HGP 2015 - Week 2 - Living Room/Questions Week

[AuntJamelle]

Week 2 has arrived!!!

It's all about questions during Question Week in the Holiday Grand Plan! And the living room!

http://holidaygrandplan.com/holiday-grand-plan/02-question-week

With the long holiday weekend for those of us in the US hopefully some were able to get a jump start on their tasks!

Report in on how things are shaping up for you this week!

 

[AuntJamelle]

Did not get as much done Sunday/Monday as I had hoped, but still made a decent dent in the list...

[ ] Dust ceiling for cobwebs
[ ] Get up on top of closet to clean? Will be decorating here!
[X] Clean large arch window/Touch up paint
[ ] Clean mirror
[ ] Dust
[/] Clean windows/sills - Got 3 windows completely done - dusted, sills and glass - only 5 more to go + 3 glass doors...sigh...
[/] Dust blinds
[/] Spot clean blinds as necessary
[ ] Vacuum under cushions
[X] Move couches and sweep underneath well
[/] Decorate for fall - Got biggest job done which is large 16 foot plant shelf that sits under large arch window. Needed the 10 ft ladder to get up to it!!! Will finish rest of decor this week!
[ ] Vacuum/”Mop”
[ ] Clean porch lights (just outside French doors in living room)

Holiday Prep Tasks

[X] Buy extra flour, sugar, etc.
[ ] Research costume for DS (Size? $?)
[X] Make two freezer meals or meal components
[/] Craft

Would have gotten more HGP done but when I went out to garden to pick yesterday there were a TON of green beans ready. Spent quite a bit of time canning yesterday afternoon - got 4 quarts

 

[Holiday Barbie]

Week 2

To Do List For Week 2:

( ) Clean Ceiling Light Fixture
( ) Vacuum Baseboards
( ) Magic Eraser on Baseboards/Walls
( ) Clean Out TV Cabinet
( ) Vacuum Behind/Under Furniture
( ) Vacuum Under Cushions
( ) Dust Blinds
( ) Dust Furniture/Pictures
( ) Vacuum Carpet
( ) Decorate Mantle for Fall

 

[cmerth]

I have my living room deep cleaned and redid my mantel. I worked on my planner... I need to finish this.

I added a bunch of baking necessities on my grocery shopping list.

 

[HouseElf]

It is very humid and hot here, very un-September.

Living Room is done! The remaining item I have on my list is moved over to my "honey to-do" list

Reviewed my Question list with the boys - as they are old enough now to express their opinions on our holidays. The youngest likes to visit around the holiday, the older two not so much - so will try and incorporate a balance, just the two of us. They all agreed Christmas Shoebox and Angel Tree are things they enjoyed shopping for last year, and our home Advent and family game night is something they want to keep going.

Binder is in great order. I had tried for the first few days last week to use an electronic version - but I really missed the binder lol

:gingerbread:

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

Did all of my loungeroom. Moved all furniture and cleaned skirtings, washed light fittings, cleaned every square inch. It looks great. I am not sure how long it will stay this way, but I know it has been done. I am feeling very satisfied.

 

[AuntJamelle]

You guys are rocking this week! I did not make any more progress on HGP tasks last night - we had a rough day dealing with DS school related items.

Hope to knock out the rest of the windows tonight - after that it should be smooth sailing!

 

[AuntJamelle]

Oh, woe is me! I haven't made another lick of progress on my HGP cleaning tasks!

I have, however, gotten 2 batches of Oven Chicken Fajitas in the freezer and enough Cheesy Garlic Bread to support 3-4 meals, easily.

I've been spending my evenings crafting, not cleaning. I have a large amount of freezer cooking planned for this weekend, but I am going to try and finish what I can of this week's cleaning tasks on Saturday and the rest will just have to carry over into next week!

Every little bit helps!

