Random Fodder

I thought I'd post an update on one of my goals for this year (and last year, and the year before). A year ago, I posted on 43 Things that perhaps moving into the new apartment would make things easier to keep the place neat and tidy. 2007 proved that this wasn't the case at all. I decided yesterday that I’ve got to really focus on accomplishing this goal so I can help keep my wife’s sanity intact.

Yesterday, I finally got around to getting started on cleaning up the apartment:

1. I picked up the kids’ toys after they went to bed and put the toys in bins. I warned the kids that they will be expected to keep their room clean and that some toys will be disappearing as we store them and/or give them away.
2. I ran two loads of dishes last night and mostly cleared out the sink.
3. The kids’ dirty clothes were piled on the floor, so I bought a second hamper so the kids have a place to put their dirty clothes.
4. We had a large mess on the kitchen floor where our recyclables really had no good place to go. The storage area was far too small (just two plastic drink containers and the bin was full). This resulted in plastic and cardboard spilling across the kitchen floor. To remedy this, I bought a couple plastic bins large enough to hold our standard amount of plastic, cardboard, and glass.
5. I put our futon back into the upright "couch" position — it had been in the flat "bed" position ever since we had company during the holidays.

So, for one night’s work, the place looks a bit cleaner and organized — and certainly less cluttered.

And tonight, I got some stuff accomplished, though I didn't do nearly as much as yesterday:

1. I cleared off the table of the mounds of papers and other items cluttering half of our dining room table. Not only do we have use of our table now, but we also have more of our clutter gone!
2. Sprayed and wiped off the dining room table and chairs.
3. I went through all the areas I cleaned yesterday and made sure that any disarray from today had been cleaned up. (This is the key to keeping the house clean each day!)

There’s still plenty of work ahead of us. We’ll see what the future holds. I’ve requested some cleaning / organization / decluttering books from the library to see what suggestions and hints I can glean from skimming them.

See more progress on: clean up my house and keep it clean. I'll probably post further updates there as I continue to try and keep up with this goal.

2008 has reared its ugly head, and left me with not even a handful of completed goals:

• 3 goals (7%) were completed successfully.
• 9 goals (21%) were abandoned.
• 31 goals (72%) will be carried over for 2008.

What goals have I chosen for 2008? 31 goals have been carried over, 12 new goals have been added, and 1 goal from 2006 has returned:

1. Accomplish more goals this year than last year
2. attend a local government meeting
3. Be a better blogger
4. be an audience member for a TV show taping*
5. Be part of a flash mob
6. build an igloo
7. clean up my house and keep it clean
8. Do the Discovery Health National Body Challenge
9. drink more water
10. eat healthier
11. eat with my hands
12. exercise regularly
13. fly a kite
14. Get better at chess*
15. Give blood
16. go camping
17. have a 3 month emergency fund
18. have family devotions
19. Help my child finish the Hooked on Math program*
20. Help my mother start her home business
21. Join a professional organization*
22. Learn how to remember peoples' names
23. Learn Spanish
24. learn to do crosswords*
25. learn to ice skate*
26. Learn to juggle*
27. lose weight
28. make a time capsule
29. Make family silhouettes*
30. open the yellow pages, pick the seventh restaurant, and eat the seventh entree and dessert on the menu
31. Read 23 books in one year†
32. Reduce debt.
33. Send a message in a bottle
34. Send a postcard to Postsecret
35. sleep in a hammock
36. spend ten minutes holding the door for people
37. stick to a budget
38. stop being late
39. take 43 photos of 43 places within 43 minutes of where I live‡
40. take a family vacation
41. Take the Mensa test.*
42. Volunteer
43. Write a will*

* A new goal for 2008.
† A "new" goal for 2008 added in October 2007 and due by October 2008.
‡ A renewed goal from before 2007.

You can also view my current list and past accomplished goals at 43 Things or on my own 43 Things page here.

My top two "cheered" goals by other 43 Things users each have 10 cheers, twice as many as the next highest cheered goal. They are:

• 10 cheers – build an igloo
• 10 cheers – attend a local government meeting

So, I should probably put a little extra effort into getting these completed this year.