I Flippin' Did It!!!

        I Flippin' DID IT!!

                       I have FINALLY caught up with ALL the laundry!
                   
  I know I know...big deal right?

But it is a big deal. It is a really BIG deal! I have been trying to tackle that monster for a while now.

I wish I could show you what it looked like before, but since I don't want my sweet grandmother to turn over in her grave (and my own mom to cry uncontrollably from deep and utter shame) I just figured I would nix that idea.

                             It was bad people, bad.  I'm talking mountains of laundry. ALL OVER!

                             It was a giant prehistoric octopus with tentacles that claimed the whole area as his.
                                                     

                                               and he wasn't going down without a fight.





                                                            Neither was I
                                                         

                                                 
                                                                           source

                             OK, That's not really like me





                                                           This is more like it
                                                         

source

                   I'm a fluffy Super Hero, but DAAAAAMN  I still look good!


I went downstairs to that laundry area and decided enough was enough.

My goal?

Get to the point where I'm doing just one load a day and the laundry room doesn't look like a bomb exploded there.

Sometimes you just have to dive in (or in my case belly flop) into the muck and fight.

That is just what I did.




But First...
                                     
                                                                           source

Yeah, that's right; get it all out.


OK lets get to it.

This is going to take a while so make sure you have allotted time for this.

The next step is going to sound crazy but TRUST me.

Even if your laundry monster is in overflowing hampers and already sorted, take the laundry out and put in on the floor. The reason I write this is because if we have a lot of laundry but never can finish all of it...the clothes on the bottom of the hamper get neglected because the pile on top keeps getting bigger and taller.



If your laundry is in hampers, floors, bottom of the basement stairs

Do the same thing

But you are going to make separate piles

I made 6 different piles

1. Whites

2. Darks

3. Medium (for pastels or lighter colors)

4. Towels

5. Kitchen (kitchen towels and tablecloths)

6. Is for the pile of clothes that need special care Ex delicate Underwear, or sweaters that need a slower cycle

Instead of one giant Laundry octopus monster, you will have 6 small monsters to deal with and lets face it little monsters are cuter and much less intimidating.

You have your piles

Now get to it

Your mood is going to get considerably lighter and brighter as your piles start to gradually disappear...and they will disappear!

Keep plugging away, Take breaks. DO NOT start another big cleaning project.

As one load is done in the dryer fold it and put it away right away.

Each member of our family has their own basket, and because I got tired of sorting socks,  I have two baskets for socks ( one for black/dark  and another for white socks). Whenever anyone needs socks  they can go downstairs and find their own and put them away.

I have another basket just for towels and another for linens. We don't have a lot of room upstairs for all of the towel and linens. I keep the extras in these baskets and come down whenever I need to replenish the closets upstairs.

See more on my Youtube channel
                

That's all for now. Do you have any tips to share? I would love to read them!

         Keep up the good work Dear Ones!
           Blessings, Joanne

Sick Day

     
                 I woke up feeling really sick and I'm having trouble getting started. So I decided to write a bit. Today is just one of those days. I have a list a mile long and no real energy to do anything. I have been burning the candle at both ends and it shows. I decided to take the day and rest up and try to gain a bit of energy. It happens. I have to try and listen to my body when it says...enough is enough.

Last weekend my Son went to a Christian Teen Conference and I was so happy for him. He was looking forward to that weekend for so long. I wish I could have had that experience as a teen. They have activities, a concert and workshops all weekend and they even have late night prayer area where the Teens can write prayers or read the prayers of others. They were even stations where they could create artwork.

My son woke up this morning very very under the weather so I let him stay home from school. It seems this sickness is making it's rounds in our house. He slept for a long long while.  Since it was so quiet I too fell asleep. I curled up on the couch with my favorite faux fur throw.
                                             
The day's worries floated away and my body thanked me for it. It was strange that I received no phone calls or messages during those few hours of sweet respite.

