Eat Your Brussel Sprouts (But Only If the Sexy Mr. Brown Cooks Them)

I hate doing housework.  I don't hate it as much as actual vacuuming (curse thee Hoover), but I really would rather go to the gyno get a root canal fixed without pain meds eat brussel sprouts try to avoid it.  (Okay, I hear if brussel sprouts are browned perfectly, they are great.  Having never tasted one, I can't judge.  One day, Alton Brown will invite me to dinner and serve brussel sprouts.  Then, and only then, my life will be complete.  Unless he serves me his yucky mac and cheese with them, because THAT, SIR, was a mistake.  I cooked it and blech!)  My husband is a clean-it-all-at-once-because-company-is-coming-over person.  I end up in a ball of Comet-and-stress-sweat smelling tears if I do that.  No deep cleaning for me!  It just doesn't happen.  Or I pay for it for a week.  I clearly need a different plan.

So I try to do a little bit each day, doing the entire circuit of my house in a week.  (Yes, yes, I mean two weeks.  But the PLAN is once per week, so no deep scrubbing is ever needed.  THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED.)  In between the scheduled cleanings, I spot clean spills and wipe down the tub while I am in it and swish the toilet brush in the toilet bowl, just to maintain.  I looked at a lot of schedules on-line, but the problem is that they either prescribed a time to clean ("clean 15 minutes a day" - something that I do, but it's a run through the house, not a cleaning) or a room.  To do a room, you have to drag out so many supplies.  My bedroom, for example, required furniture polish, mirror cleaner, electronics cleaners, a vacuum, paper towels, and gentle cloths.  Too much work everyday!

Instead, I do a TASK each day.  On the day when I grocery shop, once a week, I don't do a cleaning task, as I spend two hours out of the house grocery shopping.  (I should add that I am pretty sure that I have shared this information before, but not as in depth, and I have a ton more readers these days.  :))  Here is a list of how I divide up my tasks:

Surface (dust/clean all horizontal surfaces in the house)
Floors (sweep/mop/vacuum in all rooms)
Car (I had to add this.  My car was disgusting, even with the "clean it out" all the time rule.  I don't actually clean the whole car once a week, but I do something - clear out accumulated junk, wash the outside at a car wash, vacuum it out)
Special (appliances get cleaned, like stove top and microwave and frig, plus electronics like tvs and mirrors throughout the house)
Toilets/Tubs
Master Task List (chose one list from my running list of tasks that must be done; this is how I get things like "clean blinds," "organize junk drawer," or "change air filter."  This is especially nice on a busy day.  Friends in town?  Do a quick task from the list.  Sister unexpectedly picks up the kids? Do a big task from the master list.)

Here's an example of the Master Task List form that I custom made for my planner:

And a sample of the Master Task List in use, with items listed with due dates in the first column, contexts/where I can do them (General, Errands, Home/at home only, and Computer), and any details.

I have a form where I keep track of these daily tasks.  The form is the FIRST thing in my planner:

At the very bottom, in tiny print, is the list of tasks.  (The checklist also ensures that I do my 15 minute daily quick clean (in the areas that are most visible or need it most), one load of laundry, one load of dishes, exercise, calorie counts, and getting ready for tomorrow).

If I miss a day (maybe I'm busy with a big project or a sick kid or out of town), I miss a day.  No biggie.  (And that, my friends, is why sometimes it takes two weeks to get through this one week long list.)  You can see in the following example that I often miss a day or two:

Some weeks, I do my cleaning very, very well.  I scrub the tubs and make sure the silver faucets shine.  Other weeks, I barely disinfect.  The point is that I keep doing it, so that each day, it's a really simple job.

Also, note that I don't assign days of the week to each task.  The tasks are a guidelines only.  Sometimes, surfaces need to be cleaned again during the week, if I cooked a lot or had a dinner party.  Sometimes, the bathroom floors get grosser than usual, with a barely-potty-trained 3 year old!  If that's the case, the cause begging for my attention the loudest gets my attention.

It's okay.  The tubs will get cleaned next week.  I have a system.  And when Mr. Alton Brown drops by to cook those brussel sprouts, I'll be ready for him.  ;)

Etcetera.

