Are you balanced??

me...? I am afraid not! Having a "balanced life" is something that I dream about...daily! I know it is possible because I see other people that have it mastered. I on the other hand feel like I am constantly running behind. I know part of my problem is admitting to myself what is realistic in a day or a week. I have tried a variety of organizational methods, but never stick to one thing. What I would like to accomplish in one week is probably more realistic for a month. I am going to share a few of my favorite things that I would like to incorporate more in my life, and then ask you about your must do's, favorites, and HOW do you find the time to balance it all?? I will pick a few of my favorite tips from your responses, share them on my Thursday blog, and send a treat to the best balancing acts.

On top of the daily chores of house cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, BEING A MOMMY (we all know that could be it's own special category of responsibilities), being a wife, spending three days in the office, laundry.. etc etc

My wish is to find more time for the fun things in life ......

mountain biking! My favorite activity of all time. Utah has amazing mountain bike trails, like this one...

I would love to boutique shop..hmmm maybe once a day.. okay how about once a week? Salt Lake City has quite a few cute little shops that I have driven by, but haven't taken the time to stop and shop. This one looks cute.

I love reading! My sister-in-law just told me about this book.

I love finding healthy food recipes, having dinner parties, going to the Farmers Market, crafting with my kids, spending time with my friends, SCRAPBOOKING, the list could go on! I absolutely adore being a mommy,

more than any of these other fun stress free things. I feel very blessed to have two precious girls, and my husband! I am just hoping to balance the many blessing in my life a bit better. =) Maybe some of you are reading this and thinking - GOOD LUCK with finding free time, or maybe you have felt this same way and did figure out a way to manage your time and have a more balanced life as a working slightly frazzled mom =)

Tell me how you do it...

1) Something you HAVE to do every day...
2) Something you TREAT yourself to every day...
3) If you could go on vacation for a week you would escape to...
4) The "organizational tool" that you use and love....
5) Something you have let go of in order to find more balance.. (perfectly clean house.. anyone??)

Thanks everyone for sharing in this ongoing quest of mine to be a more balanced individual.

Posted by Rebecca

Comments

[Sara Ito]

I too am always searching. But, I have found that the bigger mess my house is, the more fun I get to have!

So...

1) Something you HAVE to do every day...
I have to get up when I hear the baby crying. Every morning he wakes up around 6am, and I lay in bed wishing that he would go back to sleep. He doesn't, so I get up. That's hard for me. I love sleep. Once I am in there and I see him smiling at me, i'm ok though!

2) Something you TREAT yourself to every day...
Every day I treat myself to a little 'me' time. Making cards and tags, and scrapbooking. I have to, or I would go nuts. I do it when the kids our occupied, and I do it on the kitchen table, which is always a mess of scrappy goodness. But that's ok. If I get one thing made a day, I feel good.

3) If you could go on vacation for a week you would escape to...
I would go back to Maui, simple, but that was where my husband and I had our honeymoon and I just remember those carefree days!

4) The "organizational tool" that you use and love....
I have all my scrapbook stuff in one spot, in glass jars in a cabinet. Buttons in one jar, ribbon in another...It looks cute, and it's all there, so I'm not always running around getting stuff. And, it's in the living room, where everyone always is, so it's easy to do when I have a moment.

5) Something you have let go of in order to find more balance.. (perfectly clean house.. anyone??)

I rinse the dishes and leave them in the sink until after dinner, otherwise I would do dishes ALL DAY long with three kids!

I do the same with the laundry. I wait until I have an entire day of laundry to do, then I do it. My husband looks at me like i'm crazy, and says that I should just do a little each day, but I would be constantly putting clothes away.. so I do it my way!

I am scared to see how long this post is.. :0)

[Hilary]

1) Something I HAVE to do every day...cook. I hate cooking. Really, I do. Someday I would love to have a cook...one that didn't envole me doing any of the work.

2) Something I TREAT myself to every day...is sleeping a treat or a chore?

3) If I could go on vacation for a week I would escape to...a place that I couldn't get phone reception or an internet connection.

4) The "organizational tool" that I use and love....I ordered a palm at the beginning of the Summer and am actually really liking it. It's one of the first of many organizational tools that is working for me. It was a grunt putting all the info in but now that's it's in...loving it.

5) Something I have let go of in order to find more balance...I am still working on this one. I think this will be something I work on for the rest of my days.

[Ann Cicilie]

1) Something you HAVE to do every day...
I can't go to bed with a messy house, it has to look okay or my next day is ruined (well, not totally, but it gives a bad and grumpy start).
2) Something you TREAT yourself to every day... Coffe break:) Alone, with my husband, friends or family. Noone enjoys a coffe like me! My new owl mug has taken it to a new cosy-level:D
3) If you could go on vacation for a week you would escape to... Norway (my home country), up in the mountains. I love nature, nothing is more relaxing than being miles away from electricity, cell phones and cars.
4) The "organizational tool" that you use and love.... I have a planner where I write my appointments, one for work and one for private life.
5) Something you have let go of in order to find more balance. Well, my house is certainly not clean all the time:D And sometimes we just eat dinner out to save a couple of hours (we often combine this with for example a visit to the library or a walk by the lake).

A couple of tips that helps me:
Listen to your body. If it says "I really need to relax!", then relax. Watching TV and doing nothing is not always a bad thing, even though you should be cleaning, or making a birthday card, or, or, or...

If you're invited to something you really don't wanna do, well, don't do it. You really don't need 4 dinner parties a week to be happy.

And one more thing: Work is work, leave it at the office, don't bring it back home.

Only you can find out what works for you, I wish you good luck:)

[Kim M]

1) Something you HAVE to do every day...
clean my house

2) Something you TREAT yourself to every day...diet mt dew

3) If you could go on vacation for a week you would escape to...
Disney and I am going there next week!!

4) The "organizational tool" that you use and love....lists, I always keep a list of things to do, things to get, etc, it helps me stay on top of things

5) Something you have let go of in order to find more balance.. (perfectly clean house.. anyone??)on Sundays I do NOTHING, no chores, laundry, cooking, nothing. It is the one day to just relax, it helps my week go so much better.

[Lindsay]

1) Something you HAVE to do every day...
I have to cook at least one wholesome homemade meal for my family, complete with fresh veggies and fruit.
2) Something you TREAT yourself to every day...
I MUST have my morning coffee before everyone gets up. It gives me time to sit and reflect on things and plan my day.
3) If you could go on vacation for a week you would escape to...
Hawaii or Italy. Hawaii if I am up for just fun and relaxing. Italy if I am up for taking in the sights and learning about the culture and history.
4) The "organizational tool" that you use and love....
The good old fashioned calendar! I write all of our appointments and playdates plus fun things going around in the community.
5) Something you have let go of in order to find more balance.. (perfectly clean house.. anyone??) Laundry and doing the dishes! We always have a huge pack of Chinet paper plates on hand for those nights when we want to take a family walk, read an extra book, or go out for ice cream!

[Lea Lawson]

1. Something I have to do everyday....
Well, I am a working girl. So five days a week I work 8 hours a day, and then on the weekends I have to find the time to get laundry done and the house cleaned. So, I work pretty much every day.

2. Something you treat yourself to everyday...
Coffee with cinnamon vanilla creamer, and time in my scrap room- even if it is only to look through my papers or edit some photos.

3. If you could go on a vacation for a week you would escape to...
Australia

4. The "organizational tool" that you use and love...
Seriously, the garbage! I can't stand things to be cluttered, so the minute I feel like it is...stuff starts hitting the garbage can until I feel like it's clean.

5. Somthing you have let go of in order to find more balance...
Cooking. I passed the buck over to my husband, and I am a much happier person. I finally realized that I hated to cook, and he actually likes it!

~Lea
http://leascupcakesandsunshine.blogspot.com/

[Beth Perry]

1) Something you HAVE to do every day..GET ON MY LAPTOP
2) Something you TREAT yourself to every day...PIECE OF CHOCOLATE (OR MORE THAN A PIECE IF IT IS THAT TIME OF THE MONTH)
3) If you could go on vacation for a week you would escape to...SOMEWHERE TROPICAL. I WANNA LAY ON THE BEACH AND DRINK FRUITY DRINKS
4) The "organizational tool" that you use and love....A PLANNER!! ALWAYS GOT HAVE IT. AND I HAVE MADE MYSELF THE CUTEST ONE FOR 2009
5) Something you have let go of in order to find more balance.. TO QUIT SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF! I AM SO MUCH BETTER THAN I USED TO BE AND I AM SOO MUCH MORE CONTENT SINCE I LET THE SMALL STUFF GO!

Thanks for this! This was fun!
B

[deana]

1) Something you HAVE to do every day: Exercise... I LOVE to work-out to LOUD music & not think about anything & I make sure to fit it in every day, even if it's just a 1/2 hour.

2) Something you TREAT yourself to every day: chocolate or ice cream or anything sweet or maybe even a glass of Chardonnay!

3) If you could go on vacation for a week you would escape to: Tuscany... hang out in a villa, drink wine, eat pasta & roam the countryside with a big smile on my face.

4) The "organizational tool" that you use and love.... I've had a planner forever. In fact, when I was in high school my younger sister held up my planner one day & said, "Here's Deana's organized life."

5) Something you have let go of in order to find more balance... Perfection, plain & simple.

