You've got (WAY too much) mail!

Sometimes I only get the chance to blog once a week. And since I can't always get up the motivation to think of a topic, it's nice to have other friends to blog with so we can take turns. I enjoy being challenged to write about stuff that might not normally come to mind and also reading everyone else's thoughts on the same topic. Blog Project 3.0 has been going on for about a year now, even though one of the group members changed after a few months. I love blogging with this group and I hope we can continue to inspire each other.

This week, Moma Rock chose the topic: What is something you're really bad at?

First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic. I will be only posting links to posts on this same topic from my group. So check back if you were hoping to read their blogs and don't see a link yet.

Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock

Right around the time we got our topic from Moma Rock, I received this fortune at a Chinese restaurant.

I thought it was fitting, since I can't really change something unless I'm aware of the problem to begin with. Well, I've been aware of my burgeoning inbox over at my Gmail account and have been loath to do anything about it. I've been hoarding e-mails there since late May of 2006, starting with a message from my friend Denise (NOT Darwin Shrugged), where we were joking about John Krasinski for some reason.

The amount of new mail in my inbox is only half of the total amount. My older son will look at my inbox sometimes and make fun of how many messages I have not opened yet. You'll also notice the folder called "Ads," which is where I have mail sent if it's for Groupon, magazine subscriptions, Goldstar tickets, etc. I could easily empty this mailbox, and I just never seem to get around to it.

The amount listed for my inbox was from Sunday. It has gone up to 10,849 as of this past Wednesday at 4:20 pm.

And here's the total amount of messages in my inbox. Brace yourselves...this is NOT pretty!

Having said all this, something I'm REALLY bad at is managing my e-mail. I not only have this account, but also three Gmail accounts related to my book blog (why I don't condense some, I will never know). In addition to that, I have a Yahoo account I rarely ever check unless I need to post something to a listserv I'm connected to there so that it doesn't clog up my Gmail account. There's also my Facebook Messenger inbox, which is quite a mess. And finally, my work e-mail, which I won't even try to make you anxious about.

Now that I'm aware of this problem, I realize there are some changes I need to make. I'm going to first start with my personal Gmail account. 

1. I'm going to go back to messages from years ago and just dump anything that doesn't have a picture attached to it. I'll do it in small groups as to not get overwhelmed.

2. I'm going to clean out my "Ads" folder, even if it's just deleting 100 a day. Again, small groups.

3. I'm going to create some folders into which I can place certain messages. I have a "follow up" folder for messages I know I need to reply to soon. 

4. I'm going to send anything book blog related to one of my book blog accounts to answer over there.

5. I'm going to unsubscribe from companies that send me ads that I don't even care to open anyway. (This will also be done in small groups.)

I think five is a good set of steps to start with. I will report back in a month to let you know where I'm at with this progress. I need someone to hold me accountable for inbox organization, and who better to do it than my readers! Here's hoping I'll actually be able to conquer these tasks! Wish me luck.

Physical embodiment of where my e-mails should go.

My laundry list

Remember the blog project I did in 2010 with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!

This week, Mom of Many picked the topic: What are your goals for next month?


Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:
Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

With the holidays going on, things have been rather hectic. However, it's nice to put goals into perspective sometimes. I really can't concentrate on much until the holidays are done for good, but I've put together a list of some things I'd like to get accomplished over the next month.

1. Read and review books I've promised scheduled reviews for at my book blog. Also read the book for the book club meeting at the end of the month.

2. Clean and organize in the house. I may not get to all the rooms, but I'd like to get to at least two. I need to go through clutter and my closet could use a major overhaul!

3. Start my entry for this magazine contest that ends in early December.

4. Get ahead of the game on book blog posts so I'm not rushing last minute all the time.

5. Catch up more on The Big Bang Theory.

6. Actually put away laundry. (Makes sense that this goal would be on a laundry list.)

7. Go costume shopping at the thrift store. They have cute Halloween costumes at really low prices and the kids use them for dress-up.

8. Work more with the pie crust recipe so it's perfected in time for Thanksgiving (my BFF needs to send it to me though).

9. Get on top of miscellaneous work items that have taken a back seat due to all the other stuff going on.

10. Enjoy autumn. Now that the weather is getting nicer and the leaves are going to change, I don't want to be stuck indoors all the time.

