I’d really like to start at the top floor of my house, and organize my way down. That would probably take all of two weeks to complete!
I’d love to do something like “one drawer a day” and just tackle drawers and weed things out. I just might do that! I can accomplish just about anything given small amounts of time to do it in.
There is a line of deadlines hanging over my head, and this is where I need to find balance. Did you know I’m doing a mystery with Quiltmaker Magazine starting this spring? It’s going to run through 4 issues ---just wait til you see it!
I’ve finished the binding and the stitching of the label. I now need to write directions before sending it off – and that is one of the BIG THINGS that has to happen in the next couple of weeks.
I also have to have the yardage requirements written for our November Mystery ---and I need that done within the next two weeks also!
There are always deadlines ---and so I have to schedule these things in around the other things I’d “LIKE” to do.
And then there are the other daily things that have to happen ----for me today means getting all the book orders that came in while I was gone taken care of and out to the post office. It means making a grocery list and restocking the house with food and sundries after I’ve been gone. And the time to play with what I have dreamed of playing with whittles down to nothing. Making it all fit becomes the challenge, and there is no time to waste.
I’m a list maker --- are you? I was having a discussion yesterday with a friend on how to put the “white board” in our lives to better use ---moving things from the “need to do” list to the “in progress” list and finally to the “completed” list so we could see things being knocked off as we go through our “MUST DO” lives.
I haven’t figured out the best way to track my progress yet. I know I get distracted by things like “Oh! It’s October…must sew PUMPKINS!!” And then the things that have definite deadlines get shoved aside by little things that creep in.
So this is my list for today in the order that I’m going to do them.
Mail Order
Pattern Writing
Yardage Requirements for Nov Mystery
Grocery Store later this afternoon
Bank Run after Groceries
By the time I get back it will likely be dinner time and hopefully I’ll have a lot of “MUST DO’s” cranked out to leave me a bit more freedom to work on the “Want to Do’s!”
I’ve got more things I want to upload to the blog, maybe this afternoon I’ll be able to upload something quilty – but getting this day going and knocking this stuff out is on my mind right now! I’m turning up the music, and I’m tackling STUFF!
And if I get enough done today -- how about some QuiltCam tonight?? :cD
Have a great Thursday --- make it count!
23 comments:
Home is the best place to be, enjoy I can see a smile and even a few dance steps.
I am up and Adam too. Hitting the road doing errands as well. Hope to finish block I own someone today and put it in the mail. Then back to a million triangles I am sewing together in hopes that I will need them for you mystery. 2 1/2 inch. I didn't know I had so many! If not for a mystery, it is a good start for a quilt just the same.
Aileen from FL
I highly recommend the "one drawer at a time" method for organizing. Remember that with organizing, things often look much worse before they get better.
Get yourself your three bags/bins/boxes (donate, trash, give away/sell). Then set aside a half-hour each day. You may not finish the whole house in two weeks, but you'll be on your way, and you will feel lighter with each bag that leaves the house!
Good luck, and post your progress!
I need to do the one drawer at a time, too. But today I'm off for a day of fun--a friend and I are going to the quilt shop and renting the long-arm to quilt a Christmas quilt for one of my granddaughters. Looking forward to QuiltCam tonight, but I might be quilted out and just watch/listen/snooze. LOL Have a great day!
I list to exist! Need to write it down and cross it off ... that is the ONLY way I remember to get things done and I am constantly re-prioritizing. Having recently moved I can tell you that focusing on cleaning one room/one area a day is the ONLY way to get organized. Move what you don't want, plan to donate or toss to an area in your garage ... once it's out there it does NOT come back into the house. BUT ... it is very important to take time for YOU ... if you need/want a nap, take it ... if only for 20-30 minutes ... you will feel refreshed. Make sure you do some stitching ... it's good for your soul. Just like watching Quiltcam has become an important part of my evening ... watch it before I head off to bed each time it is on. Enjoy your day ... while it's a rainy, blustery day in Northern Michigan I plan to enjoy mine in the sewing room ;-)
I have a long to-do list today as well, and then my quilt guild tonight - not sure if I will be back in time for QuiltCam, but if I am, I will tune in for sure :)
My office is one of the places that desperately needs cleaning out. Mostly so that I can move my little featherweight in for quilt cam. Off to a meeting then back to start on the office. Thank you for the push.
