Motivational Tip #5

Choose one room of your home and go on a treasure hunt.  Find the most valuable/useful things in that room.  Now look at the other things in that room.  How many of them can you get rid of?

If the thought of going on a treasure hunt does not motivate you, read this article:

STUFF AND THINGS - The 75 Things Movement, Minimalism and Freedom

Now, I should confess upfront that I am not a minimalist, and probably never will be.  For one thing, I like my books too much.  Real books -- not computerised ones!  Never the less, I found this article motivations.  Imagine living with only 75 possessions.  What would you keep? 

Motivational Tip #2

Do the worst job first!

There is something that you know needs to be done, but are dreading doing.  You try to do other things, but just want to go back to bed -- to hide under the covers.  Let me tell you what:  There is nothing like just getting it done and over with. 

The other day, it was time to pay the bills  I hate that job!  And yet it comes twice a month...  I had managed to put it off for several days, but the due dates just kept getting closer, and I hate late fees even more than paying the bills, so decided it had to be done.  Done today.  But, I would clean my bathroom first, and help the little boys pick up there room, and weed the garden and then tend to some of my daily chores.  There would be plenty of time to get the bills paid!  Yah.  Right.  I cleaned my bathroom, sort of.  It did look a little better than when I had begun.  Then I mosied outside, determined to do better at weeding, but after wandering around the garden for half an hour, I decided it was time for a break.  It was only after I had a glass of water in my hand that I realized I had not pulled a single weed the entire time I was out there.  I attempted to do some other things, I even tried to write several articles, but nothing good came about.  Finally, I realized, I just didn't want to pay the bills and that nothing was going to change until they were out of the way. 

Time to bit the bullet.  Sit down.  Getter done!  It was 5 pm.  I had wasted the whole day, not paying the bills.  By 5:30, the bills were all paid, recorded, stamped and ready to go.  And I finally had energy!  Energy and ideas!  I cooked a good supper and cleaned up several other things that had been bothering me all day.  Today, I started with the most unpleasant chore:  Admitting to my husband that I had lost a tool he had loaned me, and had no ideas left as to where to look for it.  *embarrassing*

He found the tool a few hours later.  It was on his work bench, probably where I had set it moments after he had entrusted me with it.  *relief*  And I got quite a bit done today. 

Doing the worst job first is a trick I learned from reading the Little House books as a child.  When Laura was a teen she had a job at the local General Store, sewing shirts.  She hated making button holes, so always did them as soon as she could, and as quickly as possible.  She did such a good job at them, that her boss complimented her, thinking it was her favorite part of shirt making.  She did it so that she could enjoy the rest of the prosses.

Get Me Moving! Motivate Me to Clean!

The motivation to clean comes and goes, like the tide.  The need to clean, however, does not, especially when you have a family!  Cleaning can seem like a non-stop chore, but it does not have to be.   There are ways of getting your home clean and enjoying the day, without hiring a maid. 

As I find things that motivate me or articles that inspire, I will post them as 'Motivational Tip # __ '.  I will also be tagging them by type, so that you can easily brows the ones most likely to motivate you.

If you need something, right now, go pick up all of the trash you can find laying around your home.  It will give you a sense of accomplishment and make a difference in the way your home appears and feels.

When the trash is gone, pick up the dirty laundry and deposit it in a hamper.  If you have a washing machine in your home, start a load!  Set a timer for one hour, so that you don't forget to move it over to the dryer or hang it out when it is done.

Now, plan what you are having for supper and get anything frozen thawing.  Decide when you need to begin cooking and clear the table, so that you have a place to eat.

Make the Necessary Changes

One of the most useful things you can learn to do is to put away what ever it is you are using, when you are done with it.  Learn to do this yourself and teach your children.  It will cut down on the amount of clutter and misplaced items around your home.  It is simple enough, that even a toddler can learn...

But what if your things don't have a place? 

Organized people love to say, "A place for everything and everything in it's place."  And they are right.  As much as I hate to admit it, they are right.  I wish there was an easier way, but there is not!  If you want order, then the things you own need a place.  A place that is accessible and orderly.  As I told my children the other day, "Your closet may be where that belongs, but if you just throw it on the floor, you will not be able to find it when you need it!"  They knew I was right, because the closet floor was three feet deep with stuff, and they were in tears trying to find their things.   After my little lecture, we hauled everything out of the closet, threw all of the trash away, sorted through what was left, putting away the things that readily had a place, and then made decisions on the few things that were left.  The things that they did not value enough to find a place for were given away.

In my opinion, getting rid of clutter is the hardest part of cleaning.  What do you hold onto and what do you get rid of?  The best advice I have found came from the book, Throw Out Fifty Things, by Gail Blanke.  She said to keep things that are loved, beautiful and useful.  She said to get rid of things that weigh you down or are not loved, beautiful or useful.  She also said to get rid of anything that you hesitate on.  Those hesitations were the part that had always kept me from feeling like I had succeeded.  Now I know that if I look at something and hem and ha over what to do with it, it needs to be given away.  Plain and simple!

Don't let the cleaning and organizing overwhelm you.  Do what you can, do what you know.  I realize the mess is fustrating, but you will burn out quickly without regular breaks.

Afraid of Running Out

Do you ever find yourself in a quandary over doing the projects on your list, because somewhere in your subconscious, you are afraid of running out of things to do?  I know I get that way.  I look around me, and there is no end of things to do, and yet I panic.  What if I were to run out?  What would I do then?  *breathing in a paper sack* 

The fear can be overwhelming, but so can the ridiculousness of the situation.  This morning I was talking to a gal, who brought up this very point.  She was asking how one is to stay motivated when it seems that the work will never be done and yet you are fearful of running out.  My first suggestion was to make a bucket list.  She started laughing, and said, "I think it would take about a 5 gallon bucket to hold my list!  By the way, where did that term come from?"  I told her that I thought it was a list of things you wanted to do before you died.  She thought about that for a moment, then said, "In that case, I will never run out of things to do."

I felt like her response was key.  So often we are absorbed by what we see, we forget to dream and we forget the dreams we have already had.  We forget that if we fulfil one dream, there will be another one, ready and waiting to take it's place.  If we finish one project, we will find another one to do.  It is like the kitchen floor:  Sweeping the floor today will not make it disappear.  It will still be there tomorrow.  It will need swept again tomorrow, and if your house is anything like mine, it will need scrubbed too.  There will never be an end of things to be done!  (I know, that can be good news or bad news, depending on your mood.) 

I told her that me favorite way to keep moving was to come at the situation form a new direction.  That is the reason for "Today's Inspiration", found at the top of the page.  It is one way to come at things, from a new perspective, and at the end of the day, you will know that you got at least one 'big' thing done.  One thing that will make a difference, even if the kitchen floor does need to be swept again.  again.  again.  again.

Is there an echo in here?

Oh, and she decided that her 'big' thing was to fill up the scrub bucket with water once a day, and use it for whatever.  Be it a shelf in her new home that has not been scrubbed in 40 years or the kitchen floor.  It really didn't matter what.  The point was to do it.  To be able to say that it was done!