Oh Martha!!

I ran across this list of things Martha says I should do every day:

1. Make the Bed: Tidiness begets tidiness. A crisply made bed makes the whole room seem more orderly, which makes it less likely that you'll let other things -- such as clothes and papers -- pile up around it. (This has never worked in my house. And, really, I like a loosely fluffed bed anyway. I just do not like a crisply made bed when I lay down to sleep.)

2. Manage Clutter: Whenever you leave a room, take a quick look around for anything that isn't where it should be. Pick it up and put it where it belongs. Insist that everyone in the household do the same.(Obviously Martha does not have two young kids living with her. OK, and me!)

3. Sort the Mail: Take a few minutes to open, read, and sort mail as soon as you bring it inside. Keep a trash bin near your sorting area for junk mail. Drop other mail into one of four in-boxes: personal correspondence, bills, catalogs, and filing. (I am actually fairly good at this one. As long as it is ME that brings in the mail. Then there is mail that is addressed to Bill ... it just sits around unopened for ever. Or opened and dumped on the counter.)

4. Clean as You Cook: Instead of filling the sink with pots and dishes, wash them or put them in the dishwasher as you prepare a meal. (But, then you burn your food you are cooking. This really does not work for me.)

5. Wipe Up Spills While They're Fresh: Whether it's tomato sauce on the cooktop or makeup on the bathroom counter, almost anything is faster and easier to remove if you attend to it immediately. (I really try. I do!!)

6. Sweep the Kitchen Floor: Every evening once you've finished washing up after dinner, sweep the floor. This will keep tough-to-clean dirt and grime from building up, which will make the weekly mopping much quicker. (Duh - obviously she does not have a shedding pooch around that simply necessitates this action! I'd say I sweep 6 days a week. Occasionally I miss a day due to business and such.)

So ... why is my house soooo crazy? Oh yea, clutter. Lucy.....

Time Consuming

I have been spending a ton of time this past week planning learning activities for the kids. Tons of time. Too much time, probably. And I have little to show for it. grumph!

So I shall continue - hopefully with a printer that works soon. That may help the process along some, since some of my ideas involve printing out stuff. I'd like to do a lapbook or two with the girls. I also want to do something - not sure what - with Lauren and her ravenous reading habit. We're talking entire books, complete with some heavy content, in 24-48 hours. Is she really grasping the content when she zooms through them so quickly? (most likely not really)

So, here I sit, still ... again ... even more, searching and planning. It is time consuming I say!

And then there is all this cleaning I have mentally committed myself to this summer. groan groan groan! I really hate cleaning, and it seems that I do not much else but that since I became a stay-at-home mom. Why is that? Is it because I have not much else to "occupy" my time and therefore feel productive? Yes, it is something along those lines. Oh well.

And finally, my idea to have the girls prepare their own meals this summer is surely time consuming! I just spent 30 minutes talking them through slicing an apple and trimming off some bruised parts. Thirty minutes for Two apples! I could have done that in 2 minutes, but that is not the point, is it? again, groan :) but with a positive spin.

me and my bright ideas