Busy times

The last two weeks have been busy at work, so I’m trying to catch up at home this weekend. The laundry is under control. We’ve had a nice supper and are watching a Sherlock Holmes mystery.

I can almost see the bottom of the laundry, catching up after a hold waiting for some plumbing work to be finished a few weeks ago.

Laundry tubs

broom-smYesterday I bought a new, lightweight laundry tub and tap set.

I also picked up a few things for ongoing projects, such as nails, curtain hangers, and shelf liner.

Today the plumber is coming to demolish the old, cement tubs and install the new one.

UPDATE: After looking at the area, the plumber arranged to come back Thursday ready to dig into the cellar floor and move a floor drain, too.

Cleaning, cleaning…

broom-smToday we did more work cleaning out the back room of the basement: recycled some paper and gathered papers for recycling, threw out some old binders, swept, put books on shelves, etc. There’s a secret door there but it’s not to Narnia: it’s to the back yard.

Tried still more drain cleaner in the basement drain with no effect. Made an appointment with a plumber for tomorrow.

For supper, made pork roast, potatoes, corn.

More organizing at home

Spring is here, time to get rid of things we don’t want, don’t need, and don’t use. And tidy.

funny pictures of cats with captions
see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Organizing the kitchen

This weekend I de-cluttered a low set of shelves in the kitchen and moved it to another wall. I also got rid of some things I don’t use. That made a lot more space for arranging the things we do use and putting them close to hand. I still have to find a place for the rest of the junk off the shelf.

I put away the large plates and brought out smaller plates. The idea is that we’ll eat less.

Today I visited a friend and took her a knitted bedspread that I found in my mother’s closet, which had a few needles holding stitches at an unravelled spot. I’m sure mum didn’t make it; I think she was just repairing it. My friend will repair it and pass it along.

The sore muscles from Wednesday’s Pilates lesson have passed off. Now I’m coming down with a cold.

Life imitates…

funny pictures of cats with captions
more funny cats

…laundry!

This is a weekend for catching up on housework and laundry and for cooking ahead for next week—starting with fudge.

Getting organized

I drove to my dad’s house today, made sure that the fire alarm had a new battery, and such.

I got copies of the house key.

I took some old clothes and dropped them off at Goodwill.

Everything’s fine.

Moved a big chair downstairs

The chair in question is a single futon with a wooden frame and broad arms. It matches the couch and it should be downstairs to make more room for organizing upstairs. I’ve been putting off moving it from upstairs because I wanted to do it when another adult was in the house, in case I fell or got it stuck half-way. (It can unfold awkwardly.) But I never feel like it then, so I went ahead anyway. It looks fine in its new location and the cats like it.

The next step is to move some filing cabinets.

Homebox

There’s an organizing box called the Homebox… it looks useful.

Homebox file organizer

Homebox file organizer

From the web site:

Owner Jodi Sinden organizes everything within reach. While researching the Homebox, she helped de-clutter hundreds of households, thus learning first-hand how bad the problem really is. One thing she knows for sure: the average household has at least one shoebox with Really Important Stuff in it that nobody knows exactly where it is.

Prior to starting the company, she spent another life working in international development and commerce, helping to organize (of course!) trade missions, a world summit and really big scavenger hunts. She attended a grand total of six universities, and holds a degree in economics, which, since the advent of the Homebox, she knows exactly where to find.

Another heat alert day

The smog alert and extreme heat alert have been extended through today and into tomorrow. It’s supposed to be 31 degrees tomorrow.

We try to keep a bubble of cool air from the cooler nights by closing up the house for the day. Some thunderstorms are expected. I wrote my science blog posts for tomorrow and scheduled them to appear while I’m working. I washed dishes, washed one load of clothes, and hung up two.

As you can see, it’s cooler in the evening: