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Post by Evelyn on Mar 24, 2015 18:18:50 GMT -5
Before I left, I decided to take a baby-steps approach to my kitchen counters Dreaded Task and while they are nowhere near gorgeous and tidy, I reduced the clutter thereon by at least 20%. I'm beginning to realise that part of my paralysis is due to perfectionism: I feel that if I can't tackle something and have it come out utterly perfect, I may as well not bother. Which is the absolute opposite of how I am (my "public" persona) on the job, where I tend to be quite organised, anal-retentive and a bit OCD about doing everything just. perfectly. right. It's sound to me like it's just the same. Only, at work, your boss knows better than to demand that you complete 100 hours before you go home tonight; and you know better than to demand that anyone you supervise do that. (And, if one of you didn't know better, there would be labor laws and grievance procedures to invoke...) I don't know what you do for a living, but let's say you're a professional baseball player. Your boss doesn't expect you to hit every ball you're pitched and bat 1.000. He doesn't even expect you to hit half of them and bat 0.500. If you're hitting merely 1/3 of the balls you're pitched and batting 0.333, you're doing better than a lot of your fellow Major Leaguers. (Or as Evelyn would put it, something useful I might choose to change today.) I broke a barrier today with my kitchen counters. Progress, not perfection. My bathroom just makes me so happy right now. It's now mostly clean, with cute things on the wall and clean lace curtains. My fridge, which I recently finished cleaning and organising, also makes me happy. Shiny, crud-free shelves, no science experiments, everything sort of clean and shiny. Hurrah for your bathroom and for your fridge!!! And hurrah for your kitchen counters, for batting 0.200 (Yeah, they're not ready for the major leagues yet; but neither are you striking out because you won't swing the bat if there's a chance you might miss.)
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Post by Evelyn on Mar 24, 2015 18:31:32 GMT -5
I want you all to know that right now, to the best of my knowledge and with the exception of the water glass currently in use, there are no dirty dishes in my apartment. And both catboxes are freshly scooped and clean. I still haven't watered my plants or folded the laundry I did yesterday; but at least now there's nothing here that the Board of Health would object to, should they happen to drop by.
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Post by jendela on Mar 24, 2015 19:34:42 GMT -5
Evelyn - what an achievement. No dirty dishes!!! And I love your sporting analogy. stevie - not sure that the sleepytime does much for insomnia type issues, however I know that I don't sleep as well if I miss my nightly cuppa. I think a lot of the effect for me is the ritual, as it is part of my wind down process. And it helps me avoid other beverages containing caffeine, which do affect my sleep if drunk too late in the day. Hi cyn, wow, you are powering along with laundry, book sorting and a meeting on top of that. Hello Diane, I hope that your busy day goes well and you have a chance to pop in later. I have had a late start today, but I am going to follow Evelyn's lead, and think about what might be helpful and, dare I say it, fun, and not beat myself up for what I coulda/shoulda/oughta do. Ta-Da * coffee * replaced toothbrush * emptied dish drainer It would be helpful if I could do some laundry, get dishes up to date and change the bedding. It would be fun to go for a walk and choose a new recipe to try.
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Post by dtesposito on Mar 24, 2015 20:22:21 GMT -5
Good evening, now I'm just stopping in to say good night! Evelyn, no dirty dishes and clean cat boxes--does it get any better than that?? Well, it does, but it sure is a great start. Jendela, I hope you have a good day and take that fun walk. I was predictably busy today but I managed to keep messes here at bay, so that's an improvement over other busy days I've had. I'm getting to bed extra early tonight to do another busy day tomorrow. Diane
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Post by jendela on Mar 24, 2015 23:01:51 GMT -5
Hi Diane, that is great if you can keep the messes from building up while you are coping with long work days. I hope tomorrow goes as well for you.
I have laundry somewhat under control - 2 loads hung to dry and a 3rd load in the washing machine. Also doing a small load of hand washing. Dishes did get completely caught up for a heart beat, then life happened. I have also been sorting through papers and have put a good size pile into the recycle bin.
There will be new sheets tonight if all goes to plan.
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Post by stevie on Mar 25, 2015 6:24:13 GMT -5
Evelyn, thanks. I have a very tough boss - myself. . Well, and all my clients. I'm a painting contractor. Ironically (I just thought of this - seems I'm having all sorts of little "aha" moments recently)* I am, as also a boss of other people, much more patient and tolerant of employees' mistakes and short-comings than I am of my own. Which isn't to say I'm lax or a pushover as a boss - I am definitely not - but I'm just very hard on myself, and in fact not very nice to myself. Hmmm. *I'm also working a non-12-step sobriety program concurrently to the whole decrapping thing. I'm not going to go into details about that but I'm definitely seeing parallels, and taking insights from both here and there back and forth. If that makes sense. Probably not; I'm working on my first cup of coffee still! jendela thanks, I like the idea of tea being part of a nightly ritual. Think I will pick some up next time I go to the grocery store. I stripped my bed and will put on fresh sheets and pillowcases before work. Also going to take the swiffer to the mud room. Wipe down stove top. Also do at least one small thing to kitchen counters.
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Post by jendela on Mar 25, 2015 7:04:40 GMT -5
Hi stevie, I am winding down with my sleepytime tea as I type. Finished off a few things after my last post including fresh sheets on the bed. Stevie good luck in dealing with those difficult issues it seems that you are already making steady progress. I'd be interested to know if you get the sleepytime tea and how you find it.
