Processing ... On Paper.

 

Does your life ever feel like the photo above?
It was an accidental photo, I didn't even know I had taken it until the other day.
But my life totally feels like that sometimes.
Like I'm just hanging on for dear life so I don't go flying off this spinning planet!!

There are a few things I find helpful when it does start to feel like this.
Or even ... before this, but to keep me from getting to this.
That is where I am now.  Feeling like if I don't get
things under control, it will all start to spin!

I'm am external processor.
I need to talk to process.  But sometimes
I can't.  I don't have a large group of people I feel
comfortable 'processing' with.  In fact, it's quite a small, very
select group containing less than a handful of people.

Sure, there are levels of processing. And if we're talking about what I'm going to cook for dinner,
I'm probably happy to chat to a stranger in the supermarket.

I have found, over the years, though, that with lots of things, I can 'process' my
thoughts on paper just as well as in a conversation.  It's almost like I need
to hear (or see) my thoughts to before I can decide if they make
sense.   If you are an external processor, you may know
what I'm talking about.  

Here's what one of my "processing" lists looks like.
It's simple.  Nothing complicated.
But so helpful. 

My next step is to put those thoughts on to a schedule.
I don't want to "fit" these things into my day, I want them to be priority. 
Having that in my mind helps as I go about looking at what other things take up my
time and thinking about if they should be cut back on or eliminated all together.

Two Hours One Morning :: Corner View {Home}

I had planned to write this post yesterday but the evening got away from me.   Luckily, the theme of this week's Corner View fits perfectly so I can  kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.  I would never
willingly kill a real bird.  I love birds.

Anyhoo ....

My house has been DRIVING ME CRAZY!
I've had a few piles of stuff laying around that I needed put away
or find "homes" for but just hadn't made the time to do it.

I had the day off yesterday, the children were home too, a fact that actually worked in my favor.  I set the timer for two hours, gave them a small list of tasks
and told them once those were done, they were free to do anything
they wanted, as long as it was quiet and in their individual
rooms.  They are great little workers, my two,
they set about their tasks and got them
done quickly.  I did not hear from
them much after that, but that could have been because
I had the music  cranked on the  surround sound and I didn't hear much else!
A word of warning, if you hear loud music coming from my house during the day, you should
never and I mean NOT EVER look in the windows.  The music
I clean to is pretty darn up beat ... hip hop sort of stuff ... and my feet, in the
privacy of my own home, can't help but dance!  Every Zumba move I have incorrectly interpreted is happening!  My kids think is it embarrassingly hilarious.
Seriously ... it is not something you want to see.  EVER. 
never. ever.
So ... I set my timer.



Two hours.

Before I started, I did a walk through and took "before" shots of all the
problem areas in case I got distracted.  I had to use the photos a
couple of times to get me back on track.

Here's what I accomplished.



I started by making my bed.  This always makes my room feel instantly tidier. 
I (almost) always make my bed.  I hate it when I'm too lazy and don't.



I tidied up Rory's music table and the floor beneath. 
Not much though, just enough to get the pedals up off the floor
and move the guitars out of the way of the bathroom door!



Laundry baskets full of clean laundry!  A shopping bag with toiletries to be put away.
Movies the kids have watched in our bedroom, an iPhone charger that needed
to go back to the docking station in the family room.  A library book. 
All of these things have homes ... I just hadn't put them in them!



Rory likes to refer to the elliptical as my coat rack ....
I won't lie, it's easy to hang my clothes there.
Although ... those jeans are his!



Cleaning stuff left on the bathroom sink after Alia cleaned the kids bathroom ... ON SATURDAY!
I went ahead and cleaned the sink and put those cleaners away!



Guest bedroom bed ... Alia pulled the sheets up a few weeks ago after she and her friend
had slept in there one Friday night but it was bugging me.  I remade the bed.  Baby clothes that I had to wash after the ants made a nest in the box they live in!
They are washed, dried and folded ... waiting for me to put them away. I'll get to it, that project is bigger than just putting them away!



Two boxes that I bought for the guest bedroom closet, and movies left out.
Putting the movies away was one of the jobs on the kids lists!
The boxes in the guest bedroom closet, they are a project for another time but at least they aren't in the family
room anymore!!



