What's Coming in 2012

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?

So I was talking to some of the girls the other day about my decluttering for my Memorial Day weekend garage sale.  Because I have such a headstart, I'm limiting myself to going through 10 items per day.  A box does not have to be completed in a day.  The attic does not have to be completed in a day.  I'm grabbing a box from storage and sorting into 4 piles: Keep, Donate, Sell, Trash  (Note: This is NOT 10 items per category. JUST 10 items per day) 

Keep items are packed away if I can (for my future move) or simply cleaned and put away.

Donate items are put into a box and any time I go into town, I drop it off at the charity donation center.

Sell items are priced, which can take more time to research online, but then put in the garage "staging" area for my future sale. 

Why am I telling you this?  Because it was pointed out that in one month, that's 300 items!  Just try it, you'll be amazed how quickly you can sort through 10 items!

It can't be a bust already

I'm sensing a general lack of enthusiasm for PCCX this round. I don't know if it's the season or what, but I think all of us are having "issues" keeping us off track. But you know what? I refuse to give up already. There's more than half of the run time left, it's early in the week, it's way early in the year, and it's far too early to call anything quits. So what if I was in a week-long bi-polar funk concurrent with a bout of the stomach flu? So what if nearly everyone in my house has been sick in the last 2 weeks? So what if I haven't had a single day with everyone out of the house like they're supposed to be? That's changing, and it's changing NOW. Ok, tomorrow. Right now I have a nasty pain across the base of my neck that's seriously limiting my desire and ability to do most physical work. I hope to sleep that off and ship everyone off to school and work in the morning and get some actual work done around here.

Speaking of tomorrow, Celeste and I have declared Clean Your Ceiling Fan Day. She said one fan/fixture, I'm saying all of them - 5 in my case. According to the PCCX file, ceiling fans count for 75 points each, PLUS 10 points for each glass flute things over the bulbs. What are those called? Anyway, 10 per plus 75 for the rest of the fixture. I suppose if you wanted to wash your actual bulbs too they'd be another 10 a piece, but make sure they've been off a good long while so they're cold, and completely dry before you put them back in. AND, for participation in CYCFD I'll offer double points for any ceiling fans cleaned Wednesday, January 20!

If you're on track with PCCX, or holding your own with daily chores, or keeping up with homework, or in any other way in good shape right now, my most sincere congratulations. Leave a comment and toot your own horn; I want to hear some inspiring examples! If you're trailing, feel like you're failing, or even drowning, heads up. It's time. Time to pick yourself up out of the mental ditch and get back on the road. You - we - may be still at the beginning of the path, we may have even backtracked, but the road is still open and the journey laid out ahead of us. Take the first step and the rest will follow.

Anyone ever notice how I suddenly turn into a motivational speaker - and a bad one - when I'm coming up from a funk? Sorry 'bout that.

P.S. We miss you Kim. :)

Ringing in the new year

It's that time again. Time of renewed hope, lofty ambitions, and crashing after a holiday sugar high. Oh, wait, is that just me?

Winter PCCX is the time to capitalize on the resolution wave and start the year off with a bang.

Will somebody please slap some sense into me so I quit talking in sound bites? Sheesh.

Ok, so PCCX starts again on Monday and I'd really like to kick some...ahem. Seriously. I really, really, REALLY *want* to have a clean house, honest. The thing about this challenge is, once it's over there's all the follow up maintenance afterward, and I'm not so good with that. On the other hand, if I were to actually *gasp* complete the list - or even come reasonably close - odds are I would be conditioned to doing the work every day, so the maintenance (daily, weekly) lists wouldn't be a problem. Right? I'd like it to be right. I'd like to think I can really do this, that I'm not an utter failure and sad excuse for a housekeeper, and by extension, person. Oh, sorry. It's gray and snowy outside and it's been this kind of Christmas, so I seesaw between ambition and despair. Don't mind me.

Are you ready for the new year and the new challenge? Is it one of your resolutions for 2010?

What does PCCX mean to me?

After creating CCP, PCCX is my biggest project of its kind to date. The writing of it, I mean. It was inspired by and developed with others, but the writing then and since has been my responsibility, and I'm proud of what it's become.

At the same time, it is a source of, alternately, hope and dispair, potential and disappointment. I start each one with a gleam in my eye but inevitably fall flat. Then I spend the next 6-8 weeks beating myself up for failure while at the same time looking ahead to the next one. Someday, I swear to myself, I will finish one. After all, I wrote the darn thing, right? Unfortunately, saying and doing are two entirely different things. A concept with which I'm sure everyone is familiar.

