Back to Reality

Time to get back to reality!

The summer is over and school starts Tuesday. As much as I love the kids and LOVE teaching, I'm not looking forward to going back.

Today was supposed to be one last blast for the summer. I won tickets to Hershey Park in a radio contest and we were going to spend the day there with friends. But, she's been sick, my legs are screaming at me and my Auntie- one up here, not Florida Auntie- had surgery recently and Mom wants me to go with her today to help Auntie out. So, back to Flylady, back to normal, back to chaos, back to reality.

Job One today will be unpacking, getting most of the summer "play" clothes put away, finish getting clothes ready for school- including some to deal with the 90° temps predicted for this first week of school. The grocery list for the week is already done- DH will do that while I am at Auntie's this afternoon.

DH and DS replaced the living room sofa and carpet while I was away and the room looks really nice. More work in the garage will be needed to make more room for stuff from the craft room- NOT craft stuff, just things that got put there "until". Looks like I know what I will be doing Thursday when I get home from school- since Friday is trash day.

One of the components of the Flylady plan is what she calls a Control Journal. It is a binder that has all kinds of information in it- your address book, your lists of important numbers, a plan for maintaining your house. I found, after I spent a LONG time analysing what needs to be done around here and when it needs to be done (dishes daily, vacuum weekly, windows monthly, that sort of thing) and making a plan, that I never followed it. For one thing, it was in this reference binder, and for another it was totally unrealistic about what I was actually able to do during the school year. Then one day I found a One Page Control Journal online at a blog of someone who follows Flylady- and she offered it for download. Which I promptly did.

I have revised it multiple times- always trying to make it realistic for what I can do while meeting the basics that need to be done. This is NOT easy as what I *can* do never meets what I *should* be doing. By the time I get home from school, collapsing in the recliner is usually all I am capable of. BUT, I have revised it again for this year, trying to make it reasonable and realistic.

So, now I have my newest OPCJ all set up in a page protector on the fridge door with a dry erase marker nearby. As I finish each task for the week I can check it off, and have a good idea of what I need to do on the weekend to catch up. Here's a version of what it looks like- there is a list like this for each day.

MONDAY

MORNING ROUTINE
Swish & Swipe
Make bed
Shower/Dress/Makeup
Eat breakfast
Take meds
Pack Phone
GET HOME ROUTINE
Mail
5 min Room Rescue
Dishwasher
Laundry- wash towels
Filing
Toss ten
Dinner
Kitchen/trash
BEFORE BED ROUTINE
School bag/keys ready
Charge phone
Shine sink
Check calendar
Brush teeth/face care
Clothes for tomorrow
Go to bed at a decent time

Well, time to go put a load in the washer, start unpacking, get my keys, planner, etc ready and pack my schoolbag. Like I said, back to reality!