Re-Boot

So. I spent yesterday evening and this morning looking at the house and garden. Jeez it's a LONG list!

Here goes.......
Front Garden:

• Prune back shrub
• Weed
• Dig out big "grassy" thing
• Try to exterminate the Budlea (AGAIN!!)
• Relay weed barrier and put new mulch down
• Maybe plant some bedding plants or bulbs

Front of House

• Sand and repaint window frames
• Sand and repaint the door
• repaint the garage door and the gas/electric cupboard doors
• Get someone in to look at the misted window panes

Front Door/Lobby

• Empty out the rubbish
• Sort all the coats/hats/gloves/scarves etc
• Clear out all the shoes and wellie boots and keep just the current size!
• Reclaim and reorganise the shelves for the Guiding stuff I use every week
• Find somewhere for DH to stash his many....MANY....Train photos.....and his (important I'll grant you!) Tour Notes.

Living Room

• Clear out the rubbish for starters (we're drowning in paper!)
• Get rid of old computer
• Decide what to do with the rack of Videos......now we have lots of DVDs instead!
• Repaint eventually (not a priority.....have to find the room first!)
• Sort out/empty/get rid of/reorganise the 11 boxes and at least 12bags of "stuff" that has accumulated

Kitchen Diner

• Dust down the cobwebs
• Reorganise the cupboards - get RID of all the extra plates, cups and tupperwear!
• Save up for a new fridge and microwave
• Clear off the counter for display and packed lunch item storage
• Redo the Command centre (that I can't get to at the moment for all the junk!)
• Get rid of the dozen bags of "Stuff" that have accumulated there.

Sheesh!

I'm exhausted!
That's just DOWNSTAIRS!!!!
Upstairs is my room and the wardrobe I haven't been in in the last 5 years!
Upstairs is the kids "dungeon"......ULP!!!!

And then there is the back garden.....and the play house.........
......AND.......

..........................The............GARAGE!!!!! (Cue scary music!)

So.
There.

I've told you the first part.

So now I HAVE to do it........don't I?!

Promises, Promises!

I know, I know!
I know I said I was going to get a wriggle on.

But.....

Well......

You see........

Oh who am I kidding! It all boils down to just not being bothered! A lack of motivation. A dislike of putting the effort in.

.....Or maybe, just maybe.....I just DON'T KNOW WHERE to start!

If I sit on the computer, I can't see the mess behind me.

If I go to bed and read I can "forget" the junk piled everywhere.

I'm fed up of it, and I *HAVE* to change.

I just......

......don't know.......

....................how.............


Sigh.


Time to take a bite out of the Elephant.

I have people coming over in a few weeks.

New colleagues........for a planning meeting.......they could be here a while.

They will walk through the jungle to the front door. GULP.
They will squeeze through the junked up untidy lobby. GULP.
They will walk through my scruffy - full of junk - living room. OUCH
They will sit in my cobwebby kitchen. ....Which honestly I though was getting better as I had really been making an effort in there......until I put the light on last night! Oooopppps!
And if the weather holds - they will sit out in my untidy, junky, full of weeds and not a flower in sight back garden. SIGH.
NOT a good start to a new working relationship.


I *KNOW* I've said it like a gazillion times before.........but I *HAVE* to change.

Anyone want to take bets on how far I actually get?

Not a lot of progress

So.
What Now?

I started this blog, full of good intentions, the week BEFORE Christmas 2011.
The house was a MESS. Christmas was a week away. I had NO idea HOW I was going to find space for the Tree, WHERE I had put most of the presents bought in advance, and I was TIRED!!!

Tired of the mess.
Tired of the hassle.
Tired of all the bad temper from my children and my husband....and me.
Tired of climbing over ALL the STUFF everytime we wanted to get to the window to open or close the curtains, of moving a pram from the doorway ever time someone called.

I was DETERMINED the Christmas 2012 would be better.
That the House would be more organised - emptier of mess.
That relationships would be less fraught - after all, we would have space and organisation.
That we would have had FUN...because I would know WHERE I had stashed the pressies for the Elves to bring (and have found the Elves in time for the beginning of December rather than the last minute attempt to bring them into our Christmas as usually happened!)

What Happened?

.........Not........A......Lot!

Sigh.

It's now the week AFTER Christmas 2012.......and the house doesn't look much different to the way it did when I started this project.
I still have a garage you can't get into.
I still have a storage unit draining my finances (and I still have NO finances!)
I still have boxes and bags of STUFF.......EVERYWHERE!!!

So.
New Year.
New Resolution.
New Attempt.

But now only 50 weeks to Christmas (well, OK, 51 if you count this week....that's already started!)

Can I do it?

For the sake of ALL of us in the house......I'd better!
AM