So I am here to say that from this moment forward I will not look at myself as a failure. Reflecting on the process and looking for ways to improve is ok - encouraged, even - but dwelling on shortcomings is not. Each day is its own entity, and its success or failure is based solely on the actions of that day. Even so, a day in which we are all still alive and the house is standing is never a failure. This is my new motto. Until tomorrow. :)

What does PCCX mean to you? What does it make you stop and think about? Is it an entity to you, or just a pile of drudgery to be endured? Let us know in the comments please, and help yourself to 50 points for doing so.

Progress!

It was only 1 piece of furniture and 2 hours, 15 minutes of actual work. It may as well have been the finish line tape of an Olympic race though, I'm so darned pleased. Somehow 2 hours became my entire day's accomplishment, or at least it seems that way. This is my first *completed* PCCX task I'm talking about. The fridge and the freezer and the hallway, none of those was totally finished. Today I cleaned off a wall unit/room divider between the dining room and living room with cabinets and drawers and two-sided shelves and hundreds of individual items to be dealt with and wiped off. The top is completely empty for the first time in...well, probably ever. I *hate* how Chris keeps stashing things on top of the big furniture. I guess he figures if only he can reach it only he can see it and he doesn't care. I've got news for him, it bugs the HECK out of me. Anyway, I just wanted to brag a little extra bit about my completed project. :) I missed the FB challenge by 15 minutes, but I'm ok with that. It's DONE, and that's what matters. Now if I can just carry that momentum into another day, and another, and another...

Oh, after pictures of both sides are in the gallery now; there's a link to my progress in the sidebar to the right.

PCCX Goals

I haven't gotten much done with PCCX, I've painted a couple walls to clean them up a bit, I've dusted my bedroom completely.....That's really not much. I'm ashamed at the state of my house right now.

Yesterday was the halfway mark, I did get the main areas of my house picked up finally. Today is the day I hit up the kids' bedrooms. I need to go through toys and get rid of about half of them. I'd also like to get in the closets and clean them up a bit. We'll see how today goes. I've been up since 3:30. Will hopefully update later with pics.

My 5x5

5 Positives from 1st 4 weeks:

1. I got the freezer defrosted and cleaned out so I was able to store all the things I needed to as they came in.
2. I washed 3/4 of the walls and floor of the back hallway. The walls are no longer covered in kid smudge.
3. Washing down the hallway proved to myself that I really could get it done.
4. I am making a more concerted effort (not that you'd notice after the last four days) to keep up with the regular chores in order to have some time to commit to PCCX.
5. I also cleaned all but one of the refrigerator shelves, it no longer looks quite like someone shoved a bleeding body inside.

5 Goals for next 4 weeks:

1. Get the floors in every room at least mopped if not better.
2. Catch up on the holiday list.
3. Scrub the heck out of the outside of my kitchen appliances.
4. Clear the piles off the tops of my big furniture (breakfronts, entertainment center, wall units, bookcases, etc.)
5. Get all of our clothes organized and weeded out and put away properly.

**Did anyone else notice that half the challenges today involved sitting down and writing? That's my kind of day. :)**

Looking Back....Looking Forward

Well thank you for reminding me that I have fallen down on the job here...LOL, just kidding.

I seriously have not done much that could be classified as PCCX during these last 5 weeks. I hang my head in shame......

And on that note, I say that this next 5 weeks will be different. I will actually find my list that I printed, um, had someone print for me, and I will try to do as many of the remaining jobs on the list as I can. I have company coming hopefully the weekend before Christmas and since one of those people is a bit of a clean freak/OCD about germs/picky person I would like to be able to open my door to her with peace this time.

First goal: To get in my laundry room and restack all boxes I've let get out of place. This will actually let me walk on more than a foot of the floor in there.

Second goal: To dust all rooms in this house from ceiling to floor. Trust me it needs it.

Third goal: To declutter yet even more toys, beyond the 2 trash bags in the trunk of my car.

Fourth goal: To get my kitchen cleaned and keep my dishes done up each day. I know that's not technically a PCCX goal but hey, it will help me to be able to eat to keep up my strenght.

and finally,

Fifth goal: To thoroughly clean all the floors in this house, hopefully with a steam cleaner and a good mop.

I will be posting more often hopefully...don't hold your breath for more than a sentence or two each time though. Wouldn't want to disappoint you.

5 by 5

That was a favorite phrase of Faith's on BTVS...I don't think anybody ever knew what it meant. Which reminds me...I wanted to paint our room in an Asian style to go with the furniture and put the characters (Chinese, Japanese, either one) for "Faith", "Hope", and "Trick" on the walls...but I digress.

