My Day Off – Plans vs. Reality

If you’re a regular reader of mine you’ll know I only work (outside the home) 4 days a week.  Wednesdays are “my day off.”  I’m using quotes there because I don’t really feel like I use those days for “day off” things.

I wanted to make a post sharing my day off activities because I’d like to get more done in a day and maybe writing down all my procrastination will motivate me to do better.

The first thing I need to mention about having Wednesdays off – my kids are not at home with me.  They go to school every day of the week, though I do have them come home on the bus on Wednesdays.  This makes the hassle of getting to dance class easier!   Same goes for camp weeks in the summer.  It doesn’t make sense to try to keep them home on my single weekday off when I’ve already paid for them to be elsewhere.

Here are some of the things I plan to do on my day off without the kids around:

• Laundry – there are always at least 2 loads to do, even after doing some on the weekends.  If it’s nice out I’ll make the time to hang loads on the line, but that can be extra time consuming.
• Groceries – almost every Wednesday I go to the grocery store.  In the summer I sometimes wait and taken the kids after collecting them from camps or daycare (or taking Emma to Occupational Therapy) but during the school year I try to go first thing in the morning to avoid crowds.
• Sorting/Organizing/Throwing Crap Out – this sounds self-explanatory to me.  Last week I recycled a dozen old colouring books that had most of their pages scribbled on.  Today I went through a craft bin and got rid of a bunch of paper fragments and old ribbons and junk they’ll never use again.
• Reading – I try hard to make a dent in whatever book I’m reading, often completing a book and writing a blog review of it.
• Blogging – when the kids are not here I find it easier to focus my thoughts and (sometimes) I create 2 blog posts for the next week.  Usually one is a book review (see previous point) so that really writes itself.
• Taking a Walk – again, self-explanatory.  I put in my headphones and take a brisk 30 minute walk around the neighbourhood.
• Cleaning – bathroom wipe downs, sweep the floors, I even sometimes get out the vacuum.  I hate cleaning but I love a clean and tidy home.  Often I’m the only one in the household who will be at all concerned that there are crumbs everywhere from the muffins everyone else ate for breakfast.

And then there’s the list of what I really do:

• Take a Walk – I like to eat too much junk food so this is a good day to expend some of those extra calories, especially when I’m on summer hiatus from dance class!
• Blogging – I start a few posts, then hit save and abandon the writing in favour of time of social media.  Lots of time on social media…
• Laundry – this routinely gets done, at least the washing and drying stages.  Sometimes clothes will live, clean, in a hamper for a full week unless someone is looking for a specific item of clothing.  I combine laundry with reading because I need to do something while I wait for the clothes to dry on the clothesline!
• Reading – I can usually get half an hour in before it starts to feel like a chore with some of the indie novels I read for reviewing.  I will also use this as an opportunity to sit outside and enjoy the weather for my “quiet time” of the day.
• Groceries – I take the girls and we get milk and pick something for dinner.  Often I don’t buy more than $30 worth of “food” (including $4 worth of muffins.)
• Cleaning – I’ll deal with the breakfast dishes if I haven’t talked Patrick into doing them first, then I’ll wipe off the breakfast table.  Often that’s as far as I get (unless the crumbs-under-the-table issue is really bad.)
• Sorting/Organizing/Tidying – if I throw out some stuff from a bin, and that bin is now half empty, I’ll take some stuff that’s not already in a bin (meaning it’s taking up space on a shelf) and add it to that newly half empty bin.  Not quite the organizing standards I’d like to live up to, but I do like to hide the mess.  I wish I knew how to be more organized (or how to add extra rooms to my home…)

Related: We Have Too Much Stuff (& Tips To Get Kids Organized)

Somehow the hours on a Wednesday disappear before I feel like I’ve gotten anything done.  Laundry is always the priority, then groceries and then, let’s be honest, blogging and all it’s social media time sucking.  I like to think that spending time on my blog will pay off in the long run.  And I do love the writing and brainstorming ideas and all that.  I don’t love the photo editing or the constant need to share my posts so people will “find” them to read.

There are so many other things I’d love to do with a “day off” without kids.  Take my camera and go somewhere to practice my photography, spend time downtown or at a tourist attraction I’ve been wanting to visit, have coffee with a friend (assuming I had a few friends who also had time to go out for coffee!), or cook a fancy dinner – assuming someone would eat it, or at least be home to try it.

For now I guess I’ll just keep plodding along doing what I’m doing.  I’d love some motivation for actually following through with my big tidy-up plans (that always start so well but then fizzle into tossing things into boxes that I can hide away.)  How do you keep organized when kids bring home so much junk art?  Do you have a big enough house to hide all the kids stuff in a rec room?  I don’t, so I need tips and help to sort out my life.  Please share any ideas in the comments!  And tell me I’m not alone with my big plans and then mediocre follow through…

~Jess

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