Thursday, May 6, 2010

Progress at Last on Goals for 2010

My decluttering project has been in the works now for a very long time. I have a lot of personal items and years of paperwork to sort through. It has been waiting for me to get at it since we moved back in after the fire in September 2009.  But I have so little time at home because I travel out of town every month to assist my ailing mother and I'm gone for a good two weeks each month.

For the first time in 16 months, I am home for the entire month. In the one week I've been alone, I'm making progress so I just have to journal about it here and have a marker of what has been accomplished on the road to where I'm headed. I've also been resting an awful lot.

What have I done this week?

Financial Goals

- Filed my taxes.
- Collected all bills and paid them.
- Added to my snowflake jar.
- Made some difficult financial decisions to live within means.

Health & Lifestyle

- Found a "home" for the exercise ball and weights in one corner of the living room.

- Lifted some weights to remind myself what it is like,lol. It has been so LONG since I've lifted a weight.


 - Bought a Pilates machine. It was just delivered last night. Now I need to figure out how to assemble it.  While it looks assembled I've learned there are many screws and pieces that need to be attached to this and that.


- Getting lots of rest. At the same time, I'm trying not to fritter away the time or work myself so hard that I detest the journey.  I've been setting my timer once in awhile when I really can't get motivated on the tasks at hand. It helps if you know you only have to work until the timer goes off.
- Eating more vegetables and started eating more fruits again. I even made a modest start on juicing.  Bought a good condition book on juicing. It only cost 25 cents.
- Made some bread and cooked all meals.
- Eating much lighter for dinner as my roomie is gone right now.
- Researched knitting classes and decided on private lessons. I start next week.
- Researched easy knitting patterns on line so I can make sure I have the right knitting needles and wool for the pattern. I've decided on a modest project of making a dishcloth as I really need to learn and practice the basics. I'm hoping I can use this new skill once learned for charitable projects and the odd personal project.

 Creating an Edible Garden

- Collected all the coffee grinds and fruit and vegetable scraps for the garden compost.
- Contacted a community garden and put my name on a waiting list for an allotment.
- Purchased some potting soil.
- Planted some kitchen herbs.

Decluttering & Organizing

- Located and untangled all my needed electronic plug items...and charged everything up.
- Investigated my web cam. It is no longer compatible with my software. Need a new one but this is not top priority.
- Machine shredded and hand shredded one box of confidential documents. This job has been staring at me everyday. I tried to pay my brother to shred all my documents but he hasn't gotten to it either so finally one box is gone. I still have two tubs and smaller bags to go as well as 4 drawers of my filing cabinet. Much of these materials isn't confidential but I will need to shred all the identifying information and personal numbers for banking, etc.
- Put up about 5 pictures on the walls, moved a lamp into my room and a small table into the corner of the living room.  My nephew gifted me with the picture below for Christmas. I had it in my bedroom but have moved it to the living room for now.
- Thoroughly cleaned the guest bathroom.
- Laundered the sofa and arm chair slip covers and removed the pills/nubby bits from the sofa fabric.
I now have to repair the sofa slip cover as it has ripped in the corner that is used most often.
- Cleared the dining room table (yet again). I use the dining room table to sort out the items which need paying and shredding or putting away. I need to clear it so I can repair the sofa slip cover.
- Cleared the top of my desk in the bedroom (again).
- Cleared the top of my dresser (again)
- Emptied my suitcase and put it away.
- Reorganized the clothing on my closet shelves and found a place for all the clothing, Identified a few items for giveaway and found a place to store the extra linen.
- I've done countless loads of laundry this week and am deciding whether to give away all my work out items that don't fit. I hesitate to do so because they are so costly if I need to buy a smaller size again soon. I know we're not supposed to keep things that are too small and for the most part, I don't. In this case, I might make an exception.
- Started one new fictional book and made small progress on another. The photo below is a cover shot of the new book.


- Re-organized a place in living room for my bible study area to make this a conducive study area for daily use.  I have a nice cosy chair next to the table and the window behind me will give good, natural lighting.
- Made mental notes of clothing and other items that need repair (e.g. reading lamp in bedroom).
- Cancelled mailing address and got a new one. Following up with all businesses for mail redirection instructions.

Family & Friends

- Mom was in hospital for a few days due to heart issues. I called her each day and prayed with her.
She is home now and I keep in touch and pray daily.
- I organized a surprise for my niece and she loved it.
- Reconnected with several friends. Had tea with one and made some plans with two others.
- Lost one friend in the Kenyan village due to sickness. Praying for her teenage daughters left behind with no adult to care for them. Would you join me in prayer for these dear girls?

Spiritual

I'm failing in this area. My time alone with God is hampered by my stress level right now. I know I can't use this as an excuse but God knows what I mean. I am seeking His rest and also the prayers of friends and loved ones. Thank God they hold me in prayer.

Therefore confess your sins 
to each other and pray for each other 
so that you may be healed. 
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
James 5:16

13 comments:

Jan said...

