Taking stock
I guess this is the first day of the rest of my life. I just ran out of instructions to follow, and I'm not sure what to do next. I suppose the place to start is where I am.
Some things haven't changed over the last two months:
I'm still wrangling the mood disorder.
My kids are still lovable, complicated, and intense.
We as a family are still homeschooling, with some success and some cringing failure.
There are still books (among other things) piled all over the basement floor.
Some things have improved immensely since I started this project:
The front stairs and hallway are now clear of debris.
The sink is still shiny and the kitchen counter is mostly clear.
The junk magnet behind my chair at the table is clean.
I am making lists every day for what the kids need to do, so they know ahead of time and I don't have to decide on the spot whether we're done.
I have a great little notebook for keeping me on track through my day.
My husband really appreciates and enjoys the progress toward clean/tidy, and has been working in parallel to get the house under control.
I love my kindly post-it notes.
Some things started getting better but still need work:
The living room table was cleared last month by the traditional method of moving everything on it into piles on the floor. The table is within striking distance of clean most days, but the piles haven't shifted at all. I'd really like to have the rest of the floor back.
I need to be more reliable about keeping records of the homeschool work we do, so when it's time to turn R's work into a transcript I know what goes on it.
I have gotten slack about doing Fit2B in the mornings. I think I'll feel better, mind and body both, when I'm exercising more.
So...what comes first? I have another ten days of September, just right for a minor project, while I think about what I want to focus on in October. This would be a good time to rub it down and make it stick, as we say here. Without adding anything new, just keep on doing the daily things, so they become a little more automatic. See, Tumblr, you're still helping me: writing about what to do next is reminding me I've gotten out of the habit of reading the checklists in my useful notebook. Just doing the morning and evening routines would get my body moving and my notes made. I can do that. And although I can't always declutter (because mental problems are paralyzing me) and I can't always clean (because meeting basic vegetative needs comes first), *sometimes* I can. That's okay. That's good enough. Who I am is good enough. I will just do what I can.