Hi...Remember me? Checklist!

So...its been OVER a month since I've last blogged...I'm pretty sure Nony the Slob has never done THIS! Granted, I'm still reading her blog, but she is very consistent.  My life has become a ball of stress lately, but I wanna get back on the wagon.  Strangely enough, I have been doing my tasks MOST of the time.  I haven't done ALL of my tasks EVERY DAY, but I've done enough.  So tonight, I read back through all of my posts.  One thing I noticed is I REALLY need to edit my posts.  Words are missing, thoughts are incomplete.  It is clear I KNEW what I meant, but I'm sure no one else did.  At this point my blog is still so new, I have 0 followers.  Down the road, this long pause will be just a blip on the radar that is my life blog.  Why do I mention this? It makes me feel like I can dust myself off and try again.  Do I remember all the things I'm supposed to be doing? Not really no, but I will fix that.

Before I get to the checklist, I want to explain a little why I've been gone for so long.  Did I get my dream job??? Drum roll please......................................................no.   As Maxwell Smart would say, I "missed it by that much."  I had another job interview a week later.  I didn't get that job either. I didn't take the bad news well.  I sulked majorly.  Everything in my life became unimportant.  On another fun side note, we've been given an eviction notice.  No, we weren't actually given an eviction notice from family but they did point out that it is time for us to go.  Originally, this would have been the scary weekend I was dreading where we were supposed to move in to our new condo (meaning keeping it clean and sticking to the scary tasks consistently) so the fact that we were asked to leave wouldn't have been a big deal...except...the condo isn't ready...and it won't be...for the foreseeable future.  At least until Sept. 8th, and I have a feeling it will be more like October, so Nathan and I are packing yet we have no idea where we're going.  Let's just say our family isn't on the same page about us having to move and having our new place ready so we can move (don't ask.) I made it clear to Nathan that I wanted to do our daily tasks regardless of the progress we've gotten done with packing because I think if we don't do them, it will only make matters worse.  We are also trying to de-clutter and it is going well.  Also, we've been doing really well with budgeting and sticking to our meal plan.

Checklist:
Today I (we):

Made bed (Nathan)

Did the dishes (I did some and Nate did the rest)

Put last night's dishes away

Swept and wet-swiffered the kitchen floor (I have a brand new mop and I'm determined to save it for our new place.)

Swish & Swipe (also wiped down the walls of the bathtub and I'm going to scrub the tub tomorrow)

Cleaned out the bathroom drain (Nathan)

Wiped down the coffee table (Nathan)

Five minute pick-up (just me while Nate cleaned out the bathroom drain.  He has determined I have too much hair.)

I feel very good about what we accomplished today.  I plan on vacuuming tomorrow before work.  I worked Friday, Saturday (today), tomorrow, and Monday.  So I wanted to make sure we did our tasks because I might be exhausted in the coming days.  I know I haven't posted a meal plan, but tomorrow night we're having Potato Leek soup and Monday we're going to my parents' for dinner.  I plan on posting for Meal Plan Monday!  We'll see!!! It's good to be back!!!!

Absence doesn't always make the heart grow fonder...

Why do I say that?  Well the absence I'm referring to is cleaning.  My cleaning was very hit or miss this past week and my home is feeling it.  I have injured my hand and I have no idea how I did it but it keeping me from getting things done.  Normally (since I started this journey) I would just dust myself off and fix it today/this week.  Well, this particular week is very stressful because I have a very important job interview this week. Everything I have is going into preparing for it.  I feel that I'm setting myself up for failure this week. Being as I didn't do well last week and my week this week will be stressful, I don't feel as though I should add new tasks.  I need to try last week again and to be honest, I'll have to review what my tasks even are.  My menu for this week is so simple I don't feel like linking up :/ 

This week we're having:

Monday

Pork BBQ sandwiches on grilled buns

Parmesan Noodles

Tuesday

Leftovers

Wednesday

Hamburger Helper

Thursday

Leftovers 

Friday 

Pizza

Saturday

Leftovers

Sunday

Cheddar Potato Soup

Grilled Cheese

Argh. I just want to live through this week. Oh and come through it with my dream job. 

Checklist

Today I...

Made bed

Put away clean dishes from last night

Did lunch dishes (Hubby out away after work)

Did evening dishes and shined sink

Swept kitchen

Checked bathroom for clutter and found some

Did the swish and swipe

Did a five minute focused pickup and Hubby helped!! That made a HUGE difference and I'm looking forward to doing I again tomorrow.  Back when I would read about FlyLady saying to do a 15 minute deck uttering, I didn't think it would help.  So...in my mind did I think doing nothing would make a bigger difference? What sense does THAT make?!! It will obviously make a huge difference.  I have a lot to learn...

