House cleaning day

Well, today is my day off work and time to clean the house. I did manage to get the bathroom mostly done yesterday, so where to start today?

You know, I've always wanted a nice, organized schedule to stick to on this so I would stay on top of things and not feel like I was doing "make-up work" on the house all the time. The problem is, schedules just don't work for me. Believe me, I've tried. The best intentions go to the wayside because there's always something more pressing to do (usually a paying job-that always gets priority). When you live, work, and home school the kids in the same house, cleaning is a low-priority item that turns into putting out fires, at least that's how it ends up working in my home.

However, I do have some things I do that help a little, although I'd never be accused of being organized. The most important thing is I get rid of clutter. If I'm not using something, it's gone, unless it's a heirloom. I even use those. A long time ago, I decided to take the "good silver" out of its box and put it in the silverware drawer for everyday use. I've had two positive results from this. One, the silver is regularly used and stays relatively tarnish-free. Two, every day I get to see it, and it is from my grandma, who is no longer with us. I didn't get any benefit from it sitting away in a box in the closet. I'm the same way with other things, like grandma's doilies.

Now, reducing clutter was a little easier for me than others, because I've moved over an ocean. I had to reduce what I had to only the most important things before I even left. Even so, I seem to have amassed a collection of stuff here already, in one year. So even though I don't have a lot of clutter, I still get piles of things that I have to go through and toss out once in awhile.

My Daily Agenda book has helped a lot, too. It's a notebook-sized book with two days per line and a bunch of blank lines. I write down everything I do for the day in it. If I have a recurring task like reordering medical supplies, I write the phone numbers on a sticky and put it on the date it needs to be done. After I do that, I move it to the same date the next month. I've found my notebook gives me a sense of accomplishment, because I can see what I did for the day, even if there's still a pile of dishes in the sink.

I have a lot of things to tackle today: My closet, the fridge, my files, vacuuming, dusting, and straightening. I'll let you know what I managed to get to on the next post!

Does your life ever resemble a bad commercial?

Sue is so happy. Look at her clean, spotless kitchen. Sue reaches to empty her trash bag and look how easy and effortlessly the clean, strong bag comes out. And it has those handy top ties, too! But what about Jane? Jane bought those bargain bags (camera cuts to scene of Jane removing her bag and trash spilling everywhere). Jane sits in the middle of the trash and starts to cry.

I'm "Jane" lol. I'm taking out my trash this morning and find out that the bottom of the bag is not even sealed together. Dirty, wet kitchen trash everywhere! Yep, I bought that roll of bargain bags. So I reach for another to put the mess in. It's sealed on both ends. Won't open. Well, let's try the next one, shall we? It comes completely apart into a flat piece of plastic. (sigh) Third time HAS to be charm, right? YAY!!! A functioning bag. So I proceed to put all the trash (and the non-working bags) in there. Okay, now I need a new one to line the trash can. Next one doesn't open on either end. Are we seeing a pattern here? Yep, two more and I had a properly functioning bag to line the trash can. It's too early in the morning for this. Next time I'm buying the brand name! Maybe I need to go back to bed ...

Saturday night boredom

Well, I'm off work tonight. I've been poking around the house, making laundry soap and doing some loads. Have you ever been bored with a million things to do? There's really no end to housework. It's like the black hole of accomplishment. So pretty much at any given time, I could find at least 100 chores that could be done in the house. But sometimes, you just don't feel like doing them.

I've been meaning to go clean my closet. I don't even know what clothes I have anymore or what would fit, if anything. I can think of a lot of things that need cleaning or scrubbing, rearranging, organizing, or discarding.

But I guess I'll just take this Saturday night and unwind, prepare for a busy couple of weeks I have coming up. I believe a nice evening walk and a bubble bath are in order!!

What happened to the letter L?

Now, this is truly a babble for the evening. Take a look at your keyboard. Which letters are worn off? For me, the letter L is completely gone. I can't figure out why, unless I have been excessively LOL'ing. Letters that are half gone include the C, M, and the O. Everything else is pretty much there. Does this say something about my typing content? Hmmmm .... LOL

Postcrossing cards

I've talked about Postcrossing before. Here I'm making a list of the different countries to which I've sent cards or from which I've received them. I'll keep this updated as new cards are sent and received. I'll only list the countries once, even if there are multiple cards. I've sent and received the most cards within the USA.

Sent:

USA
Malaysia
Finland
Portugal
Germany
Netherlands
United Kingdom

Received:

USA
Finland
Germany
Taiwan
Portugal
Ireland
Turkey
China

What's in a name?

I am going through a divorce. I'm kind of used to the process, considering I started the thing in February, 2007. It's sort of been awhile. While I wait for things to move along (sometimes patiently, sometimes impatiently), one of the thing that bothers me is the continued legal status of my name. Now, when I was married, I retained my maiden name as my middle name. So now I do use my maiden name in general. The exceptions are with employers for tax purposes, bank accounts, my license and social security card, and things that involve my children, because I use my married name that matches theirs, for now.

Sometimes this lack of closure really bothers me. I don't feel like I can get on happily with the rest of my life and officially put a chapter behind me. The name thing serves to drive this home on occasion. I'll be going along so well, then someone calls on the phone asking for me by my married name. It just seems so foreign to me now. It seems like something from long ago that still lingers and won't let me shut that door.

What's weird is writing my name. One of the first things we write as children is our name, first, then our last. When I write my maiden name, it flows right out. I just say the name in my head and it appears on paper. My married name was always strained. Not that this had some sort of mystical reflection on the marriage itself, which did go sour, but just the fact that it wasn't the natural name for me to write following my first name. In my head, I would have to spell it out letter for letter. And that's after 17 years of that name. On things I have to sign, I still find this a problem.

I don't know how long I'll be in limbo. Most days, it doesn't bother me at all except for the financial part. But when I hear that name following mine, it stirs a bit of hurt and anger inside. I hope that goes away someday.

Postcrossing

I've been doing a new fun thing called postcrossing (from Postcrossing.com). I love to get mail, but I usually only get bills. :( When you sign up for this, you get a random address and send a postcard. You can send up to five at a time. When your postcard is received and registered in the system, your name and address are randomly given to someone else, and they send you a card. So far, I've sent more than I received, but it's still fun. I've received four cards - two from within the US, one from Taiwan, and one from Finland. I've sent cards to Germany, Finland, Portugal, the Netherlands, the UK, and within the US. I'm going to get a photo album just for the postcards I receive. There is some expense, because you have to buy the postcards and stamps (it's currently 94 cents to send internationally), but I am enjoying it and think it's worth it. Sometimes people mention in their profile what type of cards they like to receive, but I generally send local landscapes of Iowa. Some of the people have asked to become pen pals as well. Just another thing to have some fun with and learn about people and places all over the world! :)