Perfect Paula I may not be...
Much has been said about Perfect Paula and Manic Martha, but what about the person in between? For example, me? I’m not totally chaotic but I do suffer from periodic time leakage, the days just seem to slip by while my house gets no cleaner, the children don’t really get a ‘proper’ piece of me and as for the husband, well, that kind of nonsense will just have to wait for a day when I don’t collapse into bed unconscious before my head even reaches the pillow.
But then there are those rare beatific days when I wake up and without really even seeming to have a plan, the day goes by at a sensible rate. I play with the little ones, get the recycling done, do the online shop and manage to have an adult conversation when husband gets home. No one is late, the lunches are made, dinner is passable (I did say I wasn’t quite Perfect Paula remember) and there’s more than enough time for a little nonsense after an evening of a bath and book.
What I long for though is a little consistency. And I don’t mean one day Paula, the next day Martha either.
So to this end I recently read a book designed to help poor old Martha turn into Paula. Basically it says keep a diary, a log of tasks to be done and to actually spend time thinking about when I want them done. Inspired, I went straight out and bought a Filofax. I also bought an extra diary section. I already live by my diary as I am self employed however my second diary is to keep my homemaking log as I have affectionately called it.
A few days ago I wrote out absolutely everything I need to do in and to this house to get it how I want it, and to get it running exactly how I want it to run. My next job is going to be going down this list of jobs and detailing exactly how I am going to get these tasks done. So ‘Clear downstairs cupboard’ will turn into a list something like ‘sort through all coats and shoes, do box for charity, sweep out murky corners, be ruthless’. That sort of thing. I didn’t say I have done this yet but I like to think that I’ve made a start. To be truthful, I’m not sure I want to be Perfect Paula, for one thing, my husband would probably have a heart attack and that is not the desired outcome here. It’s not to say that I am happy in my chaos, as actually generally I am frequently pretty hacked off with it, just that as I said before, I want to find a happy medium.
But then there are those rare beatific days when I wake up and without really even seeming to have a plan, the day goes by at a sensible rate. I play with the little ones, get the recycling done, do the online shop and manage to have an adult conversation when husband gets home. No one is late, the lunches are made, dinner is passable (I did say I wasn’t quite Perfect Paula remember) and there’s more than enough time for a little nonsense after an evening of a bath and book.
What I long for though is a little consistency. And I don’t mean one day Paula, the next day Martha either.
So to this end I recently read a book designed to help poor old Martha turn into Paula. Basically it says keep a diary, a log of tasks to be done and to actually spend time thinking about when I want them done. Inspired, I went straight out and bought a Filofax. I also bought an extra diary section. I already live by my diary as I am self employed however my second diary is to keep my homemaking log as I have affectionately called it.
A few days ago I wrote out absolutely everything I need to do in and to this house to get it how I want it, and to get it running exactly how I want it to run. My next job is going to be going down this list of jobs and detailing exactly how I am going to get these tasks done. So ‘Clear downstairs cupboard’ will turn into a list something like ‘sort through all coats and shoes, do box for charity, sweep out murky corners, be ruthless’. That sort of thing. I didn’t say I have done this yet but I like to think that I’ve made a start. To be truthful, I’m not sure I want to be Perfect Paula, for one thing, my husband would probably have a heart attack and that is not the desired outcome here. It’s not to say that I am happy in my chaos, as actually generally I am frequently pretty hacked off with it, just that as I said before, I want to find a happy medium.
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