Summer Accounting

Summer’s pretty much over for us, and as I do every summer I find myself temped to tally all the fun things we did. But usually it goes like this: We only went to the lake once./We didn’t get into the city at all./We still haven’t done x,y or z.

So I’m going to skip that. We had a really nice summer and that’s what counts.  Yesterday Emma and I spent a great afternoon with friends, painting pottery. This is something I want to remember.

pottery

Here’s a bit more accounting which will hopefully be more interesting:

  • 34: The number of stickers I successfully removed from Emma’s toy kitchen today. I’d been putting it off because I thought it was going to be so hard, but I figured out the best way to do it which I’m happy to share with any moms who might still be in sticker purgatory.
    destickertrio

    The de-sticker trio.

    I poured some Goo Gone onto the sponge, and used it to saturate each sticker. At first I used the razor tool to begin scraping immediately, but then I took a break for dinner, and when I came back, everything peeled off so easily. So if you use Goo Gone, let it soak into the stickers for at least a half hour. It will save lots of time when you have to scrape. Using a sponge, as opposed to a paper towel which I’ve used in the past, will help you soak the stickers better.

  • 25: The number of states experiencing an infestation of treatment-resistant head lice. Normally I’m pretty laid-back about lice, deciding not to worry about it until it happens. But Emma’s going to camp starting Monday, and the only negative I’ve heard about this place is that lice runs rampant by the end of the summer. I need to see if there’s anything I can do to try and avoid it, because it would suck to deal with lice right before she goes back to school. We already had a scare this summer, which turned out to be nothing, but it was a huge hassle.
  • 4: The number of Clutter-Free Zones that currently exist in the house. A definite victory.
    noclutkitchen

    Kitchen table.

    noclutlibrary

    Library. Emma’s reading that book so it’s allowed.

    Not seeing these surfaces covered with stuff every morning when I get up has made a huge difference in my mood. One of my recent frustrations with my project was that I’ve been seeing a difference in the garage and attic, but it wasn’t translating to a neater house. I hope that’s going to be different now.

    noclut2

    Living room bookshelf

    noclutentry

    Entry table- need to purge papers.

    Even though there is still much to be done in the house, seeing clear surfaces where I used to see clutter is freeing up time to do other things. I need to get back into back-to-school mode, and I’m going to make yet another attempt to plan meals. During the summer it’s been easy, because it’s been too hot to turn on the oven, so we usually throw chicken or burgers on the grill, open a bag of salad and eat. I need to try to carry that method over to cooking in the colder weather.


4 Responses to Summer Accounting

  1. If you do get lice Google Cetaphil lice treatment. Basically you saturate the hair with Cetaphil gentle cleanser, comb and comb and comb, with a nit comb until you’ve combed most of the cleanser back out, and blow dry until completely dry. Sleep overnight and wash like normal in the morning. The lice, eggs, and nits all get caught in the cleanser and combed out (really easily since the cleanser is so slippery) and the cleanser hardens around any lice left and suffocates them. Treatment repeated once a week for 3 weeks to catch whole life cycle. I had a five month old when my daughter got lice so I didn’t want to use the OTC treatment that may or may not work.

  2. Great upbeat article. THANKS! Love the clutter free zones – your note really works!

    We dropped our son off at college Friday night and need to keep happy thoughts. He is a Freshman and I like to frame it with the word “adventure”. I love adventures. Visited Fire Island by ferry yesterday with my childhood girlfriend. Now I have to try to get my hubby out of the house and do fun things.

    My house is clutter free – except for a life time of photos. Plan to scan them during winter.
    Wedding dress – gone. Now the focus is on house repairs and bathroom update. Need a new roof. We are very slow with changes. Hubby put everything on hold until kid was off to college. Very emotional time.

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