Seriously, has it really been over 2 years since I last posted about my crazy life and talked about my never ending battle to get my house in order by doing a whole house declutter.

Life has really changed for me during the past 2 years.

In November of 2015, my mother came to live with me. Similar to my crazy health issues of 2013 and 2014, my mother suddenly started having some issues. She lost a lot of weight, her blood pressure was sky high and wouldn't come down no matter what but the worst was when she began to experience what seemed to be the early signs of dementia, where she had one horrific major episode.

Thinking that she was in those early stages, I tried talking to her about going into assisted living or some type of senior village but she wasn't having it. Therefore, my only other option was to have her come live with me. Since that horrific episode, nothing else has occurred although she does seem to have more difficulty recalling names and places that she has known all her life. That being said, she seems to be doing much better and friends and family have commented on it when they see her. For now, I just take things one day at a time and try to treasure each moment and whatever time we have have left together.

As far as my personal life, hectic as always. Hoping that I will be able to take Retirement #1 in a few more years, and I'm still happily single. It took me a long time to get to the happily part but ever since the death of my father in 2011, I came to realize that I love my single life. Many may think it's boring but since I'm the only one that matters concerning this part of my life, I have, so far, loved and embraced my state of singleness for the past 6 years and have never been happier.

Now that I've given you a rough idea of what's been going on with me the past 2 years, it's time to try to get back to my blogs and other hobbies an interest. After my dad died, I really struggled with finding time and sometimes the interest to work on the hobbies, interests, etc. but even though we are almost into March, I'm recommitting to trying to get back to the blogging, my genealogy, sewing, crafts, etc.

Since mom came to live with me, it seems like the clutter just exploded. In November of 2015, when mom came to live with me, I was  continuing to work on decluttering the garage. I had hauled a massive amount of items into the dining area so that I could go through them. And 2 years later, those items are still sitting there in the dining area. So, I'm using whatever tricks I can to to get things decluttered and back in order.

I've decided to participate in the 40 Bags in 40 Days Decluttering Challenge sponsored by Ann Marie of White House Black Shutters. I was having a hard time trying to decide what to give up for Lent this Year. When I read about this challenge (I receive weekly emails from Ann Marie), I immediately thought this is exactly what I need. It coincides with Lent, beginning on March 1st and concluding on April 13. Even though I've already been working on decluttering throughout these first two months of 2017. I still have a long way to go.

Another goal that I have during this time frame is to read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of  Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. I've read other bloggers fabulous reviews on this book. Since something has got to change, what harm can it be to read it.

In an effort to stay on track I will hopefully post a few times a week, maybe even daily, how I am doing with the challenge and reading the book. Wish me luck.

And it's wonderful to hopefully, finally, be back among my fellow bloggers.

Beginning 2015

Gosh, it's been nearly six months since my last post, which means one of my first goals for 2015 should be to do a lot more blog posting.

Except for my one big project with Phase 1 of the backyard revamp, which you can read about here, here, and here, I didn't get a whole lot accomplished around the house this year.

So, in 2015, I hope to do a better job. More specifically, I hope to finish a bunch of projects that I started on nearly 2 years ago when I started this blog.

So here's my list of goals

1. Finish decluttering and organizing the garage.
1. Sadly, the one side of my garage doesn't look much different than it did in June 2012. I will say that in 2013, I actually saw the finish line in site but that was the year of replacing the flooring in over 90% of my house and getting scammed along the way. Which means, that a lot of things got moved into the garage and there they remain.
2. So, there's a ton a stuff that needs to be gotten rid of and what remains needs to have some type of organization too it.
2. Finish the redo of the office!
1. I started on this in 2013 right before getting the flooring replaced. I've still got a pile of boxes from boxing everything up for the flooring redo.
2. So once again, declutter and organize.
3. This one and the next one are the two biggies for 2015. As much as I would like to get both of them accomplished, right now I'm not even sure that I will managed to get one of them accomplished. but here goes.
1. Purchase and install a closet organization system for the Master Closet.
1. While, I've downsized my wardrobe over the past two years, the closet still doesn't function very well for me. It's builder's grade wire shelving set up in a builder's configuration.
4. Landscaping in front yard.
1. Late fall, the water line coming from the meter to the house sprung a major leak and front yard had to be dug up. The leak as been repaired but my front yard remains a mess. Half of it is essentially a mud pit right now. So, I thought when I got that taken care of that it would be a perfect opportunity to get the front yard landscaped.
1. There are several shrubs that I would love to replace.
5. Finish making the blinds for the front windows.
6. Repaint the back door and don window treatments.
1. This door is a single french door but the paint is peeling and the windows need some type of treatment for privacy.
7. There are a lot more mini projects plus a few big ones that I would also like to get accomplished but don't want to just put a laundry list of items. Some of the these unmentioned projects may even take precedence over the ones that I specifically mentioned but I had to start somewhere and I'm determined that this is going to be the year that I get my house back in order, for the most part.