Today is the first day of the 5th week, which makes this the halfway mark for Fall PCCX. I don't know of anyone who's gotten anywhere near that point, but that's OK! Any progress is still progress, and even though the only things I've done are the insides of the freezer and fridge and 3/4 of one empty hallway, I can point at those things and say "see, I did something." There will be many more things in the second half that I will accomplish - and so will you. :)

50/50 Challenge: Look back at the first half of PCCX and choose 5 *positive* aspects of the challenge so far for you - this could be specific accomplishments, positive changes in your home as a result, positive changes in your outlook, etc. Then decide on 5 specific goals for the second half. If you have a blog, write a post about it and share the link here. If you're a contributor to this blog - and you know who you are - post here, obviously. If you have no blog of your own, post to the Yahoo group. 50 points for positive changes, 50 more for goals.

Bad 'manda

I am a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad PCCX-er. We are very nearly at the mid-point - you hear that, people, halfway done! * panic* - and the only pccx related things I have done are the inside of the freezer and the inside of one small dresser, oh, and most of an empty hallway (walls and floor). *hanging head in shame* I had the house looking fairly decent (if one didn't look too closely), and then I had back-to-back Bad Days this week and it's back to being a wreck. Possibly some areas not as wrecked as before, but still...

I'm bi-polar. I also have arthritis and other issues. So my mental status swings from depressed and useless to happy and ambitious, and my physical status swings from nearly crippled to not so bad. On an exceptionally good day the ups match, and on a particularly bad day the downs match. This week was one of those bad days...actually two in a row. On the plus side that is now behind me for a while, and things should be looking up. If I'm really lucky I won't have another downer until after PCCX is all over. Yeah, that'll happen. *snort*

Anyway...the house is trashed so one might think that this weekend's goal would be to get it picked up. Not so, Grasshopper. It's a weekend, which means everyone's home and in the way. It also means trips to town and shopping, which in turn means prep and follow-up and coupons to clip and file and mail and... So my goal for the rest of this weekend is to get ALL computer and paper related work done (as much as possible) before bedtime Sunday night. Correction: before NIC and ICA Sunday night, and I suppose Challenge too. So that's everything done by, say, 7:30pm tomorrow (I like to start late so I can skip commercials). The biggest thing on my side is that there's almost no shopping to be done tomorrow morning. Partly because grocery money is low, being the end of the month, and partly because there aren't any great deals at the store this week. There's a very few deals at other stores that maybe I might want to pick up if I wanted to store-hop, but I really don't so I'll just pass on them. That saves a ton in terms of time and effort. Shoot, I wouldn't even have to go if it weren't for the weekly requirement of newspapers and dog food and milk. What I wouldn't give for a store here that carried the big city paper on Sundays.

So much of the writing and coupon filing and such tonight and tomorrow, general pickup and getting back to order Monday, one room to be determined Tuesday, another Wednesday, another Thursday, panic about Halloween costumes Friday, Halloween carnival Saturday, back to shopping and writing Sunday. Sounds like a plan. Keep an eye out for mid-point challenges to be posted here and elsewhere this weekend.

Oh! I almost forgot - again - that I really, really need to take some pictures for holiday cards. That will definitely be this weekend as well.

What was I thinking?????

I am such a glutton for punishment and I really have the desire to have a clean and organized home, I really do.....BUT, I can't seem to get it all together AT THE SAME TIME *snort* I am a 1 step forward, 9 steps back kinda girl apparently, lol. I did manage to get all my coupons clipped, organized, sorted and shared last night....this used to be part of my Sunday routine and beleive it or not helped me get on track for the week, when I did it regularly.

On the other hand...........I have a 60th surprise birthday party for my dad that is only 1/2 planned, homeschool with dd every day, hair cuts for both myself and dd, eyebrow waxing, family holiday portraits, sign language class for dd, pe for dd, art for dd, a community yard sale that I am in charge of, weekly client work, a field trip to the pumpkin patch, shopping for birthday decorations, meal planning and preparing, quarterly payroll returns, personal tax prep, unpacking, cleaning for said surprise birthday party this weekend. Ummmmmm, where oh where do I put in pccx and going potty????????????????????????????

One tada and then I am outie....Dd and I sat in her room for 5+ hours on Saturday and cleaned out her closet, under her bed, all her nooks and crannies. She has bins for all her toys, but enjoys irritating me by putting stuff where it doesn't belong....the only thing left to do in there is hang her wall art, hang her window treatments and go thru her closet to purge smallish clothes and summer wear. I also managed to scrub down, clean and polish our stainless steel gas grill. I took all the grill grates....8 peices in all and then I used stainless steel cleaner on the outside. Saturday was wrapped up with trimming and watering all hedges out front and cleaning up the scraps. OOH, OOH, OOH....I guesss that cleaning the grill and trimming the hedges could be on PCCX under "winterizing".....hmmmm, I definately need to check that out, lol.

