Ta Da List 08.18.09

Once again, the house has gotten out of control. I haven't really done much, though. We were supposed to go to a Nickelback concert last night, but it got rescheduled for today due to the weather. So, we've basically just let everything go. I'm off today and tomorrow, and I'm up early, so hopefully I can get some stuff done before time to get ready.

Bedroom
Put away clothes.
Make up bed.
Clear off desk.
Gather dirty clothes.
Sweep.

Bathroom
Fold and put away colored clothes.
Wash, dry, fold, put away white clothes.
Swish and swipe.
Sweep.

Kitchen
Wash dishes.
Clear off table.
Put away stuff from yesterday.
Put drinks in the fridge.
Sweep.

Living Room
Put away random stuff.
Sweep.

General Tasks
Take back library books.
Put gas in the car.
Balance checkbook.

ChaCha Goal For September

It's time for me to start getting serious about using ChaCha as supplementary income. We're doing fine money-wise but I'm wanting to really start attacking all of our old debt with a vengeance, so ChaCha to the rescue!

What I love about ChaCha is it's flexibility. You work whenever. I could never find a 2nd job that lets me do that.

Check back here to keep up with my progress! I have until September 15 to reach my goal!

Ta Da List for 08.12.09

The Ta Da List, before I forget what all needs to be done:

Bedroom
1) Put away random stuff.
2) Put away clothes.
3) Make the bed.
4) Change cat litter.
5) Sweep.

Bathroom
1) Swish & Swipe.
2) Wash, dry, fold, put away white clothes.
3) Fold, put away colored clothes.
4) Sweep.

Kitchen
1) Wash dishes.
2) Cook dinner.
3) Finish putting up stuff from cabinet.
4) De-clutter something.
5) Sweep.

Living Room
1) Put away random stuff.
2) Change cat litter.
3) Sweep.

General Tasks
1) Get AC payment ready to mail.
2) De-clutter make-up and get bag ready for Monday.
3) Make pre-concert Ta Da list for Josh. (Don't forget the batteries!)
4) Do budget for next week.
5) Balance check book.
6) Clear camera memory.
7) Print directions to VWMU and put it with the tickets.

Swagbucks Widget

This is a post just for me so I can keep up with this widget. Every once in a while, they'll publish a Swag Code only on the widget.

Kitchen Make-Over

Well, I have a lot to learn about DIY, and about spray-paint.

1) Always check the weather if you're doing any kind of project that involves paint and being outside. Everything was done and dry just as the first few drops of a storm were moving in today.
2) Invest in a sprayer for the spray paint cans. My poor fingers are crying in agony. I must look for one of these magical inventions before I do anymore painting.
3) When in doubt, buy extra paint. What you think you'll need is more than likely not enough.

All that said, I started painting at about 10:30 this morning. The entire cabinet was done at 1:30 this afternoon. For my first time doing anything like this, I'm very proud. I think it turned out good. Nowhere near perfect, but good. I ran out of both white and green paint and had to improvise and get a little creative, but...

Before:


After:

SO PROUD OF ME! Now it matches the kitchen curtains! LOL!

It looks better than I thought, LOL! Mom was here for a little bit while the paint was drying and she loved it, so I guess I'm doing good. I had to go out and buy 2 more cans of paint, and I found another one that we had hidden here at the house, so the entire cost of re-doing this cabinet was right at $11. Not too shabby.

I know I said I'd be doing the other cabinet and shelf, but I just can't today, lol. My fingers need to recover and so does the kitchen since now I can put everything back in the cabinet. I did, however, get a picture of the cute rug I got for the kitchen last night:

And now to put everything up so I can cook dinner. Mmm, lasagna...

A kitchen make-over for under $10.

Josh and I live with my mom, in a house about 3 days older than dirt (ok, not really, but you get the idea). The house is in need of some major love and care. Over the years, money has been tight and things have been put off and put off. I've got a list going of major home repairs that need to be done, but for now, I'm focusing on what I have the cash on hand for. I bring you to, one of our kitchen cabinets:

Tonight, I cleaned it out and scrubbed it down with my favorite Method cleaner (mmm, cucumber) and some SOS pads. The Method cleaner wasn't really necessary since I had the SOS pads, but I like the smell. *shrug*

Here's the cabinet with the doors closed:

I've scrubbed it out and it's as close to sparkling as it's going to get. I'm letting it dry overnight and tomorrow, I attack! I'm no artist, and I pray that this will turn out decent. What I'm wanting to do is paint the doors and shelves green, the rest of it white. My mother has a thing with green (don't ask, I don't understand it either, lol), but since I can't change it, I'm embracing it.

There is another cabinet and a shelf that I'll also be painting tomorrow. Pictures of those will come tomorrow once I get them cleaned out.

Here's the cost of this kitchen make-over:
2 cans of spray-paint $3.50 (had 2 almost full cans on-hand already)
Masking tape $1.00
SOS Pads $1.00
Cute Rug for the kitchen (pics tomorrow) $3.60 on clearance
TOTAL: $9.10

The cabinet in the pictures above is around 20 years old, if not older. It's been here as long as I can remember, and I'm 24 if that gives you any idea. I've never been much of a DIY-er but I'm willing to try anything once and I would love to give our kitchen a fresh look, for us as well as for mom, because bless her heart, she really doesn't have the time or energy to take on anymore.