My sock drawer has been driving me nuts.  I had too many socks. 
The drawer wouldn't close.  I pulled out the socks that I don't
ever wear, put them in my 'to get rid of box' in the garage.
Drawer now closes. Job well done. 



Dirty laundry.  Now washed.



And dried.  And folded.  And put away.



And even a shelf labeled .... to avoid confusion with the kids. 
No-one wants to dry their hands on the dog's bath towel!



A bit of pencil art of the top of our side table.
Gone.



Junk along the top of the kitchen bench.  Gone. Except for the "junk" that lives there.

This little box sits beside my desk.  It's where I put tiny little things that need to be put away but I don't want to get up and put them away at just that moment.  You know, like things that the kids bring me or things that I had in my purse but took out.  Something I was planning to use but didn't.  Just little bits and pieces.  I just put them in the box until I have a day like yesterday and then I carry the box around and put everything away. Now, the box is empty and ready for the next bit or piece ....

The dining room table.  Most of the time it doesn't look like the first photo.  Most of the time
it looks like the second photo.  It's like my bed ... the whole house looks neater to me if the
table is clear!  Busyness had caused this little pile up ... but now it is gone.

As well, I had a pile of jackets and blankets on the back of my desk chair.  Put away.
The kids had think piled on my craft desk in the garage.  Put away.
The shoe shelf need organizing.  Done.

There were socks randomly scattered on the 'riding' toy shelf in the garage.  Put in the hamper.

On a hunch, I asked the kids to check their school bags for Tupperware containers
(even though school finished a week ago and I asked them to check then!)
They brought out 6 Tupperware between them,
complete with food and mold.
All clean now.

I needed to hang a hook in the bathroom.  Done. 

I needed to hang a fire blanket in the kitchen.  Done.

Seriously ... it was the most productive two hours EVER! Sometimes, that's all it takes!

**

Corner View was created by Jane at Spain Daily and is now hosted by Francesca.  It is bloggers from all over the world, posting photos of a specific weekly theme.  To join, just post to your own blog and then link up over at Francesca's Corner View for the week.  Then, visit the other Corner Views ... that's my favorite part !  Seeing the interpretations of the themes, visiting different cultures, learning something new !

Breakfast and Afternoon Tea ... A New Routine

 

The kids have just this past week gone back to school after their summer holidays.
At the end of last year, I was feeling like I was chasing my tail with the

kids school stuff.  I felt like we needed a new routine ... so, this

year we have started off right ... with a great routine. It's

not anything complicated or fancy but it has made

such a difference already.  The biggest 

thing I felt was lacking was 

constant and regular

communication

with the 

kids

mostly

where their

school stuff was

concerned.  They'd say

"Mom, you didn't sign that note."

and quite frankly, I couldn't even remember

SEEING 'that note' let alone remember signing it! I 

felt like I was putting things off ... and then not getting to them

and I just didn't want to do that again this year!  Also, our church started

a new Bible reading plan together this year and I felt determined to participate and

not get behind, because that's when I get discouraged and quit.  Also, it's not a 

lot of reading and I really wanted to do it with the kids.  So, first thing I 

instituted was 7:00 breakfast time during the week.  The kids and I 

sit down together.  We eat and we read out loud.  And we chat.
And it's good.  I feel like it starts our day out right.  It 

is double good because it means none of us 

leave the house without eating brekky.
The second thing I decided was

that I'd take the time to

make afternoon 

tea for the

kids 

and

sit down

and share it with

them after school.  As

well, while we are all sitting

at the table, the kids give me their notes,

I fill them in and send them back straight away!
Also, next week when homework starts, we will sit together

and do homework.  They don't usually need much help so I will have 

a book or do menu planning or something non computer related while sitting

at the table with them. I feel great about it and I think these two little changes will make

the world of difference to the school year running smoothly and me staying informed 

and connected.

I am excited!!

**

PS ... the photo
above was our afternoon

tea the other day.  The passion 

fruit is from the vine in our garden!

Household Tip ~ A long long cord ...

One thing that has always driven me crazy is having to unplug the vacuum cleaner and plug it in somewhere else.  Crazy ?  Maybe, but it bugs me.  Or, maybe I should say, it used to bug me. A few years ago I came up with this very simple solution ...