My poor dog didn't know what to do with himself. Usually he follows me from room to room, but today there was no activity on my part so he was content to nap on the floor near me.

When I was little, whenever I found my life's circumstances too overwhelming I would sleep. It was my way of shutting out the stress and sadness.

At night sleep eludes me now. I don't sleep well and when I do it is never ever enough.

After a about an hour and a half I awoke a bit unsure of what day it was.

I felt a bit better and went downstairs to tackle the laundry room. It's really not a room,; its just a corner of a the unfinished part of the basement. When we first moved into the house I was so excited to have a washer and dryer. No more lugging laundry in a cart and spending two hours in a laundry-mat. The other item I was over the moon over was my dishwasher. I had never had one before and the thought of not spending all that time at the sink was a blessing to me.

So downstairs I went to try catch up on my laundry. Today it was all about caring for my son and trying to tidy the laundry room.

Hopefully as I take it slow and bring up load after load, I'll make the laundry area look good and will be able to start another area tomorrow.

How about you Dear Ones; how did you spend your day?

I'm Not Perfect

             Hi Everyone, How are you feeling today? Today I found out I have walking pneumonia...

                                WALKING FREAKIN' PNEUMONIA!!! 

I've had a cough for a while and it wasn't getting better. Doctor told me what it was and the worst part was going home and having my husband say

                                "I told you so! I knew it!"


Blah blah blah

             Walking pneumonia makes it sound like you're sick but ya can still do EVERYTHING; just get up and WALK it off!

Why didn't they call it Go home sweetie get into bed and have your family take care of you, pneumonia.

Right now my son is excited about going to a Teen Christian Conference and I need to go out and get him some last minute things for his trip. I'm so glad we were able to afford this for him.  Remember the last post? I said that I wanted to try and establish the habit of keeping the kitchen table clear...?

                                                  Fail
                                

                                                     Its been like this for two days

I was starting to feel a bit down. I follow a few awesome women on Instagram and YouTube and when I look at their homes I'm floored at how beautiful, spacious and incredibly organized and decorated their homes are. I look around at my own home and say to myself...why would anyone want to follow me? I live in a tiny cape home with a kitchen linoleum floor that's torn, stained wallpaper and a stack of overdue bills. 

Why should you follow me when I can't even keep my kitchen table clear? And then I say why not?

OK, I don't have a amazing house...maybe you don't either.


I used to strive for perfection. I'm not perfect and sometimes it takes another person with the same issues to say " Hey lets do this together...and if I stumble maybe you'll be the one to encourage me, and if you stumble...I'll encourage you.


Crap happens. I can't....no, I WON'T let it get me down. And that is how I am trying to treat everything in my life now. I'm a strong person, but somehow I have allowed myself to think that I'm not. 

I have survived cancer

I think I can handle keeping a stupid table clear.



                               After...again

                    

And so can you Dear Ones...So can YOU!

                         

Habit

              Hi Everyone, I hope you are having a great day. In my last post I wrote how I am now using a planner to keep organized.  Did you go out a get one too?

Yesterday I took some time to write in it and plan my week. It feels good to just sit and write in that book and know that I will not (for the most part) be forgetting anything in the coming days.

So today I decided to take a few pictures of before and after a bit of cleaning. It never fails to amaze me how different the area looks to me in pictures.

I worked in the kitchen today.

I usually go clockwise around the room....Remember the problem of getting stuck? This is another way I avoid  that problem. I set the timer (depending on how much overall time I have that day) and I pick a section. I put away, scrub and clean off the area.
           
                                                                  Before
                              

       

                                                           After 2 minutes

                             

                                                             Before

                             

               



                                                             After 8 minutes
                              

                                                               Before
                              

                                                                   After
                             

The first task or baby step the Fly lady suggests is to keep a shiny sink. Its the step she started with when she decided to organize her home. Establishing that first habit is key. According to the European Journal of Social Psychology it takes 66 days for a new behavior to become habit.

