Marla the Blogger

I'm looking forward to the time change this weekend. Even though it always takes at least a week for my family to readjust to the change, I love getting off work and still having daylight to enjoy. And now that the weather is getting warmer, I plan to spend more time outside enjoying it. Of course, spending more time outside having fun means I have less time for other things. So, as we spring forward, I'm looking for ways to save a few minutes here and there. Here are a few new things I'm going to try to free up some of my time:

• Lay out 5 days worth of clothes on Sunday night. I'm going to do this for myself as well as my son, so I spend less time during the week digging through drawers and laundry baskets in the morning looking for something for me (or him) to wear. Plus it will help me make sure I get laundry done on the weekend so we have enough clean clothes for the week.
• Stop spending time on my hair. I haven't blown dry my hair in years, so I don't spend much time "styling" it. However, due to my own laziness, my hair has gotten very, very long. So it takes me longer to wash, towel dry, brush it, etc. And I keep finding long hair all over the house (wrapped around the vacuum bar, tangled in the dryer, etc.). Time to get a shorter, more manageable cut that I can spend even less time on.
• Use text messages/email more. Don't get me wrong: I do like talking to my friends and family on the phone. But sometimes what should be a quick conversation to make plans or iron out logistics turns into an hour long gab-fest. I've been emailing and texting my sister to coordinate an upcoming visit with her. At first I felt bad about not calling, but it's saved me a ton of time and we will have more than enough time to talk when I see her in person in a few weeks.

As a result of cutbacks at work, I have every other Friday off unpaid. And although it has been an adjustment to the reduction in salary that came with it, having the extra time off has definitely been a plus. I thought my Fridays off would be a great chance to spend some time with my son and get some things done around the house, and they have. But surprisingly, many of them filled up with visits from friends and family and other activities that sometimes still leave me wondering on Sunday night, "where did my weekend go?" Some weekends have been filled up with errands and cleaning, which leaves me grumpy. Some weekends have been filled up with fun activities, which leaves me stressed the rest of the week because I'm trying to fit in laundry and groceries and errands after work. With a little planning and organization, though, I think I've figured out a few ways to help maximize my weekends:

• Plan out weekend activities in advance - my husband and I try to figure out our plans for the weekend by Thursday night. That way we don't forget to take care of any important errands or chores and we don't find out after the fact that there was a concert or festival that our family would have enjoyed but missed.
• Schedule time for both fun and chores - our most enjoyable weekends are those where we feel we accomplished some things that needed to be done and we had ample time to have fun together. Having a balanced weekend makes Monday mornings a little easier to deal with.
• Keep lists of alternatives handy - sometimes fun plans get scrapped at the last minute because of weather or other unforeseen problems. I have a list of other fun family activities that we can fall back on instead of filling the time with chores or just sitting around watching television.
• Be flexible - although I'm a big believer in planning in advance, we try to be flexible so we can accept a last-minute invitation from a friend to get together or accommodate a quick trip to the office to deal with a looming deadline. It sometimes means putting a half-prepared meal in the fridge to finish cooking later, but it's usually worth it.

Weekends (or any time off from work) are very important for any family. It's the time to reconnect and recharge our batteries, as well as accomplish necessary tasks to make the work week go more smoothly. And even though the weekends never seem long enough, even if they are 3 days, with a little planning and balance, I can maximize my time off and make the most of it.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was going to spend a day organizing my basement and I'm happy to report it was a success. I didn't get everything done that I had hoped, but I made significant progress and my basement is now in a much more useable and organized state. At the end of the day, I had two bags full of items that I dropped off for donation, two bags of trash and a stack of recycling. And now my husband and I can walk through our basement without tripping over boxes and find what we need down there.

There were a few things that I think contributed to the success of this organizing project:

• I stuck with my plan.  Although I was tempted to veer off course a few times and get distracted with other things, I kept reminding myself to stay focused. By doing that, I was able to finish even a little earlier than I had planned.
• I kept my expectations realistic. Originally, I had hoped to organize the basement AND go through my son's baby items stored down there. Once I started, I realized that was more work than I could do in one day. So I focused on cleaning up and organizing and left the baby items for another day. Now, though, all of the baby items are in bins and stacked up in one area, so when I do have time to go through them, I can get to them easily.
• I tried to have fun. Cleaning out the basement on a Friday off from work isn't exactly my idea of a good time, but instead of dreading it, I cranked up some music and tried to enjoy it. I kept thinking of how satisfied I'd feel when I was done and because I stayed focus, I was able to finish and pick up my son from preschool early and still enjoy spending time with him.

I'm glad I set aside a day to tackle my basement and get it organized. I find I feel less frazzled when my house is organized and I can find what I need. And it's easier to keep it clean and straightened up once I've taken the time to get it organized. Next time, I'll work on organizing our home office!