One of my New Orleans friends is fascinated and impressed by the fact that I iron my pillowcases when I wash my sheets each Monday. So much so that she sent me a link for a job:
1. Your first one will be about ironing pillowcases
2. When HGTV picks it up and you win an Emmy, you’ll thank me in your speech.
Will I get all that done today? Not likely. But at least I have a place to start and it’s not all floating around my head, buzzing in my ear like a nasty mosquito. I’ll start with the things that have to be done in a timely manner, such as starting the beans (they’ve been rinsed, sorted, boiled for a couple of minutes and are now soaking for one hour) and making the hot dog buns (I’ll start those right after lunch). Next, I’ll take 20 minutes or so to simply tidy up the main living areas downstairs. Knowing that I wouldn’t be horrified if someone dropped in unannounced makes me feel better.
With those things out of the way, I then start tackling one thing at a time as the mood strikes, trying to do the most important things first. Sometimes I like to set a timer for 15 minutes and then see how much I can do before it goes off. That was a little trick I learned from the Flylady and it really works for me. When it goes off, I take a short break with a cup of tea or glass of water and check Facebook or read emails. I also like to set a timer when I get on the computer because it’s way too easy for time to silently sneak away from me as I get sucked into the vortex of the online world.
And speaking of that, my coffee break is over and so is this blog post.
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The timer idea (both for breaks and for beat the clock) is a good one. I should try that.
I love the idea of your adding homemaker tasks to your blog…Miss Catherine started doing vlog entries for her housekeeping method about a year ago. She follows the Mount Vernon method, which is a bit too regimented and fussy for me (although I have used it when I let things get out of control).
I'm still sick but managing the bare basics of dishes, beds, floors, laundry (well John actually is hitting those last two for me, lol) and general straightening but I can see the house will need more than a little help when I'm done with this cold.
I had a friend who ironed her sheets and pillowcases. I couldn't understand it with permanant press but now that I have all cotton I do. My main goal is to get them straight from the dryer to the bed asap so I don't have to! It is easy to keep the house clean with the kiddos gone though. Have a great week 🙂
Bella: The timer is truly a help. When I'm dreading getting started I tell myself that I only have to work 15 minutes. And of course, it's a huge help in keeping me from spending so long on the computer that my feet go to sleep.
Terri: I hope you feel better soon. Being ill really makes it hard to keep up.
Ms. Kathleen: I just love the feel of crisply ironed pillowcases. I've often said that if I won the lottery I'd hire someone to put freshly ironed sheets on my bed every day. And have fresh flowers in every room.
I've got to try the timer trick as my 15 minutes on the internet often turns into an hour. However, in my defense, sometimes our wireless internet is iffy and it takes forever to load important things like email. I also like seeing your list. I am constantly reinventing how I do my "To Do's" so as to inspire me to actually do them and do them efficiently.