Wordless Wednesday - Comfort Food

Wordless Wednesday - The Stair Project

 

A New Plan

Hello loyal readers! (?)

I have decided to make some changes to the way I blog and as such, have decided to split my blogs more clearly and develop them a little more independently and for different purposes. To that end I've decided to start posting here as Dichotomy Girl to try and creat more of an identity for this blog.

Hopefully there will be a lot of changes and gigantic jump in posts too over the next few months.

rou·tine

Dictionary.com tells me:

rou·tine

   [roo-teen]

noun

1. a customary or regular course of procedure.

2. commonplace tasks, chores, or duties as must be done regularly or at specified intervals; typical or everyday activity: the routine of an office.

3. regular, unvarying, habitual, unimaginative, or rote procedure.

4. an unvarying and constantly repeated formula, as of speech or action; convenient or predictable response: Don't give me that brotherly-love routine!

My problem has been that I want to take a break after I've set up my routine.  I've realised that I have to let things *get* routine before I even consider taking a break, but realistically, routines are at their most routine when you do them even on your day off...

It may seem like an obvious place to get to, but it took me a while to comprehend it.

Here's hoping I have!

Small Steps.

I was recently introduced to the delights of Hyperbole and a Half and specifically this Hyperbole and a Half: This is Why I'll Never be an Adult post that REALLY resonated with me.  It was fun to see someone articulate my housekeeping style so well. 

Even so, I was not proud of this part of me.  I think at work they would be surprised to find that I have problems with keeping my space clean because I have a very neat desk at work.  My neat desk stems from sharing a desk for a long time, and then the refusal to let things get out of control in such a shared space. 

Home is where you relax, right?  Relaxing and cleaning rarely go hand in hand (I have one dear friend who might say otherwise).  It is, however, much easier to relax in a space that is tidy and not lost under mess.




In the last few weeks I have focussed less on grand plans and more on trying to establish a routine that works for me.

I have an app called Home Routines that has been invaluable.  I first downloaded the app months ago and used it a lot to start with.  Then life got in the way and I got resentful that I was the one doing all this "stuff" and I stopped using it.

The house was a mess.  Life was hectic.  It bothered me.

In an effort to move on/grow up/find sanity, I figured I'd already bought it, I really should use it.  So, I revisited it, I re-jigged my lists, I got specific.

Getting specific helped me a lot.  "Empty all bins" is less likely to get done than listing 4 or 5 bins that need emptying, at least I could then check off 4 out of 5 bins that I emptied.

I also gave myself room to have down days.  I don't get through everything on my lists every day, or even most days.  I aim to add to my "regular" list of things I do every week though, just slowly expanding the routine to regularly be getting a little bit more done, I have a goal to have a minimum number of tasks done each day and a desire to slowly grow that number.

So far it is working for me.  I'm getting more done each day, I am developing a pattern, I am finding little ways to slip the small tasks into everyday life without them being a big deal.  BabyCakes has even started making the bed if he is the last one out!  The simple act of walking into a bedroom and seeing the bed made is very satisfying.   Don't get me wrong, you still have to look past the piles of "stuff" stacked along the wall, but I'm getting there.

I am still yet to make peace with the politics of cleaning, but again, I am working on it (more on this at a later date). 

I still have a long way to go before I get remotely close to the kind of clean house I aspire to, but progress is being made.

The Front Yard Veggie Patch Project

We're very lucky to have a reasonably sized suburban block, with our house pretty central on the block.  Our front yard was once fenced (we have the old gates left under the house), but a previous owner decided it was best to remove this low fencing. 

This means that for our lifestyle, it is hard for us to spend much time out the front as we have to be ever aware of Miss Squid's exploratory nature, and not let ourselves get distracted with the task we might want to complete.  This means the only time our front yard gets any attention is when we walk through it to go out, or when we can't ignore the jungle any longer and it needs mowing.

Taking with BabyCakes, I think we have agreed that it would be a great spot for a veggie patch, as we walk past it every day (so have no real excuse to ignore the watering or harvesting duties), it is protected by a large hedge, but still gets a good deal of sun.  It also will mean that Dog won't be able to help with either the "watering" or harvesting duties.  The bonus will also be that there will be less yard to mow and less money to spend on veg.

I'm a bit excited by this project because we've been talking for ages about a veggie patch and just have never quite got there.  This feels like it could be just the impetus we need.

Now to plan what we want to eat and how it will fit together.

I need to dig out my books...