one more furry friend

So last week, I introduced you to Meadow, the stray in our backyard.

There's another regular customer to our backyard café that I wanted to write about. We call him Bernie. We're guessing he's a boy, but he's really fuzzy so we don't know for sure!

Bernie isn't friendly like Meadow. He's pretty scared of us, even though we've been feeding him for at least a couple years.

He gets into rumbles with some of the other strays sometimes and gets a little beat up, poor guy. (Not Meadow; while not necessarily buddies, they seem to look out for each other)

Above, Bernie sits on a plant shelf that is at least five feet off the ground.



So ... I made it through November, with 30 days of blogging, cleaning and being thankful. (I do still owe you one more cleaning for that!)

I am thankful to all of my commenters encouraging my cleaning progress. Hopefully I'll be able to keep your interest once I remember how to blog about other topics!

can you believe i have more overflowing closets?

Here's our linen closet:

You can't tell from the photo, but things fell out when I opened the door. Also, the door wouldn't actually close all the way, since the stuff on the floor was trying to escape.*

There are still a lot of random items left, but now I have room for them. Well, we'll see once all our sheets and towels are clean. There are at least two loads in queue!

Much better!

I've got book club after work tomorrow, so I don't think I'll be able to end NaBloCleanMo with a bang. I'll see what I can do, but I might have to postpone my final post until Dec. 1.

Not that I'm going to stop. There are still messes to be conquered!
Ugh, I've got problems if I have more than 30 messes ...

I know I've said this already, but I'm thankful for my clean house! Since I should probably add a new one, I'm also thankful for chocolate. Maybe I should go find some ...

* After I was done, I called my husband upstairs.
Me: "Honey, you should look in the linen closet."
Hubby: (starting up the stairs), "Hey, the door is closed!"

the bedside problem is just about gone!

I won't consider it finished until I vacuum, but all of the clutter is history!

It went through several stages ... and finally we're here:

Phew!

That took longer than I expected ... but, I did need to break my cleaning into some smaller sorting projects (like those baskets) for days (like today) where I don't really get home until after 10 p.m.

It's difficult to clean and post by midnight!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I'm almost ready to start embracing the holiday season. It still feels early, but I have started Christmas shopping!

I still get as excited about Christmas as I did as a little girl, though now it's about giving as well as receiving. I am thankful that the holidays still have that sparkle!

i am not allowed to buy any more hair products ...

Apparently, I have a difficult time throwing out empty hairspray containers and/or using the last bits before I start on something new.

Also, I experiment a lot. I've got somewhat curly hair that doesn't really hold the curl well, so I'm always on the lookout for new products. No one product works alone, so I mix and match. Of course, the length of my hair / how long since my last cut also affects how they work.

All of this hair stuff (plus toilet paper storage and cleaning products) caused a bit of a disaster. This was the cabinet in our half bath, the one I use as my powder room to get ready in the morning:

See that large box behind the toilet cleaner? I'm pretty sure that's been there since at least 2002, judging by the receipts I found in there. Though, I suspect it could have been longer. I used the box to hold all of the items stored in this bathroom when I painted, and I know I didn't let the salmon pink cabinet stay that way for too long. We've been here since July 2001.

I nearly filled a large kitchen trashcan with recyclables, as I dumped out the last few spritzes from over a dozen bottles! (Actually, some were already empty. Either I'm that lazy, or the last bits dried up. They have been nearly empty for several years!)

Anyway ... after clearing everything, I put most of my still-usable hair products into bins I bought, however, I kind of underestimated how much stuff was in there. They're overflowing!

If I get a couple more, I'll be able to neaten that up and get rid of that black box still holding some odds and ends.

I've kept the products I'm currently using daily in the front ... and when I run out I'm going to try to work through all those others. It might take years!

And I will throw away those that suck or don't work! I couldn't remember if I abandoned a product because I hated it ... or just found something new.

I am thankful that I won't be wasting time in the morning looking for my gel and picking up the bottles I've knocked over anymore!

because that last box was marring my otherwise organized office ...

I had to sort it out.

Before:

After:

Oops ... I left a couple of empty file folders on top of the other box ... I just put those away!

And yes, I still need to find a more permanent storage location for my high school and college awards / diplomas / mementos that are in the other box, but at least I know what's in there. That one's not bugging me as much!

