Getting organized - Home, Health and Life

Mr. Meow

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The best way I get rid of my anxiety is by exercise. However, I've had a tendency my whole life to push myself through physical exercise beyond my limits. I'll do push-ups until I physically can't get off the floor, I'll run until I have to drag myself back inside the house. I've always been this way, but I usually end up feeling as calm and anxiety-free as I can possibly get after I exercise.
 
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Jem

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Well, I just "joined" the Exercise motivation thread...asking about Metabolic Exercise...I think this is probably the best type of exercise for me...waiting for "reviews"...any of you on this thread ever try/do it?

I also...for the "beauty routine" part of my whole life revamp, have decided on a facial line to start with. After a bunch of research and actually speaking to someone who uses it (I never trust online reviews), I'm going to place an order for a product called "The Ordinary". It's inexpensive yet seems to work well. I even contacted the company, who after filling out a questionnaire, a representative provided me with a list of products that fit with what I want to achieve and also how and in what order to use them. Great customer service!

I have also signed up for an online service said to help with anxiety using cognitive behavioral therapy....and it's free!

I hope that by the time spring/summer rolls around and the winter blahs are gone...I'll have more motivation to really get my butt in gear. It's been so hard to get going!
 

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Well, I just "joined" the Exercise motivation thread...asking about Metabolic Exercise...I think this is probably the best type of exercise for me...waiting for "reviews"...any of you on this thread ever try/do it?

I also...for the "beauty routine" part of my whole life revamp, have decided on a facial line to start with. After a bunch of research and actually speaking to someone who uses it (I never trust online reviews), I'm going to place an order for a product called "The Ordinary". It's inexpensive yet seems to work well. I even contacted the company, who after filling out a questionnaire, a representative provided me with a list of products that fit with what I want to achieve and also how and in what order to use them. Great customer service!

I have also signed up for an online service said to help with anxiety using cognitive behavioral therapy....and it's free!

I hope that by the time spring/summer rolls around and the winter blahs are gone...I'll have more motivation to really get my butt in gear. It's been so hard to get going!
I am not quite sure I know what Metabolic Exercise is, but I think any kind of movement is a great place to start. Just don’t push too hard at first. I’ve seen too many people at the gym do that and then drop out because they are too sore and feeling miserable.
 
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Jem

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Although my housekeeping (or lack there of...), and the state of my home was what gives me the most anxiety, and where I wanted to start first. I just could not muster up the motivation to get going.
But right after my birthday, you know...when you're remined that you're getting old..LOL! I was at the grocery store and 2 of the facial products that I had researched and thought of trying were on the 50% off rack. I took it as a sign that the universe was telling me to start with this first.
So I bought the products and forced myself to implement a daily facial routine. I have not faltered, not once, and have been consistent for over 6 weeks now.

Then, a new girl started at my work, and we got to talking about working out. We are both like minded about our feelings about this....as in, we hate it. :lol: I told her about the Metabolic exercise and two weeks later she started with the workouts....that was the kicker that motivated me to finally pull the trigger. So I started on Monday, and have done 3 workouts so far. Tomorrow will be number 4, which will complete my goal/schedule that I set for myself. Yay for me! I just need to keep it up.

In August, I have my holidays. We won't be going anywhere and don't have plans so I decided that for my holidays I will choose one room a day and clean it top to bottom. Then I will implement my cleaning schedule to maintain my efforts and hopefully be able to keep up with keep the house spick and span.

Wish me luck!
 

susanm9006

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Although my housekeeping (or lack there of...), and the state of my home was what gives me the most anxiety, and where I wanted to start first. I just could not muster up the motivation to get going.
But right after my birthday, you know...when you're remined that you're getting old..LOL! I was at the grocery store and 2 of the facial products that I had researched and thought of trying were on the 50% off rack. I took it as a sign that the universe was telling me to start with this first.
So I bought the products and forced myself to implement a daily facial routine. I have not faltered, not once, and have been consistent for over 6 weeks now.

