Thursday, July 21, 2011

Here's what's working for me right now


(Once again, I refuse to lower myself and demean my three remaining readers by offering inane excuses for not posting in... awhile. So how 'bout if we all just assume that I've been very productive, doing tons of blog-worthy things, improving myself, serving others, and honoring God. OK?) 

Not that it's been such a ridiculously-long time since I last posted, but I did find it necessary to read through my last few entries to remind myself what exactly my blog is all about anyway. (Is it really a laundry blog?!)  And I realized I have left quite a few loose ends over the months which I now plan to remedy.

Remember this post where I once again apologized for not blogging told you about a book I had read on productivity? Well for goodness sakes people, aren't you even a little curious about whether the methods in the book transformed my life like the book jacket said it would?!

 (Didn't think so....Do you even remember who I am?!!) 

 Actually, I'm happy to report that there was one suggestion in the book - one seemingly small time management tip - that helped me cut my to-do list to post-it note size.  The author of the book suggests that if a task will take you less than 2 minutes then you should just do it right away vs. writing it down to do later. I've been amazed at how many things I do each day that take less than 2 minutes. And how many very short tasks I had previously put off doing. Maybe not life transforming, but definitely an attitude change. 

(I'm also still doing a regular Mind Sweep, which I told you about here. My Mind Sweep takes a stack of post-it notes but I'll let my therapist deal with that.)

Another idea (one which I would describe as brilliant, except that I came up with this one myself and I do not like to praise myself with such flamboyant adjectives) which has saved me oodles of time this year - and kept me lookin' good (...at least that's what my friends say...) is to focus on refining one part of my wardrobe at a time. 


 Two summers ago was the year of the T-shirt. My mission was to find the perfect T for me.  After some experimenting around at Kohls, Target, and a few nicer stores, I realized a petite fits me best (without fitting me TOO well, if you get my drift) and is the right length for me - even though I'm not petite height. So now I know exactly what brand of T-shirt is 'mine' and I will not even give those others a second glance. So there.

Last year it was denim - I kid you not, I found a pair of jeans that made everyone ask me if I had been seeing a personal trainer. That would've been reward enough, but the bonus is that shopping was uber-easy since when I went to a store or a website, I was only looking for jeans or capris, not shirts (that was last year) or skirts or shoes. No ambling through Marshalls for me. Nope. It was straight to the one row of jeans, then back to the car.
Easy peasy.

 2011 has been fun and low-cost. It's been my Sandal Year. I discovered that shoes really do make the woman, or at least the outfit. I bought these (in brown and in grey) and these , and of course these in black and for 1/2 price (and a few other pairs that I would show you but my sandal financier occasionally reads my blog.) 


Because I'm only shopping for one type of item, I am in and out of stores more quickly and I have a better idea of what is a good deal. I'm not keen on shopping (except for book shopping, I'm real keen on that...and they always fit and never go out of style, and you can buy them even on your fat days. 



One last thing that has worked for me recently is to use the lazy days of summer to teach my children a few skills that will make  my their life easier once school starts. Here's a picture of Daniel and Andrew having a banana bread bake-off. It was a tie :)






Oh, and here's something that didn't work for me. I had another birthday.  I can now get 25% off at Goodwill on Tuesdays, which is such comfort as I look into the mirror and see my mother staring back at me.

My family lavished me with construction paper promises of back rubs, foot rubs, and car washes. And my husband got me an ipod docking station - which means I now need a construction paper promise to teach me how to use my ipod.






Here's my amazing birthday meal; Pioneer Woman's caprese salad, sauteed asparagus, steak, and dear husband's now-famous boston cream pie (which is really a cake, so what's up with that?)



See you in a few months!  (I'm trying to keep my expectations low so I can surprise myself.)

Actually, when I hit 100 followers my son has promised me a blog refurbishing. So....that should be sometime later in this century. I'm excited!

23 comments:

Mrs. Pittman said...

Someone said my comments were working. (Horror of horrors!) so I'm testing.

Anonymous said...

I feel so much better about not posting in my blog now! Thanks Debbie! Starr

Cheaper by the Baker's Dozen said...

Ugh! A typo on my own comment. Geesh. Let's try again...Someone said my comments were NOT working (and maybe I should wish they weren't!)

lea marshall said...

YAY! a blog update! my life is now complete. well, it is complete for today. i will need a new blog update to complete it tomorrow...

Laura said...

