Streamlining

(dew-bejewelled ice plants, Alameda)

In my endless effort to Make Life Easier, I've been thinking about how to streamline some everyday household chores that always trip me up.

• Cleaning: obviously necessary. However, Shea had an idea that I think might be worth looking into. I wonder how much it would cost to have someone come in once a month and do a really good job cleaning the floors and the bathroom. That's it, just those things. I can do the maintenance. But I often run out of energy to do the really deep cleaning of those two things. I don't know. Worth thinking about.
• Cooking: I know I should make a weekly menu each Sunday morning, and then shop for the week. I can't get myself to do this, for some reason. However, I think I'm going to put some effort into establishing that habit. That way, Terri can start dinner, or make sure we have ingredients, or whatever. This would help ensure that we have something nutritious to eat every weeknight. I like to cook, but I often forget to plan until the end of the day, and then I have to go menu plan AND shop AND cook. Taking away two of those steps would be great.
• Cat Litter Boxes: I mentioned this before: I love the cats, hate the litter. But I hear good reviews of this product, so I'm going to try it. I already have one (regular) box using the pine pellets, and somebody is using it, so we can at least have one pine box. I would like to have only two boxes, and then just change that every two-three days. End of story. Silica is too expensive and also possibly harmful to all of our health, and clay just doesn't work for our elderly girls. If they will all use the pine litter, and if the fancy box takes care of the sawdust-tracking problem, then that would be GREAT. Updates on this to come.
• Laundry: We are lucky that we have a laundry machine right below our apartment. However, I always run out of quarters, and then laundry piles up, which I hate. What I might start doing is, every payday, I stop by the bank and get a bunch of rolls of quarters. Just mark it on the calendar and do it at lunch.

If I can find ways to save energy, then I will make some pretty great strides in my ultimate goal: a peaceful oasis at home.

Weekly reminder: on December 1st, this blog will be at www.nevertravelled.blogspot.com.