You may have noticed that I did not post to this blog yesterday. As a Christian, I like to keep my Sundays for things other than work: church, time with those who are close to me, going out for a meal with friends.
Yesterday afternoon, I had the opportunity to sing one of my ballads as part of a Valentines Cabaret put on by the Stratford Concert Choir. It was a great event, giving the audience and choir members a chance to hear the individual skills of the people with whom we regularly sing. As a fairly new member of the choir, I was thrilled to hear the wonderful voices, the different genres chosen, the poetic humour, the comic acting ability of those fellows who often just get to show their serious side, and in the silent auction to see the artistic and handcraft skills of others. It was an opportunity to marvel once again at how we are all created uniquely with our own special gifts.
That brings me back to the issue of cleansing my clutter. As I approach this task I need to realize that I am one of those people gifted with creativity ... and a short attention span! Hence, today's topic, Variety.
If you find yourself getting bored with a cleaning routine, just mix it up a bit. For example, for this morning's 27 Boogie Fling (flylady.com), I decided to focus my boogie on putting away 27 things. I amazed myself to discover a duster in my hand. After I had put things away and revealed the beautiful oak on of one of my antique peices of furniture, the dust was so evident I just had to deal with it! So 27 things are put away, and all of my oak pieces in that room are now dusted. Because my kitchen and bathroom are staying relatively tidy now due to the “put away what you use” philosophy, I have time to get out for a walk in today's beautiful sunshine before I come back to try another half-hour attack on my office.
I was thinking as I write how simple this all seems. Why could I not do it without this creative cleansing blog? I guess I need that sense of accountability. So thank you, my readers, for the role you are playing in helping me along this path. Here's wishing you a great day, and praying that you also will breathe a little easier and smile a little more as you view your domain.
Showing posts with label creative. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creative. Show all posts
Monday, February 9, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Day 2 - letter R - Raising the Bar
Upon waking this morning, my mind was a-buzz with subjects I could discuss that begin with R.
I settled on Raising the Bar.
I definitely need to raise the bar on how I care for my home. Not that I don't love my place. I do. But I'd much rather be puttering in the garden, or working on my writing, than wandering through my space with a dust cloth. I'm sure at least some of you will understand this mindset.
So Raising the Bar it is. But the question remains. How do I do it?
Realism certainly needs to play a part. I am not suddenly going to change my personality. I do have a life other than tidying, cleaning and organizing. So I need to be realistic. How much time am I prepared to donate to this cleansing of the clutter? If you are joining me in this adventure, how much time can you realistically afford? Deciding this is definitely an important first step in getting ready.
Resources are needed too. This time, (thanks to the book I picked up yesterday) I did not run out to buy containers and a mountain of cleaning supplies. I already have those, and they will do just fine.
I told you yesterday that as we work away at this creative cleansing, I would share things that were helpful to me. The first one is a website, which puts the fun into cleaning and motivates to boot. A friend who shares my aversion to housework recommended http://www.flylady.com/to me several years ago. Last week I pulled out the things I had learned from it. To encapsulate her teaching is difficult, because she shares a wealth of wonderful, crazy, humourous ideas, but one thing that struck me is her constant theme that one should use small blocks of time, and not let yourself get overwhelmed. The new book, Common Sense Organizing, by Debbie Williams that I purchased yesterday, picked up the same theme.
A few years ago, as I was going through a time of healing, my doctor said, “This is going to take time, Helen. It took years for you to get to this place.You won't heal in a day.” It was good advice for that area of my life. It is also good advice for this. Don't rush. Slow down, set aside the panic that may have arisen just thinking about this cleanse, and enjoy the process.
“So, what did you do today?”, you ask. Let's see.
As soon as I got up, I made the bed. I learned that from Flylady last time around and have done it ever since. The other day I had started on her 27 Boogie Fling, so I had my boxes already gathered.
1. Toss
2. Give Away
3. Keep
4. Not Sure
5. I have added a Put Away box for the things whose storage place I know and that I can do
easily.
After I dressed, I boogied around the bedroom picking up 27 things. Guess what! My dresser top and windowsill are now tidy. Amazing! (If you are intrigued with the idea of me boogieing around my bedroom, do check out the Flylady website and have some fun yourself.)
