Rule 4. Declutter!

A tidy house makes a tidy mind? Well, it's worth a try!

I've already decluttered the kitchen. OK, so I now have a big box full of bits and pieces, but the idea is that I'll empty it, bit by bit, when I have time. And I'll try to do this all around the house. (The garage is a different matter - I'll just have to close my eyes to that!)

The kitchen is the first room we enter when we come home and it's makes a big difference to see it so neat and clean-looking. I've been finding a bit more time to keep the garden tidy too, which is great because it has double benefits - the garden looks nice and I find gardening therapeutic.

So, lets see how many rooms I can declutter in a week (maybe best to make it a fortnight) and see what effect it has on my state of mind.

One step ahead

Time management. Tricky. I wish I could actually manage time rather than it managing me!

There are a few key things that I have realised this week:
1 I must always stay one step ahead. Always be aware of what will be happening in the next couple of days (long enough to get laundry done and dry, and shopping done) and prepare for it.
2 I must get the trivial jobs done as soon as possible (answering invitations, filling in school forms, etc.) then they're out of the way and not niggling at me.
3 I must prioritise. If I don't have time to do everything, just make sure I do what's most important (usually involves food and laundry!).

I still can't come to terms with the fact that there will always be lots to do. Once I'm at peace with that, I think I'll have cracked it.

Must get on, lots to do...

Back in the Land of the Living

I’m back in the Land of the Living now after surviving the weekend with my nieces. Don’t get me wrong, they’re lovely little girls (when the 3 year old isn’t persistantly asking questions and the baby isn’t screaming) and I love them dearly.

It has taken me this long to feel normal again after the whole experience, which included 2 trips out in the car in my PJs, in the early hours of Sunday morning (12:30 and 4:30), to get the little one quietened down and back to sleep whilst my husband tried to calm the other 3 down back at home. Zzzzz. It was a major shock to the system!

I find that when I’m tired and in need of a boost, it’s really difficult to stick to my rules (chocolate plays a major part here), and the times when I’m fine and coping perfectly well, I find it really easy.
Hmm. Never mind.

When it comes to time management, I think I’m going to try to allow myself an extra ten minutes to do certain things, like getting ready for school. That way I should never be panicking at the last minute... Wishful thinking? :)

I must be mad

I have four children tonight!
A 7 and a 5 year old boy (mine), and a 3 year old girl and her 6 month old sister (my nieces).

I'm shattered - it's been non-stop today!

Early to bed for me tonight in anticipation of a very broken night's sleep.

Still, you have to love them, don't you ... ? :)

Deferring gratification and Grub Club

Grub Club: Once a month 3 friends and I take it in turns to cook a 3 course meal for each other.

I look forward to my Grub Club nights. I wonder what we're having tonight. I bet it won't be low GI - I think chocolate fondue and champagne were mentioned!!

The problem is, I've got 2 and a half hours (if I'm lucky) to cook for my lot, get the boys to bed, sort everything out ready for tomorrow and get myself ready to go out.
Hmm. No mean feat.

But it's worth it!
If I get everything done, I can have a lovely, relaxing, slightly drunken evening with good friends and good food.

It might be a different story when it's my turn to cook!

Do something or do nothing!

I quite often do things like start on a job with, say, an armful of washing, wander through the living room, stop to watch whatever is on TV for ten minutes, rooted to the spot, in a daze, before remembering what I'm supposed to be doing ...
It's so frustrating. I do this kind of thing all the time! No wonder it seems to take forever to do stuff.

I get told, "Either do something or do nothing!". In other words, get on with the washing or sit down and watch the telly!!

Focus is what's needed, I think!

The 'not to do' list

I'm always writing lists. I can't help it. I think it makes me feel like I'm more in control but, in reality, it probably has the opposite effect.
So, from now on, if I feel I need to write a list, I'm not going to write a 'to do' list, I'm going to write a 'done' list.
Much more satisfying.

And, as my friend Mary told me, "It's important to be proud of what you get done, and peaceful about what you don't get around to."
So true.

Bite size chunks

This morning was great!
We were organized, everything worked like clockwork, we were even early to school!
I'm feeling quite proud of myself.
If only every morning could be like that...

I know what I need to do to get organised and it mostly involves getting sorted out the night before.
Usually, after the stress of getting the boys to school, working, picking the boys up, dinner, keeping the peace, and boys' bedtime, not to mention exercise, the housework, the garden, the cats, the cars and, most importantly, my marriage to look after, the prospect of doing an hours' worth of chores is not a good one.

But yesterday it dawned on me that an hour is, in fact, 3 x 20 minute chunks, which seemed extremely manageable.
And so it was!

Why didn't that occur to me before?

Rule 3. Good time management

The boys will be back at school in 2 days and our lives will get a lot more hectic.

I need to properly manage my time so that I get as much as possible done to make things run smoothly.

I have a list of chores that I know need doing every day. I think it will take an hour to do them each evening, and then I need an hour each morning as well.

This one is not going to be so easy.

Rule 2: The verdict

There is no doubt in my mind that snacking on low GI foods really helps keep your energy levels up for longer.

For example, grabbing some fruit to eat when I start yawning in the afternoon fills me up, raises my energy levels and keeps me going for quite a while until I start flagging again. Whereas if I grab a bar of chocolate, I get an instant high which is soon followed by a low, more yawning and another chocolate bar!!

It just makes sense.

I would say that the two key things for me have been: Making time to eat a good breakfast and making sure I had lots of healthy snacks around for when I needed them.

It's really easy. And it's really good for me! I like it.

The Glycaemic Index (GI)

... is (to use Gina's words again) a ranking of carbohydrate foods based on their potential to raise blood sugar levels.

The higher a food is on the GI, the quicker the rise in blood sugar after eating it.

High GI foods are sugary, refined and highly processed. Low GI foods are natural, unrefined and in their complete state.