Time = life; therefore, waste your time and waste of your life, or master your time and master your life.
Alan Lakein

I have to say I wish I would have thought of this cleaning schedule idea SOONER!!  It has only been in effect for a week, but already I have seen a difference in how my days and week went.

So I followed my schedule this week, the only day I missed was Wednesdays…I completely forgot to clean the bathrooms.  It has been liberating….if that’s the right word to use.  Before the cleaning schedule it seemed as though my mind was always on the things that needed to get done.  I am normally really good about scheduling and having order in the things I do.  For example, when I was going to college I would schedule everything by the hour, my classes, my workouts, work, church stuff, it kept me organized.  When I was working, the same thing.  I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to do the same thing for my home, our one and only true safe haven from the world.  It’s even more important now that  I have a family!!

Anyways, Andy and I were running errands and while in the car I could really focus on what he was saying and talking about, I felt I could really participate in the conversation instead of thinking of all the things I needed to get done (when I started the cleaning schedule I also managed to put to order other things that need to get done around the house).

You can’t change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future.
Unknown

My mind was free and clear of clutter.  The best part was when I was able to just let certain things go, for example, I didn’t get the bathrooms cleaned on Wednesday, I had to have the attitude of “Oh Well”, it will get done next week, this enabled me to continue to get the things done that were “planned” instead of piling up and stressing me out,…I was able to let it go.  In turn, I was able to spend my evening FINALLY scrapbooking and doing something I wanted instead of trying to play catch up.

I need to make a few little changes to my scheduling some days I have more to do than others, so I need to lighten the load on those days, it’s also more important to me that Eli gets good quality time with Mom or Dad, and although he’s little, finding new things to do with him is important!

This is the beginning of a new day.
God has given me this day to use as I will.
I can waste it or use it for good.
What I do today is important, because
I am exchanging a day of my life for it.
When tomorrow comes,
this day will be gone forever,
leaving in its place something
that I have traded for it.
I want it to be gain, not loss;
good not evil; success not failure;
in order that I shall not regret
the price I paid for it.
Author Unknown

See you soon!

thepolkadottedzebra

]]> http://thepolkadottedzebra.com/2012/01/15/cleaning-schedule/feed/ 0 thepolkadottedzebra http://thepolkadottedzebra.com/2012/01/10/huston-we-have-a-problem/ http://thepolkadottedzebra.com/2012/01/10/huston-we-have-a-problem/#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:28:26 +0000 thepolkadottedzebra http://thepolkadottedzebra.com/?p=132 ]]> I have a problem!  My problem is this.

I love to scrapbook, I love to sew, I love to run, I love to be creative and make things.  So let me give you an example of my problem, lets say I get up in the morning and I say to myself, today I’m gonna scrapbook.  I get all excited inside, I’m feeling warm and fuzzy, I get to scrapbook!!!

Then….THEN!!!! I go downstairs to make myself breakfast and what do I see???….a mess!

There are dishes in the sink, toys scattered around, and piles of papers and bills on the dining room table.  Without really thinking and just out of habit, I get a little annoyed and start cleaning the kitchen, then toys, then going through the papers on the table, and bills, then I take the jackets that have piled up on the banister and go upstairs to hang them up and put them in the closet, and then I see laundry that needs to be washed, and bathrooms that need to be cleaned.

Soooooooo one thing leads to another, and I start to straighten up the bedroom, I need to dust so I go to the downstairs bathroom to get the dust rag (because that’s where we keep all our cleaning supplies) and I see that, that bathroom should get a quick cleaning too.  Finally I head back up to the bedroom and get the pile of laundry and bring it to the basement, stuff what I can in the wash, turn around and see that….hmmmm, the basement needs to be cleaned really quick.  So I pull out the vacuum and off I go.

Not to mention I have little Eli to take care of while I’m doing all of this, so in between the cleaning, I am playing with him, feeding him and putting him down for a nap.  Next thing you know the day is over and I’m too pooped to scrapbook!

Am I the only person out there that does this?……PLEASE tell me there is at least one other person in this world that knows what this is like!  The best way to describe the feeling is like looking at a picture on a wall that is just a little crooked, you walk by and stop in your tracks to fix it…you straighten it.  That’s what I do every time I see a little mess or a pile of papers or something on our clutter free end tables.