Bonnie the Lynmar is Lynda from Chicago
I'm probably weird, but a list makes me feel like I'm behind. The only list I make is in my head...that way I don't beat myself up so bad if I don't get it all done!
I'm thinking about making pumpkin/halloween gifts and give for Christmas presents..that way I'd be ahead?!!
Yes, I am a list person. It is the only way I stay on track and get things done. I can get easily distracted, so once I get going, I keep going. Crossing things off the list makes me feel good - like I really have accomplished something. Good Luck with your list today! Hope to "see" you tonight.
Grace
gmp505@aol.com
The Yarn Harlot got herself a part time assistant. She was amazed how much it helped her out. In nursing, we can accomplish the impossible through delegation. I'm sure there is a college student out there that would love to help you out!Life is far too short not to enjoy!
I am definitely a list maker--have been since high school (decades ago)--and I love that list in the photo!
My mom and I most often didn't see things the same way. She was a total neat freak,and NO animals allowed in the house. I'd like to be a neat freak, but I don't know how that will happen unless I give up my sewing/die cutting. I try to keep an organized mess at least. And I do have a clowder of kitties. (That's my answer anytime someone asks how many!)
But, she said one thing that stuck. "when you have a list of things to do, do the worst job first". That often helps the rest of the list not seem so bad, and if I don't finish it I feel better knowing I at least got the worst thing done.
I'm a list maker, and the list makes me crazy! I want it to all be done so one day I have nothing to list and I can play. Yea...right, never gonna happne. ha!
Deb
I've just started making list. I'm finding it helps. I also use a reward system. Get this many items on my list done time out for something fun. my biggest goal is to get things finished before the last minute. So far so good as I have my great grandsons halloween costume made and should finish up my Christmas sewing by the middle of November so I'll be ready for the myster.
Sue
Upstate NY
"Contentment is a list with half of it crossed off."
-- Gladys Taber
(author of the Stillmeadow Books...among my all-time favorites)
Nann, I loved all Gladys Taber's books and her magazine column, too! Haven't thought about her for a long time. Maybe it's time to see if our library still has her books and then to reread them. "Butternut Wisdom" comes to mind. Pauline in PA
I am also a list maker, but sometimes the list is longer than my arm and I get overwhelmed. I am working on the organizing, but things like cooking, subbing, reading, and quilting interfere. I like the idea of one draw a day. I need to make mine one box a day as I am sorting through years worth of things that have accumulated and trying to decide if I really need to keep those things or if they are garbage. Many are papers, papers that I have to read over to see if they need to be kept, shredded or recycled. I am thinking I should just have a big bonfire in the back yard and say the heck with it and throw them all in. :)
Bonnie... so glad you are still planning on QuiltCam tonight! I decided to follow your lead, and do some de-cluttering today too. I have spent my travel time and waiting time at work deconstructing a UFO, so That I can cut it down to a smaller size and have it ready to reconstruct with you during QuiltCam. This bugger has been in m personal "Area 51" for at least 8 years, because that is when I switched to Aurifil threads, and Boy, Can I tell the difference! - I found that the accuracy has improved soo much since switching! See you in a few hours!
sorry about the duplicate post... just recluttered the blog!
Without lists everything would just be forgotten! 45th parallel had it right and her recommendation s are good for mental health and your soul ! Life is too short to not enjoy it all-and remember you make the rules, not any one else. Looking forward to q-cam. Micki
I love to make lists, so I don't have to keep a running list in my head. The problem comes when I don't finish, lose the list and forget something. I was actually wondering how you "do it all" but I know everyone has to prioritize. I use deadlines to decide, but that leaves my quilting low because there's not the same deadlines as the work and bills.
Hope I can make it for quilt-cam!!
Hurray! I loved when Christmas Lights was a Quiltmaker mystery. I got together three times with a group of friends to work on it at the same time. It was so fun. Looking forward to spring.
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