I spent a couple of hours weeding yesterday and it felt great! I’ve got more to do out there but before I head out I want to make a list of all the house projects I need to do to really get and keep my house in shape. This is not a list to punish myself with later if I get none of it done. This is to start the organization process in my own head, where it all truly begins. Best way I know to organize my head is to take a bunch of stuff OUT of it and put it on paper. So room by room, here goes…

Office:

Make double curtains for all the windows. A light curtain in muslin or similar lightweight fabric that lets some light in and then a dark heavier curtain that does a good job shutting it out. GET RID OF STUPID-ASS UGLY PLASTIC SHADES.

Clean out sewing supplies and refold all the fabric on the shelves. Any fabric you haven’t used in the last 20 years is probably never going to get used. There’s a reason it’s sat there for so long.

Clean out apothecary shelves – label all jars and bottles that aren’t labeled and throw out anything unfresh like that dried kale from 3 years ago. Kale is the anti-Christ and I only dried it in the first place for my mom.

Create a space for all finished apothecary products and other Etsy shop products so they’re easy to find and store.

Hang all your weird religious souvenirs on the walls.

Paint what little wall space you have Granny Smith Apple Green.

Relocate journals into bedroom closet. I don’t need them and still undecided if I’m going to torch them or not.

Clean out desk.

Mop floor.

Clean all woodwork and sills.

Fix screen with the spider/fly hole in it.

Dining Room:

Find a cupboard or table to go under the window looking into my office and get rid of the wicker basket thingy.

Find a better place to store my accordion.

Clean out the little closet – put all the games up in Max’s room except for the Scrabble. Clean out the floor space (there’s a few funky purposeless things there). Add useful hangers. Store linens either in rolling cart of some kind or on the above shelf.

Clean out the china cabinets of anything we don’t use or want. Be ruthless.

Put a pretty display on dining room table and after using it for projects and such – put shit back where it belongs.

Mop floor.

Use long-ass duster to get cobwebs down.

Clean woodwork.

Vestibule:

Yes, we have a vestibule. It needs to be thoroughly dusted.

Clean woodwork.

Clean the deco cabinet inside and out.

Mop floor.

Carefully clean antique candlesticks.

Living Room:

Clean out bookshelves. No need to be ruthless, just go through and make sure everything is a real keeper. Movies included.

Perhaps give mom a few of the things off the top of the TV cabinet that are hers?

Dust like mad.

Clean the woodwork.

Rotate the carpet.

Clean out the pantry. It’s a big job but it must be done. Extra canning jars, growlers, or rarely used items should be put in the upstairs kitchen cabinets. Clean things out, label everything that needs it. Throw out old crap you know Max isn’t going to eat. Just admit it and move on.

Add emergency water to the pantry. Just one big one is fine.

Kitchen:

Shit. This is where it gets super hairy and challenging. This is the place that needs the most work I can’t do myself. Stop stalling. Just write it all down.

Finish cleaning the O’Keefe and Merritt stove.

Find out what stove hood will work best with the old stove and either buy it or save up for it.

Find out who can install it and the cost. Either set it up for them to do it or save up until you can afford to get someone to do it.

Remove the cabinets from above the stove that must be moved to accommodate the bigger stove.

Get rid of old stove. Hack it to bits if necessary and sell the scrap metal to traveling tinkers riding on donkeys.

Find a used cabinet to put between the sink and the fridge that can accommodate a dishwasher. Install cabinet and dishwasher.

Somewhere in the middle of all this mayhem – paint the walls a different more cheerful color. Dustpan alley blue or apple green. Anything but beige.

Make matching  curtains for the two windows.

Clean out that fridge. Scrub it down. Throw out old weird frozen stuff you know no one is going to eat like those dark brown frozen bananas. Don’t listen to anyone who suggests a banana-kale-freezer-burn smoothie is the path to great health.

Clean the woodwork.

Go through all the cabinets to get rid of the musty stuff. You know what I’m talking about. There may not be much of it but I’m sure it’s interfering with your road to success.

Bingo-presto! DONE! That’s all you have to do in there for it to be an awesome kitchen. Just a snap o’ the fingers and it’s all amazing.

Bathroom:

Make curtains, destroy the blinds.

Back the cabinet above the toilet with the orange gingham to look nicer.

Scrub all the way under the tub.

Replace the bath faucet because it super sucks like crazy.

Replace the shower  curtains.

Get new towels and washcloths. When you can afford them. Because I know you can’t afford them now. Doesn’t mean they don’t need replacing. It’s been 8 years and they are getting FUNKY.

Replace the asshole of a toilet.

Clean the motherfucking woodwork, you lazy whore.

Laundry Room:

Remove the creepy little carpets.

Install linoleum. This will obviously involve the temporary removal of the washer and dryer and freezer. Major pain the ass. I promise it will be worth it in the end.

Clean the fuck out of the woodwork and walls and corners and all the crevices into which muck and dust and lint has lodged itself. Make it nice in there!

Bedroom:

Hang a couple more pictures.

Clean off dresser to remember what it looks like.

Throw out any shoes I’m not able to wear any more.

Dust it.

Clean the woodwork.

I believe I can get a lot of this done by approaching it methodically. A few things here really depend on money, so we’ll see. I will NOT look back and flog myself with this list if much of it isn’t accomplished. It just feels good to write it all out.

However, there’s nothing like tackling a task right now, this minute. I’m going to go fold the fabric on my shelves.

Catch you later!