Last summer, not long before we started working on buying our home, I decided it was time to get organized. I wrote about making a household notebook. That was the beginning of an ongoing (and surprisingly pleasant) process. I have decided to turn my attention to the paper that comes into the home. There is a constant flow of paper and mail in every household, to one extent or another. Maintaining control of this flow is imperative if the goal is to get organized and stay organized.

I have set up a filing system in our home to manage the bills, household records and other documentation that needs to be retained. The bills go into a cubby on my desk as they arrive, and the receipts for them are filed in a folder as they are paid. Any correspondence that needs immediate attention is dealt with promptly, and all of the documents related to the home itself are in an (ever) expanding file of their own. I do not let mail just sit on my desk or the nearest flat surface for days on end. It is much easier to just "do it" and get it done. All paper that does not need to be kept is recycled. Yes, it demands discipline, but I find a few minutes per day is really not too difficult. Besides, this system eliminates the "now, what did I DO with that piece of paper I had last week?" syndrome. When I cleaned out and organized my desk yesterday, I made sure my husband knows where to put the bills and other mail needing attention. He has been responding very well to my efforts to stay on top of things, which makes our home much less stressful.

I handle my e mail in a similar manner. I read it as soon as possible, and delete the messages I don't need. I file the others, and go through the folders and delete the older filed ones. If I don't use them, out they go.

Having a home office is not vanity. It is simple necessity. We had a "computer room" in the apartment, but it really was not much of an office. I do not use my computer in our bedroom, specifically because it is a place of rest. We have three bedrooms in our home, which is perfect for our needs. We have a guest room, and we created a home office in the third bedroom.

As you enter the room, there is an erst-while microwave stand that I converted to storage space for materials I don't access often but choose to keep. This stand, until last night, had been used as a television stand in the living room. We were given a smaller entertainment system than the one my Dad gave us, so we put the television, the DVR/VCR and some of our DVD and VHS collection in it. Then the stand could be moved into the office. We bought a three shelf bookcase (assembly required, but not difficult to do), and took the smaller bookcase into the living room. Fair trade, and it gave us more space for work, reference, and computer books. In the corner, we placed a cherry-wood four drawer filing cabinet that we purchased right after we moved in. Next, along the wall perpendicular to the window is my new computer desk. My CPU is on a shelf to my right, beside my desk. Jay's collection of games will go into the corner between our desks. He put a small plastic table under the folding table he uses for his computer, so his history references are handy yet out of the way. Jay's workspace is in front of the window. All in all, it is a very comfortable work environment.

We took time today to organize the office. I cleaned and sorted out my desk, and Jay set up his desktop. He's been using his laptop, but he has more options.

Texas! Today is Texas Independence Day. I'm proud to be a Texan!

When I was a child, my hometown had two editions of the daily newspaper. Eventually, the evening edition was discontinued. Yesterday, on the back page of the weekly television listings section, there was a printed notice

saying that it was the last edition of the weekly listings, because technology had changed, and it is now possible to get television listings from multiple other sources such as online and by phone. I'm surprised the entire newspaper hasn't gone away yet...

We are spending one day per week (usually Saturday) doing the laundry, cleaning and organizing.  Yesterday, we got the entertainment center organized; Jay initially wanted to throw away the doors that go on it, but I asked him to wait until I had cleaned them up to see if we wanted to keep them or not. Sure enough, they were extremely dirty, but I used some furniture polish and a lot of elbow grease, and they look nearly new. So he put them on.  The entire unit does show some wear, but it doesn't look bad at all.

We moved into the office and got some of the crates and boxes unpacked. We set up a book case in the office, and moved the stacking tables out, except for one level of one of them.  Still need more bookcases (or we need to sell some books!), but we did a purge while we were going through the crates and boxes.

I woke up this morning congested, so it looks like we may miss Dylan's birthday party this afternoon. He will be 4 on the 28th.

I've got some new downloads to install soon. I download and try a lot of freeware and open source software. I found one package the other day that I downloaded, and now I can dual boot Windows and Ubuntu. I found a new toolbar for Firefox the other day that includes a player for streaming Internet radio, and I really enjoy it.

