Day 4 - a plan of action

Today is/was E's birthday. I'm not exactly sure how that meant that I didn't get anything done, but that's what happened in the end. I did, however, create an ingeeeeeenious (insert maniacal laughter here) diagram of my house, sectioned off into 30 colored blocks indicating what areas should be cleanable in a single stretch of hard work. For instance, the living room is all one color as it doesn't require much beyond your average mop and polish. The kitchen has 8 sections because it's that awful. And so on. I think if I can pick a block and focus on it and just it within these boundaries I might be less overwhelmed than thinking I have to mop the *whole* kitchen perfectly in one go. So, it's a plan, and it might not have been worth the time and effort but who knows? Maybe it'll be that last magic piece of the puzzle.

Letting things slide

There's been a lot of sliding around here. So much so that I'm having a hard time getting my footing back. And not all of that is metaphorical, given that we've had more snow and ice this winter than any other in history for this area.

In happy news, I now have a brand-spanking-new set of laundry machines! Not a matching set, not even the same brand, but new and working and all that good stuff. There was a little drama with the dryer (mostly because I'm an idiot), but as of yesterday both are fully functional and have been running almost nonstop ever since.

I am cautiously optimistic about improvements around here. The washer and dryer are a big part of that, and also that today was bright and clear (still cold but I can't ask for much in February), and I have some new toys to play with. But I'm also wary because I know that my disposition, as well as external factors, can be mercurial and while I'm up and functioning and ambitious tonight there's no guarantee for tomorrow, much less next week or month.

I am determined, from now on, PCCX or not, to do one thing a day that is not the bare minimum. No matter how small an act that might be, if it's something that does not have to be repeated one or more times per day it counts as progress. Today, for example, when I was putting away yesterday's non-urgent groceries I also picked up a large amount of trash from the "pit" end of the kitchen. This is the dead end corner of the room between the freezer and the microwave where food packaging tends to be discarded without regard for any receptacle in which to place it. I didn't "clean the room" or even that side of it, I didn't "finish" the floor, I didn't get every last bit of everything, I just took a few extra minutes to go that one step beyond the task at hand, which was putting away food.

Which, by the way, is getting ever more impossible. I really need a bigger pantry.

I've also fallen waaay behind on my blogging responsibilities. Even if I'm only responsible to myself in my own mind, I'm still off kilter. I know better than to promise, but I do intend to make an effort to post much more often, if only to list my one "extra" task of the day. Winter can be such a blah time of year with weather restricting activities and affecting moods, among other things. It's going to take a concerted effort to not effectively hibernate until spring, so this is my declaration of intent.

Help me out. Leave comments. Post your own entries (you know who you are). Set goals, brag about accomplishments, even if it was only that you got all-the-way dressed on a day you weren't going anywhere, and have a conversation about how the season is affecting your work.