Tag: priorities

3 Things

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There are a few things that mark the calendar telling us we have transitioned from one season to the next. Around here, as we transitioned from winter to spring, I noticed the days staying lighter longer. The days were gradually warmer; but the nights were chilly. Baseball started with practices, batting cages, and Saturdays cheering H on at the Little League Park.

Life definitely went from a cozy state of hibernation to a busyness that honestly took me by surprise. For over a year life had been put on hold and it seemed liked “all of a sudden” life opened back up. We hit the ground running.

Spring does tend to do that each year; but the slowness that was 2020 just magnified our fast- paced spring this year.

I’m missing my quiet days a bit but I’m happy that life in many ways seem to be returning to normal, whatever that is now.

Spring flew by and now I’m knee deep in summer. I still have over a month of summer vibes left (though, part of that will be getting ready for school) and I couldn’t be happier about it.

I’ve gotten into a practice over this past year of reflecting over one season as I head into the next. Thank you Emily P. Freeman for your Next Right Thing Journal and podcast. Thank you Covid for the months of “nothing on my calendar” and quiet to begin the practice of reflecting. As we left winter and plunged into spring, and are now enjoying summer, I want to share 3 things: 3 things I’ve learned, 3 things I’m leaving behind and 3 things I’m taking with me into this next season of summer.

So I guess that’s 9 things.

3 Things I’ve Learned:

1.) There are natural rythmns to each seasons. I’m learning not to fight them but rather go with with them and embrace them.

Winter was slower and we stayed closer to home. Spring sprung big time with its warm weather, outside activities and more. It was a little overwhelming for me; but I tried to embrace and enjoy it for what it was. It wasn’t a time to “get all the things done”. Some of those things could wait until summer with its slower pace.

2.) Being small isn’t bad.

I think Covid stripped a lot of stuff away. Some of it was good and deeply missed. Some of the things, activites and even people were not missed. And as we’ve come to “normal” life I’ve been able to decide what I want to come back to. My world and circle of people have gotten smaller. Some responsibilities and many things I thought I couldn’t cut out of my life are gone. My world has gotten smaller and I feel smaller; but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

3.) My love of murder mystery books

I’ve stumbled onto Louise Penny and her world of Three Pines with Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and I’m forever a fan. While these are murder mystery books, they are much more about complex characters and relationships. Also, I love trying to figure out who the murderer is before the book is done.

3 Things I’m Leaving Behind:

My mask, hopefully, forever

But really just the feeling of fear that seemed to surround 2020.

Summer Mom Guilt

My kid’s summer reading challenge has been left somewhere between the pool and summer camp and nary a flashcard has been seen. My summer bucket list consists of one (Just One) house project which I’ve already completed. ( I painted my master bedroom!) I’ve listened to two audio books, read two mystery books, plus snippets of other books. I have not kept up on my housework. I’ve slept in. My goal this summer was not to feel guilt about some crazy summer expectations that only I had for myself.

Good sleep as an option

I hate to break it to all you 20 and 30 somethings. There is no guarantee of good sleep on a regular basis. Sorry, that’s just the facts, man. I was getting the exact opposite of good sleep, though, and I wasn’t getting nearly enough. The thing is a lot of my poor sleep was from my poor choices. I needed to adult up and make better sleep a priority.

3 Things I’m Taking With Me:

My love of murder mystery books

I’m pretty much hooked on Louise Penny books but I’m open to try other authors. Any suggestions?

Wearing Dresses

One day I walked out of Target with three dresses and a jumper. A jumper! If you know me, you’ve probably never seen me in a jumper. I can’t go back. Long, flowing dresses are the thing. Now, every single thing I bought that day was blue or had blue in it. So, I need to work on my color palette. Bring on those dresses, though!

The idea that my health and taking time to be healthy is not a luxury; it’s a necessity.

Oh boy, this is a whole blog post on it’s own. Let’s just say that taking care of me (like most moms) was not at the top of any list. You pay a price when you do that, though. It’s not the price I want to pay. Like, the poor sleep choices, I’m adulting up and making better choices about my health. Yes, it takes some time. It’s not a luxury. It’s a necessity.

Enjoying these sweet last days of summer.

Baby Step #10: The Power of 15 Minutes

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I can do a lot of things for 15 minutes, easy. I can scroll Instagram for 15 minutes. I can work in my garden for 15 minutes. I can read a really good book for 15 minutes. I can cuddle on the couch with my family and watch 15 + minutes of a fun show.