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

AJ oven chicken fajitas sound wonderful.....am suddenly hungry LOL

 

[HouseElf]

Lots of rain here this weekend - perfect for feeding the freezer!
Plan is to make several batches of mini loaves: zucchini bread, banana bread, pumpkin bread, and carrot cake. (They often go into lunches and for a quick breakfast with scrambled eggs or sausages.)

Thinking I would like a new tree! Have been looking online at the tall thinner trees for the living room - we plan on purchasing new furniture for the living room in the spring, and I think a new tree may be in order to! We have a very small room, and our wide base tree just takes up too much room - as we like to leave it up for an extended time. It's an older tree but in good shape, so I have been thinking of ideas on how to reuse the top for a table top tree for the buffet in the dining room

 

[CheeryChick]

I didn't have time to pop in and post here this past week. With back-to-school in full swing, it was enough just to adjust to the new schedule and stay on top of tasks at home.

I did manage to deep clean the living room and rid it of some unnecessary clutter. I also purchased tickets for two holiday concerts (Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Mannheim Steamroller) that are traditions for our family during the Christmas season. I also got out the fall decorations and put things up in the kitchen and living room, and put our autumn wreath on the front door.

If you're a pumpkin spice fiend like I am, now is the time to start scouring the stores for pumpkin-y goodies. The pumpkin spice Greek yogurt that is out now is divine -- it tastes almost like pumpkin cheesecake! Both Chobani and Oikos have a version. The Pumpkin Spice Frosted Mini Wheats are also extremely tasty. I preferred last year's Pumpkin Spice M&Ms; I'm not a huge coffee fan and this year's Pumpkin Spice Latte ones are sort of a disappointment (for me) due to the strong coffee flavor; I gave them a try, but will probably take them to work to share with friends who will like them more. However, if you like chocolate-covered espresso beans, those are probably right up your alley.

Speaking of pumpkin, Bath & Body Works really outdid themselves this year with all of their pumpkin candles and Wallflowers. I, um, may have purchased a few. I like to burn pumpkin, apple, and cinnamon spice scents throughout the holidays. The scents remind me of holiday baking and are just so comforting!

I'm going to look over Week 3's list now and see what I can get started for the upcoming week.

 

[luludou]

CC all that talk about Pumpkin! miam!

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

Living in Australia is like living in a void sometimes. We never get pumpkin anything and certainly not yoghurt and cereal.
We can often find a apple and cinnamon candle to burn and that is about the extent of our seasonal attempts.
No wonder I stock up when I go to the U.S.

 

[Winged One]

Week 2 didn't happen because of the wedding abroad.

Week 3 didn't really happen due to recovery from the wedding and being back at work and school. Saturday meant back to cub scouts and sailing for DD and my first official day as Cub Scout leader, yikes! And DM falling ill while visiting our city so needing a bed on Sunday, my planned day of cleaning. I was glad to be able to help through.

But that means that this weekend is a Lot of catchup.

I am not really doing master bedroom this week as our wardrobes are due to be replaced in the next forth night, so I will swap rooms around.

But I have to get on top of living room and kitchen, and clear off study desk, as the main items this weekend. And keep emptying out the freezer so I can restock it properly.

I think I need to do my list when I get to the proper computer at home (MHH is now banned at work, Bah Humbug!!).

 

[AuntJamelle]

Hang in there, Winged One!!! Bah Humbug indeed to that ban! UGH!

It can feel overwhelming to try and do the HGP when LIFE gets in the way and it sounds like you've had more than a full plate!

I constantly have to remind myself, what gets done gets done, every little bit helps and puts me that much farther ahead of the game.

When things get really crazy I will prioritize the tasks for a room into "high impact" and "low impact". I try to do the things that I either want done before the holidays because of entertaining or things that remove a significant amount of chaos from our lives. Some things I end up just letting go of...

Good luck with your catch up weekend though!!! Maybe play some upbeat Christmas music while you clean? Brian Setzer Orchestra has a couple of great ones - I have the Boogie Woogie Christmas album and that is such a good one to clean to!

:snowman2: