Efficiency -- Time-Saving

Recently, I told my friend Carolyn that my dream was to be so organized that everything would just always be done--or that as soon as a piece of work came along, I could do it right then and be done with it. For example, if I got a bill in the mail, I would immediately pay it, file it, and be done (yes, I have one bill that still comes in the mail because there isn't the more efficient option of automatic draft). (*Disclaimer: My life is certainly not a top-notch model of efficiency, just ask my four kids.)

She said, "That sounds just like you--just like something you would wish for."

Perhaps she just knows me really well, and has spend enough time observing my borderline-OCD habits. Or perhaps it just happens to be one of the many topics we have discussed several times. Probably both.

I wasn't always this way, at least not in everything. I think part of it has come with wisdom, born out of the frustration of organizing the chaos--especially with a large family. Some of my ideas came from observing my sister-in-law Shalissa, because she is always one or two steps ahead of me in life, and several years wiser. Some of my ideas came from books that Shalissa recommended, which I have recommended to you before, and which I now proudly own. One is Lose 200 Lbs. This Weekend by Don Aslett, which is about de-cluttering and simplifying in the process. I <3 the ideas in this book. The other one is Make Your House Do the Housework, also by Don Aslett and Laura Aslett Simons. This one is about how you might design a home to cut down on the amount of time you spend cleaning. Even if you are not going to build your own home (but especially if you are), you can find plenty of ideas you can use to experience the same effect. And some of my motivation I acquired while reading Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Bunker Gilbreth. This is a true story about a man who was an efficiency expert who applied his expertise at home. This idea fascinates me.

My hope is that I can figure out how to be so efficient that I can save so much time, and then I can focus on more important things. This argument is flawed in two ways. One is that I spend too much time figuring things out. And second, one of the most "important things" is to teach my children how to work. Which, as you may know, is not the most efficient way to get things done.

Well, anyway, here are a few things I have been thinking about in the realm of efficiency.

Laundry. Carolyn and I had a discussion about whether it was more efficient to have a "laundry day" or to try to do a load or two per day. Having a laundry day just sounds long to me. First of all, you have to be right on top the ending of each cycle to make the best use of time. However, the dryer and washer never end at the same time. You could make really efficient use of your waiting time by finding other chores to complete. This never works for me because I will inevitably get too focused on the other task and forget to rotate the laundry. I personally like to do one or two loads per day. That way, I don't have to be pressured by a time crunch. If I get engrossed with another task, it's okay. The laundry can wait another half hour. Of course the next step in the process could use a little work in efficiency as well. The most efficient thing would be to fold or hang the laundry as you pull it out of the dryer. And then the most efficient thing would be to immediately put it away. This could be more efficient if you have a space, like a laundry counter, to fold. And even more efficient if you could hand the clothes to your kids to put away by themselves. Novel idea. It would also be quite efficient to sort the dirty clothes as you go, but it would be even more efficient to have a sorting laundry shute. Next to the shower. See, you could undress and throw the clothes down the correctly labeled shute. You would eliminate the steps of 1. Put clothes in hamper, 2. take hamper to laundry room, 3. sort clothes.

Dishes. The most efficient way to accomplish this task is up for debate here. If you have a dishwasher, it makes sense to unload it first thing in the morning, or right before you go to bed the night before. Never let a dirty dish touch the sink--rinse it and load it straight into the empty dishwasher. Voila! And if you have an efficient dishwasher with high-quality detergent, even better. But would it take that much more effort to go ahead and just wash the dish by hand instead of just rinsing it? Dry it and put it away. Done and done. This is especially efficient because a medium-quality dishwasher costs about $375 (I know from recent experience) if you install it yourself (also a recent experience), and good quality detergent can be a hefty sum. Now, I know we're not talking finances here, and I'm no efficiency expert, but how many hours did Bryan have to work to provide the dishwasher, detergent, water, and energy to run the thing? Vs. how much does it cost to thoroughly wash by hand in a manner that disinfects properly (I know we're not talking health here, but that could add another cost, which would then cost more hours for Bryan to work, which is an efficiency issue, in a roundabout way)? Also, let's be realistic, sometimes the dishes just can't get done presently because "more important things" must be done. So a dishwasher is really nice. Rather, a nice dishwasher is really nice. (Does anyone need an (inefficient, old) dishwasher?)

Weeding. We have failed miserably this summer. Most efficient=weed a little every day. Then your yard won't look like ours.

