John made an executive decision: February is upstairs month. It's still cool now and the upstairs is unbearable to work in during the day when it's hot, so we're doing our bedroom, the girls' room and the hallway. Plans include dismantling most of the unnecessary desk in the hallway office and turning that space into a play area for the girls; the unused computers on the desk will go to the basement awaiting further repurposing.

We got an incredible amount done today. I filled up yet another box for the Goodwill, including some pants that are now so big on me they feel like I'm wearing a tent. Many baskets of laundry went downstairs, much laundry got put away. The floor in our room is clean. John's nightstand is sparkling. The window is spotless. Much left to do but we have a month and the start we made felt good.

Oh, we also hung the new-to-us curtains in the dining room. Huge improvement.

Lynn Siprelle, Editor