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sailorzeoAs I mentioned yesterday, BabyStep 3 was "Keep doing what you have already done." I did that: got dressed to shoes in the am, and shined my sink before going to bed. I also did my daily task-list. What I've been doing is thinking of a few things that need to be done, then texting Matt the list. Yesterday's task list was: finish processing the meat we bought Friday night; go through the spices in the cabinet, refilling the empties and making a list for when we go to Penzey's; start a load of darks; cook dinner; program coffee; pack lunch; wash dishes; shine sink.
This isn't a list of things I want to do each night. This is a list of things to get done each night. Matt did a lot of it last night. He started the laundry (and switched it to the dryer; I brought it in and we both folded and put away before bed); he finished processing the meat (breaking up the big packs into individual meal portions, wrapping and freezing); and did most of the grunt work on the spices. I was working on dinner (spaghetti with tomato-zucchini sauce), and I did the dishes, programmed the coffee, packed my lunch and shined the sink.
Day Three. The coffee is prepped for the morning, and in a bout of inspiration, I washed the coffee grinder (outside, too), refilled the small sugar container, and put both grinder and sugar up into the cabinet when I was done.
And guess what?
The other side of the kitchen is clean, too! I mentioned to Matt that something I'd like to happen every day is for the electric griddle (that he cooks breakfast and sometimes dinner on) to be cleaned and put away. It usually sits out to the right of the stove, greasy and gritty, taking up space and being an eyesore. He did so, then later that evening grumbled good-naturedly, "I sure am doing a lot of stuff for this FlyLady thing." Everything on the list (including my shower!) was finished by 8 pm, giving me an hour and a half in my game.
Today is BabyStep 4: "Write it down." You're supposed to write down what you've been doing ("Shine sink," "Get dressed to shoes") on post-it notes and put them over the sink and on the bathroom mirror. While I can see the logic behind this, I'm not so sure I'll be doing it. For one thing, having post-it notes on my mirror and kitchen blinds will bother me. For another, I don't know if I have any post-its at home.
I did sort of skip ahead last night, though. I'm not sure what BabyStep it is, but as we folded clothes last night, I set out the clothes to wear today. This step will be helpful, as I'm usually getting dressed in the dark. One of the other things I've started doing is getting up when I wake up. The alarm, as mentioned yesterday, is set for 6 am. Most mornings, though, I wake up between 5:30 and 5:50. Instead of rolling around, tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable for those last few minutes in bed, I've decided to just get up, go to the bathroom, and start my morning.
Another skip-ahead (sort of) I've been doing is finding and taming the "clutter hot-spots." I saw them mentioned in the weekly sneak peek FlyLady e-mail, and decided on my own to do something with them. One of the biggies was beside the microwave. I used to just deposit the mail there. I kept meaning to get better at that, and I did start throwing the junk mail in the recycle bin before even coming inside, but everything else just got dumped there. It was also where I kept my purse, and it was getting precarious. Sunday evening, I went through the pile, making 3 stacks: throw away, shred, keep. I threw away the obvious trash (old grocery ads, empty envelopes, old catalogues), then got Matt to double-check my shred and keep stacks. Final result?
A nice clean tray for my purse, my Pepcid, a pack of gum, and whatever book I happen to be reading at the time. I just finished one, so one's not there at the moment. The other hot spot I took care of Monday night, while Matt was making dinner. That was the tops of the dressers. One thing I need is a different jewelry box. I need one with taller hooks, as most of my necklaces are long, and space to store all my velvet jewelry boxes. Those things are a pain to dust, but I don't want to get rid of them yet.
As for the "slight obsession:" I tried to shine the sink in the breakroom at work yesterday on my lunch break. It's only a few months old, and already has limescale buildup. I didn't have time for more than a quick wipe-down with Windex, though, so it's still scaly.
