PM Schedules

No, this is not a post about my sleeping habits, crazy dreams, or things that go bump in the night (like me when I run into the bedroom door...another story for another time).  This is about preventative maintenance (aka pm).  As Head of Maintenance for LAG Interiors, I am trying to draft the best pm schedule for my crew.  As I stated in my last post, the goal of pm is to keep things running by doing a few quick tasks that will prevent the need for longer, more involved repairs.  In comtemplating my pm schedule, I have been identifing the areas of my house that are most often in need of repair....the bar in the kitchen and the dishes, the laundry, the school room, the children's rooms, the bathrooms, and the trash...maybe I should say THE TRASH...RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!!!  

And then there are the "secret sins."   The parts of our lives most people don't see like the fridge that gets in bad shape almost overnight, the closets where clothes seemingly cower on the floor,  and I really think goblins break into my vehicle at night wreaking havoc!!

These are the areas I need to regularly maintain.  I don't want these pm's to take all day, and I don't think it is entirely up to me to get them all done.  This is what I am going to try.

For myself

1. A daily load of laundry washed, dried, folded, and put away (with help on this last step)
2. Load the dishwasher throughout the day, running when it is full and at night even if it is not full
3. 10 minute pick ups in the school room, kitchen, and my room and bathroom
4. 10 minute cleansing of my secret sin

For my children

1. Unload the dishwasher every morning
2. 10 minute pick ups in their bathrooms
3. Make beds 
4. Pick up rooms before bath time

For my spousal unit

1. Burn the trash daily

What do you think?  Have I forgotten something?  What do you do at your house?  I think it will take about an hour (more or less) to complete all of these items.  More as I train the crew, but hopefully less as we get more proficient.   So here we go! Wish me luck, I have a staff meeting in a few minutes where I will lay out the new plan.   I'll let you know how it goes in a few weeks.

Head of Maintenance

I am married to a maintenance man, and yes, you should be very jealous!  He fixes what breaks.  And while that means I haven't gotten a new washer and dryer yet, that means I haven't HAD to get a new washer or dryer.   While I admire his ability to fix what is broken, he has taught me that a maintenance man's most important job is to maintain equipment so that it won't break in the first place.  It is a frustration when various disturbances cause him not to be able to preform the preventative maintenance he needs to do at work.  And when something breaks because of a lack of preventative maintenance......well, the grumbling would put a teenage boy's stomach to shame.

I have realized that my housework is much the same.  I can fix what is broken, when I have to, but the most important use of my time (houseworkily speaking) is in preventative measures. If I spend a few minutes every day picking up, then it won't take me 3 hours on Saturday morning to get the floors clean enough to mop.   If I will run the dishwasher every night, and empty it first thing every morning, then I won't have to search though bowls of  gloopy slime to find the offensive odor.  If I would clean out my fridge 5 minutes a day, I will never have to worry about the science experiment in the back. (Science will have to get along without me.)

You get the idea; but what is really the aha factor for me is the effect on my attitude.  When I am doing housework as preventative maintenance. it is usually enjoyable.  At the worse, it is a minor bother, quickly taken care of.  However, when I am doing housework that is a result of a LACK of preventative maintenance.....I grumble, I complain, I get angry and frustrated.  Hmmmmm, my course of action seems pretty logical, doesn't it.

And so, without further ado, I would like to introduce myself as the new Head of Maintenance for LAG Interiors.  I hope the crew likes their new boss!!

More Than Survival

I have gotten into the bad habit of saying I am surviving.

"How are you doing, today?"
"Oh, I'm surviving."

"How was it having your whole family in for a visit?"
"I survived it."

"What's it like raising your very own Tasmanian devil?"
"I hope I'll survive it."

"How about raising a drama queen?"
"I'll never survive it"

What an awful attitude!!  It was startling to me when I realized this is who I had become, because it is not who I feel myself to be.  Deep down, I love my life.  I have just allowed negativity to dominate my thoughts and speech, to the point that inside my head, negativity has become a habit.  And it keeps popping out of my mouth!

So my new resolve is to make my life about more than survival:  to not be a housewife, but a homemaker; not a mother, but a mamma;  not a spouse, but a wife;  not an acquaintance, but a friend.  You can see this is quite an undertaking, and I am hoping this blog will help me.  I hope to record some of the steps I will take in the pursuit of these goals.  I hope to record realizations I come to, as I change my ways.  Most of all, I am hoping that this blog becomes a journal of my transformation from a woman who is just surviving, to one who is flourishing.  I have been richly blessed, and it would be a real shame to not relish these blessings.

So that is what I want to blog about.  That is what I am hoping you will comment on, because I know myself well enough to know this; if I attempt to do this privately, on my own, I will fail.  I need to be held accountable.  I need to be praised.  But, most importantly, I need your prayers.

I must be crazy!

I have been thinking of starting my own blog for quite some time.  I have talked to some friends about it, I have talked to my husband, I have talked to myself......I talk a lot!  But I didn't think I had anything of importance to say.  Why have a blog?  What message did I have that others would care to read?  Who was I to speak as an authority on anything to anyone?   Did you see my profile pic?  Does this lady really look like she knows anything profound?

Then I realized that speaking to others was not the reason I wanted a blog, but rather to speak to myself where others could hear.  You see, I am a person who craves interaction.  It is not enough for me to think something.  I want to...need to?....long to know what others think about what I am thinking.  Curiosity?  Nosiness?  A need for approval?  Perhaps.  Mostly a desire to feel like I am not the only one; a need for comrades. People who have thought about the same things, whether they agree or not.  People to challenge me to look deeper, better, differently.  People to help me THINK.

So, if you find this blog, please comment. To read your comments is the reason I am doing this.  And if you don't comment......I will be cast into the sea of despair, where waves of hopelessness will overwhelm me.  Or maybe I'll just call my Mom.