Being More Strategic In September

 My journey continues on in September. August started strong, died along the way only to be revived by the end of the month. It was a combination of mental health and hot humid weather that made my plans fizzle out. That combination wasn't good for me. 

I have made a plan for September to hold me accountable. The biggest change I made for the month is to have a plan that I am in control of. The plan is both long range and short term.

Fall Cleaning

    I decided it is time to start fall cleaning in the house. This is a long range plan as I can't do it all in a week. A month is more realistic for upstairs. 

    The short range plan is to break the upstairs into chunks that I can work on in the morning. As I am going through each closet and piece of furniture it will take longer. I am not only cleaning but decluttering and organizing as I go. There will be days that I will have to take a break due to other commitments. My goal is to do something on the days I am tired or sore. A little bit is better than doing nothing. 

Mental Health

    I am trying to keep a positive attitude about everything. I am working on not letting things get me down though I know it can happen. Facing my feeling is very important and allowing myself time to work through those feeling is necessary.

    I am finding that getting out of the house and community is important for my mental health. Snoop shopping is fun and I usually don't buy anything. It is just fun to look at things. 

    I am finding having projects to work on that I enjoy is important. I am allowing myself to buy fabric and will be looking at my stash next month to see what I will keep and what I will give away. 

Eating Habits

    I gained some weight in August and am back to where I was in late July. I have made changes to my eating plan.

        I track everything I eat in a day. It is necessary if I want to eat healthy and loose weight. 

        I stopped snacking at night. That was hard for me. I snacked because I was stressed and sad. Food noise is huge when I feel this way. 

        I am allowing myself to have more protein at each meal. I can have beef and pork when I want it. I have cut back on processed meat but will have some if I want it. Having poultry and fish only was getting boring. 

        I have increased the amount of vegetables in my diet. As I am tracking, I can have a salad with dressing. I am eating more fresh vegetables at the moment as they are more available locally. 

        My salt consumption is where I want it to be. I do use some salt when cooking but have found I don't need as much as I use to. I am looking at herb blends when cooking. 

    I want to meal plan but I hate doing it. I am doing a bit more and will get out my recipes that I collected from when I ordered meals. I do like rice bowls and a few other recipes I have. At the moment, I am figuring out what I can cook that will give me 2 dinners twice a week. Better than I was doing. 

Movement

    I didn't move a lot in August. Some was from the high humidity and some was from feeling mentally low. I am back to moving more even if I have to push myself to do it. Up and down the stairs and walking around the house are good. Add in fall cleaning which means more walking and climbing up and down a ladder. 

    I do hope to walk outside more. I hate doing it alone but will force myself to do it. I may start walking at the arena in the winter. 

    I want to do my yoga exercises once the house is cleaned. The physiotherapist had told me last year that fall/spring cleaning is a good activity and that once I finish it I should then do the exercises. 

Crafting/Sewing/Knitting

This is a new category for me. I spent some time thinking about it last month. Not hours of thinking but processing what I was doing, liking, hating, and feeling neutral about. 

    Sewing is important to me. I love to sew but have found that I like to challenge myself or do studies in something. I have made doll clothes using scraps I would have tossed or given away. I sewed a bag using fabrics outside my comfort zone. I also did some creative designing to meet the rules so I could enter it into a contest. I find this keeps me alert and thinking. It is also telling me I need to get rid of old fabrics as I am no longer interested in them. I am enjoying buying the fabric for a project, making it, and repeating the process. I see a fabric purge happening sooner rather than later.

    Knitting is an evening hobby I do while watching TV. I have knit a lot of socks in the evening. I am making an afghan at the moment. I need to start other projects once again as I am almost done the afghan. 

    Crafting is a hobby I do on occasion. I have gotten rid of a lot of crafting supplies and haven't missed them. I have a memory book to finish which will take 2 afternoons. Maybe 3. I may do a bit more crafting but it will be selective. It is the one hobby I would get rid of first if I had to.