Tackle Time

I have been bitten. Bitten by the organization/cleaning/fixing-up bug.

I want to host a girls-night party here in December. So...that is major motivation to getting some things around here done! My list is quite long...some small things and other not-so-small things. Many of the items on my to-do list are things I've been procrastinating on for far too long.

But nothing like wanting to host a gathering will get me motivated to get in gear! So that's what I'm doing. And I'm going to attempt to blog about it.

Why? Because I've been very bad at getting around to blogging lately, and it will give me something to blog about. And hopefully putting it out here for "all the world" to see will motivate me to get even more done. And who knows - maybe it will help motivate someone else too!

So, I'm declaring November my Tackle Every Day Month. That means that I plan to try to tackle something around here every single day this month. It may be a small thing that I've been putting off doing, or a larger task. There will sometimes be photos, but not always.

I realize today is the 5th. I should have began blogging this on the 1st. See...I don't have a procrastination problem!

But I have at least begun tackling already, so I'll share what I've done so far. Then I'll try to keep up with this and blog every day. Though some days I may end up throwing 2 or 3 days worth together. Actually you can probably count on that. You know as well as I do that I won't manage to post every day!

But at the end of this month, I hope to have tons of things accomplished around here!

OK - so far:

1. Cleaned out and organized my laundry "room". I took out things that aren't frequently used and put them out in the barn to free up some much needed space.

2. Cleaned the tops of my kitchen cabinets. I have a very small kitchen and have to utilize every inch of space I have. So I was storing quite a few things up there. I pulled everything down and cleaned the space. Then I cleaned all the things that were up there (It's amazing how much dust and grease accumulates up there!) Then I put most of the things out in the barn so I can still get to them when I need them, but the tops of my cabinets now look so much better. I only kept a few things up there. I didn't think to take any before pictures. And I haven't taken any after ones yet, but when I do, I will post them. Oh, and I cleaned the top of the refrigerator while I was up there. Got rid of a bunch of junk and it looks so much better!

3. Cleaned and organized my scrap area (aka - dining "room"). This was an ALL-DAY job! I moved everything and cleaned behind. I can't believe how much dust can get back there! I re-organized it completely to better utilize my space. I'm waiting for Chip to get the desktop out of here and moved to CJ's room. Once it's gone, I'll be able to finish. Then I will post pictures.

4. Freed up some counter space in my kitchen. Again...very small kitchen, and I need every inch of space. I have several appliances that are used regularly. My coffee maker, toaster oven and microwave have to stay, as they are used pretty much every day. But I moved my bread machine and food processor to my laundry area. They are used at least once a week, but since it's not every day, I decided I could move them where they are still very easily accessed, but not taking up precious counter space. Much better!

And that brings me to day 5. Today. Still a work in progress. It is another project in my kitchen and I will be back to blog it - complete with before and after pics - once I'm finished.

And I'm well on my way to getting lots done! I'm determined this will be a productive month! And I'm going to improve my home!

What are you doing this month? Anything exciting? Tell me about it!