Ideas? Sorted. Now? Action.

On Wednesday, we talked about doing a "brain dump" and I promised to show an example of how I use these to get myself in order.
And today, that's just what we're going to talk about - the part that comes after the brain dump.

The most recent big brain dump I did was last Thursday, after writing about how horrible my house is right now. I went through all the comments you guys left (thank you!) and took notes. I also wrote out things I wanted to clean up, a few quotes I found that went along with this theme perfectly, and a few observations about why I figure my situation is the way it is.

I used cute paper, because things (such as cleaning) sometimes need a dash of cuteness to help the process along!

I ended up with quite a few notes, and set them aside. I knew I wasn't done yet with the process, but needed some time to stew on it, so to speak. Sometimes, even after getting it all out of your head, it's just not ready to jump in - and that's ok.

But I'm so very glad I did wait, because Kikki showed up Friday (the 16th).

Kikki is a Kikki-K planner, in their "small" size (which is equivalent to a Pocket-sized Filofax) in the "textured mint" variety.
(Also, no, I'm not imaginative with my names, but half the name is part of an inside joke between me and the Mister, so it works in multiple ways.)

From all the notes I had taken, I realized that I needed to be more...Efficient? Pro-active? Constant? Motivated? Reminded?...about my home.
I needed to set up a few new routines, keep a running list of projects I wanted to tackle, and just basically have a way to be more accountable with myself.

I looked at Kikki. And then my notes. back through Kikki, and back to my notes.

An almost giant light bulb went off over my head.
It was meant to be.

I hadn't decided yet what to use such a tiny planner for, but it came with a set of 2015 week-on-2-page inserts, that were lined even! The pages were tiny, but after thinking it through for a minute, I realized they would be just right for what I intended to do.

Kikki was going to become my home binder.
I've already filled it in with the basics, and have a few things to add here and there still, but the majority of what I need is here.

And of course, this wouldn't be a proper post without explaining what I came up with.

The list is fundamental to this process, so it's noted with a kitty page flag.
It is everything I need to be doing on a daily basis. So far, it's pretty simple, but I hear that's how one needs to start these kinds of things!

• Dishes have to be done before my scripture study at night. Pots and pans can be soaked, but other than that, the sink must be empty.


• Laundry has to be folded before bed. If I do laundry, it needs to go through the whole process in one day - wash, dry, fold, and put away.


• Garbage needs to be taken out when I leave the house, whether when we walk the dogs, or when I go and check the mail. If I'm leaving out the front door, and there's something to take out the dumpster, do it!


• Unload the dishwasher first thing in the morning. Since the dishes are done at night, the dishwasher can be ran right then, and they can stand to sit in there overnight, but it needs to be unloaded in the morning.


• Spend 30 minutes a day doing a pick-up around the house. Doesn't have to be all at once, just a total of 30 minutes a day.

And then, for the actual pages, I'm writing everything that I'm doing so far as cleaning for the day. And I mean everything. If I do two batches of dishes, I write dishes twice. If I do two loads of laundry, write it twice. It may seem a bit excessive, but I honestly enjoy keeping track of things. I'm a list-er, and an information tracker - so this tickles my fancy quite a bit!
I've also been adding stickers and washi tape, because everything that's a bit less-fun (like cleaning) becomes more entertaining with pretty colors.

In the back, I have a list of projects I want to be doing, and am checking them off as I go along. Since this is also important, it gets a kitty page flag as well.
I know every solution I think up may not work, and I've noted as such when I've tried them out. But so long as I'm writing down things that I want to be doing, and checking it often, I'm more likely to actually get something done. If I keep it all in my head, I will purposefully not think of it - i.e., how my house has gotten to where it is right now.

My original list took about an hour.
Setting up Kikki took maybe 15 minutes.
From a few notes to a full new system, in less than an hour and a half. And all because I made the effort to do a brain dump. I had my ideas ready to go, I just needed a way to put them in motion. Once I found that idea (Kikki), getting them started was that much easier.

I'm not saying that every time you do a brain dump the results will be awesome.

But I am saying that it's much easier to get to the awesome results if you allow yourself the chance to figure everything out first. Ideas come easier when you've gotten the "fluff" out of the way. I promise.

~Havok

{edit 1/26/15: Linking up on Your Designs This Time}
{edit 1/27/15: Linking up on Dream.Create.Inspire.}
{edit 1/29/15: Linking up to Inspiration Spotlight