"Hi, Wonder Woman"
Okay, so I don't really think I am Wonder Woman, but sometimes I feel like that's who I need to be. I've got a 7-month-old, a half marathon to train for, a house to keep clean, a budget to keep, dinners to make, groceries to buy, and it goes on. All of you stay-at-home moms I'm sure can relate. Because I am a perfectionist, my house often gets pretty messy because I feel overwhelmed by the idea that it would take me HOURS to get it just how I'd like it (an impossible feat with Princess running the show). So naturally, I just don't do it. I don't let the house get dirty or gross, but let me just say that my Christmas tree is still up and the living room is still filled with paper and boxes. It's not something I'm proud of, but it's true!
When I started running way back in the day, like when I could barely run 2 minutes straight, I made myself nifty little calendars, schedules, goals that I could cross off with colorful markers, and a whole slew of things I felt would keep me on track. Turns out, I liked making those things more than actually implementing them and they ended up being my own worst enemy. I would miss a day of running due to illness, finals in college, or what have you, and it would throw my whole groove off. I felt like I had to start all over from the beginning and that was discouraging. It took me 5 tries to finish week one of Couch to 5K. I finally had to step back and realize some things about myself, namely that my perfectionism can be the death of my good intentions, and learn how to cope with my hang ups. That's when I learned to create programs like you'll find under the "Training Schedule" tab on this blog. No dates, just workouts I'd like to finish. If I miss a few days, that's okay! I just pick a good point to get back on it and things workout great. Creating some flexibility in my training programs was how I was able to train for and finish my 10K. I need a schedule, but too rigorous of one can scare me off.
Mid-blog confession; I've missed TWO workouts on my training schedule. Excuse: Princess has gone from a 10 hours a night sleeping champ to a maximum 4 hours a night sleeper. We're fairly certain she's teething but we're first-time baby raisers so we really have no clue. All I'm sayin' is when momma gets 4 hours of sleep it's very difficult to make my body do basic things, let alone a 45 minute workout. I know these are all just excuses but they are my reasons.
SO...just like my running schedule, I (laugh all you want) began a search for a guideline to help me do only a few things a day to help keep my casa tidy. I found this lovely schedule on a blog called Apartment Therapy. You do one thing a day for 30 days (each chore takes approximately 20 minutes) and it should help keep your home a little spiffier. The only thing I'm going to add is to tidy the kitchen after dinner each night. Typically Husband does this, but I can help, too! Here she is:
1. Surface clean living room and kitchen (pick up stray items, dust, sweep, vacuum)
2. Clean bathrooms (toilets, showers, floors, walls, mirrors)
3. Surface clean bedrooms (put away toys, clothes, dust)
4. Surface clean "extra" rooms (basement, office, play room)
5. Surface clean living room and kitchen
6. Clean bathrooms
7. Clean all interior windows (white vinegar and newspaper works great and is cheap!)
8. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house (don't forget stairs)
9. Surface clean bedrooms
10. Deep clean living room (mirrors, baseboards, dust artwork)
11. Clean bathrooms
12. Clean out closets (hang up clothes, mittens, jackets, hats)
13. Surface clean "extra" rooms
14. Deep clean bedrooms (organize drawers, check under bed, tidy closet, dust artwork, fans, lights, mop)
15. Surface clean living room and kitchen
16. Deep clean bathrooms (clean inside drawers, inside of trash cans, tops of mirrors, tile, mop)
17. Clean all door knobs, phones, entertainment equipment (remote controls), switch plates, banisters and other things that are repeatedly touched.
18. Clean out the refrigerator, take stock of food, organize pantry
19. Clean entryway, sweep porch (if you have one), clean out car (because they're often our home away from home)
20. Surface clean living room and kitchen
21. Surface clean bathrooms
22. Surface clean bedrooms
23. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house
24. Clean linen closet, straighten towels, sheets or regular closet if not applicable
25. Surface clean living room and kitchen
26. Deep clean kitchen (scrub appliances, wash trash cans, base boards, wipe down and straighten cabinets)
27. Surface clean bathrooms
28. Surfaces clean bedrooms
29. Clean one item you've been meaning to get to and haven't (deep clean your stove, wipe down all light fixtures, tackle a particularly unruly area)
30. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house
Hopefully this will help me in my quest to become Wonder Woman. I just feel like since I'm not making money I should at least create a beautiful home, a genius child, and be the most beautiful fit woman on the block...right?
(p.s. expect a post on my workout tonight. I WILL do it even if I die.)
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