So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to choose something that I want to become a habit and write it in my planner. 

Maybe you can too? Choose something. Is it keeping the sink clear of dishes?

Is it getting up and making that bed everyday?

Choose something small but helpful and choose something that will make you feel good every time you look at it. 

It will be very helpful if it is something that should be done everyday; like making the bed, doing dishes. 

Write the task down in a planner or on your phone.

Take a picture of the task before and after. 

Put a check mark or line through the written task once its done. Everyday you do this brings you closer to a great habit!

Want to try this with me?

What task will you choose?

I'm choosing keeping my kitchen table clear. Often it becomes a dumping ground for everything. 

Good luck! You're doing great!

Have an awesome day!

Planning With a Planner

           Usually on Friday nights I set my phone to Do Not Disturb between the hours of 6 and 10am.
If there's an emergency with either family then my Hubby's phone will ring or they can use the land line.
I just don't want to deal with weekday crap on the weekend. I need a few hours on Saturday where nothing exists except for my little family.

But I digress...

I forgot to show you what I bought not so long ago
                                 

A good ol' fashioned planner. My friends say why don't you just use your phone? You know it would be convenient but somehow whenever I get alerts I tend to shut it off and forget completely.

So about a month ago I happened upon a YouTuber who's Channel is called "She's in her apron". She's a stay-at-home mom who posts yummy recipes and ways to keep organized. She is as cute as a button, not afraid to show her messes and funny too.

Well, in one of her videos she explained and showed how she uses her planner together with stickers to keep her organized, and I thought ...how cool. I hadn't used a planner since I was in college and thought I might give it a try again.

Well they must be trending because I found some awesome ones in Michael's Arts and Crafts but they were quite expensive.

I then went to Walmart and found the one that I'm using now and I am quite happy with it. I didn't get a chance to buy cute stickers but I have to say it's already working very well for me. On Saturday or Sunday I sit down and I write what I have to do during the week.

What I need to buy

Who I need to call or text

What I want to cook every day for dinner

What I need to clean this week

Ever since I started using it I have not missed a deadline of any sort and I have stressed only slightly with the question "What the heck am I going to make for dinner?"

So, why not try a planner?

and if you do buy one can you share how it's working for you? I'd love to know.

A Single Step

        Hello everyone, and I write everyone because even though I haven't received any comments I know there is someone out there reading this blog. Positive thinking ...check


                   How are you feeling today?

                   No, seriously I want to know. 

                   Are you tired?
      
                   are you sad?

                   are you looking around and feeling defeated without even starting?

I know it might be hard...but will you agree to start today?


Are you ready to start organizing your home? Lets do this!


Lets find the simple task.

                    Make your bed...that's right make your bed. Before you do that however, take a picture of what the bed looks like before. Sometimes we become blind to what is right in front of us. Seeing it with new eyes (camera) will help you see what needs to get done. Now if your bed is covered in clothes and stuff, it's OK.

                                                               
                                                         source

Take everything off and make that bed. Fluff up the pillows and straighten the comforter. Make it as neat as you can, and when you are done take another picture. Compare the pictures and see and feel the difference. I know it sounds silly but you'll feel what I'm writing about. Feel anything? Good.

Now delete the old picture and keep the new one. I don't care if the bed is not perfect and you have one pillow that doesn't match anything. Those things will be fixed later; for now be proud that the bed is made.

Feels good doesn't it?

If the bed had clothes or anything that had to be moved off look at it and decide what it is...is this a pile of laundry that was never put away? or could it be dirty clothes that were taken off and never put in the laundry. Hey, don't feel badly....there's no judgment on this blog. Lets be real and honest and lets move on.

If you can, put the clothes where they belong. If they are dirty then bring them to the laundry area or place them in a pile or laundry bag ready for the laundry mat. Done. If you were only able to make the bed and thats all...that is more than OK.

