The OSCAR Project

It's almost December!

The end of November is when I usually have a mini panic attack/inspiration burst.  I am overwhelmed by all the cleaning and organizing I want to have done BEFORE I decorate, and also inspired by all the decorating that can be done AFTER everything is neat and clean.  The last two weeks of November have evaporated and here I am on the day before December starts wondering how much I can accomplish in one evening.  I really love to start Christmas decorating on December 1st each year.

Today's Projects:

ORGANIZE: The pile up of outerwear by the front door. This is an ongoing battle.  We are really and truly in the throes of winter now though so all we need is the very cold weather gear.  The rest can be stashed away in a bin.  I still need to get hooks set up a child height so the kiddos can put their own things away.  I better call Dwayne right now and see if he can bring home a drill...

SIMPLIFY: Make a meal plan for the next two weeks at least.  I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow anyhow.  That will makes things simpler and my afternoons much calmer.  No more "what are we having for dinner tonight?" dilemnas. 

CLEAN: The kitchen.  Stovetop, counters, dishwasher, fridge, bottom of the oven.  Maybe the floors if I don't run out of steam.  If I do, I'll imagine what they look like clean until I get to them tomorrow.

AESTHETICS: Clear off the top of the piano (a few books, pictures waiting to be framed), put away the loose DVDs on top of the DVD player, remove non-seasonal items from shelves to prepare for Christmas decor.

RELAX: A movie while I do laundry.  I think perhaps "The Family Stone", on loan from a good friend.

On a very exciting note, Dwayne is going to install our new dryer tonight!  It is the first time for us to have a dryer in this house (4 years!).  I am so excited.  I hope it revolutionizes my life.  Really.  I think it's going to be that good.  I don't care that it's a compact, it is so much more than just relying on clotheslines.  Yippee!

 

Time to resurrect OSCAR

Oh, it has been a while and I am in need of de-grouching again!  Summer was not as productive as I thought it was going to be.  Now we are well into fall in our neck of the woods, and the first snowfall will not be far off.  It's time to get cracking!

Today's Projects:

ORGANIZE: Clothing!  We've rearranged the upstairs and haven't quite got an effective system worked out yet.  Beds moved, dressers moved, new clothing racks for the girls built, but still struggling to fit it all in.  Time to pass along some clothes... ~some success, still a work in progress!~

SIMPLIFY: Set up the second play pen upstairs.  Again.  It makes all the difference having a safe place to stash Emma while I work.  ~done~

CLEAN: The kitchen.  Pots and pans are staring at me, the floor needs attention, table linens need to be changed, and the baby's chair needs to be wiped down thoroughly. ~this is one of those tasks that never stays finished but dishes got washed, floors were swept, placemats and tablecloth changed/removed but now we are back to the same problem as the other day...time to start over...~

AESTHETICS: Tidy the stacks of books sitting on the floor in the living room.  There are some that will be leaving our home and others that there just aren't enough bookshelves to hold them. ~this hasn't happened yet!~

RELAX: Watch an episode of a TV show online or on DVD.  Play through a song or two from a new Christmas piano music book that came in the mail yesterday. ~TV on DVD was watched, Christmas music tomorrow!~

I'll be back tomorrow to let you know how I fared!

Long weekend

This post is actually for Saturday through Monday.  Long weekends usually are filled with a mix of the predictable and planned, and the spontaneous.  Here's what we hope to accomplish.  I'll let you know how it goes on Monday night. :)

Today's Projects:

ORGANIZE: Paper piles in the living room sorted into two boxes - work and home.  We'll start there. Still in progress!

SIMPLIFY: Bin up all of the winter footwear.  Get out the summer shoes and sandals that still fit this year.  Toss/give away/keep what is garbage/will be of use to another family/what will fit in future years.  Still in progress!

CLEAN: Take everything off the front porch.  Sweep.  Wipe off bins.  Chuck stuff.  Put away the scattered bits and pieces.  Made major headway here.  Still lots to do!

AESTHETICS: Move boxes out of the living area that don't belong there.  One of them contains Christmas books/magazines/CDs/DVDs.  Yep, it's more than time to move that baby.  Done!

RELAX: Old cartoons, favourite books, working outside in what will be the garden space this year.

 

FAMILY PROJECT: Vehicle clean up!  Steam clean upholstery.  Wipe the dash/door panels/door handles etc.  Clean windows.  Finish cleaning car seats (that got jump started earlier in the week).  Done!

 

Our work beast.  

 

It's exhausting watching people work. :)

 

Another very grubby truck.  Husband in background is much less grubby looking than usual.  Much easier to clean vehicles than fix them, methinks.

 

The gear required for cleaning out vehicles might be different if you are 4.

Playing dust tag isn't as fun alone.  It's much better to try to convince your sister(s) to join in.  Again.

 

Re-emerging from the van after a little bit of self prescribed quiet time.

 

De-grouching Days 1 & 2

Well, I may only end up being able to get through the whole acronym every two days but we'll aim high and see what happens!

The Projects

ORGANIZE:  Gathered all winter wear to one location to be washed, dried, and stored for next season.  In my case, the location will have to be a mountain beside the wood stove, just outside the bathroom/laundry room.  Actual washing will have to wait until after our next water delivery day.  Now we are down to one coat and one vest each instead of layers upon layers of coats, vests, snow pants, and snow suits. 

 

BEFORE: Back door coat hooks

BEFORE: Front door coat hooks

 

Pile of miscellaneous winter gear piled under front door coat hooks. 

AFTER: Back door coat hooks

AFTER: Front door coat hooks

SIMPLIFY:  Created a reading basket for the living room.  Dwayne and I often have multiple books and magazines on the go at one time, and they often end up scattered around the room.  This way they are all in one place, ready for whenever we are.

 

 Book basket

 

CLEAN:  Vacuumed the black shaggy area rug in the living room.  I don't have a before and after picture for this one.  You can use your imagination.  Black carpet + 4 kids + spring mud season + lots of tiny Lego pieces + 1 daughter who loves to shred paper + snack crumbs = 1 carpet that is not so black.  Hooray for vacuums!  Speaking of which, I bought a little Dirt Devil cordless vacuum today for getting into nooks and crannies, and for reaching up high to vacuum off the dust bunnies accumulating on the log beams.

 

AESTHETICS:  Cleared off coffee table, shone it up with glass cleaner, then added a baby and silk floral arrangement.  

 

Can you spot the baby on the couch?  There's quite a mountain there...

 

Ahhhh...after!  

MUCH easier to find the baby now. ;)  Don't worry, the baby was only up there so I could vacuum! 

 

RELAXING:  We watched "The King's Speech" tonight.  Quite interesting.  I confess to being as interested in the architecture as in the storyline.  Reading "Girl With A Pearl Earring" before it has to go back to the library and it's home on the other side of the country.  I'm also working on another loaner - "Homeschooling for Excellence".  Don't you just love inter-library loans?

 

Perhaps I'll read more than one page tonight.