15 Minutes: A Short Amount of Time

Today, I read this on on FlyLady's flight plan:

Today I want you to spend 15 minutes getting rid of anything that does not belong in your living room. Things that have gotten thrown in a corner, on a chair, or even the floor. If you have children get them involved. Make it a family game with the timer. If you do not have any kids set the timer for yourself! You should only declutter for 15 minutes, and when the timer goes off sit down and breathe.

Then, I thought, "What a short amount of time fifteen minutes is."  Of course, I suppose that is relative to how you feel or what that fifteen minutes might contain;  but, it really is a small segment of a day in comparison to the rest of the things you do during a day.  

When I think about the time that passes so quickly when I am immersed in a reading a book, playing a game, reading email, or writing--15 minutes seems minuscule.  It makes me wonder why it is often hard to get started earlier in the day on household tasks.  Truthfully, it does seem that getting started earlier would be better, rather than doing a dozen other things first that are not going to make my surroundings more pleasant or more efficient.  15 minutes of housework spread through the day several times Each Day would make the process of keeping things tidy a walk in the park rather than a marathon.  

15 minutes of tidying, spread throughout my day, will leave me plenty of time to do the other things I want to do, as well as the things I must do.  Furthermore, I will avoid that overwhelmed feeling that happens when one is always playing "catch up."  

Take the first step.  Decide what needs to be done first.  Set my timer.  Get moving!!!

Learning New Things and Keeping My House Clean Too

Do you ever wonder when you will be cured of Not Being the Perfect Housekeeper, Homemaker, House cleaner, Person who cleans your own house?  I do.  I bet you did not know that.

You may be thinking, "Oh, she is sitting behind her little computer with everything in place.  The house looks perfect, because she has more energy, and she has got it all together now."

My answer to the above is "Nope!", which for my readers needing translation is American slang for no.

I think I had visions of everything being perfect:  I always fall into that trap it seems;  but, the truth is I am struggling in my own ways just like everyone else.  Now, I have two jobs  ( my unpaid decluttering ministry and my Plexus Slim).  That is why I dropped the Decluttering Blog, but I am still getting rid of the clutter.  I just do not have time to take pictures of everything I declutter.  However, sometimes I will bore you with a few of the getting rid of clutter details:  for instance...

• An old teflon frying pan with the teflon peeling off (not good to eat that stuff) was sitting on the kitchen counter and now it is in the trash.
• The protective covering that was on the new frying pan, which lay on the counter two days because I wanted someone else to read the instructions, which may never happen, is now in the trash.  But, the directions are still there.  Oops!  Maybe, I should just trash them too.

See, I am still a mess;  and, my house needs to be dusted.  My laundry needs to be put away.  My towels need to be folded.  I need to clean the hot spots too.

What happened?  Life.  Life happened:  I have more energy, but I still have to give my body and brain a break.  Guess what?    It's all Okay.  Sometimes, I am going to spend more time on one thing than the other.  It's a choice I have to make.   You and I will be alright.  I still understand.  Remember, I have been ill for over 20 years.  

I am here.  I am still doing this blog;  although, there are times the things I am learning to balance may be a little different.  I would not stop doing this, when I know there are people like me that would like a chance to be better in health, in doing their work, in being with their family, in getting out of the house and in finding time and energy to play.   Right now, my house is a mess and I am having a bit of a schedule struggle.  I have even found myself skipping vitamins this week, because I got too busy with other things.  I repeat.  I am not perfect.  God is not finished with me yet.  Thank goodness!

 If I tell you about my pink drink sometimes, it is because I want to help you.  I know I need to do more testimonies and more about the products for you that have perked your ears up at the hope something might help.  If you are not interested in reading about a product that might help you;  then, skip over it.  Okay, that is all I have to say about that for now.

Now I just want to anticipate the rest of the weekend, do something with my husband, and forget about work.  In fact, I need to--we all need to take breaks from wear and tear and work-- and  pace ourselves.  

Have a happy Saturday and Sunday!  Put the things of the world out of your mind for a while and rest.  Rest your bodies, do something relaxing, and spend time with God and fellow believers.