2018 Project, Challenge #2

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I am posting my second challenge in my effort to spend 2018 developing new habits and routines to help streamline my home and life.  My original intent was to exclusively use methodology from the 1930s and 40s, but I am finding that I am having to deviate from that is some ways to make this project successful.  Below are the daily household routines I am still working to establish.  I decided not to change this list too much in an effort to give myself more time to work on them.

Daily Household Routines

1. Get up with the alarm. - Continue working on consistently getting up with the alarm.
2. Make the bed every morning.
3. Menu Planning - I decided to utilize a combination of Slender Kitchen and Grocery Shrink menu plans to help me pull together weekly meal plans.  My goal is to do more focused grocery shopping and cooking ahead on the weekends to help the weekdays go smoother.
4. Bathe or shower at night. - I really do feel better when I bathe in the evenings.  It makes me sleep better and helps with the morning routine.
5. Plan my clothes for the next day. - Taking the time to figure out tomorrow's outfit in the evening is another routine that I have done off and on over the years that really helps the mornings go smoother.
6. Go to bed by 9:00 pm, 9:30 at the latest. - Alongside my need to get up earlier is my need to get into bed at a reasonable hour.

Organization & Decluttering

1. Sort and organize photos into albums and put into wooden toy chest. - When combining households, all of our photos and photo albums were dumped together into a large plastic tub.  Many of the albums are only partially filled and I want to get all of the loose photos into them for protection.  I started on this process over the Christmas and New Years' holidays but have not finished it.
2. Organize the exercise equipment. - I want to use the tub that had the photos in it to organize and store some yoga mats, boxing gloves, and such that have just been thrown onto the bed in the spare bedroom.  Hopefully, I can find room for this tub in the spare bedroom closet.  Otherwise, I will have to rethink how to store this stuff.
3. Hang some things:  frog and wedding stitcheries in sewing room, barbed-wire Texas in hallway, additional family portraits in hallway, and family rules sign in living room.
4. Determine what to do with the following items:  20" tube TV, spare flat-screen TV, record player that needs repair, records.
5. Continue sorting and boxing up fabric and yarn for donation.
6. Sort through the stack of small moving boxes in the spare bedroom next to the closet. - Possibly consider moving small bookcase from bedroom to this location to free up access to electrical outlet.

I confess that I am finding it easier and easier to let go of things and it is refreshing.  Although I don't think I will ever be a minimalist, living in a less cluttered space is very freeing and calming.  And learning to address the guilt has been key for me.  I plan to talk more about that topic in the future.