Hi LR2014 🙂

Thank you. 🙂
Sorry about the unplanned water related interruption.
WAY TO GO! Getting stuff accomplished! 😀

Hey Barb,
I love the scent of orange too. 😀
Here is a suggestion....
use the vinegar to clean and then get the orange scent from a dab of essential oil on a cotton ball placed near the sink.
Orange essential oil is good for lifting moods.

essential oil

Barb: Looking forward to hearing updates on how your projects are going. I hope you end up being very pleased and happy with the results!

Tillie: I'm sorry that Sunday night didn't end up being restful for you! I hope your foot is better soon!

diane: I wish I could comment on your whole post. It sounds like you not only are making a lot of progress with your "stuff," but it also sounds like you really are moving toward balance. That's great!

Roxie: Hugs back to you!

To all those who have been on the chats lately, thank you so much for your help and support.

Me: My plans for today changed after discovering yet another water-related maintenance issue late yesterday afternoon. I am waiting as I write this for a maintenance guy to show up. A short while ago, I got on chat for a little while and did some cleaning rounds. Got some counters in the kitchen wiped down, some floor cleaned (including getting some things up off the floor and getting those items put in a better place), and a few other things. Got laundry dried this morning at the Laundromat; still need to put that away. Planning to do a few more clean-up tasks before tonight's chat.

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

A followup note from Sunday night chat:
I tried the Bar Keepers Friend spray cleaner today on my kitchen sink. It is not as effective as the cleanser in a can. The powder really works on stubborn stains better without scratching. And it seems less expensive. The one advantage to the spray is that the the bottle will work upside down so you can use it to reach under the toilet bowl rim.
I do like to spray my kitchen sink with Orange Plus after the dishes are done to keep it clean and sparkling, but vinegar water will work just as well. I just like the smell of Orange Plus better.
Happy cleaning, everyone!

Good Morning 🙂

Stay cool and stay positive. 😀
(((hugs)))

The pets and I slept well last night. No fireworks. Things have settled down.
Yesterday I met with the office manager at the plumber's and outlined what I needed to have done. The plumber will be out next Monday to inspect things and give me an estimate for the work.
I went to the plumbing supply house and picked out my fixtures. They have a really nice showroom with items plumbed in so you can try them out. I am getting them at the contractors price since they do business regularly with my plumber. I checked Home Depot and Lowe's prices and I am getting a good deal.
I am very anxious knowing I have to push hard every day to get areas clean by Monday where the plumber will need access. But you all know what a procrastinator I am and I need this pressure to keep going.
If I get stuck, I'll check in this afternoon to see if there is a work session. i won't be on the chat tonight. I'm helping with Bible school family night.

Hooray, Diane, on tackling the paperwork. I know how anxiety producing that is, especially when you uncover something that should have been dealt with before and wasn't. I tend to just throw mine in a shoebox to deal with later. Out of sight, out of mind. Big cyberhug. (((Hug)))

paperwork------------since others have been doing theirs, thought I would give it a try. I worked on it about 10 minutes and became so anxious, had to get up and walk around, then set timer for 20 minutes and told myself, just do what you can. The anxiety was really strong, so took a look at it. Seems decision making was at the root of the anxiety. I tossed things I could. Addressed two envelopes of things I need to mail. After 20 minutes, I was ready for a break. Then tackled the pile of newspapers that I was going to read later, told myself to just toss all of them, later never comes. I only buy a paper once or twice a week, and don't read them, good I stopped having them delivered, that was really smart, since there were piles of papers. Found my car license renewal in papers, and another bill, could have stayed buried and over due. I am done with paperwork for today, 45 minutes was my maximum, only a little left but already burned out. Learning to stop and take a break.

