Lettergirl

15 minutes, revisited.

Remember this?

It really was a great idea at the time -- winter, kids in school, a little spare time.  I diligently tidied the linen closet and made an inventory of the freezer.  15 minutes made a difference.  Then:  some extra work, late night play rehearsals & early morning homework, and 15 minutes was hard to come by.  I still have the jar on my desk -- for next winter.

I've often wondered how much time I could reclaim by simply staying up later.  This is in direct contrast to The Happiness Project, where the author determines she'll have more energy by getting more sleep.  I'm pretty good already in the sleep department, maybe it's time to stay up late one night every week or two, just to give some order to my chaos. 

As soon as I had this revelation, I went to my scribbled list of things I want to get to -- things that fit with my overall priorities, that will help make the rest of my day flow more smoothly, but at the same time tasks I enjoy and wish I had time for:

Update my idea file

File recipes

Cut out & paint new reverse applique projects (so I'm all set for family movie night, when I can never keep my hands still)

Make school lunch desserts & freeze

Make gluten free treats to send my brothers (celiac disease runs in my family)

Make family stationery & pre-stamp some envelopes

Blogsurf (I need a couple of hours for The Happiness Project alone)

Create some new playlists

Most of these fit into my priorities in one way or another.

Do you have any systems that work for you?  Or blogs you turn to for advice?  My laundry system works (usually), my grocery system works (generally), my etsy system works (mostly).  I would love to know what brings order to your chaos. 

And the giveaway winner is...

bruinbr:

Great idea! How about:

1) donate unused/old clothing, etc
2) read
3) call a friend you haven't spoken to recently
4) water the lawn/plants
5) wash the car

Please contact me via email with your list (up to 30 items) + mailing address, and I will write out the slips for you:  gina {at} sekelsky {dot} com.  If I don't hear from the winner by Friday at noon, I'll move on to the next random name. 

Here are six things I'm going to add to my own jar, based on your suggestions in the comments.  (There are many other worthy ideas, just not things I personally need to make a priority right now.  And some things I do regularly anyway, such as going through my underwear drawer.  I'm also trying to make my jar somewhat balanced between chores, physical activity, and creative pursuits.  And since I had been working on my list for a bit before writing my post, I had several of your ideas in the jar already, such as writing a letter, reading, or planning a week of meals.)

*clean out the car

*do something unexpected for someone else

*purge old coupons

*call an old friend

*compile a new playlist

*clean the underside of the fridge

I am really jealous of people who only need six hours of sleep a night.  I'm a nine-hour-a-night girl!

 

Freezer inventory.

I have now officially been at this project long enough that I'm ready for a fun slip -- or an exercise-oriented slip, what happened to all of those?  Only found four things in the freezer to dispose of, and only two things I'd completely forgotten about -- squash ravioli and wild blueberries we picked last summer.  (So I guess that part was fun.)

5 minutes.

A blissfully simple five minutes -- thanks to the fact that I stopped subscribing to any magazines over a year ago.  I do check out some cooking mags at the library, I borrow from friends, and I have purchased all three issues of Stitch, but other than that I am content to go back through my 17-year stash of Martha Stewart Living for my periodical fix.

I am loving all the suggestions on my first 15-minute post.  I love the combination of fun + necessary (which was my original intent).  Keep 'em coming!

Hint, hint.

Poppytalk is starting a new tradition with annual awards they're calling, adorably, The Poppies.  Poppytalk Handmade was definitely my favorite online market in 2009.  You can see their current artists here, learn more about the contest here, and even nominate someone here.  (Note title of post.)  The five artists in each category with the most nominations will move on to the final round.  Nominations end tonight at 11:59 pm.  I nominated print*pattern*paper (recently renamed Children Inspire Design), so inspiring.

Today's 15 minutes:  really thought this one would turn up in July, but here it is already:

I cheated already.

 
In a good way, I mean.  Yesterday I picked "read a book," but since I had woken up really early & couldn't get back to sleep, I'd already read for an hour (Water for Elephants, recommended to me repeatedly a couple of years ago, had to wait for the fervor to subside).  So I put "read a book" back in, and drew out "clean the baking cupboard." In payback for cheating, I spent more than 15 minutes on the chore (and, yes, I really do need 6 kinds of flour).

Today, the dreaded linen closet.  So glad to have those 15 minutes in my past. 

A spring in my step.

I was secretly hoping for a chore slip this morning, needing to get off on the right foot and all that.  Shocking, the sense of accomplishment I felt after spending fifteen minutes in my own closet.

It goes like this:  my closet is actually in the spare bedroom, as we chose the sweetest (and smallest) bedroom for ourselves.  Whenever I go through the kids' outgrown clothes or toys, the bags & boxes go in the spare room.  Whenever company comes to stay, the bags and boxes get stashed in my closet.  Get the picture?

My closet looks a teeny bit better now, and I've put the slip back in the jar so I can finish up another day.

And thank you, Darin, for the unexpected nudge this morning.  I'm in favor of keeping myself accountable!

15 minutes (+ a giveaway).

Introducing my 15 minute project.  I know someone, somewhere has already thought of this.  But over the weekend, I thought of it too, and it motivated me.  (In moments of inspiration, it helps to repeat after Auguste Rodin:  I invent nothing; I rediscover.)

I have a to-do list of little things a mile long.  I want to exercise just a bit more.  I have a few things I've been meaning to do, but just never get at (like taking an inventory of the freezer).  Sound familiar?

I've always been a new year's resolution sort of girl.  Some things I give up right away.  A few things I forget all about.  But when I keep it simple & focus on a specific goal, I generally work doggedly toward it until it becomes a habit.  This year I have one new year's resolution:  to spend 15  minutes every morning in a useful pursuit.

I wrote all of my little to-dos on scraps of paper (okay, okay, color-coordinated scraps of paper) and stuck them in a jar.   I included chores I haven't gotten around to, ways to move my body, stuff that just needs to get done, and some miscellaneous 15-minute delights:

climb the stairs

mending

sort a drawer

write a letter

clean the kitchen sink

blogsurf

organize the baking cupboard

dance

I have about 30 slips in all, plus a few extra blanks nearby for late-coming revelations.  (This morning I added pedicure.)  Most slips I will put back in the jar to be drawn again; a few can be torn up after their 15 minutes of fame.

To keep me on track, I plan to blog a bit this month about my 15-minute experiment.  (And for the record, I am only obligating myself to work days.) 

Want a jar of your very own?  I'll write out up to 30 slips for a giveaway this month.  Just leave a comment on this post with your own idea for one slip -- help me think of something that I might have overlooked or purge your conscience of a task you haven't gotten around to yet.  I'll draw a winner on Tuesday, January 19th.