No Cleaning Today/Latest Progress Report

I didn't do any more organizing and cleaning today after yesterday's hallway shoe/coat closet blitz. I threw out one almost full bag of garbage and one whole bag of shoes that either don't fit anymore or that I haven't worn since the last time I worked outside the home. I also sorted through all of the baby/toddler/preschooler shoes that we had lying in the bottom of the closet(mostly given to us by neighbours) and have them all stored in a Rubbermaid storage tote(one of the taller ones) ready for when Brynna is the right size for them. I also got the dresser out of the kids' room, into the hallway and filled up with hats, mittens, the kids' facecloths, towels, bibs, our bath towels and some winter and other jackets that aren't the right size or season at the moment. The brass/glass shelf unit that was in the hallway is now in our bedroom with my yarn and spinning fibre on it. I also managed to get a lot of our bedroom cleared out, including the closet. I have two more closets in the hallway, the rest of our bedroom, Brynna's room, the kitchen, and the final push in the living/dining room. A lot has been done, but there's still a lot to go.

Siblings

Big Brother is watching you took on a whole different meaning the other day when Aidan began asking me to have Brynna sit with him on the couch. He's really turning in to a fabulous big brother, really wanting to help with diaper changes and keeping Brynna company(aka keeping her from crying when I need to be in another room for a few seconds). I snapped a few pictures, and they both had some funny looks on their faces.

A Small Stall in Progress

I'm just in a little bit of a stall in my reorganizing odyssey. I only bought one roll of drawer liner to see how it worked, and I only had enough to cover one of the big drawers and one of the small drawers and so I have to wait until tomorrow so I can go pick up two more rolls and complete the lining, and then I can get the things into the dresser that I want to put in there(so that it's out of the living room). From there I want to finish sorting through the baby/toddler clothes so that I can get those finished and find somewhere for the items that are too small to go(Kevin has a co-worker who's expecting in March, so maybe we can give them a bunch of it). From there it's on to finish our bedroom(which is looking surprisingly good with the brass/glass shelf that was in the hallway in there for my yarn/fibre), and finally the kitchen and the finishing touches to the living room/dining room. I hope to have it all completed by the end of March at the latest, and then I'm going to put together a cleaning schedule/routine using a calendar that I was given by an acquaintance from Chicago. I figure if I break up the cleaning over the course of a week, with everything else that I have to do around the house(diaper/clothing laundry, cooking, dishes, workouts, etc) that this may be the best way to ensure that it gets done, and I still have time for some relaxation for myself so I don't go insane. I couldn't do it in one blitz day per week. Nope, not my style.

I Have a 6 Year Old!! Wahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot believe that Caleigh turned 6 years old last week. It has absolutely just flown by, lost of laughs, lots of fun, and lots of tears and, of course, fights. But it's been an amazing time. She had the most wonderful Princess themed party planned and decorated by her Aunt Jess and Uncle Matt(who also took some fabulous pictures at the party). I also got up the motivation to bake her cake from scratch and decorate it myself using fondant and buttercream icing along with some store-bought Princess cake toppers. She had an awesome time, even though only 2 of her classmates were able to come. I would have liked to be able to add some pictures here of Caleigh and her party, but we don't have any pictures of her w/o her friends, and I don't have permission from their parents to publish their pictures online, and so I will not do so.

Almost Done

I ended up getting my energy back on the weekend and pushed through getting the hallway done(finished it to 99% done yesterday-the other 1% is getting the glass shelf disassembled and cleared out of the hallway to make room for the dresser from the kids room, which would involve getting some shelves put into their closet for their clothes which currently occupy said dresser). Now I'll be moving on to the kitchen and hope to have it done by the end of the day today or early tomorrow afternoon so that I can get to the back hallway and stairs and the final touch ups downstairs before the party on Saturday(for which we've still had no replies except for the 2 declines).

Momentum Lost

I have lost the momentum/motivation/energy to continue with the decluttering/organization/cleaning of the house. I've gotten tired of being pretty much on my own when it comes to sorting through nearly 10 years of accumulated stuff/junk. I cannot do it anymore, and I'm not sure I should have to try. I can't get it done before Caleigh's party next week, which is looking more and more like it's going to be a total disaster(only 2 of 6 people invited have replied, and those are not attending. The other 4 can't seem to be bothered to let us know. We asked Caleigh this morning if there were 2 more girls she wanted to invite, and she did. We'll see what happens there).

Attacking the Upstairs

This past weekend, the work on the upstairs began. Jess and I started in the living/dining room while Kevin and Matt started on the bathroom window. By the end of the day Sunday, Kevin and Matt had the window trimmed and curing and Jess and I had the living/dining room pretty well done, with laundry mostly sorted and ready to find its homes.

I've continued working, going through all of my clothes and pulling out all the maternity stuff and then sorting through the regular stuff and pulling out what I'm highly unlikely to wear again. I've managed to get about 2/3 of the bedroom cleaned and sorted today(had to take a break yesterday b/c of a huge allergic reaction to the dust bunnies on Monday). Now I just have the rest of our room, Brynna's room, the kitchen, and hallway left to get done.