Posts Tagged With: lists

one week out

This is where I stand when it comes to packing.


This is our dining room. Everything in here will be handled by the movers. This is in addition to the furniture. And the handful of wardrobe boxes up in our bedroom.

I’ve packed most everything that may not be necessary in the next week. This includes pantry staples and the majority of daily use dishes. The dishwasher was two thirds of the way full yesterday, so I just packed everything that wasn’t in there hoping for success in the next week.
Of course, all these kitchen things are simply in shopping bags in the front room. So, they’re easily accessible if we have some sort of ‘kitchen-things emergency’.


This is what will go our cars.
It didn’t start out looking like too much…but then I did the kitchen.
I finally ran out of boxes. I was able to get all the dishes/glassware into boxes for the movers, but not the foodstuffs and other things.
I’m not concerned, because Thing 1 made the plan I know will work.
And with two trips in my vehicle and one each in YBW’s and Thing 1’s, we’ll have that front room cleaned out in no time!

I look at the rooms in this house and realize, it’s not all that much that needs to move.
We’ve got this.
I did all the organizing.
We did the majority of the work.
One week from today will be the last time we sleep in this house.
We’re ready.

Categories: around the house | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

all that compounded smartness

I felt anxious Monday.
Literal low-level thrumming in my body.
This list is enormous!
Three weeks sounds like a long time, but it’s not.
How will I get this done?
How will I be ready for the movers?

My logical brain knew all that was straight up bullshit.
My logical brain knew I’d planned everything out to the nth degree.
My logical brain knew I was prepared.

But my feels were actively attempting to run the show.
That physical vibration was convincing as hell.

To thwart the feels, I over-functioned my ass off.
So much so that I crossed off everything for the week of July 11-17 on my moving list that very day.
But that wasn’t good enough.
I had to do stuff scheduled for the following week too.
I had to get more done.
On Monday.
Of the second week.

This is where I was when I went to bed Monday night.
Monday July 12.

What you don’t see crossed off are two things I actually started working on.
pack bathroom and linen closet
pack clothes

I was chatting with Thing 1 about how I was feeling. She was loving and encouraging. But I simply couldn’t shake the feels.
She was quite clear that I shouldn’t overwhelm myself right before the finish line.
(it’s like she knows me)
I assured her I knew it wasn’t real. That logically I was even more on target than my prep work suggested I be. But I sure as hell felt a way about it.

We talked later in the day when I finally stopped and sat down.
In this conversation I was finally able to verbalize what I was feeling anxious about. I wasn’t sure how to pack all the random things so the movers would take them. I didn’t want to waste boxes I might need for dishes on laundry room things, etc.
It was then I began to realize my panic wasn’t only about being ready on time, it was also about being properly packed so the movers could be successful.
Thing 1 was like, “Uh…Momma. You can put stuff in your car and take it over there.”
(but actually kinder than that sounds)

Her words created an instantaneous shift in me.
My body was still even though my brain was thrumming – with realization!
I didn’t have to pack up anything awkward. I could simply put it in the car.
Y’all! My girl saved the day!
I often tease her that she’s smarter than me. She doesn’t see it that way. She calls it ‘compounded smartness’. That she’s as smart as she is because I’m as smart as I am and she simply built upon it.
(something like that, I think she explains it better)
Either way, she saved the day.

The container we packed in March is being delivered Wednesday of that last week and being unloaded first thing Thursday morning.
Thing 1 offered to meet me at this house after they’re finished at the new house. We’ll each load up a vehicle and take it to the new house.
Then anything that doesn’t really go into a proper box, or anything we’ll need straight away will be there ready for us.
YBW is staying at the new house because the smart home guys will be there working their magic. So he’ll pack up his car the night before instead of coming back home with me.
Those three loads will carry all the awkward things, and the movers can do the rest.

I’m still properly planned.
I’m ahead of schedule.
I’m perfectly still inside.
Like some sort of organizational ninja, this move won’t even see me coming.

This is an excellent example of why we must talk about feeling a way. Just because our logical and emotional selves are at odds, doesn’t mean there isn’t a solution.
In my case, the solution was someone looking at it from a different perspective.
Someone who knows and loves me, and had the patience to listen even though she knew I wasn’t making any kind of sense.
Grown children know what’s up.
It’s all that compounded smartness.