Good to hear about your toe , was wondering if you were able to sleep and how you were doing today tillie. Darn cats, I was wondering why you did laundry and hung out with foot problem, now I know.
I got up early and immediately took coffee out to deck and folded up all that screening stuff, put things not using today in garden shed. Put indoor/outdoor carpeting down now that I can see deck again, still more to do there. Watered raspberries and a few things. SHOWERED, WASHED HAIR, TRIMMED HAIR, CURLED HAIR. Washed sheets and clothes and hung on line. Had a smoothie (last of smoothie supplies) and relaxed. Decided to go to store tomorrow since it is 1pm and getting hot already. Washed dishes, cleaned sinks, washed outside of refrig and microwave. I am relaxing, I see that I need to do maintenance then relax, not work to the point of exhaustion. Felt like I wasted yesterday doing all the screening on deck but today realize it is really helping keep it cooler in here. Still have not had to turn ac on, will soon though.
Went to bedroom to tackle pile at the end of bed that sprouted up again. Now resting and realize I am still tired from all that I did already today. I did a mix of things to create more balance in my day today, after chat last night. Really feels good to be clean with clean clothes knowing I will sleep on clean sheets tonight, and that I can go to store early tomorrow with out having to shower etc first. After my break, will check out chat room and see if I can get a second wind and find some donations.

HI 🙂

TTYL 😀

One of the cats is yelling at me to feed them breakfast. Today my main goal is to figure out all my next doctor appointments and record them in one spot so I can keep up. Have to figure out which if any meds need refilling, too.

Enjoying reading your posts. Hugs all around.

Good morning, all.
It is raining here again today. That has been good for the gardens in this area. Sweet corn is ready to harvest. Raspberries are plump and juicy. With the abundance of fresh produce, I don't feel the need to cook meat.
I do hope we get a reprieve sometime this week. The lawn really needs mowing.
I wish I could send some of this rain to the southwest where it has been so dry.
Great chat session last night. It was good to hear from Millie again.
Tillie, I hope you were able to sleep last night and that the swelling in your toe has gone down and is less painful.
Only one loud firecracker went off last night at 10 and the critters and I were able to get restful sleep at last.
I have had my breakfast and coffee. I'll get some maintenance things done for an hour this morning---dishes, trash out, run the vacuum in the kitchen and main traffic areas, put away the laundry I did yesterday, and get another load ready to wash. Then I will shower and dress and go talk to my plumber. (I prefer face to face conversations to phone calls or email.)
If you have Home Advisor in your area, I would highly recommend it for checking references for contractors and handymen in your area. You do not have to pay a monthly fee and the comments are up to date.
Have a great day, everyone. I may check in this afternoon for a work session if I find myself procrastinating on the decluttering.

Ha

Legalistic is a good description LR of what we do to ourselves. Great you did 15 which could have been celebrated on its own, extra 5 met your goal, did it make you feel better and get the timer cops off your back?
Good plan Barb, nice to get a reliable plumber.
Roxie, that is a tough situation. Do you qualify for state assistance for a helper to come in and help you with tasks while recovering?
I watered some outdoor flowers and my delicious raspberries. This year they are doing really well, last 2 years, not very many berries. It feels like such a luxury to stand out there and eat fresh off vine. Today I started being critical of all the water I am using to water them, had to stop myself, and say I make up for not doing dishes or showers, good laugh. Hope put a smile on your face too.
Since we are expecting many hot days in a row, I worked all day on figuring out ways to make more shade on deck, now I really am looking like trailer trash, oops, look like a very creative person using things I already have to keep cool.
Almost seems like I wasted the time, but has to be ok. Thinking of LR posting we can never do all the potential projects we think we will do. As I hauled the shade stuff from storage shed to deck, I was reminded of the need to let some of it go. I am having trouble deciding, since days like today, I am glad I had all this stuff I took off fence months ago and found a use for it on deck. Went out to garage and tripped on stuff, still too much stuff, very apparent I still think in possible project mode. I get excited seeing some of my potential projects. If I would organize it so I could find it when actually need it, would make more sense. Now I am reminded of how much better things are and they will continue to improve. Got the indoor/outdoor carpet out of garage and plan to put it over deck I finished painting, will protect deck as well as hide parts that pressure washer ate. Speaking of eating, difficult to cook in the heat. Been drinking lots of cold water, really notice how much better I feel when I drink water. I put bottle in freezer for awhile, then it is nice and cold. I actually enjoy water now, used to drink diet soda, but like all my addictions, that is all I wanted to drink, so now rarely drink soda. This morning I filled some storage containers I washed yesterday, with rice and oats, more likely to use them when more accessible. Now am going to set timer and work on kitchen counters.

