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boring organizational madness
Jul. 17th, 2006 06:26 pmThrough a bit of a process, I have discovered over the last week or two that if I eat something quick at lunch, I have just enough time to unload the dishwasher and put the breakfast dishes and my lunch dishes inside. But, that will only work if I know what I'm having for lunch ahead of time. So, I have been semi-planning my lunches, too, which cuts way down on angst and the likelihood of Indecisive Girl grabbing tortilla chips to snack on while trying to decide what to eat. For this to work, though, the dishwasher must have been run the night before. And of course, if all the dishes are clean, it's stupid to not keep the counters clean--it's so easy when there aren't dishes on them! So, the end result is that the kitchen has been clean a lot!
But you know, I am not the dishwasher in this household, so my motivation alone is not enough. Last night, I got up from eating dinner and prodded M into us doing the dishes right away. (See, my motivation is strong enough to join in on dishwashing duty, and I typically would rather clean bathrooms than do dishes.) That's when I announced that we are no longer people who let dishes pile up. This was the first that M had heard of the new kitchen organization plan. :) However, tonight he agreed that it was nice, so we'll see if it continues.
I thought that it was coincidental--I get in productive spells and then I get lazy.. lather, rinse, repeat. Just now when I started writing this and thought of the other organization-type things going on, did it occur to me that DUH! The reason I'm so organized and clean-as-you-go all of a sudden? Two weeks ago, I started to be serious about meal planning. I have a file right now with my week mapped out. Yesterday, I had it on my list to do the menu for the week, and throughout the planning, I even wrote out more than half of next week. I'm making sure to edit the days to reflect any changes (if we have one thing instead of another or if we went out) so that what we'll end up with is a record of what we actually eat, so later, the planning will become much easier. (Keeping it all in one file.) And because I know exactly what we're going to eat, I know exactly what needs to go on the grocery list--something else I am keeping updated as I think of things instead of just at the last minute--and I know exactly what ingredients and what pots and pans I'll need cleaned... and there is probably the biggest part of this whole clean-kitchen kick. I like to cook, but I HATE to cook in a dirty kitchen. I HATE reaching for my big pot and realizing that it's dirty. I get annoyed and stressed and then I have to drop everything to go clean it.
It's funny because the main reason I'm doing this is that I've been in a budgetary mood and sick to death of how much money we spend eating out. (Having said that.. I love eating out. There's my weakness. I can't help it.) And because of that one little thing, my whole life feels more organized. How cool is that?
But you know, I am not the dishwasher in this household, so my motivation alone is not enough. Last night, I got up from eating dinner and prodded M into us doing the dishes right away. (See, my motivation is strong enough to join in on dishwashing duty, and I typically would rather clean bathrooms than do dishes.) That's when I announced that we are no longer people who let dishes pile up. This was the first that M had heard of the new kitchen organization plan. :) However, tonight he agreed that it was nice, so we'll see if it continues.
I thought that it was coincidental--I get in productive spells and then I get lazy.. lather, rinse, repeat. Just now when I started writing this and thought of the other organization-type things going on, did it occur to me that DUH! The reason I'm so organized and clean-as-you-go all of a sudden? Two weeks ago, I started to be serious about meal planning. I have a file right now with my week mapped out. Yesterday, I had it on my list to do the menu for the week, and throughout the planning, I even wrote out more than half of next week. I'm making sure to edit the days to reflect any changes (if we have one thing instead of another or if we went out) so that what we'll end up with is a record of what we actually eat, so later, the planning will become much easier. (Keeping it all in one file.) And because I know exactly what we're going to eat, I know exactly what needs to go on the grocery list--something else I am keeping updated as I think of things instead of just at the last minute--and I know exactly what ingredients and what pots and pans I'll need cleaned... and there is probably the biggest part of this whole clean-kitchen kick. I like to cook, but I HATE to cook in a dirty kitchen. I HATE reaching for my big pot and realizing that it's dirty. I get annoyed and stressed and then I have to drop everything to go clean it.
It's funny because the main reason I'm doing this is that I've been in a budgetary mood and sick to death of how much money we spend eating out. (Having said that.. I love eating out. There's my weakness. I can't help it.) And because of that one little thing, my whole life feels more organized. How cool is that?
