This photo is from a recent picnic in our woods!
Here in the US, today starts the Memorial Day weekend, in which we remember those who have served our country with their lives. Traditionally, people use the weekend to travel, visit friends and family or just picnic on Monday, the official holiday. We don't have any real special plans, except that we will have to work through much of it because of a tight deadline. However, our college kids will be here and G.T. has Friday and Monday off so we will try and make it a fun weekend for everyone.
Any holiday, even casual ones like this one, can cause some frustration. When everyone is in the spirit of Time Off, no one feels inclined to do any work. Half way through it you look around and can't believe the mess! Cups and bowls, chip bags and dirty socks all left out because it's a party, man. It's tempting to give up and just deal with it when it's all over, but by then the task will be huge.
Today's Small Thing is to prepare for the weekend by doing a little bit of pre-fun preparation. Spend a few minutes in each of your main rooms picking up and straightening before the rest of the weekend gets underway. I'm going to make sure I have clean dishes to START with, so we aren't having to dig through the dishwasher for something to drink out of. I'm also going to put away the laundry that's been sitting in the living room for two days. I'll run a vacuum over the carpet.
I know our house will have the lived-in look for the next few days. But I want to enjoy the holiday weekend without being grumpy about it. By starting with a fresh, picked-up house, maybe there's a chance it will stay neater because I'm just a little bit ahead of the mess. And when I start with "clean" it is easier for the troops to see what it "should" look like, even if they are in the weekend mode.
POINTS: 40 for some pre-weekend preparation - a few minutes of focused picking up will work MAGIC!
BONUS: 20 for enlisting the help of other able-bodied people in the house (2 year olds AND teenagers can carry something to where it belongs....why do it all yourself?)
60 pts max
