|
Originally Posted by SuzyLee
 Does anyone else have an overwhelming living room? We don't have much clutter, but a LOT of deep cleaning that needs to be done. Like the baseboards, the windows inside and out, the walls, the couches need to be cleaned..... plus with the holiday weekend nothing got done then. |
The wise thing to do, though, is probably to go ahead and start on the living room and let it carry over into entry/foyer week because the entry/foyer is really really simple. I guess I'll go start decluttering the two major clutter holders in my house, BOTH of which happen to be in the living room!|
Originally Posted by Charmie981
ARGH! I really thought this was entry/foyer week, which was going to be easy peasy. Now I find out it's living room week. ACCCK!
My living room is overwhelming. I could have written your description of it, SuzyLee. Our furniture is leather and one cushion is in need of repair. DH and I have decided that we'll probably duct tape the hole shut and make slipcovers for the cushion part of the love seat, which will be so much better than the gaping hole, but requires me to buy fabric and sew. The walls need to be painted, the carpet needs to be steamed, the ceiling fan globe was broken by a little child who stood on the coffee table and unscrewed it, so I need to find a replacement. A dog decided to eat one of the legs to an end table, and DH has a milk crate of paperwork in there that I swear has been in there for at least 6 months, just moved around to different places. And on top of that, this is a short week because nothing got done over the holiday. Maybe I'll just make my living room list and continue thinking it's entry/foyer week and I've got it covered? The wise thing to do, though, is probably to go ahead and start on the living room and let it carry over into entry/foyer week because the entry/foyer is really really simple. I guess I'll go start decluttering the two major clutter holders in my house, BOTH of which happen to be in the living room! |
:
he is asking that I point out that he did vacuum and actually did most of the work. :P The baby was fussy!
:|
Originally Posted by Thalia
I liked the questions for this week:
Is anyone here thinking about doing a no-gift Christmas or something like it? A much pared down one, to be sure, but not "no gifts" at least as far as our children are concerned. We tried this last year with some limited success. DD is the only grandchild on one side and the first of two on the other, so the grandparents tend to go a little crazy. We had this problem also when our older two were the only grandkids for YEARS. Now they've been joined by two siblings and five cousins, so things are a lot saner. Hang in there. The gift-giving enthusiasm wears off eventually. And if not, just stash things in the closet and bring them out occasionally throughout the year, like Xmas all year round! If possible I would like to do either three gifts for DD (in the tradition of the three wise men) or four in the Victorian Christmas tradition of "something to wear, something to read, something you want, something you need". We do the Three Gifts thing also. It sets good expectations. We were thinking of starting a book exchange tradition with one side of the family and maybe an ornament exchange with the other side. They have a hard time with giving up the gift-giving altogether, but narrowing things down to one kind of (relatively inexpensive) gift might be a good way to simplify. We could do homemade ornaments and maybe even used books to keep things even simpler. |
|
Originally Posted by The Hidden Life
The only problem I have found with a plan like this is that the grandparents/relatives sometimes don't like be relegated to buying-making the boring books/ornaments while we, the parents, get the squeals of delight from the children for giving them their heart's desire (usually a toy). Ahem. My mother feels this way, can you tell? Her own mother would only allow her grandmother to buy my mother stuff like underwear for Christmas. So if the relatives are willing, great. If not, just go with the flow. Or allow them to buy the thing you were planning on getting your child and take the gift-giving "glory."
Another idea might be to draw straws for the four Victorian Xmas categories (wear, read, want, need) with the relatives so that the child only ends up getting four gifts but each relative/parent gets an equal chance of giving the "fun" gift (although any of them could be fun with some imagination). Of course this only works if you have just four relatives or maybe just repeat some of the categories. |
http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1135577
|
Originally Posted by SuzyLee
Thigns are going well here. I did most of the LR and entry way in a big shebang on Saturday.
I have left to make my freezer meal, spot clean and vac the couches, and vac and dust the stairs (which I am counting as part of the entryway). We are having DS's b-day party this weekend so the timing has been great. |
Follow Mothering