organizing my home

You know, I always thought of myself as an organized person. I plan events months in advance, I make lists constantly, I love to set things up in Excel. Yet, I feel now more than ever that my life is a mess. Why is it a mess? Because my house is a mess! I can't seem to get into the right rythm to get anything done. Now, having a baby has definitely complicated my ability to clean and organize whenever I want. Now, I definitely have more interuptions than known to man.

I finally came up with a solution, albeit a very old fashioned solution. I made a home binder. It isn't completely finished yet. I have it broken up into days of the week and then Home Projects, Menus, and the ever loved "other" category. For each day of the week I have the "everyday tasks" written out on a page. Things like dishes, sweeping the house, general cleanup, Bible study and prayer. Then on the subsequent pages I have blank paper to make another list of "to-do's" for the day.

I rarely ever get everything accomplished. But, at least I feel like I have a plan for everyday now. And I do seem to be getting a lot more done than I had been before. I guess the fact that it is all in one place, and I tick off each task as I've completed it, it seems to work well. Now, the old fashioned part. Apparently this was a very common thing back in the "old" days. And there were actual tasks associated with each day of the week. Here they are:

Monday: Washday
Tuesday: Ironing
Wednesday: Sewing
Thursday: Marketing
Friday: Cleaning
Saturday: Baking
Sunday: Meeting and Rest

Now, I am going to break it down for you, I don't iron a blessed thing. If it needs to be ironed, I don't wear it. I did iron some stuff for Matt once, but he just went back and re-ironed it, so I figured I wouldn't waste my time in the future :-) If I could actually do these tasks on their designated days, it might actually work out. Do any of you out there use a home binder? How is it organized? Or what do you do to keep your home in order? I really am interested in any ideas out there :-)

where did the summer go?

Here it is, August 21st, and summer is over. Well, it is if you live in Maine. The past few days have looked like fall and smelled like fall. I can't believe how fast the summer went though. Of course there will be days that are warm unntil September around here, and maybe even October, but they will be few and far between. We are moving into another season.

I actually love the change of seasons. It is one of the reasons I love New England so much (the cold winters are not one of the reasons :-)) But, the change to fall also reminds me that winter is just around the corner, and that we are not prepared at all for a cold winter with high heating costs.

I am seriously concerned about heating oil this winter. So concerned that Matt and I have invested in a wood stove. A lot of people say a wood stove isn't a great idea, but I think that it is. We are lucky enough to live in an area with friends who have large amounts of land in which to cut wood. I don't think that everyone should have a wood stove of course, I don't want to completely deplete the woods that we have in the state, but for us, right now, it is a good choice. We have the wood stove, now we have to figure out where to put it, and how to get a chimney in this house.

Our house is old, and the chimney is no good, well, at least it doesn't appear to be good. And the previous owner actually closed up the chimney top on the roof, so in order for us to even use the existing chimney, we need to put up a new chimney top. The part in the basement is completely ruined and really needs to be rebuilt. What is left? The chimney that is in the walls...the walls that Matt and I so carefully sheetrocked. Do we take apart the sheetrock and look to see if we can reuse the chimney? Do we take the whole chimney down and put a new chimney up? And do we build an actual chimney, or do we get one of those metal bestos chimneys (the latter is a much more cost effective option). There are a lot of choices. Not that we have a ton of money to get a chimney either, but I think that after all is said and done, we will have still spent less installing a woodstove and using wood for heat this winter than what we would pay to heat our house with oil (the choice heating fuel for New England).

Along with all of my concerns about keeping the house warm enough, are my concerns about getting a renter for our studio. The studio isn't finished yet, but it shouldn't take us too long, if we can get our butts in gear. I was hoping that my Nana would move up into the apartment, I think it would be best for everyone involved, but she is stubborn, and I don't think that she is going to make the trek up here. Maybe that is a good thing. I know that God will let happen what is supposed to happen as long as we continue to pray and trust in Him. What a process though. I'm still waiting for the *big sign* to know what we are supposed to do.

I know, I'm just a jumble of thoughts this morning. It seems like so much to think about, and it really is a lot to think about. We now have Emma, and I am a stay at home mom, there are a lot of uncertainties in our future. I just need to trust that God will provide, but why is that so difficult?

OK, well I guess that is all the doom and gloom I can muster for 8am :-) I hope that everyone is enjoying there summers! I certainly have been! And although I am concerned about the coming winter, I am looking forward to fall. Apple picking, tomato canning, and fair season! Yay!

apple picking and other thoughts

I didn't realize how quickly September was going to fly by! This weekend is the last weekend in September, which means I need to go apple picking, something I wasn't actually planning on for this weekend. I am very much a planner, and now feel all discombobulated because I have to can instead of do other stuff...well...my goal is to can some applesauce and apple jelly. Actually, if you have read this blog recently, you may realize that I have intended to can a lot of things, and yet not one thing is canned in my house...except pints upon pints of strawberry jam :-)

