Did I mention I've in love with the public library? Maybe I did. But, oh, it is SO GREAT! I have been reading a lot more (watching much less TV) and learning good, useful, interesting things and just being entertained. Am currently reading The Help, which is really great, Continued my inexplicable Tori Spelling obscession by reading Uncharted TerriTORI (pretty good actually, if you like TS) and also her mom's book, Welcome to Candyland (pretty lame, actually, but a super quick read).
I love putting something on hold online and then getting an email from CPL when my item is at my nearby library. So exciting to go pickup that new book.
And almost best of all: absolutely free of cost and clutter. Am loaning out books I used to buy (great savings!) and, though they clutter up the house when they are here, can quickly round up all the books I'm done with and take them back for someone else to read. Once again: awesome!
Have been checking out books that help me save money (Coupon Moms Guide to Cutting Grocery Bill), green up our living (several titles) and just requested Rosie O's Kids Craft Book to find fun things for Mr. H to do.
Can't believe I ignorned using the library all these years. If you don't have a library card and like books, run, don't walk, down to your nearest branch. Library, I "heart" you!
Showing posts with label Clutter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clutter. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Preparing for D-Day
This past Sunday, Craze and I went to our all-day baby delivery class. It was a long day and after a while, I was having real problems sitting in the same chair for eight hours. That said, it really was very informative and interesting. Craze said he learned a lot and we even took a tour of all the rooms we'll be staying in once I go into labor and arrive at the hospital.
It actually was quite reassuring and I have to say that I'm not really too scared about the whole labor and delivery process. I may even opt out of getting an epidural, especially in the earlier stages of labor, as I like the idea of being able to get up and move around (obviously once you have an epidural, you're in bed for the duration). I guess we'll see how painful it is and get the drugs if I feel I really need them. I do really like the idea of mobility and being able to go take a warm shower during labor though.
Other than that, we're still in the middle of the Great House Upheaval 2008--making room for baby. We got a LOT of stuff done this past Saturday, so it's not such a mess but still a mess. The reality is, we have so much unsorted junk and clutter. Paperwork that needs to be filed, shredded or just plain thrown into the recycling bin and out of the house. Likewise, we have non-paper stuff that just needs to be gone. My husband is a pack rat who never purges anything (just moves stuff around instead of doing any actual sorting) which makes the whole process that much more time-consuming and frustrating. He even hoards old newspapers as he claims he's actually going to read them one day and/or cut out the crossword puzzles to do. I can't tell you how many times I've found 2-foot piles of old newspapers hidden in his closet, in the car trunk, in the garage, basement, even under the outside deck. I swear, I really need an intervention with that one!
I just tell him that I hope he likes this house a lot, because we're never moving until he gets his act together and has a serious purge/sorting session. Otherwise, we'll be here 'til we die. I refuse to move all his unsorted stuff again like I did when we moved into this house seven years ago. It was a real nightmare that went a month or more beyond the actual moving date (just getting the stuff out of his apartment, never mind the putting of stuff away in the new house). Never again... Never. Again.
All that said, the baby's room is almost done. Just need to buy a shelf or a small wardrobe (I've got my eye on a red bookcase from Ikea) and wash and put away a few more baby clothes. I still need to sew the valance and curtains, but that should be pretty easy.
The guest room is coming together and just more sorting of old office paper work needed to clear the bed of junk. Once the bed is made, we'll be ready for guests.
Still have the old love seat (that was in the office) turned upside down in the living room which I need to list on craigslist at an almost give-away price asap.
They'll always be more stuff to do in our cluttered home, but once all the above is complete, we'll be in really good shape. And with exactly two months to go from D-Day (Due Date, Delivery Day, whatever you want to call it), I'm confident we'll get it all together in the next couple of weeks. . .
Fingers crossed. . .
It actually was quite reassuring and I have to say that I'm not really too scared about the whole labor and delivery process. I may even opt out of getting an epidural, especially in the earlier stages of labor, as I like the idea of being able to get up and move around (obviously once you have an epidural, you're in bed for the duration). I guess we'll see how painful it is and get the drugs if I feel I really need them. I do really like the idea of mobility and being able to go take a warm shower during labor though.
