Category Archives: Homemaker’s Journal

Nov 6

November’s To Do List

It’s that time again, time to see what I need to get done this month. I didn’t meet all of my to-do goals in October, so a few of them are being carried over to November. This month seems to be going by in a hurry already.

  • Finish the Christmas afghan for my mother in law, and crochet six scarves for teacher gifts and family gifts too.
  • Work on the king-sized winter blanket. It has been over a year, and it still isn’t finished.
  • Start crocheting Christmas stars for Agnes’ preschool class gifts. I need 21 little gifts for Christmas, and I think little handmade ornaments will do the trick.
  • Clean out Thade’s closet, and donate unused items.
  • Deep clean the boys room, and organize bookshelves and toy bins before Thanksgiving break.
  • Finalize Thanksgiving day menus.
  • Clean out and reorganize the kitchen cabinets. I need to make some room in the pantry for Winter storage.
  • After Thanksgiving: decorate the house for Christmas. That means a trip to the scary closet, and scary garage for the decorations.
  • Clean out Agnes’ closet. She has grown again, and outgrown a lot of items. I’ll take the unused items to be be donated.
  • Thanksgiving week: will involve a lot of cooking, and prepping what I can ahead of the holiday. I’ll be baking pies and rolls just about every single day that week.
  • I’ll be trying my best to keep the dishes caught up, and the house tidied up and ready for guests.

What about you… What is on your To Do list for November?

 

Oct 24

Party Prepping

I just realized that I haven’t done a post since Monday… Actually my biggest kid has been using my computer more than me, thanks to homework and extra math. Just where did this week go?

Agnes’ party is this weekend, and I’ve been prepping some of the foods today. I’ll be helping at preschool tomorrow, so I’ll have to catch up in the afternoon. I’m so not ready for guests, or the volume of squeals out of Miss Agnes. She is really excited for her party.

The boys have had a ton of homework this week, and I’ve had a ton of housework too. I’m exhausted, and it isn’t even the weekend…

 

Oct 20

Cleaning Out My Closet

You’ll see the chore of cleaning out the kids closets/dressers often on my monthly to do list. I don’t always get the task done, and it gets bumped into the next month. While James was on vacation, I was catching up on the mountain of laundry from upstairs, when I looked at my own horrible cramped closet… Something needed done. Agnes was happily hanging out with Dad downstairs, and I decided to dig everything out of my closet and start from scratch.

It sounds silly, but here is what I tell myself when I’m doing a deep clean-out:

  • Do I love it? If I don’t, then it goes
  • Do I actually wear this? Again if I don’t, it goes
  • Just when did I wear this last? If I can’t remember, then it’s gone
  • Does it actually fit my body now? If it doesn’t, be it to big or a’hem way too small, then it is gone
  • Is it beyond repair? I have a slew of vintage goodies hiding away in my closet, if they are too far gone, then they go
  • Is is age appropriate for me right now? Again, this is one that I am coming to grips now that I am in my 30’s. I want to dress what is right for me now, not what was o.k. for me a decade ago
  • Does it fit in the space that I have? I have one (small) closet. It is home to my entire Summer/Winter wardrobe, a whole bunch of bags, and a library of books, and shoes too. I don’t have a lot of space, so I have to use it wisely. I also have an antique vanity in there. Seriously, cramped quarters in the closet.

Once everything has been sorted to either toss, or donate. I put the remaining clothing back up in order. Yes, OCD has a hold on me. My closet goes from left to right, and is in this order: Dresses, Skirts, Pants, Tops, Sweaters, and Jackets. All in R.O.Y.G.B.I.V. arrangement too, by section of clothing. It is a bit obsessive, but I can literally get dressed in the dark .

  • Another thing that helps me… I don’t have an emotional attachment to clothes… It is strange, but I just don’t. That really helps when cleaning out the goods.
  • Also, bag it up, and get it out of the house. I get everything that is going to be donated into my car. That way it is ready to go when I run next batch of errands. Anything that is in the trash bins gets taken out right away, no second chances.

This last clean out helped my space issue drastically. I cleaned out four grocery sized bags of clothing, and felt great when it was donated. I took the time to organize my handbags by season, and they neatly fit on the top shelf by the books. I ditched a lot of shoes too… I can no longer wear sky-high platforms, and that is o.k.

The closet still needs some work. The bookshelves need tended too, and reorganized badly. One step at a time though…

What about you… Do you love cleaning out the closet, or do you dread the task?

 

 

 

Oct 18

Catch-up Saturday

Today James is working open to close, and I am home with all of the kiddos. They decided to wake up extra early, and start fighting right off the bat. I think I have an extra long day ahead of me.

I plan on staying in, and catching up. I have a ton of laundry that needs to be put away upstairs, and there is chocolate chip cookie dough resting in the fridge, waiting to be baked. I’d also like to bake a few more treats for next week’s school lunches and snacks too.

Time to get to it. Happy Saturday everybody!

 

Oct 13

Home Today

Agnes was home today from preschool. She wasn’t too happy about it at all. She fought with me early in the morning, but with the cough and fever she had, she was home for the day. The boys (luckily) haven’t caught the first cold of the season, and I hope Agnes is over it soon.

James was off work too, so we winterized the house a bit. The weather was cold and rainy all day. I think it is supposed to be chilly all this week. Maybe, just maybe Kansas is officially done with Summer. I know that I am.

I tried to keep Agnes quiet and resting throughout the day, she got pretty bored of that fast. She is still pretty mad at me this evening, but the fever has broken. She is back to singing, and bouncing around the house. I hope she is ready to go back to school on Wednesday.

I worked on a few crochet projects over the weekend. I’m making a few more cushions for the daybed, and I am making another blanket too. With the temps dropping, all I want to do is make blankets, drink coffee, and take naps.

I hope that everyone sleeps tonight, and the little gal is better tomorrow. I really hope that everyone stays healthy too…