Journaling about what's going well : )

My son baked brownies...

We used corn holders (which I found tucked in the back of the silverware drawer) for our corn on the cob...

99% of the time, there is not one dish in my kitchen sink!

In Regina Leeds book, One Year To An Organized Life, she has you commit to "Habits of the Month." In Chapter 1, January-Understanding Time Management-Working in the Kitchen, one of the habit's is to wash, dry and put dishes away after use.

Since our dish washer has gone kaputt, I have gotten into the habit of leaving dishes in the sink until I am eating ice-cream on a plate with a fork. But not lately! : ) Regina states in her book that, "Psychologists have found that repeating an action for twenty-one consecutive days turns it into a habit." But, changing habits can be so difficult. It is so easy to want to go back to your old comfortable ways. So, as I stated in my first post, she writes that you should keep an, "Organizing Journal." She writes, "Sitting down and putting your thoughts on paper can help you determine why you've had difficulty getting organized in the past."

The day that I bought Regina's book I also bought a journal. I have kept journals for as far back I can remember. I am fascinated with people's journals and how they keep them. I am a fan of Author/Illustrator, Susan Branch and remember seeing on her website a picture of her journal which looked as thick as a great novel. With her photographs and unique way of writing, it was such a creative keeper of memories.

As I have come to learn, journals are also very important to my family. My dad, who sadly passed away a little more than a year ago, also kept journals filled with daily memories to much of our surprise. Just recently, I got to see a page from one of my brother's journals, in which he very artistically, I must say, : ) illustrated an old country store front during his lunch break in among his notes about his day. My nephew, who is on a volunteering mission has been keeping a daily journal as well, documenting all that he is learning about his experience as he lends a hand to those in need. And my sister, who is one of the most creative people I know, has kept daily journal entries on fabric, to which she will transform into something beautiful.

I am a fan of a journal that opens up easily. Being a lefty, I am always bothered by the left side of a book as it collapses in on me while trying to write on the right-hand pages. Also, I love blank pages, so if I get the urge to doodle, which for me is often, I have a free open range.

A journal that has become a favorite of mine is Moleskine.® You can purchase these with lined or blank pages and the books open wide, so there is no fighting with pages for lefties. Also, they come is many sizes and range in number of pages to meet your writing and illustrating needs. : )

Very often I find that I don't finish a journal when I start writing in one, and end up not having a clue where I've kept the last journal when I get the urge to journal again. So, I end up finding blank pages in an old journal to write in only to find I started that journal in 1973! With no consistency with the dates, I end up buying a new journal only to not use it all up again. So, as I stood in line at the bookstore perusing the journal assortment to use for my, Organizing Journal, I thought about this habit of mine. Then, I happily found a Moleskone® journal that is fairly thin, (but come in a package of 3), and thought, "Perfect, this is a journal for me! I think I could fill up from beginning to end, and if I don't, I can start another one!"

I also have become a fan of Post it notes for bookmarks and taking notes with me on the run. But, that I will tell you about soon when I tell you about a great calendar I found!