I am thankful that this daily cleaning thing is almost over! Though, now that the ball is rolling, I think I'm going to have to finish any projects I don't get to. But it won't be every day. I just don't have time for that, especially with Holiday Concert Season upon us!

the pantry

Quite the disorganized mess!

I took everything out, threw out a lot of stale / expired things, and tried to group like items. We do still have too many bags of chips!

I was able to clean out the bottom space and can now store bottled drinks that would otherwise have sat on the kitchen table until we were ready to refrigerate them.

Now I have a clean pantry, and a clean table!

Despite the mess it makes (I'm sure this organization will not last!), I am thankful that our pantry is well stocked!

more drawers

When we last checked in on the junk drawer, it looked like this:

Not bad, and much better than the original, but there was still work to be done. I picked up some modular bins and was able to further compartmentalize the junk drawer.

After that was done, I still had a few containers left. I brought them into the half bathroom that I use as my powder room.

I have a mess of makeup in both drawers. The "after" photos to the right aren't drastically different, but I've got a bit more order. All of my daily-use items are together in the left drawer, and all lipsticks/glosses are in the right. Note to self: stop buying lip gloss!

The drawer on the right:

The drawer on the left:

Not a major change today, but every little bit helps!

While I'm definitely not done cleaning yet, my house is currently the cleanest it's been in a long time. Possibly, the cleanest it's ever been; a lot of the clutter I've been dealing with has been around since we moved in.

And for my newfound cleanliness and organization, I am very thankful!

the office clean-up, part 3

I focused on a particularly messy corner of the office today:

After a lot of sorting, trashing and recycling, we have this:

I even vacuumed. The whole room, not just the corner!

And then I had to coax Jeter out from under the guest bed. He's very scared of that noisy thing!

Though, I do have to confess, I have a box of papers that still needs sorting. I had enough for one sitting!

Also, this afternoon I put down peel-and-stick tiles in the hall closet. I had enough leftover from a bathroom project a few years ago. I didn't prime the plywood so I don't know how well they'll stick, but it's not exactly a high traffic area!

Today, we reheated leftover Thanksgiving food for lunch and dinner, and will do the same tomorrow.

I am thankful for leftovers. Yum!

i smooshed my pie!

It was looking so perfect, too!

I was cooking two things side by side, and couldn't get a grip on it. While contorting myself, I hit my wrist on the top of the oven, and the potholder mushed the pie. Oops!

It'll still be tasty!

There were no issues getting the apple pie out of the oven. This is my first attempt at a from-scratch apple pie (minus the crust -- I've tried making my own crust and it just works better with the refrigerated kind!). The top is a chopped nut / brown sugar crumb mix.

We haven't had dessert yet. Still letting dinner settle. Lots of stuffing, mashed potatoes and of course, the Tofurky!

Odd postcard that came in my Tofurky box!

(Yes, I made two pies, and also pumpkin bars. That's three desserts for two people. My husband isn't much of a sweet tooth, but he'll have a little of everything tonight, and then I'll eat pie for days ...)

The Tofurky was delicious as always, and even came out looking like it does on the box!

Today I am thankful for lots of yummy food of course, and that it was a beautiful Thanksgiving day.

I ran a "Turkey Chase" 10K race this morning, and it was 70 degrees and sunny. In years past, it's been cold and/or rainy for the race. Last year, I came home muddy and had to hose off my shoes!

Sure, it did get a bit rainy this afternoon, and the temperatures are supposed to drop. It will only be in the low 40s tomorrow. But today was just fabulous!

Too bad I was in front of the stove for most of it!

the office clean-up, part 2

I stuck with the office tonight, building on last night's progress.

It doesn't look drastically different. Well, I bought another bookshelf to replace the plastic bins. But everything is a lot more organized now, rather than just shoved on an over-stuffed bookshelf!

Last night:

Tonight:

The box on top of the new shelf holds my diplomas, awards, certificates, etc. from college and high school. I'll find a better place and a better box for those!

I've still got a small box of things to go through (conveniently out of view!), but it's gotten much better. Oh, there are still a few days of work left in this room!

Today's dedication of thanks goes to Ninja Poodles for the post that challenged "me" to show my messes to the world, and Cecily who suggested I combine cleaning with NaBloPoMo after seeing those messes!

Even though I've fallen far behind on my TV-viewing (Help! My DVR is almost full!), and I haven't started reading my book for book club next week, I'm thrilled that I've been able to tackle so many disasters!

saving the best for last ...

Alas, here is my office / dumping room.

