Mile Long Fall To Do List:
- Renew my driver's license - before November 11 - make appointment/fill out application online
- Pay my auto insurance bill - before October 3 - go to Auto Club in person to get a receipt (they've already called me once with a "friendly reminder" that it is due on Oct. 3)
- Pay gas bill
- Pay utility bill
- Pay phone bill
- Dentist appointment 10/4
- Radiation oncologist appointment 10/15
- Doctor's appointment 10/17
- Podiatrist appointment 11/1
- Oncologist appointment 11/19
- Schedule eye exam for glasses/get glasses (preferably before current vision insurance runs out in October)
- Schedule peripheral vision field test (when they call/or call if not heard from them in 1 month)
- Dust - whole house
- Vacuum - whole house
- Mop - kitchen, my bathroom
- Remove cobwebs - whole house
- Clean chandelier in dining room
- Clean light fixtures (2) in family room
- Clean bedroom window
- Wash bedroom curtains
- Clean vertical blinds - family room window
- Wash valance - family room window
- Wash family room window
- Clean vertical blinds - family room sliding glass door
- Clean sliding glass door, including tracks
- Get donations picked up - call to schedule
- Dig out spare room/The Dump
- Sew quilts
- Sew holiday gifts
- Host prayer gathering
- Buy new sofa slip covers - IKEA (before prayer gathering)
- Or, at least, wash current sofa slip covers
- Paperwork/File/Shred
- Call to have the outside cats spayed/neutered
- Schedule Dancer's check up
- Polish brassware (ideally before prayer gathering)
- Spruce up the front garden
- Wash kitchen cabinet fronts
- Buy paint for front door
- Paint front door
This is not an exhaustive list, either! There are things I'd like to do which I haven't listed, because I know I will not get to them (like fixing the water damaged wall in the hallway, painting the family room and hallway, new drapes, etc.) Things might get added on as I find/think of more things to do (like washing the living room windows and drapes; actually, I'm afraid to wash the drapes in case they disintegrate!) But, doing the brain dump helped to avert a mild panic attack as I wondered, "How on earth am I going to do all these things?" Having it all written out/typed up, eliminated the need to try to remember and worry about forgetting something important that I had to do! Also, I can see that somethings won't take a lot of time to do and can get crossed off, easily.
As I said, this is no Joy list. In fact, I decided to do a Joy list precisely because I needed something other than a Must Do list. The Joy list is the antidote to the Must Do list! So, while I was writing it out, last night, I decided to do one thing that was on my Joy list, at the same time. With the windows open to catch the cooler night air, the house cooled down nicely to 75F, and I took the opportunity to bake a cake!
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| Ta Da! |
It's just a plain, yellow cake from a boxed mix, but it made me happy!
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| Cake! |
I had to eat a piece before it had even cooled! LOL! Don't worry, I won't eat it all! I'll take some of it to the library knitting club, tomorrow, and I'll take a piece to neighbor T when I visit her on Wednesday morning. The calories will be shared! But, I might eat another piece, tonight, with some strawberries!
How about you? Do you, too, have a mile long To Do list for fall?
I feel exhausted just reading your list Bless, but just think how satisfying it will feel as you work through it and cross things off. I have a habit of putting off jobs which I think might take a while to accomplish, but in reality take little time at all. I excell at procrastination.
ReplyDeleteThe cake looks delicious. X
I am the acknowledged queen of procrastination, Jules. But, it all catches up with me at some point, so I do try to meet my deadlines. I find it helpful to write out a list, because then, I don't have to try to remember everything and worry about forgetting something. I already completed two items on the list and started on at least one other. So, I am off to a good start. :)
DeleteOh yes, my list is so long it scares me! So I avoid writing it all down, though maybe it would be a step forward to do a brain dump and clear my mind.
ReplyDeleteI find it helpful to write things down, Eileen, because then, I can see what I am dealing with. It felt like a lot of things to do when I was thinking about it, and it is, but, writing it down showed that several of them will take 5-10 minutes to do (paying bills, calling to schedule things, etc.) Other, bigger tasks, can be broken down into smaller, baby steps.
DeleteMaybe, you, too, should write down your list and it might not appear quite as intimidating and scary!
Love lists! Along with daily things I created a Master List for our home ... one for each room and lawn ... things that need to be done in each area and things that are on my wish list to do for each as well. You’re so right about it being less stressful not having to commit it to memory.
ReplyDeleteSo wonderful that you’re going to have the feral/stray cats spayed and neutered. Wish more people who feed stray cats were as responsible as you! You’re a great example for others!
Carolyn, I had a Master List, too! Maybe I'll do a new one for the new year!
DeleteI had some of the feral/strays fixed, several years ago, but there are some new ones, now, that need to be attended to. Haven't got around to calling them, yet, though.
I am less likely to be distracted if I have a list, so I find them valuable. You house will be sparkling you finish yours. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Live and Learn. I hope it will be less dingy and neglected looking. I really haven't been up to doing much deep cleaning since treatments began, not even when they first ended. I've gone beyond "shabby chic" to just shabby, although one kind friend always says my home looks "lived in". Hopefully, it will look lived in AND clean and cared for, by the end of Fall!
Delete"Brain Dump"... I love it. That is exactly what I need to do. I am keeping mine all up in my head right now and it seems to overwhelm me. I need to get it down in writing where I can see it. I sort of feel like Eileen does. There is that fear that if I actually see how long it is, I will panic and give up. But I can see the benefits of seeing the list and dealing with it. It is raining this morning so maybe I can do that while eating my breakfast and maybe I will post my mile-long list today.
ReplyDeleteDo you have to pay a lot to have those feral cats spayed and neutered?
Susan, I hope you will write out your list. At least, one for things you want to get done between now and let's say Christmas. Longer term projects can be on a separate, "master" list, if you like. I have things like replacing my windows, new drapes, new screens for the windows, and painting the rooms, along with repairs that need to be done and things that need to be replaced, on a separate list, because I am not quite ready to do them, yet.
DeleteNo, the group who do it are a volunteer group and they don't charge anything, although they accept donations. I need to call them, still.