Well, now…HAPPY NEW YEAR Friends!
I’ve never been one for New Year’s Resolutions…I don’t really like to set myself up for failure on purpose.
Besides, I’m a constant work in progress…I make mini-resolutions throughout the year as I go. They ebb and flow and I mess up and I fall short, but I’ve learned that grace covers it all. I want my kids to see that in me. I want them to learn that it’s not about perfection…but it’s also not okay to stay stagnant and not stretch yourself. You always gotta keep trying.
When I saw Tsh’s ebook last year, I knew it was just the ticket for an imperfect, non-resolution keeping, I don’t want to have to buy 9,000 new things in the name of Simplifying, kind of gal.
One task a week? Done. Sign me up.
An opportunity to connect with readers and have some accountability…and see how others fared? Love it.
The way this “works” (you know, because it’s all really official and fancy) is that we each work on one task/project per week in the book. Then, once a month I tell you how I did, what worked, what didn’t and you tell me how you did (in the comments or even with a blog post of your own). In theory we get through 4 tasks per month. (Here’s all the older posts.)
Notice I said “in theory”. Remember how I proclaimed my love of grace? This is where it comes in handy.
Well, you see, Life doesn’t always like to make way for bite sized self help kind of stuffs. Sometimes Life is survival mode. “Did we all make it alive today? Yes? My job here is done.”
Last month was Christmas and all of that hub bub, all five of us took turns having the stomach flu, and we got to ride in an ambulance.
So, I’ll just be honest and tell you right now that I only got through 2 tasks last month. It just wasn’t in the cards. Lo siento. (I’m really excited to try Task 15 though!) We should be good to go in the foreseeable future though.
Week 12: Clean Your Kitchen As You Cook
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Loving this. Totally doing this. It’s been awesome. There always seems to be this extra ten minutes or so before dinner is completely ready so I’ve been using that time to clean up and get stuff put away. I’m doing pretty good at this.
Plus, a side benefit is that dinner feels more peaceful when we eat in a clean kitchen. Not sitting at a table across from a sink overflowing with dirty dishes and a counter with shards of shredded cheese all over it.
This is good.
But you want to know what little “problem” I’ve had?
I’ve found that when dinner is done, and we’ve cleared the table, I don’t feel like doing the dishes…again.
I mean, I JUST did them like 15 minutes ago! Literally. Besides, it’s only a few plates and cups, right? I’ll just leave them for morning and load them when I do the breakfast dishes…
Boo.
Because when morning comes, it’s annoying to walk into a not clean kitchen. And those “few plates and cups” are now covered in a hardened mess of nasty that needs a pressure washer to get the food hunks off of it.
You would think I had learned my lesson by now. Notsomuch.
Week 12: Plan Weekly Meetings With Your Spouse
This one is a little bit on the hard side for us.
Because it doesn’t feel natural…it’s almost “awkward” to be all formal and have a meeting…you know, with the person you see every day for hours at a time. Scheduling a meeting sounds really official. And we’re not official kind of people. We’re goofy, silly, teasing kind of people. I’m pretty sure Andy would raise an eyebrow and totally laugh if I said we needed to schedule a meeting every week. It’s just not our style. Is that weird?
But the truth is that we DO go over our calendars on a very regular basis. I pull out my pretty, colorful Erin Condren planner and my pink pen, and he pulls out his oh-so-practical and digital iPhone calendar and we go over what we have going on that week. I make squiggles and sunbursts, he types in Arial.
Between his travel schedule and all the appointments I have to keep for the kids, we really need to know what’s going on with the other. I need to know in advance if he’ll be in another country when Jill has a doctor’s appointment. After all, am I lugging all three kids with me or do I try to find someone I can drop them off with? Does he need me to have all the laundry done and dry cleaning picked up by a certain day because he’s going to a conference? Will he be home for dinner on Thursday or should I make something on Wednesday that will have leftovers for me and the kids? I want to go to coffee with Joy on Tuesday, does that work?
Right now we go over our schedules for the week on Monday mornings over breakfast and coffee. The kids are usually in the other room watching cartoons (yes, I am that mom…hate me) so it’s fairly uninterrupted. Not 100%. But I’m okay with that. That’s our life. And it’s more of our personality.