I've got to get rid of the broken mini-blinds, held together with painters' tape ...

Obviously, this mess cannot be fixed in one evening. I think I may have fodder for the rest of the month here!

Here is the area I focused on tonight:

I started straightening up my chorale music. It was supposed to be filed in that plastic file box seen above in the middle of the room, but usually I just pile the music near the box. (The box may have previously been between the bookshelf and the nightstand, but I recently had to dig out my holiday music.)

I did make another pile to the left of the bookshelf, but at least it's like items. I put all mementos from my parents' attic, photo albums and yearbooks together. I have to figure out what to do with all of that so I can complete this project!

Here's where we are now:

Of course now that it's a bit cleaner, it seems to have become a walkway for my cats ...

We will have a short day tomorrow, the office is closing at 3 for Thanksgiving. My husband and I have been celebrating this holiday at home for the past few years, choosing to spend the day together and eating way too much.

I am thankful that we don't have to travel! We get to come home and enjoy a long weekend!

my decorating skills need work!

We have very few cat-safe surfaces to put anything breakable. One is on top of the TV. Another is the fireplace mantle.

I threw away all the junk, filed a few important items that were stashed up there for safe keeping, and decided my running watches and waist pack (that I have not used since the summer) can find a new home.

After it was relatively clean, I moved some of the knick-knacks to other locations, thinking I would to try to form a better display.

And I realized I have no idea how to create a decent-looking display with what was left!

This is what I came up with:

It'll do for now.

Can you believe I still have more problem areas in the house? But, I am happy to report the first floor is shaping up nicely.

I am thankful that I can almost open my doors to unannounced company without embarrassment!

closet explosion!

This is our guest room:

Good thing we don't have guests too often!

When we come home from trips, it's just easier to put the suitcases in here rather than in the attic. And the random other bags came from all over the house as I've been cleaning my other messes!

The clothes hanging were just there to dry, they've been returned to my still-clean closet.

I threw out the gross old pillows, and found a better place to store the good ones. The suitcases have returned to the attic, and I've stored the smaller bags in a bin.

The bin on the bottom left is full of my husband's baseball cards. That heavy bin can stay there! On top of that is some more of his stuff.

Still shoved on top of the clothes rod are two garbage bags full of stuffed animals from my childhood. Some I can get rid of, some I will keep. I just haven't found a better place for them yet. There's also a bag full of dolls between the bins (souvenirs from my grandmother's travels to other countries) that I need to do something with!

The amazon.com box is full of holiday decorations, I figured I can keep that out of the attic for now!

At least we can do this:

It's been a long time since that's happened!

On this 18th day of thanks, I am thankful I've been able to keep the cleaning streak going!

holy crap!

And by "crap," I mean this:

That folding door made it tough to really capture the essence of the disaster in our coat closet, but I think you can see the improvement:

There's just subfloor in there. I'm going to tile it with peel-and-stick tiles I have leftover from the guest bathroom.

My husband had a habit of tossing his coats on the closet floor, probably because it was easier to do that than try to stuff them into the over-full closet.

We've weeded out a few coats we don't want, so that shouldn't be a problem anymore:

When I said "a few," I meant a dozen!

When we moved into this house over six years ago, some stuff never really got unpacked. There were a few bags and a crate of stuff on the closet floor. We also shoved things in there that we didn't really want. I now have the beginnings of a yard sale collection started in the garage!

I was prompted to tackle this project tonight because I just found a great new leather jacket. I've had my old one for years and it's really worn, though I'll still save it for bad weather. I'll try to keep the new one out of the pouring rain!

I got a good deal on my new coat at the outlet mall. I also got more shoes! (Yes, I needed more shoes. Don't worry, I've made room and the closet is still in order!)

Today, I am thankful for outlet bargains!

this was supposed to be a temporary entertainment center

When we bought this TV, we knew it wasn't going to fit in our old entertainment center. We knocked out a CD shelf, and were surprised that it was still sturdy enough to hold up the top shelf. Still, it was an old unit we got just out of college.

We've had this TV, and half-broken entertainment center, for a few years now. Over the summer, I started a quest to find a new cabinet, but it turns out our TV is unusually large. Most cabinets are about 19-21 inches deep, while this TV needs at least 24 inches.

So the temporary cabinet remains.

It also happens to be one of the only cat-safe places to put things. Occasionally they (well, usually just Joey) feel mischievous and climb up there, but it doesn't happen often. So we stash all our crap up there.

