Spring's coming, honest

The weather may or may not agree depending upon where you are, but Spring really is approaching, and with it the widely recognized "spring cleaning" season. PCCX is here to help. Really the PCCX chore list is virtually identical in all 4 seasons, except that Spring and Fall have season-specific transitional tasks. For that reason, and also because I think people tend to be more receptive to the concept during "spring cleaning" and when preparing for major holidays, Spring and Fall PCCX take up 8 weeks each instead of 5. It's sort of understood that some of the more detailed or out of the way things can reasonably be skipped during the Winter and Summer rounds, but since I'm in no position to draw those lines for people the cleaning lists are the same each time.

Prior to last Fall's PCCX we debuted the 20 Days of Clutter preparation. It seemed popular so I'm bringing it back for Spring, starting tomorrow. Since it's more difficult, if not impossible, to properly clean surfaces and areas that are piled, stuffed, overflowing with *stuff*. Each day there is a new focus, some area or category of clutter to tackle. How you choose to deal with it is left to the individual. If you want to spend 5 minutes on a 27 Fling Boogie of the most obvious or intrusive items, fine. 15 minutes is great. If you are so moved, spend longer on a particular area and really get it taken care of. Every thing that is gone or put away when we start to actually clean shelves and drawers and floors is going to be seconds or minutes saved. The purpose of the 20DoC is to remind you of things you might have too many of, or that may have outgrown their usefulness or their homes, things that are perpetually "out" instead of put away, and to prepare your home for a good spring cleaning. I hope you find it useful.

Letting things slide

There's been a lot of sliding around here. So much so that I'm having a hard time getting my footing back. And not all of that is metaphorical, given that we've had more snow and ice this winter than any other in history for this area.

In happy news, I now have a brand-spanking-new set of laundry machines! Not a matching set, not even the same brand, but new and working and all that good stuff. There was a little drama with the dryer (mostly because I'm an idiot), but as of yesterday both are fully functional and have been running almost nonstop ever since.

I am cautiously optimistic about improvements around here. The washer and dryer are a big part of that, and also that today was bright and clear (still cold but I can't ask for much in February), and I have some new toys to play with. But I'm also wary because I know that my disposition, as well as external factors, can be mercurial and while I'm up and functioning and ambitious tonight there's no guarantee for tomorrow, much less next week or month.

I am determined, from now on, PCCX or not, to do one thing a day that is not the bare minimum. No matter how small an act that might be, if it's something that does not have to be repeated one or more times per day it counts as progress. Today, for example, when I was putting away yesterday's non-urgent groceries I also picked up a large amount of trash from the "pit" end of the kitchen. This is the dead end corner of the room between the freezer and the microwave where food packaging tends to be discarded without regard for any receptacle in which to place it. I didn't "clean the room" or even that side of it, I didn't "finish" the floor, I didn't get every last bit of everything, I just took a few extra minutes to go that one step beyond the task at hand, which was putting away food.

Which, by the way, is getting ever more impossible. I really need a bigger pantry.

I've also fallen waaay behind on my blogging responsibilities. Even if I'm only responsible to myself in my own mind, I'm still off kilter. I know better than to promise, but I do intend to make an effort to post much more often, if only to list my one "extra" task of the day. Winter can be such a blah time of year with weather restricting activities and affecting moods, among other things. It's going to take a concerted effort to not effectively hibernate until spring, so this is my declaration of intent.

Help me out. Leave comments. Post your own entries (you know who you are). Set goals, brag about accomplishments, even if it was only that you got all-the-way dressed on a day you weren't going anywhere, and have a conversation about how the season is affecting your work.

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. :)

It's that time of year again. Time for another pccx. The last one didn't go so well. I didn't do nearly as much as I wanted to. This one has got to be better. I'm moving in 6 months.....holy crap. I've got to get my house organized and ready for packers to come in and get it all packed up. I'm so not ready.

