Decluttering Schedule

This is a great pin I found on Pinterest while celebrating *ehem* National Margarita Day.

http://www.mysimplerlife.com/2012.htm

IKEA bump

I am a sucker for IKEA, and I am so glad to refer you to these links.

IKEA Living Together 
IKEA Chuck Out That Chintz

7 Month Update

 The Master bathroom has less wallpaper than before, still featuring the stink of a cat litter box.

 Many of the doors and walls still sport these little renovation notes with no sign of progress.

"Small Bath: flooring, cabinet under sink, elevated stool"

The half-bath between the full bath and master bedroom is more cleaned out, the white carts are gone, but all horizontal surfaces are covered.

The master bedroom is...bad. It's clear that only one person sleeps here, and while my mother may have thrown away a few things from her closet, we are definitely of the breed that tends to make a mess while cleaning. There are still two walls of horizontal surfaces between the full wall dresser/entertainment cabinet and the dresser in the far corner. Again, every horizontal surface is full. The photo frame on the wall, however, seems to be in order.

This is the room my dad sleeps in. This room is in much, much better condition than when I first moved out. But this room also makes me the saddest. My dad is trying to seclude himself from the hoard and it's a sad existence.

The foyer isn't bad, always boxes in front of the closet, which means it's probably full, but the doors shut which is a good sign. The living room is pretty much like it's been for the past 4 years. No seating on the couch to the left, one open cushion on the couch to the right. The table was cleared off dinner, which was encouraging. The new window is in, but not finished so there's spray foam all around it to secure it until the framing is done. If it's anything like the kitchen windows it'll be several months. Also, note all the wallpaper is now gone.

The kitchen was decent before dinner was started. I am the first to admit that I make a mess when I'm making a meal, especially from scratch. But every night we clean it up. I didn't get an after shot of the kitchen, but I could tell the dishes would hang around for a quit a while.

The view from the kitchen to the dining room (made better by the margarita). The (2nd) dining room table is still covered with random things, and the floor between the freezer and closet was full.

The refrigerator wasn't worse than the last time, still several dishes of uncovered and improperly stored leftovers.On the door, was an assortment of receipts. My first reaction was "that looks awful." Then I realized, oh shit. I do that all the time. I keep receipts on the side of my own fridge. I usually feel like it's warranted, a short exchange policy, or something, but the fact of the matter is I don't need to keep more than maybe one a month for a valid reason.These receipts were dated for 2011 and 2010.

The silverware tray...was disgusting. Dried lettuce or something, and lots of bits of who knows what. I didn't look too close for fear of regretting my use of the utensils.

The back deck is about the same too, the only addition I noticed were the two dog pools, one broken in front of the grill, the other full of ice.

The family room was only empty right before eating, so I had to graph a photo quick and could only get the one angle. The hot tub is covered with papers and junk. There are still three vacuum cleaners next to it. My mom even mentioned that the cat refuses to use her two cat houses, but she refuses to get rid of them. There was just enough seating, but the room quickly filled up because we exchanged Christmas presents. We really did appreciate the pillows, but we got lots of little things that don't have a place in our home. My mom even texted to let me know she found another one of my gifts on her desk down at the shop.

I didn't want to sneak around too much, and the point of all this is certainly not to embarrass them, so I didn't get every space in the house. This is what I saw of the basement. Compared to my last visit, the hoard seems to be encroaching on the stairs. Notice the only clear path is to the right, which is where the laundry is, their only reason for going downstairs.

The current pile in the hall closet over the stairs. The inner door is shut, at least. I did wonder where all of the Tupperware had gone.It wasn't on the living room couches, and there wasn't near as much in the kitchen or dining room. Then I checked what used to be the game closet.

Thinking of my preface post, I'm glad I went, and I'm glad I saw my family. What I learned from the visit though, made me pretty sad for my family's future.

Spring Reasoning

 I'd like to preface the 7 month update post with the good. I want to begin with what I've learned from my experiences up until now. It's very simple in concept, and very complicated in practice.

Yesterday, during our weekly house cleaning...I'm cutting myself off here: our cleaning routine. We share the space, and we share the responsibility for it. Sometimes, I have the best time of the weekend when cleaning with my boyfriend.

...we started pulling things out of closets and finding things all over the house that we didn't need, and suddenly didn't want anymore. We had gone shopping and all I could think about was how I wanted to buy art and decorations for the house to add color for spring. When we got home and started looking around we still had art in the closets that we hadn't gotten up since moving in! I put up a great piece in the living room, and the many of the others suddenly didn't seem so necessary (nor did the urge to purchase more).