Menu Plan Monday and this week's Non-negotiable Item(s)

So, to say I'm excited with how this blog is improving my home-keeping skills is an understatement.  The effects of doing my "non-negotiable" items each day is trickling down to other areas.  I find I'm picking up after myself better (something normal people do without thinking), I'm finishing tasks and staying focused, and feeling much less stressed.  The biggest achievement though is that so far, everything I'm doing is staying DONE so that I can move on to other areas.  This has always been the biggest struggle for me because as soon as I'd clean something it would be messed up a few minutes later.  I was focusing enough.  Now, I can get things accomplished without feeling overwhelmed.  The menu plan has also been a life saver.  Truly changing my life.  It requires me to really think about meals I want to make.  I am also doing really well with cleaning up as I go in the kitchen so the longest I've been at the kitchen sink doing dishes in the last few weeks is 20 minutes (and that is saying a lot for someone who DOESN'T have a dish washer.)  Cleaning out the pantry is saving Hubby and I a small fortune.  Its going to be a bummer of a day when I have to do another huge grocery haul.  Not looking forward to that but I think it will be awhile.  So on to the menu for this week!!  I'm linking this up with orgjunkie.com for her Menu Plan Monday linky party!  Be sure to visit her blog for great inspiration!  The women that link up are truly amazing!

MENU PLAN MONDAY!!!

Monday

• Leftover Burritos, Rice, and Sante Fe Corn

Tuesday

• Homemade Potato Soup (my mom's secret family recipe!) and Leftover Cold Cut Sandwiches from a party that I froze.  We have quite a few of these sub sandwiches left so they'll be making a weekly appearance until they disappear!

Wednesday

• Leftover Soup and Sandwiches

Thursday

• Salisbury Steak Hamburger Helper and Green Beans

So a while back, our local grocery store had Hamburger Helper 10/$10 so I felt the need to buy 10 of them so needless to say it will be on the menu once a week until we eat it all.

Friday

• Leftover Hamburger Helper

Saturday

• Pizza!!!  I have to work all weekend so having cheap pizza each week has been really helpful.  Hubby is loving this also because pizza is his absolute favorite food.  He'd eat it everyday if I'd let him.  

Sunday

• Leftover Pizza!

So we have a pretty simple menu again this week but those simple menus are helping me get my life in order, plus Hubby likes the simpler food much better.  He has been happier and he has been very complimentary towards the progress I'm making in "our" home.  I think the fact that he is noticing is helping A LOT.

Being as it IS Monday, I need to talk about the non-negotiable items I'm adding this week.  First, let's review what I'm currently working on.

• Make the bed

• Do the dishes and shine the sink

• Sweep the kitchen

• Swish and Swipe the bathroom

and 

• vacuum once a week.

I was consistent all week in doing my tasks and vacuumed on Saturday.  This week, being back in the swing of things after being on vacation for a week, I'm ready to give vacuuming its designated day.  I will vacuum every Sunday before work (unless I have the energy or need to do it earlier in the week.)  

I thought long and hard about what I wanted to add this week (which is why I didn't post this yesterday.)  If you are a regular reader, you know that Hubby and I are trying to develop better habits before a possible in a few months.  As its imperative that I get these habits going, I keep feeling the need to add several things to my list.  However, I don't want to overwhelm myself.  I want to be successful.  Things feel different this time.  I'm starting to do my tasks without even thinking about it.  I do most of them after dinner right in a row (except making the bed which happens immediately.)  As most of you probably know, my inspiration for this blog comes Nony the Slob at aslobcomesclean.com .  I am currently reading her blog backwards, and two of the things she added was a focused five-minute pick up, and checking the bathrooms for clutter or items on the floor.  Because these are both somewhat small tasks, I'm adding both of them this week.  The one I'm most nervous about is the focused 5-minute pickup.  We are getting better about picking up after ourselves in the living room.  Since we started this we have went to be with a clean living room every night.  This doesn't sound like much of a feat, but in the past we have had all kinds of stuff all over the couch and coffee table.  I think the focused 5-minute pick up will help us in other areas such as our "bedroom" area which is currently behind the couch.  We are living with family in their basement which is a big open room.  

