The 2017 Resolutions - Check In For September - Accomplish Or Crash And Burn?

September  30, 2017

Now lets tale a look back at the month of September and see just what I did get done toward my resolutions for the year, remember I make two easy and two hard each year, sometimes I make them all but more than likely its three out of four.

This year I also picked a word for my year, what I wish to accomplish. My word for the year is : Satisfaction. I picked this word because I want to feel satisfied with everything I do in the year 2017.

My 2017 resolutions are :

1 - Buy Solar Panels and the accessories - Get off the grid

As much as I crave the solar way of life, I have not bought any. Yes its sad but I will say I reduced the power bills by $27 from mid August to mid September.

The good news is that I have everything I need to put up the hoop style green house! And I am hoping to have it up this coming week.

I also purchased the electrical device for the electric fence to keep the dogs in one area, now I can think about also making a portable chicken pen and coop. 

Although I did not buy anything solar I still feel like I am moving forward so this month I will call a  100% success.

 2 - Write more- Finish the book and write another. Blog more for money

I have not finished either books. But there is good news, I was finally approved for Google adsense, I mentioned in August, Its not a huge difference because its slow to earn ( because the ads have to be clicked on to earn money) but this does open up the option to blog at more sites and I have looked at a couple. I have earned a little this month from the adsense.  

I feel this one is a 50% success for September.

3 - Lose 25 pounds and get back on a vegetarian diet

I do not know why eating is so hard to do, I know how to lose weight and I know what foods are healthy. I have not lost any weight in the last two weeks but I have cut down on how much I eat, no matter what it is. 

I wont give up! I will say that since I am doing more portion control its a 25% success. 

4 - Learn to ask people for help

I am not sure I needed any help in August, well I always want help but I have not asked for the same reasons I stated before.

I have turned down more that I knew I could not do and made the statement " I cannot do everything" this has helped with the pressure of people pushing more on me to get done.

As I look back I did a little better this month, July was the month from hell and August has flew by. September was  an improvement. If its Gods will October will be an awesome month for me and I will do something to improve each one of my yearly goals.

How about you? Have to checked in on what you wanted from life back at the beginning of the year?

For a look back at July click here : The month from Hell!

For a look back at August click here : Time Flies!  

By Andria Perry

Photo By Andria Perry

My Minimal Hoarding Life - Neglect? Define Neglect

September 28, 2017

I am sure when I stopped writing so much in my journal about my hoarding ways and minimalism ways that things would go down hill, I have to face it, if I want to have bragging rights I must first do something to actually brag about.

This is my journal, I expose myself to anyone who cares to read.

Today is not going to be just about talk, I am taking action, I think :)

 Let me back up a little and tell you about this past month :

To read more click here : Life round here

The first thing is, I am tired. 

I am not sitting around.  I am working outside in the vegetable garden, I am home canning and freezing what I get from the garden or buy.  I am mowing the grass with the rider and the push mower, I am cutting down overgrown bushes.  I am clearing a wooded area for a greenhouse. I am walking the dogs.

Next is that I have to do a little at the rental houses, I have to get the tenants ready for winter and that means some get new heaters and some get help if they want plastic on the windows. I have to mow the grass at one empty twice a week, sometimes once a week, plus since the basement is filled with junk/ trash I have been working on that one day a week, one large trash can at a time. 

Being a caregiver to a cancer patient 24/7 is not that easy, although he has already went through the worst, chemo, its a very demanding job. If he is sick at 2 am I have to get up and get him better. If he is starving at 11 pm because he sleeps so much, I have to cook.

What Have I been Doing ? 

Since my live in patient sleeps a lot, its part of the body healing itself an is normal, I have to be quiet.

I am always doing laundry and some night I have slept with one side of my bed filled with the days clean laundry, waiting to be folded and put away, I was just to tired to get it done.

The kitchen is where I seem to live! Not just cooking meals but home canning too, so this room gets wiped down more than any room, however I still have not made much time to clean the upper outsides of the cabinets, the greasy part. :( I have kept the kitchen swept and mopped. 

Now one thing I will not put up with and that is trash to just sit in the house, I take the trash out as soon as the can is full. 