Sucking It Up

I want to murder the vacuum slowly while it's baby watches hate vacuuming.  Hate it.  My vacuum cleaner is from back when I got married in 1996.  It's heavy and bulky and hard to store and move around.  The attachments fall right off of it.  But I can't bring myself to buy a new one, both because it still works well and because I hate vacuuming way too much to spend any extra money on it.  Also, I have serious dust allergies, so anything that moves dust around (like moving the sofa to get to where I need to vacuum) is miserable for me.

Nonetheless, this morning, I dragged out the stupid vacuum cleaner.  I had to.  The spiders were attacking us.  They were growing there little egg nests under all of our window sills and in our corners.  Luckily, we don't have much carpet, but our carpet was pretty gross, too.  So I vacuumed.

And once you've pulled out the crazy heavy sadistic vacuum, you might as well vacuum under the sofa cushions, right?  And under the frig and oven?  Under the furniture?  All the plugs and cords near electronics?  And, of course, your keyboards on all four computers in the house?

Did someone say mopping?  'Cause that someone can SUCK IT.

Etcetera.

Leaving the House with Everything

In the morning, I may or may not be going to escort my nephew to a school event.  He needs a "parent" and his momma has to work.  But he isn't feeling well, so I'll find out at 6:30 a.m. if it's a go or not.  Normally, I pack everything the night before, but in the interest of not doing extra work (and packing just to unpack), I'm waiting to find out in the morning.  I built an extra 15 minutes into my schedule for packing.

If I do leave the house, there is so much to remember.  At least my preschooler is totally out of diapers and is staying with Grandma, so no diaper bag.  But I will have to bring, at a minimum, my cell phone (better charge it tonight), my laptop (in case there is wi-fi ;)), and my Nook (better charge that, too, and download another book), as I will have to entertain myself all day.  I also have to pack my meds (4 times a day right now), plenty of water (because I must drink a FULL glass with each med), breakfast, and lunch (that I can carry with me).  Of course, I need my wallet (money and ID), glasses, and lip gloss.  (I wouldn't leave home without my lipgloss!)  I'll bring my planner, of course, so I can get some work done on the road.  I need my camera to take pics for my sister.

In general, I would ALWAYS set this stuff out the night before.  Also, if it is stuff I pack again and again, like for substitute teaching or grocery shopping and errands, I keep a checklist of what goes with me in my planner on a sticky note, which I move to the weekly calendar pages when I need it and move back to the file portion of the planner when I don't.  But how do humans really keep up with this stuff when their lives aren't predictable?  (Bringing a lunch that can't go in a frig or being on 4 times a day meds isn't predictable for me.)

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A Sure-Fire 5 Step Program for Putting Your Laundry Away

1. Hang up the clothes when the dryer beeps.  Put those away. (Or have the kids and husband do it, immediately!)
2. Fold the other clothes.  Put those away. (Again - kids, husband, lawn boy?)
3. Match the socks. Put those away. (It occurs to me that I need a lawn boy who also saves laundry.)
4. Fold the sheets and towels and put them in the closet.  (Or stuff 'em in the clean pillow case.)
5. Now, put anything left in the dryer away.  (And reward yourself.  Chocolate!  Coffee!  Wine! A NAP!!!)

5 steps, people.  5.  F-I-V-E.  So WHY are there clean clothes ALL OVER my couch and bedroom floor?  Why?

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Summer Schedule

For the first time in my kids' lives, I will be home with them all summer.

Take a moment and pray for me.

Moving on.  I will have to entertain, feed, and teach two children all summer long.  Terrified is probably an overstatement.  I'm not sure I am made to be a stay-at-home-mom, but circumstance has me here, facing the summer.  Of course, I feel compelled to make a plan.  You know I'm not actually going to follow the plan, right?  But my kid demands to know what we are doing, so here goes nothing.

First, I plan to have a schedule of leaving the house.  We might switch up the days a bit, but here's what I am thinking:

Sat - Groc Day (I've been doing groceries on weekdays with Loki, but with Alan back at home to watch the kids on the weekend, I'm thinking we are going to move to Saturday/Sunday for groceries).

Sun - Church (Yes, we are really going to try to go to some service every Sunday.)

Mon - Arts/Craft Day (I figure I'll do most of the cooking for the week, something in the crockpot and something on the stove, plus cutting fruits and veggies and freezing leftovers, on Mondays, so it's the day we stay at home.  We can make something or color or build with blocks, but it will be an organized activity.)

Tues - Book Day (We either do a library trip or bookstore, rotating every other week.)

