A baker's dozen is getting more than you expected, it's delightful, sometimes more than you can handle - and never, ever dull!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Here's what's working for me right now

(Once again, I refuse to lower myself and demean my three remaining readers by offering inane excuses for not posting in... awhile. So how 'bout if we all just assume that I've been very productive, doing tons of blog-worthy things, improving myself, serving others, and honoring God. OK?)

Not that it's been such a ridiculously-long time since I last posted, but I did find it necessary to read through my last few entries to remind myself what exactly my blog is all about anyway. (Is it really a laundry blog?!) And I realized I have left quite a few loose ends over the months which I now plan to remedy.

Rememberthis post where I once again apologized for not blogging told you about a book I had read on productivity? Well for goodness sakes people, aren't you even a little curious about whether the methods in the book transformed my life like the book jacket said it would?!

(Didn't think so....Do you even remember who I am?!!)

Actually, I'm happy to report that there was one suggestion in the book - one seemingly small time management tip - that helped me cut my to-do list to post-it note size. The author of the book suggests that if a task will take you less than 2 minutes then you should just do it right away vs. writing it down to do later. I've been amazed at how many things I do each day that take less than 2 minutes. And how many very short tasks I had previously put off doing. Maybe not life transforming, but definitely an attitude change.

(I'm also still doing a regular Mind Sweep, which I told you about here. My Mind Sweep takes a stack of post-it notes but I'll let my therapist deal with that.)

Another idea (one which I would describe as brilliant, except that I came up with this one myself and I do not like to praise myself with such flamboyant adjectives) which has saved me oodles of time this year - and kept me lookin' good (...at least that's what my friends say...) is to focus on refining one part of my wardrobe at a time.

Two summers ago was the year of the T-shirt. My mission was to find the perfect T for me. After some experimenting around at Kohls, Target, and a few nicer stores, I realized a petite fits me best (without fitting me TOO well, if you get my drift) and is the right length for me - even though I'm not petite height. So now I know exactly what brand of T-shirt is 'mine' and I will not even give those others a second glance. So there.

Last year it was denim - I kid you not, I found a pair of jeans that made everyone ask me if I had been seeing a personal trainer. That would've been reward enough, but the bonus is that shopping was uber-easy since when I went to a store or a website, I was only looking for jeans or capris, not shirts (that was last year) or skirts or shoes. No ambling through Marshalls for me. Nope. It was straight to the one row of jeans, then back to the car.Easy peasy.

2011 has been fun and low-cost. It's been my Sandal Year. I discovered that shoes really do make the woman, or at least the outfit. I bought these (in brown and in grey) and these , and of course these in black and for 1/2 price (and a few other pairs that I would show you but my sandal financier occasionally reads my blog.)

Because I'm only shopping for one type of item, I am in and out of stores more quickly and I have a better idea of what is a good deal. I'm not keen on shopping (except for book shopping, I'm real keen on that...and they always fit and never go out of style, and you can buy them even on your fat days.

One last thing that has worked for me recently is to use the lazy days of summer to teach my children a few skills that will make my their life easier once school starts. Here's a picture of Daniel and Andrew having a banana bread bake-off. It was a tie :)

Oh, and here's something that didn't work for me. I had another birthday. I can now get 25% off at Goodwill on Tuesdays, which is such comfort as I look into the mirror and see my mother staring back at me.

My family lavished me with construction paper promises of back rubs, foot rubs, and car washes. And my husband got me an ipod docking station - which means I now need a construction paper promise to teach me how to use my ipod.

It's ALWAYS good to read your ramblings. Just to know you're still around and no major calamities have befallen you is comforting. :)

I like that two-minute rule for to-do lists. It makes a lot of sense! Because of it, I finally figured out that I could go ahead and leave you a comment now, rather than writing it on my to-do list for tomorrow. Life is much better now. ;-)

I've benefitted, too, by Allen's Getting Things Done. Though not from a Christian perspective, his books have some very practical suggestions. As a Mom, I like the emptying of the brain so that I don't keep holding on to things I fear I'm going to forget. HA!

I was attracted to your blog for many reasons..you're Reformed, a mother of many (I have eight), you've been homeschooling for a long time, and you're an avid reader! Looking forward to reading more of your wisdom!

Lori! Thanks for following me, girl, but thanks even more for the subtle reminder (that I am SO going to use against my procrastinating, blog-fixin' son) that I have more readers than my follower #s show. (Not that I am superficial enough to be into numbers..) One of the 'upgrades' I'm hoping he'll give me is an email subscription button. (Not that I'm superficial enough to think that people would want my posts in their inbox..)

Love this post! You have to know that I've noticed many times this past spring/summer that you have the cutest footwear-- I had no idea you were focusing on sandals for the year. Your plan seems to be working!

I just want you to know that you are still young enough to be called "Girl" as long as you stay in the South "honey!" :)

and I also want you to know that I love your blog and I look forward to any post that you manage to get out, and will always make my way over here eventually to read it! In fact, I pride myself on having read every one of your blog posts! :)

Actually, I think you should change the name of your blog to "Blog of Dreams" -- You write it and they will come!

Thanks for the updates on what IS working for you! I need to go blog myself... I have blog posted way to many times in my head then it never made it on to actual blog. Funny I am loving sandals too. Love it when I can find cute clearance ones in my size :). Love it when you are talking about what you are doing out of the box do develop character and life skills with the kids. Hope to hear more soon- but not too soon !!Brooke

Brooke (btw, you look beautiful in all your blog posts....I wonder how many followers I need to get before my son can give me that blog feature?), it was fun to see a picture of my child in your post about the ice cream field trip.

And yes, you're overdue for a post. See...I can be all superior-sounding now that I've updated. :)

Wow! A son-made blog makeover? SWEET! I would follow you twice if that would help, except I'm afraid of what might happen to this blog in the makeover. I really like the background with the donuts. And I really liked having a post on this blog this week. There are 2 things that are working for me these days :)