Pretty Purple Purse=Good Day For FlyLady Flunky

Ok, ok.  I didnt really stay on track today with getting things cleaned up around here.  I didnt let anything get WORSE, so I'm looking at this from a glass-half-full perspective.

Today I did a favor for my Aunt D, which involved some tooling around in the car.  At my final destination I found myself next to Target, and I realized I still had a few dollars left on a gift card that was burning a hole in my wallet...

What I really wanted to buy was a new purse, since the one I have been using for the past 2 years (day in and day out) is neither fashionable nor in the best of shape, but purses have been one of the few things Target disappoints me on.  They do have a much better selection online, but I hate choosing stuff like that without being able to get my hands on it.

I also need a new wallet, as the hand-me-down Liz Claiborne one I have also been using day-in-day-out (for 4 years!) was also getting a tad ratty.  But alas, nothing was really striking my fancy.  I wandered over to the clearance jewelry section (cause that's how I roll) and something pretty and purple caught my eye.  There, among the gaudy over sized rings and pendants was a cute little greyish-purple clutch purse, also on clearance for $3.75!  I inspected it and deemed it to have enough places for all my cards, checkbook, cash, etc. and carried it protectively under my arm for the rest of my shopping trip.  Ain't nobody gonna steal my purple purse!

(above) Wallet before.   : /

(above) Wallet after!   :)

So yes, its technically a clutch purse and not a wallet like I intend to use it, but what, are the purse police gonna come after me? I don't think so.

I also scored a pair of the jeans I like, also on clearance for $10.00!  Do you know how hard it is for me to find even one pair in my size, fit, and bootcut when they are full price?  Normally I have to walk out of the store empty handed and wait for them to hopefully get more in next time, and here they were, and 1/2 price.  Sold!

All in all I would say I had a good, albeit unproductive day.

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Reality Check Progress: Day 2 (And a Bonus Sewing Project!)

Day 2.  Today I took on the bathroom. Oh joy of joys!  I will admit now that it's clean I feel so much better.  During it's decline I was embarrassed about the mess and would actually apologize if someone other than myself had to use it.  It wasn't THAT bad, but I know how it feels to use someone elses' bathroom that isn't "company clean", and it's not fun. 

I have been in people's bathrooms that qualify to be on reality shows about housekeeping or hoarding, and that was when they knew they would be having people over.  I personally found that very inconsiderate, and here I was inflicting that on other people.  Shameful.

On to the pictures!

(above) Sink area before.  Yuck.

(above) Sink area after- yea!

(above) Gross splattered mirror.

(above) Crystal clean!

(above) Close up of sink before.  Ewwww.

(above) Sink looking all shiny and new!

(above) Storage shelf before.  Clutter City.

(above) Storage shelf after.  Much better.

(above) Glass shelving before.  Please note my "Ghetto iHome" (aka an old computer speaker) that I used to play music loud enough to sing to in the shower.

(above) Glass shelves after.  I removed the Ghetto iHome and replaced it with the (used and gifted) real thing in another part of the bathroom.

(above) Overall view before.

(above) Overall view after.  Ahhhh.

I have now officially cleaned 1/2 of my suite, and have the sewing room and closet to go.  I think I will try to tackle the sewing room next, the closet scares me a little...

On a side note: Last night after I finished cleaning I decided to try and make my own wrap from a tutorial I found on Pinterest.  It was originally posted on Behind The Seams under her DIY projects.  It involves taking 1 square yard of fabric and cutting 2 holes in it.  Simple!  I will admit that I wanted to finish the edges and not leave them raw, so I turned the hem and reinforced the arm holes with some stitching.  If I were to make another in a different color, I would possibly cut the arm holes a little closer to the folded edge.  She recommends 6 inches down and 6 inches in, but for me I'm thinking 5 inches in might give me the little bit of give I seem to need to prevent it pulling across my back like it does now. (The girl who posted the tutorial does seem to be petite, whereas I am not, so her measurements may be perfect for her but not everyone else.)  Here's the end result:

The color is actually a really pretty blood red, but the color kept washing out in the photos.  Next time I would like to try a marigold yellow if I can find the right type of fabric in that shade!

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Reality Check Progress: Day 1

Believe it or not, I actually got up this morning and started cleaning my junk-pit of a suite. I mainly focused on my bedroom and the results feel so nice compared to the way it was. Now I can walk around without tripping over clothes on the floor or getting crumbs on my feet. Everything is washed, hung up, vacuumed, dusted, etc. I even washed and ironed my curtains!

There is some more detailed cleaning that I would like to get to, but if I get that hyper-focused now I will loose time on making progress where it is really needed and burn myself out in the process. So, without further ado, here is what I accomplished today:

(above) The nightstand before, since I didn't get a decent shot of it yesterday.

(above) Nightstand after.

(above) Crumbs and dust bunnies galore.

(above) All clean, and I even tried a new trick I came across on Pinterest.  You take one of those office clips and run your cords through them to keep them from falling to the floor.  I did it for my iPhone charger.

(above) Dusty mirror before.

(above) Mirror after I attacked it with my feather duster and Windex.  This would have been a perfect job for the Rags in a Bag if I had some...

(above) Book/movie shelf before, also doubles as a place to put pop cans I no longer have room for on the nightstand.

(above) Book/movie shelf after.

(above)  All the dishes that had to go downstairs to be washed.

(above) A reminder how my bedroom looked last night.

(above) The end result!



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Reality Check Photo Op

So once again I have been a bad blogger AND a bad FlyBaby.  It's a good thing I named this blog "FlyLady Flunky" and not "Tales of the Bestest FlyLady Follower EVER" or I think the other FlyBabies would show up at my house brandishing pitchforks and torches. (Or perhaps timers and Rags in a Bag?)

To sum things up since I last posted, I left my job.  That's the big highlight in my life.  And yes I quit and wasn't fired, but it wasn't a planned quitting.  It was a  "I can no longer allow them to treat me this way and still claim to have any shreds of self respect left." type of situation.  That's all I really want to say about that.

So here I am, unemployed, bored, with no new job prospects on the horizon.  That gets really depressing really fast.  You would think that with all this time on my hands I would have the cleanest house ever, but depression doesn't work like that.  Instead things seem so much harder than they really are and you move in slow motion.  Procrastination is now my middle name.  I really need to get back into the swing of things, starting with my living quarters.

I logged onto Facebook tonight and saw that FlyLady had put out a challenge for everyone to post pictures of their messy houses online as motivation to get things cleaned up.  I've decided to take that challenge but post them here on Ye 'Ol Blog to help motivate me to write again.  Two birds with one stone if you will...

Here are the before pictures of my current state of living, no excuses made.  (Except the aforementioned depressing unemployment situation.)

(above) Bedroom.  Clean laundry dumped onto the floor.  Bed unmade.  Collection of 20 (yes 20!) pop cans hiding behind my laptop screen on the nightstand.  Oh. The. Shame.

(above) Closet.  Mostly the Ex's stuff he still needs to come and get, but I used to have it all neatly stacked and awaiting his arrival.  Now it's been rummaged through and prohibiting easy access to anything else in there.

(above) Bathroom.  More pop cans.  Dirty clothes on the floor.  Everything needs a good scrubbing.  (I did clean the bathtub tonight- go me!)

(above) Sewing room.  MORE pop cans, unfinished projects, dirty socks and dust bunnies.

There you have it.  My pathetic mess of a life manifesting itself as a pathetic mess of a house.  Hopefully the public humiliation will help motivate me to get back into gear, out of this slump and have, as my Dad once said "an abnormally clean room" once again.  Words of encouragement and swift kicks in the rear will be appreciated.

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