I heart Sassafras... :-)

[Kim]

1) Something you HAVE to do every day...play with my one-year old son

2) Something you TREAT yourself to every day...anything to do with scrapbooking, be it reading a mag, visiting a web site including SSF, working on LOs, and my fave green tea drink

3) If you could go on vacation for a week you would escape to...Japan, Hokkaido, I love Jap food, I want to soak in the sights and culture, and my mobile phone will not work there coz they have their own telco system that's not linked to other countries, haha!

4) The "organizational tool" that you use and love....my planner, good old paper and pen to write down my list of things to do

5) Something you have let go of in order to find more balance.. (perfectly clean house.. anyone??) household chores, be it sweeping, vacuuming or mopping

[Tracie H]

1) Something you HAVE to do every day...iron! Seriously I iron every day except Sunday - it helps to keep that monutain at bay!

2) Something you TREAT yourself to every day...some "me time" in my scraproom.

3) If you could go on vacation for a week you would escape to...Kerkennah - a small island off the coast of Africa.....my dream island where I dream I may live one day!

4) The "organizational tool" that you use and love....my iphone - I use it every day.

5) Something you have let go of in order to find more balance.. (perfectly clean house.. anyone??)Sundays are puta free in this house - I do nothing but have fun with my family, we eat out and I recharge my batteries for the week ahead.

This was fun - thanks Rebecca.

[~r~]

1) Something you HAVE to do every day...
~cook,clean and at least 3 loads of laundry for my 4 adult, 3 child household!

2) Something you TREAT yourself to every day...tropical punch kool-aid ( i am addicted)

3) If you could go on vacation for a week you would escape to...a shack on the ocean, where i could sit back, relax and watch my kids and hubby surf...and make sure i brought some paper and "stuff" to create while i was relaxing, of course!

4) The "organizational tool" that you use and love....FILE FOLDERS...i use them for everything from monthly bills (yuck) to scraps to glitter catchers and the occasional scrapbook.

5) Something you have let go of in order to find more balance.. (perfectly clean house.. anyone??) AMEN SISTER! i find that as long as i make my bed each morning, i can live with my room being a bit messy, the rest of the house, i just make sure it is CLEAN and if it is messy, so be it! i have a baby and teenagers, so i won't be seeing a perfect house for a few years!

what a great post to put things into perspective!
thanks...
~r

[Kari]

1) Something you HAVE to do every day...
Update my Blog and read other blogs. It's really not a good use of my time but it's "MY" time and I find it relaxing after a busy day.

2) Something you TREAT yourself to every day...my morning coffee and a few minutes of a good book before bedtime.

3) If you could go on vacation for a week you would escape to...Cabo San Lucas. I LOVE that place! There is nothing like a sunny beach, cold margaritas, and a good book.

4) The "organizational tool" that you use and love....the "What to Eat" menu planner from Knock Knock and the "time to get" grocery list from Target (Real Simple brand). Every weekend I create a menu and get my grocery list done at the same time. Then my week of lunches, dinners and snacks are all planned out and ingredients stocked.

5) Something you have let go of in order to find more balance.. (perfectly clean house.. anyone??) Definately the perfectly clean house. I manage to vacuum weekly, and clean the bathrooms, but long gone are the 4-5 hour weekly cleaning sessions. Thank goodness for brown travertine floors and brown granite countertops. It hides dirt and dust well!!!

[Danielle]

Just found your blog-you are #1 favorite product lines!

1) Something you HAVE to do every day...besides breathe? I have to do something creative...

2) Something you TREAT yourself to every day... coffee, followed by an iced chai latte, I have caffeine problems...

3) If you could go on vacation for a week you would escape to...somewhere tropical, with mild sea breezes, listening to the ocean at night, get a massage each day.

4) The "organizational tool" that you use and love....my day planner.

5) Something you have let go of in order to find more balance.. (perfectly clean house.. anyone??)I have to let go of blog searching to find balance, I have to let go of having all the laundry done so I can spend more time with may family, I have to let go of emails so I can exercise, I have to let go of my images in my mind of how I looked 15 years ago pre-kids and love my body now. I have to let go of scrapbooking instaed of starting dinner, yep...balance, balance, balance...
I'll be checking in again, instead of doing laundry or exercising...

[Donna]

Have to have every day...Diet Coke (its my coffee)

treat myself to every day ...time for just me after the puppy & my son head to bed for the night.

vacation of choice...Wyoming or the southwest. But if I only had one choice to take right this minute I'd have to pick Florida. My daughter is in the Navy & stationed there. I miss her dearly & am counting the days till Christmas when I can see her again.

favorite organizational tool...simplly a papd of paper....I'm lost with out my lists of things to get done.

need to give up to help find balance.....yard work !!! But someone has to do it so I guess the next best choice is to stop buying plants so much that need planting, care & maintenance.