Raising the Bar and the whole cleansing idea has another element. How am I looking after my body. I tend to be slack in the area of feeding myself well. So, while cleansing the house, I decided to also work on caring for my own interior, so to speak. Sitting down to a bowl of healthy cereal, I planned out my day. Included in that was a block of 15 minutes to start on my office. I will probably work in another 15 minute block later this afternoon, but right now I have a clear table top beside my computer except for the work laid out to do immediately after I write this. The toss bag is waiting by the front door to go out the the garbage can. Taking another 5 minutes to empty the Put Away box is essential for me. If that isn't done immediately, it will become another box waiting to be dealt with. My give-away collection is growing. I decided to leave that box in the room until it is full. Then it will go out to the car, ready to be dropped off.
I put supper in the crock pot and forced myself to make a healthy wrap for lunch. The dishes are either done, or rinsed and collecting in a dishpan under my sink, my version of a dishwasher as a collection place for dirty dishes, another hint from Flylady that preserves water and keeps my kitchen looking tidy. I have done that one, more or less, since I first met Flylady, but lately my kitchen counter had become quite cluttered, so I am really trying to do apply it more faithfully.
That's it for today. How do I feel? Great. Join me tomorrow for day 3, letter E.
I settled on Raising the Bar.
I definitely need to raise the bar on how I care for my home. Not that I don't love my place. I do. But I'd much rather be puttering in the garden, or working on my writing, than wandering through my space with a dust cloth. I'm sure at least some of you will understand this mindset.
So Raising the Bar it is. But the question remains. How do I do it?
Realism certainly needs to play a part. I am not suddenly going to change my personality. I do have a life other than tidying, cleaning and organizing. So I need to be realistic. How much time am I prepared to donate to this cleansing of the clutter? If you are joining me in this adventure, how much time can you realistically afford? Deciding this is definitely an important first step in getting ready.
Resources are needed too. This time, (thanks to the book I picked up yesterday) I did not run out to buy containers and a mountain of cleaning supplies. I already have those, and they will do just fine.
I told you yesterday that as we work away at this creative cleansing, I would share things that were helpful to me. The first one is a website, which puts the fun into cleaning and motivates to boot. A friend who shares my aversion to housework recommended http://www.flylady.com/to me several years ago. Last week I pulled out the things I had learned from it. To encapsulate her teaching is difficult, because she shares a wealth of wonderful, crazy, humourous ideas, but one thing that struck me is her constant theme that one should use small blocks of time, and not let yourself get overwhelmed. The new book, Common Sense Organizing, by Debbie Williams that I purchased yesterday, picked up the same theme.
A few years ago, as I was going through a time of healing, my doctor said, “This is going to take time, Helen. It took years for you to get to this place.You won't heal in a day.” It was good advice for that area of my life. It is also good advice for this. Don't rush. Slow down, set aside the panic that may have arisen just thinking about this cleanse, and enjoy the process.
“So, what did you do today?”, you ask. Let's see.
As soon as I got up, I made the bed. I learned that from Flylady last time around and have done it ever since. The other day I had started on her 27 Boogie Fling, so I had my boxes already gathered.
1. Toss
2. Give Away
3. Keep
4. Not Sure
5. I have added a Put Away box for the things whose storage place I know and that I can do
easily.
After I dressed, I boogied around the bedroom picking up 27 things. Guess what! My dresser top and windowsill are now tidy. Amazing! (If you are intrigued with the idea of me boogieing around my bedroom, do check out the Flylady website and have some fun yourself.)
Raising the Bar and the whole cleansing idea has another element. How am I looking after my body. I tend to be slack in the area of feeding myself well. So, while cleansing the house, I decided to also work on caring for my own interior, so to speak. Sitting down to a bowl of healthy cereal, I planned out my day. Included in that was a block of 15 minutes to start on my office. I will probably work in another 15 minute block later this afternoon, but right now I have a clear table top beside my computer except for the work laid out to do immediately after I write this. The toss bag is waiting by the front door to go out the the garbage can. Taking another 5 minutes to empty the Put Away box is essential for me. If that isn't done immediately, it will become another box waiting to be dealt with. My give-away collection is growing. I decided to leave that box in the room until it is full. Then it will go out to the car, ready to be dropped off.
I put supper in the crock pot and forced myself to make a healthy wrap for lunch. The dishes are either done, or rinsed and collecting in a dishpan under my sink, my version of a dishwasher as a collection place for dirty dishes, another hint from Flylady that preserves water and keeps my kitchen looking tidy. I have done that one, more or less, since I first met Flylady, but lately my kitchen counter had become quite cluttered, so I am really trying to do apply it more faithfully.
That's it for today. How do I feel? Great. Join me tomorrow for day 3, letter E.
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