The Vicky Challenge. Getting more done in a day.

Last weeks Vicky Challenge was great mainly due to all the painting that happened here. I had checked on the prices of having this kind of work done professionally I know I saved a lot and probably much more than I wrote in my savings book.

I wrote in my usual $100 for all the lunches.
And $500 for all the painting.

My helper for three whole days, Allie.

Yay! My white front fence (painted before I ruined my arm!)  And now the house actually goes with it! 

I can't show what the whole house looks like as the verandah is still covered in painting junk and mess and the front door isn't painted yet!

But you can see there is really nice lace work and a lot of carving and moulding which I love. It was all just really dark and dingy before.

This week I will get the front door done and then stand back and take a picture of the whole effect! 

I also counted$150 for the fixing and doing up of a window. Andy did the fixing, I did the painting after that.

This was in the living room. Now that is another area that is finished! So all up it was a really good week. Over the weekend I felt as if I had been run over by a truck. I was so tired it was pitiful!


My savings subject this week is about getting more done in your day. All the things we want to do and ways to get ahead and save all take time and effort. Actually finding time to do many things is a big factor. Whether it is making lunches the night before or painting the whole house you first have to find time to do it!
This is a massive subject. And we have to be realistic too. Sometimes it is about using time more efficiently and sometimes it is about cutting less important things in order to do more important things.
I wrote a post a while back called Your Time. This is a good place to start since everyone is short of time many people would like some of yours!

Several ladies asked about a comment Glenda made regarding her five extra things challenge. So I asked Glenda if she could explain it further. This is Glenda's way of getting more done in her day...

 Annabel, asked me to write about the five extra things I do per day. I am honored to share with this wonderful group of ladies. You all inspire me to keep trying and to be more productive. As we age we tend to slow down and health issues, sometimes, can drag us down and make us less productive than we can actually be. You are all a blessing to me and I love reading about your accomplishments and seeing your creativity in posts.

    The five extra things per day challenge came about, for me, because I felt I was wandering instead of being as focused as I should be on details. This was foreign to me and not how I, at all, ran my household in past years, prior to my husband's retirement. I prayed about it and the result was five things extra I could do each day that helped move things forward and helped me feel more productive.

   In addition to my normal daily chores of laundry, cooking, and cleaning, I write down five small things that can be done in a limited amount of time. These five things contribute to one of the overall main duties in my life, such as, cleaning, cooking/baking, sewing, household accounts, preserving/food storage/preparing. There are other areas that I have to address, such as, Social relationships, Holidays/gifts, Redecorating/Painting, etc. I consider those, also, when writing down the five extra things per day.

   I try to do six lists of five things, at the beginning of each week. That way, my days are already lined out and I don't have to mentally think that I have so much to do and am not getting anywhere. I am motivated by productivity and seeing something accomplished; yet, I have a very high stress level and feel like I should be on top of absolutely everything all the time. In reality, this isn't a possibility for anyone, so the five things satisfies both those issues for me; I am being productive in small increments and I am attempting to stay on top of the areas I am responsible for in our household. 

   None of my five things on the lists take a lot of time, but they are the types of things that can weigh on a person and can be an annoyance. Here's a couple of my lists:

*Clean out drawer's in both sofa tables

* Write or call a cousin [all my cousins are in their 70's and over]

* Text a friend to see if they can meet for breakfast

* Iron the washed curtains

* Dust out the drawers in the stoves

__________________________

*Clean out the cleaning closet

* Wash the dog bowls

* Clean out one long drawer in our dresser

* Wash patio doors and front glass door

* Cut lavender and hang it to dry

   None of these items take very long, but will help in the overall scheme of keeping the house cleaned and getting things done in a timely manner. When looking at things, such as Fall Cleaning, people tend to get overwhelmed, because it encompasses so much. I don't do seasonal cleaning any longer, I work on areas year around, so the house stays reasonably clean. 

   For instance, instead of doing an entire room for Fall Cleaning, I break the rooms down into my five extra items. Dusting and washing trim in one room doesn't take a lot of time, but gets the job done. The next day, I might wash the window in that room. The goal is to not overwhelm yourself, feel burdened, feel stressed, or to feel frozen because there is so much to do, not enough time, and where does a person start. 

   I hope these tips help someone who, like me, can get overwhelmed with so much to do. We are all at different times in our lives and busy ladies taking care of our homes and families. For those of us who are older, we might experience quicker fatigue and battle chronic health issues, while the younger ladies might have children, possibly home schooling, or a job, in addition to their home work. Bites sized pieces are much easier to chew and digest, even when it comes to running one's
home :).

Love and hugs,

Glenda

Thank you so much Glenda. It is really interesting to see how there are different ways we can get more done. Next week I am going to share mine. 

So over to you... how did you go with your savings/ Vicky Challenge last week?

And how do you get more done in your day, week and year? If we share the ways that work for us I think we might help each other a lot. Sometimes it is one sneaky little tip that makes a world of difference.

I hope you have a really good week! Today I am going to Aldi and I hope to finish undercoating my front door and screen.  Then I am ready to paint it the final colour! Very excited about this as it is the last step to a whole new front of the house! It already looks like a different place! I love it already but the colour I have is so beautiful to me. I can't stop looking at it, it is delicious!  I said this to Vicky and she understood saying how a colour you just adore makes you feel so good and happy.  Even painting it on will be a joy so I guess that means I chose a good colour for me! xxx