Zero Inbox

I hate junk emails as much as I hate normal junk mail. When I see them in my inbox I don’t even bother opening them, I just hit delete. It has got to the point where I have set up an email account for all of those situations where they ask you to sign up but you know they are just going to send what I would class as junk. With that account I go in once a week, have a quick review and then hit delete on them all.

I then have my gmail account which is one of the 2 main email accounts I have.  I decided to set up a gmail as it was easy to access anywhere. I use that account for things that I am interested in such as online courses or newsletters that I will read. With that account I read or print out what I need then I either delete or move to a folder for future reference.

My main email account is my first one which I have had for over 16 years. I do get a lot of junk in that one but  that account also has a lot of emails that I need to keep so that also has a lot of folders which I move them into again for reference.

I believe in only touching an email once and I deal with it straight away. That is generally easy to do with my personal emails as I only need to read (with the exception of some W.I Committee emails) and file.

Work emails are different. I do get a little stressed when I come back after annual leave to find a couple of hundred emails in my inbox. My heart rate increases and I need to focus on clearing it. Fortunately a lot of them can be deleted straight away as they are either junk or somebody else would have dealt with it as it was part of a group email. That still leaves about 15% that I need to deal with and I do not feel calm until they have all been dealt with. My aim for each day is to finish with an empty Inbox.

It has become a bit of an obsession to have  Zero Inboxes because then I feel more organised and in control. I guess it is a control thing as I need to have tidy drawers and a clear desk all the time at work. This is probably because it is an area of my life that I have most control over as I am the same with my car.  I am the only one (at the moment) who drives it and I have a  little bin to put rubbish into, a cloth to wipe down the dashboard and doors and it gets vacuumed out regularly.  I hate getting into Craig’s car as I feel stressed as it is a mess with sweet wrappers, little stones, dirt and dust on the carpets and dashboards. When I get that car it will have to have a full valet before I will drive it.

This zero inbox obsession has only manifested itself since I have felt more out of control at home. This has happened over the last 6 months or so and I really cannot pinpoint how it started but I do need to get it sorted before it gets to worse to stop me spiralling down into depression as has happened in the past. 

Menu Plan week commencing 19th June 2017

I hope everyone in the UK is enjoying/coping with the heatwave we are currently experiencing. We had a busy weekend with Emma's 18th birthday party and Fathers Day Barbecue at my sister in laws. I was glad there was plenty of shade to keep a little bit cooler in.

Anyway, I thought I would do the menu plan post a little differently as I found Happy Homemaker Monday on Diary of a Stay at Home Mom so I will be using her format to give you a little more than just a menu plan each week.

The Weather.  
Glorious but I am glad it is going to cool down during the week. There is nothing worse than being in work when the weather is hot, hot, hot.

On my reading pile

I have recently re-purchased some books that I had when I was trying to get organised but I must have given them away in a clear out a few years ago. Anyway I bought them again as I feel that I need to sort out myself out as things have 'drifted' so to speak. So they are

Totally Organized by Bonnie McCullough

Confessions of an Organized Homemaker- Deniece Schofield

The Family Manager takes charge - Kathy Peel.

They were only 1p on Amazon (with £.2.80 delivery on each book ) so I couldn't resist. 

I am not going to read them cover to cover, they are more to dip into to get inspiration and ideas.

Movies or Shows I watched this weekend

Doctor Who

The Pioneer Woman

On the Menu this week

Monday -YOYO (You're on your own)

Tuesday- Chicken Stir Fry

Wednesday - Gammon, Eggs and Slimming World Chips

Thursday - Vegetable risotto

Friday- Spiced lamb kebabs and salad

Saturday - Curried Mince Beef and Rice

Sunday - Roast Chicken Dinner

On my to do list

Make contact lens check and sight test appointment

Do the WI newsletter

Buy the curry for the Curried Mince Beef

Student of the Year ceremony-Tuesday (Emma has been nominated ;)  )

Make an list of all account numbers and contact numbers (utilities, pensions, insurance etc) so easy to find if need to contact and also all in one place to grab in case of emergency.

Also hooking up with Organising Junkie as usual.

Have a good week.

Deborah

Cleaning schedules

 This year I have been working on several cleaning routines and adapting them to make them work for me. I have pretty much got the daily and weekly routines sorted. I don’t rigidly stick to doing certain things on certain days as work and WI commitments make that impossible. Instead it is a case of getting it done in the week. Some weeks I can spread the jobs over several evenings and other weeks they are done all in one go at the weekend.

I am struggling to keep up with the zone cleans due to this  lack of routine. I do find that if the jobs are spread over the week then doing the zone clean is easy at the weekend.

 I have also set up cleaning schedules for those things that need cleaning less frequently and also one for before I go on holiday. This came from Alison at Brocantehome and I love reading her e-books and web site because she is not obsessed with having a perfectly clean sterile home but on making the home comfortable and welcoming.