An extension cord. A long long extension cord. I plug it into a socket at the centre of the house and then I can vacuum the entire house without ever having to unplug !  Seriously, this makes me so happy.

This extension cord is NOT EVER USED FOR ANYTHING ELSE !  It stays plugged into the vacuum cleaner cord and I never have to go searching for it when I need to vacuum. 

Laundry Room Shelves

How do you like my new shelves ?

The two above the washer/sink ... The ones beside the washer have been there a while. We had some scrap timber in the garage that we decided would be good for shelving. I was going to paint it with some white paint we had in the garage too but it wasn't the right paint or something and the shelves just sucked it in ! I put like 5 coats on each shelf and it looked TERRIBLE ! Then I got the idea to cover it with material. I was going to go buy some but decided to look in my box of material first (I don't have lots but I couldn't remember what was in there!). I'm so glad I did, because I came across this material that I had brought home from my Grandma's place last year. It was JUST the right amount !! and I just love it ...

Armed with a staple gun borrowed from our next door neighbor, a glass of wine, a bit of help from the men folk, and the encouragement of friends who we were having a beer with, I set to work. It was super easy. Like wrapping a present, only with material instead of paper and a staple gun instead of sticky tape. I put the 'seam' at the back that would be against the wall ...

Rory got some brackets from the hardware store (our only expense with this little project) and then hung them for me the other day. I'm super excited ! I got straight in there and reorganized the linen closet that has been too full and waiting for these shelves to give it a bit of breathing room !! Want to see the results ?

I wish I had taken some before pictures but I didn't. You can just picture a linen closet that was crammed full of stuff that didn't fit properly. With the addition of these shelves I was able to move the laundry detergents etc from the old shelves and make that fully house towels now. I was able to get the spare toilet paper off the floor in my bathroom ! And the spare tissue boxes now have a home ! The yellow boxes house medicines/extra toiletries and they used to live in the linen closet. So glad to be able to get them out of there ! Oh, and the little laundry garbage can that somehow always gets knocked over but never picked back up ... TOP SHELF !!

My cleaning supplies haven't moved. I like them way up high like that ... Hot water bottles and heating packs are on the next shelf down.

Hand and hair towels (yes, the girls in this house use a 2nd towel for our hair !) on the 2nd shelf. Bath towels on the third shelf. Beach towels on the bottom shelf. So easy to access and keep neat this way !

The actual linen closet is now able to organized. I love that I'm able to have a shelf for queen sheets and pillow cases and one for single sheets and pillow cases ! Makes everything so much easier to find !! Especially for the children.

Here's the outside ... not that it was reorganized, but while I'm giving you the tour .... :)

Alia was a little confused the first morning after the new shelves were put in. She feeds the cat but she couldn't find the food. It used to live on one of the towel shelves. Now it lives under the sink ... all the cat stuff together. Perfect !

Beaky thought she might pose for a photo of her eating, seein' as I had the camera out 'n all !

This is the first house where we've had an actual laundry room. I love it !
Even more now ....

What I Shared With The Ladies - Part 5

Continued from Part 1 ... and Part 2 ... and Part 3 ... and Part 4 ...

Getting organized …
Let me give you a few of my most basic organizational tips …

IN THE KITCHEN :

Menu planning ! This will save not only your sanity but your time and your money ! It also helps you eat more healthily. I plan a menu and shop once a week.

I plan a few different ways. One way is activity based. This is the way I plan most commonly. I write down the activities (sports, music, homegroup etc ...) that we have on each night and taking into consideration the time restraints, plan meals around the activities. For instance, Tuesday nights are CRAZY ! Because of this, we almost always have a crock pot meal that is ready when we get home from swimming, or something that we had in the freezer that we can just reheat.

Another way is a quick throw together menu. This is simple meals, mostly ones I have cooked before and know will be great. I usually throw together a menu like this when I haven't got a lot of time to plan ...

"Theme" night based. I do this when I want a bit more variety. I'll plan pasta one night, beans another, fish, sandwiches, soup, pizza and salad. You could do whatever you want, it just means you are getting lots of variety. I don't do this one very often but it serves it's purpose when I do.