O to be so organised..... you are amazing.......
With love and Blessings,
Jan

Joyful said...

Jan, you're too kind. I'm not organized as much as I would like to be but taking baby steps to get there. It's getting closer. I used to be organized but the last few years have been juggling a lot of things :-)

OneStonedCrow said...

Hehehe ... good luck with your organizing binge ... :)

Susan said...

Things are looking good. I have been using your suggestion of working for short periods of time to attack my messy house. It is successful! I even set the timer when on the computer so I get up and work for while inbetween tasks.

Susan
susan-chicdaisy.blogspot.com

Joyful said...

He he, One Stoned Crow, I need more than luck, lol.

Joyful said...

Hi Susan, I'm glad that tip is working for you. I got it from the Fly Lady. She is someone who helps a lot of women get organized. I'm afraid I'm not following her method, just the odd tip here and there as that is what will work for me right now ;-)

Diary From Africa said...

Goodness me, you have been so busy even I feel like going for a lie down now ;) So very sorry to hear about the loss of your friend in Kenya ... and do hope that your mother gets well and feels better soon .... the new book which you're reading looks interesting ...

Kilauea Poetry said...

These are some great goals (a lot here) and appears many are materializing. Busy I'd say! Crochet is what I mentioned I did when I was a teenager. My sister and brother-in-law rented a place along the beach in Oahu before moving to this Island. I sat there getting instructions from my sister and made my first bullseye bikini top -seriously(lol)..but that was then. I took a few classes in night school to make up for dropping out- one of which was crochet. I remember my teacher and her tops she used to wear..so beautiful. I made some shawls and kind of enjoyed it. Enough..well, my son invited me to this Zoomba excercise class last night (he was thinking of me of course)!! Well I made it half way through as I don't do much cardio at all! I have better luck with free weights like yourself.
Anyway, sorry about your mom..glad your close and can help her like that too. The girls, yes I'll do that. Last parting words before I hit the sack..don't shove your pilate machine under your bed (lol). Have a great weekend friend!

Joyful said...

Hi Regina, yes! I've been so busy. But am also making sure I get my rest. I love crochet. It sounds like you do too. I haven't done any in awhile though. I like that you can use one needle and create such nice things. I've heard of Zoomba but am not about to take it up, lol. I was able to get the Pilates machine put together though I need more strength (help) to put the rebounder together. I got on the machine tonight for a few minutes and I can see it will be a real work out. I have to be careful getting down so low when I have arthritis. I realize now how much space the Pilates machine takes up! My goodness, I don't know where I'm gonna keep it in order to use it. For now I have it in my entry way/dining area. I think I may need to put it away close by and use it in this open space or move a living room recliner and make space there where I can watch the dvds to exercise to at the same time. On nice days, I can put it outside (where you took a peek).

Joyful said...

Lynda, thank you for dropping by. Yes indeed things have been very busy but I did figure out how to put that Pilates machine together. It only took 20 minutes or so but I have to tighten up screws here and there. The new book I've started was on the bestseller list. Not sure how I like it yet as I haven't made much headway. I'm reading a couple other books "Knit Two" and a book on autism.

Joyful said...

Hi Regina, yes! I've been so busy. But am also making sure I get my rest. I love crochet. It sounds like you do too. I haven't done any in awhile though. I like that you can use one needle and create such nice things. I've heard of Zoomba but am not about to take it up, lol. I was able to get the Pilates machine put together though I need more strength (help) to put the rebounder together. I got on the machine tonight for a few minutes and I can see it will be a real work out. I have to be careful getting down so low when I have arthritis. I realize now how much space the Pilates machine takes up! My goodness, I don't know where I'm gonna keep it in order to use it. For now I have it in my entry way/dining area. I think I may need to put it away close by and use it in this open space or move a living room recliner and make space there where I can watch the dvds to exercise to at the same time. On nice days, I can put it outside (where you took a peek).

Joyful said...

These are some great goals (a lot here) and appears many are materializing. Busy I'd say! Crochet is what I mentioned I did when I was a teenager. My sister and brother-in-law rented a place along the beach in Oahu before moving to this Island. I sat there getting instructions from my sister and made my first bullseye bikini top -seriously(lol)..but that was then. I took a few classes in night school to make up for dropping out- one of which was crochet. I remember my teacher and her tops she used to wear..so beautiful. I made some shawls and kind of enjoyed it. Enough..well, my son invited me to this Zoomba excercise class last night (he was thinking of me of course)!! Well I made it half way through as I don't do much cardio at all! I have better luck with free weights like yourself.
Anyway, sorry about your mom..glad your close and can help her like that too. The girls, yes I'll do that. Last parting words before I hit the sack..don't shove your pilate machine under your bed (lol). Have a great weekend friend!

Joyful said...

Jan, you're too kind. I'm not organized as much as I would like to be but taking baby steps to get there. It's getting closer. I used to be organized but the last few years have been juggling a lot of things :-)

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