Progress on 2023 Goals

I have been a busy woman so far this year! I deep cleaned my house from top to bottom and learned a whole lot doing it. It was also, strangely… satisfying to clean 12 years of dust and grime from our home. It’s kind of fun to make things look new again, and not that hard once you get the hang of it. I sure am glad I’m enjoying it, because I no longer have a cleaning lady…

This is a huge “THANK YOU” for Jackie D who recommended the Flylady system for maintaining my house. This is EXACTLY what I needed- thank you so much! I (of course) have modified the system somewhat, but now I know exactly what needs to be done and when to do it to keep everything in order. Also, there is a daily checklist and I do adore checking things off of a list- it makes me feel so productive.

I have also decluttered- a ton of stuff. I have dropped several carloads off at goodwill, trashed some, and gave some to friends with younger children. A friend sent me a picture by text message today with her kids enjoying the books I sent home with her. As a bonus, by parting with “babyish” souvenirs and decorations, the boys updated their rooms to something much more age appropriate and they like their rooms more. Dusting is much easier when you don’t have to move a pile of things off of the counter to clean, and I’m loving the feeling of clean open space in my home.

I replaced a cheap computer desk that we bought for our last house and was far too big for this one. I found an inexpensive antique one on Facebook marketplace that needed a bit of repair. It was a satisfying, quick project. The new desk is much smaller and it opened up a lot of space in our guest room, which I’m sure my parents will appreciate the next time they’re here.

I also replaced my dining room table with a much bigger one- also used from Facebook. the old one was a great fit for our last two houses, but this house has a really wide dining room and the skinny table we had looked a bit odd in it. Also, we need a big table as we entertain a fair amount, and frequently have to seat people elsewhere. This table has TWO leaves and will probably seat 8 easily, and 10 in a pinch. The chairs are wide and sturdy. To be honest I don’t totally love the table, but everyone else does, and I spent little enough on it that I wouldn’t feel guilty if I decide to replace it one day.

I have taken my first knitting class, and I must say that knitting is a good deal harder than it looks. I think I’m going to like it though. It seems like it will always be challenging enough to keep me interested. I did not pick it up perfectly on the first lesson, but I can’t wait to go back because the knitting shop is a rather intriguing world unto itself.

I waltzed in at about 9:45 (which was before shop hours) and there was a tableful of ladies drinking coffee and chatting about various things while they knitted. I was welcomed, offered coffee, and gently interrogated (if you live in the south, you’ll know what this means. Everyone wanted to know where I was from, did anybody know my family, what I was doing there, was I married, did I have kids, etc, etc…). The instructor is a patient lady who owns a farm, and told me all about her chickens. When I mentioned that I made soap, she offered to trade me a dozen eggs for a bar. Sold! She told me to practice, gave me instructions and said she’d see me in two weeks.

I tried, I really did. Apparently on the way home I forgot everything. I watched some Youtube and went to the library to get a book, but I will definitely be needing that second lesson! And probably third. My mom is getting me a gift certificate to the yarn shop for my birthday, which I will enjoy.

My grafting class is Saturday, and I’m looking forward to that. We get to choose a camellia to graft onto rootstock to make our very own grafted camellia. I’m excited about the class, but generally disgusted with my camellia project. We had a drought this summer which killed a few shrubs, and then a highly unusual 3 day freeze which damaged almost all of the flower buds, and then the deer damage. The deer have eaten about half of my camellias down to nubs. My project for the next few days is to construct protective cages to protect them and hope they survive the damage. AARGH!

So progress- have I made progress? Well yes and no. The house is clean and I have a system in place to keep it that way. I replaced most of the items that I wanted to, and while more decluttering needs to be done, I’m making excellent progress. The problem? When I cleaned my baseboards I discovered that the painters did an awful job and all of the trim really needs to be repainted. This is going to ba a huge job. The finish on the lower kitchen cabinets is looking a bit rough. I’m thinking about repainting them. The finish on the vanity in the kids bathroom looks so bad, it might be easier to replace the whole thing. Or maybe I’ll practice my cabinet painting skills in there. If I mess it up, I don’t mind scrapping that one entirely. I appear to be adding chores as fast as I am checking them off of the list, but I’m having a great time, and I guess that’s what matters. When I get tired of projects, I can always stop and hire someone to do it. But I like the satisfaction of finishing something, and I like learning new things.

Fun retirement activity of the week- I dragged my husband out to a concert in a nearby town. It was just a local band but they were very good and we enjoyed the evening. We stayed out late though. It would have been hard to get up for work after having been out well after midnight, but we didn’t have to!