I admit it, I stole the “Works for Me Wednesday” idea. I thought it was cool and way more do-able for me than “Wordless Wednesday” where you just post a photo with a short sentence. You know I can’t write just a short sentence, and you don’t even want to know now many poor sad photos are waiting for me to edit them! Trust me – you really don’t want to know, it’s depressing. Anyway, without further ado – my first Works for Me Wednesday post! (Cue applause…)
I often get asked “How do you do it all?” when people hear that I have six kids, run a daycare and a diaper business, plus direct handbells and band. To be honest, most days I don’t have a clue, but with my good friend 10 by my side I somehow manage.
10 is a powerful number that makes things happen around here! For instance, when I’m getting ready for work the bathroom counter top is usually littered with toothbrushes, Little Guy’s newest obsession is “brushing” his teeth, and he’s not picky about whose toothbrush he uses. ribbons, barrettes, curling irons, make up, and other girly stuff from Princess and Angel Face, plus the random toys that seem to find their way into the bathroom. Since when do Rescue Heroes live in the potpourri basket?! It’s a mess, but I’ve discovered that if I put away at least 10 items every morning it makes a big difference! I usually start with the biggest things to clear the biggest space, and save time by doing it while I’m brushing my teeth. Smart, huh?
10 works with the kids too. When it’s clean-up time I’ll ask them to find and put away 10 things that are small, 10 things that are big, 10 things that are hard and 10 things that are soft. 10 may not sound like a lot, but 10 x 4 = 40 and 40 x the number of kids you have really adds up! Other times I’ll set the timer for 10 minutes and challenge the kids to race the timer, cleaning up a certain room before it beeps. If they win they get a treat like a piece of candy, cookie or extra TV time. Bribes aren’t bad for kids, really! Adults don’t work just for fun; we expect a paycheck, right? Same thing.
10 minutes on a timer works for me when I’m faced with a chore I don’t especially like to do – such as tackling the never-ending mountain of laundry waiting to be folded. Generally I can fold a load of laundry in 10 minutes so I’ll set the timer and when it beeps I get 10 minutes of something I want to do – like check my email! If I finish the chore in less than 10 minutes I get to add the unused minutes to my 10 minutes of fun. Talk about motivating myself to work fast! It also keeps me on task; otherwise I tend to get distracted and start puttering around at something totally unnecessary.
10 isn’t always my friend, however. I don’t know why, but I have a bad habit of thinking it’ll only take me 10 minutes to drive wherever I’m going. Obviously that’s not realistic but I can never get my butt out of the door earlier. Sometimes I can there in just 10 minutes anyway – shhh, don’t tell the police!
10 is hopefully going to help me lose these last 10 baby pounds. How ironic is that – 10 pounds to lose. My goal is to spend 10 minute intervals exercising during the day. Maybe alternating crunches and squats or climbing up and down the stairs. Hurts just thinking about it! My goal is to lose those 10 pounds before my 10 x 4 birthday, which is in less than 10 weeks. I’d better get a-moving! Oh jeez, now I’ve put it in print I’ll have to do it or look like an idiot. What have I done?! Cross all your 10 fingers and toes for me!
