Today is the first day of my Simple Living Challenge hosted by Jenn at ADailyRhythm.com. My plan is different that hers slightly but reading over hers I think she has some good ideas, mostly in the form of housekeeping.
So, my goals are:
1. Putting spiritual things first -- the first little while of my day will be spent with tea and The Word. I have done this this morning already and I feel good about it. Since I have never read the Bible all the way through I decided to start at the logical start place -- Genesis. I am reading a few chapters at a time in an easy to read format -- Women's Devotional Bible by Zondervan. I am not striving for a goal of a certain amount per day -- just reading until it feels right.
2. Exercise. I am aiming for 30 minutes of dedicated exercise a day. I have already ridden my exercise bike for 30 minutes this morning and hopefully I will feel more energized over the course of the day.
3. Less noise pollution. The tv has yet to come on.
4. Food -- eating intuitively. I am going to purchase the books suggested by Jenn (for some reason I think I have one of them but can't find it -- maybe I need to KonMarie my books!) Anyway, I am going to start studying them. However, yesterday I said I was going to eat three meals a day with no snacks. I am going to change that and allow a mid morning something to go with tea. I can do fine from lunch to supper but I get up so early that I almost always need a little break -- hopefully something healthy. I started thinking about kindergarten and we always got a snack in kindergarten -- even just half day kinder so I am thinking something small with my mid-morning cuppa will be ok if I am mindful.
5. Domestic issues -- I have been looking at Jenn's organization of her chores and I am thinking about mine. I will continue to do laundry on a daily basis -- I absolutely have to do that in order to keep up with it. My husband seems to change his clothes A LOT! And the kitchen is an ever ongoing project but that is ok -- I would rather be on top of it. The rest of it -- well, I think I am over thinking the whole thing. I am going to pick a day to do each chore -- bathrooms, dust, and vacuum. Vacuuming is my least favorite thing to do so I think I will do it on Friday to be ready for anybody who might drop by on the weekend. Bathrooms on Friday as well. I live in Texas and we could dust every hour on the hour but I think I will choose to do it another day -- maybe Wednesday.
6. Grocery shopping -- I believe I will grocery shop for the week on Monday. I remember my mother liking to go on Monday because they were stocking fresh for the week or on Friday but I think I will try Monday on to see if it works ok for me.
Ok, so that is my new plan. Now I have to figure out a way to be accountable without boring everybody with a post about whether I clean the bathroom or not. Maybe a side bar. I have purchased a new planner that will be here soon and I will probably just keep track of things there and report in here each Saturday.
Anyway, I have begun and actually, the two most important things to me have been accomplished already today so I would say I have done ok and off to a good start. Hopefully I can keep it up!
By the way -- I had a lovely simple dinner last night and my husband actually liked it. I grilled two little New York strip steaks on my new cast iron grill plan, made a salad and roasted some new potatoes. It was good and didn't take long at all to do so that was a win as well. Tonight I am off to the Girl Scout sleep over and he is on his own. Hahah! He will be eating out I am sure.
5 comments:
I think YOU are awesome, BB, but I'm glad it's you doing this and not me. It might be my "easily distracted/easily bored" characteristic at play but doing the same thing every day makes me feel like my head will explode.
I HAVE been working on my Rule of Life and it's more rhythmic and flexible than any kind of "plan" I've ever had before. I'm making a big board and I'll share some of it on my blog soon. It's more personal than I realized so I'm going to be careful what I share, but the concept/idea is fascinating and challenging.
Just from reading your blog, I think you are already much more "together" than the average bear.
#3 - Good for you! M and I have always had a pretty serious rule about not having the TV on until evening. When I was growing up, the TV was on all day every day -- sometimes round the clock. And it used to drive me nuts.
#4 - You know, studies have shown that snacks are very good (some say essential) for helping you stay on a healthy diet. And now they're saying you should try to get more of your calories by mid-day. So a mid-morning snack actually makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately, I usually end up eating breakfast so late, it's almost time for lunch by the time I'm done with the morning coffee! I guess that means breakfast is my mid-morning snack.
#5 - Yes, what is it with husbands and changing clothes? Michael seems to wear four or five different T-shirts per day -- all of them black!
#6 - I HATE grocery shopping. I could very happily have all my groceries delivered -- wouldn't mind paying the delivery fees. But I could never convince the hubs to try it. However, having a designated day for doing the shopping does seem to make it less of a hassle. I need to start doing that again.
I like your plan, even though I figure it wouldn't work for me. As we know, you're MUCH more organized than I am. Why didn't I get those genes?
Back again, BB! I meant to say that the EC planners are pretty cool. Our daughter uses one. I hope you had fun being a Girl Scout!
Pom Pom -- Aww, thank you! I am looking forward to getting a glimpse of your life plan. So far my plan is going reasonably well. I am sure there will be tweaking but that is ok -- I mean, today has already been altered by the Hubs -- we have to go buy a new power cord for my computer so there you go!
Joanie -- well, if you read today's post you can see how well it has worked so far but at least it is a goal. As far as the tv goes -- yes, it was on ALL the time at my house when Daddy was at home and then, when he started cartooning and was there all the time it was constant. I am really liking the quiet. As far as Hubs laundry goes -- I think it multiplies in the night -- he changes his clothes at least twice a day. He would be happy to do it himself and has but he waits until everything is dirty, tries to wash it all at one time then puts it in a laundry basket and gets dressed out of that -- he never puts the clothes away and I just can't handle that and that is why I do the laundry like I do. The grocery shopping thing must be genetic -- I really don't like it -- at all. I would order as well and quite honestly, we have bought some stuff online. A likes a certain jelly and the stores quit stocking it but you could still get it online so he ordered it. And there was a brand of organic pumpkin I like and I have ordered it. I see nothing wrong with it. Tell M it is "the thing" these days. There is also a new thing called "Boxes" or "Boxed" or something like that where you can order stuff in bulk. Sounds good to me. I have pretty much quit going to Sam's or Costco and buying large quantities because I don't use canned goods as much but I miss those days when you could go stock up the pantry really easily. As far as eating goes -- I was never one that could get up and eat first thing in the morning. Mama had a terrible time getting me to eat in time for school and at best it was usually only tea and toast (which is what I eat now). I got in the habit of eating breakfast trying to be an example to the kids. They don't really eat much in the morning either though and it just made a habit for me that sort of goes against my natural tendency. So, yeah, breakfast becomes a mid morning snack and if I would eat a little more, it could be lunch!
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