Small Changes– Update

I have been trying some small changes to my routines. While I have not been perfect, I have fairly reliably kept up with the small changes I have attempted. My first small change involved a new wake up time. I have consistently been waking up around 5:50 am, ten minutes before my previous wake up time. I thought about trying for a 5:30 am wake up but then decided that I would have to go to bed too early in order for that to happen. I do like my sleep.

The reason for waking up so early is to be able to throw a load of laundry in before I leave for my morning walk. I was getting the laundry started just like I wanted. Then I got sick, AGAIN! This threw a small wrench into my laundry plan. Now that I am all well, I am working on catching up on my laundry so that my system of one or two loads a day will work smoothly again.

My next small change was not using paper towels. This is for everyone in our family. We have been doing this for about a month now and I have to say that I do not miss paper towels. When I decided to go paper towel less, I cut up old flannel bed sheets. I used my pinking shears so they would not ravel as much after washing. I placed the rags inside a nice tote bag that sits on my counter top. Easy to use, easy to access and even the kids have learned to use the cloth. I keep a bucket under my sink for the dirty rags and wash them in the washing machine when the bucket gets full.

I am about to begin my next small change, since these two changes have worked out so well. I am going to attempt to clear the counter on the island in my kitchen at least once a day. This island is our junk collection point. Things pile up quickly on the it, but I really like the look of a clutter free counter. So I am going to try to remember to have my kids and I  clear it off daily. My plan is to set an alarm on my phone to help us remember to get this job done.  This is going to be a hard thing to change, but I am going to attempt it anyway.