The To Do List: Work Ahead not Behind

 

Well last week was a bit more than I anticipated.   I did know it was going to be a busy week.  I got some of the things on last week's list done.  I didn't even begin to think of routine housekeeping tasks, forget looking at Zone Work.  But I got about half the baking done, managed a trip out to the shed, decorated a tiny bit more of my home and most importantly got the checkbook work done.  

Now this week I won't be playing catch-up.  If I missed it last week, it was missed.  I'll make a fresh start this week.    I have a long list of things to get done but I may not be able to do them all.  My goal this week is to look at next week and do what is required to get us through that week which will also be a busy one and actually starts on Friday evening and runs through the next Friday.  And of course, we begin this week with a busy weekend.

I will not panic...I will work steadily towards my goals and try to focus on what is important not the minor details that won't matter in the end...

That said, let's get busy planning this week ahead.

1.  Taylor.  Katie can't drive just yet and Cody is needed at home since Katie also can't lift anything heavier than Henry, so John and I are picking Taylor up on Saturday, bringing her to Katie and then taking her back to Matt on Sunday.  Matt always drives half the distance but it's still quite a jaunt.  I'm not complaining about the time we'll spend doing this.  Taylor spends a lot of hours of her weekend riding in a car.  The adults make half the journey.  She makes the whole trip.  

2.  Bake bread, make bagels.  I ended up making two loaves of bread last week.  John and Caleb were very enthusiastic over the homemade bread, and I had a to make a second loaf on Thursday.  John's already hit that loaf pretty hard.  I'd like to bake about three loaves this week, because I would like to have at least one in the freezer for next week.  I also want to make bagels.  Homemade tastes so much nicer than store bought.  

3.  Meal plan for this week and next.  I'll need a shopping list for next week as well, but I have quite a few items at home.  And my plan for next week doesn't have to be hard and fast.  Just a generalized idea so I know about what I can expect to spend at the grocery.  It is my intention to buy very little this week unless I do go into town to purchase local eggs and honey.  Oh, and the sale priced cheese at Kroger since I never bought cheese last week.

4.  Make a list of things to be done for next week.  I always find it easier to work from a list than from a scattered mind, lol.  

5.  Plant some seeds.  I never did get to this last week.  I don't expect much of a fall crop of anything, but I'd sure like to feel I'd done something.

6.  Mail off the return package.  I held onto the return item because I'd made someone an offer of something I had that I felt they'd like.  They've seen pictures and agreed they'd like to have it but are hesitant about sending an address.  So that's fine.  I'll probably just end up putting the item up for sale.

7.  Get things out of the house that must go to the shed.  I managed to get fall decor out of the shed last week, but I didn't manage to move the things I need to store there.

8.  Zone and Routine Work.  Zone 3 this week, beds and baths.  My room is in dire need of a good dusting.  I'd like to move the dressers and vacuum under them.  Thanks to John we have sliders under everything so I can easily move things.  And it's not a large room.

The guest bath and bedroom are just fine except the stuff that needs to go to the shed.  I cleaned those well last week after Caleb left.  No!  The guest room was a disaster because I'd completely forgotten to make the bed.

9.  Make my self-care Journal.

10.  Set up a few outfits for my wardrobe.

11.  Self-care.  I fell off that routine quickly with Caleb here.  I'll catch up this week.

12. Decorate the top of the bookcases. I got these cleaned off last week and now I'm ready to get the tops decorated.  I just couldn't do it while Caleb was here.  

And most of all just try and relax.  It's true this month has tended to be busy and is going to finish busy.  I'll do what I can do.  There are things that are absolutely important and things that absolutely are nice but not necessary.  I don't want to head into next week feeling like a limp dishrag.  It's been difficult enough to plan what I need to do in the coming week coming out of this busy week. 

13.  Start a Grocery list.  I tend to do these 'runs' and pick up just sales items but eventually you must stop and note what you're running out of.  Onions and carrots are getting very low, and there are a few outages of other things that aren't everyday items but often used ones that I'd like to replace before I do start missing them.  I don't want to shop this week.  I'm probably not going to shop next week but I definitely will be shopping in a couple of weeks, and I might as well have a list going.

14.  Clean the coffee maker.  I try to wipe down daily but then I start to notice that it's a bit grungy looking despite daily cleaning.  It's time to do that job.

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