Get it? We really can do anything for 15 minutes. The enjoyable activities are a piece of cake. Cleaning, picking up, tidying, well, those aren’t so fun. There is power in 15 minutes. Grab a timer. It’s really not that long; but we can get a lot accomplished.I’ve been building from the 2 Minute Hot Spot:

  • Wednesday’s Hot Spot: My Living room ledge
  • Thursday’s Hot Spot: Kitchen Table
  • Friday’s Hot Spot: Kitchen Table

I’ve also been building from the 5 Minute Room Rescue:

  • Wednesday: Master Bedroom
  • Thursday: Master Bedroom
  • Friday: Livingroom

Next, I added the 15 Minutes Declutter to my Evening Routine:

I can’t Clean or Organize Clutter. So Decluttering for 15 Minutes a Day is the first and essential step to getting my house to feeling of clean and calm I desire.

Like I said in a previous post, I spent a few hours Decluttering my Master Bedroom a few weeks ago. I still have spots I need to tackle, though.

I lump my Master Bedroom and Bathroom together because I consider it one space. On Friday, I set my timer for 15 minutes and tackled the space under my bathroom sink. I have a small 3 drawer caddy that I quickly went through. That has extra floss, tooth paste, razors etc. I didn’t have much to purge there. Next to the caddy I had empty cleaner bottles and various other bottles I didn’t need. There were a few other things I could toss as well. In 15 minutes the space was emptier and looked much more organized. (Not the pile of “who knows what” it looked like before.)

Spoiler Alert: Decluttering never really ends. It’s kinda like laundry. Sorry to burst any bubbles. It was a hard pill for me to swallow; but once we see Decluttering as an ongoing process, we can make it a habit and a way of life Once we declutter, surface cleaning becomes so much easier. Or so I’ve been told.

Decluttering Tip: Have a trash bag or donate box handy when you declutter. You only want to touch items once. Touch them once when you put them in the bag or box. Then, they go directly into your car so you can drive around with them for 3 months in your trunk before you bring them to Good Will.

Kidding!!! Who does that. Not me!! No, never…………

This is actually the situation in my bedroom right now. This pile all needs to go to Good Will. I do not suggest leaving it on your bedroom floor like I am currently doing. Please do not follow my example! This week my goal is to get this to a donation site and out of my sight for good.

It seems like I’m just randomly picking rooms to Rescue or Declutter. Fly Lady has a method for tackling your home and I’m getting into it in the next Baby Step. Stay Tuned.

Baby Step#9: Five Minute Room Rescue

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The Fly Lady’s method is all about building habits to keep our house tidy and running smoothly. This isn’t just about keeping a clean house. It’s about managing our home without it overtaking our lives. It’s about making our house a home, a haven.

I don’t especially love cooking, cleaning and the like. I sure like the results when I do all those things, though. My family likes it, too.

This is why I started doing Fly Lady. I haven’t gone through the steps as quickly as I thought I would. I’m still showing up, though. I’m not going to quit.

It’s not about making my home perfect and picture worthy (Though, I’d like a few of those days!). If your house is messy and cluttered, and you try these steps, it is going to look better. Just in the past weeks with me only completing 9 of the 31 steps, I see a difference.

Today we talk about about the 5 Minute Room Rescue.

First, let’s chat about CLUTTER for just a bit.

You can’t clean or organize clutter. You just can’t.

I know. I know. Everyone talks about clutter. Marie Kondo had a whole series on Netflix, about clutter, which I binged watched in one day.

I am starting to work on the clutter in my home. Step 10 is going to help with this. So, while we will get to clutter in our next step, a 5 Minute Room Rescue is going to help us keep the house picked up while we tackle clutter.

Now, I could have gone about this a few different ways. I could have picked the room in the house that was the worst and most cluttered (Henry’s room). I could have picked the most visible room in the house. This is the one people see when they first enter my home. (Kitchen) Or, I could have picked the room that brings me the most stress when I enter. (My bedroom)

I picked my bedroom.

Your 5 Minute Room Rescue will just start with surface cleaning. We are going to work our way up to decluttering. Just get started.

5 minutes a day. That’s it. Just 5 minutes. Pick up the visible trash first. Next, put things back in their proper place. Then hit the spots that need a little more thought.

Remember, the goal isn’t to declutter. We are just cleaning.