Last weekend, my Dad brought us an entertainment unit (shelving). Today, we rearranged the living room to make room for it. It needs to have some screws tightened, but it is otherwise in good shape--after we cleaned and dusted it thoroughly. It will be used to store books, videos and various items we want to display. The living room looks quite comfortable now. We put the couch perpendicular to the bar, with the coffee table in front of it so that there is plenty of room to walk. I moved the cats' climbing toy over in the far corner of the living room so that they will have their own space for play, climbing or resting. One of the bookshelves that was in the living room will be moved into the office for storage, and the other will be near the kitchen so that we can store cookbooks. Jay got tickled that I was moving furniture myself, but it does feel good to help, and this way it gets done without both of us being stressed out.

Once we get the shelves moved, we will be able to unpack more of our crates, and they can be stored.

Yesterday, we had a party. My neighbor has a birthday (today), and since mine is also this week, we decided to get together at their house next door to celebrate with a barbecue. I made potato salad, we supplied cups, paper plates, flatware and napkins, and they supplied the meat and beans, and we split the cost of a cake. It really was a wonderful day, and the weather couldn't have been any better. Today, they cooked hamburgers and hot dogs, and we got together here for lunch.

I also got our taxes filed for 2007 today. I like to file electronically, since it is quicker and there is not as much chance of errors. I will be notified of any problems in a few days; if all goes well, the return will be accepted.

In addition to everything else that we did yesterday, we took the girls to the vet for their annual checkups and shots (feline leukemia and distemper, this time; they need their rabies shots again next year or in 2010.) Darla has had an allergic reaction to the shots in the past, so this year, she was given an extra injection to help prevent illness or problems. The extra injection had an antihistamine in it, so she was sleepy and tired yesterday. We watched both of them closely yesterday afternoon, and they seemed fine, other than perhaps a little sore. They've both gained a little weight, but are not overweight.

We need to have them spayed as soon as we can, to further protect their health. They are not allowed outside, so they don't have any injuries that a lot of cats get from fighting and such. We don't even allow them out in the back yard, because they can easily climb the fence. It's hard to believe they will be six years old this September.

We will find a vet closer to home in case of an emergency, but we do plan to keep our current vet, since he and his staff have cared for the girls since they were just babies.

Thanks to the helpfulness of one of our neighbors, We have a ramp at the front door for easier and safer access to the outside of the house. The cement should be completely dry by tomorrow. Next, we will build a smaller ramp for the inside of the garage. Then we can park the car in the garage, and no more getting wet when it rains. Jay has hung the last of the curtain rods in the guest room. We also hung the rest of the wind chimes. It really is feeling more like home.

Tomorrow we will be picking up a computer desk for the office and rearranging furniture so we can share the office again. The new printer will likely be online sometime tomorrow, I hope. Taxes may be done by a professional this year. I'm going to call and get some information before I decide what to do about them.

We're planning a party for next weekend! should be fun. It's to celebrate two birthdays.

February's chill cannot overcome the special days for our family this month. Today is the anniversary of my maternal great grandmother's birth.
Tomorrow, of course is Groundhog Day. (I'm expecting six more weeks of winter.) On the 10th, my neighbor will celebrate her birthday; the 11th is the anniversary of my grandmother's birth; the 14th is my birthday and it's the first birthday of my grandson, Ryan; the 15th is the birthday of one of my friends' son; the 16th is the birthday of one of my cousins. The 28th is Dylan's fourth birthday. Quite a lot going on for a short month.

It feels much more pleasant to be making mortgage payments than it ever did to pay the rent. I have a real sense of "paying ourselves". I'm going to work on our taxes this weekend, if I have time. If not, next weekend for sure. I've already taken care of some of the bills for the month. Again, much more pleasant than it used to be.

We have met one more of our neighbors. She is a keeper, as well. She came to visit last Saturday, and we chatted for a while. Again, good neighbors are a gift.