Wed - Water Day (We swim at my aunt's pool, do the local splash park, or setting up water painting in the back yard.)

Thurs - Field Trip Day (We go to the zoo or the Louisiana Arts and Science Museum or to tour LSU.  Anything, really, that advances the kids' knowledge.)

Fri - Free Day (The kids get to laze around the house and do whatever.  No school, no chores, just a totally free day.  That's important, too, right?  It'll also give me a chance to catch up on whatever I need to in the house.)

I'm thinking that, everyday, we will try to eat breakfast, then do the day's activity.  We will aim to be home for lunchtime.  After lunch, chores and then a quick rest/quiet time/movie/tv.  After quiet time, we'll do *school*, which will involve reading for the library's book club and math assignments.  Then free time until Daddy gets home.

Too structured?  Not structured enough?  I guess I'll live and learn.

Etcetera.

Doctor, Doctor - Organizing My Medicals

Taking care of my extensive medical details, from appointments to follow-ups to filling scripts to actually taking my darn meds, takes up a lot of my day. I have extensive meds-related issues and two young kids (with their own check-ups and colds and FREAKIN' ALLERGIES TO CORN AND SHOE LEATHER AND ZYTHROMAX), making keeping up with all I have to do and remember for our healthcare a major undertaking.

One thing I do is put reminders to make doctors' appointments on my planner's calendar. For yearly checkups, I write the task (Sched Dr. Whoever - 555-5555) with a circle around it in the month where I want to schedule the appointment. The circle means that it is a repeating task, so once I schedule my 6 year old's appointment, I write the same thing in the same month next year (and circle it ;)). My calendar doesn't go into 2013, of course, but I have a Future page divided into 13 parts (each month of next year and 2014+) to write things on that will happen in 2013 and beyond.

I also have a contacts page with all doctors' name, speciality, address, and phone number in my contacts. I don't keep many contacts in my planner (since most can just be loaded into my phone or kept in an easy-to-update Word document more conveniently), but I do keep household help (e.g., housekeeper back when I had one {weeps} or lawn service) and medical contacts, as well as some take-out restaurant contacts, as those are contacts that usually aren't in my phone and I need outside of the house a lot.

In the File part of my planner, I have a straight-up medical log. When I schedule an appointment, I put the doctor's name and speciality on the top right corner of the page, along with the date of the appointment. I jot the meds I am currently taking (they change often enough to merit checking the list before each appointment) and a list of complaints that I have for the doctor. Then I draw a line across the page. Under the line, I write actual notes of the doctor's answers and instructions. Yes, it's a little weird to pull out my planner during a doctor's appointment. But the doctor's seem to like it, even stressing "write this down" for important instructions. I think they know I'm going to take their advice seriously, and for people who actually care about your health, that's a big deal.

Keeping up with taking my meds is more difficult. I used to keep taking meds on my Daily Checklist, along with things like "do a 15 minute quick clean" and "exercise," but even if I do nothing else in a given day, I have to take my heart medicine. If I never step foot in my house, I need to take my asthma meds. So I had to deal with medications differently, as my Daily Checklist is more a guideline than a MUST DO list.

Daily Checklist

One a week, I put my daily meds into a weekly meds container. I don't need a reminder in my planner to do this, as the weekly container is used daily and sits next to my bed on my nightstand. I have an alarm set on my phone to remind me that if I haven't taken my meds by 9:15 p.m., I need to take them. Once a week, when I refill the weekly container, I write any meds I need refills of on my Errands list so I can pick them up at Target during the week. I also read the bottles to make sure I have refills available and, if I don't, schedule a doctor's appointment. It's a good way to double check that I don't miss a check-up.

My Packing Lists (all versions - the master list, the one for camping, the one for hotels, etc.) all include Meds as an item, so that I remember to pack them if I travel.

For unusual meds (like the four times a day antibiotic I am taking now), I keep the Rx bottle next to my cell phone. I see my cell phone a lot everyday, so it helps me remember to take them. Then, I mark the dates that I need to take them on the bottle in a sharpie markers, and check off when I take them each time. Today's (4 times a day for 7 days) looks like this:

April 25 x x 1 2 
         26 1 
         27 
        28 
        29 
        30 
May 1 
         2 x x

Finally, I try to only use on pharmacy and it's at a place where I frequently grocery shop, so it's not too inconvenient.

Let me know if you have any tips for keeping your medical stuff organized.

 Etcetera.