While taking (what is starting to become a ritual again, abandoned after a year of living with my Mother-In-Law) my nightly hot bath and reading some sort of women's magazine that , by the way always manages to inspire in me a need to make wildly exotic meals and organize my pantie drawer and make me feel inadequate all at once, i went over my to-do list for the weekend in my head and it went a little bit like this.
1. Laundry
2.grocery shop
3. purchase pumpkins
4. purchase apples
5.do some more laundry
6.clean the floors
7.clean the cars out
8.put some laundry away
i can honestly say that just thinking of this weekends errands and chores exhausts me and writing them down actually brings tears to my eyes.
so, in an effort to garner some enthusiasm instead this weekend i will
1. admire all the great clothes we have, all the while lovingly cleaning them with a great smelling detg..
2. Take in the sights at the local stop and shop, admire the gorgeous colors of fall in the produce section and lovingly make up meals in my head as i purchase for the week ahead.
3. Enjoy the local pumpkin farm with 4 adorable kids. Pick out 4 of the best and have a blast carving them for this weekends annual pumpkin festival.
4. Enjoy one of the last weekends of the season to pick my own apples. And give thanks that kids that pick apples eat a lot of apples.
5. Dry and fold all the warm wonderful clothes we have and be grateful that its cold enough to finally bring out a few sweaters.
6. Wash my BEAUTIFUL wood floors that i have waited years for. Buff them, shine them and slide around in white socks for the remainder of the weekend.
7. eh......no getting around this one. Even Sam's friend, whom we had over for dinner, remarked upon the bad smell.
8. Hang and sort and put away stacks of clean fresh clothes, with a smile that my kids will be clean and warm and cute for at least another week!
Wow! I even manged to fool myself ;)
Friday, October 12, 2007
Monday, October 8, 2007
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
more thoughts on simplicity.........
fall as i see it.
vibrant and warm
fleeting is the soft rustle of leaves
before they rust and crinkle under rakes
soft piles form and the grass sprouts green again
after a long summer drought.
Its harvest time again and the days grow short.
Darkness moves in early now and sleep comes easy.
The air is clean and fresh and holds the promise of a long winters nap.
As usual, my last link didnt work.
what a surprise. Instead of wowing even myself with another attempt, i'll just provide the http of the original list, so that credit is given where credit is due!
http://zenhabits.net/2007/09/simple-living-manifesto-72-ideas-to-simplify-your-life/
moving on to the next 5.....(ftr, there are 72)
Learn to say no.
Like most women this is a difficult concept for me.
Need me to stay late at work? No problem... Need me to watch your 3 kids for 5 hours on a Sat night? SURE!
Need me to stay up late and wash the clothes you forgot you needed, but remembered at 10 pm? Who needs sleep!
But this is something that i realize i need to do so that i can say yes to the things that really matter.
Limit your communications. Our lives these days are filled with a vast flow of communications: email, IM, cell phones, paper mail, Skype, Twitter, forums, and more. It can take up your whole day if you let it. Instead, put a limit on your communications: only do email at certain times of the day, for a certain number of minutes (I recommend twice a day, but do what works for you). Only do IM once a day, for a limited amount of time. Limit phone calls to certain times too. Same with any other communications. Set a schedule and stick to it.
Limit your media consumption. This tip won’t be for everyone, so if media consumption is important to you, please skip it (as with any of the other tips). However, I believe that the media in our lives — TV, radio, Internet, magazines, etc. — can come to dominate our lives. Don’t let it. Simplify your life and your information consumption by limiting it. Try a media fast.
what a surprise. Instead of wowing even myself with another attempt, i'll just provide the http of the original list, so that credit is given where credit is due!
http://zenhabits.net/2007/09/simple-living-manifesto-72-ideas-to-simplify-your-life/
moving on to the next 5.....(ftr, there are 72)
Learn to say no.
Like most women this is a difficult concept for me.
Need me to stay late at work? No problem... Need me to watch your 3 kids for 5 hours on a Sat night? SURE!
Need me to stay up late and wash the clothes you forgot you needed, but remembered at 10 pm? Who needs sleep!
But this is something that i realize i need to do so that i can say yes to the things that really matter.
Limit your communications. Our lives these days are filled with a vast flow of communications: email, IM, cell phones, paper mail, Skype, Twitter, forums, and more. It can take up your whole day if you let it. Instead, put a limit on your communications: only do email at certain times of the day, for a certain number of minutes (I recommend twice a day, but do what works for you). Only do IM once a day, for a limited amount of time. Limit phone calls to certain times too. Same with any other communications. Set a schedule and stick to it.
Limit your media consumption. This tip won’t be for everyone, so if media consumption is important to you, please skip it (as with any of the other tips). However, I believe that the media in our lives — TV, radio, Internet, magazines, etc. — can come to dominate our lives. Don’t let it. Simplify your life and your information consumption by limiting it. Try a media fast.
Okay, this one is easy for me....I don't own a cell and i have one buddy on my list.
Purge your stuff. If you can devote a weekend to purging the stuff you don’t want, it feels seriously terrific. Get boxes and trash bags for the stuff you want to donate or toss. Here’s my guide on decluttering. Here’s a post on starting small.
I just joined freecycle this past week and next weekend i plan on doing just this.
Get rid of the big items. There’s tons of little clutter in our lives, but if you start with the big items, you’ll simplify your life quickly and in a big way.
On Thursady we are going to carmax to sell our third car. Seriously....who needs 3 cars in a house with only two drivers?
Monday, October 1, 2007
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