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Several years ago, I attended a class taught by and well-known homemaking guru, Daryl Hoole. One of her many bits of advice was to do "Something that Stays Done" every day. I have followed this advice off and on, but want to make it a habit in 2011!

P.S. To see the blog that inspired me to get started and to see more great ideas of things to get done, check out dirtylittlesecrets2010.blogspot.com. Thanks, Becky!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Gathering Supplies

Today's something was getting ready for tomorrow's something.
It is supposed to be great weather tomorrow
so I set up shop on the deck.
See you tomorrow!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Coupon Shopping

I was cleaning out the expired coupons yesterday and found a bunch 
that I needed to use before the end of March.

I went to WalMart for a little coupon fun!
I bought 1 bottle of Olay body wash,
1 bottle of Olay facial cleanser,
4 Old Spice deodorants,
4 bottles of Olay body wash,
6 bottles of Bayer aspirin,
2 packages of Snyder's pretzels,
1 box of Kashi GoLean cereal,
and 8 Zone bars.

My total before coupons was $63.77
and after coupons it was $28.50!
Less than half price...that's my goal when using coupons!

You never know how the folks behind you in line are going to react to a huge stack of coupons.
The best part of the trip had to be the two 20-something-year-old men 
behind me who were totally impressed!
They even asked where I got all the coupons and if they make coupons for what they were buying.
Cute boys!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Another Switcheroo

It's time to move the 2-year-old boy and the 6-year-old boy into the same room.
I'm going to try this out for a day or two since one of the bedrooms is a lot lighter than the other.
I'm hoping that this helps the 2-year-old boy stay in his bed at night too.
Wishful thinking, I know!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Roadtrip Aftermath

Last weekend, we went to Moab so the husband could run the Moab Half Marathon.
That means eight people in the car for 9 or 10 hours.
And that means that it's a mess when we get home.
I finally got around to cleaning it out today.
It's never fun when you get one something done 
only to notice or create another something.
I'll be using the carpet cleaner on the car when the weather warms up.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Glazing

I did a little more work on the green shelf today.
It was my first attempt at glazing.
I used clear glaze and a light oak stain to start.
Here is the before distressing and glazing picture...
 This is after distressing and glazing.
I couldn't get a good pic so here's a close up.
The glaze is a bit darker than this pic.
I think it looks pretty cool!
Next time, I'll get brave and use a darker stain.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

A couple of somethings...

Today I bought something for tomorrows project... 
and got a couple of bids for a retaining wall in our backyard.
(I'm still getting more bids so if you know someone good, let me know.)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The Gate

Last summer, we put a treehouse in the corner of our yard.
It makes it really easy for the kids in the apartments behind us to take a short cut to school.
Which I don't mind.
Today the gate had been used one too many times, so I got to fix it.
Here are the exciting pictures of this something...
 I took the first picture after I put it half way back together.
Looks like it could use a fresh coat of stain.
Something for a warmer day!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The Big Boys' Room

My 15 and 12-year old boys are finally back in their room!
Here's a little progression of the events of the last few months.
Christmas Eve was the day that this something started.

Flood coming through the hole in the foundation where the main water line comes in.
 New headboards made by Mom.
 Evidence of the after sheetrock, before paint and carpet (thank goodness!) flood.
Post second flood sheetrock repair.
 Freshly painted.
 Accent wall.
Ta-da!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Kitchen Chairs

Today's something is not exciting,
but was necessary.
I cleaned the kitchen chairs and put new pads on the bottom of the legs.
When the two-year-old boy moves the chairs to get what he wants,
it won't be quite so noisy anymore!
(The lighting in the second picture makes them really look clean and a totally different color. 
 I've been wanting a new kitchen table and chairs, maybe I just need new lights!)

Friday, March 18, 2011

Distressing

I wish the title of this post was DEstressing, but it's not.
Gotta work on that one!
This cute girl takes old furniture and works her magic with a little paint and a lot of talent.
I had tried something similar on my green shelf.
After seeing her amazing transformations, I decided that my shelf needed a little distressing.



What do you think?
I may even try some glaze!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

The Babies' Room

Today I got through about half of the babies' room.
I have never used a changing table for changing diapers,
only for storing stuff.
Today, I cleared it off.
Do you love the twin dolls?
They came from the husband's grandpa's house years before I had my twins!

I also cleaned, vacuumed, and wiped down behind the cribs.
 It's going to take another day to finish the rest of the room.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

DVDs play one at a time

The 2-year-old boy likes to watch DVDs.
What he doesn't know is that if you put a DVD in when there is already one there,
it causes problems and there's no watching movies after that.
Today, I got 3 DVDs out of the player in the car.
That something better stay done forever!
I hope the DVDs still work after being retrieved with a pair of tweezers and a paint stick!
I hope the DVD player works too!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Blue wall

I have wanted to paint a wall in my big boys' room for a long time.
After the floods, I decided that it was time since the room is empty.
Here are a couple of the before pictures...
The walls are put back together and the painting is done.
We'll get carpet later this week and I'll get my basement back.
My boys are excited to have their bedroom back after three months and two floods.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Switcheroo

These pictures don't look too different, but they are.
I switched something, the toy cabinet and the video cabinet.
We also moved a big chair to the basement
so now it's easier for the little ones to get to their toys.
Before...
After...

Friday, March 11, 2011

Cleaner Carpet

I bought this new carpet cleaner a while ago and
I . LOVE . IT !
It replaced one that I bought about ten years ago and it works so much better!

Today, I cleaned the family room carpet.
With four big kids and two little ones, it really needs to be cleaned more often than I can afford
so this cleaner does the job until the money gods come through so I can hire it done!

No before pic...

During...
After...
In case you're wondering, the carpet cleaner is a Bissell from Costco.
If you live close, you can just borrow mine!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Day 45

Today, I didn't get a house project done,
but I did see something get done.
The legislative session lasts 45 days and today was day 45!
It's over and I get my husband back!
Too bad he has to go back to work now;).

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Girl's 3T

I have five boys and one girl.
The girl is the youngest.
I have bins and bins full of boy's clothes.
I love seeing my boys wearing clothes that their brothers wore.
I am not a shopper, so have been so grateful for a friend and a sister-in-law who pass down girl clothes!
Here is the pile of mostly 3T clothes for my baby.
They are all sorted and ready for the weather to change.
Thanks Britney and Mary!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The Master Bath

The drawers in my bathroom are now clean and organized.
This something will stay done for a long time because I'm not doing again anytime soon;).
Here are the before and after pics.


I filled up a whole grocery bag with things I thought I needed, but haven't used.
I need to get better at that because it feels pretty good;).