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With Monday being my official reset day of the week, it's the day to put my head on for the rest of the week. What is due? Who is going where, and when? And what tasks have to be fulfilled?
It's a perfect day to make... a list! My mind thinks in list-format anyway, so I gravitate toward any type of list.
The big, official list on my big, official notebook sheet is actually 6-7 smaller lists by category, and as needed, so no untidy mixing of unlike tasks happens. It's all on one notebook sheet that is sectioned off by the needed headers:
Home: this is where I list out what housework needs to be done, especially anything that is beyond the normal set of work.
Sewing: I'm still finishing up work with brides I'd committed to from last year before I closed down my business. This list, plus any other projects I have, is on my sewing section.
Office: this is a list I keep of anything related to real estate I need to do.
Other: cards to write to people, calls to make, random tasks for the family function, etc.
Errands: all the random places around town to go.
Groceries: all those groceries I intend to buy. Eventually, I do. I just hate actually going to the store for the BIG, HUGE, STOCK-UP that gets devoured in no time flat. My family has literally gone out for fast food the day after I stuffed the refrigerator and pantry so full, there wasn't any place left for one more bit. They couldn't find anything to eat for lunch. (This is where the forehead-slap emoji fits perfectly.)
To Buy: anything that isn't a grocery store item goes here. Right now there is deck stain on that list. I'm pretty sure Kroger doesn't have deck stain.
Nerds everywhere understand the pure joy of a fresh piece of paper, a beautifully flowing gel pen, and the list. It can be done in colors. It can be done in cursive. It can be done in drafter's handwriting. It can be done in first-grade print. Just write that beautiful list.
My lists remind me of the self-animating cleaners I'm always wishing for. If I have enough cleaners, will they spring to life and clean my house for me?
If I have enough lists, will they spring to life and just do everything on those lists? I could do with a rare nap while that happens.
And... back to the grocery store, I finally went after several weeks of limping along with pathetic little trips for one or two things (which always turned into 15 things) to keep us with enough for dinner that night and breakfast the next day.
We weren't out of food, it was just that all the favorites were gone. Even the second favorites were gone. We were down to canned goods which are much too hard to open on a hungry stomach, the freezer lot, lots of baking supplies, and legumes that had to be cooked before consumed.
Plus, we had a jar of herring in the refrigerator. Nobody was clamoring for that.
Basically, everything fun was gone. What was left required forethought and effort to prepare and consume. That's just too much to ask.
Today, I made my pretty shopping list, gulped hard, and did the deed. It's done... for now.