Then, a new girl started at my work, and we got to talking about working out. We are both like minded about our feelings about this....as in, we hate it. :lol: I told her about the Metabolic exercise and two weeks later she started with the workouts....that was the kicker that motivated me to finally pull the trigger. So I started on Monday, and have done 3 workouts so far. Tomorrow will be number 4, which will complete my goal/schedule that I set for myself. Yay for me! I just need to keep it up.

In August, I have my holidays. We won't be going anywhere and don't have plans so I decided that for my holidays I will choose one room a day and clean it top to bottom. Then I will implement my cleaning schedule to maintain my efforts and hopefully be able to keep up with keep the house spick and span.

Wish me luck!
When I was working and my entire personal life was crammed into the weekend, it was difficult to get my cleaning done. After years of doing it haphazardly and consequently living with a dirt house most of the time, I figured out how much time I was willing to commit and found a time that I was almost always free. Going forward from that point every Sunday from 10-12 am was cleaning time. There might be a better time slot or amount of time but finding a time space and committing to it may help.
 
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There might be a better time slot or amount of time but finding a time space and committing to it may help.
That's where my cleaning schedule comes in. I listed all the chores that need to be done and how often. Then I plan on dividing them up and have specific tasks to do every day and try not to procrastinate and let them build up. Once I've finished my "spring" cleaning over my holidays, it should be easier to up keep and not so taxing or overwhelming to complete the tasks on the daily.
For example, if I just vacuumed around the litter boxes everyday, which would take like 3 minutes, it would certainly help cut down on tracking and dust around the house...I even have a small stick vac purposefully left in the corner of the litter room to make it easy...but Nooooo, I just ignore it...I have to stop this. :nono:
 

strider rose

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im interested in this quest to make my life better inside and out ... anyone have any easy tips for me to work on things ?
im disabled so my time is limited as to how long i can stand up
 
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So next week my holidays start....and the "cleanfest" will begin!!!!!! :woohoo:

I have also been diligent with my "starter" face routine as well as my exercise, so I'm on the right track.

I have been thinking about and researching different foods to help with the health part of my journey and right now I'm focused on fiber. I'm looking at ways to add more soluble fiber to my diet. This kind is better for both types of poop irregularities, where as insoluble is for constipation only. This should help with feeling full, energy, glucose levels and also with weight loss.
Found this while reading up on fiber......
"" In the 2016 Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine study, not only did the participants eating 20 grams of soluble fiber each day exhibit improved blood glucose, they also lost weight, with researchers noting significant decreases in waist and hip circumferences. And a 2017 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that in studies lasting two to 17 weeks, intake of soluble fiber led to reductions in body mass index (BMI), body fat and body weight.""

Note the "...significant decreases in waist and hip circumferences..." part. That's basically where most of my weight gain has been.
So I guess I'll be aiming for 20 grams for fiber. I'll take my time and work my way up though as I really don't want to experience too much gas and bloating...I don't think my clients will appreciate me tooting while providing them their therapy as there's lots of bending and pushing on my part...LOL!

Although beans and lentils are excellent sources, I can only have small portions of them...and not everyday. Many of the foods that are high in soluble fiber are foods I don't enjoy which is disappointing, but there are a few I'll enjoy, some of these are also high in insoluble fiber, which is OK. Barley, pears, various berries, apples, carrots, broccoli, peas, turnips and potatoes.

I don't want to get too ahead of myself but I'm just getting excited that things seem to be going in the right direction.
 

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I started using Metamucil a long time ago. Even though I love veggies I don't want to eat very much of the high fiber ones. Not only because of the gas problem but also I don't want to have the extra calories and not lose weight. It's been great for my diabetes, my blood sugar level came down and has stayed at a good level.
 
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So today is day one of my holidays!!!!!! I have 11 days off in total.
I've been trying to figure out what room to start in for my whole house clean. I think I've decided on starting in my bedroom. I'm hoping that going to bed every night in a fresh, clean and organized space will give me that "ahhh" feeling to keep me motivated as the days go by. And considering my bedroom isn't that bad, I may be able to get started on a second room that may take longer than one day to complete.
 
