29 days, week 2(ish)

I'm still here, I'm still here!! I missed the Friday link-up, but I am definitely still here. Last week was...well, let's call it hellacious. And I'm not using that lightly. I will not go into it all, but I will say:

When someone uses the word suicide in regard to themselves, do not ignore them. They might be serious, they might be joking, but either way - THEY NEED HELP.

Last week, I became one of those moms. (Stepmoms, really...but it's all the same in the end.) And I had that moment when I said in my head, "How did I get here?? How did I become the mom that got that phone call, that had to go pick up her kid at school, that had to take her to the ER for a psych exam per school policy, where they locked all the cabinets in the room, wouldn't let her wear her shoes because they had shoelaces, and made me take my purse with me when I had to go to the bathroom [that's happening more and more often as I become more and more pregnant] and get someone to sit with her when I go??"

There are two different categories you can fall into when you ask yourself this question. One, you say "I have absolutely no idea how this happened....my sweet little baby, I had no idea...." Or you can fall into the camp I'm in, where I said, "I know EXACTLY how this happened. Dear Lord, PLEASE let this be the real, true turning of the tide. This has GOT to work."

So that was my week. It was hard. And long. And nerve-wracking. I said "hard" already, right? It will take a while. But things will get better.

Now. On to the room transformation!

Well...okay, so I only got one day's work done, because That Call came on Tuesday afternoon, just before I was about to head upstairs to clean. THANK GOD I had been able to work ahead those couple days!! But here's what I managed to accomplish last week.

Monday was the day that I combined those three little sections, remember that? It was under the bed, the bookshelf/headboard, and my side of the bed. My side of the bed was pretty much already empty, and the bookshelf/headboard (it's literally a bookshelf that we have AS a headboard, because our bed it kitty-corner in room) was relatively organized already.

So although I couldn't take a picture UNDER the bed, I did take a picture of the "purge pile" (I know how you love those, Laura!)
A bunch of ping pong balls (from Hubby's fencing practices), an empty soda bottle, an empty chip bag, a sippy cup, a (very dusty) baseball glove, a container of tylenol (whaaat?), and LOTS of socks. I literally took a breath and held it every time I needed to bend over and pick something not-throw-away-able out of the pile. Achoo!!!!!

This smaller pile here is just for posterity's sake...it's just the feathers that have come from Hubby's pillow. 

And once again - again, THANK GOD - I was able to work a little ahead, so I also accomplished Tuesday's project of the bookshelf next to the window.

 On this wall, it goes trash can, bookshelf, bunch-of-stuff on top of...something, and then we get closer to the closet. If you go back to my post with the calendar, you'll see I skip the closet and go back around to the dresser on the other side of the room. With good reason. I will need lots more motivation, to the tune of seeing how much I've accomplished, before attacking that monstrosity, that beast that keeps my dear Hubby from approaching his clothing easily.

This is the slightly-more-close-up. On top is a bottle of cough medicine, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, a bag of plastic cups, and a basket of Shtuff (shtuff like random jewelry, deodorant, tweezers, etc). That thing barely visible in the glare of the window is a large thing of hand lotion. First shelf has two plastic bins of all the stuff that came from our bathroom drawers when they were emptied. (Our bathroom is a whole 'nother story. Just no real storage there.) Second shelf is two pairs of shoes, several Ace bandages, and a laptop that is dead and waiting for a new power cord. Third shelf is another pair of shoes and Hubby's slippers. (Sorry the picture is so dark. I tried lightening it on my computer and it didn't help.) My goal - I think - is to eventually move this next to Hubby's closet so he can use it for HIS shoes.

Behold the AFTER! A completely empty bookshelf, and - NOTE! - the bunch-of-stuff is gone from on top of the whatever-it-was, which, it turns out, is a box of HUBBY'S hobby stuff. (On Wednesday of last week, it's labeled as "table next to shoe shelves." I honestly didn't know what was under there.) Hmmm.... It is going to take some figuring to figure just where that will go during this purging. I really am actually stumped about this. I may have to - gasp! - skip over it, leave it there, and come back to it when I have actually cleaned out the inside of the closet (scheduled for this Thursday the 23rd...but things this week may get rearranged).

And here, just so I can prove that it IS indeed organized, the bookshelf/headboard:

So, now we move on. It's a new week! ...It's also school vacation week. I'm hoping this means that the children will have each other to occupy themselves while I clean in the afternoons, and that they won't kill each other.

Today, I'm hoping to at least accomplish last week's Thursday and Friday, which are "top of dresser" and "white chair". These together will be quite a feat, so I'm not looking too far beyond them. If I do manage to have the time to move on (haha), it will be to the "top three bookshelves"...but there is a very good reason I broke the bookshelf into pieces (not literally), and I'm actually kinda scared of them, so I'm not stressing myself about it. You'll see what I mean...

See you Friday!