The weather in Maine at the moment is absolutely beautiful. It has been in the 80's the past couple days, and it is supposed to hit 90 tomorrow...90! My pepper plants are all budding again, and I have a ton of green peppers that just came out of nowhere. Unfortunately I don't think my jalapenos are going to have enough time to mature before the frost comes...bummer. I'm definitely thinking that I will save some of the green pepper seeds though for next year. It will be my first attempt at seed saving...so I have no clue what I am supposed to do, but the fact that there isn't all the slimy stuff like in tomatoes, I think I will have a better time with it all :-)

The house is shaping up quite well. Matt has been painting the trim in the living room, and it looks great! One more window in there and then the door trim. I will be happy when all the painting is done...whenever that happens. Hopefully sooner rather then later. I also want to start cleaning up the upstairs. I need a room to put all of my craft stuff, and every single room upstairs is filled with construction stuff, empty cardboard boxes, boxes and boxes of books and other things we haven't unpacked. I am hopeful that I will have a craft room soon though, otherwise people will not be receiving Christmas presents this year :-P

Sorry for the randomness and timing of posts as of late...my mind has been quite jumbled for the past month or so. Hopefully soon I will be back on track!

updates

I can't believe it is actually July right now, I don't think I remember having June! Everything has been crazy busy around my house...and it is about to get crazier. I have weddings galore this month...including my baby brother's wedding...awwww :-) Matt and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary on the 2nd, and 8 years of being together on the 3rd...again...crazy.

Yesterday we managed to put in new flooring in the living room. Yay! That means I can walk from the front door of the house all the way to the back of the house in my bare feet now...no more carrying shoes from the entryway to the living room so we can get to the bedroom. Now, all I have to do is prime and paint the window/door trim. Pretty exciting stuff considering we expected to be DONE with the house May 1st :-)

I must confess, the only reason the living room was finished so quickly this past week is because Matt and I bought a new TV, and it is being picked up on Friday. Granted, we don't have cable, but since we watch so many movies, I figured it was worth it...plus I have this little Legend of Zelda addiction...but that is another story...So much for trying to reduce what we have. I am happy with the purchase, but still feel a tad bit of guilt.

My garden is doing amazingly well! I have little tomatoes all over my many many plants...and I have one mighty fine green pepper which appears to double in size everyday. I think this weekend I might pick it...Matt wants me to wait until it is "as big as the ones at the grocery store," but I don't know if I can wait that long. My other 2 pepper plants are not doing as well as the green pepper one. Neither of them have any fruit, but lot's of little flowers, so I am hopeful that something will come of it. I will have to take some more pictures...The upstairs deck is starting to get a little crowded...

Having the 4th on a Wednesday really through off my whole week! All day yesterday I thought it was Saturday, but now I have to go back to work for 2 more days...I can't wait for the end of the month when I can have an entire week of vacation...yay!

the House

I have been trying to make little lists here and there about the stuff that we still need to do to finish the house. However, I don't think they are accurate. They sugar coat the amount of work that still needs to be done. Part of my reason for starting this blog was to help me stay accountable. And how can I stay accountable if I am lying to myself about what needs to be done? Not just with the house, but my attitude, my relationship with God, my relationship with food, ick. There is a lot that needs to be done...so cheers to my first list!

Downstairs:

Bedroom:
-quarter round around flooring
-patch around ceiling decoration (still little holes around the outside)
-put up crown moulding
-get a door, and hang it
-finish converting TV armoires to clothing armoires (why the heck don't they have old fashioned armoires for clothes anymore? Instead it seems they are all for TV's!)
-get fabric to make curtains for windows (ask mom how to make curtains)
-paint one more coat on the door trim, so the yucky blue color doesn't still show through
-put baseboard heater covers on

Bathroom:
-paint all trim and baseboards
-sand and paint weird gray door
-get another pole for a real shower curtain (not just the plastic one that keeps the water in the shower)
-build shelves so that we can get rid of the tall white bookcase (this is much later down the road)
-repair flooring that the delivery men ripped up when putting the washer and dryer in the bathroom

Entryway:
-paint trim and baseboards
-patch hole by door
-get a new door without a window in it, or paint the one we have and make a curtain for the window
-replace the locks on the doors (including upstairs entry and front door)
-build box for radiator so my little niece and nephew don't burn themselves
-build box for pipes that run heat to upstairs
-build pantry/coat closet

Kitchen:
-finish prep work for trim and wainscoting
-prime and paint said trim and wainscoting
-put up top trim pieces of window/2 doorways
-put baseboard heater covers on

Living Room:
-paint walls
-prime and paint trim and baseboards
-lay new flooring (currently only sub floor)
-put up crown moulding
-put baseboard heater covers on
-make curtains for windows
-get living room furniture
-get a wood stove (this is also way down the line, but something I would really like, oil is too expensive!)

Dining Room:
-finish prep work on ceiling
-finish priming ceiling
-paint ceiling
-prime and paint walls
-prime and paint built in bookcase/trim/baseboards
-lay new flooring (again only sub floor)
-put baseboard heater covers on
-make curtains
-get new door/hang new door for basement entry
-knock hole through dining room wall so that we can connect the upstairs and downstairs (house was a duplex...sort of)

OK, well I was going to write about the upstairs too, but as this post turned into a very very long list, I think little separation could be a good thing...for my sanity. Until next time then!