But do you see what I just did? Tsh’s ebook isn’t about rigidity and doing everything exactly like she does. I think it’s more of a series of goals and things that, in some way, you should be doing. You can tweak it and fiddle with it in a way that works for you and your family. Do I do it exactly like Tsh suggests? Nope, but I’m still doing it aren’t I?
I love that. It makes it so much more manageable.
Are you playing along with us One Bite at a Time? How did you do last month?
Not yet? With the fresh start of a new year, it’s a perfect time to join us! The beauty of the way the book is laid out is that you don’t have to do it in any kind of order…you can start right alongside us on Week 14!
Do you WANT to play along? How about if I giveaway THREE of Tsh’s ebooks?!
Just leave me a comment in this post telling me what one thing you want to do better on this year? It doesn’t have to be a specific task covered in the ebook, just anything you keep telling yourself you need to work on. I’ll pull the winners on Saturday, January 7th.
Want to buy the book now and not wait? Use code HAPPYNEWYEAR and get the ebook for only $4!!!!
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Love it.
I always wash the dishes as I cook. Unfortunately my husband uses every pot and pan and bowl and spatula when he cooks. Even less fortunate is the fact that he is a firm believer in “he who cooks does not clean.”
❤Jodi from…
★★The Clutter-Free Classroom★★
Helping Teachers Get Organized
Oh…and as for what I want to do better:
Hubby and I really need to make an effort to spend alone time with each of the 3 kiddos. When the girls were born we went out of our way to make sure our son got plenty of alone time with each of us. However, although we do spend oodles of time with the girls, we tend to clump them into a unit.
Jodi´s last blog post ..Large Sorting Bins
Alriggggggghhhht. I’m in. I’ve been happily reading along with your progress for months now. Just reading. Now it’s time to do. And I’ve been in a blogging rut, so it should help with that too!
Mari´s last blog post ..She walks in beauty…
Hmmm…so many projects, so little time. Haha…isn’t that what we all say? I am trying really hard to clean as I go in the kitchen…and I need to apply that to other areas. SO, my big task this year is to get my filing under control and then keep up with it (instead of throwing everything in the dungeon…aka our basement!
I want to get better at UNPLUGGING so I can accomplish more throughout the day! I so enjoy my 20 minutes of quiet to catch up on my Google Reader after putting Baby Girl down for her morning nap, but often those 20 minutes s-t-r-e-t-c-h into 30 or 40, and all of a sudden I’m out of time. So, my goal is to limit myself to that time and then get going!
I agree with Erin – unplugging is on my list of “get better” at it goals. I want to be more present in each moment and redeem the time He has given me. I think to help with this I’m gonna be using my timer more often…well, and Tsh’s book would definitely help.
I’ve been contemplating getting it for awhile, but winning it would be an added blessing!
Fingers and toes crossed!
Alle´s last blog post ..:: Goals, Resolutions, and One Words…Oh, My! ::
I want less mess/clutter this year. Less horders and more organized. Is there a task for that?? Lol. Great post. My husband would give me the strangest look if I tried to schedule a meeting with him!
AbsoluteMommy´s last blog post ..Anything is possible…
I would like a chance for a free ebook… I want less stuff… less clutter this year. Less stuff, means I have to manage less. That sounds divine… especially with a new little one due in July.
I love cleaning as I cook, too. But I get that same feeling after dinner about cleaning (again!). That’s why it’s excellent to grow your kids up a few years so you can push you back from the table and declare that the clean up is the kid’s responsibility! ;)
I really want to start some sort of menu planning. Which I have tried a million times, and is super hard for me. When I have everything planned to have tacos on Wednesday….and then Wednesday comes and the thought of eating tacos makes me sick to my stomach. (did I mention I’m 6 months pregnant?!) Or my {almost} 2 year old isn’t cooperating and the lasagna I had planned just isn’t going to happen. I haven’t found a solution yet….but I’m getting sick of having tons of food in the house…but nothing that can actually be turned into a meal. Or running to the store when I realize I’m missing just 1 vital ingredient. :)
Meal planning! Must.get.better.at.meal.planning.
And Happy New Year!!!
