We Are Out Of Time.

*#%^ it lets just do it.

            It is no secret; there is no scandal, only indifference and an unwillingness to act.  These are the last words I will speak about sustainability and global warming, so for those of you who do not yet comprehend: The Earth has finite resources, and global warming is essentially the harbinger of the apocalypse.  So let’s talk solutions, and more importantly a better approach to a livable society.

            I am of an opinion that cars need to just go away, there are steps in the interim that need to be taken to ease this transition, but the reality remains the same.  Which begs the question; what about roads and god forbid the highway construction budget? Yep their gone to.  Well that just about takes care of 60% of our energy consumption and our dependence on foreign oil. So how do we get around?  Good, fast and cheap public transportation, (note: for budget see the highway construction fund.)

            Imagine if you will the city in which you live, now remove every road and the city shrinks. Next remove every ounce of land used for parking cars, as well as the cars themselves, and breathe the clean air. Imagine the sidewalks becoming wider and maintained much better, with room for bikes and maybe a few flowers. Take your pick on public transportation. Small electric railcars, subways, moving sidewalks, they are all cheaper and cleaner than roads, much less you don’t need 300,000 of them.  Now as for infrastructure, well lets just connect every major convergence point of the city with an underground system, to allow the worker bee’s to do there job. This would be used to transport goods and services through out the city, as well as auto-magically transport things like groceries and goods from your daily shopping. Light in most applications should be provided by the sun when possible, and through the sorcery of modern technology such as fiber-optics you can even do this under ground.

            Modern technology such as previously mentioned has many applications, for instance if you where to layer a bunch of soil boxes in a building, and pipe in sunlight you could grow food.  In fact in the winter to heat the building as well as make fertilizer just put composting piles under the planters with a heat exchanger (for more information google composting). Oh did I mention that plants are a gigantic carbon sink, and a great air filter (not to mention they smell better than burned oil). There are about a hundred other existing technologies that can create jobs, food, and clean water in an efficient manor but I do not have a long enough life to list them all, so I will mention a few big ideas that need to be embraced. Ok solar and wind are obvious, green roofs ( I wish was obvious, I happen to like plant’s (They are nice to look at, smell, good, taste good, and are much more comfortable than steel and concrete.)

            Now I am going to shock a few environmentalists (of which I am one with a college edumacation), with my next statement, but there is a big scientific principle behind it. We have a fantastic renewable resource that is just begging to be used to its full extent. Yes, trees. Trees are some of my favorite things in the world, they live, they grow, they die and they make a nice chair. Point being that trees are one of the worlds great carbon sinks and young forest consume more carbon, and produce more oxygen than old forest. To use a phrase, growing boys need food, and they eat CO2.  So a way to use them for resources is to carefully thin, not destroy old wood and plant new trees. Doing this in a responsible manner, can actually help to clean the atmosphere and provide us with a valuable resource.  All of this is just a collaboration of many ideas from many people, so I can take no credit, for anything I have said as being original because I am just one of not enough that is motivated towards action.

            I think however that one of the greatest impacts that this idea could have is an effect on society as a whole. Humans are by nature generally good, but we have become alienated from one another.  How many people do you pass by on your way to work, in your mobile prison? How many thousands of faces do you never see, or greeting do you never give in your bubble of isolation? This idea would bring people back together again, and let the goodness inherent in humanity show its virtue. If I do nothing else, I hope to inspire more people to action now and instead of when it is to late.  So I leave you with this “A good plan now, is better than a perfect plan to late.”

                                                                                    Be Happy!

Simple Weekday Housework Schedule

by

American Housewife Sherry Morris

This is my best plan ever!  It is very easy to follow and it doesn’t take long. Enjoy!

 Monday 
 Laundry
 Powder Room
 Kids Bathroom
 Master Bathroom
 Dust Downstairs
 Vacuum Entire House
 Desk Top
 Front Porch
 Deep Cleaning Mission
  
 Tuesday 
 Laundry
 Powder Room
 Kids Bathroom
 Master Bathroom
 Basement Bathroom
 Dust Upstairs
 Vacuum Upstairs and Downstairs
 Car Interior
 Pick Up Trash Blown Into Yard  
 Deep Cleaning Mission  
  
 Wednesday
 Laundry
 Powder Room
 Kids Bathroom
 Master Bathroom
 Mirrors
 Vacuum Upstairs and Downstairs
 Purse
 Mending
 Deep Cleaning Mission 
  
