I’ve shared bits and pieces, but now I’ll share how my fun and crazy life got more crazy and more fun last week. Through a random blogging connection, I ended up on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer. It had nothing to do with this little ol’ blog. We were just the “normal” family who ABC’s tech expert, Joanna Stern, taught to use apps and … [Read more...]

The clock was ticking. After finding out on Thursday that I would need to open my front door and welcome Paula Faris and Joanna Stern of ABC World News into my home the following Tuesday . . . I had been steadily working through my How to Clean a Messy House Checklist. Finally . . . Monday happened. In case you are Days-of-the-Week Challenged, … [Read more...]

I've been sharing how I worked through my printable How to Clean a Messy House Checklist last week in preparation for a visit from Paula.  First, I looked at my calendar to see how much time I had before her visit. Second, I filled out my room prioritization worksheet. Third, I carried a black trashbag through the house and threw away trash. … [Read more...]

Step Three: Throw stuff away. (Go through all rooms, in order of priority determined in step 2, before moving to step 4.) Why, yes. I do have to have "Throw Stuff Away" as its own step on a printed checklist. As I cleaned for Paula, I had to make myself stop and purposefully do this step. (That's the beauty of the checklist. It makes me be … [Read more...]

No time for a long post. I'm exhausted. Big things are going on here at Nony's house this week. I can't share exact details yet, but I will soon. Basically, I needed to clean. And I needed to stay focused. So I printed out my own How to Clean a Messy House checklist, and got to work. Step One: Take a deep breath, get out your calendar and … [Read more...]