Completion Habit

As October has marched by in all the beauty of fall, we in our home are focusing more on the habit of completion*.  When finishing with an activity or task completely finish it.  This could be putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher  when done eating, cleaning up the game pieces and putting them away when a game is over, folding the blanket when you are done with it, placing the dirty clothes in the hamper not just near it, or hanging up your sweater when you come in from outside. 

Most completion tasks are simple tasks, yet the impact is amazing.  Not only is clean up easy (it is mostly all done already), but the overall effect is a hidden, or not so hidden, neatness to stuff of your home.  A more subtle effect is the development and strengthening of character: of being someone who completes what one does.  That effect has lifetime impact!  

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*This habit is taken from Regina Leeds's, One Year To An Organized Life.  

Decluttering recommendation

I read a post today from Unclutterer.com on Three Organizing Essentials. It's simplicity struck me. I just wanted to share what I have found, and I hope it helps encourage you to keep it simple as you seek to organize, manage, or declutter your life. 

Do Nothing Weekend

OK - this post was to occur Sunday morning.  This morning as I reviewed the blogging sites I read regularly, I saw it had not posted.  In reviewing the details, I realized I had mistyped the date for it to post.  So, here is my Sunday morning post . . . 

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At the beginning of the year, I had, mostly by accident, a do nothing weekend.  There was nothing scheduled on our calendar.  My family was enjoying some down time after the holidays.  I had no big plans or ideas of projects to be accomplished - I just lived the weekend doing whatever it was that our family wanted.  I did a lot of playing games and reading those few days.  It was nice, not something that I would want to do all the time (for I love schedules and projects and marking tasks off a to do list), but a very nice change of pace. 

So, my planning brain decided that I should "plan" a do nothing weekend periodically.  Then the question became "When?".  The logic in me looked at the calendar and realized that the way January dates fell this year there were five weekends in January.  What if every month there were five weekends, I chose the first weekend of that month as my "off" days?  The idea sounded good to me, so I marked the weekend for April. 

As April came and things were crazy with work and home life, the "off" weekend was pushed to the end of the month.  Then we had a family celebration scheduled that weekend, so it was pushed out one more weekend.  And here we are . . . my scheduled do nothing days are here, just in time for Mother's Day.  :)

So as I write this Friday morning, I am starting my do nothing weekend.  I know I will be plenty busy, after all food and laundry and demands of children and picking up the house don't wait; however, I have no specific expectations of what I "must" get done.  I hope to relax and play and read more often than usual, and I am sure that there are a few projects that will get worked on along the way.  It has become more of a mental break for me, than a physical one. 

All in all - I am looking forward to a weekend filled with whatever is choosen to fill the moment. 

Trimming The Fat

Most all of us eat fat in our diet in one form or another.  Some of us eat alot of it, and some of us eat very little.  Fat adds flavor and aids in our cooking.  Too much of it can lead so some serious dietary problems.  

So it is with the activities we do . . . may they be considered "fat"?  Are they are the extras?  Some of the activities we may dedicate our time to are good - they add flavor to our days and help to keep things running smoothly - however, when done in excess they add challenges to our schedules.

Is there something you do that might be considered fat?  Maybe it might be time to trim some of the fat - not necessilary eliminate it all together, just trim it down.