Once-A-Year Chores

Today has been a day for doing the pesky To-Do items. We all have items like this, right? I can't be the only one. These are items that only have to be done once in a blue moon - but although done infrequently, they must be done. These are important, but not urgent, so they languish on the To-Do list.

But I am done with the languishing. Also, it is snowing outside, so I want to stay in from the outside. Also, I don't feel like working today. Reasons enough!

So, today I have:

- backed up my computer. Seriously, did you see this news article? Stupid scientists in Oklahoma didn't back up years worth of cancer research and then - wait for it - of course they lost the data. That's just asking for trouble.

- made vegetable stock from all the scraps in my freezer. Sadly, no beets, so it is not pink.

- updated the general journal for my business. Gotta keep the accounting on the up-and-up!

- cleaned all my leather items (boots, jackets, skirts, purses). Given that winter here in Boston is brutal, a little protector/cleaner does wonders. If I'm going to pay for a real leather jacket, I plan for it to last me years!

- imported all photos to my photo storage drive for safekeeping. I'm a bit obsessive over this after I once nearly lost my photos...

- taken stock of the items in my freezer. Sometimes I forget what I have stashed away. Case in point - this morning I found a bunch of frozen waffles. Can we say waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for lunch? Yes please!

Figure: Well worth taking a day home from the office to do chores.

- mopped and vacuumed my floor. I suppose this is not supposed to be a once-in-a-blue-moon activity, but let's face it... it is. So there. You can judge if you want, but today the floor is clean.

- got out my sewing supplies and fixed a hole in my coat pocket. And then since I was on a roll, I went ahead and cleaned out the whole sewing pile, by fixing a ripped skirt and a torn beltloop.

- finished reading a magazine that has been languishing on my bedside table. Miss Outlier very much loves Asimov's Science Fiction. It is a crying shame that I have a backlog of three months of issues to read.

- scheduled lunch with some old friends. It is so sweet to catch up with friends. Friendships should be cherished, and I am determined that I won't let people I care about drift away through neglect.

As always, it surprises me how little time some of these things take. I mean, 20 minutes is all it takes for some of these items. I think to myself, I waited that long - for THIS? For the amount of mental clarity I gain from cleaning up shop, it's well worth the day I'm taking off.

May you also find 20 minutes to cross off a pesky To-Do item!