Making my House a Haven... (pictures added)

Several bloggers at whom I visit are hosting a week of "Making your House a Haven". This theme focuses on tackling spots in your home that are untidy, have been ignored, and so forth.
My mom has the kids today so I thought it would be a great time for me to participate. I *will* have *before* and *after* pictures. You won't want to miss those! LOL I have to be very brave and transparent in front of you to post these *before* pictures. :o)

Here is my schedule for today:

7:00 up, coffee in hand, settled in chair for my Bible reading, Acts 4-6, prayer time DONE (it was about 7:20 before I made it to the chair, and I didn't get my Bible reading finished before I had children in my lap, but I did finish reading it, it was really good this morning. I also prayed with the children around me, which was fine because Emory was feeling sick and wanted me to pray with him. I think it does them good to see me pray in front of them some times)
8:00-9:00 getting kids ready to go to mom's, taking them, etc.
9:10-10:00 settled at the computer for a few minutes of blogging, surfing (I did get my water distiller going and fed the cats)
10:00-11:00 general cleaning which includes: washing dishes, tidying kitchen, making beds, general straightening and getting laundry going DONE..didn't get much straightening done and I'm still continually working on the laundry
11:00-12:00 Project One: My porch--pictures to be added later (you don't want to miss those Before pictures--I cleaned my van out last Monday and just about everything is on the porch, not to mention it hasn't been swept much lately, out of sight, out of mind, ya know? Well, it's the first thing my guests see when they come in the house. Yikes. Well, good thing I rarely have guests, huh?) :o) DONE, took about an hour...I cleaned off the porch, watered the almost dead plant that I repotted Tuesday, swept the sidewalk, and even put some pinestraw in the awful nonexistent flowerbed
12:00-12:15 Lunch break (will be leftover Split Pea Soup from last night, yum!) DONE..the soup was delish and I was famished. I took a longer lunch break because my cousin was over using the internet to job hunt. I visited with him for a few minutes extra
12:15-1:00 Project Two: Linen closet--okay, this closet hasn't been TOUCHED since we moved here almost 4 years ago. It was designed to be a linen closet (right by the bathroom) but during the remodeling (4 years ago) it was just a quick place to put leftover paint cans, tools, wood glue, etc. Then, we when decided to remodel our master bathroom (nearby) about a year ago, it became a good place to shove some of the stuff from it into. Today I plan to transform it into that Linen closet that I so envision. I do have a good excuse for not doing it sooner. During naptime (when I would have time to tackle such a project) we always have a baby lying down in our room which is adjacent the linen closet. DONE, this took about an hour, but I was late getting started...I'm REALLY proud of this project..because while the porch has only been that messy for about a week, this closet has been this messy forever!
1:00-2:00 Project Three: The extra bedroom--this room has NEVER been really clean since we moved here 4 years ago. It used to be my husband's grandmother's room when this house was her's and I know the Lord doesn't let her see it from heaven because it would probably make her sad. :o( So, Nanny, today, I hope I can make you proud. I seriously doubt that I can get this room finished in an hour, but I'll try. I have been waiting until I could buy some more Rubbermaid containers because mostly this room is filled with clothes that are too little or too big. This room is the next room we will remodel because with our growing family, we need another workable bedroom. I hope before too long I can post a newly remodeled picture of this bedroom. The paneling will have to go, the ceiling redone, and the floor covering gone. It seriously needs leveling as well. Well, that's for another time...anyway... DID NOT GET DONE...ran out of time..I would work on it this evening, but I've got piano lessons. I *may* get to it tonight, we'll see.
2:00-3:00 Project Four: The Budget--Oh, I am such a failure in this area. I. seriously. *stink*. in this area of my housewifery. I will do a budget about a week after my honey gets paid. By then most of the money is gone and I'm catching up to see what is left. Okay, transparent here. LOL. Anyway, my hardworking honey gets paid tomorrow, so I plan to do the budget TODAY and also organize the bills, throw away junk mail, etc. You probably won't get a picture of this. :o)
Well, that's my day. I plan to be working my behind off. So, if I'm going to get to enjoy a few moments of computer time, I better get off MY blog. :o) Just about to work on...I have 30 minutes, so I probably won't get completely finished. I will just do the budget and not worry about organizing my bill container.
Love to all my dear readers. Come back to see the before and after pictures. You won't want to miss them. :o)

Before and After of the porch:

Before and After of the entrance: (That is panties by the door, btw..Erin brought them to me after having a 'go' in the yard...lol...good thing we live in the country, huh?)

Before and After of the Door leading to the screen porch:

Before, During, and After of the closet:

That's all...:o)