Archives for posts with tag: Flylady

Sorting Socks

November 6, 2012 //
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Part of my problem with sorting socks is that my kids don’t mind wearing non-matching or nearly-matching socks. I wish wearing mismatched socks was a trend when I was a kid.

I know it’s Election Day. I woke up feeling confident that I would win. Er, I mean, my man Obama would win. So while I’d like to blog about the 2012 election, I thought I’d post about finding happiness a little closer to home.

Yesterday, I was super excited to declutter. Crazy, right? I sorted more than 50 pairs of socks and it took me hours! These socks had hung around the bottom of the laundry basket for several years, years when my kids’ sock sizes grew from child to adult-sized.

At the bottom of the basket, I found toddler socks. Yes, it’s been a while since I dug down that deep.

My kids are teenagers. So after a momentary fling with nostalgia over those cute little toddler-sized socks, I tossed them away.

I’ve never enjoyed sorting socks. People say, “Do it while sitting in front of the TV at night.” But I don’t watch TV.

I found inspiration for this boring activity from this blog post, 29 Ways to Declutter. It seems Deb Smouse is saying that there’s a spiritual side to decluttering. I like that. Her post begins with this quote:

Clutter is a physical manifestation of fear that cripples our ability to grow. - H.G. Chissell.

When I left my job six weeks ago, I thought, “Great, now I’ll have time to do all those things I’ve always wanted to do, like sort those damn socks in the bottom of the basket.”

Yup, I’m finding satisfaction in getting to the bottom of the barrel and finding my kids’ childhood.

Incidentally, I’m renaming this blog, To Pursue Happiness and I’ve rolled all my blogs home here.

With starting up Boot Camp For Writers and kick starting my freelance blogging career, I just don’t have the time or energy to post on all four of my blogs, so find me here! For the month of November, I’m posting every day.

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Categories happiness, Rules To Live By, Uncategorized

Sibling Rivalry

June 25, 2012 //
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I have complained about how my kids bicker too much. It is so annoying. They can be so mean to one another and to me. And I know deep down we all love one another.

The other day H. and I were bickering at the bookstore. He needs his summer reading books, 1984 and the God of Small Things. I said the version didn’t matter, he said he must have the exact, specified version. I had a get-it-done attitude; he had a wait-and-see attitude.

I was embarrassed when another mom friend, L., interrupted our disagreement just to say hello.

“Oh, sorry, we were just fighting,” I explained. “We fight a lot.”

“Fighting’s good,” she said. L’s a teacher and I believe her. Respectful disagreement is healthy.

One of my favorite phrases in an argument, and one that I always hope is a closer, is, “Let’s agree to disagree.”

I realized that my desire for my kids to never fight, bicker, or disagree puts undue pressure on them. Maybe even my attempts to squash their sibling rivalry somehow escalates their fighting. As if they unconsciously realize, “Great, now Mom’s in the fight, too. Let’s fully commit to this argument.” And then the yelling escalates.

At times, I do flip out. “Don’t you realize your arguing creates an impact! We are kind, loving parents. You are not being kind and loving!” The kids are too competitive. Or maybe they simply can’t help being mean, like when they point out one another’s pimples. I can’t figure it out.

I show exasperation.

And sometimes having a human and impatient response pays off. Recently after my kids were in a yelling match, my son went to play ball. On his way home, he phoned me. “Mom, I’m passing the grocery store. Do we need anything?”

I was shocked. “Yes, we need juice and milk.” I was totally pleased. And yesterday, the kids did pitch in and tidy up the apartment, even as they fought about how little the other person was doing, and how much they were doing. (See what I mean? Competitive!)

I had set the timer for 10 minutes. I said, “That’s all you have to do! Ten minutes.” But  an hour later, H. was still working, hammering loose cords into the molding.

Small victories. But I’ll take them. And I’ll take the fighting because I have no choice. I do have a choice in my response to their sibling rivalry. I will not let it get to me.

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Categories Blogging, Learning, parenting

Valuing Beauty

May 28, 2012 //
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Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. – William Morris

I love this golden rule. And I love and value all things useful and beautiful.

I am not always good at decluttering. I think, Wow, this old broken hand mixer might come in handy. Not!

Sometimes in our disposable and materialistic culture — YES! America, I mean YOU! — we need and want a quick fix, but beauty takes time. (So does decluttering and throwing away the old hand mixer!)

Yesterday, my techie son helped me download about 9,000 photos from my iPhone to a hard drive. He handed me the hard drive and said, “Here’s your life.”

Among those photos I noticed this random photo from the Stony Point Retreat Center. I thought. Wow. Beautiful sun room. Useful. I want my home to be as full of light as this room. I want to find beauty in my home. I want my home (my life) to be of use. 

Image

 

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Categories Rules To Live By

Facebook group for home organizing

February 1, 2012 //
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This is totally embarrassing. I had been doing a lot of stash and dash at my desk at home – work papers, teaching ideas, bills, notes for blog topics, kids’ school papers, my art projects.

I posted a picture in a closed Facebook group, 2012 – Out With the Old Declutter Group. The group, founded by Alison, is a way for about 30 eclectic friends and acquaintances to hold one other accountable for making and keeping our home organizing goals.

