Making New Routines

As we know, I am a creature of habit. 

I like things a certain way, at a certain time, on a certain day. 

I do like a little bit of disarray, but only on my terms. 

A routine is pinnacle to this. I have two diaries. One for life, shifts, appointments, kiddie stuff and another for blog posts. Scheduling, blog ideas, themes... I think you may be getting my drift. 

I also like to do different things in my house on different days. For example, Saturday is a day for deep cleaning the kitchen. If I miss it, I get flummoxed. And over the past six months I have spent an awful lot of time flustered as the pile of clothes in the corner of my bedroom grows ever taller. 

One of my challenges for this year is to have a fully organised home by the end of December 2015. Surely this is a possibility. 

The children are now seven and nine-years-old so are more than able to undertake some bits and bobs, and the husband - for the first time in a long time is home more than I am - so there are things he can do too (except the washing, he already does that).

With this in mind I need a plan of action. 

A daily to do list as it were. I also need to actually stick to the list. Funnily, having a list written doesn't magically make the jobs get done. Which I find is a huge shame. Inventors of the world take note. This would be a fantastic thing to invent and would make you rich!

This list need to cover the whole house. 

Starting with the extraordinary deep clean to get everything where it needs to be, so that the easier tasks of maintenance can be concentrated on. 

I'm not exaggerating when I say that I have managed to turn parts of my house into something that resembles a before picture on a hoarder's programme. I cannot put into words just how embarrassing that actually is. 

Now for the nitty gritty of it all. I work shifts. Alternate patterns from one week to the next, apart from weeks with a Bank Holiday in them, then that is a whole other ball game. 

A flexible plan, is needed, and a speedy one at that. 

In January I am going to be focusing primarily on the Kitchen. With backing vocals covering the rest of the house. 

Extraordinary Kitchen Clean List:

1. Clear sides. 
2. Load dishwasher. 
3. Wash up items that don't fit or go in the dishwasher. 
4. Put those things away. 
5. Clean the hob/oven.
6. Clean down the sides I've cleared. 
7. Clear kitchen table and dresser side. 
8. Empty floor. 
9. Wash the floor. 
10. Empty dishwasher.
11. Clean the fridge.
12. Sort the food from fridge. Put spoiled foods in the brown bin for recycling. 
13. Organise the cupboards - this one will be labour intensive, I need to reduce the amount of things I have in my kitchen. 

Daily Kitchen Clean List: 

1. Empty dishwasher. 
2. Put away. 
3. Wipe down sides, after clearing.
4. Clear kitchen table.
5. Sweep floor, quick blast with mop if needed. 

As for the rest of the house. The Extraordinary clean will come month by month with a special guest star task. 

The Daily Clean: 

1. Keep on top of the washing. Do at least one load a day. (this also mean dry, fold and put away too! A little is easier than a lot.)
2. Empty bins. No one wants to take an overly full to splitting bag out. 
3. 

It's A New Day #2

 

As is every day. Each day we all have the power to start again. Afresh. 

It doesn't matter how badly yesterday appeared to be. The bad times were exactly that. Yesterday. Leave them there. 

If there is something that needs to be done. Don't dodge it. Tackle it. 

Today is a new day. By ignoring it, in the long term it will just make it either seem worse, or actually make it worse. Ostrich is not the behaviour of the day. 

So here's an idea. Break it down. 

Is it something big? 

Break it into small bite-sized pieces, little bits that you won't mind doing. 

Set yourself a time frame to firstly write the list. 

Break that list into 30min jobs, 15 min jobs and 5 min tasks. 

Then to complete each task with the help of a handy kitchen timer (mine is a smiley face one!).

Seriously, it will feel much better to proactively tackle things in this way. 

Thanks to author Kate Harrison for her advice and her book 5:2 Your Life 

May your day Glitter & Sparkle

 

Put It in a Box

This is not my usual Tuesday blog fare. I felt like expressing something, and that's tricky when you're reviewing something.

Everyone copes with bad stuff in their life. But I feel that how we are able to express it, and handle our feelings and emotions is what makes us.

I'm no different to anyone else, I have my ups and downs. I've had lots of downs that I have had to pick myself up from. I take medication to keep my moods even. I have to employ methods to get me through both the beige and the grey days.

I have a tendency to over think, to dwell, to plan. This can help and hinder. I have routines that I employ that keep me occupied. I like order. I'm not keen on surprises, yet I am impulsive. I am my own enigma wrapped in a conundrum.

I stay busy and I channel my emotions good or bad into different projects. I find that by making a promise to be somewhere I overcome my desire to stay in the house behind closed doors and get out there. Helping others in that time makes it doubly worth it.

Paying it back reaps its own rewards.

In essence I still employ the technique I was given after my mother's death, put it in a box. Then shut the lid. Do or think 3 things and pile them on top of the box.

So if you have a problem, work it out. Break it down into manageable pieces. Then put those pieces together and fix it. If it is a thought, a bad memory, your inner voice telling you something bad... put it in the box and cover it with good thoughts, ideas and actions. The good will outweigh the bad, and as with every good smultzy film good will vanquish evil.



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