This was a super-crazy week. I worked and had a few Girl Scout obligations, and a big deadline for a freelance job, and lots of smaller things that added up. I didn’t really plan my time as well as I should have, which led to more stress and scrambling than I’m comfortable with. Fortunately everything got done but it was definitely a reminder that time management is still something to work on.

The fact that the first week of October is over and I am just posting this month’s plan is another sign I need to manage time better! On a positive note, we’re ready for Halloween.

The 30 Day Challenge: I’m going to repeat last month’s menu planning challenge, and try to stick to my plan again this month. Cooking more at home and minimizing meals out and take-out are very important to me. And it’s also been tough to do consistently. So I’m going to focus on it again. Hopefully two months of sticking to a regular meal plan will be enough to make it stick.

The Big Project: I’m hesitant to choose a big project for this month, because it seems like I choose something to focus on, and then find myself working on everything else but what I’m supposed to be doing. Stuff sort of jumps out at me, and when that happens it’s easier to just deal with that. For example I had to go into the attic to get out our fall and winter clothes, and found myself motivated to work on a corner. We have office supplies up the yin yang, and I kept them because they were packed and organized, but we have enough stuff to open a multinational corporation which is not in the plan. So I packed it all up and gave it away- a big box and seven binders. All the papers in the binders got recycled. So this month’s big project: anything that presents itself to me.

The Little Project: A new habit. I work in a small office and we don’t have a cleaner. Since I don’t generate a lot of garbage, I only take empty it once a week. Fridays seemed like a good day so the occasional apple core wouldn’t sit in the can all weekend, and I started running the vacuum around my desk too. Today I was surprised to notice dust on my desk, despite the constant flow of papers and folders and miscellaneous stuff, so I dusted quickly too. I get this done in the last ten or so minutes before I leave and it’s a good way to wrap up the week. I’d prefer to go to happy hour but I still have to go home and get Emma off the bus. Today when I got home I did a quick pass through the house, tossing a few things and putting things away. I didn’t have time to do as much as I wanted but I want to get in the habit of spending a half hour or so every Friday straightening up. It’ll be a good way to go into the weekend.

This Month’s Book: I made an unconventional choice for this month: Cooking Light: The Food Lover’s Healthy Habits Cookbook.

September’s menu was put together with little consideration for healthy possibilities. It wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great either. Getting bored with the meals I cook has derailed me before, so I’m going to find some new ideas. I purchased this book on clearance and it seems to be only available used, so it’s cheap. Though I’ve only skimmed it, I really like it so far. Next month I’ll share more specific feedback about it.