Welcome back. I think life has caught many of us and kept us away from our blogs for some time. It's o.k. and we're still here when you are able to come back :)

Davene Grace said...

It's ALWAYS good to read your ramblings. Just to know you're still around and no major calamities have befallen you is comforting. :)

I like that two-minute rule for to-do lists. It makes a lot of sense! Because of it, I finally figured out that I could go ahead and leave you a comment now, rather than writing it on my to-do list for tomorrow. Life is much better now. ;-)

Unknown said...

Great blog. The last 2 sandal links didn't work for me. Love all the birthday presents!

Cheaper by the Baker's Dozen said...

Pat, sandal links not working may be a good thing for you - but I'll have my tech guy get right on it :)

Davene- You, as always, are a huge encouragement to me. Maybe one day we will meet (this side of Heaven...)

Trisha said...

I've benefitted, too, by Allen's Getting Things Done. Though not from a Christian perspective, his books have some very practical suggestions. As a Mom, I like the emptying of the brain so that I don't keep holding on to things I fear I'm going to forget. HA!

I was attracted to your blog for many reasons..you're Reformed, a mother of many (I have eight), you've been homeschooling for a long time, and you're an avid reader! Looking forward to reading more of your wisdom!

Lori said...

I have subscribed to your news feed for a long time, but now that you have a 100 follower goal, I am now signed up to follow you. You know it sounds rather stalkerish.

Cheaper by the Baker's Dozen said...

Lori! Thanks for following me, girl, but thanks even more for the subtle reminder (that I am SO going to use against my procrastinating, blog-fixin' son) that I have more readers than my follower #s show. (Not that I am superficial enough to be into numbers..)
One of the 'upgrades' I'm hoping he'll give me is an email subscription button. (Not that I'm superficial enough to think that people would want my posts in their inbox..)

Cheaper by the Baker's Dozen said...

Oh...and the sandal links are now working. And I did it without my son. Hah!

Janet said...

Love this post! You have to know that I've noticed many times this past spring/summer that you have the cutest footwear-- I had no idea you were focusing on sandals for the year. Your plan seems to be working!

busymomof10 said...

Hey Girl!

I just want you to know that you are still young enough to be called "Girl" as long as you stay in the South "honey!" :)

and I also want you to know that I love your blog and I look forward to any post that you manage to get out, and will always make my way over here eventually to read it! In fact, I pride myself on having read every one of your blog posts! :)

Actually, I think you should change the name of your blog to "Blog of Dreams" -- You write it and they will come!

Happy Birthday! And come see me! :)

Elizabeth

Kahlua Keeping Koala said...

YEAH!

Jen's Busy Days said...

Happy belted birthday! Glad to see comments working.


Best wishes
Jen in Oz

BParrish said...

http://pinterest.com/bparrish55/

Tried to email you using the address listed on your blog but it bounced. You must be using a different one now? I can't find you on Pinterest, but here's mine.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the updates on what IS working for you! I need to go blog myself... I have blog posted way to many times in my head then it never made it on to actual blog. Funny I am loving sandals too. Love it when I can find cute clearance ones in my size :). Love it when you are talking about what you are doing out of the box do develop character and life skills with the kids. Hope to hear more soon- but not too soon !!
Brooke

jax said...

Great post! I like your idea of focusing on one part of the wardrobe at a time. Much less daunting. Now let's see if I can find a way to present it to Nathan as a money-saving idea ...

Cheaper by the Baker's Dozen said...

Brooke (btw, you look beautiful in all your blog posts....I wonder how many followers I need to get before my son can give me that blog feature?), it was fun to see a picture of my child in your post about the ice cream field trip.

And yes, you're overdue for a post. See...I can be all superior-sounding now that I've updated. :)

Cheaper by the Baker's Dozen said...

Brenda- I repinned a ocuple of your ideas. Gotta love a place where being a copycat is encouraged :)

And Jax...You need NO encouragement to shop! And if you implement my wardrobe "system" please do not mention my name to your dh.

Sarah said...

Wow! A son-made blog makeover? SWEET! I would follow you twice if that would help, except I'm afraid of what might happen to this blog in the makeover. I really like the background with the donuts. And I really liked having a post on this blog this week. There are 2 things that are working for me these days :)

Lisa in Jax said...

I really love your blog. I stumbled on it from your laundry post and check back from time to time to see what you're up to. I hope you keep writing! Your posts keep me going. :)