Now I am Employed time to get REAL and ORGANISED

Now I have a job I need to get my organisational skills dusted off and back into use again.  Everyday logistics are going to be first in the firing line but I also need to get very organised for Christmas and the Christmas cooking.  I will only have (like the OH) a couple of days off at home at Christmas as they work a fair system of if you have Christmas off one year you get the following year and being as I am the last one in this year I will be at the back of the queue.  It all gets sorted out in the wash at the end of the day.  So I will need to be ultra-sorted out this year.

I need to get organised on food cooking and so a lot of cooking is going to have to be necessarily done of an evening and at the weekend (when I am off) and batch baking sessions may become the order of the day every so often, which also fits into my mindset of organising my Kitchen and Pantry with good stuff.  It is going to take a lot of work but I think will save a lot of time in the greater scheme of things.

Needless to say there are going to be lots of lists.  Lots of lists for everything and a binder for easy access as well.

I am looking on this as a good way to start again and create systems that are going to work for us long term and OH is going to be tied down a bit on doing stuff.  He wants me to work so he is going to have to take responsibility for doing certain things and get certain stuff out of the way with and in place whether he likes it or not.  Rather than relying on me to dig him out of the mire all the time and actually do stuff for him.  Once the systems are in place and actionable then he can have his own space.  However to start with I cannot do this on my own and he will need to assist.

I am starting with something simple.  A Contact list for family and for friends.  I am going to have a hard backed book with all these details in and also a copy on the computer.  I also want to prepare birthday lists as well and then make up some cards and/or buy cards in bulk - depends on the time available to me so that I can get everything organised, sorted and a flash up on the computer a couple of days before.  That way hopefully I will not miss any birthdays or events and get things out in a timely fashion.  It is my brother's birthday this Friday for instance.

I also intend to initiate a "banking" evening with OH to discuss what we do with funds, payments etc. and also pre-plan some future events. This is something new to us and I am hoping it will help smooth out some wrinkles. One thing I have found out that whilst being out of work you need to have something to look forward to otherwise life becomes incredibly tedious.

I also intend to overhaul (when I can find it) all official documentation like my passport, OH's driving licence etc, birth certificates, etc. etc. Find a new central safe place in which to find them and then scan them and keep copies on the computer.  There is a need for this on my behalf as due to the state of the house at the moment I cannot find anything and the times I have been asked to produce stuff and have not been able to comply.  It is all safely in the house somewhere it's just the "where" that is the problem so it also needs to be on the computer as well, bearing in mind that a lot of applications etc. are done by Internet today.

This will also necessarily fit into housework, and crafting, and gardening.  I suspect that the slow cookers and also the pressure cooker are going to prove invaluable in the months to come, especially when it comes to having a nice hot meal relatively quickly after getting home from work.  I am also going to have to plot time to craft on the machines, and also get a chance to chillax doing something I love.  I also suspect that more crochet is on the cards as it is easy to do a bit and put it down and pick it up again without spoiling the work.  

On the crochet score I have one more square to work on the WIP blanket I have on the go at the moment i.e. the grey, white and turquoise throw).  Need more grey wool at this stage.  

As I had a small amount of time last night and some scrap wool (my blankets are often made from scraps to start with and then added to) I have worked 24 centres for the start of more squares.  I have another 24 to work.  I am then going to systematically work through them all adding different colours.  I am thinking, pale pink centres, then cream, other pinks like a Raspberry pink and soft greens to make a large throw for my bed.  Working like this means that I can work out how much wool I need and do not necessarily have to buy it all in one fair swoop.

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hopping habits are also going to have to change.  As you know I have recently been testing out Aldi in this respect.  We are finding them very good value but you do have to watch the date codes on their goods.  They are not as long keeping as much of the other stores and things soon run out which is something I have found out through experience rather than being told this. I am not one to be ruled exclusively by date codes but things like pate, and soft cheese are a no-no if they are not used up in time.  We have found the meat is excellent quality but you do have to watch the other fresh stuff.  Pork chops, larger chicken, stewing steak, the bacon etc. are brilliant and very good value for money.

My working hours are going to be between 8:30am and 5:00pm with half an hour for lunch and two 15 minute breaks.  I will also not be based in town so no shopping in my lunch break - not that it is a long lunch break in any event.  I will not get the opportunity to see my long-term friends as frequently as I am used to either.  So I am going to have to dig deep and hard to try and achieve what they expect of me.  It is a going to be a lot longer working day than I am used to.

It is all going to be a learning curve in any event.  I am being realistic and trying to anticipate things before they happen.  As one of my mantra's said earlier in the week "prioritise and deal with what you can and leave the rest to the ether".

Catch you all soon.

Pattypan

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