Brianna´s last blog post ..Catholicizing my kids
I want to work on doing projects in the evening instead of just being a lump onthe sofa. I also really need to get me one of them Erin Condren planners. Those are so neat! I would also really like to organize my craft tutorials and recipes. Sigh. Thanks for the entry!
i have the book and started with the frog. waking at 5:30 – so far into the year i’m 3 for 4!! then i jumped right into menu planning on google calendar. WHY haven’t i done this before??? it is awesome – i have 2 weeks planned and can add as i think of meals we like. i can always rearrange if necessary. fantastic idea – now i can focus more energy during the day on other things!
Meal planning and keeping my house clean are my top priorities. Thanks for the inspiration and sharing your progress!
Karla´s last blog post ..Happy New Year!
I want to do better at planning my week… I want to stay organized with my planner… not just scribble on post its. Actually USE my planner and keep track of my week!
Unplugging, menu planning, and decluttering. We have 2 rooms down, 3 to go, but I am a loss as how to tackle those rooms.
There are a couple of comments already posted that I can amen to. The first post by Jodi could have been written by me. I wash dishes before I cook and wash up what I can while I’m cooking. I agree with you on not wanting to wash even more dishes after dinner though. I tend to leave them for the next day. And it is awful to wake up the next morning to a load of dishes in the sink. My husband is the same as Jodi’s, uses every dish, doesn’t clean up ANYTHING, and has the mentality of “he who cooks does not clean”.
And I’m with Erin in wanting to unplug more, mostly from the computer. I find myself jumping on at random parts of the day with the intention of looking for one thing, get distracted by email or FB or something, then a half hr to an hr later I’ve forgotten what I was originally looking for. So basically it ends up being wasted time. I want to be more plugged in to my kids, my husband, and my home.
I would love to have a more organized home this year. I know it’s a process that takes time, though.
There are so many things about my daily life that I would change, and I am working on each of those areas with vengeance! I definitely need to simplify before I loose control totally! I think right now one of the biggest areas would be my daughter’s daily routine. We have, from the day we brought her home, been on a schedule when it comes to naps and feedings. However, now that she is well into toddlerhood, I am finding that I need to be adjusting her schedule quite a bit. Especially now that we are going to be welcoming another girl in march, the schedule definitely needs adjustments so I can get the most out of my time with both of my girls!
I’d love to be better at using all the fresh foods that we buy. A lot if the time I buy lots of fresh veggies and such or pull meat out of the freezer only to let it waste away in the fridge bc I was too tired to cook or bc my parents invited us out to dinner, etc.
A big hope for this year is continue to get rid of the excess in our home! As more stuff leaves, we’re finding our home is so much easier to maintain! With 2 under 2, having an easy to maintain home is wonderful!
I always feel like these posts shouldn’t apply to me, since I’m not married and have no children, but being a new year and all–I want to be more organized too! And there is no better time than the present to live intentionally and work on my home, whether I feel like it’s complete or not. Thank you for sharing, I love reading your blog posts! I want to get better at doing the dishes before the next morning. Or keeping my desk clean, so I can actually get some work done!
I want to simplify my wardrobe and then only buy quality items that I love or will be very useful.
I need to finish the projects that I start!
I’m in “DECLUTTER” mode. Baby #2 due this spring, and suddenly the house feels smaller. Time to chuck anything I can to make some space!
And, after reading previous comments, unplugging would be an awesome goal, too! Pep-talk to self: get off the screen and focus more on your family (or decluttering), girl!!
Big thing: meal planning to stay on budget and expand hospitality. I would love to win a copy: Jan 7 is my birthday. How cool would that be?
i simply want to be more organized. period.
I’d like to do better about putting things away within a few days of using them….rather than the few weeks that it seems to be now.
This year I am trying to use my resources more intentionally and to contribute more small acts of altruism to those close to me. With a 4 month old and a 2.5 year old I’ve been on the receiving end lately and want to pay it forward.
Not letting my dining room table turn into a dumping ground is a major goal…
I want to spend less time on the computer. As for this week’s goals, I’m already cleaning the kitchen as I go, thanks to my roomate who got me in that habit, and I’m not married, so the second doesn’t apply.
Hmmm…I hadn’t read any of your posts about this ebook yet…I think I was missing out. I could use help with laundry, dishes, health/exercise…you name it!
I really like the idea of scheduling time with your spouse. It is really hard for my husband and I to get time completely alone where we can actually just talk and not be doing chores or something! Honestly, it doesn’t sound very romantic to schedule time with your spouse, but I think in this season of my life, that is something I need to be better about! Can’t wait to read Tsh’s book!
