I've allowed myself to have some rather slow days of late, as in most of October, but I do have jobs I really want to attend to before the weather is cold. So, there's nothing for it but to get myself busy and do them. I'm not saying I'll run myself in the ground, but I do mean to get busy and get things done. Are you ready?
1. Clean the back porch. I'll take time to blow off the patio and the front porch, but I want to clean the back porch. There are things we need to put away, things I just plain want to move off the porch entirely and I want to clean the porch floor especially where the pets eat. Once I clean those spots, I'll put a rug under their bowls to keep the floor clean. I know it means I'll have to take them up if it rains so it won't stay wet but even as neatly as they eat, there are greasy spots I just don't want to keep cleaning up. I save all my old rugs from the house so no expense will be involved.
2. Switch up the housework. As of this month, I am not going to do zone work any longer. Instead, I'm going to clean one area each day and that will be my focus area. Monday and Friday: Home Blessing Day, Tuesday: Kitchen, Wednesday: Living Room/Dining Room, Thursday: Beds and Baths. That's the way I plan to work until the end of the year when I shall again revisit zone work and determine if I want to continue doing that.
This will not be all of the work I'll do each day, because there's plenty of other work to get done. But those are the rooms I will focus on each day.
3. Purchase the following items: Get 2-4 big planter pots, three orchid cups to sit inside other pots, a flag, potting bark and African violet soil. I also hope to find another bird feeder. I need to buy bird seed whether I get a new feeder or not. I need a couple of new pots for smaller plants, but I'll 'shop the shed' first for those. I'm hoping the bigger pots will be on clearance...We'll see. While I'm at it, I'll look over the flowering kale, pansies, larkspur, etc. if they have any out.
4. Trim the rose bush and rosemary growing at the back porch and the two 'trees' I see growing in the other flower bed.
5. Make out my holiday foods list.
6. Buy potatoes, limes or lime juice.
7. Make bread and spice cake.
8. Start thinking about resolutions and plans for next year.
9. Start planning how I want Christmas to look this year and gather supplies.
10. 10 minutes of sun daily.
11. Plant the Amaryllis I took from a pot this past summer.
12. Move the iris in the pot that is broken and replant them.
Amazon Associate Affiliate Link: If you use my link to go to Amazon and place an order, I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Thank you!
5 comments:
I have been trying for some time to find a new cleaning routine. I like your thoughts and will be trying your new plan. I am 76, my husband is 80 and I am trying to figure out life in another new stage.
After over 50 years of marriage I am trying to declutter paper, teaching materials, files full of music used for teaching and performing....this is the hardest to declutter and some of my mother's things etc. etc. I get paralyzed because of this burden so I don't clean as I should.
We have had to change our diet in the last three years. Finding new recipes and cooking almost everything from scratch, I am stretched. I am enjoying cooking though and finding better ways. We are much healthier so the time is worth it.
I never could get into zone cleaning because I wasn't touching some areas for a long time . I feel your plan will give me encouragement that the worst in each area can be taken care of and knowing next week I will be back there again. I believe your blog is an answer to prayer and I am encouraged. Thank you Terry !
I was thinking about housekeeping tasks I don't do often enough, like ceiling fans, light fixtures, etc. I thought about starting at the top and doing one thing in every room at the same time. Start with vacuuming the ceilings and wiping down light fixtures and ceiling fans. Then walls and curtains, next, furniture and shelves, and finally the floors. I'm thinking I'd do this over the course of November, before Thanksgiving. Then I'll be ready for Christmas decorations.
Lots of outside tasks and projects to be done as well, while temps are cool rather than cold, and before snow. I'll make a list and do what I can each afternoon.
Louise my best advice for the decluttering is to STOP LOOKING AT THE WHOLE THING! Choose one spot and then each day set a timer for 15 minutes and work on it. When the time is up, you have the option to continue but set the timer. You'll be shocked how much you can do in just 15 minutes over a week's time. If you go on and work a half hour, you'll have done twice as much.
Zone cleaning is great when you really need to whip a house into shape but I think the small bites approach with me working on what I see needs to be done each day in each specified room will be a better fit for my life at this season.
And thank you so much for your kind words about this blog. My goal is to help others see what is possible, no matter what their circumstances.
I hear ya, sistah! I am 78 and my husband just turned 80 on Halloween. I am in the middle of crisis cleaning right now. I am too old for this, LOL. I find doing a room at a time is working best for me.
Thank you Terry for responding to my comment. I will try to do 15 minutes of decluttering and not let my mind get sidetracked as I see everything else. I thought about working on other things too for 15 minutes. I must exercise again and I will work at doing that for 15 minutes. last winter I tripped on the fatigue mat at the hairdresser. I broke a hip and did other damage to myself. Six months was spent in therapy but I am aware by not keeping up with exercise at home I am weaker and lack energy. For me that hopefully will help to have more "get up and go". Thank you again for your encouragement.
Post a Comment