Joining the bullet (journal) train

Several months ago my daughter started talking abut her bullet journal. I did some cursory  investigating and decided it was not for me.

Since then, I've seen more people talking about it. I've read blogs beyond the bullet journal basics that I originally saw. I've come to the conclusion that the flexibility of it may be exactly what I need, and what is always lacking in the planners I buy.

So I ordered this.

It's a Leuchtturm 1917. I chose it because of the dot grid inside. I have always liked to use graph paper, and this is like the best combination of graph paper and a blank page.

As you can see here, I went off track on the first line I drew. I had to get over the fear of making mistakes quickly!

I like the concept of a future log. I think this should be a good amount of room. If not, part of the appeal for me was how elastic this concept is. The later months are all on one page, with a blank page next to them for notes or things that need to be noted for 2018.

I decided to do my month on the page sideways. I don't think I need the two pages, but if I decide I do, that can change next month. I have space for notes about the month, plus room for a tracker for habits that I want to develop. Birthdays are going to go in the space below the calendar.

I am planning a page for each day. Again, this can be adjusted, depending on how much space I need. Right now I don't have a page for each week. That, too, can always change, if I decide I need it. The washi tape is also serving as a tab on my page for recommendations.

The recommendations page will also help me with another goal of mine, which is to look at my phone less.

So, this is what I'm trying. I think it will last longer than most of my planners do. I look forward to using it, and I'll be sure to report back.

Hanging on

The photo above is of a couple of paragraphs from Unstuffed by Ruth Soukup. If you have trouble with clutter or organization, you may find her books helpful. I have. And her website is packed with money-saving ideas.

These paragraphs have been so helpful to me, and I keep returning to them to remind myself that getting rid of things isn't getting rid of my memories of the person who they belonged to. I am very sentimental, and getting rid of anything that belonged to either of my grandmothers is really hard for me, no matter how much I don't need it.

And things that remind me of my kids' childhoods. SO hard to part with. 

We have a rummage sale coming up at church, and being able to donate things is good motivation. And every time I get ready, out of sentiment, to hang onto something that I really don't want, I remind myself of these ideas.

Happy things #9

Tonight you get several pictures. And quite a few words.

I had a very rare entire day at home today. It was my day off work and I didn't have a car. I had decided last night that I was going to tackle our unmatched sock monster today. And I did. But that's another story.

While I was working on the sock project, I decided that I should work on the linen closet. And then, while I was at it, I decided to work on the linen press, too.

Presenting today's happy thing.

 

This is my linen closet. Nothing is falling out or falling over. Tomorrow I will use my label maker, which I keep at church, to label the spots where the post-its are. On the top shelf on the left are the queen sheets, on the right are two of the king sets and my summer duvet cover and shams, each tied with a nice piece of tulle ribbon. 

Below that, from left to right are full sheets, twin sheets, and pillow cases.

I got rid of the pillowcases that no one likes. I got rid of a few fitted sheets that had lost their elasticity. A couple of the sheets that are no longer fit for that purpose are going to become pillow cases, since I like large pillows and king cases are expensive. I also have a list of a couple of items that we need.

I also got rid of any wash cloths and hand towels that had gotten too shabby. Getting rid of a stack of hand towels bought me enough room that when most of our towels are clean, they will fit in the closet in three stacks. If they're ever all clean, we're in trouble.

An extra mattress pad, comforter, and blanket fill in the final shelf. The Rubbermaid container is full of stuff for ongoing house projects, that's a good place for it, for now.

It isn't Pinterest-worthy, but it is neat and functional and I am ecstatic.

THIS is one of those awesome things about an old house. This is the linen press. It is across our 9'x 9' upstairs hall from the linen closet. The cabinet is three feet wide and two feet deep.

 Nothing is falling out of it either. Everything is organized. The top shelf has back up toilet paper and paper towels, three comforters, and a blanket. The second shelf has a dozen beach towels; tissues; a tote with swiffer cloths, cleaning wipes, a few dust cloths that I can just grab quickly; and back up laundry supplies. The lowest shelf has the current toilet paper  and paper towel packages, cleaning supplies, and extra personal care items.

I have a rag drawer. I have a drawer for tablecloths, but they are needing a bit more room, so I'm working on consolidating the middle two drawers which have first aid supplies, hair-cutting stuff, and a lot of miscellaneous.