Thats it.  That's the "must do" for today. If you want to continue clearing off another surface just remember to take a picture first. Look at the space with new eyes and then clear off the mess. Have a small waste paper basket handy to throw out papers and garbage. Once it is full you will feel such a satisfaction throwing the contents of the full container away. 

After this I would suggest to stop. Just be content in these few finished tasks.If you start to feel badly through the day just look at the picture of that neat bed. I love the saying "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"

                       

                                                     source

                              You are taking that step today.

So proud of you!!!

I'm curious to read how are you feeling right now. Are you hopeful? doubtful? If you did the exercise do you feel good about your step today?

How Did I Get Here?

                   How did I slide into this disorganization?  



                   I have always struggled with organization. Whether it was managing my time or managing the area around me, it has always been a bit of a struggle. So knowing this about myself,  in time, I was able to adapt by keeping up (for the most part) and utilized systems that worked for me. For example: the timer method, so I wouldn't get "stuck" on something. In fact I was a bit hyper-observant of what looked out of place. The tiniest thing that wasn't even or didn't look quite right, would make me super focused on how to make it right. Most times I was not successful.


Last year was a bit of a game changer. And it was surprising to me considering that I have survived cancer and being the wife of a deployed soldier. But last year...changed things for me.

I hurt my knee. My stupid knee.

I knelt on the couch to unplug something behind it and I felt a sharp pain. The pain went away quickly and I was OK. Two weeks later My knee blew up so much I couldn't bend it, and after that it was 8 weeks of insane pain.

It was in those months that I fell behind. I could no longer bend down to scrub anything. Going up and down the stairs to do the laundry hurt so much I started to skip days.... and then weeks. The the laundry piled up. The kids and hubby pitched in, but even they had a hard time following the endless lists of chores that now I had to share with them. 

After the swelling and intense pain got a bit better, I was left with arthritis in both knees and in my shoulders. Throw in close family hospitalizations and caring for elderly parents and I became lost. And I don't get it. I've been through so much worse. Why did I allow this to derail all the good habits I had acquired? I felt defeated that I couldn't move as fast as before. Things took 10 times longer to do and everything I did left me extremely exhausted.

I gained more weight, which by the way did NOT help with my arthritis. 

My In-Laws and My Mom became more and more dependent on their grown children.

At the same time my own child left for college and another is preparing to leave soon.

I became sad and the more I fought against this new reality, the more I felt so completely lost in the mess of it.

So here I am starting over. My health was the last piece to the sad disorganized mess.

 I'm starting news habits and methods for the new me. My body is not the same and I have to adjust to it. 

My In-laws and my own mom are no longer able to care for themselves and that is another adjustment.

 I'm starting anew in a lot of areas in my life. It's a good thing. I'm calling a "do over".  I'm renewing my subscription to the fly lady. I'm following some awesome women on you tube who seem to have methods of their own and I am going to try a few that I came up with. 

    And if you are in the the same boat maybe we can climb out of this mess together.

          

Feeling Stuck and the 2 Minute Cure

             OK, Yesterday I did absolutely nothing to make my home look better. I cleaned nothing, put away nothing. I did NO laundry and didn't even cook.


            What the heck is wrong with me?!?!

             I'm frozen.

Have you ever felt like that?

there are  times when I feel stuck...
           
                             Frozen

Whenever something jostles the norm I get stuck; frozen in a state of blindness when it comes to the house. Currently the thing that is making me frozen and stuck when it comes to my house work is worrying about my Father-in-law in the hospital. Today I decided to try to get...unstuck.

Did I spend hours cleaning the whole house? NO.

 I put the timer on my phone for 2 minutes and chose a very small space...tiny.
I concentrate on de-cluttering and cleaning the tiny space. I don't look at the surrounding area. I just concentrate on that small space. When the timer goes off I stop and set it again for another two minutes and move over to the next space in my view.

This works for me.

Maybe it'll work for you and help you get started.