 Thursday
 Laundry
 Powder Room
 Kids Bathroom
 Master Bathroom
 Basement Bathroom
 Dust Basement
 Vacuum Entire House
 Purge and Clip Coupons
 Grocery List
 Deep Cleaning Mission 
  
 Friday
 Laundry
 Powder Room
 Kids Bathroom
 Master Bathroom
 Wash Bed Linens
 Dust Downstairs
 Vacuum Entire House
 Deck and Patio
 Deep Cleaning Mission 

 Grocery Shopping

If you aren’t familiar with the FlyLady’saka Marla Cilley’s method of house cleaning  please visit her website. You aren’t a lazy slob. You are just immobile because you don’t have time to clean your house the right way (the way your mother did it when you were little). Every time you try  you get sidetracked. Fly Lady will help you tackle your messy mountain one baby step at a time and persuade you to vanquish the guilt and martyrdom. House work done improperly or incompletely still blesses your family and is much better than doing nothing at all.

I highly recommend these two books: Sidetracked Home Executives from Pigpen to Paradise by Pam Young and her sister  Peggy Jones & Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley  the Fly Lady.

Over 400 000 people follow the FlyLady’s principals devoutly. They subscribe to her free mailing list and do all the tasks she tells them to via email. Others modify her program to fit their own individual homes  degree of cleanliness preferred  physical disabilities and lifestyles.

Think of housework this way: It blesses your family to have a clean and cheerful home  plus you get some exercise and burn calories.

Imagine having a home with perpetually clean bathrooms… If you deep clean your bathroom one time  then all you have to do is swish and swipe it in less than one minute every weekday. You’ll never be embarrassed again when an unexpected visitor drops in.

Imagine transporting your home from the top of Mt. Laundry to a lovely island at sea level… All you have to do is one or two loads every weekday. And put the clean clothes away. It doesn’t take long. Your family will always have something clean to wear.

Imagine never trudging to the gym again… Your workout is your housework. I’ve lost 30 pounds in 8 months through a low carb diet and this cleaning routine. I’m finally back at a healthy BMI  and feel ten years younger.

I set my timer for 15 minutes  perform the listed task and when the timer beeps  I stop  done or not. I’m usually done. Then I move on to the next chore of the day  set the timer for 15 minutes and clean. If I don’t feel well  have a sick child  appointments or am just plain cranky  I sometimes skip a task or a whole day’s tasks. No guilt. My house is clean enough and I know I will get to it again the next day. The whole idea is to free yourself from the guilt  and just do it. I will reward myself with something special if I complete all the tasks in a week. It’s an incentive and blesses the whole family.

Please let go of your clutter  and clean something today. Vacuum or sweep one room. Don’t move the furniture or try to get the baseboards  drapes and upholstery. Just vacuum or sweep the middle of the room. It will look so much better. You’ll smile. You can have a clean home that’s no more than 15 minutes from company ready if you can get organized and focus. You can do this. Honest! At least visit the Flylady’s website. Start thinking about changing your approach to housework. Then shine your kitchen sink or vacuum your living room. You’ll be so glad you did!

Need some support? I own a free Yahoo Group of over 100 diverse homemakers (men and women) who support each other with tips and cheers. The Fly Lady Clutter Buster Discussion Group. We’d love to have you join us.

Ok, so I am going to rant a little bit today and get on a soap box.  You know what I hate?  I get so tired of commercials, TV shows, sitcome and everything else making it out like all men are stupid.  Now, I know men make mistakes, but so do we, girls!  Seriously.  I was watching this commerical last night and it was a Brawny commercial and one of the lines was “If you don’t have to go back and clean up what your husband just cleaned, you are a magician.”  Ok, sorry, but maybe I am blessed (well I KNOW I am =)  ) but my husband does a great job helping me around the house and helping clean up.  I do NOT have to go back and re-clean things, especially dishes.  In fact, a lot of the time, he takes more time cleaning them than I do!  We women wonder why our husbands don’t WANT to help us clean up or whatnot and it isn’t because they don’t want to help us, it is because whey they do, they know we will just criticize them for how they do it.  You know its true, I even do it at times.  Ladies, we need to work on this.  This is not showing our husbands respect OR love or making them feel worthwhile!  Ok, sorry, but that commercial just really annoyed me!  I have a wonderful husband who loves to help me and I think more of you ladies out there have husbands much the same way. . .just give them the chance!