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I got the bedroom spick and span, although it took longer then expected. When I went to wash my curtains, I read the tag and they said "dry clean only"....ugh! Well I was determined to wash them anyway. I did some research and low and behold, not all "dry clean" things need to be dry cleaned. And considering the curtains were 100% polyester, a fabric that is very forgiving and can get away with not needing to be dry cleaned, I decided to wash them anyway....by hand. So it obviously took extra time that I didn't expect. I used a gentle detergent and washed and rinsed them in the tub and wrung them out. As they are blackout curtains, they held quite a bit of water and I knew they wouldn't dry by end of day so I took the chance and put them in the drier, one at a time, on tumble dry with the lowest heat setting. They came out perfectly!
Today is also a slow going start. It just dawned on me that I needed to make a birthday cake for my husband for today! He's going out of town, leaving tomorrow morning, and won't be home for his actual birthday, so I was planning on giving him his present today but totally forgot about a cake!!!! So I just finished making a small no bake chocolate cheesecake and it's setting in the fridge.
I'm going to get started on doing a big vacuum before moving on to another room. It's just due and I don't want to track everything around as I move about the house as I clean everything else.
 
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Just got back from my husband's business to care for his "shop cat" while he's away. He left this morning and will be back sometime Monday afternoon. While he's gone is when I'll be tackling the basement...his "man cave". I'll be getting started shortly. I'm sure I'll find a few extra cats down there under all the furniture! :lol:
I'll work for a few hours but will need to leave again late afternoon to go back to hubby's shop to give Seymour (the cat) his second wet meal and hang out with him for a bit.
 
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Well, I almost finished half of the basement...the only thing left is washing the floors, but I'll do them at the same time as the other half.
I don't really have time to get the other side going before having to leave, so I'm just going to tidy up the kitchen, get some dishes done and prep my dinner, so when I get back I can make it right away.
 
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Last night I was going to get a head start on my hubby's side of the basement...where he hangs out most of the time. I didn't know where to start. There's so much crap littered all over. Random electronics, wires, golf stuff, parts to his RC cars/trucks and other junk. He has a habit of keeping all the boxes and packaging to everything too...but I don't know what "garbage" I can throw away and what he may still need for storing things....needless to say, I looked around, put one thing away and said to myself...":censored: it...I'll start tomorrow" and then went and watched a movie. :lol:
I'll be heading out this morning to go see Seymour and when I get back I'll get going on the corner of the basement where his drum kit is. It's a PITA to clean up with all the nooks and crannies that need dusting and all the fluff balls that from around all the legs. He doesn't really play anymore but doesn't have the proper "boxes" that drums go into for storage so we just leave them set up all pushed into the corner of the basement...I need to find a better solution to this. Hopefully, when I get the storage room/crawl space area organized I can safely put them away in there.
Cleaning and organizing the crawl space is not part of this endeavor...I'd probably need almost a week to get thru it. Someday I'll get around to having my yard sale...

Anyway...I should probably get my butt in gear and get ready...I need to leave in about an hour.
 

susanm9006

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I would try to corral or cajole that husband into cleaning up his part of the basement! Doesn’t seem fair that you have to do it all.
 
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I would try to corral or cajole that husband into cleaning up his part of the basement! Doesn’t seem fair that you have to do it all.
When it comes to "the big cleanings" I like to do it myself. I'm a bit anal, but I did leave his desk and little storage shelving thing to do. Any "unknowns" I put in a box for him to sort. I had to clean up enough to be able to dust and wash all the walls. It looks great now!
I think tomorrow will be kitchen day...
I might just start wearing a mask while I clean. Three days in a row of dusting and cleaning products and my allergies are going nuts!.....Which reminds me...I wanted to put the air purifier in the basement after stirring things up and hopefully eliminate as much re-settling as possible.
 