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Post by cyn on Mar 25, 2015 7:46:46 GMT -5
Yay for all our fresh sheets! And everything else getting done! I didn't get my books sorted, because I spent too much time cleaning mirrors before my meeting yesterday. Then I visited with my neighbour, came home and dirtied up the kitchen, and crashed at 9pm. What's with me and sleep??? I suppose waking up at 11:30pm, 2am, 4:30am, and then getting up good at 6am does that to a person, rotfl. I've cleaned up the kitchen and put a load of laundry on. Fed & pottied the dogs. My bathroom is atrocious (again) so that's next on my list. Then I'll find all the recycling/garbage and walk it to the street - possibly taking some porch junk with it. After that...books? Sure!
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Post by cyn on Mar 25, 2015 11:02:52 GMT -5
Laundry's almost dry and the bathroom's been cleaned. Garbage is out, including fridge ickies - unfortunately the recycling came 3 hours earlier than usual, so I've still got it here. Figures, since I chucked a pile of magazines that were given to me and I hadn't read them yet, ha. Now they're in a bag on my deck, teasing me!
Now I just have to wait until the dogs are tired and need a nap before I go any further.
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Post by Evelyn on Mar 25, 2015 17:40:54 GMT -5
Thanks, Jendela, Diane & Stevie. Today, I would really benefit from the results of: - going to the bottled water place and getting more bottled water. - going to the grocery store and getting groceries. - getting my mail and seeing whether my new debit card (that doesn't expire 04/15) has arrived yet - updating my automatic bill payment settings with new debit card number My outdoor plants would really benefit from: - my watering the plants on my balcony And I would enjoy the results of: - taking the recyling out to the dumpster - folding all my clean laundry - putting away my folded laundry - putting away my clean(!) breakfast dishes - washing my lunch dishes - cooking a decent dinner and - washing the dinner dishes
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Post by jendela on Mar 25, 2015 19:18:49 GMT -5
Good morning Evelyn, cyn, stevie and Diane. Hey, fresh sheets all round, isn't that great! Starting with a coffee - ooh, that was good. Dishwasher is running, drainer has been emptied and I have a load of washing ready to start. I have finally made a lunch date to catch up with some close girlfriends. Up next: * It wouldn't hurt to use up the vegetables I have on hand, before they are only fit for the landfill party. * It would be a good idea to pay some bills before they are overdue and incur extra $$$$$ * It would be fun to make a nice meal for lunch, using the salmon I bought during my big shop * It would make sense to get dishes done and kitchen clean so that I can enjoy cooking in my clean kitchen * It wouldn't take long to air yesterdays washing, so I am sure it is completely dry before I put it away.
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Post by Evelyn on Mar 26, 2015 17:40:07 GMT -5
I am now enjoying the benefits of having done these things yesterday: - went to the bottled water place and got bottled water - got my mail & sorted it - took the recycling out to the dumpster - put away my clean, dry dishes & washed the dirty dishes - went through the worst of the fridge, tossed the inedibles, & peeled & diced "tired" veggies for stew - cooked a decent dinner - washed the dinner & from-the-fridge dishes Today would be a good day for: - cooking and eating a decent lunch - washing the breakfast & lunch dishes - finally watering the poor long-suffering plants on my balcony - calling the credit union to see whether I'm supposed to come in to pick up my new debit card (to replace the one expiring 04/15) - (if I get the new debit card) updating my automatic bill payment settings with new debit card number - going to the grocery store and getting groceries - folding and putting away the clean laundry I did... ...Monday, I think? - cooking and eating a decent dinner - washing the dinner dishes It wouldn't hurt things any if I were to: - wash, dry, fold & put away 2-3 more loads of laundry - pick up everything on the floor that can be easily lifted with one hand and put it where it belongs - vacuum the freshly picked-up floor - clear the last refrigerator shelf - compost the compostables generated by fridge clean-outs - (....this list could go on indefinitely....)
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Post by jendela on Mar 27, 2015 2:27:50 GMT -5
Hi Evelyn, I see you also have the 'clean out the fridge' soup/stew/casserole in your repertoire. well done.
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Post by Evelyn on Mar 27, 2015 3:55:57 GMT -5
Hi Evelyn, I see you also have the 'clean out the fridge' soup/stew/casserole in your repertoire. well done. Thanks. It's a staple of my recipe repertoire, along with "Defroster's Delight Casserole" and "Oatmeal-Everything Cookies." Long ago, while my kitchen was very briefly at Level Zero, I once even created and posted a tutorial for my Clean Out The Kitchen Meatloaf.
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Post by ohblondie on Mar 27, 2015 8:05:04 GMT -5
Well....I got a load of laundry done last night. Washed and hung up to dry.....Good thing I did cause i needed a pair of pants to wear to work today! I ended out being out of the house very night this week. Urgh.... Daughter is coming home on Monday for about a week. So much to do to get ready for her.
She broke up with the BF but they are still coming up north together.. He will visit his father and his friends. Hopefully he will NOT be coming to the house. Part of me wishes he was not coming but part of me is happy that she is not driving alone.
She will be taking a carload of stuff back south. I am also renting a "relo-cube" container for her to fill with furniture and such. I will ship that down to her and she will have stuff for her apt. She is living with a sofa, a bed, a dresser, one pot, one pan and paper plates. Easy to maintain but she does need a little more than that! She would like to bake something and have real dishes. And have a cup of hot chocolate!
So this weekend I need to make sure both bathrooms are clean, the clutter is out of the entryway/hallway/stairs and that she can get into her bedroom! I have tried to keep up on the kitchen - she will use the boxes that I have stacked in the corner - so bonus for me....a carload of stuff and boxes are leaving!
I also have to attack my room - there is a desk...buried in the corner....that I want her to take. ALl fo the kids said to me "Mom I never knew you had a desk in your room" so that is a HUGE clue I need to get decluttered in there!
I am getting excited and energized for the weekend...
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