Day 8

I was on the Stepping Out of Squalor website and starting looking thru pics there. There are some incredibly brave people who are posting before and after photos there. I don't know why I've avoided them before...maybe because I thought I wouldn't find anything as bad as this house...but I finally ventured in today. I almost danced a jig when I saw someone's kitchen pics. I felt like shouting for joy.."Hey, she gets it! Her kitchen's just like mine! I am not the only one." *sigh* Such relief. And motivation, too. If others can climb out of this state...I can too.



If you've ever seen the movie, Homeward Bound, there is a scene near the end where the old dog falls into a hole. He tries climbing out this one side that is slanted, but quite muddy. He kept sliding back down after making serious progress, sometimes almost to the top. The younger pup at the top kept encouraging him and even yelled at him saying he wasn't going to LET him give up. Eventually he even joined him in the hole to start pushing him up. I love that scene...and I feel like it's an excellent illustration of how this is going to go for me. There will be times I want to give up. It's gonna feel like climbing a muddy slope uphill most of the time, and I'll probably do some of it in fits and starts. And there are people who will be encouraging and pushing me along. Some will even be willing to join me in the midst of it to help, nudge, and prod.

I can't wait to get to the top!
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Today's progress wasn't as much as I'd hoped. I was tired today. I do fight some health issues in the midst of all this. Nothing super serious and certainly not life threatening, but a hindrance nonetheless...some days more than others. Anyway, although not as much as I'd hoped, I did make progress. Got the final dishes from the past done...all I have left is today's dishes. I maintained the bathroom, got some laundry done, and started the dining room table. A big deal for me is that I continue to maintain areas we've worked on.

My daughter cleaned the laundry room and pantry floors really good. My son cleaned their bathroom really good. Now to maintain those. Going to develop a routine for the kids for their bathroom...and I'm going to take some suggestions mentioned a long time ago into consideration for the laundry room and pantry. I've noticed once I figure out a system that WORKS for me...I do maintain it.