The other day, as I was working through my to do list in the precious after work hours, I took a second to think about the task I was working on, wondering if it really was a priority (I question if it was now, because I can’t remember what I was doing). My love of goals and priorities has me constantly thinking through how I’m spending my time. And got me thinking about what I don’t do in order to make time for what I do do.
I came up with a list of four things that I let go of, three intentionally and one that just dawned on me as I thought about this for the first time.
I don’t do my hair. This is a bit of an embarrassment to admit and something I never even thought about until now. You’ve probably already realized this from the weeks of me sharing daily outfits during the Style Me Challenges. I get my haircut probably three or four times a year and I wash my hair every 2 to 3 days using baking soda and apple cider vinegar. And that’s the extent of my hair care regiment. On days that I wash my hair, I take a few minutes to blow dry it. And then, nearly everyday, it gets thrown into a ponytail or a messy bun and that’s just how it is. Maybe I should care more, but of all the things I would like to conquer in this lifetime, having great hair isn’t one of them.
I don’t clean my house. Unlike my hair, house cleaning actually does get done, but we outsource. From 2011, when Greg and I got engaged and moved in to is condo, we have had a monthly house cleaner. Mostly for two reasons, the first being that my husband is much neater than I am. Having someone else being responsible for the cleaning means he doesn’t have to keep on me (as much) to clean up after myself, and we avoid potential arguments. Additionally, Greg’s travel schedule is pretty intense and we prefer to spend our weekends together doing family things versus worrying about cleaning the house.
I don’t watch (very much) TV. I quickly realized post-school that if I wanted to keep my full-time job, try to build a business, spend time with my family and friends, and have some time to craft, TV could not be a part of the equation. Greg and I do enjoy watching one or two shows together, and typically we watch on Friday night and maybe Sunday. We tend to watch one show at a time, usually something that’s at least three or four years old, and finish it through all the seasons. Right now we’re on Burn Notice. We watch a few comedies, but we cut back this year when we realized we were watching shows we didn’t think were funny anymore just because they were in the queue. I also watch Scandal, catching up on a few weeks worth of episodes while I am working on a quilt (and while Greg is out of town, he’s got no love for Olivia Pope). I knit while we watch TV together, otherwise I get really antsy and can’t sit there for very long. I am not one of those people that finds TV relaxing and I absolutely can’t watch any shows that are suspenseful or dark.
I don’t go to a gym. This one makes me a little sad, as I love the camaraderie of group classes, getting to know the people that attend the same days and times you do. However, going to a class takes time to drive to the location, get there a little early, and stay a little late. It also makes working out less flexible as you’re tied to specific class times. Right now I’m doing a lot of walking and I have a Barre3 online membership that I’m trying to get back to using more often (they have awesome prenatal online classes!). I do go to prenatal yoga once a week on Thursday evenings. It’s a commitment, but I enjoy being in a space with other women experiencing the same thing as me so it makes it worth it.
What do you not do?
West Coast Martins 
I had no idea what so ever that once I retired (2 1/2 years ago) I would find so many things to that I really love and didn’t have the time (or make the time) to do them. And one or two things I don’t…
First…my favs
1. Cooking… love to cook, try new recipes and am becoming (thanks to you) more cognizant of and focused on eliminating the “bad” and adding more of the “good.” Raising two sons I found myself eating on the run and barely chewing my food to accommodate chauffeuring them and their friends to sports, school, etc. So now (again thanks to you) I concentrate on chewing what I eat completely which in turns provides more enjoyment of the food and the flavors and more important, makes me feel so much better!
2. Sewing…a hobby I learned as a young girl and continued while my sons were small (Christmas jammies, crafts). But during my “go to the office” years there just were not enough hours in the day. So now, I have a craft/sewing room set up and have gathered fabrics and supplies for the days that (during our raining weather) I work on my projects listening to classical music. Sewing is so therapeutic (most of the time) and though nothing I make is complicated I glean so much pleasure from the finished products.
3. Writing…when I was in school I found writing papers so rewarding and a way that I better express myself. Since retirement, I have written a family cookbook, a family memoire, and 7 (almost 8) children’s books. When an idea pops in my head I run with it and loose track of time and become a part of the story until it is finished.
And not my fav’s…
As a wife, and stay at home mom, I was almost fanatic cleaning and doing laundry, making sure dinner was ready and life was in order when my husband came home from work. My friends called me June Cleaver because I would iron and starch all his white shirts while maybe having a turkey in the oven and ridding the house of any potential dust bunnies. So…
#4. Cleaning…is not the be all end all it once was. I like things in their places, dust under control and still HAVE to make the bed every day. But my husband shares in the tasks (he loves to vacuum and dust), which makes care of our home much less of a job. Granted there are days that I whirl wind through mopping, vacuuming, windows, etc. and he stays clear knowing it’s just “one of those days.”
5. Stuff…I like classic and not cluttered decorating in my home, but blending to houses of “stuff” when Don and I got married 2 years ago, made me have to get more comfortable with more stuff. Slowly with agreement (most of the time) we have trimmed down. Some of his “stuff” that is very important to him (stamp collections and hundreds of books on tape) have been stored carefully away. Some of mine (dishes, dishes, dishes,) have been pared down to what I/we really love and the rest donated. While working I had 4 closets of clothes, coats, Christmas decorations and photos. I’ve scanned all the photos, and kept only the most important decorations. And, I have one closet of clothes. BIG SUCCESS!
Now I know where Greg got his dislike of stuff… and his ability to compromise well. 🙂 It was fun reading your list!
I don’t do selfies. It helps that the selfie button has been broke on my phone for a long time!
Ha, well I’m just going to have to make sure I get more photos of you when we’re together then!