So on the guest bed we collected a scrapbook album from my art modeling days, several cheap prints in cheap frames, curtain rods, an old slightly decrepit dell laptop/parts/bag, two yoga mats, pull up bar, and a plastic bag of random things. I made an appointment at our local consignment shop and it seems silly that we kept these things so long after disuse.

After all this, I still had the tiniest hankering for something new. I had grabbed snap shots of the art I liked at a store (commercial, not original works!) and decided I could incorporate my favorite in my own way. I did a mini art project and my boyfriend even joined in!

Time + Love = Appreciation + Happiness
This is not a strict formula, but it sure as hell made my weekend. We usually do everything together on the weekends, but this was special. Watching X-Files and coloring...it was sweet.

 And in the end, I got exactly what I wanted. Buying myself or the house something would not have made me happy. Instead, I had quiet time with my family and got to express a little creativity in the process.

A Room A Day #15

15. The Deck and Garage

Ack! We're heading to my hometown soon, as in we will be there at 2 p.m. but we forgot we wanted to stop at the mall out there, so I'm really rushing this last post. I'm also going to take advantage of the panorama function of my iPhone so my posts aren't full of tiny pictures.

I remember the deck being built in time for Easter when I was about six years old. The patio furniture excluding the swing were presents from my sister to my mother to help them spruce up the deck a few years back. The swing was a present from my dad to my mom for mother's day at least a decade ago. The big plastic trunk is meant to store patio cushions, but since all the furniture was left out for several winters in a row, everything is rusted and junky already. I don't remember where the fireplace came from, but I remember it being stored in the original garage (now the family room) and for the past ten years or so it's been on the porch. Sometimes my mom gets a hankering to weed or clean up dead vegitation, but it doesn't get farther than being thrown on the deck or blown around.

The safe in the photo below came from the first house my parents shared in another state. My mom insisted that it be moved with them when they moved to Iowa, and then to this house. The bottom is rusted out so it doesn't hold anything, no one knows anything about the keys or combination anymore, and the cement underneath it is deteriorating. To make it more convenient for my mom and her pets, they took out the screened door from the sliding glass door in the family room and replaced it with a magnetic mesh net that the pets can push through and it magnetically closes behind them. I'm not sure why my mother put up a small picket fence, because if the dog goes outside and is corralled in this area, it can't get to water, grass, or off the hot/cold cement.

 This is the inside of the greenhouse on the deck. This was the most recent mother's day present from two or three years ago. It looks like she was excited the first week, and started sorting her tools and making it a nice little place. But now there's a bedsheet on the deck, all the plants in the greenhouse are dead, and the tools and containers are all over the place. I worry about the pets getting into fertilizer or pesticides, but luckily it has a door on it.

This is the overgrown area between the family room (original garage) and the two stall garage. The sidewalk is pretty well hidden here, you can see the trellis is up but there is picket fence behind it because when I lived there my dog would dig out. A rusted wheelbarrow, and the rusted trash can caddy are back there too. I can never recall my parents using the city trash service. I understand the merit in keeping it for when they sell the house, but honestly? Who wants "Oh and the 20 year old rusted trash caddy is included!" Toss it, and if you feel so-inclined, buy a new one when the house is on the market.

 I've lumped in the two stall car garage as well, because I would love for this building to be cleared out and used as...I don't know, a garage. This is so much bigger than just the building though, because the stuff in here is very, very old, and therefore attached to much deeper memories and emotions.

 My parents actually brought this cooler to our house warming party over a year ago. I can't believe I drank anything that was contained in it.

Here are all my grandpa's tools that my dad took home after he passed away. All the bikes my sister and I ever used are hanging up. 

This is the old entertainment cabinet from the family room TV. When my dad got a bigger TV, my mom refused to let him throw it away, even though it's older than I am.

I remember when they built the garage. My dad was excited for the window, he was going to work in the garage all the time. I think it was also in the original plan to insulate the garage.

Here you can get a small glimpse of the junk they store in the rafters. Oh and the lebaron. The last time this was driven, I pulled into the driveway freaking out because it was smoking. This was an anniversary present from my dad to my mom, and she has never really liked it.

Okay, we did it. I'm off to shower and change for the trip. We'll make a couple stops on the way, and then...well we'll see. 

\