Toilets. I hate toilets. But I finally decided to keep toilet cleaning apparatus on and near each toilet in the house. When it starts to smell (like, several times a week around here), I can just take 3 minutes to clean it right then and there.

Diapers. Have diaper changing materials on each level, and perhaps in several rooms. Grab the baby wherever he is, change him, done. And even if you have to chase him, you will still have changing materials close at hand.

Meal planning. Have a plan. Use perishables before expiration. Be efficient. Save money. I also make it a habit to take a meal that we like and try to figure out faster ways to prepare the same dish. If it can't meet my 30-minute criteria (for preparation), we just won't eat it as often.

15-minute-pick up. Each night before bed-and you can get the kids involved here-spend 15 minutes picking up each piece of the clutter and putting it in its spot (make sure that it has a spot--this is a very efficient principle). Also, wipe off the table and counters and sweep the floor. I find that if I start the day with a relatively clean house, I can easily maintain throughout the day.

What other ideas do you have for efficiency? Seriously, folks, I'm asking because I want to know!

I'm in the News!!!

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Cinderella, Responsible Drinking, and Pants

The story of Cinderella has always left me scratching my head. Bibbidi bobbidi boo - poof - she gets decked out and hitches a sweet ride to the ball. She dances with the prince, but she has instructions that the magic wears off at midnight. The clock begins to strike twelve, and she rushes away, accidentally leaving behind a glass slipper. At the end of the toll, she finds herself in rags surrounded by vegetables and animals. But she still has a glass slipper. I always assumed that the glass slippers were a part of the outfit, magically created. So why doesn't the magic wear off the glass slippers?

My friend and I were talking about the anomalies of when the students come back in town. Her husband received an email from the university reminding students that they should drink responsibly. I have never had a drink in my life. The worst thing I tried was iced tea, because I thought it was apple juice. I only had one sip. Anyway, my understanding of alcohol is that it impairs your judgement, even in the slightest degree. So how can you have a drink and then be responsible with impaired judgement to not drink more than you should? And then, how could you know what your own threshold for alcohol consumption is without having crossed it at some point? -So that you can (in the future) then be responsible in your drinking. I guess you could have a friend stand by you and tell you when to stop, or even have a designated driver, but then you are not the one being responsible anymore, are you? So, I have unwound this oxymoron--the only way to drink responsibly then, is not to drink at all.

And my final confusion for the day--why aren't women's pants labeled the same way as men's? I know many of us have difficulties finding pants that fit just right. My issue is that my legs are long. So if I get pants that are long, they're too big in the hips. Or pants that fit my hips are never long enough. If I could shop by waist (or hip, rather) and inseam measurements, my life would be simplified. And this could eliminate the extreme discrepancies in sizes between brands.

Are there other things that baffle you?

Writer's Block?

It's been a while since I last wrote. We were busy. Some of the busy-ness was fun, but a lot of it was many, many personal trials that just needed to be endured. And then I felt like every time I had something to say, it was negative. So here is a brief update, just to let you know that we are alive and (relatively) well.

In July, we went on "vacation" (this is what we call it for the kids' benefit) to two family reunions, back-to-back. Bryan's family's reunion was first. He got to enjoy it for a couple days. Then came the phone call. The annual state survey had just entered the nursing home, and he had to fly back immediately. So I braved my own family's reunion alone with four kids. It was fun, except the fact that Bryan wasn't there. He was able to fly back, we extended our "vacation" for a couple more days so he could see my family. The end result of the survey was 4 tags (the average is 8), so he actually did very well.

Last week, a federal survey entered the building. Now, this was a real jackpot. Because you have to be a real lightning rod to catch one of these. Bryan knows people who worked in nursing homes for over 15 years and never saw one of these. Timing, circumstances, and pure luck (or pure trial, depending on how you view it) created this opportunity. Because it commandeered his full time and attention, we didn't see much of him. And because he has so much to catch up on this week, we are still not seeing as much of him as we would like. The end result of this survey was 5 tags (the average is 12), so again, he did very well.

In the meantime, he did get to enjoy the local 5K last week. It was tough, but he won by 3 seconds.

Caleb had a birthday: unbelievable that I have a seven-year-old! He actually started school today--second grade! He lost another tooth this week (that's 5 so far).

Savanna got a haircut this week. Actually, I cut her hair. It's not perfect, but I figured I needed to learn how to do this sooner or later. Better sooner when she is less aware of the imperfections.

Joseph narrates everything he does or thinks. He is even adding abstract ideas to his vocabulary, like "I don't know" and "I think" and "I had good dreams."