We have a lot of linens. We have eight beds that will sleep eleven people, and air mattresses and couches to accommodate another eight or so. We still have a few more comforters that need homes, but we'll get there.

 Tonight, these two spaces make me very, very happy.

Margin, take two, or maybe three

About exactly six months ago I began thinking and writing about the concept of margin. For a while I seemed to be getting a handle on my schedule. Then just a couple of things outside of my direct control turned my life into something resembling a game of pick-up sticks.

The kind of chaos that needs to end.

Fresh off a few really busy weeks, followed by a short vacation, I'm ready to get back to work on creating some margin in my life. I'm ready to spend some time on the things that I really want to spend time on. I'm ready to try to get rid of more of my physical and mental clutter.

This week, with the help and support of my boss, I've instituted a firm limit on the amount of time I will spend at work in a week. This is going to be a huge help. Now I just need to stick to it.

I've gotten my calendar out and scheduled some time for my genealogy, both my personal research and the work I need to do toward becoming accredited.

I'm trying to figure out what needs to happen with my house to make things as functional as possible.

I've set a date for a yard sale. And for a visit with the husband at his apartment. And a trip to the art museum. Because if these things don't get scheduled, they don't happen.

There are some variables that may make adjustments necessary. I will be a child-care backup for a friend's one-year-old this school year, and will have him most of the week from time to time. I may have family things that come up. Who knows what may happen. But, for now, it feels good to have something of a plan.

Margin multiplies

Maybe the book will talk about this. I don't know. But what I do know is that margin multiplies.

It does. It is rather amazing.

It started with just thinking about margin and realizing that I needed it. Over a couple of weeks I planned in project time and empty time, among the hustle of work and other activities. Putting OPEN time on my calendar meant that when things happened during the week and ate up my project time, I still had my Sunday afternoon that was for whatever: a nap, a project, reading, cleaning. Whatever.

I chose to use the free time to clean my pantry, a task that had been bumped by a couple of unexpected trips across town earlier in the week. This picture is the after. The before had me embarrassed to have anyone in my house,  completely clueless about what was in my pantry, and completely incapable of finding anything that I was fairly certain was in there.

Besides, I LOVE this room. It holds some of my favorite things. It is a beautiful space. I'm lucky to have it. And I want to enjoy it.

But that isn't what this post is about. It's about margin multiplying.

Since I got the pantry cleaned and organized, I was able to fix dinner Sunday through Wednesday without making a trip to the grocery. (Which means I got to miss the beginning of the month food stamp crowd and the oh-no-a-snowstorm! crowd.)  This also meant that I didn't have to squeeze a trip to the grocery in and that I got to use the time for other things.

Since the pantry was done, my Wednesday afternoon project time was spent on paperwork. I got bills paid. Looked at budgeting for the next couple of months. Balanced the checking account. And I got most of the papers that we need for our taxes pulled together over two weeks before I meet with the accountant. (By the way, talk about a decision that gave me margin!) I identified two things that I am missing while there is still plenty of time to get them.

I have margin at work. I am now consistently working at least two weeks ahead.

Knowing what was in my pantry alerted me to some things that need to be used up. This is going to save us money in the long run. More margin.

For me, one huge benefit that I am already seeing is a reduction in worry. This means that I slept like a baby last night. Nothing was nagging at my brain. Good sleep means waking up ready to go. I was able to move through a very busy day feeling like I was firing on all cylinders. Today was incredibly productive. Productivity means that I got more done today than I had planned at work, so I don't need to work tomorrow. More margin!

For some of you, all of this is going to seem so obvious. But for me, with my ADD brain and my heretofore chronically over-committed life, this is a revelation.

Pray for me, that I will be able to maintain it.

One problem with time management books

" The goal of much that is written about life management is to enable us to do more in less time." Jean Fleming, quoted in Margin. "Perhaps we need to get less done, but the right things."

YES. Oh yes.

The things that happen

When I'm overwhelmed I get more absent-minded. This week I was distracted. Busy. Andrew, who often helps me keep my head on, was very busy working and getting ready for a D&D weekend.
I tried to fit in a few household tasks on Thursday. One of those was making some stock with the carcass of Monday's roasted chicken.

