Some thoughts on being organised...

This is what it looks like when I try to get organised... I desperately need to find a better system!
Don't get me wrong, I love planning, making lists, routines, that drew me to the Flylady system, her concept responds with me so much.
But my biggest mistake might be: I do not take the time to plan.
I do my menu planning half an hour before I want to go shopping. I have a strong tendency to write birthday cards and forget to put them in the mail (!), I have birthday cards but no stamps. I pay bills in the last moment because I am the biggest procrastinator ever. A colleague once commented on my great just-in-time-management skills. Yeah, maybe I have them, but this is so exhausting! I am always trying to catch up on things.

And I really want to be organised, I always wanted to be. I have read so many books about decluttering, time management and cleaning:

 

Yes, I have read them all... I especially love the book on the right side, its name is "Praktisches Rezeptbuch" or "Handy Recipebook" and it is from the 1930... Of course it has recipes, but there is also a large chapter about general organisation in a household, how to do the washing (without machine...), how to mend clothes, how to do a spring cleaning. This book alerady has some Flylady rules in it, believe me. Things like evening routine, planning out your day, take care of yourself, they are given as rules for the "modern" housewive.

My favourite chapter is maybe the one about the "Tag der kleinen Dinge", the Day for The Little Things. 

You set aside a special day, maybe once in a month and do things like: Replace buttons on laundry. Hang up a picture. Change the covers of the sofa cushions. Simply do some things that get neglected during the everyday rush.

So, one of my resolutions for August and the summer holidays will be: Make a date with myself, sit down and take the time to plan. Keep and USE my calendar (actually, I have two...) and do menu planning in time.

I hope this will help. I definitely need to feel on top of things, everything else is driving me crazy.

How do you stay on top of things? Any useful tips or ideas are welcome...

 

A vegan Monday

So...Monday started way to early, on sunday, we had a late eid celebration over here with couscous and family, so everyone was quite sleepy the next morning.
I was ready to start again with my "Be a good Vegan"-Project, here is my breakfast:

     

 Some tomatoe and avocado, green tea, orange juice, sugar beet molasses, a roll with herbed vegan spread.This was quite satisfying, so at noon I simply had an apple. A very lovely apple, crisp and fresh:

Of course, I was hungry an hour later. I was not quite prepared for starting all over with that vegan thing, so I stared into the fridge for about five minutes, wondering what to eat...
This is what I came up with:

Bread with avocado, tomatoe and some salad, fresh from the balcony. Some black olives and turkish pickles on the side. Delish.
Dinner was easy: Pasta! During Ramadan, we do not eat any pasta, imagine that! So today it was the time to cook up a big pot of Fusilli. I made a creamy bechamel-style sauce with garlic and some broccoli. Yummy!!

What are you planning to cook this week?

Eid Mubarak 2015 / 1436

Our iftar table, featuring the pot of shorba, a soup that is eaten everyday during Ramadan. Yes, every day...

Selection of sides for the iftar dinner. Salad, avocado, hot pepper salad and beet salad.

Breakfast today. Beghrir, North African pancakes with honey butter and oj. In the background inspiration for the vegan start-over on Monday

Today, everone in the Muslim world is celebrating the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. We started celebrating yesterday, like most countries, today Morocco and some other joined us, so:
Happy Eid, everybody!

To be honest, i am not the biggest fan of staying away from food and water during the long, hot summer months. It is so exhausting not to eat and drink (and sleep during the night) while you try to maintain your usual lifestyle of going to work or school and -well- simply getting things done. Impossible in Ramadan!
What I love about this month, though, is this feeling of starting all over, once the celebrations of Eid begin. It is like the beginning of a new year.Today, I am full of new ideas, dreams and motivation to tackle some problem areas in my life.

I have jotted down some ideas:

•  Go strictly vegan from Monday on
•  Lay out several healthy sides with our dinners like I did during Ramadan. This was well appreciated by everyone in the family. ( Example in the second picture)
• Drink more water. Will give infused water a try...
• Develop a new skincare routine. One morning I looked in the mirror and looked really old. I am now in my forties and need to takebetter care of my skin.
• Eat a big salad everyday. Should be no problem during the summer months.
• Find a cleaning routinge that works for me. This one has been driving me nuts since the day I got married!

I am looking forward to a shopping trip on Monday, need to stock up on some vegan basics.
Have a lovely weekend, folks!