March 1, 2016 - Time Management Tuesday

Today is the first day, of the last month, of the first quarter of 2016. The beginning of the month is a great time to take a moment and take stock. Look at your goals, look at your progress and your downfalls. Decide what is important and what is not. 

Today, I begin a journey to end the first quarter of 2016 in a positive way. I will have a cleaner, more organized home by the end of March 2016. I will accomplish this by finding what tasks need to be done daily, and tackling one deep cleaning (aka spring cleaning) task a day. 

In a previous Time Management Tuesday post I mentioned knowing that I needed to clean the litter boxes 2x per day. I have been doing better, but am still not keeping up. So today I will clean out the third litter box (in the basement) and get it back in rotation. I will also clean the boxes after I eat lunch. 

A major issue in my household is that dishes simply don't get done. I kept coming home to a counter and a kitchen full of dirty dishes. I would vow to get caught up on the dishes (and even get caught up) only to turn around and find all the dishes dirty again. My solution to this is simple. Or more specifically to simply. I am going to find a set of dishes that comes in 3 colors (Black, Teal and Purple). Each person in my household will be assigned a color. They may ONLY use their own color. This way there will be no question of who is responsible for the dirty dishes. 

I also plan to simplify my glassware collection. I will check my storage jars for lids. If I don't have a lid and it isn't what I want for a drinking glass in the recycling bin it will go. 

My plastic ware is going to meet with the same scrutiny. 

I will bring the kitchen and the struggle that is dishes to heel in my household.

Another daily task in my household must be doing a load of laundry. I do not have a dryer so my clothes must be hung to dry. There is limited space to do so. Although I do plan to get the clothesline back up in the back yard this year. I do have room in both the attic (good in the summer) and basement (good in the winter).

Taking an item that doesn't belong and putting it away EVERY time I leave the room should also help. 

The universe has seen to it that I need to stay in my current abode through at least August. Since the issues that I have with this space were mainly related to the heat (and that has been resolved) I can make this space work until August. But I tell you I will never again live somewhere with pull cord lights, and I will always check the water pressure in all the sinks and toilet BEFORE renting again. 

I am determined to make the most of it and to make this a much better apartment for when I leave it. 

The universe has also directed me to remaining car less for at least a little while longer. I am going to look into whether or not there is a car share program in my area (because sometimes it is just handy to have a car) and rental rates. I know I can rent from Enterprise for $9 per day Friday to Sunday. So I might just do that twice a month. Knowing that I will have a car and the ability to run my errands I am hoping lifts some of my stress. 

There has been no new news on the divorce front, but I have accepted that this is something that is outside of my personal control. 

How about you? How is the first quarter of your year looking?