Tomorrow will be spent on client work, clearing off my desk, credenza and filing cabinets and hanging clothes back in my closet. After losing 3 dress sizes, I was forced *gasp* lol to buy new clothes and they are ALL on my bed....my closet is completely empty, so that MUST be taken care of tomorrow.

Part 1 of my dungeon

Before & After Photos of the Coupons - Part of my dungeon

The first photo is of all the MONTHS, yes months of inserts that I had accumulated as well as coupons I picked up along the way or received in trains or from other group members. There was NOT semblance of organization, they were scattered everywhere and I had no idea where in the heck the ones were that I actually needed to use. My daughter went to her dad's this weekend and I spent a total of 13 hours on organizing the heaps of the mess. (4 hours on Thursday night, 6 hours on Friday and 3 hours on Sunday)

First, I had to go thru all the uncut inserts and determine which were expired (sadly, that was alot). This was approximately 9 1/2 " of inserts to go thru and does not include the enormous stack that was already clipped. Then I clipped all the good dated coupons. After getting them all clipped, I sorted them into stacks of coupons I need/use and ones that I will send to friends and members of my coupon groups that can use them. I tackled the "other" coupons for the groups first and grouped all like coupons together. I keep these in a bin with cards labeled by month. I chose to do this by month because when we send out coupon trains in the group, we must make sure that the coupons aren't short dated to go around to 4 people. I keep the current month first and then in month order work back. The coupons photo'd in the very back of the bin are either NON expiring or expire 12/2010 or LATER. Yes, I grabbed an entire stack of organic coupons. I don't see them often, use them when I can and I experience NO SHAME in helping myself and my friends :D

Once that was accomplished, I did the happy dance, not only for completing 1/2 of that task, but also because I got to take fling points for all those wasted coupons :) I "auctioned" off several stacks of the unwanted coupons to the girls (the collaborators of this blog) and I think we all thoroughly enjoyed it...we kinda felt like we were at an auction, lol. Next began the task of organizing all my personal coupons. I do the organizing for those a little differently. I organize my personal coupons by "type" of coupon. For example....beverages, breakfast items, bread, ice cream, frozen, frozen veggies, medicine, deoderant, paper products...you get the idea I hope. I shop the sales and I stockpile, so I often times have multiples of coupons and actually welcome them from friends, neighbors, family and fellow couponers. :) If I can get items for free or close to free that we won't personally use, I donate them to women's shelters, pet shelters, churches and even victims of wild fires, tornadoes and hurricanes. I paperclip all like coupons together, with the earliest expiration date first. I also like to have each variety of coupon clipped together, meaning.....I have a section for soups, but I have all the chunky campbell's coupons together, all healthy choice campbell's coupons together, all cream soup campbell's coupons together, etc. That's probably a bit anal, but if I see a sale, I can grab the coupons quickly and take them with me.

The final step in completing the coupon organizing is to organize my bin by ailes in the store. I have not done that yet and am waiting when I can leave my daughter at home to walk the aisle at kroger. I do shop at other stores, but mainly kroger, and I could actually probably just do this at home since I am smart enough to figure out that all cheeses, milk, yogurt, butter, cookie dough, etc are all in the same section, same with all the frozens, canned goods, etc. :)

I think I mentioned I have several BIG issues with my dungeons in trying to get unpacked, but I am happy that I was able to get this large task completed although it was only a VERY VERY small, minute dent in the big picture. I went shopping Saturday afternoon and it was so nice to look at the ads, make my list and pull my coupons....took me 30 minutes tops for this weeks shopping at 5 stores. YAY me!

Ye-ah, that worked well

The first day of my "job" plan, and I woke up sick. And not just a little under the weather; puking, falling asleep on the couch sick. I sort of slept until noon and then got up and did as little as possible the rest of the day.

But today is a new day. It was raining so I drove the girls to school, which then required (heh) a stop at Sonic, so I didn't get back until about 10 after 8. No worries, I ate breakfast and started dishes and got everyone else breakfast and all those usual morning things, and sat down to start "work" by 9:00. So far, so good. I'll continue work (with a short lunch break) until 2:00, and then clean (and do the homework thing when the girls come home) until about 5:00, make dinner, and pretty much watch tv the rest of the night because it's Thursday and I have lots to watch tonight. Sounds like a plan to me.

