The plan has already fallen apart

In my last post I'd made a plan of how I was going to get through de-cluttering and organising my house. It's already fallen apart. 

I was planning to finish the kitchen last week, work on the area at the top of the stairs this week and the lounge next week. Then gaming got organised for Monday just been at our place. This was fine. Then I got told that my sewing table would be needed as well as our main table. This meant moving ALL my projects and crafting bits out of the lounge, as I have an alcove in there for my sewing table. This included moving the bookshelf with my notebooks, ideas folders, small jars of buttons and other miscellaneous items. 

The result of this being that the kitchen didn't get finished. The lounge isn't finished either. Yes, it is tidy and uncluttered currently, but I don't consider it complete until I have moved my sewing items back in. But it's actually somewhat easier now, as I'm starting from a blank slate so to speak. 

This week no progress has happened towards organising and de-cluttering. With a half a day at the doctors, half a day with a friend and her 5 day old baby, half a day doing groceries (which I still haven't managed to put away) as I then spent the rest of that day in the emergency department finding out that my husband has a mild to moderate concussion. Add to that a baby who has decided that waking several times in the night to feed is the way to go. My week has disappeared on me. I did have social time today (my husband referred to it as 'mums and bubs Stargate Atlantis', there was lasagne, it was enjoyed by all). I prioritise some social time and me time over housework as it's good for my mental health. There is no point in having a perfect house if I'm too stressed to enjoy it. I've also managed to keep everyone well fed. 

I think I'm going to spend the weekend working on the lounge, dealing to the couch currently known as 'Mt Washmore' and moving my sewing workstation back into the lounge in a tidy and uncluttered manner. The bookshelf will stay in the back bedroom. I'm also allowed to store craft items in there, as long as it is tidy and ready to be used as a guest bedroom. There are drawers under the bed for my yarn and a unit for my unfinished projects (which I'm hoping to empty by the end of the year), but those are both topics for another day's post. 

But for now, I'm going to go put my feet up, make a hot blackcurrant and enjoy some quiet time before the little one wakes for another feed before hopefully sleeping the night through. 

Today I made a plan

I'm not quite how I did it, but I married a minimalist. I didn't imagine this would be a problem, but I'm somewhat of a hoarder, so it has led to conflicting opinions in how our house should be. I'm also so used to my clutter, that I often don't notice it.

While I know I have too much clutter, I have lacked the intrinsic motivation to actually do something about it. My relationship with my husband and having a daughter who will be mobile in the next few months are motivating factors. I'm finally doing something about it.

I've been trying to do something about it for awhile, getting rid of things here and there, but it's like drops in an ocean. Really, you can't tell by looking at my craft stuff that I gave away a teddy bear kit, all but 4 pairs of straight knitting needles, a knitting needle holder and a supermarket bag of yarn yesterday. I know it's gone, but there is no visible difference.

I've somehow dealt to the cause of it, in that I am no longer bringing things into the house without a purpose. Now I get the task of dealing to all that I've already accumulated, and I'm running out of time to do it in.

So today I made a plan. I have designated a room each week that I will work my way through and de-clutter. My plan is to go through each area, find homes for the things that are staying in that area, put items I'm keeping but don't belong there in the area they belong in, put aside items that are getting donate and put in the rubbish bin what belongs there. I will probably have to go back once I've done them all and make sure that things didn't just get moved somewhere else, but I suspect my husband will keep me on track.

This is my plan:

Jan 16-22

Kitchen: Clean and de-clutter benches, pantry, fridge, cupboards, hutch dresser

Jan 23- 29

Area at top of stairs

Jan 30-Feb 5

Lounge

Feb 6-12

Back bedroom

Feb 13-19

Our bedroom

Feb 20-26

Computer room

Feb 27- Mar 4

Guinevere’s bedroom

Mar 5-11 and Mar 12-18

Large area downstairs

Mar 19-25

Laundry and under the stairs

Mar 26 –April 1

Small room downstairs

April 2-8

Bathroom

I suspect there will be changes as life gets in the way or priorities get shuffled on negotiation with my husband. But this is what I intend to do. Putting it out there helps keep me accountable. 

Wish me luck :)

I'm linking this through to Jules over at Pancakes and French Fries. She has buttons to link it through, but I haven't worked out how to do that yet, still new at this. 

Updated list of 2012 Goals

Happy New Years to all.

I didn't finish my sock, but I did finish two other projects, and make significant inroads on two more. So I'm happy with that.

I posted a few weeks ago about two goals I have for this year. I've also been jotting down other things I'd like to work on this year. When I had a look at my list last night, I realised there were 12 things on it. That seems appropriate. I think I'll leave the list at that length.

So here are my goals for this year:

•          Complete all small to medium sized current projects
•          Make Guinevere’s Fantasy/Medieval alphabet book
•          Turn downstairs into a usable space
•          Eat healthier
•          Exercise more
•          Start a business with my crafts
•      Learn to play the violin
•          Get more organized
•          Put in a garden
•          Work on debt
•          Find work as an OT
•          Continue to grow an amazing little girl

Now I just need to work out how I am going to reach each of these goals, and how I am going to measure when I have achieved them. Some, like Guinevere's alphabet, will be easy to tell when they are finished. Others, like eating healthier and getting more organised, are going to be harder to tell. So I'm going to have to work out some definable mark that lets me know I've improved and got where I'd like to be. But I'll do that another day. For now, I'm going to go work on finishing a project that absolutely needs finished as it's for someone else and it's been dragged out for far too long. Plus some spinning to relax.