Off the Beaten Plan

plan: to devise or project the realization or achievement of

House Cleaning

So today I had a thought. Actually, I managed to have several good ones, but just one worth blogging about here.

I am completely overwhelmed by my new house. There is so much to do, and so much that didn’t get done before we moved in, that I just don’t know where to start. From basic cleaning that should be done before you move into a new place to organizing our stuff to the wallpaper that’s everywhere and scuz that’s still on some of the kitchen surfaces (including the floor), it’s all very overwhelming. I need a way to deal with it that doesn’t just freeze me to the spot with feelings of indecision or overwhelm…ing-ness. (Yes, I realize “overwhelmingness” isn’t a word. You know what I mean.)

So I thought, maybe I should just make a massive list. I mean a huge, A-Z detailed list of everything that needs done. Start with each room, and start being minuscule about tasks. For example, there’s a light and a fan button on the hood above the stove that are still sticky. I need to un-stick those, as well as some of the dials on the stove itself. Just cleaning dials is much more manageable than “scrub the kitchen”. And the 1/3 bath needs to be completely cleaned – but there are really only a few things there that can be cleaned – the toilet, floor, heat unit and window. So if I break each of those things out, doing three things on my list shouldn’t be that hard.

I’ve tried to do some research on “micro-planning”, what I consider this kind of detail oriented list to be, but not much has come up – at least in regards to my subject here. Perhaps there’s a better term for it. Does anyone have any suggestions?

When I have my list together, I’m going to set a reasonable goal for each week, along with a bonus goal that if I complete it, I’ll give myself a “prize”. Expect that to be here in about a week, up there with the other pages. Maybe if I can really get it all together, I’ll have this new place ship-shape by Christmas!

News: Odds and Ends

So I have some news – yesterday, my husband and I bought a house! It’s our first, and we (or at least definitely me) are very excited. My kids are excited, too. We have been living with my parents for the past five years, doing so to help DH and I get back on our feet financially. We’ve made great progress, and though I am still learning and developing the money side of my brain, it is time for us to be on our own.

Some may argue that it was time a long time ago. Well, we didn’t intend to move in with my ‘rents. But my son was just becoming a toddler, and we lived half a country away. I’m an only child, and my parents wanted to be closer to their only grandchild. And my husband and I had some straightening out to do with our finances. It worked out well, but now it’s time to move on.

Not only did my mom go to our new house today to help us clean up the kitchen (no one has lived in the house for at least 2 years, but it’s still in very good shape), but I also found out tonight that she bought me a sewing machine! We were sitting around talking about the gawd-awful drapery that the daughter of the previous owner was so kind to have left for us (that’s not sarcasm, by the way – we don’t have replacement window treatments, and I really am glad she left them), and I told my parents that I would probably have to make that a priority project. To to and buy simple bars for the windows and sew some super basic drapery.

Well, my mom (who was a bit punchy at the time, having worked all day and just then just gotten off the phone with her sister) said, “She’s sitting down, I think I can tell her!” Yep, she had a whole story about how she’d found a good sewing machine on Consumer Reports that was awesome for beginners, and how it was on sale at the store. It arrives in three days, and I’m so excited!

Now I should probably mention that I don’t really know how to sew. But I’ve always wanted to make my own quilt – for a while, I even thought about doing it by hand (!!!), but never really had the time. Now that we’ve got a mortgage payment along with some serious student loans, we’re putting off getting cable and Internet until we’re better able to decide whether they really fit into our budget. So I’ll have lots and lots of time to learn how to use my new sewing machine!

If you read yesterday’s post, this doesn’t pass the “So what?” test. I know, and I’m sorry to those who came back today expecting to see something more relevant to them. But this is very relevant to me, and I really wanted to get a post done today.

I plan on writing a short series of articles describing our homebuying process, and integrating some lessons I’ve learned during the process. As a first-time homebuyer, I did lots of research – and still wasn’t prepared for everything that came along! Of course our agents were wonderful, but at some point you realize that learning more about the process from another buyer’s perspective would be a welcome treat.

So keep an eye out for that, and if you wish, feel free to do a happy dance along with me! I’m scheduling one about every 23 to 49 minutes. I’d be happy to dance with you!