A Lot of The Chores Did Get Done

It was a good weekend for me. I ended my string of no spend days by spending sensibly-new bottle of fabric softener, the last few painting supplies, a new curtain rod-RESISTING the impulse to buy "stuff" that I wanted, but did not need, did the laundry, did a dump run, got to the bank, post office, roasted a chicken, everything I wanted to do, except the library.

Painting my bedroom was a bigger project that I first thought it would be. You would think living in 450 sf of space this would not be an issue, but it was. I had to take everything out of my bedroom (less the bed and dresser) and put it in my living room. I got a late start painting and ended up shuffling items around to make a space for me to sleep on my small couch.

I painted my room a deep dark purple blue called Stained Glass. I really like it! I still have to do the trim work (yeah should have done that yesterday but did not), but the room looks sooo much better. Last time I painted my bedroom was when I moved in to my house 8 years ago. I will rehang curtains by the end of the week. Because of a home improvement project gone bad a few years ago, I had to do additional wall prep on two walls. That took time because I also had to use a special primer and wait for it to dry. I'm happy with the results and my next project is to install some laminate flooring. I have this picture in my mind what I want the room to look like and it is FINALLY shaping up. I forgot to buy some trim paint, but have decided to use up some paint I had for another project. The white paint won't be as bright as I would like (Behr High Gloss Ultra Bright White) but it will be fine and I'll be saving some $$$. Cost to date for the bedroom redecorating project is $40-paint, painting supplies, two new curtain rods. Projected cost to complete redecorating project, about $400 for the laminate flooring, underlay, and a few tools and supplies I don't have that I will need to get the job done.

I also did a bit of decluttering while doing the painting project. I sorted through my books and have set to drop off at Goodwill about 8 books (I have a problem getting rid of books, even ones I don't use anymore), I had two wall lamps I got from Ikea that got sent to Goodwill as well. The shades crapped out and I could not repair them. In today's disposable society, the shade repair/ replacement was the same cost as a new set of wall lamps. Since I have no plans to put the lamps back up, Goodwill got them. I simply don't have the storage space for those items anymore. I purged some pillows and some clothes as well. I still have a problem purging possessions, I'm getting better and it's easier to do, but I know I still have a long way to go.

The down side to all of this was I took advantage of the great weather yesterday to rake some leaves off of my patio. My patio seems to be a leaf magnet and I had extra large piles from the storm on Saturday and natural leaf drop. I tried to be Gloria Gardener yesterday. I ended up breaking not one, but both of my leaf rake handles. Both broke in the middle of the handle. I swore a bit and then decided it was the Universe's way of telling me to not be Gloria Gardener and to sit down and enjoy some warmth and sunshine and the dogs.

The upside was it was a very cheap weekend and I did get to a lot of my "to do' list without feeling like I was run off my feet.