Believe it or not I am a bit of a perfectionist. I know I know... how is that possible and still be so disorganized. Especially when I am stressed, I get stuck in trying to make things perfect. I guess its the only way to gain a bit of control. I spend all my attention and effort on a small area and forget the big picture of disorganization. That is why I use the timer. I make it so I can't get stuck.

Try it today and see if It works for you. I'd love to know if it did. It made me feel successful and a bit more in control.

I started to work on a project...

you can see a part of the wall peeking through. 

Ordinarily that would really bother me and I would delete

 it but I've decided to leave it as is...imperfect

I cleared the Living room with a purpose... I really needed a clean, cleared space in which to work. The temps have dipped really low and the craft room is freezing! so the living room it is.

If you notice the centerpiece is made using silk flowers but I also included paper flowers made from old books. The whole wedding is a book theme. My friend and her fiancé are avid readers so this is perfect for her theme. These flowers are a labor of love because each one takes me about 8 to 10 minutes to make.

They are taking me a lot longer than I thought. My Best friend is getting married and I am making all the centerpieces for her shower. 
                                           
                           
If you are interested in how I made them here's my brand spankin' new You tube channel and my very first video.

                                  How to make book-page flowers




                               Tomorrow I'm tackling the rest of the living room and maybe do something fun too

                            We shall see



Have a beautiful day!

Blessings, Joanne

Saturday Morning

                   Today I have a bit of a cold.

                         When I was young I would watch The Brady Bunch, Family Affair, The Partridge Family and even the much older black and white shows. Whenever someone got the slightest sniffle...into bed they went.

                  Into BED....They stayed in Bed and someone else brought them soup and tea and crackers.....


                        Wheres my stinkin' soup?? Why am I the only one awake and every one else is sleeping on this freezing Saturday Morning? I should be snoozing too!!!UGH


There, I've had my rant....time to get to work.

                          I look around and there is so much to do. I am in no way going to be able to clean this mess all in one day. It didn't take just one day to get it this way...So it's not going to take one day to clean and organize.

And Here's the problem with shouting ( to no one in particular) ...

                                 "TODAY I'M CLEANING THIS WHOLE HOUSE!!!"

                                   You can have the best intentions and wake up feeling the strength of a super hero, but an hour in you're going to feel like crapola and look around at the additional mess you have created while "cleaning" and throw in the towel. DONE

Not to mention if you re a mom...there are kids to feed, and (if they're a bit older) places to go...a lot of places to go!

And if you are an older mom you might also be caring for an elderly parent too.

OK OK, breathe. We can do this,

                                                        but first.....coffee...and maybe a bit of poundcake


Have I told you I'm a bit of a procrastinator?....

Why "Never Ready for Company"

               I'm not new to his blogging world. I started my other blog 10minutes2breathe a little over 7 years ago and I've decided to venture out and have a brand new start with another one. Only this time I would like to combine it with perhaps a YouTube channel...I don't know. Anyhoo....


                  As the name of this blog might suggest...I'm a bit of a mess. Growing up I did have a mom who would make sure I always had clean underwear on...just in case I got into a horrific accident...Because NOTHING is worse than being mangled in an accident and having the doctors look at stretched faded Hanes-for-her-underwear.

My Mother was also a stickler for ALWAYS having the house clean enough for company. She would  say, " Joanne you never know who might drop by you have to always be ready... but then she would add...what if you died and people came into your home? what would they find?"


Well Mom, today they would find at least 7 loads of laundry that need to be washed but I cant  because I just remembered I ran out of detergent yesterday.

They would find my craft/art area a shambles because I am working on my best friends wedding shower.

The kitchen sink has dishes in it and I'm running out of dish soap.

The bathroom needs a deep cleaning and I need to vacuum.

The HORROR

THE HORROR


I think The Fly Lady is going to revoke my membership.

So my dear readers, this is the reason for the blog title.

I am NEVER ready for company.  Stick with me as I try to straighten out my chaotic life and make my Mom, Martha Stewart and The Fly Lady proud.......or die from shame