I'm sure there are plenty of more items for this list, but I just don't have time to think of them!

Indebted to FlyLady for life!

FlyLady had a daily objective of cleaning out the car. I decided to follow this objective and ended up finding my older son's kipah! It's this kipah we got him prior to his upsherin (which has his name on it in Hebrew) and thought he had lost in the move last August. I was so excited to find it again! De-cluttering is really amazing. :) I still have to tackle the basement and utility room and need a game plan for both. I'm procrastinating on them as it is. :P

Bedroom Eyes

Tonight I tackled the master bedroom to the tunes of Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and other alternative and grunge bands of the 90's. I put all my clothes away and put my husband's clothes aside for him to sort and put where he wants. I went through my closet and some drawers and even found some things I was looking for (such as one of my favorite hats). I got distracted for a few minutes by an old journal (in which I don't even recognize my own handwriting). It focused a lot on something that I'll be blogging about this Thursday. I also put aside a few things for freecycling, but less than I expected. I did freecycle some clothes earlier this evening, so that was nice. There was so much demand for the clothes!

I know I need to straighten up the guest room soon because my parents will be here starting Thursday evening. The utility room is a week-long project though. I don't even know where to start in there!

The kitchen still looks good. My husband washed some dishes, but there are still some more to tackle. I hope to get to them tomorrow.

Heaven's Kitchen

The kitchen is now organized (thanks to Little Miss Obsessive) and it smells of delicious vegetable soup (thanks to my fantastic cook of a husband). :) I still need to wash dairy and pareve dishes, but I'm stuck until the dishwasher is finished because I have to move more meat dishes out of the sink and into there first. I put away the dairy dishes that were on the drying rack though. I also found the time to organize my bag for work so it won't be as heavy and I'll be able to find things. :)

I can't decide which room to tackle next. I think our bedroom could use some work. I still have to put away the boys' laundry too.

I haven't really found much to freecycle yet. Most of the stuff in the kitchen was stale crackers and little pieces of junk that could easily be tossed in the trash. I think other rooms will provide more to actually give away. I'm just glad that I have less chometz to pack away now. :)

In any case, I'm proud of the work I accomplished tonight. I can actually see the counters and window area now!

Fly Lady, Fly

I know that Passover is around the corner (and you will see a related post about it soon), and everyone seems to talk about cleaning the house in preparation. I keep telling myself that it’s as easy as having our cleaning lady over a few days prior and packing up all the chometz in the house to “sell” (or eating a lot more so there’s less to pack). A friend of mine keeps a blog about how she is de-cluttering her home. Someone had suggested that she check out FlyLady.net to help herself get more organized.

As a result of this suggestion, I decided to check out the site and see what the deal was. To anyone first checking it out, it looks extremely overwhelming. However, I decided to sign up as a beginner and get all the e-mails in digest format. There’s a disclaimer that you should never try to catch up and just pick up from wherever the process is when you first get the e-mails. They don’t want to overwhelm new readers in any way. I find a lot of validity in what is being presented, but I still need some self-motivation. I’ve decided to tackle the house one room at a time. I am planning to start with the kitchen since that’s the most cluttered room of the house. Even more cluttered than our bedroom or the utility room, in my opinion. Sometimes our weekly sitter will help straighten up in the kitchen, but it ends up becoming a disaster anyway. I need to figure out a new system soon! It doesn’t help that there’s a giant box amidst all the clutter. This box is our new oven and it will be installed a week and a half before Pesach. I don’t know if that will throw off our non-Pesach cooking, but I guess we won’t have pizza in there for a while, unless it’s made of matzah!

Also, I recently received an e-mail requesting items for a Jewish community in Ukraine. Great way to de-clutter and also perform a mitzvah. I think Hashem wanted this all to come together (my need for organization and this mitzvah opportunity that happened to stand out to me from all my other e-mails).

Anyway, FlyLady thinks that 15 minutes is enough time each day to tackle the room or area of the week. I am obsessive and need to get it all done in one straight shot, if possible. I’ll put on Pandora radio and get cracking. I’m going to attempt this while my husband is in the middle of making Journey’s End soup, but there’s room in the kitchen for both of us. It will be nice to have his company during my “mission.” Wish me luck!