To be fully honest, about two weeks or so ago, I was so fed up with the piles in my bedroom that I spent a few hours in my room decluttering. If you have time, do that! Get in there and declutter. It feels so good.

Today, I timed myself for 5 minutes. I worked really hard for those 5 minutes. I did zero decluttering. It was just putting things in their proper place and taking dirty mugs to the dishwasher.

If I keep working in my bedroom this next week, those 5 minutes will add up. Then I can move on to another room. Fly Lady has a way to go about this with her Zone Cleaning Method; but I haven’t got that far in the Baby Steps yet.

I will probably add a 5 Minute Room Rescue to my Evening Routine. I’ll try that for the next week and see if that is a good time for that task.

More thoughts on decluttering to come! Let’s take it once step at a time, though.

Baby Step #8: Morning Routine

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We’ve had some unexpected interruptions these past couple weeks. We evacuated from our home due to a Wild Fire (You can read about that here). We are back at home, safe and sound. I’ve been wanting to get back to my Baby Steps and the routines I was trying to build.

When things are chaotic and not normal, routines actually really help. They bring in structure even if you cannot fully complete your usual routine. You don’t have to make a decision on WHAT to do, which is often hard during a crisis. You just follow the routine and slowly get back to order.

The Fly Lady starts with establishing an Evening or Before Bed Routine. With an evening routine in place, the Morning Routine is more likely to happen.

So, it took me a few days of doing my Before Bed Routine before I really focused on my Morning Routine.

Honestly, I’m still trying to get all the things on my Morning Routine list done. Most days I do most of the list. I have yet to complete it all. I’ll get there, though.

MORNING ROUTINE

  • Fill Diffuser
  • Coffee and Time With Jesus
  • 2 Minute Yoga
  • Get Ready and Dressed To Slippers
  • Start Laundry
  • Swish and Swipe
  • Empty Dishwasher (Lily’s job. Sometimes I need to do it.)
  • Sweep * (If I don’t sweep the night before)

    What is Swish and Swipe? It’s just a quick swish of the toilet bowl and wipe down of the toilet seat. The Fly Lady goes into more detail about that in her book .

2 Minute Yoga? Ok, I’ll talk more about that in another post; but it’s
exactly how it sounds. Yoga for 2 minutes.

Here’s to resetting and getting back to routines!

Reset, Routines, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

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So, what’s getting you through these trying times known as 2020?

Today is the 3rd anniversary of The Tubbs Fire. This was the wildfire that forever changed my hometown, my county, and our community. Things haven’t been the same since. Fire season is now a very real and constant threat for us.

5 days ago our family got back after being evacuated from our home for 6 days due to the Glass Fire here in Northern California.

This was taken from our front porch. The fire came over the hill to about a mile
from our house.

August and September had already been a doozy of a month from smoke from another fire, power outages, and well, the list goes on.

I saw the fire coming over the hill just about a mile from our house Sunday night. Our power went out and so we packed up and went to a friend’s house for the night until Andy got off work. With our two big dogs, it’s hard to find a place to stay when these evacuations happen. Thankfully this time around Andy had the week off so we took the Shangri-La and headed for bluer skies. We spent the week up near Tahoe and had an unexpected EvacuCation. I’m very thankful we had a place to go and that we could all be together. I’m grateful we had a home to come home to.

The Shangri-La. Our home away from home.
Snow Flower Lake
We are not strangers to camping.

Coming back left Andy and I feeling really tired, physically and mentally. The time away was nice; but being evacuated is not relaxing in the least.

It has taken me these 5 days to begin to feel like life is getting back to somewhat normal. There were some added bumps to the already bumpy week. When we returned home we had unexpected car trouble and a very unexpected trip to the doctor with X-rays to boot.

I seriously cannot make this stuff up. 2020 has been like a very bad comic book written by a drunk person.

So, I RESET.

I have to.

I have to start over, start new, put the crazy weeks behind me and just do the next right thing I know to do.

We are getting our house back together. I’m doing my best to get back to our school routine. I’m giving myself a butt load of grace because….. car problems and unexpected Dr. visits.

I get back to MY ROUTINES. I’ve been working on my routines here. Routines help to put some structure back into our life when things get chaotic.

I bought some REESE’S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS and put them in the fridge because I like my chocolate cold. Stress eating? Maybe. It’s helping, though.

I’m admitting that I can’t do it all and that I’m tired. We are all tired.

