Time for a New Approach and Evaluation

It’s time for a new approach!  I need some new goals and some new motivation.

At work, we learned about using the SMART approach to solving a problem and my house is a big problem!! So here goes….

S – Specific – The house will be broken down into 16 zones and I will spend a week on each zone getting rid of at least 30 things from each zone.  At the end of the week, I will make a list of what still needs to be done in each room.

M – Measurable – 30 things from each zone for a total of right around 500 things.

A – Achievable – This is definitely achievable.  I’m keeping it low key on purpose.

R – Realistic – I think it’s realistic.  I’m not looking to finish anything, just get rid of things and evaluate what updates need to be done in each room.  Some weeks I’ll have more time than others and if I don’t get to 30 things, I’m not going to beat myself up.

T – Timely – 4 months is kind of a long time but it’s not too long.  I feel like within that timeframe, I’ll be able to really figure out what needs the most attention (besides the entire house).

Here are the zones:

1. Front yard
2. Porch
3. Living Room
4. Bathroom
5. Dining Room
6. Kitchen
7. Upstairs hallway
8. Upstairs bathroom
9. Bedroom 1
10. Bedroom 2
11. Storage room
12. Attic room
13. Bedroom 4
14. Basement stairs
15. Basement
16. Garage

I’ve already started working on the front yard.  I haven’t gotten rid of any things yet but I’ve cut down at least 30 branches and cut the grass.  The black raspberry patch had some dead branches in it so I cleared those out.  After doing that, I picked a bowl full of the black raspberries and then did some weed whacking.  That’s all yard work that I don’t mind doing but I’m procrastinating on the actual stuff that’s in the yard.  There’s a trailer full of random things that I don’t want to deal with.  Maybe tomorrow I’ll work on getting 6 things out of there.

So there you have it – the new plan!  This is more of a plan to re-evaluate what’s working and what isn’t in this struggle to de-clutter the house.  I hope everyone else is doing well with their efforts!