Monday, In the First Place

[BookSaver]

Changes for 2017:
Around my house I've been in 3Ds (Dinner, Dishes, Duds) bare minimum mode with other chores being hit-or-miss -- mostly miss! As Helia said about the 3x5 card system,

I found the reminders helpful, but the regularly untouched cards became guilt inducing, which is just counter productive.

Nevertheless, a small percentage of the cards are helpful when I'm in the midst of what A Slob Comes Clean calls TPAD (Time Passage Awareness Disorder). For example, how long has it been since I changed the filter in the water pitcher?

Therefore, I'm going to revamp my 3x5 box and archive the majority of the cards, accepting the reality that I'm skipping most of them for now and will add them back in when I have more under control. I will keep current the ones that I already do as routine -- because it's a little boost to flip them every day -- and keep the next few on the priority scale that will make life a lot easier when I do them on schedule.

Today's 6x6 in addition to 3Ds:
* Update 3x5 cards
* CUOP since Christmas
* Financial reports for library and sewing groups
* Email library group re this week's schedule
* put away 1/2 of Christmas stuff
* finish current hat on knitting loom, start another

I need to find out if the local diner is open today because if they are, DH will want to go there for Monday Taco Special at 5:30. I think we'll have soup for lunch.

[LadyMaverick]

Home from DH surgery. All went well. DH will go back in 2 weeks to get stitches out. Glad this is about over.

I am going to relax as much as possible the rest of the day. While I am sitting here, I can work on paperwork.

[helia]

I'm so on the same page as you, Booksaver. I think I need to do a similar revamp of my cards.
Harriet, I think I need to have more your attitude of being "uncommitted to any one card." I'm very loathe to toss my cards, even though doing so would be very helpful. I see the cards as dictating what I must do rather than me dictating to the cards what I must do, if that makes sense. I created my cards from P and P's book.
Glad the surgery went well, LadyM.

Not much progress made. I'm working on the groc. list now.

[Twins' Mom]

I've been putting around this morning resisting dh's efforts to go to Home D epot. He's on an organizing kick himself, to finally "do" our closet. Last year he told me it was a Hanukah/birthday gift but I never got to it. One reason for that is his overwhelming need to keep stuff. His side of the closet is stuff and there are things I would let go but he can't. So if we get the closet redone (more shelves and drawers, better corner space, built ins for shoes et al) I'm feeling he must be committed to keeping order. I'm not sure he's really capable of that....

He and ds have gone to C ostco and will bring back heaven knows what things we don't need.

I have gotten rid of 10 pieces of paper for today. One of my new year goals. I'm also going to work along with the weekly focus thread, I think.

I need to get dressed, wash up, etc. and finish up a.m. routine.
-wash up, brush teeth, get dressed
-make the bed
-fold two lols
-empty the dishwasher
-what else?

[Harriet]

Twins' your 10 pieces of paper a day has been inspiring to me. I haven't done anything about it, but I've been inspired. Maybe the New Year is the time. I'm working along with Focus, too, and declutter a week ahead of that. "Office" is one of the January areas, so maybe papers will become less of a hassle.

I've put little stickers for every bday in my planner. Words for us and next gen, balloons for grands, birds for other relatives (it's a birdhouse-art planner). Also dr's appt I know about, that sort of thing.

Called the dcousin I was only able to email a Happy Birthday to yesterday. He said he heard my email come in right before he went to bed last night (11:13 p.m. was when I sent ). Hey, I'm calling that a "win". Now he has a sticker on next year's date. Hopefully, knowing I already have stickers all the way through the year will mean I've made the planner "my own" and I'll keep up.

Laundry load in - dd neglected to get me her darks and she was already gone before I realized it, but I need to go ahead with my own darks, so she's just missed the opportunity. She's the one who made me wait this late in the day. Kitchen spiffed.

Next up, I must do Desk Day. Sigh. double Sigh.

[Nancy]

Need mod. Help or anyone where is the place to put holiday re cap info. A link would be great. TIA.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

On our way to ds' to work on his place. Car is washed and we returned the chairs and table to the RA locker.

Kitchen is messy from my lunch but should be quick to tidy.

[Ramblinrose]

Twins....Sweetie is the same way with his closet. Until I came up with a solution he still had clothes.
Think polyester leisure suits... that were more than 30 years old ...powder blue I might add

I couldn't get him to let go of ANY thing so this is what I did.

I told him to separate all his clothes in two piles.. those he wore all the time, and stuff he either couldn't get into or hadn't worn in two years. Btw he could still wear that suit lol

Then with his permission "I"d boxed up the last two catagories cause I could tell he was stressing out doing this. I took all the boxes and suit hangers and labeled and dated them.Together we took them out to our storage shed which was on our property. I told him we would just store them there and if he needed or wanted anything out of the box, he would know where they were.

THREE, not two, years later the boxes remained untouched. At that point I explained he had no touched any of the boxes and asked if we could get rid of any of them. I also reassured him the boxes could stay.

To my surprise and delight he said "get rid of them". I never opened any of the boxes and just took them to G-will

He still has a western fleece jacket in his closet... must be 40 years old... and shirts his dad got while working in Indonesia ... his dad is dead...but the rest is gone.

This Cmas I gave Sweetie two pairs of pj bottoms cause the ones he has been wearing are 16 years old and I am tired of looking at them.

When I taught I always had kids that kept years worth of school work in their backpacks. They were forever loosing their homework and such because of it. They refused to let go of those old papers for fear... which to them is real.. they might need them some day. My solution for
that was to offer them a drawer in my filing cabinet that was labeled just for them. I explained their papers were safe there and they could come into my classroom at any time if they needed something out of their drawer.

At first, every once in a while they would look at me and the without saying anything would head to their drawer to see if their stuff was still there. Of course it would. Over time this behavior extinguished itself. At the end year I would ask my student what he wanted to do with his papers. Most of the time they would say ... dump it. Only once did I have a student who wanted to keep them. When he returned to me the following year we repeated the process. He eventually was able to toss it.

What I have learned from these types of kids is that this fear was very real for them and would raise their anxiety disorders.

[CathyS]

Hi everyone!! Dh has gone to the chiropractor. He called and left a message. They called us back and said to get there for 3 when the open. They have been closed since the 23rd of December. The receptionist walks her dog past our house and is a customer of dh's as well.

Cleaning lady called and asked if she could come tomorrow, as her other Tuesday client wants to stay on the same schedule as we were on. The house is a bit of a mess. I won't be able to undo Christmas until after she leaves tomorrow.

Dh made sure I didn't get back to bed once I woke up. He needed to get to Home Depot in the worst way to get 2 more shelves to do the addition in the library. Now I truly have floor to ceiling bookcases. Of course, one end didn't fit because this house just won't let dh built anything square, because this house refuses to be square. ... grrr... (whispering "Silly house..." because I don't want it to hear me.) ; )

We also did a bit of grocery shopping, so now we have 2 fruitcakes, as if we actually need them.

Supper is tuna casserole, by request.

[Nancy]

I got the Christmas wreath off the house by the front door.
Cookies are baked for lunches.
Next up dump trash.
Kidn is here.