I realize I've started to let the very things I omitted from my weekends creep back in: laundry and cooking.
The Google definition of weekend: the period from Friday evening through Sunday evening, especially regarded as a time for leisure.
I highlighted the operative phrase within this definition. It is everything I've been missing.
A few Saturdays ago I noticed I was, wait for it...doing laundry! A Saturday before that and thereafter I was, wait for it...cooking- Friday, Saturday, and some Sundays! Now wait just a friggin minute!
I decided some time ago that 1: I'm not cooking on weekends. I'm "taking off" Fridays and Saturdays. I MIGHT cook a big meal on Sundays...MIGHT. And 2: I'm not doing laundry on weekends: washing, drying, folding, hanging, and putting away. All that consumes an entire day! So I said to myself, "Uh, hello. WHAT am I doing?"
Let's just be naked-
Who's going to gather the clothes from the living room, dirty kitchen towels, socks from the mudroom? How and why are socks in the mudroom? Who's removing the dirty duds from the hall bath? The laundry room is two feet away! How will Mr. B's clothes from the bedroom and bathroom floors get picked up? Oh, and how could I forget random clothes (hats, scarves, t-shirts...) from the garage? With random clothes left everywhere you'd think we were a house full of butt-naked people. Hard sigh.
I used to save all the laundry for the weekends. My thought of doing this was to save time during the week. Also, I thought I was saving on the water bill and detergent. Considering weekdays versus weekends it all 'washes out' (pun intended). Being aware laundry was stealing my weekends, I began taking care of it throughout the week. At first I was doing the full duty of washing, drying, folding, and putting the items away all in the same day. Well, that didn't work because there went the rest of the day. Bedtimes became furious.
Now, I wash, dry, and dump it in a bin. I fold and put it away the same day or another weekday, striving to be done by Friday. After reading the Google definition of "weekend" and to see that mine should begin Friday evening, I only finish Mr. B's work uniforms. If anything else remains, I'll see ya Monday. I don't know why I only considered weekends to be Saturday and Sunday. Maybe it was because I still WORKED on Fridays. And Sundays are another 'wash' (another pun intended) because after church you're spending the rest of the day preparing for Monday. Whew.
Mr. B would say (and still does), "I don't know if you've washed, but I don't have any underwear or work socks." My reply, "It's in the bin of clean laundry- Grab a pair out of the bin- I've done laundry- It's in the bin- I just haven't folded and put anything away yet, but it's in the bin." What's the operative phrase here? Right. "It's in the bin!" I'm not pulling anything out of it either. It's clean and dry and in one visible location. Go for it!
I'm no on-demand chef-
Every Friday I'd walk in the house and would get the same greeting from my husband and/ or the kids, "What's for dinner? What are we eating tonight?" There's never a question of "Are you cooking? Do you feel like cooking? How 'bout I cook tonight? Let's order out tonight?" Seriously? I haven't even put my bags down yet! I've barely made it through the door!
I always had some type of meal available every day, even if leftovers. I USED to call Fridays buffet nights. My Mom always said "Men don't like leftovers. They just don't eat em." WHY did I ever repeat that in front of my husband and sons? Surely, they began to not eat the leftovers and they'd go bad, wasting food and money. For lunch, I began to take as many leftovers to work as I could, all to avoid such waste. If I don't eat them, no one will. I took on the guilt of their selfishness.
Then I turned Fridays into 'fun food Fridays', cooking hot dogs, burgers, or just something quick and fun. That is over now and regardless of my Mom's leftover mantra (air quotes), I don't care if leftovers are eaten or not. Everyone's old enough to fend for themselves AT LEAST for the weekend. Yes, even the 12 year old can do so. I keep cereal and instant noodles on hand; two of the best self-serve meals out there. Those are at least two options. Now, one dare asks me if I'm cooking on Fridays. Humph.
I'm done-
So a big fat notice has gone to my two time thieves that tried to creep back into my weekends: laundry & cooking. I had to cut the brakes and let them crash back into my weekdays. My time is just that, MY time. If I don't take hold of it and manage it myself others will and will do so to the best of THEIR benefit. Beware, this is not only for family. Others will misuse it to the max as well, wait on it to recover, then will steal it all over again. Why? Because I allowed it to happen.
The moral of this story is-
It's like putting a houseplant outside to get some sun, the sun
burns the plant, you bring it back inside to recover, then you put it back outside, all for the same thing to happen. At some point and even at the first instance, the plant will die. Now, who handled the plant in the first place? Who handles YOUR time? Think about it...slow wink.
The Google definition of weekend: the period from Friday evening through Sunday evening, especially regarded as a time for leisure.
I highlighted the operative phrase within this definition. It is everything I've been missing.