Other than that, we're still in the middle of the Great House Upheaval 2008--making room for baby. We got a LOT of stuff done this past Saturday, so it's not such a mess but still a mess. The reality is, we have so much unsorted junk and clutter. Paperwork that needs to be filed, shredded or just plain thrown into the recycling bin and out of the house. Likewise, we have non-paper stuff that just needs to be gone. My husband is a pack rat who never purges anything (just moves stuff around instead of doing any actual sorting) which makes the whole process that much more time-consuming and frustrating. He even hoards old newspapers as he claims he's actually going to read them one day and/or cut out the crossword puzzles to do. I can't tell you how many times I've found 2-foot piles of old newspapers hidden in his closet, in the car trunk, in the garage, basement, even under the outside deck. I swear, I really need an intervention with that one!
I just tell him that I hope he likes this house a lot, because we're never moving until he gets his act together and has a serious purge/sorting session. Otherwise, we'll be here 'til we die. I refuse to move all his unsorted stuff again like I did when we moved into this house seven years ago. It was a real nightmare that went a month or more beyond the actual moving date (just getting the stuff out of his apartment, never mind the putting of stuff away in the new house). Never again... Never. Again.
All that said, the baby's room is almost done. Just need to buy a shelf or a small wardrobe (I've got my eye on a red bookcase from Ikea) and wash and put away a few more baby clothes. I still need to sew the valance and curtains, but that should be pretty easy.
The guest room is coming together and just more sorting of old office paper work needed to clear the bed of junk. Once the bed is made, we'll be ready for guests.
Still have the old love seat (that was in the office) turned upside down in the living room which I need to list on craigslist at an almost give-away price asap.
They'll always be more stuff to do in our cluttered home, but once all the above is complete, we'll be in really good shape. And with exactly two months to go from D-Day (Due Date, Delivery Day, whatever you want to call it), I'm confident we'll get it all together in the next couple of weeks. . .
Fingers crossed. . .
Monday, October 06, 2008
Get-Up-And-Go. . .Take-A-Nap!
Much painting was done this weekend in the soon-to-be baby's room. Craze and I spent the better part of Saturday and Sunday, painting the dark green guest room walls and ceiling (yes, thank you former owners for that little design jewel) bright yellow and white respectively.
It's amazing how much brighter it looks and how much higher the ceiling appears now that it's white versus olive drab. Still a few touch-ups to do and more work to be done overall (our house is a giant mess since the contents of the guest room are now everywhere else and my office, which will be the new guest room, is still full of office stuff). . .
I got some really great and not-too-expensive bright blue and yellow stackable plastic crates in various sizes at Target the other day that will fit nicely on an existing bookcase. They will be great for clothing and toy storage and so much cheaper than buying additional/new furniture. I'm all about using what we have to save money.
The crib needs to be put together and I'm hemming and haaing about whether I can tackle that by myself today. I guess I can give it a shot. But first, more painter's tape to remove and a few little final paint touch ups.
That said, I think all the weekend painting has robbed me of my get-up-and-go. I feel more like get-up-and-go-take-a-nap!
It's amazing how much brighter it looks and how much higher the ceiling appears now that it's white versus olive drab. Still a few touch-ups to do and more work to be done overall (our house is a giant mess since the contents of the guest room are now everywhere else and my office, which will be the new guest room, is still full of office stuff). . .
I got some really great and not-too-expensive bright blue and yellow stackable plastic crates in various sizes at Target the other day that will fit nicely on an existing bookcase. They will be great for clothing and toy storage and so much cheaper than buying additional/new furniture. I'm all about using what we have to save money.
The crib needs to be put together and I'm hemming and haaing about whether I can tackle that by myself today. I guess I can give it a shot. But first, more painter's tape to remove and a few little final paint touch ups.
That said, I think all the weekend painting has robbed me of my get-up-and-go. I feel more like get-up-and-go-take-a-nap!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Friday Wallowing and Freeing Up Space
It's Friday at 1:35pm and I am still in my pajamas. Wallowing? Oh, just a little bit.
