My Organization Memes

Hello, dear readers, and happy 2012! Again, it’s been too long since my last post. I have so many ideas for posts backed up in my head, I hardly know where to start. So, I asked around, and here’s where I’m starting: My organization memes.

I do writing, legal and consulting work as an independent contractor from home. So, I make my own work schedule and limit my hours to only part-time. I also do volunteer work for my Church, run a local book club and co-run a local peer support group for infertile women. The point being, I have lots of stuff to do, but no kind of a regular schedule, and much of it not bringing in any money. Since that leaves the Wacky Wicketeer as the primary breadwinner, I also feel it’s my responsibility to be the primary homemaker. Yes, I am a proud housewife!

My unorthodox schedule lends to time passing without much housekeeping getting done, either because it doesn’t occur to me to do it, or it doesn’t have the pressure behind it that makes it a higher priority. So I thought why not use memes? You know, the way bloggers do for regular posts like “Wordless Wednesday”, “Meatless Monday”, etcetera. So here’s what I came up with:

Mail, Media & Medicine Mondays – This helps me make sure I check my two mailboxes a minimum of once a week, and that the mail actually gets sorted, including any coupon clipping. It also is when I schedule social network status updates for the dozen or so accounts I run as a volunteer. Third, it’s when I sort all my pills out into their little weekly/daily labeled boxes.

Tasty Tuesdays – This reminds me to do my meal planning and grocery shopping.

Wash, Water & Weigh-in Wednesdays – Wash refers to laundry. Of course, I can’t do ALL my laundry in one day, but this reminds me to get it started, wash those things I might put off, like extra linens, and do any leftover folding, hanging and ironing. Wednesdays are also for watering the potted plants and weighing myself.

Thoughtful Thursdays – I try to focus on reading, research and writing.

Fresh Fridays – Fresh is just another word for clean. Each Friday I pick a room to make “fresh”. My house has 12 rooms plus the hall/stairs/landing area, so it’s a lot for one person to clean. Having a day each week devoted to one room is supposed to help me keep up without feeling overwhelmed. Having it be a last-minute decision as to which room also allows me to pay more attention to rooms that need it. Check back with me in a few months to see if it’s working!

What do you do to help keep yourself on task and accomplish those mundane things that could easily slip by, like housekeeping?

Also, since I'm so behind on blogposts, what would you like me to post about?

Day One - Part One

OK, so this is my first blog post, and I've already had it disappear on me three times! Ugh. Not a good start! Lesson number one: Write your post in a word processing document first, then post it!

This is my first real attempt at blogging. I've never been good at keeping a journal or diary, but at this point in life, I finally decided that enough has happened to me, and I need to write about it!

My name is Jamie, I'm 32, female, white, born and raised in the United States. I’m married, no kids, college educated with a Bachelor of Arts, a Juris Doctor, and over $100,000 in student debt to show for it. I am an attorney, although I haven't been practicing law for profit for a few months and I’m not sure if I’m technically unemployed or self-employed. I spend most of my time these days as a homemaker. I am lucky that my husband is gainfully employed, and we live in a two-story home in a Northern California suburb.

I have many interests and things I'd like to write about, so it's possible this could turn into several blogs. Some subjects close to my heart include: relationships and psychology, religion, politics and government, work-life balance, infertility, family, cancer, organic food and cosmetics, pets, philosophy, history, books, science-fiction, law, gardening, traveling, clothes and jewelry, business and financial planning. So we’ll see what pops up!

I am interested to find out if anything that has happened, is happening, or will happen in my life resonates with anyone else out there, so please, feel free to post your comments. I apologize ahead of time if I offend anyone, but please, stay cool-headed and don’t flame. Kindred spirits are preferable.

I think that with St. Valentine’s day tomorrow, my love life is probably a good topic for discussion. But this has taken so long, I need to go get my workout done before lunch time, and take care of some of my housekeeping duties before it gets too late in the day. I’ll be back later.

-J