To Do

As the seasons change, I always think I’m going to get motivated and get things done around the house. There are so many things on my To Do list.

Wait, I really need to rename that list. It should be called my Want to Do list. I just know that having these things done as winter sets in would make life, I don’t know, easier? Simpler? Less hectic as we face cold and snow and ice and sleet.

I am hoping if I put this Want to Do List here I might actually get some of the things done and be able to cross them off the list.

Of course, none of my closets are painted yet, so we kind of know how well that works.

But still…

Want to Do List:
*Clean/organize the coat closet. I need to go through everything in there (oh dear Lord, the clutter!) and get rid of gloves/mittens that don’t have a mate, pass on the jackets and coats that O has outgrown. Get some kind of organizer for the gloves/mittens and hats that we want to keep so that when that first snowfall arrives, I’m not scurrying about trying to find weather-appropriate outdoor wear for the girls who are itching to get out there and play in snow that will probably melt within hours of falling.

*Clean the refrigerator. This is one of my most loathed chores. But, alas, no one else is going to do it. So here goes nothing. I try and remind myself that I am always so happy when it’s done. But the process of getting there…ugh.

*Organize the pantry. This hasn’t been done since we moved in to our house two years, one month ago. It needs to be done. There are things in there that were put on those shelves at the time of move in. They need to go.

*Clean out the candy drawer. Yes, we have a candy drawer in our kitchen. Doesn’t everyone? No? Huh. Anyway, it needs to be cleaned. There are some items that have been in there since Halloween 2010. Time to go.

*Clean the kid drawer. Yet another drawer in our kitchen where I put stuff I think I should keep but that I don’t know where else to put the stuff. Most of it is homework from the girls, pictures, notes from school. I need to go through and be merciless about what to keep and what to toss. And perhaps, move the ‘keep’ stuff somewhere else, like out of the kitchen so that will free up the drawer for something more, um, kitchen-y. Yes.

*Organize “Gift Wrap Central” There is a closet at the top of our stairs that currently holds all our gift wrap supplies. I know. I live in a closet paradise. I earned this, let me tell you. Our old house? Had one closet. Okay, two if you count the one Tom built by putting up walls and hanging a rod. Our current house has ten closets. And that’s not counting the two in the bedroom s that were built in the basement by the previous owner. I know how indulgent that is. Anyway, the one that holds the gift wrap supplies was meant to house the washer and dryer but I like them better in the basement, on a cement floor. So that opened up a completely self-indulgent “Gift Wrap Central.” I want to get some organizers for the rolls of wrapping paper (I’m thinking umbrella stands or something like that) and some hooks from which to hang the gift bags. I will just feel so much better when the clutter is organized.

*Clean/Purge the toy room. Again, yes, we have a toy room. And again, yes, I know how indulgent that is. But please know that this room is the bane of my existence. It is in a constant state of chaos. Part of the problem is that there are just too many toys in there. We need to purge. I did this a couple of months ago with the books. We donated five boxes of children’s books and it was wonderful. Now I need to go through and really, truly get rid of toys. Ohh, the toys!

That might be enough to sustain me through fall. We’ll see. It’s my hope that by downsizing the clutter in our house, I can downsize the clutter in my brain. One can only hope.