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Friday, January 21, 2011

New Year Resolution


Every year brings with it the tradition to make some goals, to improve the mind, body and soul. Every year I make goals (a good long list of them) and every year I'm certain that will be the year I'll keep them.

This year I was a slacker and didn't make any, not because I didn't want to but because I felt I needed time to reflect on what I truly wanted out of THIS year, out of life, out of myself.

Of course it all started with BODY. I could sure stand to lose a good 25 lbs. Heaven knows I'm not in any kind of shape I was in years ago!!=) So I started writing a "plan" of what I expected of myself. The longer I wrote the more I started to realize, "hey, I really don't care enough about losing weight to make it a goal" or at least to write it down and not accomplish it. That's not saying I'm going to completely ignore my body and not exercise. I just don't feel it's something I want to focus on.

After a few more days like this I finally came up with something I'm willing to put to paper and even started doing before realizing I wanted it to become my goal...

As most of you know Bruce and I are living with our in-laws. It's been pretty OK, all things considering. However because we do live in such a BIG house and other kids and families are over quite a bit, it doesn't exactly clean itself. How I've dealt with this so far is how I've dealt with it in the past which is to ignore the mess until it become so unbearable that it takes me a couple good days of cleaning before I'm OK with it again. Our room usually gets the biggest shaft... I tend to focus on the areas that are seen by others first before working on the areas I only get to see. After this last little cleaning excursion I realized I hate living that way. I don't like washing my clothes and leaving them in the basket until they are dirty again. I don't like coming to bed at night and making it before I jump in it rather than enjoying it be made during the day.

So I came up with a system.
(When I get a new calendar for this year I plan on writing it under my "list of things to do". I like buying the really BIG calendars that have nice big squares to write things in. I usually get them at Wal-Mart, I've been thinking this year I might try printing one out though. Well see.)
OK... Here's my TO DO LIST:

Monday:
Bathrooms (I absolutely hate this chore But I realized I hate it so much because when I go to do it, it's so bad that it grosses me out. My solution, do them once a week! This is no easy feat people we have three full bathrooms in this house!!)

Tuesday:
Clean, dust and vacuum the three down stairs living spaces. Mom is usually good about doing the front room, so most of the time I don't have to worry about that room which is nice.

Wednesday:
Kitchen!! Steaming the floors, cleaning out the fridge and keeping the pantry organized and cleaned!! Sometimes things get left opened and well, we've been having some bug issues. Ewww is all I have to say.
I leave the kitchen for Wednesday because my mother in-law is usually gone at the temple until around noon which means I can clean and get rid of things without her around... it sounds bad but really I am doing her and everyone else a favor.=)

Thursday:
Upstairs. Our room, bonus room, landing and Savanah's room get a good vacuum and clean. Enough said. I mean the only real mess I should ever be cleaning is the bonus room because that is the room the kids tend to attack. If I can stick to this our rooms should already be fairly clean.

Friday:
Laundry... spend the morning washing and PUTTING AWAY!!=)

Saturday:
Car or any other odds and ends that need to be attended to. Mainly I'm thinking a day off would be nice.

Bruce and I have also talked a lot about (and have put into action) trying to clean after ourselves in the moment. For an example when we change... putting the clothes back into the dresser or dirty clothes hamper. When Savanah is done eating, cleaning her tray right away. Cleaning up her toys before we leave to do something even if they will undoubtedly be take out again. Taking a few mins and tiding up so that when my cleaning days come the mess isn't so huge. It's been working great so far and is FAR less stressful this way.

Wow, I'm not going to lie I feel a little embarrassed that it's taken me this long to finally want to change how we are living and to even admit that we are that unorganized. Well, what can ya do? I guess if I want to see the glass half full in this situation we are in, it would be that Bruce and I are finally being forced to learn how to get our ducks in a row, And that's really not such a bad thing.=)

-Sabrina




2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I feel like a lot of people (including myself) started with the age old "I'm gonna lose some weight" and ended with the realization that there is a lot more then focusing on a few pounds. Not leaving the body behind completely but focusing major efforts other places where more people could benefit. I too decided to try and stay a little more organized and although the chores and work didn't totally disapear I don't have to invest as much time and grief if I do a little at a time. Good luck sticking with it. I decided that even if I fall off the wagon for a little bit I can always jump back on.

Our Little Family said...

I love "to do" lists and I love how you break up the housework. It ultimately makes things easier. Your little girl is so adorable. You are a very talented photographer. Good luck with your new year to do list!