So, what kind of schedule, if any, do you have for when you clean or chill or do other things? 25 points for answering in comments.

What a lousy way to start

An entire week is over, and I have done NOTHING on the PCCX list. Ok, I sort of take that back. I did the first two holiday items and all but one of the bonus challenges. The one I missed? Get one PCCX item done by 9am...which I posted because I was in the bathroom that morning looking, once again, at the destroyed shower curtain hanging from the rod and the new one in the package on the shelf, where it's been for 2 MONTHS. So I thought if I made that a challenge I'd get right back in there and change it and have that done and not staring at me all the time. But noooooo. I left the bathroom and did all the usual morning stuff and the next thing I knew it was 11 and I hadn't done it. I kicked myself and cursed, but I STILL haven't changed the !#$%@! shower curtain. Wth is wrong with me?? That's it, I'm going to do it now. Please hold. Your call is very important to us. Please enjoy the hold music...

*******************************************************

There, it's done. The new one doesn't have metal grommets. That's probably not good. I don't see it lasting the 4 1/2 years the other one (sort of) did. I'm also missing a ring. But it's changed. Here's proof (cuz y'all are nice trusting people, I'm sure, but if I were me I wouldn't necessarily trust me, if you follow me).

Before and After:

I don't think the Before picture quite does justice to the nastiness that it was.

So here's a bonus challenge for you:

Go, right now, and do something that you've been putting off for at least a week. It doesn't have to be PCCX related, but it can be. 150 bonus points for doing so.

I LOVE Fall!

I never realized that I loved fall until I spent time in Tennessee the past two years. I lived in Florida the past 14 years and our fall's consisted of 80 degree days instead of 95. ;) I always did my "major" clean every January. I had renewed energy after the holidays and hope to continue that, but I really want to be prepared and organized for the holidays this year. The air is dryer and cooler and days of windows open are just around the corner. With the start of PCCX each time, I am optimistic I'll get EVERYTHING done, and it never happens. I will take what I can however; because I do get MORE done when PCCX is in the midst. I make my daily points and stay active, but just can't get quite to PCCX, lol. For now, I am ok with that. Maybe if I can get all this other "stuff" done, I will be successful at PCCX the next time.

I have made goal each day this week; however I haven't completed all I wanted on my list. Things come up like middle of the night upset stomach's and laying wide awake when I am supposed to be sleeping...not condusive to a 5:30 alarm sounding off. This morning I got to add two extra loads of laundry to my list as my daughter didn't quite make it to the bathroom early this morning....fun, fun. I have had emergency client deadlines come up and dishwashers go out....but I am plugging along.Today, we managed to get two days of math done and I reorganized the stockpile of food in our stairwell closet. We have more we are gathering to put in there, but for now it's organized should we need it. :) The photos are above....

The remainder of the day will be spent whittling away my 48 item list, errands and client work....another day with no PCCX items completed, but I'm ok with that. :)

Jamie's Befores

Jamie's Day 1

My computer is EXTREMELY slow and photobucket was extremely uncooperative this evening. :( I made my daily goal and am pleased with my overall day, although I did not get any PCCX done, so to speak. I got somewhat of a gameplan together and will only be able to work on PCCX two full days a week. I am going to have to stay on task and make sure I am following the schedule that I have set up to keep my work, homeschool, dailies and pccx done. I am pleased that I kept up with my POA, I worked steadily, I got my water in, we completed school and I got all my rumbles done.

Off to bed....tomorrow will be full with school activities for dd, so I will have to work after dinner.....toodles.

Aaargh!

Day 1 and I'm already behind. I spent too much time last night on my regular blog posts for the week, and I didn't want to stay up any later than I already was, so I didn't get properly prepped for today. I still don't have a working list for today, I still have posts to write, I still have paperwork to do, and at this rate it'll be lunchtime before I'm ready to get up and do anything.

You know what? Screw it. We did a lot of work this weekend, and except for a few places on the floor that I want to get cleaned all the "condemnable" bits got cleaned. If the place as it is now (minus those spots on the floor) isn't good enough, then I guess I'm not good enough. I have enough to do today without stressing about making things picture perfect. So my official cleaning goals for the day include half an hour on the floors, half an hour on my room, half an hour on dishes and dining room, and a couple loads of laundry. Given that, I can safely start whenever I finish the rest of this stuff.

So how about you? Are you prepared to start today, or even this week? What do you feel you need to do before you begin? 50 points for answering in the comments.

And to get us off on the right foot, 50 points for declaring a dungeon (take it if you've already done so or if you do it today), and another 50 for adding yourself to the database (ditto).