I made the stock.

And then I went to work, made salad for 50 people, went to church, went home exhausted, and went to bed. Friday I was at work almost all day, except when I was running errands. I was gone last night. I went to work this morning, then to the grocery, then did laundry and worked on cleaning the upstairs.

I just decided to get started on the chili for tomorrow's lunch for the D&D players. Grabbed my stock pot from the back of the stove, where I assumed it was sitting clean, having completely forgotten that the stock ever existed.

Oh yes. It's still there.

Andrew usually makes sure all food is properly stowed before he goes to bed. But he probably assumed that the stockpot, sitting on the back of the stove with the lid on, was clean, just like I did today.

Now I need to get rid of wasted, yucky, beginning-to-smell stock before I can cook. This is why I need margin.

Being derailed

Every time I  make a new attempt to get organized, get control, or anything else of the sort, I get derailed very quickly. Something happens--life, my raging ADD, busyness--and knocks me off the tracks and instead of hopping back on, I just chuck it all.

This week I have had my schedule thrown off by a bad headache and sore throat, which wiped out my cleaning day, and a couple of unproductive days at work caused by too many interruptions one day and grief over the death of an on-line friend's husband the other. (If you are not already, please pray for Rhonda. Her husband's death leaves her a widow with six children from four months to 10 years.)

So today, which was to be my catch-up and project day at home, with a little scrapbooking for good measure, is, of necessity, going to be spent mostly at work. But instead of chucking it all, I am determined to regroup. I'm going to sit down with my calendar at lunch and plan next week, shifting a few things around to make up for this week's lapses.

How do those of you who plan your time make up for lost days? I have no problem being flexible; flexible is my middle name.  That is what has always gotten me into trouble with any kind of plan. I'm so flexible that any sign of the plan is soon gone.

And as the week ends I am still behind on my house; I still haven't done a thing with my pictures this year; the laundry is piling up; the refrigerator is a disorganized mess. . . .

First thoughts about margin

A couple of posts ago I wrote about gaining control of my time. As part of that effort, I ordered a book that a friend recommended several years ago. The title is Margin and it is about giving yourself some space in all of the aspects of your life: time, finances, physical energy, and emotional energy.

As I've started reading it, one of the things that has struck me is how many different directions we have things coming at us from and how many different directions we are pulled by things. I started limiting inputs a couple of years ago. I dumped an email list that was made up of people for whom I cared, but that was--overall--mostly a source of stress. I left a couple of others that had ceased to be useful to me. We got rid of our satellite television service. (That deserves a whole post of its own!)

I have also tried to limit things that are pulling at me. I left a board of directors that made huge, largely thankless, demands on my time. I still serve the group, but in smaller ways. And since I'm no longer on the board, it is easier to say no to those things that I am not inclined to help with. I have avoided the temptations of several other opportunities to be heavily involved with various groups and instead serve, when I can, from the periphery. We also finally found someone to take on my treasurer position at church, which all too often seemed to be the proverbial straw on this camel's back.

There are more things like this that may be jettisoned soon. Nothing is off the table right now.

This room needs margin.

I have a former business that I have left in limbo. I am still spending money--just a small amount, but still money--each month for tools that I am not currently using. I need to come to a decision about the place of that business in my life. Right now it is mental, emotional, and physical clutter. All useful if I return to being active in the business, but if not, there really needs to be a period put to it.

I am also looking for ways to simplify and help to clear out even more of the stuff around here. I have promised myself weekly scrapbooking time, but this year I need to use up the supplies I have. So, that means no new paper. (This truly is not a hardship.) This will save money and force me to use some of the thousands of sheets of paper and cardstock that are taking up space in my extra room.


Anyone who sees me often knows that I wear the same clothes almost all the time. Yet I own a lot of clothes. That fit. And are nice, stylish clothes. I need to figure out what I am going to use and allow the rest to be useful to someone else, instead of hanging in the closet torturing me.

There's more. And I have more of the book to read. But the campaign for peace and sanity continues.

Time control

With January coming to an end, it seems like it's high time to make some decisions about what I'm going to do differently this year. I've been thinking about it a lot, but I've just been either too busy or too wrapped up in being sick to really think about it.

The timing for reading this blog post was good.

