Ann Leach

Every day, I struggle with how to plan and execute my day. Crazy, right?  I know.  I'm a SAHM. All I have to do is some housework and play with my daughter. It's a no-brainer.  Well, maybe for you, but not for me. For example this morning, I was sitting here at the table and thinking about my day, all the different things I want to get done - morning routine, daily cleaning, meals/dishes, yoga with Isabelle, homeschooling, my 1 hour walk, mowing (luckily it's raining so this is off the list), sewing/crochet time, 1 hour outside with Isabelle, a big physical activity with Isabelle; and OH MY GOSH!!!  Where do I even begin? Now, I do have a monthly/weekly planner that I keep our activities on, and usually I use that to make a list of my daily activities. But even with that I find myself getting lost throughout the day.      And yes, I did set up a dry erase board a few weeks ago with morning/afternoon/evening sections to help break up ...

....getting through my day without it or me falling apart. Mornings are tight and go well for me.  I have set things that have to be done before we leave to take Husband to work, which takes us into town.  And being in town lends itself to running errands on the days there are errands to run. Usually, I can keep things pretty well on track up through lunch and then some down time when Daughter may take a nap and I escape into a crochet or sewing project and a show to watch. But recovery from the down time is difficult, and there is still dishes to wash, supper to prepare, more dishes to wash, tidying up to do, and Daughter's bedtime routine to oversee. As an in-home parent, there is minimal accountability, which isn't to say I don't feel bad when I fall apart, because I do. I just don't know how to use that to do better next time. And not all my days are as challenging as others, but I haven't been able to identify what makes one better than another. I know I do bet...

Tomorrow morning, if all goes to plan (DD has been home with croup this week.), will be time for me to do the weekly update on the budget.  Yes, I said it, the B word...  budget. Some people thing budgeting is a bad thing.  "It limits my spending."  "I won't be controlled by a budget."  "Nobody is going to tell me how to spend my money." Well, I guess you're right.  No one is going to tell you how to spend your money. Only you can do that.  A budget is a plan for how you're going to spend your money so when it comes time to make a purchase, the money is there.  Without a plan, money just disappears -- $5 for a coffee, $2 for a newspaper, $10 for a lunch. And by the end of the week, where did it all go? In our family, I do the book work, but K and I made the plan together.  It's not up to me to tell him how much pocket money he gets.  We decided that together, when we decided how much to allocate in each of our categories.  But he's ...

As the founder of the discussion group Sustainable Living here in Dalby, I had my first interview with the local online newspaper, Dalby Champions.  And it went well, I think.  Being my first interview, I am a bit nervous about seeing my ideas interpreted and written by someone else, out there for people to read.  And I've been thinking since then about what Sustainable Living is and what it means to me. It's the small choices made on a daily basis.  When I first started looking for a better life, a happier life, a life less cluttered, and more meaningful; I found books to read (Simple Living, Radical Homemakers), blogs to read (Non-Consumer Advocate, Down to Earth),  and other people's routines to use (Flylady). I was so inspired that I had found my people!  And I was going to do it all!  I was doing the daily cleaning routines, washing my hair with baking soda followed by a white vinegar rinse, de-cluttering my house, baking bread from scratch, b...

We did it!!  That's me and DD, we set the Budget, Planned the Meals (or borrowed somebody else's meal plan), got our Morning Routines done and made the big shopping trip to Aldi.  Now our stockpiles are set for a month.  whew! If I truly had a full stockpile system in place, it would be for the better part of a year, not just a month.  But this is a starting place.  And it's done!    We have bought all the necessary ingredients for 25 dinners and it came to just under $180 Aus.  This is the meal plan shared here  ( http://www.iamthatlady.com/25-meals-for-under-150-at-aldi/ ).  I bought nearly everything on the list, and made up for the few I didn't get by picking up a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread just because K loves it and a few other items. Overall, I am very pleased and surprised that food prices here in Aus are that close to what they are in the US.  In my own mind, I had figured we were paying double. In our budget, we ...

I finished the book I was reading at 11:40 last night, which sadly is WAY past my usual bedtime of 9pm.  So needless to say, this morning did not start off in a stellar way. But I'm up and going, chickens are fed, and laundry is started.  It will take a minute to wash up the breakfast dishes, and then on with the day. I had thought I would drive to the Big City (Toowoomba) today, but I think my time is best spent at home.  Somehow I've gotten behind on laundry and you know how that goes.. it won't get done if I'm not home. But I am excited about this upcoming trip to Toowoomba for a couple reasons -- 1)  since the Big Move from the US to Aus, I've only driven into the city by myself..  um, 1 other time.  I mean I drive around Dalby all the time so it's not that I can't drive.  But usually when we go to Toowoomba or on down to the coast, K is driving and I get to play tourist (gawk out the window and take pictures).  And 2)  I ...

A part ofSustainable Living that doesn't get much attention is Routines.  For some of us, it's because they're so routine that we don't give them any thought (Yea!)  But for me, it's something that I didn't learn at my mother's knee, and so it's been a challenge. When I first had children and moved from my days being dictated by my work schedule to staying home, I struggled with my home time -- how to fill it, and at the same time, how to get everything done that needed to be done.  And then one day I stumbled across Flylady (www.flylady.net) and the world of routines opened up to me. I learned about Morning Routines and Bedtime Routines.  I learned about Cleaning Routines and Meal Planning Routines.  And honestly, I cried.  Because up until that time, I thought I was the only one struggling.  And then I dove in to learn my routines.  It was hard learning these new habits, I mean I wasn't totally unhappy with wearing my pjs until 10am!  B...

In my life before children, I worked full-time at an office job, came home after work, made supper, and watched tv.  Weekends were the time for laundry and housecleaning.  That was my routine.  It was simple and it worked.  Everything that needed to be done got done.  It wasn't something I thought about or made a plan for.  It was just the way I had learned from my mom.  She had worked full-time at an office.  Evenings in her home were supper and tv.  Weekends were laundry and cleaning.  I learned well, right?! After my daughters were born, I stayed home with them.  And at first, it was great.  They were babies and stayed where I put them.  I could spend a whole day doing laundry.  And another day cleaning the house.  So the routine from before babies still worked..  for a while. Those babies didn't always stay on the blanket in the living room while I vacuumed the bedrooms.  So I told myself I'd do...