Updates and progress tomorrow!

Weekend Cleaning

According to the FlyLady philosophy, you should use your routines to get major cleaning done during the week so that the weekends can be used for you and your family. You should keep up with your normal routines on the weekends (the usual clean up the kitchen, a load of laundry a day, etc.) but that's it.

I always seem to put things off until the last minute, so today I'm playing catch-up again. It's not as bad as last time, but I need to work on some routines that I can actually stick to! I plan to work on that over the next few days, but for today, here's what I'm hoping to get done (before mom gets home, lol):

Bedroom
(1) Wash sheets/comforter and re-make the bed.
(2) Scoop the cat litter.
(3) Clear off the desk.
(4) Sweep.
(5) Mop.

Bathroom
(1) Wash, dry, fold, put away white clothes.
(2) Wash, dry, fold, put away colored clothes.
(3) Swish and swipe.
(4) Bathe the dog. She won't speak to me for the rest of the day now.
(5) Scrub the tub after Bouncer's bath.
(6) Sweep.
(7) Mop.

Kitchen
(1) Put away clean dishes.
(2) Clear off the table.
(3) Shine the sink.
(4) Sweep.
(5) Mop.

Living Room
(1) Put away stuff that's out.
(2) Change the cat litter.
(3) Finish putting away things from the "put away" box.
(4) Sweep.
(5) Mop.

Mom's Room
(1) Wash sheets/comforter and re-make the bed.
(2) Sweep.
(3) Mop.

General Tasks
(1) Throw all our old mops out.
(2) Put next week's work schedule on the calendar.
(3) Pay bills for next week.

What I'd really like to do is go back to bed, but there's so much to be done!

What can you get at CVS for $1.56?

This!

I swear, I absolutely love CVS. Here's the breakdown:
(1) 3-pack CVS brand paper towels $2.69
(2) Stayfree pads $10.00
(4) Bumble Bee chicken salad $5.00
(1) Softsoap $0.99 (on clearance!)
(1) Compass $1.50
Total: $20.18

Coupons used:
$4/$20
$5 Extra Care Bucks
$0.99 Softsoap (adjusted from $1.00)
(2) $1.00/2 any Bumble Bee product
$1 any CVS brand paper towel 3-pack
BOGO Stayfree

Total OOP: $1.56
Received: $5.00 ECB (Stayfree Deal), $1.50 ECB (compass free after ECB) and a free CVS brand aspirin (which I picked up right then).

Baby Jerry came to visit!

Look who came to see us today!

Meet the latest addition to our family: 4 month-old Jerry! Jerry is our nephew (Josh's sister's child). How adorable is he? He got to come over and wake up Uncle Josh.

The entire time he was here today, he laughed and giggled and played and talked to us. He's getting so big!

Here, he had been "tasting" Uncle Josh's arm. Apparently, he's yummy. LOL! He won't suck on a pacifier, but he'll suck on Josh's arm. Aw.

Bouncer thought he was interesting, and the feeling was definitely mutual! Bouncer's never seen a baby, and Jerry's never seen a dog as big as Bouncer. Bouncer was very sweet and gave him lots of kisses, even when he grabbed her nose and wouldn't let go, lol!

Bouncer (and Wilma) were also jealous. Why was the little drooling thing getting all the atention? So, they jumped up on the bench in the kitchen and staged a protest. The result? They got some extra lovin'.

Plans for the day: Clean up the house!!!

My mother has been gone for a week, staying with her disabled sister. Whenever mom goes somewhere for a time, I always try to have the house looking great when she gets back. I've never been really able to maintain any type of cleaning, so a marathon cleaning would be done before she got back. Well, she got back yesterday. The last 2 days were completely insane and resulted in me and DH having 18-hour days with 10-11 of those hours being work, so you can only imagine what the house is looking like right now.

I follow FlyLady, and will be using her 15-minute rule of cleaning to get the house in order today. To keep myself accountable, as well as on track, I'm putting my "ta da" list here in hopes that it'll all get done.

Bedroom
Sweep
Make the bed (when DH gets up)
Take out trash
Clear off the desk
Put away random stuff that's scattered here and there

Bathroom
Wash, dry, fold, put away colored clothes
Wash, dry, fold, put away white clothes
Swish & Swipe
Sweep

Kitchen
Put away yard sale finds
Put away our other things that have ended up there
Sweep
Take out the trash

Living Room
Sweep
Put away at least 10 things in the "Put Away" box
Take potential yard sale/give away items outside
Change cat litter

Laundry Room
Sweep
Take out trash

General Tasks
Wash all area rugs

FlyLady Zone Work
Declutter the carport
Sweep

It really doesn't seem like all that much once I put it in list form, but just looking around the house can be so overwhelming. But no whining. Time to get dressed and get to work.