I'm getting long-winded here so I need to wrap this up.  I'm also adding in mopping the kitchen and bathroom floors on Tuesdays (this day may change based on my work schedule but this week its Tuesday.) I'll keep you updated on our progress!

Don't forget to visit orgjunkie.com for Menu inspiration!!!

Checklist

So it's Saturday and my second week at trying to get some order in our home is almost over.  We've had another successful week but I do feel my enthusiasm starting to decrease.  I'm trying to keep my goals in focus. I'm hoping that adding a new non-negotiable and/or weekly task each week will keep it interesting.  I do love the rewards from having a tidier home.  I keep telling myself we deserve it.

We did our tasks last night and so far today I've vacuumed (my weekly task) and washed our breakfast dishes.

Checklist...Checklist...and a window into my psyche

So...I didn't post last night about my checklist and honestly I don't remember if I posted the day before...however, I know that everything on my list was done except last night's sweeping...I cleaned the whole bathroom except the tub yesterday and plan to do that....eventually...I was extremely tired last night and for some reason my wrist has been killing me so my dear sweet Hubby did the dishes last night.  For today's checklist...

Made bed (Hubby again because he was the last one in it)

Put away yesterday's clean dishes (Hubby so that I didn't have to lift them...he needs a medal or something.)

Did dishes

Swish and swipe

Made our meal plan for next week which I will post and link up on Monday.  I am super excited that tomorrow is pizza night.  Makes my life easy.  Also means Saturday night is pizza night.  We have a local pizza place with cheap pizzas so hubby and I have decided it was worth it to get pizza once a week if we feel that we've earned it (a.k.a. kept up on the chores.)

I also did a load of laundry, and folded/hung up the clothes.  I also reorganized some of our clothes drawers and put away all of the clothes that had been washed over the last month and that were piled on our floor instead of put away.  Now...when I say I "reorganized" our dresser drawers that implies that they were organized at one time...hahahahahahahaha (maniacal laugh! maniacal laugh!) They weren't.  You want to hear something that will make me sound completely and utterly crazy? I'm telling even Freud wouldn't be able to figure me out.  Sometimes...I have a type A personality...you know...the people who want things to be perfect ALL the time.  I sometimes think that's why my home is always a wreck...I know I can't keep it perfect and I figure why bother at all???  Anyway, the reason I brought this up is because I own a t-shirt folder (think Sheldon Cooper here - same exact one.)  I like shirts folded perfectly and when they are folded perfectly I can cram fit a ton more in a dresser drawer.  Hubby happens to own TONS of t-shirts so I figured it was a good investment.  The problem with the t-shirt folder is it lays flat...meaning its a perfect thing to pile things on and isn't worth the trouble to unbury the thing when I need it so clothes in up shoved into drawers and all wrinkly.  Hmmm...I forgot my point.  Anyway, I dug the thing out and used it and was able to get all of the clean clothes put away.  I'm still tackling laundry mountain but I'm doing that a day at a time.  One day, I will show you my sorting system.  It makes me look like a type-A personality as well.  I swear I'm not...I don't think...the tons of stuff we own says I'm not.

I will however say that doing my tasks everyday is slowly changing our lives. The de-cluttering we've tried to is actually making an impact BECAUSE the things we've already cleaned are staying clean...and I love looking at a clean and tidy coffee table and couch that doesn't have clothes or papers all over it.  Soon I plan on tackling our pantry which I will write a post about with pictures.  Argh.  I hate the idea of pictures (as you can probably tell because my blog has very little pictures.)

Side note - the pork chops I threw in the crock pot turned out fabulously.  I froze the shredded pork BBQ for a future meal.  I originally wanted to use them next week but I think I will wait for a week where buns are in the budget.

Anyway I've rambled on pointlessly enough for one blog post.  I promise I have some great ideas for future posts that I can't wait to write.    I know the checklist posts aren't riveting but I NEED THEM.  They help me stay accountable.  I do need to get more consistent with them...I promise to want to try to get better.

When life gives you burnt pork chops...

So tonight I had pork chops on the menu and I was going to make 4 of them seasoned two different ways. Apparently the sugar content in one of the seasonings was too high because they were immediately scorched while the other two were fine. I COULD have thrown them away and in the past I would have, but waste not want not.  I took a knife and cut off the burnt side of the pork and then threw them both in the crock pot with some BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce and set it for ten hours.  I figure I can then shred it up and make pork BBQ out of it.  If its successful, I will freeze it for a meal next week (as I cut each of our pork chops in half tonight for tomorrow).  Here's to hoping it works out!!