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So, Monday I did the kitchen except for the stove/oven, our shoe rack area and the floors. I didn't have time to get to them, but yesterday I had to do the bathroom and started on the hallway area upstairs. We have a guy coming today to fix our leaking shower faucet, so there's gonna be a mess in there when he's done that I'll have to clean again but I didn't want him to have to work in a dirty place. My sister said he's probably seen worse than cat fur and dust bunnies...but still.
I'm not sure if we have a shut off valve for the shower so my access to water may be limited while the plumber is here. The access for pipes is in the wall behind a built in cabinet, so we won't know until he opens it up. He'll also create a removable panel for future issues, if we ever need to get in there again. I'm going to pre fill a few things with water just in case. but I'll wait till I know if I need to.
Today I'm going to finish the hallway area and get started on the living room.
We may get thunderstorms today...so who knows, maybe I won't have power on top of limited water...I may just have to read by flashlight today.
 
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The plumber didn't have to dismantle/cut panels out of my cupboard to access our pipes. Instead we opted to simply widen the hole thru the tiles and he installed a larger plate over it where the tap handle is. I find it looks really nice. So no more leaky shower tap!!! He also did a really good job of cleaning up after himself. All I need to do is a quick wipe down of the areas he missed where the tile dust settled.
While he was working I finished the hallway area and almost all the living room. The only thing left in there that I have to do now is vacuum the cat tree, cat beds and the couches. My husband took my vacuum to work so I had to wait until I got it back...I have it now so I'll do them tonight or tomorrow.
This morning I didn't get much done because my Step-dad came over to change a light fixture and replace the sink taps/faucet in the bathroom. The light fixture went well, but OMG the sink taps were a PITA!!!! It took way longer than it should have but we got it done. Whoever designed my vanity needs a good smack on the back of the head, it was so hard to access everything! My Step-dad is 6'4 and a big guy to boot so there were some things that I had to do because I could fold and fit myself in where he couldn't, but some stuff needed two people so we basically had to play plumber twister...it was very awkward and a little painful too. :lol:
After my parents left, I had to go get groceries. I just got back about 45 minutes ago, and put everything away so now I'm just taking a little break, then we'll eat dinner and after, I'll do more cleaning....I'll admit, I'm loosing steam but I'm determined to get 'er done.
All I have left, as far as rooms go, are the two spare rooms, the stairway going to the basement and the laundry room. The last two won't take long...they're not big areas. For other little projects, I have to vacuum and wash the cat furniture/linens, do a deep scrub of my stove/oven and put all the stuff back into my bathroom cabinet.
From there, I'll reorganize one closet/cupboard at a time every weekend moving forward as I implement my cleaning schedule.
When I'm on my Christmas vacation...that's when I'll defrost my 2 freezers. That way, I can just put all my food outside to keep frozen. I may attempt to sort/declutter/organized the crawl space and either just post all the stuff I want to sell online or keep it until the spring and have a yard sale...or who knows...I may get the urge to do it sooner, I just know it'll take several days to get it done.
 
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Jem

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I didn't get much extra done yesterday as I did regular house duties like laundry, putting clutter away, clean up kitchen etc...
I did however put the bathroom cabinet stuff away and organized. I was feeling a little sore and tired so I worked on the cleaning schedule instead so I could sit around a bit more today.
My new shower fixtures work great, my sink taps work great...I forgot how easy taps are SUPPOSED to turn! lol!
My nieces are in a soccer tournament this weekend and I said I would show up to at least one game. The first is at 11:00am, the second at 3:30pm. Of course if they win their games, they play tomorrow as well, but my sister said not to count on it! LOL!!! I guess they're not on a strong team this year. I'm going to try to make it to the morning game as I think we are supposed to get rain...so who knows what will happen later. That means I won't get to more cleaning until I get back from their game...probably just after 12:30pm

I'm hopefully going to tackle all the cat and human furniture today with a good vacuum which includes washing all blankets and bed covers and deep clean my stove/oven.
Then I'll get to cleaning the laundry room...that should only take 30-45 minutes.
When all that's done, I only have the 2 spare rooms and a final vacuum and floor mopping to do. Before the final vacuum and mop I think I'm going to do a second pass with the duster just to get that little bit extra dust and fur that has been stirred up and settled over the last week.
 
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