They say the first step to fixing a problem is admitting you have one, well I admit it, and here’s how I’ve decided to work it.

Last week I sat down and made a cleaning schedule.

Monday – Groceries

Every other Tuesday – Laundry

Every other Wednesday – Bathrooms

Thursday – Floors

And lastly we made a new rule in the house that no matter what the kitchen needs to be cleaned before we head to bed.  Out of all the rooms in the house, I consider my kitchen my work space, no one wants to go to their office first thing in the morning and see a mess, it’s not the best way to start the day.  My kitchen is the same way, so thankfully I have a loving husband who is on board and is helping me make sure the kitchen gets cleaned before bed.

So today’s experience. I went down to the basement to work out….I had to take all the laundry that wasn’t folded or washed and clear it out of the hallway and close the door, I then proceeded to enjoy my workout.  I give myself a gold star!!

My husband says I LOOOOOOVE to clean…ummmmm, not many people LOOOOOOOVe to clean toilets, or fold laundry, or wash dishes, I lovingly try to correct him and tell him what I LOOOOOOOve is the feeling of clean, NOT cleaning!

I’m learning that as nice as it is to have a clean and orderly home, it’s more important to develop our talents, and spend time with family and friends.

Balance, balance, balance, life is about finding balance, and balance includes working, cleaning AND taking a break…… going for a run, scrapbooking, and playing with Eli.

“We want all to make the most of our lives…to become the highest expression of ourselves.  It begins with your own awakening.  There’s no better way to find that aha! than by keeping a diary.”  Oprah

I’d have to say I think I’m on the right track.  I just have to keep reminding myself that I’m doing this for me…this is my journal, my journey… to learn more about me, about others, to maybe help someone else who is feeling the same way or questioning the same things.

I created the tab Mommy Moments to write about the things I think about and learn as a New Mom.  I created my TwoCents to write about the everyday things I do, goals, dreams, frustrations, ups and downs.  I also have HomeMade for projects or things around the house, and Ditching Chunky, to help me stay motivated to exercise, live healthy and take it one day at a time.

Week one blogging is about to begin!….and I’m very excited!!!

I named/ tried to start this blog back in August 2011.  At that time our baby boy was about 5 months old and I thought I could do it…something that I’ve been putting off for a while.  However, August was when my husband (Andy) was officially out of the military.

We were trying to start a new business together, but I couldn’t help out as much as I thought with little Eli around, (being a Mom is time consuming and lots of work!…lol!!) so, Andy was pretty much on his own.

We had money saved and were ready to just bite the bullet and do the new business, but then our minds kept worrying about losing everything we had worked so hard to obtain, savings, homes, we were out of debt.  So we decided Andy was going to start applying for jobs.

He managed to get in touch with an old friend who told him about a job opportunity that would be good for us, but we would have to leave North Carolina and move back to Virginia.  So within 3 weeks we were packing a U-haul and our car, putting our home in North Carolina up for rent, and heading back to live in our home in Virginia not knowing 100% if the job was going to pull through.  On December 22, we finally had an official start date for Andy to start work.

So just a quick time line.  September we made the decision to move, spent 3 weeks packing, we arrived at our home in Virginia, October 4^th spent most of October painting the main floor, unpacking, organizing, having a yard sale, and trying to make ends meet with the money we had.  November, was much like October with getting settled into the house, and then of course December was crazy spending time with family and friends.  And of course with a new baby, and being a first time Mom, all this took ten times longer because we had a little Curious George on our hands, getting into everything and wanting to be a part of everything we were doing.

So here we are, it’s now January 3^rd and I am just now getting to work on my blog.

Why start a blog?

I decided to start a blog because I’ve needed an outlet for sometime now.  I have always loved to write, but have never done much with it, and then seeing that sooooo many people are blogging these days about anything and everything, I thought well, why not me.

At times I think I’ll bore people to tears with my thoughts and writing, but I guess it really doesn’t matter right, if it’s boring and people don’t like it, they don’t have to read it…at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

So I’m not sure what all I will put on here, but I’m excited to see where my thoughts and ideas go…..

It’s a great way to start the new year!!

Peace out and I hope to see you around!!

Sincerely,

thepolkadottedzebra