Categories: on being a mom | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

a color coded list for the end game

We’re now twenty days out from closing on the new house. Twenty-two days until we lock the door to this house behind us for the last time.
I created a color coded list broken down by week to ensure we’re ready to roll when the time comes.
.blue for me
.red for YBW
.purple for both

This week is already proving to be successful. I’ve crossed off the majority of my list.
Go me!
Yesterday was particularly productive, not only did I pack six boxes, I packaged and shipped Thing 2’s birthday box. Played Chinese checkers with Meredith and Beau for three hours, video chatted with Baby K, and made a quick Target run.

I have some larger items that won’t fit into any of the boxes I have, so I’ll make another quick Target run this morning for some bigger bins.

I’ve got the new car insurance sorted, but having trouble finding appropriate home owners insurance. After working on insurance for two days straight, I’m ready to get that checked off my list too.

This is the end game, y’all.
I’m ready!

Categories: around the house | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

the power of a to-don’t list

Do y’all know about I Weigh?
Founded by Jameela Jamil in March of 2018.
Mission statement: “I WEIGH CONNECTS, EMPOWERS AND AMPLIFIES DIVERSE VOICES IN AN ACCESSIBLE WAY”
Check ’em out.

Anyway…
I love I Weigh’s insta, and this post spoke right to me.

I’ve been so tired in the last couple of weeks.
Feeling trod down and worn slap out.
And I realized I’ve been doing some of the things on this list without even realizing.
Especially numbers three four and five, but also numbers six and eight too.
Actually the only thing on this list I haven’t done is number 7.

I sometimes forget I can create a don’t do it list just as easily as I create my myriad do it lists.
I suspect we all forget that from time to time.
I also suspect it’s mostly women who forget.
Though, I don’t see why men couldn’t too.

Think about how you spend your days.
Think about your life.
Are your lists chock full of things you do that aren’t what’s best for you?
Are your lists balanced to keep you in a healthy place?
Do you have the luxury of having list that are all do’s and no don’ts?

Categories: me | Tags: , , , , , , | 7 Comments

list lady

You may not know this, but I’m the list makingest girl you ever saw. I make lists for pretty much everything. So much so that when my girls were little, Sundance and Thing 1 gave me the name “List Lady” and it’s been one I’m thrilled to have.
I make lists because I’m a visual learner. I make lists because I like to see the tasks in front of me, however large or small. I make lists because I enjoy crossing things off lists.
There is something deeply satisfying about drawing a line through words on a list once the task is complete.

Most folks create some sort of list of things they intend to accomplish. Most folks call this a “to do” list.
Not me.
No no no.
When I create a list of things I set out to accomplish, it begins with “DO IT!!”
I do this to remind myself that if I want to do it badly enough to write it down, I’m not going to pussyfoot around about it.
The caps and two exclamation points might look mean, or even bossy. They’re not. When I write it, I’m more excited than I am barking orders. I’m excited to create a list of things I need to do. While I may not be super excited about doing some of them…I’m always excited to write things down.

I wrote my latest list early on the first day of this new year. A thought popped into my head and quickly turned into a list of things I wanted to get done.

What I love most about this list is that I was able to cross off so many things that very first day. It took probably less than an hour to knock out the organization of those cabinets. And y’all, I felt So. Dang. Good. about it when I was finished!

Now, I’m still in the process of working on that list, but I started a second one. It’s cool with me that I’ve got two lists going simultaneously. This second list was born from the wretched below freezing weather we’ve been sitting with and will continue to sit with for the foreseeable future. The cold weather make me want to make make delicious and nutritious deeply warm comfort food.

Yesterday I made both chili and chicken and dumplings. We ate the chili for dinner and I packed up the leftovers into two 32 oz plastic carry out soup containers. five containers of chicken and dumplings and one of chili went into the big stand up freezer in the garage. One of each into the fridge in the kitchen.
This morning before school I put ham and navy beans into the slow cooker. I only had time to prep one slow cooker. But, tomorrow I’ll prep both, one for soup and one for stew. Friday before school, I’ll toss in everything for ropa vieja.
All through the deep freeze, I’ll have warm and delicious meals at the ready.
YUM!

I’m going to get back to my list now.
Stuff doesn’t organize itself you know.

Of course, as soon as I get everything crossed off these lists…I’ll be making a new one…
Who knows? Perhaps even before I get everything crossed off these.
List Lady strikes again!

Categories: me | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

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