I am really behind on the paper pile on the dining room table but I cannot just trash can those because its part of the accounting for the business and I have to keep those, and the coupons! I am behind on clipping coupons so I have a stack awaiting the scissors or the trash can. 

I am sneezing an snotty and I know what it is, not the ragweed outside but the dust inside. I am ashamed of how much dust is in the house, looks strange because most rooms are neat but there is dust!

Well, there I just bared myself. I am headed to the bathroom to clean it and I will say its not the worst but its not nice either.

How have to been doing in your minimal hoarding life? 

By Andria Perry

Photos By Andria Perry

The 2017 Resolutions - Check In For August- What Did I Accomplish?

August 31, 2017

Now lets tale a look back at the month of August and see just what I did get done toward my resolutions for the year, remember I make two easy and two hard each year, sometimes I make them all but more than likely its three out of four.

This year I also picked a word for my year, what I wish to accomplish. My word for the year is : Satisfaction. I picked this word because I want to feel satisfied with everything I do in the year 2017.

My 2017 resolutions are :

1 - Buy Solar Panels and the accessories - Get off the grid

Nope, I did not buy anything else solar so far but I did add to my savings for this project. Plus I have finally decided on the plan for the greenhouse and the spot for it to be.

I have to say this one is not a complete failure because the green house is on! At this point of uncertainty it will be portable and not permanent structure as first planned. 

50% accomplishment

2- Write more- Finish the book and write another. Blog more for money.

I finally have Google AdSense and another ad maker for income on two blogs, it will take a while because Adsense pays at $100 and I have just began that journey but that is something to me, I have been waiting for a year!

As for writing I have not but I am working on another poem that has been on my brain, I may not be a poet and prose is better for me, I will continue to write poetry even if its just for me and my feelings.. I still have several months to go before the year is gone and a lot can happen.

I will say this one is a 100% accomplishment because of reapplying for the adsense account and getting it in a couple days after.

3 - Lose 25 pounds and get back on a vegetarian diet

I am eating more vegetables and I have my days I eat more small meals and no big meals at all.

But I still will have chicken and Turkey.

I am still eating junk food and that is no good at all.

No good on this one! 100%Fail! I have not lost one single pound.

4 - Learn to ask people for help

Nope. No and did not.

This one is a 100% fail and I do not see me asking people for anything. No one will help without pay but expect me to do things for nothing.

Or if I do ask and get help I am forever in debt to that person, if I ever say no in the future it gets thrown up to me so I would rather not ask anyone for anything.

100% fail.

As I look back I did a little better this month, July was the month from hell and August has flown by. If its Gods will September will be an awesome month for me.

How about you? Have to checked in on what you wanted from life back at the beginning of the year?

For a look back at July click here : July check in  

By Andria Perry

Photo By Andria Perry

My Minimal Hoarding Life - Well, well, well! Life Round Here

August 29, 2017 - A day in the life.

Yes I have been missing in action for weeks at a time and them I pop back in with a small update about how my hoarding life has became minimal or not. 

Life was hard for a while there but God took me through it and now I am back, better than before.

A few weeks ago I was told I would have a visit and I was shocked to see how my house looked and I worked a day and a half to get things cleaned up and things put back into their place. They did not show up but the house got a good and needed cleaning. I have managed to keep it up for the most part.

The problem :

I have always kept up the laundry up and washed the dishes, although I would leave them overnight once and a while, so that is not my problem with cleaning house. I have gotten lazy about dusting. I hate to dust but I cannot breathe when its dusty.

I have to vacuum first so that any dust in the air after vacuuming does not fall on the newly dusted table tops.

I also have to sweep the floors before dusting, same reason what is in the air will settle.

The Plan :

I have to plan to get those set days back in line. Before I took on a 24/7 job at home I had free days all to myself when I blasted music, danced with the broom and got things accomplished.

Since this job is getting easier once again I will be getting back to a normal for me routine.

The Clutter :

I do not have so much clutter, I have everything labeled and put in a place that it should be, Ya know? no shampoo in the living room :)

But I do need to clean out my bedroom closet and once again get rid of clothing I do not wear anymore, and began to wash and hang the Winter clothing. Why wash them? There is no longer any smoking in the house but all my packed away clothing smells to me, like cigarettes.