I would like to do better at managing the day to day clutter so that when I get a chunk of time, I can actually clean rather than spending 30+ minutes de-cluttering before I even get down to the nitty gritty. This is a skill I REALLY need to master because we have two young boys at home and two more identical twin boys on the way. I think I can hear my house crying as I type this!
wow, that sounds really great – an easy, organized method to getting organized :-) actually, i need a lot of help this year. i really want to work on meal planning. also scheduling in regular work outs. i need to declutter my house. and work on setting aside time for just hubby & i. okay, i REALLY need that book…lol!
kirstie@bonhomiejewelry´s last blog post ..encouraging words wednesday….{strongholds}
I really need/want to work on decluttering and organizing this year. New baby is due in March and we need to make room. And we just have too much stuff. I also want to focus on being “with” people more. I find that sometimes I will be near my daughter, but not with her. Playing with her, truly paying attention to her.
Melissa´s last blog post ..Walking!!!
I’d like to be better at finishing projects I’ve started. I have many curtain projects to tackle, fabric purchased just need to start them…
Naomi´s last blog post ..gingerbread dreams
I need to do better at arranging my schedule with my husband. The weekly meeting is a great idea!
She had me at simplify! Thanks for the great giveaway!
Alissa Circle´s last blog post ..Coffee Date
I’m not a person who sets New Year’s resolutions but this year I did set a few goals that I’m working VERY hard at accomplishing. My number one goal… make sure I’m putting my family first. This sounds generic but I mean really putting them first. Taking time to walk away from the computer, turning off the TV, and the hardest thing is putting my phone away. I have attendancy to get sucked into social media. Instead, we’re grabbing good old fashion board games, reading bed time stories even baking!
My next goal, date night with the hubby. That doesn’t sound that difficult right? It’s not time that hard for us, is being away from our girls. So instead we do family date nights. This year though, since we just celebrated our 10 year anniversary, I’m thinking a few of hours one-on-one with my husband is well deserved. I want to plan something extravagant just to show him after all these years how much he truly means to me.
Laura Hernandez´s last blog post ..Hello 2012 | Time for Change
I’m getting ready to get married and move 45 minutes away from where I am now, and consolidating all my personal belongings is proving difficult. I’m overhauling my closet, having a big garage sale, and scrubbing EVERYTHING! This book would be an amazing resource!
Sign me up too…..I need to organize so I can create a badly needed calm in my home! Working full-time, 3 kids, dog, etc…..I’ll take any tips I can get! HNY!!!
I need to work on being more disciplined with my computer time! And I would love to strat waking up earlier each day. Would love Tsh’s book!
Nikki_C´s last blog post ..So why this blog?
There are so many things, but I think if I could start going to be earlier, it would help with some of the other things. My husband doesn’t need as much sleep as I do, and I often get wrapped up in blogging & inter-webbing and am about an hour short on sleep each night. Must stop!
I want to work on self-control… and in the bigger picture, submitting everything to God. I have these areas where I hold out because I just don’t think it’s important enough, or I just don’t trust the benefit of following what I really know God wants me to do. I KNOW His plan is better than mine, but I want to LIVE it. Thanks for this series!
Thanks for the giveaway!
One thing that I’d like to do better on in 2012 is blogging. I’m semi-new to blogging and I’d like to make sure that I actually keep it up. Not for the sake of others to read but to use it as a way for me to “journal” what is going on in my life. I started one back in 2008 and went for a little less than a year but with an average of less than one post a month. So this time I’d like to actually keep up with it and post at least once a week on top of posting for InstaFriday.
Keeping the house clean, particularly the kitchen is a big challenge for me. I definitely need to make the effort to clean up each night and not wait until I’m out of clean plates…
I have a lot of aspirations for 2012, but decluttering is #1. Clutter and my sliding into disorganization is affecting my family and my work. But it is overwhelming and I need to break it down into do-able “bites”, which is my Tsh’s book seems perfect. Thanks for the opportunity to win it!
Just found your blog tonight, and I’m enjoying your series! This year’s goal is to go to bed earlier, so I can get up earlier, which allows me to intentionally try to spend an hour with my prayer and Bible reading. So far so good.
Would love the book. I need to declutter my house!