story of my life, great plans, lousy follow-through.
This time of year is both my least and most favorite. Least because I'm looking back at what didn't get done all year, and most because it's a time for all sorts of planning and whatnot. Yay, goals.
Speaking of this time of year, does anyone else realize that Winter PCCX is supposed to start in 3 weeks? I had the thought a while ago that it might be time to shake things up and change the way it goes, but I've had zero ideas on how to do that. So please, anybody, toss in your thoughts. Please. Pretty please?
This time of year is both my least and most favorite. Least because I'm looking back at what didn't get done all year, and most because it's a time for all sorts of planning and whatnot. Yay, goals.
Speaking of this time of year, does anyone else realize that Winter PCCX is supposed to start in 3 weeks? I had the thought a while ago that it might be time to shake things up and change the way it goes, but I've had zero ideas on how to do that. So please, anybody, toss in your thoughts. Please. Pretty please?
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Easy Work in the Living Room
How often do you find yourself psyching yourself out? You know, deciding a job is too big/difficult, so why bother even starting? Remember, even 15 minutes of PCCX is 75 minutes for Zone Work + You get points for the PCCX job you did. Even if you're not doing points, 15 minutes a day. That's it. That's all you have to do. Wipe down a light switch or a door. Polish a table. Clean off a shelf. These are all small jobs, but if you do one a day, it adds up. That's why we're here. I'm discovering that even the smallest of jobs is now making me smile when I walk by because it's done.
So, what did I do yesterday for day 2? Well, I'm quite limited in my mobility because of the knee surgery on Monday, but I did manage to clean off and polish an end table, clean and polish the coffee table, wipe down all of the coasters, clean out one of the baskets under the coffee table (throwing out 3 magazines, 2 remotes, 1 coaster and something else I can't remember LOL). I also wiped down one of the lamps and had a helluva time dusting the lampshade because it had so much cat hair on it (oops, didn't take points for that, will add to today's). So it wasn't a lot of work. It took me about 30 minutes to do it. But the living room looked a LOT better, even if only in my eyes!
Here's a few pics I took of the before/after:
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Getting the ball rolling
I've done all the administrative voodoo - ok, most of it - and I'm halfway through preparing my own files. I still have to take, edit, upload, and link a full set of pictures (my last "befores" are from, I think, 2008?) before I even get started.
I hope some of you have been a little more on-track than I have in starting this challenge. My dh is currently out of work and has been informed that he will be assisting this time around. I hope (plan) to get my pictures done tomorrow so we can start working on the living room. I've decided to work more or less in order as written this time. You know me, every round I have to change something and it never works...but I keep trying. :)
I just realized, this is our 20th PCCX! Um, 20th time's the charm?
I hope some of you have been a little more on-track than I have in starting this challenge. My dh is currently out of work and has been informed that he will be assisting this time around. I hope (plan) to get my pictures done tomorrow so we can start working on the living room. I've decided to work more or less in order as written this time. You know me, every round I have to change something and it never works...but I keep trying. :)
I just realized, this is our 20th PCCX! Um, 20th time's the charm?
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Living Room Floor Part 4
Pics only as I'm too tired to be witty :p
Note: The Resolve after steam cleaning did in fact lighten the stain a bit more :D
I couldn't just move the furniture back when I noticed what the wood looked like...
Once I put everything back into its place, my Dad said "Should we start taking bets on how long it will take me to spill something?"
I said "Sorry, but that will be your death date/time."
He laughed.
I wasn't joking...
Note: The Resolve after steam cleaning did in fact lighten the stain a bit more :D
I couldn't just move the furniture back when I noticed what the wood looked like...
Once I put everything back into its place, my Dad said "Should we start taking bets on how long it will take me to spill something?"
I said "Sorry, but that will be your death date/time."
He laughed.
I wasn't joking...
Call Me Lazy...
It's okay. You can call me lazy.
I've been taking this entire PCCX session to steam clean the living room.
I'm still not done...
Last week I did another section. Kind of. You see, what I actually did was pull out the couch and detail vacuum the area. I didn't steam clean it. I could have. But I just wasn't feelin it after all of the vacuuming.
First off in my defense, I think I vacuumed enough cat hair to create another cat. Clearly there's visible stains there so I should have steam vac'd it. Maybe next PCCX. I still have actual floor that people can SEE that needs to be done instead.
I've been taking this entire PCCX session to steam clean the living room.
I'm still not done...
Last week I did another section. Kind of. You see, what I actually did was pull out the couch and detail vacuum the area. I didn't steam clean it. I could have. But I just wasn't feelin it after all of the vacuuming.
First off in my defense, I think I vacuumed enough cat hair to create another cat. Clearly there's visible stains there so I should have steam vac'd it. Maybe next PCCX. I still have actual floor that people can SEE that needs to be done instead.
Never Look Up!!!
I made a mistake...
I was sitting at the kitchen table, and I looked up.
Like I said. Never look up.
I couldn't very well just sit there and continue to eat my meals knowing what was directly overhead. So, I filled the dishpan with soapy water, took apart the fixture and began the soakfest. Then I grabbed some Fantastik and papertowels and went to work.
