April Showers...

Bring May Flowers!

 

 I've been hard at work in the yard this Spring! And, I'm proud to say I did most all of it myself! Lance did haul me some dirt in on a tractor, but the rest was all me!

 This is to the right side of the house...

This is to the left of the house... 

This is where the dirt Lance hauled comes in. I fixed these new flower beds with bird baths on each side of the house.  

 My knockout roses are looking great! I was fighting with some dern aphids, but opened a can of whoop Sevin on 'em, lol.

 

I planted a wisteria in this old cast iron pot and got a new trellis for it. I had to shoo some pests off this plant too, so it's not blooming at the moment.

 

Now this is what I'm proud of! I fixed these drainage river beds at all of my downspouts (all 6 of them!). Lots of hauling block and heavy bags of river rock, but very happy with the results! Beats one of those ugly brown gutter extensions!

 

I also fixed some blocks around the 4 dogwood trees by our driveway.

 

Look at those pretty zinnias! Wait, there's none there, lol. I had to replant the seeds because right after I planted them the first time, it rained about 3 inches. Anyways, it will eventually be pretty!

 

Christmas Tour of Homes...

 

 

So...I thought I would participate in the Christmas Tour of Homes over at Kelly's Korner. It's not as fancy as some, but it's just right for us! Hope y'all enjoy!

 

 

 If we're going to tour our home, we gotta start with the outside first!

 

 

 Rudolph the Red Nosed Hay Bale

 



My pallet tree and wreath snowman

 

 My tree with lights on (darn bright sunshine!)

 

  Tree with lights off

 

 Dining room table

 



More dining room table

Reed's Tree (he decorated himself! lol) 

 The mantle, complete with blurry flicker flame lights

 

Kitchen table 

The John Deere Christmas tree 

And last but not least, my Christmas village on top of the kitchen cabinets!

It's Spring Cleaning Time!

 

Well, it's March. Time for Spring cleaning 'round these parts. This year, I've made myself a schedule. I've assigned days to do different tasks, but not specific days. That way I can do any "day" whenever I feel like it. It might even take two days. I have 10 "days", and the whole month of March to get it done. So, in case anyone else would like to jump on the Spring cleaning bandwagon and to keep me on track, here's my schedule!

 

Day 1:

"Dusting"

Dust fans

Dust Light Fixtures

Dust Furniture

Dust Blinds

Dust Doors (My doors have a design on them that collects dust.)

Dust Stuff on Walls (Pictures, Clocks, etc.)

Dust Baseboards

 

Day 2:

"Wiping"

Clean Mirrors

Clean Windows

Clean Glass Doors

Use Magic Eraser on Smudges (Door Knobs, Light Switches)

 

Day 3:

"Washing"

Wash/Fluff Pillows in Dryer

Wash Bedding

Wash Blankets

Wash Rugs

Wash Dog Beds/Blankets

Flip Mattresses

Vacuum Mattresses (Sprinkle with baking soda mixed with essential oil, let sit 1 hour.)

Clean Washer/Dryer

 

Day 4:

"Seating"

Vacuum Chairs/Recliners

Wipe Off Couch (It's Leather.)

Clean Seat Cushions (Kitchen Table)

Febreze Fabrics

 

Day 5:

"Trash"

Take Out Trash

Wipe Out/Bleach Trash Cans

Change Blown Lightbulbs

Change Air Filters

 

Day 6:

"Kitchen"

Clean Kitchen like Normal

Wipe Cabinets/Drawers In and Out

Wipe Off/Out Appliances

Clean Out Fridge/Freezer

Vacuum Behind/Under Fridge

Clean Drains (1/2 c Baking Soda, 1/2 c Vinegar, let sit, Rinse with Warm Water.)

 

Day 7:

"Bathrooms"

Clean Bathroom like Normal

Wipe Cabinets/Drawers

Clean Jacuzzi (Pour Vinegar in Water while Jets are on)

Replace Shower Organizers (Mine get Rusty, so Aggravating!)

 

 

Day 8:

"Hardwood/Tile"

Sweep

Mop

 

Day 9:

"Carpet"

Vacuum

Shampoo Heaviest Traveled Areas

Air Out Area Rugs

 

Day 10:

"Odds/Ends"

Wash Jackets/Scarves/Gloves

Go through Clothes/Shoes

Toss Old Taxes

Clean Out Pantry

 

 

That's it, now your house should be clean until next Spring...right?

 

Organizing the Master Closet

 

I'm a little behind schedule posting this, mostly because Reed's been sick, I've been sick, then we've been gone. I know yall have been dying of anticipation waiting on this...the master closet!

 

 We have seperate closets in our bathroom. This is my side.

 



 My shoes are on shelves on the right side.

My belts hang above my shoes. I have a box of canvas/reusable/etc bags and a box of purses on the top shelf. 

 My clothes are organized by sweaters, long sleeve shirts, t shirts, dressy shirts, and button up shirts. I store my visors and hats above that.

 Behind the door are my dresses because I don't need those that often.

I got rid of some things in my closet, but this is Lance's side, so I left it alone. He does have his clothes organized by color though, so he keeps it pretty neat.

 

Well, thats it, only one more room to go!

Organizing the Bathroom

 

Or make that four bathrooms. I've already shown my garage bathroom when we organized the garage, so I'll just show the remaining three.

This is the guest bathroom. I have towels below the sink, washcloths, and spare toilet paper in the blue basket. The rest of the drawers stay empty for guests. 

 This is Reed's bathroom.

I have no idea what is wrong with this picture, but I have wash cloths in the basket on the toilet, and Reed's toys are corraled in that suction cup baggy thing in the tub.

 



Here's what's in some of his cabinets. 

And this is his top drawer. 

This is the  master bath. My sink is to the left, Lance's is over there to the right. 

 Here are some of my drawers...

My jewelry drawer.

This is where I keep my hair stuff. It looks all willy nilly, but it's organized, and having some of my hair clips in those plastic bags keeps Reed from dumping them everywhere! The hair bands are on a round silver thing that keeps them organized, it just doesn't look like it, lol.

And this is our shower/commode area. There is a basket for used towels on the floor. The top shelf has spare towels, and hand towels are in the basket. The lower shelf has two mason jars with cotton balls and q-tips, and the basket holds washcloths.

 

Next up is master closets!



Organizing the Living Room

 

This week's organization schedule takes us to the living room!

 Not really much to organize in here except for the two bookshelves on either side of my fireplace.

 I also keep a few of Reed's toys here. I change them out every few days to keep him interested in them. I also make sure they start the day and end the day on the blanket.

 Here's a close up of one of my bookshelves. I keep random books on the top shelf, "series" on the second shelf, Nascar books on the third shelf, and my collection of Nascar race programs on the bottom shelf. My other bookshelf holds Bibles/religious books, Audubon nature books, home improvement books, and my scrapbooks/photo albums.

 In the cabinets below, we have our dvd's on this side. The other side has our vhs tapes. They are in alphabetical order.

 Here's some other decor around my living room. This is a few portraits of Reed from his first year. They are hanging with ribbon on a curtain rod.

This is my antique Singer sewing machine. The picture frame has all our birthdays on it, and the antique churn has dried flowers and sticks from our yard.

 

Thanks for keeping up with my progress!