On To Our Next Adventure

This week is officially the third week of me being a stay at home wife. There are several reasons for me quitting my job: (1) Anthony and I have decided to start a home baking business, (2) we have already started another business (that I really need to get caught up on) called Texas Dining where we are reviewing food establishments in Texas, (3) I want to write so I'm hoping that I will have some time to devote to it, (4) I need to focus on my health and get that back under control, and (5) it is way past time for me to get this house organized. I will be going into much more detail about each of these in posts to come but that is kind of a summery of our decision.

So, for the last three weeks I have been working on getting the house clean and organized. I am still avoiding my archnemisis, aka the office, but once I get it organized, I'll feel like I've really accomplished something. :)

In order to help me with this goal, I am using a few tool. One of these is the FlyLady but customizing it for me (which is what she suggests). Each week is a different "Zone" and each day you do a 15 min "Mission" in that Zone. For example, this week's Zone is the kitchen and today's Mission is to sweep & mop. In addition, each month has a "Habit of the Month." This month's habit is making your bed. So far, I have stuck to this every day but one which, for anyone who knows my history with bed making, is a major step in the right direction. :)

In addition to FlyLady, I am using a couple of apps. FlyLady recommends the Cozi app. I'm not sold on it yet, but I am giving it a try. I also use an app called Home Routines that must have been developed by someone who was familiar with FlyLady, as well. I got it a couple of years ago but have never really used it much until now. For shopping, Anthony & I use the Ziplist app because it can be shared. I think the Cozi app can as well but I'm just testing it for now.

Some things I've learned over the last couple of weeks is that I need to be better about sticking to my schedule. I made up a schedule that, so far, I have not followed very well but I have tweaked it a bit so hopefully this will be a little better.

I also have a weekly plan for my "Daily Chore." For example, I know that the best day for groceries is on Wednesday because that is when the new sales come out, so Tuesdays I will clean the kitchen. Shopping day is Wednesday because some stores will let you use the sales from the previous week in addition to the new sales so you get double sales. Since I know I will be getting groceries on Wednesday, I will make the kitchen my "Daily Chore." This will give me a chance to clean out and inventory the pantry, fridge, and freezer. (Boy, do I wish trash day was on Thursday.) I have Saturday set to do the garage & car but as I get some of the other areas organized enough where it doesn't take as long anymore, I may work on the garage then, as well. I plan on changing this quite a bit as time goes along but this will help me until I get things under control.

I may only vacuum once a week (probably on Thursdays since Friday is trash day). Anthony says he wants to be in charge of that, so what ever day he wants, is fine with me. :)

I wish I had taken before and after pictures of each of my rooms as I go along. So far, our bedroom, the kitchen, the living room, and the bathrooms are staying pretty clean and organized. The biggest hurdles are going to be the office and the garage. I've already got a load of stuff in my car to take to Goodwill but, sad to say, you can't tell I have removed anything from the garage. Oh well, one box at a time and this mountain will be moved! ;)

The other goal I have, which we actually have been pretty good at doing for a while now, is creating menus. Last year, I did a whole month menu & we went shopping only once for a big trip & then got fresh fruits and veggies on a weekly basis. It was great. However, I was not great at doing that much more the rest of the year. I was pretty good about doing a week at a time, though. So, now, I'm hoping to go back to the monthly menu design. I'll try to remember to post our monthly menu at the beginning of each month on this blog. That will also give me the opportunity to login on my phone if I'm at the store and want to check something (I always make a list but sometimes I like to make sure I didn't miss something). So, here is this month's menu (if you click on it, it will take you to a larger view):