ok, so you know i am all about little tips and tricks for my home and life and anything else. years ago, i learned the “NO LAUNDRY LEFT BEHIND” rule (i actually gave it that name and am thinking of having it put on bumper stickers) and it changed my life.
here is the rule... leave no laundry behind.
i crack myself up...
here is more of a description... when you go to bed at night, have ALL of your laundry of the day folded and put away. really, it changed my life. my laundry gets done. it is put away. i don’t wake up to a laundry room crowded and clothes wrinkling away. it makes it so manageable AND i usually have a show to watch on my DVR whilst i fold laundry in the evening. or in the case of this last week, i have the olympics to watch.
every night when i don’t want to put the laundry away, i always say to myself, “self, LEAVE NO LAUNDRY BEHIND”. i kind of feel like perhaps i am involved in a war and i don’t want to leave a man behind. i feel almost heroic when i put that last pair of socks away and all of my platoon is safely behind enemy lines for the night’s rest.
here was another little tip that really helped me... THINK LIKE A SERVER from holy experience blog.
i promise you that some days i walk around my house saying to myself “think like a server, think like a server”. it makes a great change from my usual mantra which is “why isn’t anyone serving me?”
so now i have a new place to learn these little tips and tricks... home sanctuary
she has a little challenge to do everyday (“today’s small thing”, and you KNOW i am all about the LITTLE things this year or have you ALL forgotten the christmas card) and the one from august 12th: STICK YOUR LANDING was one of those things that really resonated with me.
i love watching the olympics (whilst folding laundry at night) and seeing whether those gymnasts “stick their landing” or seeing the swimmers pull it our for a victory in the last few strokes by giving more than they ever have before. and i think of how few things i do to their completion. especially the little daily tasks....
CONFESSION TIME: my personal favorite UNSTUCK landing (and the bane of adam’s existence) is that i sweep up under the table and sweep all the crumbs into a little corner and then keep the broom right there and save the whole sweeping the crumbs into the dustpan and dumping them out for later (which is not technically against the law), but it doesn’t take that much more effort to finish out the whole task...
so yesterday, i worked on “sticking my landings”, giving that extra push to all the tasks at hand. and i got a lot done. not just with house things, but with relating to others, with getting dinner ready, and with a few other tasks that were on my list. i just kept thinking “STICK THE LANDING”. and sometimes when i was done, i did that thing those gymnasts do with their arms in the air straight up and their backs kind of bowed... i looked AMAZING(ly stupid), but it felt good to stick some landings....
i feel like an olympic athlete. someone give me a gold medal please... and make me look like that 41 year old swimmer. do you think that extra sweeping and walking to the trash can to dump the crumbs will get me in her kind of shape?
ok, i have to go and sweep the kitchen floor and put the crumbs IN the trashcan and i may even STICK THE LANDING by mopping it all down. can i get a cheer from the crowd?