My Plan (As of now)

Okay, I'm trying to get out of this funk. We all know there is no perfect antidote to the January funk, but here's my three word plan as of today:

Organize. Travel. Read.

Organize. I'm not the world's most natural organizer, I prefer to just throw stuff away rather than organize it. However... I am finding lots of organizing inspiration on this blog and January in Chicago means you've got to make the best of being indoors. Might as well organize something.

I created a HOME binder this week. Not sure if this was driven by the desire to organize something or the fact that I love purchasing cute office supplies from Target. It's a toss up.

The binder is divided into the following categories:

• Daily Docket (I use this one from Simple Mom)
• Meals (Meal planning worksheets galore found here!)
• Lists (Just sheets of paper with categories (grocery, target, ikea) because I lose track)
• Receipts (A clear plastic paper protector to stuff important receipts inside)

You're so pretty, I don't mind even mind the 3-hole punching

There are several areas I'd like to tackle organizing in our house: kids toys (soooo maddening), our office (perhaps my biggest dread), and under the stairs.  Of course, when I say organize, I also think declutter. I started using the 2014 declutter calendar (here) and I think it's a good way to keep me accountable. Very bite size. As in, declutter one drawer in your living room today.

Travel. I've hinted at this already and I promise to share more soon. But little six-year-old eyes see this blog and I don't want to give away the surprise. 

Read. This is one of my great pleasures and I have to control myself from starting too many books at a time. Game of Thrones is already underway and that's pure fun. But I've also recently purchased a two "soul" books by Brene Brown (her TED talks are all over YouTube). Brown is a proponent of wholehearted living (her term) and bases recommendations from years of research and study on the topic of shame and the effect shame has our ability to live authentically. Our fear and shame affect how we live because we feel as though we have to be [perfect, guarded, outgoing, you insert the adjective] rather than simply being ourselves. 

So this is what I'm doing now. I'm organizing. I'm reading. I'm making lists until I get my mojo back. I'm wasting money in the office supply aisle of Target. And I'm hoping that my attitude gets better and the fog lifts a little. 

What are you doing these days? 

And also I have a robot

I'd like you to meet Rosie. She's my robot.

Christmas may be about a new Lexus for some crazy people, but this year I wanted a Roomba. Those Roomba commercials and a review on another blog got me all psyched up for trying one. And I'm so mesmerized by her that I literally stop what I'm doing to watch her vacuum the dining room, thereby completely decreasing my efficiency (and probably adding to her little robot anxiety).

Now Mike isn't sold on this new family member. And the children fear she will eat their toes. But I love the idea that I could just set her up and leave to take a shower and come back with a swept kitchen floor (after I learn to stop staring, of course).

There's some truth to the fact that she still learning to manage around all the chair legs and furniture. And she gets perplexed by a certain portion of my sisal rug. However, I am learning more each day about how I can help her be more efficient and utilize some of the settings better.

Now, if you've ever wondered about Roombas, here's a few quick details:

• They're expensive (boo!), but Mike got ours at deeply discounted Costco and you can find refurbished ones on Amazon.
• You have to be disciplined about cleaning it out after each use (I'm the worst at this but I'm trying).
• The Roomba comes with virtual "walls" that you can position in entry ways (sorry for rotten photo quality). These walls keep the Roomba in the area you want.

• Using the "spot" setting makes sure it gets your crazy messy areas taken care of first (like under our dining table). I do a couple of "spots" and then let it go crazy on it's own.
• You have to get used to the Roomba taking a much longer time than vacuuming yourself. Sounds obvious, but I find myself getting nervous that it's missing spots, but when I walk away, it does it's thing eventually.

So now I want to know... Any Roomba advice? Or other secret awesome cleaning tips that you're willing to share?

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming

What is it about the day after Christmas? Is it the wrapping paper overload? Too much sugar? Why am I already dying to put some of the Christmas clutter back into it's properly labelled box?

Well, I'm taking a moment to record my resolutions for this coming year (the big ones, the little ones) and take note of the stuff I put in place this year that worked well (Hi-five!) 

I'll be mulling this list over in the next few days, but here's my initial take on what I'd like 2014 to look like. I know I want it to be simpler. I want it to be more about living life and loving than I do about gathering items. I want it to be lived more fully.

Frankly, I've already made a few commitments that I'm questioning -- probably can't do much about it at this point, but I will let this year also serve as a learning experience. If I am committed to helping my kids clear their plate and de-schedule, then I've gotta set those boundaries for myself.

So I ask you now... Have you thought about your resolutions yet? Any good ones to share? Anything rattling around that you want to get out of your head?