This morning: up at 5:30. Dressed to shoes. Started the coffee (the program doesn't kick on until 5:50, so I just hit the button). Started a batch of quinoa for Matt's lunch. Had a bowl of cereal, fixed my cup of coffee, fed the cats, got the plates and forks from the office, and sat down to read e-mail and post this. My book for today is by my purse, my lunchbag is in the fridge, my water bottle is filled, and it's only 6:42.
This isn't a list of things I want to do each night. This is a list of things to get done each night. Matt did a lot of it last night. He started the laundry (and switched it to the dryer; I brought it in and we both folded and put away before bed); he finished processing the meat (breaking up the big packs into individual meal portions, wrapping and freezing); and did most of the grunt work on the spices. I was working on dinner (spaghetti with tomato-zucchini sauce), and I did the dishes, programmed the coffee, packed my lunch and shined the sink.
Day Three. The coffee is prepped for the morning, and in a bout of inspiration, I washed the coffee grinder (outside, too), refilled the small sugar container, and put both grinder and sugar up into the cabinet when I was done.
And guess what?
The other side of the kitchen is clean, too! I mentioned to Matt that something I'd like to happen every day is for the electric griddle (that he cooks breakfast and sometimes dinner on) to be cleaned and put away. It usually sits out to the right of the stove, greasy and gritty, taking up space and being an eyesore. He did so, then later that evening grumbled good-naturedly, "I sure am doing a lot of stuff for this FlyLady thing." Everything on the list (including my shower!) was finished by 8 pm, giving me an hour and a half in my game.
Today is BabyStep 4: "Write it down." You're supposed to write down what you've been doing ("Shine sink," "Get dressed to shoes") on post-it notes and put them over the sink and on the bathroom mirror. While I can see the logic behind this, I'm not so sure I'll be doing it. For one thing, having post-it notes on my mirror and kitchen blinds will bother me. For another, I don't know if I have any post-its at home.
I did sort of skip ahead last night, though. I'm not sure what BabyStep it is, but as we folded clothes last night, I set out the clothes to wear today. This step will be helpful, as I'm usually getting dressed in the dark. One of the other things I've started doing is getting up when I wake up. The alarm, as mentioned yesterday, is set for 6 am. Most mornings, though, I wake up between 5:30 and 5:50. Instead of rolling around, tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable for those last few minutes in bed, I've decided to just get up, go to the bathroom, and start my morning.
Another skip-ahead (sort of) I've been doing is finding and taming the "clutter hot-spots." I saw them mentioned in the weekly sneak peek FlyLady e-mail, and decided on my own to do something with them. One of the biggies was beside the microwave. I used to just deposit the mail there. I kept meaning to get better at that, and I did start throwing the junk mail in the recycle bin before even coming inside, but everything else just got dumped there. It was also where I kept my purse, and it was getting precarious. Sunday evening, I went through the pile, making 3 stacks: throw away, shred, keep. I threw away the obvious trash (old grocery ads, empty envelopes, old catalogues), then got Matt to double-check my shred and keep stacks. Final result?
A nice clean tray for my purse, my Pepcid, a pack of gum, and whatever book I happen to be reading at the time. I just finished one, so one's not there at the moment. The other hot spot I took care of Monday night, while Matt was making dinner. That was the tops of the dressers. One thing I need is a different jewelry box. I need one with taller hooks, as most of my necklaces are long, and space to store all my velvet jewelry boxes. Those things are a pain to dust, but I don't want to get rid of them yet.
As for the "slight obsession:" I tried to shine the sink in the breakroom at work yesterday on my lunch break. It's only a few months old, and already has limescale buildup. I didn't have time for more than a quick wipe-down with Windex, though, so it's still scaly.
This morning: up at 5:30. Dressed to shoes. Started the coffee (the program doesn't kick on until 5:50, so I just hit the button). Started a batch of quinoa for Matt's lunch. Had a bowl of cereal, fixed my cup of coffee, fed the cats, got the plates and forks from the office, and sat down to read e-mail and post this. My book for today is by my purse, my lunchbag is in the fridge, my water bottle is filled, and it's only 6:42.