The Organization :

No matter if I have been swamped with work here and I had to be quiet I still organized things. I bought more see through shoe box tubs and I put my stuff in them to keep it clean and I see and know what I have, mostly for the pantry.

I put all the beans, pastas and grains into glass jars so that nothing can get to them, like rodents or bugs. No I do not have any at the moment but I live in the woods and those critters live here too.

For more about organizing click here : Lazy Susan  

The Outcome :

If I have to move I do have a lot of the work done, I know where things are and they are nicely organized in the clear tubs for quick removal. That is the plus when you have an organized house.

The Outside :

I have struggled with the outside this year. One right after another each mower quit, got fixed only to quit again, I gave up and bought a new one. I do not have the entire place cleaned up again but 1/3 is and I have to get busy and cut down many of the overgrown bushes before they actually bend over and touch the house!

Now that I have a plan I will be getting back to my minimal side and get rid of those hoarding ways. 

How are you doing with clutter?

By Andria Perry

Photos by Andria Perry

My Minimal Hoarding Life - To Clean Or Not To Clean

About a week ago I got a call, " Hey I am in town and I wanna drop by tomorrow night." 

Horrified as I look around my house, its slung and unkept. The bathroom needs cleaned badly and everything is just everywhere!

Under pressure?!?!?!

I work best under pressure. I got by big old lazy butt up and I began to put things back into their place, vacuum and sweep, wipe and rinse. Wash all those dirty stinky clothes. Change the bed sheets on the guest bedroom bed. Clean, no scrub the guest bathroom.

Within hours I got this place looking like it usually does, when I am not being lazy, setting on my ass online. 

Now don`t get me wrong I still have so much to do around here and one is getting up in a chair and cleaning the upper cabinets that are dirty with mostly kitchen grease. I also need to finish painting the kitchen and get busy on the bathroom and laundry room, I feel they need a new coat of paint. 

Now outside :

If you remember all of the mowers died and I had one little push mower going. I worked everyday out there when it was not raining, each part of the yard was a different height. Then one day I wanted the driveway and the front all to be the same and I over did it, I exhausted myself. I gave up! I HAVE TO HAVE a riding mower to keep it mowed when it rains everyday or five times a week, it just grows so fast.

Well today I bought that mower, but it rained so I have not gotten to use it yet. with the right equipment I maybe can manage more of this place alone.

Minimalism Monday  August 8th :

I washed and dried two loads of laundry, put those away. 

I washed up the dirty dishes. Swept the kitchen floor.

I vacuumed the living room, dining room, and my bedroom. 

I filed papers so none are on the dining table. 

I am slowly getting back to myself, getting the energy I did have last month and in June. There is always something to do around the house, inside and out.

Thursday - August 10th.

I am proud to say that I have kept up the cleaning and nothing is scattered about, the house needs a good mopping but that is about it on the day to day cleaning.

As for the outside, I still have not gotten to mow because it had rained everyday, however maybe this evening I can mow before the rain comes in.

How about you, have you gotten a major task done? 

By Andria Perry

Photos By Andria Perry

The 2017 Resolutions - Check In For July- What Did I Accomplish?

August 7, 2017

July went by so fast its almost a blur! But I have made some progress, especially getting out of the waiting rut, somewhat.

Now lets tale a look back at the month of June and see just what I did get done toward my resolutions for the year, remember I make two easy and two hard each year, sometimes I make them all but more than likely its three out of four.

This year I also picked a word for my year, what I wish to accomplish. My word for the year is : Satisfaction. I picked this word because I want to feel satisfied with everything I do in the year 2017.

My 2017 resolutions are :

1 - Buy Solar Panels and the accessories - Get off the grid

With life being so uncertain I stopped all thoughts of solar for this place and began to think about down sizing, maybe even moving to a smaller place and then apply the solar. But then I am not wanting to move again, not yet!

But I am looking for another place and I am not doing it fast, as in I have to have it now. But I am looking.

So I am learning and doing other things toward my goal of living as free as possible. Home canning is one.