Isaac can roll both ways and sit by himself (as long as I'm nearby to catch him). He still hasn't figured out the value to trying to crawl. Mostly he just wants me to hold him all day long. He loves food, and he's very adept at grabbing anything in his reach. Anything.

I am currently in the process of figuring out the best schedule for our family, including naps and extracurricular activities. So far, I haven't been successful because I can't make my brain work. So for now, I'm trying to see if things will just fall into place for me. Also, next week the local choir starts up again. I am really looking forward to that.

The end.

Lifting One Another's Burdens

Today, I needed someone to help lift my burden.

I called my best friend. She let me talk through it.

I thanked her for listening, and she said she was glad to lift my burden.

Here's the thing: I seriously doubt that lifting my burden was even difficult for her. Probably the most uncomfortable things for her (and I'm sure she would deny even this) was the time it took to unload and the energy it took to offer support and advice.

Truly, I did feel lighter and uplifted when I was done.

My burden had felt much heavier to me than the lifting of it felt to her.

I've done the same for her on other occasions.

Isn't it interesting how lifting one another's burdens makes both parties feel lighter?

Huh.

Latest

Remember this?

Well, now we have matching holes on top:

One fell out Saturday, and one fell out Monday.

Saturday night, we went to the movie at the stadium. While the movie was lame, the experience was super fun!

This kid looks so much like Caleb did as a baby. Maybe some of you remember?

Also, we forgot to take our camera, but yesterday we celebrated Bryan's birthday by driving to Spokane. A community college there sponsors a family track meet. Anyone can compete in any event. Bryan took first in the adult 1500m. And Caleb, without telling anyone, also entered himself into the kids' 1500m. We were so proud of him! It was so hard! On the last lap, he said, "Last lap! Then take a nap!" Caleb, Savanna, and Joe also participated in separate 50m dashes. Caleb accidentally ran in the first 2 and under heat (and won). Savanna entered herself in all 4 heats of the 2-4 year olds. And Joseph was afraid of the gun, and wouldn't budge from the starting line. Happy Birthday, Bry, old man!

A Superlative Birthday

Bryan had asked me several times what I wanted for my birthday, and what I wanted to do for my birthday. My love language is definitely not gifts, so this is always a hard question to answer. Finally, I told him that I just wanted a love note. And I expounded by saying that I just wanted to feel loved, that I wanted to feel like it mattered that I existed--that I was born.

And did my man deliver? Most surely!

He enlisted the help of my good friend Carolyn, who set up the party paraphernalia, after he convinced me that we had to go to the store before family night. Even after I locked the front door (habit), he went back to unlock it so everyone could get in.

He took frustratingly long choosing his tomato plants, and didn't hurry the kids through the toy aisles. Lucky (?) for him, we did have another slight delay loading up the car because apparently Joseph had sneaked out of the cart basket and was still in the store. Bryan found him, and then we drove home.

I never caught on until about two seconds after the "Surprise!" I would have loved to see the look on my face, or even to remember what I said in that moment (and I wish it had been something really clever). But because it was one of those things you don't expect, at all, it took a moment for my brain to catch up to my eyes and ears.

Amazingly, a whole bunch of people had crowded into our living room (half of them were children) and sat quietly waiting for me.

This was the first time Bryan has ever been able to completely surprise me. I was most surprised, and least prepared. It was the biggest party I've ever had, with the most people attending. Our house was mostly too small for such a large group. The cake was most delicious. The weather was the coldest it has ever been to celebrate my birthday, but still nice enough to take the party outside. It was the earliest I've ever celebrated my birthday. It was the largest group of people to ever sing to me. I got the most bouquets of flowers in my life. I felt most loved.

Cutting my cake

Some of the kids

More friends and sweet husband

Enjoying the frosting


I was really glad that I wasn't yelling at my kids when we got home (what does this say about me???). I was really glad I didn't have to use the bathroom right when I got home. I was really glad that we had kept the house pretty clean. I was really glad that (I think) I didn't say anything completely embarrassing.

We counted 36 people from 9 families who were here or dropped by. Of course I worried that I wasn't dressed up, didn't do my hair or makeup, and didn't even have my contacts in. I worried that I kind of smelled from the day's labors. I also worried that my bathrooms were not clean. I worried that we had so many weeds in our yard. I also worried that we had interfered with other people's family nights.

But each of these worries were put to rest because I realized that what mattered to these people was that I exist.