Good afternoon, everyone. The dogs and I are tired and grumpy after a week of nightly fireworks. Now that they are half price, we will have to endure at least another week.
I meant to mow today, but we had another thunderstorm which soaked everything. I'll need to wait until the grass dries out.
I got caught up on dishes and did a load of laundry.
This afternoon I am also crunching numbers to figure how much it is going to cost to have a plumber come in. A friend has given me the name of a good, reliable bonded plumber.
After paring down my champagne wish list to a more practical beer budget, here are the projects that need to be completed first:
1. Replace the toilet, plastic sink, and faucet in the guest bathroom. (The toilet began to leak over a year ago and I shut off the water. Plastic sinks are never really clean and you cannot use anything but Bar Keepers Friend and elbow grease on them.)
2. Replace the toilet, plastic sink, and faucet in the main bathroom.
The toilet is limping along but will give up any day now. Ditto on the sink.)
3. Replace the broken garbage disposal and faucet that sprays water out pinholes in the pot metal neck every time I turn it on. I paid a lot for this faucet a few years ago and will never buy Pfister again. Install a dishwasher. This will be my first dishwasher and I am excited about the possibility of finally having one after 40 years of living on my own without one.
I am not good at setting self-imposed deadlines and meeting them. There are no real consequences to procrastinating the time away. Talking to the plumber tomorrow and setting a date for him to come out will push me to get more cleaning and decluttering done. The kitchen is staying fairly clean, although I need to clear out the cabinet and drawer where the dishwasher will go. The bathrooms will need to be cleaned and the undersink cabinets cleaned out. I also need to keep the paths from the front door to those room clear.
These little improvements in my environment keep me going.

diane: Yea for clean dishes!! Yea for the "dishwasher"!!!!

Roxie: Glad to see your post that your blood pressure is improved. Many hugs to you as you recover.

Me: I eventually finished the goals I posted yesterday (some with the help of the wonderful people who came to the chat room yesterday).

One thing about myself that I at times find both amusing and frustrating is how legalistic I can be about some things, sometimes including the goals I set. For instance, yesterday I set a goal to do twenty minutes of paperwork (something that I really don't like to work on these days). Well, when I set my timer during the afternoon to actually work on it, I think I set the timer for just fifteen minutes. Later in the evening, when I went online to check my original posted goals, I saw that my goal had been twenty. (By this time, I was tired.) A lot of me wanted to just let the fifteen minutes count and be done with it. I suppose that would have been OK, but it "bugged me" that I'd posted twenty. On top of that, since paperwork is one of my biggest issues, I knew I really needed to get it done at some point. I ended up setting the timer for another five minutes (arrgh) and used the time to file some things.

Have a great Sunday, everybody!

'As the world churns," got a good laugh out of me. Coffee cup clink, LR!

YEA!!!! Diane 😀

all dishes are finally done

Saturday hello to you all.
Tillie, the visual of your bathroom is funny and tragic at the same time, so sorry.
LR and Dave so good to read your posts.
Last evening neighbors had par ties, and I started to feel left out. I got the loppers out and cut off all the branches that had started to die from bugs, chopping is what I do to get some anxiety out. This morning I watered outside some, finished painting deck section. Went to garage and found a dead mouse in trap with a few flies, put in garbage, vacuumed up droppings and fur. Pretty disgusting. Checked for droppings in other areas, none that I found, but suppose there are more. Haven't been out there much so need to set more traps.
My dishwasher appears to be broken----------actually I am the dishwasher and seem to find reasons to not do them day after day. Guess I will try again. Maybe check chat room and see if I can get motivated there.
this heat will be here for several days, so good time to work inside, doing it is another story.
Tillie so happy you said sometimes good enough is good enough, helped with the deck.
I will post when dishes are done, I really want a clean kitchen after seeing that dead mouse in garage. So happy people keep posting.

Happy fourth of July weekend!

diane: I like the thought of your doing the "happy dance" on your deck. Fun.

Dave: Haven't finished reading all the posts yet on "What's in your boxes?," but I've read some. I relate to the one-glove situation. I've recently turned up several gloves without partners. Then I found partners to the gloves. But just as I found their matches, I found more gloves without partners. My current count of gloves-without-partners is three. Stay tuned for the next episode of "As the World (of LR's clutter) Churns."