Failed with this resolution for July.

2- Write more- Finish the book and write another. Blog more for money.

Writing. No. Chatting and being social? Yes. For money? Yes. I am getting back to myself and I will go back to writing for money, as far as the book is concerned, most of it is still in my head and I am doing a little more research on what I intend to write a book on. 

Failed with this resolution for July.

3 - Lose 25 pounds and get back on a vegetarian diet

Well this one is absolutely a 100% fail because I gained a few pounds.

Vegetarian diet? No but I am getting better but I have to give up the junk food to loose pounds. 

4 - Learn to ask people for help

Nope I have not. Sometimes I feel I would be a burden if I asked for help, after all we all do have our own problems.

Failed with this resolution for July.

Wait, she I did, I asked for Canning coupons and an online friend helped!

There you have it I did not even try for the month of July but I am going to do better for the month of August, I will at least try. 

How about yours? 

Miss last months update? Click here for June  

By Andria Perry

Photo By Andria Perry

My Minimal Hoarding Life - Do One Thing and Do It Right

July 22, 2017

A couple of weeks ago I declared defeat. This place, this life defeated me. 

After an entire day in bed sleeping off the exhaustion I got up the next day, whined a little more about how my muscles were aching and got on with life, I had hit bottom and now it was time to climb back up to the top. 

Its been nearly a year of working two jobs, thank God one has been slow and easy, and with that and taking care of the outside and insides took its toll on me. I was needed inside to care for someone, I was needed outside to mow the grass by push mower, the rider was broken down, and tend to the animals. I was needed to clean and wash load after load of laundry. The calls from one business and having to stop and go all the way into work, sometimes for only 1/2 hour but still it interrupted the whole day of "at home" duties. I had stopped writing because there was no time for it at all. Overwhelmed is what happened, the chaos was to much. 

SO I QUIT!

That is right!  I quit worrying about getting every thing done. Stood back and took a good look around.

I decided to let the outside go. With having only a push mower running and the rain every few days the grass was already out of control, mow an area close to the house and let the rest go till I get what I need to get that job done, either the rider fixed or a new one. So far neither has happened.

What I did was made the plan to mow one evening a couple hours each week and call it quits. I cannot afford to kill myself mowing because this year it would be a non stop daily job, if the rain permitted. 

Writing 

I stopped writing, I took a couple hours ( or one) before bed to be social and that was it, once a week I wrote one blog because I needed to get what I needed done here, a clean home. I kept up one blog and only one.

For more on the blog click here : The Homestead  

Inside My Home

Well, when you are divided five ways, and you take a minute for this and a minute for that nothing is done right, nothing is really clean. 

I began in one end of the house deep cleaning and worked my way to the other side. It really helped when some of the medical equipment was no longer needed and returned, I did not have to move all that and dust anymore. 

Next I took a couple days to organize the stocked home canning, I needed to know what I had for the Winter and what I need. I  wrote down the list and labeled each box for quick picks when cooking. 

I do have one more room to super clean and that is this office, I am glad it does not have much in it so its the easier room, besides my bedroom, and I will clean it next week.

The kitchen upper cabinets are still in need of a good scrubbing so that is on my list of to get done.

What am I getting rid of? 

I have a laundry basket fill with odds and ends that will go today and on the next rainy day I plan to tackle the closet and put away/ get rid of all the clothes that Tony no longer wears, and for me, I have to try on and toss many shirts that I don`t need. 

I also took a car load of house plants and gave them away, I had good intentions of having a greenhouse and selling plants but right now is not the time, so I gave them away, no need to wait and bring them inside later this fall for Winter. I still need to give away another half and just keep around 10 plants, if that many.

I really, really need to sell three cars, I am tired of them setting and the grass growing up around them. Its a shame that each one only needs minor repairs but come with a high price tag to get fixed.

New Plans? 

I am getting closer and closer to making a decision, thinking about down sizing because this place may be to much for me to handle and I may move, its been a long time since I have moved. I need a smaller house with a basement for the canned goods so I think I will start looking for a nice rental house till I see if I want to be grounded again. 

How is your life? Minimal? 

By Andria Perry

Photos By Andria Perry