Craze is slightly cranky and somewhat over-worked. He's been trying to take as many jobs as possible since I have had none for many months now. But that means working earlier and later and it's making him grumpy. He may even need to work some this holiday weekend (even though he also worked last weekend). He works on commission, so the end of the month is always a rat race to get projects done so they can be billed out and he can make more money.
I'm REALLY appreciative of his extra efforts to bring in the cash and am trying to help by continuing to manage our other household expenses with increasing frugality. Oh, how I wish I could just get some work to do! In the meantime, I'm going to try and sell a lot of our unnecessary clutter on craigslist. I have valuable stuff tucked away here and there that I'll never use again, so time to be rid of it and help out the Sumner family finances.
Getting rid of all this extra junk really needs to be done to make room for the Crazelette. Also, since I've scored lots of baby bargains at summer yard sales and through craigslist buys, I need a place to put all this soon-to-be useful baby stuff.
I'm hoping that freeing up space will open the way for new things to come into our lives. . .um . . . like a few good consulting jobs for the mom-to-be. Or a lottery win. . .either would suit me just fine.
In the meantime, I'm hoping that Craze and I and you and yours grab some time this long end-of-summer weekend to enjoy the simple things and the lovely weather. Happy Weekend!
Craze is slightly cranky and somewhat over-worked. He's been trying to take as many jobs as possible since I have had none for many months now. But that means working earlier and later and it's making him grumpy. He may even need to work some this holiday weekend (even though he also worked last weekend). He works on commission, so the end of the month is always a rat race to get projects done so they can be billed out and he can make more money.
I'm REALLY appreciative of his extra efforts to bring in the cash and am trying to help by continuing to manage our other household expenses with increasing frugality. Oh, how I wish I could just get some work to do! In the meantime, I'm going to try and sell a lot of our unnecessary clutter on craigslist. I have valuable stuff tucked away here and there that I'll never use again, so time to be rid of it and help out the Sumner family finances.
Getting rid of all this extra junk really needs to be done to make room for the Crazelette. Also, since I've scored lots of baby bargains at summer yard sales and through craigslist buys, I need a place to put all this soon-to-be useful baby stuff.
I'm hoping that freeing up space will open the way for new things to come into our lives. . .um . . . like a few good consulting jobs for the mom-to-be. Or a lottery win. . .either would suit me just fine.
In the meantime, I'm hoping that Craze and I and you and yours grab some time this long end-of-summer weekend to enjoy the simple things and the lovely weather. Happy Weekend!
Monday, August 11, 2008
On an Admin Roll!
I think I'm on a roll!
After a wedding weekend that included dancing, cake eating and chatting with goofy, wedding guests (the goofiest, the former boyfriend of the bride who told not-so- flattering stories about the bride and their drugged up Vegas visit to anyone who would listen), I got back in organizational mode this morning.
I tackled the giant mountain of accumulated mail that had piled up on my kitchen counter, sorted it, paid a few bills, organized my coupons, made a few calls, etc. It's really shocking the volume that was there and most of it 100% pure, recyclable junk. What a waste!
And I'm not talking about just the environmental toll, let's not forget the hours it's taken me to sort through the mess. Yikes! Seriously, I need to be more consistent about getting rid of stuff daily before it even hits the kitchen counter.
I even cleaned out my purse which had turned into something of a portable trash can.
Next stop: shredder. Ah, the joy that awaits me!
After a wedding weekend that included dancing, cake eating and chatting with goofy, wedding guests (the goofiest, the former boyfriend of the bride who told not-so- flattering stories about the bride and their drugged up Vegas visit to anyone who would listen), I got back in organizational mode this morning.
I tackled the giant mountain of accumulated mail that had piled up on my kitchen counter, sorted it, paid a few bills, organized my coupons, made a few calls, etc. It's really shocking the volume that was there and most of it 100% pure, recyclable junk. What a waste!
And I'm not talking about just the environmental toll, let's not forget the hours it's taken me to sort through the mess. Yikes! Seriously, I need to be more consistent about getting rid of stuff daily before it even hits the kitchen counter.
I even cleaned out my purse which had turned into something of a portable trash can.
Next stop: shredder. Ah, the joy that awaits me!
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