Tillie: Sorry about your bathroom situation! As for doing something fun and different, yesterday was my day for that. I got together with family and had a lot of fun. Today, it's back to work. (But at least I get to do my work alongside you all, and that makes it much more fun.)

Me: Some goals for the rest of the day: Spend fifteen minutes on dishes, put away laundry, spend twenty minutes on paperwork, add to my gratitude list, and clear some things off my back patio. I also need to unload some batteries from my vehicle before they get overheated.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Good morning everybody 🙂

Happy 4th to all of you. This morning took garbage bin to curb and started weeding to fill more of garbage cart. After 1 hour, I said, time to go finish painting deck. Sanded some of the area not done, then painted. The deck paint I had mixed was a bit lighter than I thought, a little disappointed, but happy a lot of it is done now. Just had my smoothie and taking a break. I have enjoyed being home today. Wore headphones with loud music on while painting, did do a few dance moves to music, happy dance, long time since happy dance done on my deck. Still have not done my dishes, about 4 days worth. Still 88 degrees, so in no hurry to go finish working on deck. Nice and cool in here today. Guess I could set timer and do 5 minutes of dishes.
Thinking of all of you with warm thoughts

Happy 4th of July to all.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your community.

Dave.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!! 😀

diane: I'm happy for your progress, but I'm so sorry that you fell and hurt yourself! Many hugs.

Tillie: I'm so excited for you that he agreed to let someone take that latest load of "stuff." Yea!

Me: Extra-cool weather here for this time of year. Got out and did some work out in that rural are this afternoon. On the way there, I stopped off by a charity thrift store and dropped off items I'd recently put aside for donation. It wasn't a big load, by any means, but some of it had been "churned" over a period of many years. Now it's gone. Yea! As I see it, every little bit that goes out the door is good.

Thanks tillie, wonderful you have so much fun with the beads and were able to unload a few 4X4s, (I guesssed and assume annie is delivering them!)
Well yes, painted all day from early am to afternoon, then came in to write a post on here, then-----------BOOM----thunder and lightning and, !!
I put the computer down and ran for the garage, got tarps and all the empty bins (I was whining about) and covered the deck and saved the days work. It is not all done, but all steps in front and to the yard are beautiful. Most of connecting deck and part of big deck are done. Had to put two coats on. I went out this morning to do more and started, you guessed it, scraping after a couple hours, said this is rediculous. Did do some painting then realized needed to water yard with these hot days, watered yard and plants, still some to do. Since it did not cool down as much as usual past two nights, pretty warm in here. Finally put window air conditioner in living room then put old one, that still works, just not as good, in big bedroom window. Now can work in there on hot days, is the plan. Nearly broke bones getting it in window. Felt really disgusted with the crap in there, and that I fell and hurt myself. Just the motivation I needed perhaps!! Although right now I need a break. Got pretty hot hauling those air conditioners, pretty darn difficult to lift up that high. I plan to take some time to wash dishes and clean kitchen when my weary body is rested enough. Thanks for all the support.

good ideas 😀

Pulling some weeds for Mrs Dave. Hopefully will do a better job than my role model Scooter might.

Good morning 🙂

Hope you all are doing well.
Make sure to count your blessings.
Take some time to enjoy the simple things in life.
Sincerely, Tillie 🙂

Tillie: I'm smiling thinking about the cats fighting over the box (and also smiling thinking of birds and little baby bunnies).

diane: I'm so glad you went to the lake and that you and your friend had a good time. Yea! Also, glad to hear about the deck progress.

Roxie: Thinking about you! Iced tea clinks to your coffee mug!

Me: Spent some time yesterday trying to get an outfit together that I could wear to services for my friend who passed away this past weekend. There was one type of service for her last night, and then the actual funeral will be tonight. (My intentions were to attend both services, and I wanted to have appropriate clothing for each.) Having worked on my closets and having done some other organizing and decluttering tasks recently helped me tremendously when it came to putting together appropriate outfits. Thanks for the help, inspiration, and encouragement you all give me to work on my "stuff."