Am I simple-minded? Do I lack motivation? Is this a delaying technique?
Perhaps.
More than likely but I don’t think so, because I’ve already checked one thing off my list.
What’s happening here?
I’ve long fancied pulling a daily housekeeping task out of a hat would make cleaning out drawers, closets, and cupboards more fun perhaps. You know?
The lure of the excitement?
The anticipation of doing one small randomly chosen thing each day instead of tackling an entire goal?
With so many big plans on board, I thought I’d take some of my own advice of breaking a project down into bite-sized pieces, and then add a fun factor.
I have four to six weeks before massively changing two rooms of my house. The guest room that gets used … well, it hasn’t been used for almost three years … is going to be mostly a craft room that I will be using every day – with a soon-to-be-installed Murphy bed for guest use.
The office/business/computer and inspiration room will be relieved of craft project spill-over, look more intentional, and become a second guest room so our entire family can get together … someday – post COVID – through the transformative power of Murphy bed number two.
Suddenly, there’s the moving of furniture, elimination of stuff, emptying of drawers, closets.
Ack!
With every drawer in the house needing sprucing up, I thought, “Why not?”
While still carrying on with blog post deadlines, creating Amazon ads for my books, reaching out to markets that could benefit – especially – from my Toolkit for Caregivers book, and still arranging for the redecorating of both rooms, I have solved the overwhelming problem.
Are you ready?
Doesn’t look like much, but – for me, at least – it’s added a fun element and has taken away dread.
It took me about five minutes to write down the name of every drawer in the house on one piece of paper. With a few scissor cuts, I had about forty-five little pieces. After folding each paper into quarters, I made sure they were mixed up and I put them into a jar. I pulled out the first one and have already tidied up that drawer.
What pleasure it gave me to put the completed task into the empty jar!
Some drawers will be easy. Potholder drawer will be a cinch. The bathroom drawer with make-up will have its challenges. But, I won’t be facing ALL bathroom drawers on the same day.
Maybe your kids could use this approach to the sharing of household chores. We could sure use anything that might add a fun factor.
Jobs need to be done – that part doesn’t change – but, if I can introduce a giggle, some whimsy, a little anticipation … well, that’s a good thing, while mostly staying at home.
Have you started to enjoy Socially Distanced Outdoor Gatherings- SDOGs? I made that acronym up – you heard it here FIRST!
I had my second SDOG this past week around my new fire pit. My first fire pit was a pyramid of candles. We got a laugh out of that one.
The next day, I purchased a real fire pit. It may not be my forever one; but it is serving the purpose at present. You see, there’s an outdoor transformation going on as well. I’m trying to get a vision of my new space while using it. There will be a BBQ area, space for a dining table with an umbrella – who knows?
We had a hilarious time as I shared the art of biscuits-on-a-stick. That’s a story for another time.
It sure was grand being around friends. I hope the weather holds so we can do this lots more.
We are all fatigued with the whole COVID scene; but folks, this is no time to let our guard down. More than likely, we are facing a brutal winter. Please wear a mask when around other people.
Family gatherings are super-risky if they aren’t SDOGs. Knowing and loving someone DOES NOT mean they are safe to be around.
NONE of us knows if we are safe to be around. My latest trip to Lowe’s for paint samples could have exposed me. I could be asymptomatic. You don’t know. I DON’T KNOW!
I shared a thought that came through my Facebook feed the other day that said: “We isolate now, so when we gather again, no one is missing.”
In health,
Deidre