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The Everies Reminder Blog

See the Home Page for how to use this blog in 2020.

Everies reminder 9, August plan

31/7/2015

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By now you’ve had the chance to put in routines for weekly planning, end-of-week tidy-up, and weekend cleaning. You’ve diarised your long-term plans, and made a start on them, yes? Now, here’s your next Every: Every month you should check-in on those long-term plans, and write a new Monthly Plan. Let’s do one for August!

Monthly Review & Planning

1.    Review progress against your Quarterly Plan (Reminder 1) to prioritise this month’s to-dos.

2.    Break the tasks down into slightly more detail to give 4 weeks of progress.

3.    Diarise these tasks.

4.    Add other intentions & expectations for August.

5.    Make space for these by maintaining other Everies learnt so far, beginning with Weekly Cleaning 1.


Reward yourself for July’s progress.
Set a nice treat to look forward to for carrying out your August Plan :-)

Heidi
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everies reminder 8, weekly cleaning 2

24/7/2015

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I trust you are keeping up with your Thursday Weekly Plan & the Friday Wrap?
If you were also able to fit in the odd-jobs so far, look around -- is your home a little brighter, a little sharper 'round the edges?  
Great!
Here’s the second round of weekend cleaning:


Weekly Cleaning 2
  • Dust flat surfaces and other easy-reach spots.
  • Vacuum floors.
  • Wash regular load(s) + one extra type.

The trick with these Everies is to know when to Stop. Because some are too easy, you might be tempted to keep going ‘til you’re worn out. Then what happens tomorrow? Nothing! 
Just thoroughly do the given Everies, diarise their recurrence so they become routine, then get on with life. That way, you can benefit from those repeated feelings of completion which permit you the time, interest and energy to cope with everyday demands yet still work on your own Quarterly Plan.
(And don’t worry – I’ll give you plenty more to do along the way.)
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Everies reminder 7, Odd-jobs

20/7/2015

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Cleaning Odd-Jobs
You can do odd-jobs while having conversations, mulling over a problem, or to kill time during TV ad breaks ;-) 

Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:
1.      Dust ceilings and walls - see any interesting spider webs?
2.      Clean door frames and handles.
Diarise when to do any maintenance needs you noticed along the way, such as paint touch-ups. 

If you solved a problem or got a bright idea while doing such odd-jobs, write that in your diary, too!

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everies reminder 6, weekly cleaning 1

19/7/2015

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If you are very busy, break your routine housework up over 2 weeks. This way it is fast & there is no excuse not to squeeze it in. Over the long term it has other benefits, which you’ll discover once you try it.

Weekly Cleaning 1
  • Vacuum floors and edges on alternate weeks: This week, just do edges – skirtings and fiddly bits.
    • If your rooms are too cluttered for you to reach the edges, following these Reminders will gradually help you fix that. Meanwhile, do the best you can.
  • Same with dusting: Do only the hard-to-reach spots this week.
    • Note: Don’t use a regular duster for high surfaces in the kitchen. They’re likely to be greasy. I use a microfibre cleaning wand with a commercial eucalyptus spray-cleaner. A steam cleaner does a great job, too.
  • Washing: Sort for a minimum # of clothing loads, then divide those ‘extra’ loads up; say, hand-washing today, sheets & towels next time.

Want to reduce your housework even further? This common trick reduces overall dirt levels more than you’d think: 
Create a mini-mudroom where you can take your shoes off at the door – front and back. It can be as simple as a shoe rack & large mat, with slippers nearby; or thongs, as we use in Australia. I like the recycled rubber knobbly ones that ease foot-aches like magic. 
Wait, not those kinds of thongs – these ones:
Picture
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everies reminder 5, safety decluttering

15/7/2015

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Here’s a great way to keep warm on these bitter July evenings. (At least that’s how they are in this part of the world right now.)

Declutter for Fire Safety
  • Inside – remove papers, clothes, books & other flammables from around power points & gas or electrical appliances.
    • Include those sneaky over-heaters like electric alarm clocks and hair straighteners.
 I once left my straightener on in my bedroom when I went to work, but came back to – thankfully – only a small, brown mark on the bare floor. Note it had not been left on the rug or wooden dresser... . Decluttering and routine safety practices reduce your risks even if you make mistakes :-)
  • Outside – dispose of debris or greenwaste piled up near the house. Put this chore into your diary for the weekend if you get home too late to do it on a weekday.                                                     
If safety decluttering is a big job at your home, reduce the worst hazards immediately & schedule the rest to be done ASAP.  That means, diarise it at a high priority, and keep your appointments.
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everies reminder 4, exit strategy

11/7/2015

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Declutter All Exit Routes 
One of the first actions to take in embarking on a decluttering program is to make your environment safer. Therefore, during the first month or so of these reminders, you can expect to be given tasks to do just that.

First up, thoroughly clear away all obstacles & hazards from:
    1. Doorways – including internal ones.
    2. Walkways – traffic routes within rooms, as well as hallways, staircases and outside paths.
    3. Windows – sticky locks, resistant curtain rings, outside barriers against the glass.
In an emergency, you should be able to rapidly & safely move from any room in your home to any other room in it, or through the house to outside. In a real emergency, you may even have to climb out of a window, which is quite difficult if you have older security screens over the openings, right? For these and other hazards, do some research. The best result I got was this Escape Plans Information Sheet from Queensland, but there are lots of helpful sites about emergency preparedness.

Don’t search first – get up and start decluttering right away.

As you go, make a list of problem areas to research after you've done your best to clear all exit routes.
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everies reminder 3, weekly wrap-up

9/7/2015

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Now that you've had enough of writing and thinking, put your Quarterly & Monthly Plans in a handy place so that you will refer to them often, then get active again:

Weekly Wrap-up

Do this fast tidying routine any day for a once-over that makes a big difference. Doing the wrap-up on Friday nights is especially good because it’s an easy way to put the work week behind you & reclaim your home.
  1. Put all the week’s stray items back where they belong – magazines, toys, clothes, and so on.
  2. Wash any overlooked dishes (including lunchboxes, water bottles).
  3. Clear & wipe down bench-tops.
  4. Clear the dining table of papers. (See 1.)
At 4, remember to properly process each paper, not simply shuffle it elsewhere...

When you wake up to a tidy living area on Saturday morning, you’ll feel better able to relax into the weekend, despite more chores ahead ;-)
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everies reminder 2, Monthly plan

5/7/2015

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Hopefully you were able to spend some time on the weekend getting started on your Quarterly Plan steps. Or did they move vaguely into the background of life already? Either way, the next thing to do is to break your Quarterly Plan down into monthly actions, in the form of a Monthly Plan. 

Then break those steps down into Weekly Plans! Isn't that fun? I know it seems tedious to do all that writing -- that's why I gave you a break to dream about the bigger plans just happening by themselves for a few days :-)

However, when they're done, you'll find those plans make it easy to diarise everything you need to do to make things happen the way you want. I've put together a simple diary to help with goals-setting and everyday obligations. It's especially priced for testing the first quarter only. You can check it out on my Goods page. Feel free to ask questions, either here or via the Contact Form.

And remember to put your diarised steps into action through the week! 
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  • Home
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