A few Saturdays ago I noticed I was, wait for it...doing laundry! A Saturday before that and thereafter I was, wait for it...cooking- Friday, Saturday, and some Sundays! Now wait just a friggin minute!
I decided some time ago that 1: I'm not cooking on weekends. I'm "taking off" Fridays and Saturdays. I MIGHT cook a big meal on Sundays...MIGHT. And 2: I'm not doing laundry on weekends: washing, drying, folding, hanging, and putting away. All that consumes an entire day! So I said to myself, "Uh, hello. WHAT am I doing?"
Let's just be naked-
Who's going to gather the clothes from the living room, dirty kitchen towels, socks from the mudroom? How and why are socks in the mudroom? Who's removing the dirty duds from the hall bath? The laundry room is two feet away! How will Mr. B's clothes from the bedroom and bathroom floors get picked up? Oh, and how could I forget random clothes (hats, scarves, t-shirts...) from the garage? With random clothes left everywhere you'd think we were a house full of butt-naked people. Hard sigh.
I used to save all the laundry for the weekends. My thought of doing this was to save time during the week. Also, I thought I was saving on the water bill and detergent. Considering weekdays versus weekends it all 'washes out' (pun intended). Being aware laundry was stealing my weekends, I began taking care of it throughout the week. At first I was doing the full duty of washing, drying, folding, and putting the items away all in the same day. Well, that didn't work because there went the rest of the day. Bedtimes became furious.
Now, I wash, dry, and dump it in a bin. I fold and put it away the same day or another weekday, striving to be done by Friday. After reading the Google definition of "weekend" and to see that mine should begin Friday evening, I only finish Mr. B's work uniforms. If anything else remains, I'll see ya Monday. I don't know why I only considered weekends to be Saturday and Sunday. Maybe it was because I still WORKED on Fridays. And Sundays are another 'wash' (another pun intended) because after church you're spending the rest of the day preparing for Monday. Whew.
Mr. B would say (and still does), "I don't know if you've washed, but I don't have any underwear or work socks." My reply, "It's in the bin of clean laundry- Grab a pair out of the bin- I've done laundry- It's in the bin- I just haven't folded and put anything away yet, but it's in the bin." What's the operative phrase here? Right. "It's in the bin!" I'm not pulling anything out of it either. It's clean and dry and in one visible location. Go for it!
I'm no on-demand chef-
Every Friday I'd walk in the house and would get the same greeting from my husband and/ or the kids, "What's for dinner? What are we eating tonight?" There's never a question of "Are you cooking? Do you feel like cooking? How 'bout I cook tonight? Let's order out tonight?" Seriously? I haven't even put my bags down yet! I've barely made it through the door!
I always had some type of meal available every day, even if leftovers. I USED to call Fridays buffet nights. My Mom always said "Men don't like leftovers. They just don't eat em." WHY did I ever repeat that in front of my husband and sons? Surely, they began to not eat the leftovers and they'd go bad, wasting food and money. For lunch, I began to take as many leftovers to work as I could, all to avoid such waste. If I don't eat them, no one will. I took on the guilt of their selfishness.
Then I turned Fridays into 'fun food Fridays', cooking hot dogs, burgers, or just something quick and fun. That is over now and regardless of my Mom's leftover mantra (air quotes), I don't care if leftovers are eaten or not. Everyone's old enough to fend for themselves AT LEAST for the weekend. Yes, even the 12 year old can do so. I keep cereal and instant noodles on hand; two of the best self-serve meals out there. Those are at least two options. Now, one dare asks me if I'm cooking on Fridays. Humph.
I'm done-
So a big fat notice has gone to my two time thieves that tried to creep back into my weekends: laundry & cooking. I had to cut the brakes and let them crash back into my weekdays. My time is just that, MY time. If I don't take hold of it and manage it myself others will and will do so to the best of THEIR benefit. Beware, this is not only for family. Others will misuse it to the max as well, wait on it to recover, then will steal it all over again. Why? Because I allowed it to happen.
The moral of this story is-
It's like putting a houseplant outside to get some sun, the sun
burns the plant, you bring it back inside to recover, then you put it back outside, all for the same thing to happen. At some point and even at the first instance, the plant will die. Now, who handled the plant in the first place? Who handles YOUR time? Think about it...slow wink.
Oh man I feel your pain! This post came right on time for me and good to know I'm not the only one suffering the "weekend-less blues"
ReplyDeleteOf course you're not the only one, CGPlenty! There are others out there, but individually, as we both know, we must snatch back our time, thereby snatching back ourselves. No one can take care of YOU like YOU can.
DeleteSo, my wine bottles will go (from) inside the cabinet above the 'fridge (into) my project room. #easyaccess