I'm apparently horrible at blogging, and updating my house

This year has been one of those where time just flies by without even realizing it. All of a sudden it was July and I noticed we haven't made much progress on anything.

So, I challenged my husband to finish the drywall in our attic before my birthday on August 13. Of course, I'll be helping with mud and sanding (and after it's all done I will be doing the painting) and overall cheerleading to get it all done by this deadline.

I'm hoping by the end of the year the bedroom will be finished enough where we can move all of our bedroom things and start 2015 in our little bohemian attic retreat.

Then in 2015 we can tackle the attic bath - which is sure to be a total nightmare to finish a fun journey.

While the drywall is being finished, I'm working on paint colors and the overall design of the space. Originally I wanted to paint it like my old bedroom when I was a teenager - blue sky walls with clouds. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it would be a pain to do (literally and figuratively), so I'm going to opt for a stenciled feature wall since that is something I can do without hurting myself and with a much more guaranteed outcome than a free-form painting.

Another part of the process that's "gumming up the works" is that we're essentially starting from design scratch. We're planning on getting a new bed too and since that is bound to be a rather large investment since we need something other than your average run-of-the-mill bed due to my fibro and now Garry's back problems, I'm planning on getting new linens since the bed will be a different size.

So, eventually I'll get around to making more updates.

Eventually...

Little ways to keep resolutions

It seems like a lot of bloggers out there are coming up with lists on how they keep their New Year's resolutions, and like those folks, I'm falling in line with my two cents.

The hardest resolution for me to make was to clean the house more. I know that sounds like it's a bit of a shock, but the emotional stuff I'm getting a hold of, and the decorating stuff I'm fairly good at once the funds are there to do so. But, cleaning the house has always been this daunting task that I loathed to do.

Okay, I still don't find cleaning terribly enjoyable. However, I do enjoy basking in the glory of a clean and uncluttered house more than my dislike for cleaning it. Finding a way to do that without breaking myself (physically and emotionally) is key in this process. Here are a few things I've done (so far) to help in that process.

1. Mini cleaning kits in different areas of the house. I'm more likely to clean something really quick while I'm in a room if the cleaning products/tools are already in there instead of a centralized place (under the sink in my kitchen). For instance, in the bathroom you could keep some cleaning wipes and magic eraser sponges under the sink, in a basket on a shelf, or if you have room - in your medicine cabinet. I also keep a bottle of Method shower spray in my shower. My plan is to have little mini kits in most of the rooms, tucked away, but not so much that I forget they're there. 
2. Keeping with a routine. I'm certainly one of those people that does well on a routine. For example - I've started making the bed right before I get dressed for work every day. It only takes a few minutes, but it's so nice when I go to bed and the bed is made. The whole room feels a lot cleaner. Even though I haven't done this yet - I do plan on coming up with a monthly "schedule." So I remember to do things like wipe down the baseboard heat element, scrub the shower, and clean the windows. 
3. Enlisting help. I know there are folks out there that feel cleaning is "woman's work." Thankfully neither I or Garry believe in that and he is good about doing his share of chores - especially ones that are physically difficult for me to do. 
4. Having the right tools. Because of my fibro - I need to have cleaning tools that are as efficient as time-saving as possible to keep me from over doing it. We bought a Roomba last year (and it has kept up with the dog/cat hair surprisingly well) and other utensils to remove pet hair from the furniture relatively easy. To be honest - I absolutely love Method brand products and magic eraser sponges. 
5. General upkeep. This one we're working on slowly, but surely. It's easier to feel like a room is clean if the trim if paint isn't chipping, old and discolored tiles are replaced, and so on. One of the bigger and more on-going projects in our house is to replace the trim - as most of it is in bad shape. We replaced one length of it and were amazed at how much cleaner the room looked with bright white trim.