And one Saturday in January I posted this picture:

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I saw what I needed to do. I told the group I would clean my desk. So, little by little, throughout that one day, I organized. I found things I had been missing, like my wedding ring. I also found a still life of a pear that I’d painted and thought was pretty good, so I framed it.

To organize my papers, I grouped like with like. I filed some papers in my file cabinet, started a binder full of curricula, threw out papers, Christmas cards, my art.

And then I posted a pic of the finished, decluttered desk:

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It felt so good to make my home space pretty and functional. And I didn’t need to hire personal organizer. I just needed social media – my online accountability group and my camera phone. Priceless.

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Categories Blogging, parenting, Teaching, Writing

Can Cleaning Be Exercise?

December 27, 2011 //
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broom by creative commons

I have updated one of my four blogs (about faith, creative writing, New York, or this one, fitness) at least every other day during 2011. When I began in January 2011, I posted every day for 66 days, because I’d heard that’s how long it takes to make a habit.

When I traveled or wrote my NaNoWriMo (November’s National Novel Writing month), I slacked a bit. But mostly I’ve been consistent with my blogging.

I need to retire a couple of my blogs and this one, Running Aground, is the lead candidate for retirement. This has been my least popular and least updated blog. Reading about my attempt to run a 5K may not have mass appeal. And I don’t write on this one because I think that if I haven’t exercised by swimming, running, or going to Pilates class, I haven’t worked out. (Although, yes, I’ve written about sleep and diet, as well.)

But wait — I clean a lot and, living in New York City, I walk a lot! So let’s remember — Cleaning is a good work out. In an hour, you burn:

  • Sweeping: 240
  • Packing/Unpacking: 220
  • Scrubbing floors on hands and knees: 325 (Who does this?)
  • Cleaning, light (dusting, wiping down counters, picking up clothes): 100
  • Cleaning, general (washing dishes, doing laundry): 200

according to a post by Divine Caroline (Brie Cadman).

This post is an attempt to encourage myself to believe in the power of the clean-up work out! Now, Mary Beth, get out there and clean! I have about an hour to unpack from our Chicago trip and pack for our Adirondacks trip, take down the Christmas tree, and generally tidy up this apartment where I’ve hosted four parties in one month!

There’s been a lot of stash and dash over the holidays. Now let’s burn some calories by cleaning. But wait, first, I have to update my Facebook status and check my friends’ news.

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Categories Fitness, parenting, running, walking

Following Flylady

January 10, 2011 //
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I was one of Flylady’s first 10,000 followers and now she has well over 100,000. Flylady is a system of house cleaning (or home blessing as she says). I am not a religious follower of Flylady, but totally agree with her basic tenets:

1. Keep your kitchen sink clean and shiny.

2. When you wake up, get dressed to your shoes.

3. Follow morning and evening routines.

You can shine the kitchen sink any way you want. The point is that if the sink is clean and shiny, the cleanliness radiates out. The table, the counters, the appliances get clean too.

The sink is literal and metaphorical. Every room has a kitchen sink.  In the kids’ bedrooms, it’s a made bed. In the family room, it’s a picked up floor. In the bathrooms, it’s a hung-up towel.

I do not have CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome). And BTW, I love Flylady’s acronyms. FLY stands for Finally Loving Yourself and I think Marla Ciley, flylady, used to be a flyfisher. You can read her daily prompts and encouragement at:  http://www.flylady.com/

Another productivity tip I learned from Flylady is to set the timer for 15 minutes and just go until the timer dings. You can accomplish a ton in 15 minutes. Even 10 minutes. It’s the Swiss Cheese method and I use it for writing http://gettingmyessayspublished.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/10-minutes-a-day/

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Categories New York Story

FLYlady and Me

February 21, 2010 //
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I’ll admit I am a very messy, disorganized person. But I can change. I swear I can. I still have not unpacked my suitcase from Las Vegas three weeks ago. But I’ll do it. today, I swear. Right after I go to Bible Study, church, a discussion on public school, the girls’ basketball game, read the Times, make dinner, do the laundry, etc.

My dis-organizational skills are getting in my way. Last night when it was time to take Hayden and his friend to the Bar Mitzvah at Chelsea Piers, I couldn’t find his friend’s address. I had just written it down. Last weekend, I lost the car keys.

Okay, but at work, I’m organized. It only took me like a week to unpack my boxes when I moved offices. I don’t know why I find packing easy and unpacking hard. It’s true when I unpacked at work, I had the support of my online Flylady friends.

I have followed Flylady, Marla Cilly, for maybe ten years. She is my household help (and workspace) guru. I must continue to follow her.  When I started following her, she had about 10,000 adherents. Maybe now she has 100,000. I am not alone in having a chaotic, stash and dash  lifestyle. http://www.flylady.net/

The FLY part of Flylady stands for Finally Loving Yourself. And here’s my distillation of her three rules (you know, I love rules):

1. Get dressed to your shoes every morning right when you get up.

2. Keep your kitchen sink clean and shiney.

3. Follow simple morning and evening routines.

You think it sounds easy? It’s not. But it’s so worth it.

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Categories Rules To Live By
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