try this one on for size

ok, before i start on this, i'm inspired by the title here, and a little bit of vanity, and i have to share this with all of you. if you've been reading my blooming blog, you've probably noticed that i've been rather depressed over the last few months. so depressed, in fact, that i've almost entirely lost my appetite. well, i like to look at the positive in situations, and i think i've found something great about crippling depression: weight loss! i've been carrying around a lot of extra "stress weight" for a while now. but.... not anymore!!! it is official, i have lost quite a bit of weight in the last couple months, apparently. i'd guess about 2 sizes! that's right, folks, on monday, i wore my "skinny" jeans (and had some room to spare in the rear), and today, i'm wearing my "goal" skirt, which is a size 14, and 2 months ago, i couldn't get it further than half-way up my thighs. well, i'm wearing it now, and it's quite comfy! yay!!!!! very pleasing, if i do say so myself. and this just goes along so nicely with my newfound self-confidence. i also feel attractive again for the first time in years... in fact, looking back, it's probably been about 7 years since i've felt this good about my appearance. so this is a delightful change for me. :)



but the real subject of this post is this: i'm trying out a new regimen at home. a housekeeping plan/schedule. i was inspired by my grandmother (and her generation) who always managed to have a clean, well-organized home/life, despite the busyness of 5 kids. her schedule was slightly different, since she washed and dried clothes on mondays and ironed on tuesdays. i don't iron. i believe that's why God gave us dryers with fluff cycles. so, i have tasks divided up by day. here's the schedule:

Monday
laundry
appointments for Asher (as often as possible)

Tuesday
outdoor work (gardening, lawn work, etc)
big projects (eg, painting, decorating, etc)
the kids are with ed on tuesdays and wednesdays, so i'm using those days to tackle the bigger jobs that might be more difficult with them around.

Wednesday
finish projects from Tuesday
purging/de-cluttering/organizing
taking items to BFM, storing for future garage sale or off-season
appointments for me (as often as possible)

Thursday
menu planning and grocery shopping
dusting/vacuuming/floors

Friday
cooking (meals to be frozen)
baking

about friday's plan: i kind of like meals made ahead of time, and kept in the fridge or freezer. given how busy our lives are, this is a great way for us to eat healthy, avoid expensive take-out (thereby saving a LOT of money), and enjoy home-cooked meals that we made ourselves (i plan on getting the kids to help with some of it). i can also use it for schooling, since the measuring is math, and the planning and budgeting and shopping can all be used as math, "home economics" and basic life skills.

so there you have it. a little housework schedule that i'm going to try on for a while. i'll likely tweak it as i go, but i'm feeling pretty good about this as it is right now. so today is groceries and floors etc. should be good. i'll try to post in a week and let you know how it's working.