Balancing Act

It's a balancing act I tell you. Trying to balance time with family, friends, and that horrible monster call the To Do List. This past weekend nothing happened because of everyday duties like going to the grocery store, and events like my cousin's wedding reception. We did decide that I no longer need to worry about watering the grass seed since it has been 2 weeks and nothing has sprouted. There are also areas that never had a chance like right along the fence because our dogs like barking at people as they walk by and they get right up to the fence.

You may not be able to read what is on the To Do List, but there are a few projects that I am very excited about like cleaning out the garage, and a few tasks involved with finishing the Family Room. Then we just need to figure out what to do with all the donated furniture as we have too much furniture (never thought we would have too much furniture but we do). We have 3 chairs, a couch, and a TV stand in the Family Room, not to mention the fireplace. There is another couch in the Living Room that basically takes up a wall, 2 TV stands (no that is not a mistype, there are really 2 TV stands), and 2 rocking chairs. There is also a Queen bed, a dresser, and some other miscellaneous boxes and such in the basement. For some homes this may not be a lot. Our home however, is only 1200 square feet. If you want to count the basement then we get roughly 2000 square feet. The rooms are not large by any means.

There are also the goals I have, like writing 3 articles each week. These often involve research, or reading a book that I plan on reviewing, which takes a lot of time from things after I get home from work.

I am failing at this balancing act. There is just too much to do and not enough time to do it. It doesn't help that I'm ready to crash at like 10:00 pm just about every night. I think it's a mental tired, not physical since I sit around all day at one desk or another. My head is always going, I can't seem to turn it off. And most of the day I feel like it's working on 2 things at once, one thing in the forefront of my mind like making dinner, and another that sneaks in like outlining one of those 3 articles I'm working on.

Anyways, I'm making a serious effort to basically add time to my day by not crashing at 10:00 pm each night, and figuring out priorities. While I want to be social and hang out with all my friends and cheer them on in their adventures, I also have things I need and want to do for me. So I have to start thinking about what is really more important. Basically take what I do at work (prioritize processing work and projects) and bring it home. (Prioritizing and the organization, if I had those things at home, I'd have had this posted yesterday, and our home office wouldn't be drowning in paper.)

Check out Elbow Room on HGTV

This morning I found the show 'Elbow Room' which airs on HGTV. Designer and Contractor Chip Wade comes in to people's homes and finds unused or misused space to create what they need. For example, one of the episodes, he changed a carport that wasn't really being used into a hotel room/office for the family. Their guest room was being turned into a baby's room as the wife was about to give birth to their second child, and they were expecting family from out of town to come stay with them.

The episodes I watched this morning set off some ideas in my head. I have several rough ideas now mostly to do with working out our basement space as we need it to do so much, and I'd like to add to what it's doing - workout space, family events - which is challenging as I think we are keeping the full bathroom down there instead of making it just a half bath. He does so much in the way of finding the space and then designing the elements, such as coffee tables that disappear into the floor, or an office desk that doubles as bed table, so that things don't feel crammed into the space and everything is functional.

I have to thank Chip Wade for doing this show with HGTV, because I doubt I'd have the ideas I have now going through my head. I can't wait for more time and finances so I can build some of these items and rooms in my head. Check out 'Elbow Room' on HGTV and get inspired for your own remodels.

Get Fit with Housework!

Who needs weights when there are windows and tubs to be scrubbed? Yard to be raked?

I spent this weekend cleaning, and doing some yard work. We have some areas where there is no grass or dead grass. So we went to Lowes and picked up some new lawn dirt, grass seed, came home and loosened the heck out of the areas with a rake, and spread the seed. Spreading the seed, that was the easy part. Raking, carrying and spreading the dirt, those were the hard parts. Both Jeff and I have built some new arm strength.

Not to mention all the walking we did. Jeff at work then home cutting the grass. Me, walking around the house putting things away, weeding, our legs got a good workout too. Calories burned today, is a lot. And we got a lot done. Which is really good, because that means there is less to do tomorrow.

Nice Weather Means Time to Get Outside

It's getting warmer so it's time to get out. I have plans to start weeding this week and preparing the flower beds for planting. We have some flowers that have escped the confines of the flower bed and are in the lawn. We went around today and picked up the trash in the yard. Mostly because we are the bus stop, so there were a lot of gum wrappers, as well as abc gum. For some reason we had a large amount of cigarette butts and filters.

Getting Ready to Plant

 

The weather is getting warmer, and it is time to think about the garden.

 

 

My former high school marching band is having a flower sale, but you have to be careful when buying plants unseen. You don't know what you are going to get. One year I remember on of the flats of red impatients was more like peppermint candies, since they had red and white stripes on the petals instead of being completely red. So if you were dead set on red impatients, you'd have to hope that flat went to someone else.

 

We know we would like to do more perrenials this year. Plants that will last for several years and we aren't purchasing new each year. So, we are waiting for the nurseries in the area to open again for the season so we can go check out the plants and see what we would like.

 

We think we would also like to plant some vegetables. This will help with the grocery bill and allow us to eat fresh foods.

 

What are you planning in your garden this year? Please leave your plans in the comments.

Spring Cleaning

 



Well, according to the calendar anyways, Spring has sprung. So it's time for some Spring cleaning. Time to go around the house getting rid of those things that haven't been used, or are at the end of their life and can't go on.

Donate Items
Donate those items like clothes that have only been worn a few times or are in good condition but don't fit anymore or you just don't wear. This creates space for you to get new items at birthdays and holidays, or gifts to yourself.

Trash or Reuse Items
Throw away those items that even a rat wouldn't touch. If you find a shirt that is a little holey, cut it up and use it as a rag for dusting, or scrubbing. Recycle old papaers that don't have any private or secure information on them, and shred those that do.

Organize
File old bank statements and bills. Also, don't forget to file your taxes and keep a file for yourself. Put DVDs back on the shelves, kitchen utensils like the bleder that you don't use everyday back in the cabinet. Maybe even purchase new tools for organizing, if your just getting started in your new apartment, you may look into a file cabinet or shelving and some binders. The important thing is to find what works for you.

Wipe Down
Now that everything is in it's place it's time to give everything a good scrubbing. Clean the carpets, scrub the mildew off the grout in the bathroom shower, wipe down the kitchen counters. If your like us and have dogs that like rubbing against the walls, you probably want to give those a good scrubbing too.

Now you are ready for a busy year.

Tax Time

So I procrastinated on our taxes; what's new? This year I was going to try something different from Turbo Tax and try to file for free. I'm having difficulty finding a site I qualify to file for free that will also let me file my Michigan State taxes.

My parents mentioned a site for if you know how to fill out the forms and not just answer a few simple questions software asks, which is fine. However the site they recommended does not offer state taxes. The other fun is my fiance and I still are seperate so I have to do taxes for two people.

What sites or software do you use to complete your taxes, or do you go to someone who prepares them?