This is definitely one of those hated jobs that nobody wants to do. In reality, it took me less than 30 minutes, with the majority of the work going into removal and put back of the bulbs (Not really the bulbs, but the light fixture but I didn't want to say light fixture because that refers to the entire thing which isn't what I did but but light covers....THAT's the word I was looking for....Light Covers!!!) Whatever.
Pretty!!!! Now I look up and smile :D
I was sitting at the kitchen table, and I looked up.
Like I said. Never look up.
I couldn't very well just sit there and continue to eat my meals knowing what was directly overhead. So, I filled the dishpan with soapy water, took apart the fixture and began the soakfest. Then I grabbed some Fantastik and papertowels and went to work.
This is definitely one of those hated jobs that nobody wants to do. In reality, it took me less than 30 minutes, with the majority of the work going into removal and put back of the bulbs (Not really the bulbs, but the light fixture but I didn't want to say light fixture because that refers to the entire thing which isn't what I did but but light covers....THAT's the word I was looking for....Light Covers!!!) Whatever.
Pretty!!!! Now I look up and smile :D
Friday, July 30, 2010
Under the Sink
I hate the area under my kitchen sink. It's one of those most dreaded areas to clean. I organized it once since we moved here 2 years ago. A combination of my household cleaners and my father's Depression era thinking of "If it's on sale really cheap than I should buy it now because I might need more in 10 years and not be able to afford it then" has left me with cleaners in 6 different places in the house, stocked to the gills. Not having household cleaners is not my reason for not doing PCCX. That's for sure.
Last year, we had a leak and my dear husband just threw things back in after he fixed it. Um, thanks? I've just not had the inclination to go digging in there, overrun by cleaners, sponges and the like. But I about lost it the other day. You see, if we're getting low on dish detergent on the counter, and my father doesn't have more sitting right there in the front of the cabinet under the sink, he must go buy more.
So, with my Ipod fully charged and my playlist ready, I went in....
Yep, that big black spot is mold. Why? Remember I mentioned the water leak? Apparently my husband didn't bother to wipe it down. *Sigh* Gee....I wonder if I have any cleaners to handle that...
Now, you may think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. Under the sink included:
Afterwards, I condensed as much as I could and put it all back all neat and organized and stuff.
After 3 hours, I was DONE!
I....survived!!!
then...
my father entered the room and sat down.
He asked me about the black spot he saw under the sink while it was empty.
I explained it was mold from the water leak...
He then asked...
Did you use bleach?
*insert sigh of disgust here*
Yes Dad.
"Oh" he says..."I wasn't sure if you knew"
Last year, we had a leak and my dear husband just threw things back in after he fixed it. Um, thanks? I've just not had the inclination to go digging in there, overrun by cleaners, sponges and the like. But I about lost it the other day. You see, if we're getting low on dish detergent on the counter, and my father doesn't have more sitting right there in the front of the cabinet under the sink, he must go buy more.
 | ||||
| Clearly that bottle was not "in his face" because he bought 2 more. |
Yep, that big black spot is mold. Why? Remember I mentioned the water leak? Apparently my husband didn't bother to wipe it down. *Sigh* Gee....I wonder if I have any cleaners to handle that...
Now, you may think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. Under the sink included:
- A furniture cleaning set that we got when we purchased our couch 7 years ago. It's never been used. I tried throwing it out 2 years ago but my husband insisted we might need it someday.
- 3 boxes of Mr Clean Magic Erasers
- Vacuum bags (slightly water damaged)
- 2 different LCD cleaners & a bottle of a distilled water mixture for cleaning LCD's
- Can of air
- Furniture Polish and polish wipes
- Resolve, Oxy Clean floor cleaner and a Steam Vac Cleaner
- 4 plastics bags of various sponges (3 were opened). After removing the plastic bags, I ended up with 37 sponges.
- Bug Spray
- 2 cans of Lysol disinfectant (which smell really bad, so we don't use it but keep it???)
- 4 brushes
- 3 pairs of latex gloves
- 3 bottles of window cleaners
- 2 organizing racks
- Strainer
- 6 bottles of dish detergent
- 5 various household cleaners
- 3 different lime/rust cleaners
- 3 boxes of steel wool cleaners (My father said we were out and to add to my shopping list, so I did and bought some, but he didn't see I did, so he bought some and we already had some *sigh*)
- Murphy's Oil Soap
- A "garbage can" with more sponges in it....WTF??
- My coffee can of grease
- and lastly, 82 of those dish cloths/wipes (we don't use these)
Afterwards, I condensed as much as I could and put it all back all neat and organized and stuff.
After 3 hours, I was DONE!
I....survived!!!
then...
my father entered the room and sat down.
He asked me about the black spot he saw under the sink while it was empty.
I explained it was mold from the water leak...
He then asked...
Did you use bleach?
*insert sigh of disgust here*
Yes Dad.
"Oh" he says..."I wasn't sure if you knew"
My brain went into overload...
Seriously?!? Are you friggin kidding me?!?!? I'm 40 years old!!! *Insert swear words here* Old man...*insert more swear words* Raised a family of three boys *insert more swear words* Only living here to help you out *insert more swear words* I need alcohol *insert more swear words*
My reply...
Yes Dad, I knew.
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