Fruit Inspection

It’s in my blood. I inherited it from my mom. What am I talking about? Organizational skills. And I don’t mean that I like to be organized. Or that I’m simply a neat freak. I mean that I can’t help but become obsessed about getting things in order and finding cool little baskets or buckets, or even shelving units in which to keep them that way. The greatest invention of the 20th century for me? Microsoft Office Excel.

Yeah, baby! I have more spreadsheets than H&R Block. Only one word can explain the spark of energy and excitement I feel when discovering an idea is “Excel Worthy”…SCINTILLATING! (That is a word from my sophomore year english class. There are not a lot of sitations exuberant enough to use it, but this is definitely one of them. Mrs. Martin would be so proud!)

Last night I came up with a brilliant plan on how to keep from being overwhelmed by all the little stuff that needs to be done around the house. Not the everyday stuff. But the things that I only notice when I go into a room. For example: there is a clock in our home office that has needed a battery for probably close to 4 years. I only think about it when I’m in the office and need to know what time it is. And chances are, if I’m in the office and need to know what time it is, I have something to do and not a lot of time to do it in. So I look at the clock and think, “Oh, yeah, that needs a battery”, then lean back to see what time the living room clock says. Problem solved in the moment, but that battery won’t enter my mind again for days or even weeks when I am in the same situation.

So last night I was thinking about how many days there are in a month. And I was wondering if I could put one room of my house on each day of the calendar to just go into it and look around for things it needs like light bulbs replaced, blinds wiped down, air freshners changed out, etc. The stuff that doesn’t get any attention on regualr cleaning days, but needs to be done nonetheless.

Now before you are thinking, “Man, you have 31 rooms in your house?” No. As I wrote out my list, a so called room, might just be a closet or pantry. I don’t want to have large areas to work on in a day. That would defeat the purpose of trying to keep me from getting overwhelmed by all the misc things to do around here. I even designated one day to my car and the screened in porch outside.

Today I tackled the kitchen. I screwed in a couple of loose cabinet doors that had been driving me crazy, cleaned sandwich crumbs and yogurt out of the grooves in the table, set the oven to “clean”, and wiped down the cafe shutters. Then I cleaned out the refrigerator checking for expiration dates and noticed some cool whip that was still perfectly fine. So I cooked up a batch of chocolate pudding and Savannah and I made parfaits to have after dinner tonight. Yummy!

It really didn’t take that much time but I feel like I got a lot accomplished. It was easy to keep from getting distressed by other things. When I took some toys upstairs and saw the crayon marks on the wall, I simply thought, “Nope, today is NOT your day”, and didn’t worry about it again.

Since I considered the morning a success, I couldn’t wait for Emery to go down for his nap so I could get on the computer and pull up my Excel program. Laaaaaaa! The angels were singing! I came up with 31 locations around my house. One for each day of most months. On busy days I’ll check off a room that really doesn’t need anything, like the guest room closet which we rarely use. And if I get to a room that needs more attention, I don’t have to worry…there’s always next month. At least I know it’s on the schedule to get done. After all, easing my mind is half the battle!