I did most of the outside work over the weekend. I had a couple of hours on Sunday, unexpectedly, when DH took DD to the park before I went supermarket shopping, which DD really wanted to do too. And it was actually dry, for a change!
So:
[x] Clean out lower gutters - took a full bucket of moss and earth (dust on the wind, enough settled in the gutters to make earth!) which I put on the flowerbeds. Waste not, want not!
[x] Sweep the front porch
[x] Sweep the back patio
[x] Sweep the roof of front porch (spider webs!)
[x] Wash all the lower windows and sills, and the front and back doors
[x] Wash table in back patio
[x] Empty out the spent pots (a couple of salad window boxes, a window box of French beans, and a tub of French beans)
[x] Pull up the zucchini plants from the beds that are not giving me anything this year. [x] Tidy up tomato plants - they are still doing ok with fruit ripening, but I pulled off the side shoots from the plants, took off the last flowering branches (as they won't mature at this stage) and the top shoot too - so all the remaining energy goes into ripening what's on the plant.
[x] Check the outside lights are working, and not filled with water.
[x] Feed the plants that need feeding.
[x] Put away the empty pots, a few plant tags and a couple of trowels that had hidden under plant leaves - all now safely in the shed.
[-] Sweep side alley (it can be left this year as not actually in bad shape)
[x] Check fire needs - logs and coal etc, list on grocery list
[x] Update master giftlist and budget spreadsheet
[x] Put money into savings
[x] Put gifts already purchased into storage unit
[] Agree entertaining (need to talk to DH before he goes abroad again next weekend)
[/] Agree visits over Christmas (again talk to DH) - partially done but we need to finalise
[] Make out cards list
[] Decide how many cards I need to buy
[] Look at options for charity cards
[] Consider Menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas, St Stephen's Day (DD's birthday), New Years etc
[] Goodies for Sharing/Gifts. Decide how much needs to be made and divide it between the weeks from now through December 1.
[x] Favorite Meals of Family members for freezing ahead.
[/] Long-term shopping list divided into: canned foods, perishables for each holiday, linens and dishes, decorations, etc. - started a list, planning a LARGE stores shop across the border in November for Christmas and general winter
[x] Create a Christmas planner notebook to organize holiday planning.
[/] Send 1 bag of items to school for craft uses (have sent an email to school offering 2 almost full rolls of cotton wool that I won't use, and a couple of kits that DD won't use for beads and badges, just need to agree when to drop)
[x] Continue to work on using up old meals and ingredients from freezer
Bonus tasks:
[x] Clean out stove
[x] Empty ashes bucket to landfill bin for collection
[x] Put DD's art collection in storage unit
[x] Move other clutter to storage unit before getting rid of it
[x] Clean inside of the windows in the hall
[x] Dust table in the hall
[x] Dust the roof and behind pictures in the hall (clean away cobwebs!)
[x] Wrap all my family birthday presents for autumn, DSis engagement gift and write cards (for delivery next weekend to DMom)
[x] Clear out 2 cupboards in kitchen
I have started to get ahead of myself for a change and I have a plan to get through each room this year, not just a couple. I managed to do 2 rooms last week (the "Guest" room, before the new au pair arrived to take up residence, and the study - I normally count both as Guest room week).
But I know both the Living Room and the Kitchen will be killer weeks as both are in an awful state!
But I still have a few things to complete this week.
Way to go!!!
