Reigniting the forgotten blog

I seem to have forgotten this blog.  It's hard to chase a toddler around and find time to write.  But I read some posts this morning about Why I Blog, and realized that I can do this too.  I initially started blogging to keep a record of family life and to keep up with writing.  Last night I read some old posts about toddler's baby days, and I had forgotten much of those days.  So maybe, just maybe, I'll get better about blogging these days.  Here is a start.

Crisis Cleaning Sunday

My house has finally gotten to the point where I can no longer bear to look at it.  I must clean. MUST clean. NOW!!!!

Just a preview of my messes

 Actually, I look at this picture, and it doesn't look so bad ... it FEELS like everything is so much WORSE! At any rate, I need to clean today.

I'm not on here to goof off, but to plan -- what am I going to do today?  Here's a starter list:

• pick up -- in just about every room. (Tom is helping with this. W is helping mess this up.)
• vacuum
• cat litter
• trash
• laundry, so we have clothes to wear this week
• dusting
• sweeping and mopping
• pick up in the basement
• decluttering
• some office work to do today
• dishes and kitchen clean up
• decluttering
• START working on Hotspots

Wow, when I write down my list, it doesn't sound so bad. It feels so overwhelming though!  I'm going to make a plan and start with that.

This morning before lunch I'm going to:

• clean up the kitchen
• spend 5 minutes picking up in each of 3 rooms
• take out all the trash
• dust
• declutter for 15 minutes in the dining room

After that, I'm going to take a little break, plan the next round of tasks, and have lunch.  It's a start ...

Preparing my Briefcase

I inevitably get to court or a meeting missing something out of my briefcase. Usually it's something minor, like I forgot to pack business cards. Today I spent a few minutes pre-packing my briefcase and making a list of what needs to be in there.

Always keep in my briefcase:

• Yellow note pad
  
• Pens & pencils
  
• Paper clips
  
• Binder clips labeled "urgent" "to-do" and "file"
  
• Business cards
  
• This list
  
• Post-it notes
  

Add to my briefcase

• Calendar
  
• Blackberry
  
• Wallet (unless I am taking my purse separately)
  
• Lipstick
  
• Client files or documents I will need that day
  

And when I get home:

• Empty my briefcase, re-fill the "always keep", and put it away.
  
• Enter new business cards into address book
  
• Look @ my calendar, update case management software, and put calendar away
  
• Follow-up with new client information and to-dos