I've got a plan, and hopefully I can stick to it.

I've mapped out my days, I'll spend 3-4 hrs a day on general upkeep of the house, 2-3 hrs a day on school work, 2-3 hrs a day on pccx and getting the house organized, at least one hour a day doing something I enjoy that is relaxing, at least one hour with my kids playing with them, work up to 1 hour of exercise everyday. I'm starting the Atkins diet this month....that will take a little time to get into the swing of things. I've figured that's 15 hrs of work stuff a day. That leaves 9 hours for sleep and extra stuff. HOLY CRAP I don't know if I can do it.

Yes I can.....Just stick to the plan it's not that bad. That's all for now, will check in soon.

A Visit from the House Fairy

With my sincere apologies to Clement Clarke Moore...

'Twas the night before PCCX, when all thro' the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The laundry was flung in the hall without care,

In hopes that the House Fairy soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of snowball fights danc'd in their heads,
And I, looking at the mess we’d made of our lives,

Had just settled in for Desperate Housewives —

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the couch to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Hid behind the curtains, and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow,

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below;

When, what to my wondering eyes should there seem,

But a utility cart, and what? A whole team?
With a fairy leader, so lively and quick,

I saw at once her timer ringing “tock, tick”.

More rapid than eagles her helpers they came,

And she whistled, and shouted, and call'd them by name:

"Now! Swiffer, now! Comet, now! Lysol and Windex,
"
On! Clorox, on! Cascade, on! Febreze and Tarn-x;

"To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!

"Now scrub it, and dust it, and vacuum it all!"

As dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;

So up to the house-top the cleaners they flew,

With the cart full of sponges — and the fairy crew too:

And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The clack and the clatter of each cleaning tool.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney the House Fairy came with a bound:

She was dress'd all in glitter, from her head to her foot,

And her clothes were now tarnish'd with ashes and soot;

A flick and a wave of the wand in her pack,

And she look'd like she’d never been covered in black:

Her eyes — how they twinkled!
Her dimples: how merry,

Her cheeks were like roses, her nose like a cherry;

Her cute little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the ends of her hair glittered like snow;

The wand full of feathers she held tight in her fist,

And the sparks it emitted decorated her list.

The list sure was long, but she didn’t seem fazed. 

I, on the other hand, was properly dazed.
She was chubby and plump, a right jolly young elf,

And I laugh'd when I saw her in spite of myself;

A wink of her eye and a twist of her head

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

She spoke not a word, but went straight to her work,

And laid in supplies for me, pointed out where dirt lurked,

And laying her finger aside of her nose

And giving a nod, up the chimney she rose.

She sprung to her cart, to her team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew, like the down of a thistle:

But I heard her exclaim, ere she drove out of sight —

Happy PCCX to all, and to all a good night.

Winter PCCX----Better and Bigger This Time Around

Well, I disappeared in the Fall and didn't re-surface until the New Year. However, I'm back now with a PASSION! A passion to get a clean house, a passion to get boxes unpacked, a passion to meet goals!!!

The Better part-----
I want to achieve PCCX or at least more of it this time. I want to do better. I quit after the 1st week last time because I didn't know if we were moving or not and I got frustrated and depressed waiting to find out. This time I don't have that excuse.

The Bigger part-----
We moved into a bigger house, a MUCH bigger house. I don't know how in the world I'll ever get/keep it clean. I counted 20 areas in the house that need to stay clean/organized. We literally doubled the area. That's not counting the garage, barn or dh's wood shop or work shop, the garden or any of the yard. What was I thinking when we bought this house? I know, I was thinking that we love it and we will finally have room for everyone. It's been a great move. I just think I need to hire a couple of maids. Yeah right. LOL

Anyway, I want to make our new home a peaceful, relaxing haven. I am determined to do that and PCCX will help me get there. I plan on working hard during each one this year and by the end of the year, I can say I met my goals.

Who's ready to work with me?

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?