I’m choosing rest over getting it all done. (After I caught up on laundry and grocery shopping. Food and clean underwear are a priority.)

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who
are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

I’m going to take God up on that promise.

Baby Step #4: Sticky Notes

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TWO WORDS: STICKY NOTES

This is the beginning of the Control Journal. I think that’s kind of a funny name. Do you? You could call it whatever you want. There are many versions of the Control Journal out there. Just look on You Tube. Search Fly Lady Control Journal. Don’t do it right now, though. You’ll get side-tracked.

I did a little You Tube browsing this morning while my daughter watered our neighbor’s plants and I kept her company. I gave myself a time limit so I wouldn’t get lost down the dark hole of the internet.

Just hop on the Fly Lady’s website and check out hers. Or, you can use hers and tweak it to fit your style. That’s what I plan on doing.

Today, I’m making two sticky notes: One labeled Morning Routine and one labeled Night Routine. This is what I have so far on each; but these may not be the final routines. I’ll work on them this week.

Eventually this will go in some kind of binder; but for now I’m just using sticky notes.

Today’s Recap:

  • I emptied the dishwasher and there were a few dishes in the sink from the night before so I made sure to load the dishwasher and my sink was shiny.
  • I got dressed down to the flip flops. It’s 107 here today and so I did not wear shoes the rest of the day because I have no AC. I would die if I wore shoes. I’ve already explained that I hate having hot feet.
  • I began brainstorming my morning and evening routines:

MORNING ROUTINE:

  • Some Quiet Time/Morning Reading/Devotion w/Coffee
  • 1 minute Yoga
  • Get Ready
  • Start Laundry

EVENING ROUTINE: (After Dinner)

  • Shine Sink
  • Sweep
  • Living room pickup
  • Fold and put laundry away
  • Check tomorrow’s calendar

Baby Step #3 Be Consistent

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I thought I would do my recap first today.

Let’s Recap:

  • My sink is still shiny. Yay!
  • I got dressed to my shoes. This is easy because I went to church. I still stand by my not wearing shoes in the house.
  • I wrote Steps 1 and 2 on a sticky and stuck it on my bathroom mirror.

So, if you log on to The Fly Lady’s website or have read her book, she teaches about morning routines, afternoon routines, evening routines and THE CONTROL JOURNAL. Today’s step is to log on and take a look around the website. It has a lot of great information. If you don’t have time, maybe pick another day. You will definitely get lost down rabbit holes. I think it is important to get the whole picture of what her Fly Lady’s system is. Her book is really helpful, too.

One thing I want to talk about today is being Consistent. I’m technically not adding steps today; but that’s okay. It’s easier to be consistent with small attainable steps or build habits little by little than having the mentality of “go big or go home”. I’ve done that too many times and it never works.

I’m going for slow and steady.

Have you read Atomic Habits by James Clear ? This was such a good book and really backs up the concept of slow, small, consistent steps for lasting change.

Doesn’t that sound fabulous???

In case you missed the first Baby Steps. Start Here:

Baby Step #2 Get Dressed To Your Shoes

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So, today’s habit was really easy and you may already do this. I do this MOST days; but what made the difference for me was getting up, taking my shower right away, and getting dressed BEFORE breakfast.

I’ve been lazy all summer and now that school has started up again, I’m having to get up earlier. I’ll be honest. Getting up earlier kicked my butt this week. Starting home school kicked my butt! I was just plum tuckered by Saturday.

Here’s me dressed to shoes. I didn’t take a pic of my outfit; but trust me. I was dressed.

BTW, these Sketchers from Costco are so darn comfortable. They are my favorite.

You can read all about the mindset magic of wearing your shoes first thing in the morning from The Fly Lady herself here.

I’ll be honest, though. I hate wearing shoes in the house. It’s been 102 degrees plus this weekend and we don’t have AC. Wearing shoes in the house makes me so hot. So most days I will not wear shoes in my house, just being genuine. I do think there is merit to it, though.

For me, like I said above, the habit I’m working on is getting up earlier, getting showered and dressed to my slippers or flip flops first thing in the morning. After coffee, of course.

DAY TWO RECAP:

  • Sink is still shiny.
  • Got dressed to the shoes.

2 Steps Down. 29 To Go.

I’m posting Step #2 today, which is Sunday. I wrote the post yesterday, and think that is how I’ll proceed. I’ll work on a step and write about it; but I’ll post it the following day. Sound good? Good.