I admit that I do not stick rigidly to this but at least it gives me a fighting chance of not needing a visit from Kim and Aggie.

Trying to find planner peace

Planner peace is something that I have heard a lot of bloggers and vloggers comment on and whether or not they have found it. I don’t think that anyone can find ultimate planner peace and use the same system for years on end without refining it. I have watched a number of Youtube channels where there is a video titled ‘Planner Peace’ and then a few months later there is a video uploaded for a completely different system.

I have yet to find planner peace as my requirements have changed over the years and the more I have looked into planners the more systems I have tried, some have lasted longer than others but I have yet to find the ‘Utopia’ that Planners aim for.

My current system is a cross between an ring bound system and a bullet journal and is in two ‘books’. I like the idea between a bullet journal but I don’t fancy have to transfer my ‘collections’ to a new book every time the journal was filled. This is where the ring bound system has proven useful.

My planner is from Paperchase. It did have ‘Make it Happen today’ printed on the front but it started to rub off quite early after purchasing it so I just rubbed the rest of it off so that it looked better.

I have different tabs as any ring bound system does. I didn’t like the tabs that came with it as they were to dull so I made my own using scrapbook paper laminated to strengthen it.

My first tab is a diary where I keep my appointments, events, when I am out of the office and  when things are due. I suppose this would be the future planning in a traditional bullet journal. I am using the diary that came with the planner.

I have only got to the end of the year in as it was originally an academic year but I prefer January to December so I will be purchasing a new diary insert soon.

The next tab is the weekly plan. Again this is a filofax insert and is the daily planner. On this I put things that I need to do this week as a general list. On the back there is a notes section on which I put my meal plan on along with any other general notes I may need.

My daily to do list is in a separate notebook which also contains my brain dump which are just random notes and thoughts that I just need to get out of my head so I can focus on other things.

I tend to write this first thing in the morning as it depends on how I am feeling and what I have got on that day as to what I intend to achieve. This works better than planning out the whole week as I am more likely to do what is on the list. I am going to spend more time and make it look a bit prettier (damn you Pinterest).

The next tab in my planner is my running to-do list which is for non-date specific things that need to be done. I have a separate list for my craft projects which I am trying not to add to until I have got some of the projects which are already on there completed.

A list of birthdays and anniversaries make up the next section in the planner. Having this section means that I don’t have to remember to transfer them all across to a new diary every year.

My ‘Life’ Section contains my monthly goals and ways I am trying to simplify my life. I will also put in things that other people have done to simplify their lives and maybe try to incorporate their ideas.

The List section is my equivalent of the collections in a Bullet Journal. I have currently got school holidays, writing challenge, photo challenge,  where I am up to with box sets and my wish list which is a list of things I want to buy.

The final section is notes which is just everything else.

I don’t know how long I will stay with this format, but it is currently working for me and seems to offer the most flexibility.

Update on September Goals and Setting October Goals

September was a busy month and unfortunately I was not able to achieve all of my goals.

1. Reach target weight
            September has the most birthdays of any month and this meant lots of cakes and meals so I only maintained this month.

2. Finish decorating kids rooms
             My brother in law, the decorator was extremely busy so unfortunately he hasn't been able to fit them in. He has promised they will be done by Christmas.

3. Get roof done
              The scaffolding was up for nearly 2 weeks before the roofers were able to get done but it is done and dusted Yay!!

4. Work towards Gold body magic
              Only managed to get to the gym twice in the whole month and to achieve the gold award then you need to do 5 x 30 minutes sessions a week for 8 weeks so definitely a non achievable target.

5. Read 2 Agatha Raisin books
            Really enjoying this series but only just managed to do this as so busy.

6. Organise craft supplies
             I took a couple of days off around my birthday and spent one of these organising my craft supplies into 1 place. Hopefully this will encourage me to get more crafts finished as they are all in one place and near a table to work on.

Goals for October

1. Finish Victorian cross stitch sampler
2. Read 2 books
3. Make Christmas Cake
4. Finish making vintage style apron
5. Save an extra £100
6. Reach target weight
7. Devise and stick to cleaning routine.

Goals for September

During July and August I decided to set some goals to achieve during the month with regards to various areas of my life that I want to work on.

I have found this easier then just setting a big resolution as although the monthly goals are all part of the main resolutions they are broken down into smaller, time constrained and achievable targets which is the foundation of any objectives that people set.

I have decided that this month I am going to share them and at the end update you on how things have gone.

In September I want to

• Finish decorating the kids rooms
• Achieve my target weight at Slimming World (only have 3 1/2 pounds to go)
• Work towards my Gold Body Magic award
• Read 2 Agatha Raisin books
• Get back into a proper meal routine by meal planning Lunch and dinner
• Complete one craft project.

Do you have monthly goals? I would love to hear what they are.