Baby Steps

So, I've decided on some goals for this year....finally!

1) I'm going to diet and work out.  Tried HCG for about 20 days, and it didn't really work.  Sure, I lost 10 lbs, but I plateaued and caved in to some cravings, and cheated a little....okay, a lot.

2)  I've decided that little by little I will declutter and organize and deep-clean our tiny little apartment.  I've already decluttered surfaces (and the inside of the desk) in the kitchen/dining/living room areas, put away all the clean laundry, reorganized the kitchen cabintes (the ones that hold food, at least), and cleared off the top of the wash stand at the end of our bed upstairs.  My goals for the coming week?  The upstairs hall closet, Marshy's room/closet, the rest of the kitchen cupboards, and our bedroom closet.

3)  I want to read 75 books this year.  Last year I read around 50, starting in July, so.....yeah. 75 isn't too bad, is it?

4)  I'm participating in OPAM 2011 again.  What does this mean?  I plan on finishing at least 1 crafty-related item a month....at least 11 this year (OPAM didn't start until the end of January).

5)  I plan on finishing the first 2 parts of my 3 part series.  I started writing it for NaNoWriMo last November, and got 3/4 of the way through the first part, and 1/8 of the way through part 2.

I've decided to stay small with my list of goals.  The more goals you make, the harder it is too keep them.  And right now, I'm planning on keeping these 5.     :-D

So behind

So I've decided to start rejoining in the FlyLady system/routine. I did really good last week. My entrance was always clean (it did need to be steamed, but then it rained and snowed so I had to put my rug back down). My dining room table is actually cleared off and that corner is decluttered! I actually folded and put away ALL the laundry, instead of leaving some (or all) of it in the laundry hampers. I even swept my front porch!



This week we're supposed to be in the kitchen. The kitchen is where I spend a good chunk of time now. I make 3 different meals for dinner: 1 for Mike, 1 for Marsh (unless he's cooperative and eats what Mike's having), and then my special HCG meal. I have like seriously no counter space again. If anyone finds a really cheap (like under $50) kitchen cart, please let me know... I need to expand my kitchen desperately!

Here is my kitchen in a nutshell. It is so tiny that when the dishwasher is open, you can't open the fridge more than 2 inches. Once I managed, somehow miraculously, to get a gallon of milk out while the dishwasher was open. Once.

So, back to the kitchen. On the left side of the sink live the Kitchenaid stand mixer, the blender, and the crock pot. On the right side of the sink lives the rotating spice rack, the knife block, all of the cutting boards I own, and the George Foreman grill. On the counter between the oven and fridge lives the microwave.

I would like to note that with all of the counters there are small cupboards below and above. There are 2 small cupboards above the fridge and the stove. The cupboards on the long side of the kitchen (side with the sink) don't go to the ceiling, so I have a lot of stuff stored up on top, like the griddle, the rice cooker, the deep fryer, the other crock pot, and some oversized bowls that don't fit anywhere else.

So, back to the FlyLady thing.... we're supposed to clear our counters off COMPLETELY and wipe them down. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Unless I want to trip and kill myself by putting the stuff on the floor, this one isn't getting done anytime soon. Also, scrubbing the faucet with a toothbrush? I don't know about you, but the only non-electric toothbrush I own is the one I got from the periodontist because I can't brush with an electric one yet (still having gum issues).

So the odds of getting this week's flying done are slim to none. Plus, I don't have a lot of energy this week. I don't know why. I'm super excited about starting Phase 3 of the HCG, which means that I'll be cooking even MORE, but I can eat EGGS, and natural Peanut Butter, and CHEESE!! I'm so excited!

I'm more than willing to accept any advice/tips you might have for me on solving my kitchen problem. Did I mention that on the other side of the tall cupboard is the garbage can, then the dining room table (which is really a card table) that hides the food processor, which is still in its box because there isn't any room for it on the counter or in a cupboard? Yeah....HELP ME PLEASE!!!

And don't suggest I dejunk my electronics/appliances, because I already got rid of a SLURPEE machine, a fondue set, a waffle iron, and a broken blender. :)