Baby Step #1: Shine Your Sink

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Today I shined my sink. I mean I really got in there and cleaned it.

My house is old. As in built in the 1960’s old.

It was a rental for all that time before we bought it 4 years ago. The sink is old and porcelain. It’s cracked and chipping; and it’s seen better days.

I scrubbed that bad boy and did the best I could.

The Fly Lady is right. There is something about a clean sink. I thought ahead and emptied the dishwasher so that after I cleaned the sink, there would be no reason for dirty dishes to sit in my sparkling sink.

You guessed it. Two minutes after I scrubbed and sprayed and scrubbed some more, someone sneakily left a dish in the sink. It didn’t stay there long, though.

It felt good taking the first step. It’s an old sink, so I didn’t get every stain and scuff. It looks a million times better and I’m ready for Baby Step Two.

How I cleaned my sink:

1.) Wiped it out with soapy sponge.

2.) Sprinkled baking soda all over and spritzed with cleaner (vinegar and water).

3.) I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. Then I scrubbed some more.

4.) I rinsed out the baking soda, sprayed with vinegar/water, and scrubbed again. Rinse.

5.) I got out my magic eraser and got at those tough spots. Rinsed and dried with a paper towel.

Here are my before and after pictures.

You can read in more detail about how and why to shine your sink on her website here.

If you missed my intro posts to why I’m describing cleaning my sink, you can read those here and here.

See you tomorow!

SPECIAL NOTE: I’m posting this on Sunday. I actually shined my sink on Friday and tried with all my might to post on Saturday. WordPress had other ideas and would not upload my pictures. Grrrr!!!!! (That’s the sound I make when I’m frustrated.) My post is up now and it’s all good. I’m posting Baby Step #2 today as well because I did that step yesterday. Ahh….. technology. We just do the best we can, right?

Let’s Get Started:: Baby Steps

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In my last post here, September is the new January, I talked about why I’m posting and sharing about getting my house in order and what that means.

Before I set out some main goals for this journey, I will share what my goals are NOT:

MY GOAL IS NOT:

A house that is always spic and span, eat off the floor clean.

I do not enjoy cleaning; but I really love it when the house is clean or looks picked up. I absolutely do not want to spend big chunks of my day cleaning. Nope. No sireee. No thank you. Also, we are home alllll day. I have two kids and two dogs. Perfectly clean is not even an option here.

Perfection.

This is a hard one for me. This, I believe, is one of the reasons I’ve failed at keeping things up before.

Making my goals too big or complicated.

Simple. Baby Steps. Routines that will stick.

MY GOAL IS TO:

To be honest and genuine on this blog.

So, get ready. You might be grossed out or have a different view of me if you know me in real life.

Make and keep good habits that will help my life and home run more smoothly and give me more time for the things that are really important.

This is totally a peace of mind thing more than it is physical thing.

Declutter and Simplify.

I don’t know about you; but this crazy year has completely overwhelmed and overstimulated my mind. My house has these pockets of clutter and when I see them, it adds to the overwhelm I already feel.

Accomplish goals and projects

This is probably my biggest reason for a (re) Start of my getting my home in order. I’m sure I’ll talk more about this in future blog posts.

Baby Steps

I’ve been reading and rereading a lot of resources, some inspirational blogs, IG accounts and books to get me motivated. I’ll share those along the way. What I’m doing this month is the Fly Lady’s Baby Steps. It’s simple and I did this years ago; so I’m familiar with it.

I know there is not a “one size fits all” system. I’m sure as I read and get inspiration from others along the way, it will all meld into my own unique way that will work for me, my season of life and my family.

Why the blog? Really to keep myself accountable. There is not a plethora of people who read my blog and that’s okay . It’s a space where I can record my progress along the way.

31 Days of Baby Steps

First of all, I wanted to post day #1 of this journey on September 1st. That didn’t happen obviously and Perfectionist Jen started thinking about postponing this till October 1st (and October has 31 days-perfect!!) I’m fighting my perfectionist tendencies so I am starting tomorrow.

I would love to post everyday documenting my progress and I will try my best but……….. real life.

I will post imperfect posts and pictures that may not look great (or they will look awesome if I have time to edit); but the goal here is not perfection.

Baby Step #1 Shine your sink.

I’ll tell you how I did in the next post here

If you have no flipping idea who The Fly Lady is, here are some links:

Fly Lady’s Sink Reflections

The Fly Lady’s Website