Well, some of y'all may recall that I had a minor panic last month because a friend wanted to stay the night since we would be doing something on my side of town (about 50 miles from her home). She knows about my before and after pics, but doesn't know of the difficulties I have had with maintenence. I am also the only one she lets in her house. She's a messy too, with only her daughter's rooms actually squalorish.

Well, I thought I would have a couple months to get my place shined up after our previous plans fell through, but she invited herself over for NEXT WEEKEND while we were out Saturday night! :-O

But this time, instead of panicking, I am planning. The major difference is that I finally finished the illness that had dragged on for 4 weeks... my brother said I had what he had - bronchitis. I just know I felt miserable! Anyway, I relaxed all day yesterday, and then today, my plan is to get rid of ALL obvious trash and clutter. I go to my friend's for Christmas dinner in a couple hours. So far, I have filled three 39 gallon trash bags with trash/clutter, and took out several smaller bags sitting around with kitty litter.

I also bought a BIG new trash can will sturdy wheels to make maintenence easier. I figure if taking out the trash weren't such a chore, I'd do it more regularly. One thing I have a problem with is the kitty litter for my 7 foster kitties. I change their pans daily, but I just keep filling up the bags until I have several laying around, and then I drag them all out at once. I think now that I have this big rolling trash can, I can sit it on the porch behind the railing, and just make a habit of tossing the litter each day. Then on trash day, all I have to do is roll the can out.

ANYWAY... I took out all the kitty litter bags, PLUS the 3 big bags of trash and clutter. I am almost done with that part of the plan. The next step will be to focus on one room each night after work until Saturday. Plus, I have Friday off, so I can make up for any slacking off or just take it easy by then.

Oh, at Lowes, aside from the trash can, I also bought a heavy duty scrub brush on a pole. The kitchen tile does NOT need to be mopped. It needs to be SCRUBBED!

The basics for each room...

front room and hall... kitties have made messes behind all the furniture in the past, which I removed before. I need to move the furniture to see if they have been better and get rid of anything that may have been messed on. They don't go on floors. If they don't go in the litter box, they will pick some papers or a towel, or anything left around, drag it to a corner, and go on it!LOL! They take so much effort at this, that they must think they are doing right! This got MUCH better immediately when I bought new large containers that are much bigger than their litter pans. Hardwood needs to be swept and mopped and area rug vacuumed.

kitchen and dining... floor SCRUBBED; dishes done, old dish tub thrown out, sink bleached and new tub used; stovetop scoured; cabinets cleaned out and organized; refrigerator wiped down inside and out and out of date food tossed.

spare room.... this was my sick kitty quarantine room, and I closed it off when they got better. Now it is time to clean it up, and turn it back into the exercise room it was meant to be (equipment was all pushed to the sides to accomodate two cages); hardwood needs to be swept and mopped.

my bedroom... lots of clutter! Clothes hanging on doors instead of in closet, dresser drawers going unused... floors swept and mopped and rug vacuumed; furniture rearranged; clothes washed and put away properly.

bathroom... floor scrubbed (especially baseboards); toilet cleaned; hard water stains treated in tub and sink; cabinet organized; mirror cleaned.

living room... boxes of stuff on the tables still from the last time I had to evacuate from a hurricane. That stuff needs to be moved to storage room until I have more time to sort it out. Area rug needs vacuuming; couch-bed needs to be unfolded and vacuumed out, and new linens put on it; clutter thrown out.

I CAN DO THIS! It will just take determination and persistence.