Sometimes we do special diets. Like, when we over did our eating on holidays so came back and decided not to eat carbs for a few weeks. These menus are much more structured ... usually including breakfast and lunch instead of just dinner.

Having a menu means the meals are planned and the groceries are purchased and so we are going to be more successful at eating healthy (if I have planned healthy meals) foods !

Having a menu saves time and money. Like I said, I plan once a week and then never have to think about what we are going to eat ... or find time to get to the grocery store during the week. It also means we have fewer unplanned eating out times. (another big money saver !)

I have been planning menus for a long time now. I've been posting my menu's on my cooking blog for a few years ... as has my friend Khrista. And occasionally my cousins Pam and Jill. I love reading other people's menu plans ... I get so many great ideas. One place I visit on line to read other people's menu plans is "I'm an Organizing Junkie" ... She hosts Menu Plan Monday once a week, on (you guessed it) Mondays. Hundreds of bloggers post their menu plans there each week ...

Being organized doesn't mean that life will always be smooth ! It doesn't mean nothing will ever NOT go to plan.

The two weeks leading up to my talk are a good example. I was using every spare moment to finalize this talk and one morning Jono had no clean school shorts so we were late for school. The next morning he was sick, I sent him to school. The next morning he was still sick so he came to work with me, then Alia got upset about going to school alone. She wouldn't stop crying ! At the same time we had no hot water for two days, there was extra pressure on at work because lots of people were sick. The kids didn't want to go to their weekly Zumba and swimming sessions when I had planned those times for working on the handout for my talk. Then the day before my talk Alia wakes up with a sore ear and that same evening I broke (shattered into a bazillion pieces !) a six pack of beer on the kitchen floor !!!! …. etc etc etc

LIFE HAPPENS !!

BUT … for me, being organized means that when something doesn't go to plan, it's not the end of the world.

AROUND THE HOUSE : (including the kitchen !)

My main rule in organizing my home is ... “if it doesn't have a home, it can't live in my house.” I have two options ~find it a home or get rid of it !

The first thing I suggest doing is getting a box, going around the house and gathering up the things that don't have a home. Then find them a home or get rid of them !

You can get rid of things by having a garage sale (I like to go to them but not have them) . Selling them on ebay. Freecycle it. Give it away to a friend. Give it to the salvos (or any second hand shop) Throw it away.

Once everything has a home, it's much easier to keep your home organized and tidy … it's just a matter of putting things back in their home once you are done using them !

I've written a few organization type posts on this blog ... here there are if you are interested.
Keeping track of Library Books
My Sister's Freezer Organization
My 'brain" ... I only have ONE NOTEBOOK now but like I said ... organization means change !
Brain Book ... (the new one) ... with totally embarrassing VIDEO footage !
What to do with wrapping paper ?
What to do with kids memorabilia ? (these boxes live in the garage in this new house)
Pantry Overhaul
Our Garage (we don't have the furniture in there anymore ... just one chair, and our new car !)
Home Management ... (the kids still work off their charts but i don't clean anymore ... neither does Rory. when i started working 5 days a week, we hired a lady to come clean for us once a week. i love her ! she saves me hours of time and frustration !!)

As far as organizing your TIME … for me it's about priorities.

Make a list of what you need to accomplish | daily | weekly | in the next two hours ! Number the list by priority level and start to work your way through. This way, even if you don't get through the whole list, you know you've gotten the most important things done ....

USING YOUR MOST PRODUCTIVE HOURS:

I'm a night owl by nature. But I'm in bed by 9:30 on weeknights. And I get up early … I know that when I stay up late, I'm not as productive. Not then. And not the next day. I know, from years of experience, that I am more productive in the quiet morning hours.

I have a basic plan for my day that is routine as well as flexible.

5:00 my alarm goes off. I lay in bed and read email & facebook (i love my iPhone !) I find this wakes me up and makes it easier to get out of bed !

What happens after that varies from day to day … I'll do a load of washing | a bit of gardening | update the budget on the computer | write a blog post | plan the menu | grocery shop – online | read | play with my camera | etc ...

I enjoy the morning hours !

The rest of the day is school, work, after school activities, dinner time, relax time and then bed !

... stay tuned for part 6 and a post or two full of favorite recipes ... COMING SOON !!