I have cleared some things off my plate over the last couple of years. Some due to decisions and some due to kids getting older--like becoming adults--and not needing the same kind of time. But I don't feel like I'm making good use of the time that I've gained. I do manage to get things accomplished, but there are also a lot of things that I just never seem to get to.

Until this month, I have done pretty well protecting my Tuesday. It is the day that I have decided that I don't work. In fact, I try to not even go into the church. It has been the day that I know that I can at least get a nice chunk of housework done and catch up a bit on the laundry. But this month because of being sick, going to visit the hubby, and trying to make up for being gone, I have not had a single entire day at home. (Except when I was too sick to do anything.)

But I need that day. And I'm going to start planning one minor major project for each Tuesday. Tasks like cleaning the refrigerator that need to be done regularly, although not weekly. Things that help other aspects of life stay under control. (In the case of the fridge, the current level of disorganization impacts meal preparation and the food budget. We have waste. We have duplication.) I also want to schedule some time each week for house projects, instead of just hoping that there is time available. We still have a long way to go on this house. There are things like painting, curtains, and minor repairs that I can do.

My work time is already on my calendar. But I need to plan some time for my other potential income sources. I need to plan time for eBay & Craigslist listings. I need to plan time to continue the work that I have done toward being certified as a genealogist. And I need to keep trying to figure out how I can contribute more to the family income so that my husband can come home.

I am going to schedule some time for scrapbooking. I don't know if it will be weekly. Maybe I would rather have a longer time less frequently.

And finally, and possibly most importantly, I am going to schedule time for people, starting with my husband. For too long our relationship has been crowded into weekends that are full of house projects and church activities. I spent a week at his apartment in January. We're taking a vacation--our first in several years--together in February. I am going to plan time with him each month outside of the weekends.

I am also going to schedule time for my friends. I do pretty well keeping up with my local friends, although once in a while I realize that I have hardly seen one of them for months. I'm trying to figure out exactly how I want to handle making sure that time happens. The larger task is getting some time planned into my schedule to spend with out-of-town friends. I have been very lucky. Because of events in Fort Wayne I get to see my out-of-town friends more often than I deserve. I am spoiled. But there are several of them that I have wanted to visit. Some for YEARS. None of them live that far away. This year those visits need to happen.

And then, of course, I need to make sure that I allow for time to visit my daughter and enjoy being Grandma.

I am hoping that getting more organized about how I'm spending my time will make my downtime feel more relaxing. Most of the time when I am not actively accomplishing something I'm feeling like I should be. Guilt is not relaxing.

We'll see how this goes. Being organized has never been my strong point. But I do love calendars and lists.

Costs of disorganization

I keep finding myself paying the price, financial and otherwise, for being chaotically disorganized.
I've had to pay late fees on bills frequently during the past six months.
I just paid $26 extra dollars to sign my son up for the SAT.
Yesterday it was $32 in library fines.
I lose hours each week just searching for things.
We aren't eating as well as we could be.

The problem is that I need some time to get organized, but there is always something more urgent. The overwhelmingness of this move has taken me by surprise. I've made state-to-state moves with small children that didn't leave me in this kind of chaos. Maybe that was easier because moving was, in itself, a break. I didn't move and continue to work and do my regular activities. And I guess I didn't do all of that and plan a wedding and have to work on rehabbing a house at the same time, either. So, I guess I can see how I got here.

But looking ahead, I don't see a break coming. I don't see a chance to catch up. There is Thanksgiving. There are cookies to be baked the week after (about 30 dozen.) There is Christmas shopping, house guests, and--oh yeah--this is one of the busy times at church/work.

Somehow, I have to figure it out, because I can't continue in the disorganized state that I'm in.

"I know that book is in the basement somewhere"

My kids have heard me say it more than a few times. I said it about Candide. I said it about Native Son. I said it about Death be Not Proud. I said it about a few books that I've purchased in the last couple of years, even though I was sure they were in the basement somewhere.

Today I found them. In a large, tall Rubbermaid container. Under Bethany's drawings, costume jewelry, Valentine napkins, and packing paper. On top of miscellaneous legos, pieces of toys, and plastic Easter eggs. This bin had been packed by our movers on April 27, 2002 in our basement in Spring Grove. It had been in storage in a warehouse for several weeks. Then it arrived at our house in late May. It was opened, judged--based on the contents on top--to be something I could look through later and put aside. Somehow it got shoved behind the even larger box of dress-up clothes and the box of castle and pirate toys and under the desk that was left in the basement by the previous owners. Earlier basement cleanings assumed that since it was a Rubbermaid bin, the contents were supposed to be there.

