The Simple Life at Home

I've been wandering around my house for, oh, 13 days now (since we moved in) just beside myself because I'm so overwhelmed. There is so much to do, and this is by far the biggest house I have ever lived in, that I just don't even know where to start.

Now, my family (Mom! Troy) constantly makes fun of my list-making habit. I love to make lists! I may not always complete what's on the list, but at least it gives me a sense of direction, a place to start.

For some reason, probably exhaustion and mental fatigue, I hadn't taken the time to sit down and make a list of all that needs to be done. I just wandered from room to room thinking, "Oh, I need to do (fill-in-the-blank)." And then I would walk out of the room and forget about it.

Today I finally made my list. Here it is:

1) Taxes!!! (Fortunately, I learned that those living outside the US on Apr. 15 get an extra 2 months to file!)
2) Take my medical test (A requirement for getting my resident's permit here in Qatar)
3) Reorganize the kitchen (it's too full - I need to take somethings out to storage)
4) Organize the desk, coffee table and extra table (currently full of electronics and wires and such)
5) Sweep and mop floors (all three levels!)
6) Move small bookcase to the loft and fill with schoolbooks (need to start school this week!)
7) Strip beds and put on mattress covers, wash bedding and remake beds.
8) Take down and wash curtains in 1st floor bedroom, iron and put them up in master. Hang different curtains in 1st floor bedroom.
9) Hang up remaining clothes in my suitcase and reorganize drawers. (more to come on this is another post. Trust me - there's more to the story.)
10) Organize the "library." (Sounds fancy, doesn't it? Really it's just an extra bedroom where we put all the boxes of books. It's also become a dumping ground for suitcases and many other things.)
11) Fix hose. (Apparently hoses here come without either male or female parts - just a cut hose end. You have to buy the parts and attach them yourselves.) Once that's done I can...
12) Clean the patio and patio furniture. (Qatar is dusty. Very dusty.)
13) Pull out dead plants, left courtesy of the previous tenant. (Fortunately, by watering a little bit, I have found out that there is a lovely bougainvillea, as well as some pentas that were able to survive. Hopefully with a little nurturing they will come back to full beauty.)

So that's what I'll be doing the next few days. Now that I have a plan, I can go methodically through it, crossing things off as I go. If you have been overwhelmed by the clutter in your home, just make a list of the top 5 things you want to do. Then do them, one by one. Don't get overwhelmed, don't get discouraged. Remember that an progress is better than none.

Ok, now I'm off to get poked and prodded.