I cleaned up the junk, removed a few candles, and decided the coconut parrot carving didn't really need to be the centerpiece of our living room any longer. There's still a lot of stuff up there, but it's better, and it's been dusted!

(Yes, whenever I clean the top of the entertainment center, I put all my husband's sunglasses on the cat sculpture!)

Today my office closed early for our quarterly meeting. It was at the International Spy Museum in D.C. I had never been there before, and it was pretty cool. Of course, we had private access (no tourists), and a few drinks (on the company) first!

For my 30 days of thanks, I've already mentioned the great company I work for, but today I am thankful for our fun events!

got a light?

From October to April when it's dark out after work, my running group meets at a community college to run.

There are only so many routes so it's kind of boring, but it's well-lit and safe. There aren't too many other options, so we just run our loops there twice a week.

Often, people ask us for directions when they're looking for a specific building. Despite running there for years, we don't really know the names of the buildings so we're not much help.

That happens all the time, and isn't really unusual.

Today, though, someone loitering before or after class approached part of our group and asked if anybody had a light.

Uh, wrong people to ask! Typically, runners aren't smokers!

At least we got a laugh.

Tonight, I am thankful that it stopped raining before my run.

When I left my office, it was cold, windy and raining. Our meeting place is closer to my house, so maybe we cleared the storm. It wasn't quite as windy, and the rain had stopped.

We tend to run in most weather conditions. Thunderstorms and excessive ice are really the only deal breakers ... but cold rain is not fun!

not much to report today

I didn't have too much time tonight, so I just sorted one of the baskets I didn't get around to last night.

So, this:

Is now this:

Yes, it is still obvious that I need to vacuum.

I was good, I did pick the overstuffed basket and not the nearly empty one. It was packed full of papers that I should save (medical statements, car loan statements, etc.), though, most of them are over a year old at this point!

I've roughly sorted everything and put it in a 13-folder envelope for temporary storage. I've got to clean out my file cabinet to make room, which will involve a lot of shredding. I'm not looking forward to that!

For day 14 of my 30 days of thanks, I am thankful for a brief break in the weather today. It warmed up into the 60s! Though, tomorrow will be cold again. But it was nice for a day!

making progress

I decided to start working on the mess beside my bed tonight.

This is how it started:

It's not completely done, I still have to go through the baskets, but it's a lot better. In the pile were magazines as old as (yikes!) April 2006. I also threw away travel paperwork from December 2005, our summer beach house rental agreement from 2004, and programs from the Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon from Labor Day -- 2007 and 2006!

Yes, there is a lot of dust and cat hair on the carpet. It's been a long time since a vacuum could reach these parts. That will happen soon!

Also under the mess? Some cozy slippers I forgot I had:

Tonight, I am thankful for the lunchtime yoga my office has been providing twice a week. While I was busy today, it was nice to take a break from it all and relax for a bit!

the junk drawer could not be contained

At least not yet.

I purchased a "junk drawer organizer" to attempt to straighten up the mess. This is how it started:

I was able to get it this far:

The smaller tray on the right is supposed to sit on top of the one on the left, but that assumes all of your junk is small enough to allow it to fit. There weren't a lot of large slots, so I'm going to have to pick up some additional bins. But it's a lot better!

And for extra credit, I cleaned my kitchen last night after I posted my clothing clean-up. That wasn't so bad, we just let the dishes pile up!

Before:

After:

Yes, the cabinets are two different colors. I'm working on it!

Today's declaration of thanks goes to the Target so convenient to my office. I've been a frequent shopper lately, trying to contain all of my messes!

i don't like putting things away

Especially my clean clothes.

Our washer and dryer are on the second floor, while our master bedroom is on the first. I suppose that might have been helpful if we had kids, but then wouldn't we want our bedrooms closer?

This house doesn't really make sense.

(Sorry, house. I still love you!)

Anyway, some mornings I come upstairs in my bathrobe looking for something to wear on top of the dryer. I don't know why I let it pile up; I like being able to find my clothes!

I've gotten to the bottom of the pile today.

All that's left is the to-be ironed pile.

Of course, there's a load drying right now ... but I'll be good and put my stuff away!

Today, after sleeping in a bit, I spent the afternoon by myself shopping. Our mall just opened a new section with H&M and Sephora among others ... Weeee!

I am thankful for days like today, where I am free to wander at my own pace, without anything planned to rush back for!