Until today. Patrick and I are leaving no box unexamined in the quest for things we can sell, throw away, or otherwise dispose of. He opened the box and the first thing I saw was a drawing of Bethany's, followed by a Xerox of three-year-old Andrew's hand. We pulled the box out, swept off some webbies, and began the excavation.

Attempted shopping, part two

Yesterday I tried again. This time I went to Jefferson Pointe.

I did see several things at Von Maur that were very pretty, unfortunately they were constructed in such a way that they were more revealing than my undergarments. Not good. I did find a dress for my favorite life-size Barbie, who really doesn't need a new dress, but I couldn't resist.

I enjoyed walking around JP in the gorgeous sunshine. I visited a few other stores, including my beloved Chico's, even though I knew that they wouldn't have what I was looking for this time. I did find a really pretty shirt, though.

I decided that I would visit Stein Mart on my way home. I got to my car and began searching for my keys. And searching. And searching. Looked in the car window. Couldn't see the keys anywhere.

Did I stick them in my pocket instead of my purse when I got out of the car? Did I drop them when I was putting them in my purse? Did I drop them when I was paying at one of the stores? I retraced my steps, asked at each of the stores. No luck.

Called Bethany to come get me, but then I realized that that would do no good, because I have the only key to that car. So I called a locksmith who could make me a new key after we got my door open if the key wasn't in there. It took about 45 minutes for him to get there, but I had Bethany most of the time, so it went pretty quickly.

He popped open the door and I got in and started looking. My keys were under my book bag on the passenger seat. I still have NO idea how they got there.

I ended up blowing most of the afternoon, but I did learn some lessons:
--Do not talk on the phone to your mother and your almost-five-year-old niece while getting out of the car.
--No matter how many paranoid emails you get about not locking the car with the key fob because of people waiting in parking lots to steal the signal and break into your car, use the key fob. I am--obviously--in far greater danger of locking the keys in the car.
--When they doctor has just told you to avoid citrus fruits, don't drink lemonade, no matter how thirsty you think you are and how good it looks.

You've seen this one before

Once again I am trying to get a modicum of control over my life. Yes, again.

I spent some hours Saturday--as I sat on the couch with my bum ankle and newly-twisted knee propped up and iced--berating myself for my lack of accomplishment. I haven't been to the Y in months. My house is pretty much of a wreck. I haven't baked since Christmas, aside from one delightful triple batch of biscuits. I am making almost no contribution to the family finances, even though a modicum of effort would add a significant amount to my income. I really want to sell my house, but there is a huge amount that needs to be done in order to accomplish that.

As I stewed, I remembered a suggestion for mothers who get to the end of the day and feel like the haven't accomplished anything. Make a list of what you was accomplish and then cross items off. So I went back a week to last Saturday and wrote down everything that I had done. Suddenly, I didn't look like such a slacker. There was work done on the church nursery and books. There was an out-of-town trip and shopping. There were meetings. There was laundry and cleaning. There was cooking for about 50 people outside our family across three different occasions. Then there was a bum-leg day on Friday, when I at least got photos uploaded and ordered from Snapfish.

I felt a bit better. Maybe I'm not a slacker. But I still have a problem. I have to find a way to fit in the things that I want and need to do.

Time flies

It does. When I'm working and listening to Issues, Etc., time flies.

I am trying to get my office cleaned out so that I can get my scrapbooking stuff moved up here and organized. So I have spent several hours going through old paperwork: sorting, trashing, putting in the shred pile. I've managed to clear out one huge Rubbermaid box worth of paper and several smaller things. Old tax records that need to stay around are now in the basement.

Normally this feels like drudgery, but Todd Wilken and his guests have been keeping me company. Thanks guys!

Scrapping haven

I've been making plans to turn my office into a combination scrapbooking room/office. I've been looking at storage options and trying to figure out how I could configure things. Now that we're thinking about moving, it may not happen in this house, but I want a workable srapbooking area in my next house it not here.

