Half a year ago today, while drunk from two glasses of white whine and the first french fries with mayo I'd had in months, I made the first post on this blog. I'd toyed with the idea ever since reading prof. Cordain's book. That was somewhere this time last year, so I'm also dubbing today my anniversary for finding out about the paleo diet.This year has been full of bumps in the road. Because I started during summer vacation and I had all the time in the world it went smoothly for the first month.. I felt so great during that month I knew this would be for life- but then ehh... life happened. It was time to go back to school and it wasn't easy. I fell off the bandwagon, and let me tell you- I felt like pure crap, and still it took me quite some time to get it all back on the road.
Next time I fell off the wagon was when someone whose opinion I value greatly thought that perhaps it was all just a placebo effect.. doubts ate at me, and that was when I turned to the internet. Great things happened (aka MDA&Prof Devany) and everything was just peachy until I moved out of my mom's house...
At first my kitchen was a bit underequiped, infact, when I started this blog I didn't even own a fridge.. funny enough, that wasn't the major stumble block I phased this time- nono. It was the shock of finding that toilet paper didn't magically replace itself and clothes and pans wouldn't wash themselves... And no, I wasn't horribly spoiled- I did my own laundry etc. at my mom's house and had done most of the cooking+shopping for a couple months.. but now there was just no one to pick up the slack when I got caught up in more interesting things.
For me the one sure-fire way to wreck my diet is not planning anything for breakfast or lunch the next day, (which is just never ever going to happen consistently and that's fine), then waking up on said day and finding my kitchen a horrible, horrible mess. Depending on how grouchy and stressed I am and wether or not I tripped over things on my way out of the bathroom, there's a chance I'll just throw my hands into the air and opt for buying a sandwhich on my way too school instead.
So, back to the title of this post... Most important tip I can give you; get a game plan for keeping your house liveable. For some of you this tip might be useless, most probably already have a game plan or were born organised- be happy! For those who don't, give it your first priority. Without it all your plans are far more likely to fail, and not just food related things either.
What's my game plan? Routines. While I avoid them like the plague for my diet and exercise, they are an absolute must have for running your house smoothly. Now there's a lot I could tell you about that, but it's easier for both of us if I'll just send you to the two websites that helped me most;
Zenhabits.net
A blog about a lot of things including how to build habits and routines, interesting! Just ignore the posts about running marathons and silly things like that.
Flylady.net
Now, the name might sound a little silly.. but if you're desperate- subscribe to her mailing list. In no time at all you'll be completely brainwashed into keeping your house in tip top shape, and gain some other insights along the way.
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4 comments:
Wow, we seem to think quite a bit alike. I have been a (fairly halfass) flybaby for years now, and the brainwashing helps. I actually have mad skills at organizing, I LOVE organizing projects and simplifying complex things. And yet my house still stays about half done all the time because there are so many distractions I give in to.
I have only recently started to grasp that planning & organization are just as significant when it comes to health. If I don't plan what we're having for meals, we end up going out. Or like you, if I leave the dishes for a day or two it can feel overwhelming & I just opt for what seems easier.
The past few months I've made an effort to clean up the kitchen more often (even if it's 2-3 times a day), and made myself learn how to cook more than ramen. Switching to eating at home means there are just going to be more dishes to deal with, but I was stuck in a once-a-day mindset.
It's funny how fixated we become with how we do things. A few weeks ago I realized it was simpler to do my own laundry on a separate day from my husband's laundry than try to do it all at once. For close to a decade I've been annoyed at the laundry, but letting a new idea come into my head has made it easier. Marla is right, just because Mom did it that way doesn't make it the best way.
You're right too, in saying that keeping the kitchen ready to cook in makes it more likely that we'll actually cook something. For some reason, finding that I have to wash an item in order to cook with it irritates me to no end. The solution is obvious now, why did it take so long to get there?
After asking my husband if he wanted me to, I've decided to put us on a schedule for exercising. Like everything else, it will require action, not just the knowledge that exercise will make us healthier.
We've done all right with eating better, but have yet to truly exercise. I try to stay active with my photos (walking in cities,farms, forest, etc.) and I walk extra when I'm shopping or whatever, but that isn't going to help much. Clearly this is something that requires thought, planning & execution. I guess the bottom line is that if we want to be in control of our health, we have to take control and act. No one else is going to figure it out for us.
Wow, sorry for the gigantic comment. I am truly gifted at rambling.
Naomi,
R & R !
Responsibility routines. We MUST have them to simplify our lives.
It's taken me a long long time to figure that one out. And every now and then, I still forget ;-)
Great post.
Heather;
Try this; go to bed an hour earlier then usual, wake up an hour earlier then normal. Go for a 40 minute walk in the morning. During the walk, just sprint a few times and do some pushups or push-aways against a tree/pole. Try to maintain that "routine" for 14 days (rest on the weekends) and watch what happens. You will have reset your bodies need to "move".
I've always quiet liked your ramblings ;-)
Marc
Oh yea, I greatly enjoy your rambling :)Cleaning the kitchen multiple times a day really does make it more inviting to cook. As does not having science projects in your fridge xD Oh and while I think planned exercise is very important, dont underestimate simply having an active life, it makes a very big difference!During school time I would only do 1 weight session a week because I would already be moving soo much."Take control and act" I love that :)
The other thing I find is to have a go-to plan if there's nothing else. We always have carrots and a garden that grows more silverbeet than I can eat. Add some olive oil and anything else raw and fresh that happens to be in the fridge, some tinned fish (which we also always have in the back of the cupboard somewhere) and you're ready to roll.
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