How do you like my new header? Nice huh? The photo credit belongs to my friend, Scott, but the header magic is all Debbie. They both rock. If you need a Las Vegas family photographer or some awesome graphics, they’re your people. (My constantly spastic theme doesn’t allow my header to click anymore but you can find home on the pages widget to the right.)

[For more info on this challenge, click the photo. My last update was here.]

Goal #1 – Time Management

Routines:  The heat was really taking out of me most of this week. But with the AC now on, I find myself to be much more energetic and efficient with my time. Still focusing on my mornings, since they really set the tone for my day. I’m getting up between 5-5:30 as soon as the sky begins to lighten. I’m also getting laundry washed and on the line by 6:30 to avoid standing in the sun.

Time Wasters: I feel like singing! My dishwasher is working!! I did several loads of dishes, adding a cup of baking soda in the beginning and a cup of vinegar about 10 minutes in. It fizzed all through the pipes (or so I’d like to imagine) and is cleaning much better. I can’t tell you how much time this has freed. I almost don’t know what to do with myself after dinner anymore.

Goal #2 – Harmonica

Okay, I guess I could spend my after dinner time practicing my harmonica. Haven’t done more than a few breathing (train) exercises all week. I have begun to carry it in my purse to practice on the road, but I usually forget. I think I need a new reed which basically means a whole new harp. I got over 100 free songs from this website and I’m still debating on changing my song. I really like Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain but it’s awfully sad.

Goal #3 – Decluttering

I spent Tuesday emptying out my laundry room, sorting through it all (what belonged somewhere else, what I could get rid of, etc), cleaning the walls, baseboards and floors and rearranging what was left. I’d still like to pull the washer and dryer out and clean behind and beneath them. But it feels really good to open that door now. It’s tempting to think about painting the room but I think I’m just going to focus on decluttering for now.

I joined Two Frog Home’s “Doing Not Thinking” Challenge. I could use some outside accountability and the fact this challenge is not a “fast as you can” kinda thing (it’s ongoing from now until the Fall) means it’s right up my alley since both my goals take some time to do or integrate into our lives.

I actually have two goals during this challenge. My first goal is time management. Things feel so hectic these days and I’m really needing a steadier rhythm to my life. I’m not only trying to get it all done, but also find the right time to do it all. I’d like to manage my time in such a way that leaves me less bewildered at where the minutes flew, as well as more available for Justin and Zeb during their day. I’ve found if I’m online before lunch, it messes up my whole day but taking care of it all in the afternoon takes away from prime family time and using it after dinner usually means I’m up too late. I still have a lot to think about with this one…

My second goal is to purge my home of unneeded or unused “stuff” and have a yard sale by the end of the challenge. I’m *not* a yard sale person – most stuff goes to Goodwill – but we are still trying to cushion our savings as much as we can. The main purpose of this goal is to SIMPLIFY our home. I’ve started thinking about all the ways in which we may be living in the coming years if Justin is laid off or we move and all of it includes a much smaller space. So I plan to go through each room of our house and filter what we really truly will use in the long-term and what we can do without – sort of a way to prepare us for the future. I also want to reorganize what we’ll be keeping to make things more efficient.

The ironic part to all this is that I already know how to do this! I had a home-based business. I was the epitome of organizational, clutter-free time management skills. So, I’m really just using this challenge as a way to tap back in and apply what I know in different ways. I’ll post what I’m doing periodically and I’ll probably redo my lists to the right to reflect all this. You can check out Two Frog Home or join the challenge by clicking the photo above. Anyone else playing along?

P.S. Hillary wrote a wonderful post on unschooling and knowledge. Check it out here: The Essence of Great Knowledge

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