Spring Goals for March...And Beyond.

 

Hello you all.  I'm not really ready to tackle March just yet, because my ambition at present is heavier than my strength to do.  However, my mind is active as can be as I move about my house trying to reclaim it from the last week of February failures.   I thought I'd just list all my ambitions down, which I am sure will be far too much to do in March alone.  However, if that is so then I shall repost the things I didn't do for April.  How's that?

I'm going to set this up a little differently than usual.  I'm going to go space by space in my home and tell you what I hope to accomplish in each and why.  Some of the things listed will be purchases I want to make so that definitely won't all get done at once.  Some are repairs that will require a bit more effort.  That's why I don't expect everything on this list to get done this month.

  

In each space, some decluttering will occur.  I am feeling extremely conscious of the stuff in each room, things that basically hide out behind closed doors and never sees the light of day and spaces that might be better used that aren't because they are full of stuff.  Yes, I have been decluttering since January...and yet I feel compelled to keep peeling back layers and letting go of more.  Never gonna be a minimalist but I do have a strong preference these days for function over useless.

Master Bath: 

1.  Do a complete inventory of medicines and learn from my mistakes.  When I was sick, I pulled out a bottle of medication that had a very unpleasant after taste.  When I checked the bottle, it had actually expired in 2021...Good grief!  It happened I also had a fresh bottle that expires in 2027 but somehow there I was with this old stuff.  

Obviously that one bottle was a stray one from my big order of cold supplies in 2020 when we carted medicines from house to house as the kids all got the c-virus.  

I realized that I am no longer supplying three households for illness any longer and we are seldom in need of them (cold-wise this year being my exception), so I don't need a huge supply.  Just to have a bottle of each component on hand will suffice.

There has also been an overflow of medicines ordered at doctor's request for John over the years, all over the counter supplemental type stuff.  He takes it for a bit, tells me he's nearly out, I order more, usually twice as much as needed because it's cheaper and he suddenly stops taking it. I had enough turmeric to have stained the patio in its entirety with some to spare.  Five bottles went into the trash.  

 2.  Inventory our supplies in the closet area.  Cleaners, personal care items, batteries, pest control items, paper products, etc.

3.  Create a shopping list for a few things I want.  Decorative, medical, cleaning, etc.  The shopping list for decorative items will be separate from the more necessary items.    My 'wants' for this room are simple.  I'd like a small table to sit under the window, so I can move the bench over against the wall near the shower.   I want a clothes hamper.  And we desperately need nicer rugs.  I bought inexpensive rugs last year and they've been nothing but a trial, looking permanently matted and in need of a wash.  I've vacuumed, beaten, swept them with no good result.

Master Bedroom:  

1.  Swap out trunks.  At John's request a couple of years ago, I moved my old cedar chest into the back entry because he wanted a place to corral shoes so dirt wouldn't accumulate on the back entry floor.  I put his shoes in, he takes them out and they stay out until I put them in again.   I've repeated this ad nauseum for the past three years.  The intended solution has not worked at all.  

In the meantime, I moved an antique tin trunk that belonged to a Great-great-great aunt of mine in place of the cedar trunk from the bedroom.  Years ago, mama and daddy refinished it and put a particularly tacky (in both taste and backing) contact paper over the lovely old fashioned papered interior.  The residue left behind has stuck to everything.  Every time I take a sheet or kitchen towel or pillow cover from the trunk, along comes sticky old paper that has stuck to it.  

I'm swapping the trunks out.  I don't really know where I'm going to put Aunt Liza's trunk.  Nor how I'm going to remedy the mess inside it.  That's a problem for another month.

2.  Start transitioning warmer weather clothing over to the closet and winter things to the drawer.

3.  Straighten up my dresser drawers.  Horrors at the messes within just at the moment.  It all went to heck last month.

4.  Sort out the closet.  There's a lot of extra in our closet beyond clothing.  I seriously need to declutter, rehome, etc.  There's a footlocker that John had used at work (not aesthetically pleasing but a better solution for the shoes at the back door...or chair cushions on the porch that I don't want Rufus sitting on...

5.  Get the St. Augustine artwork reframed and hung. 

6.  Restock sheeting and kitchen linens for future use.

Guest Room:

1.  Sort the Closet.  Talk about randomness.  Guest bedding (blow up and fold out mattresses), gift wrap, canning supplies, extras of this and that, hand me down clothes meant for Caleb, dry pantry supplies, sewing items...

It is not working well at any of these things.  I need the dry pantry items to stay there but what is driving me nuts with the two original closets in this house is the sheer random supply of things they contain.  

2. Sort the chifforobe.  Not really a serviceable piece as it currently is. Ideally, the clothes hanging portion would hold guest clothing, but it's piled up with this and that and the drawers are full of fabric and stuff.   

3.  Do something with all those stacked up boxes of books!  Get bookcases or get rid of books or some of both.  

4.  Get a small table to go next to the chair at the window.

5.  Get lamps for the room.

6.  Order new curtains.  Done

7.  Repair and recover the chair.  I've been putting this task off for years.  I really like the chair and want to keep it, but it's got to be refurbished.

8.  Paint the room and the doors.

Bathroom:

1.  Remove wall mirror and replace.

2. Paint the room and door.

3. New towels and a runner rug.

Dining/Living/Entry:

1.  Clean up about my chair.  I have a basket full of magazines, puzzle books, etc. next to my chair...In fact, it is my very own little messy nest area.

2.  Clean out and move the wood boxes.  I think I'd like to move my stack of old wood shop boxes (John's dad made them to house his tools and such) between the two chairs at the window.  The largest is where I keep excess pillow covers (for the living room pillows) and our throws and such when they are out of season.  Need to sort that out.

3.  Decorate the living room for spring.

4.  Order two benches for the dining room table.  Keep an eye out for two replacement chairs as well.

5.   Alter the dining table situation.  I like the table turned as it is.  But it's not quite right even yet for the space and I need to tweak it and play with it a bit.  

6.  Order a larger rug for the dining area.  

7.  I need an entry rug for the front door.

Laundry/Back Entry:  

1.  Figure out the shoe issue.

2.  Sort out the bins in the top of the laundry area.

3.  Back door entry rug.

Kitchen:

1. Paint.

2. Finish hanging pictures.

3. Clean the rugs

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