So, I've been looking at ideas on line. This page has lots of different rooms. I love this one, although my color choices would be different. I would probably go with a beach-y color scheme. Here are some more.

I have a feeling when It comes down to it and I finally get to set up my scrapping space, I'll probably give Emily a call. She has the organizing gift. I seem to be missing that gene.

Order

My theme for the past month, and for the foreseeable future is "bringing order out of chaos." And chaos isn't too strong a word.

I have managed to function for the past couple of years by only doing what is urgent at any time, and letting everything else slide. I was trying to do too many things without the time, space, or tools to do them properly. I would scramble to clean the downstairs for company, and a chaotic mess would be shifted upstairs, but I was always in too much of a hurry to put those things in their proper places later.

I've written about ironing my dish towels. It's a small thing, but it is bringing order, and I like it. Today is a closet-cleaning day. I'm getting rid of outdated records, straightening the linen closet, and getting rid of things that no longer serve a purpose. As I decide to keep something I am making sure that it has a place of its own.

My scrapbooking weekend helped to bring more order, but it also pointed out how much I've lost track of things. I discovered when I started working on my books that I thought I had pictures from 2007, but they were from 2006. I couldn't figure out where the late 2007/early 2008 photos were. I finally figured out that they had been saved to my old computer and never uploaded to Snapfish. I have always printed my photos in order, but I'm really messed up now!

This isn't a big problem, but it's a symptom of the disorganization that I've been living with. When my life is chaotic things slip through the cracks. I'm fortunate that most of them have been small!

Delicious

I spent a little time this morning in a class at the library on using del.icio.us. I have had an account for a while, but just never took the time to figure it out.

I'm having fun with it now! Another excuse to surf the net.

I really do hope it will help me keep better track of my links. My bookmarks all are on my old computer, and they were always so hard to keep organized. (And I have enough difficulty being organized!)

My to-do list

This list is going to be an ongoing exercise. I don't have a deadline on these, but I want to do them before I die. When I accomplish an item it will change colors. If I change my mind, I will strike it through.

In no particular order, things I want to accomplish. (as of 6/19/2008) (Updated 11/25/2012)

1. Learn to make a souffle.
2. Visit England.
3. Swim a mile. (Not happening.)

4. Make a dress that looks good enough to wear. (Can I just pay someone?)
5. Learn Spanish.
6. Go to a Broadway show. (On Broadway.)
7. Sell another article.
8. Make my own tortillas.
9. Make noodles as good as Grandma's.
10. Get my scrapping stuff organized and out of my dining room.(It has its own room, but it still isn't organized.)
11. Find out who Sarah Serring was. (Progress.)
12. Move.
13. Paint my grandma's kitchen table and chairs.
14. Wash the windows.
15. Have six month emergency fund.
16. Ten pounds. Just ten pounds. (Try 27.)
17. Clean the master bedroom.
18. And paint it. (I still need to paint my new one!)
19. And paint the furniture.
20. And the master bath, while I'm at it.
21. And the kitchen cupboards.
22. And then the dining room. (New dining room.)
23. Reupholster the dining room chairs.
24. Make a perfect risotto.
25. Make money doing what I love.
26. Go back to Italy.
27. Learn to read German.
28. Have four rooms in my house that are they way I want them.
29.  Sell the box of stuff that I have for eBay.
30. Get everything off the front porch that doesn't belong.

Life gets in the way

This is the phrase that sums up my life.

I feel like I never get half of what I want to do done, because I'm always busy doing something else. Sometimes the things I'm doing are urgent and necessary things like car repairs, laundry, grocery trips and cooking meals. Other times they are things that are good to do like volunteer work or cleaning windows. Not necessary, but good. Once in a while they are even things that I want to do like meeting a couple of friends for lunch or writing on my blog.

But it doesn't matter what I'm doing, there are always 50 other things that I should or would like to be doing and at the end of the day I never feel like I've accomplished enough and there are things left undone.

My friend Susan blogged about this general thing a day or two ago, so I know I'm not alone. And apparently even Glenda, who always strikes me as being very together, worries about whether she's accomplishing anything. (It's even the title of her blog!)

I'm considering trying Reb. Mary's idea for a few days. I don't have the new baby excuse, but I do share her list problem!