November 02, 2020

My "To Do" List for November


I should probably just write this out in one of my scrap notebooks, because it's not very interesting and more for my own organization, but coming up with something to write about on my blog every day is hard! I'm impressed with myself that I've not missed a single day this year, though. One of my goals for 2020 was to write every single day.

I feel like the last couple of months have been really chaotic--getting used to the new school system last month was a nightmare. It still doesn't feel "right". October feels like it was kind of a blur. It's my favorite month of the year, but my fall schedule is so different than it used to be because of COVID and it didn't really feel like October.

Anyway, I was just thinking about the things I'd like to get done this month. My (hopeful) To Do list:

Buy the materials to build nightstands for my bedroom. I've been dying to build something in the garage, but I am just never in the mood to go pick out the materials. Once it's all in the garage, I'll be excited about building!

Mend some clothes. I usually accumulate some articles of clothing that need a small repair or hem or something like that. Jerry is SO insistent that he keep several pairs of his favorite jeans, even though they have a trillion holes and I've patched them numerous times. There are patches on top of patches! Haha.

Make cuffs for my jacket. I have a fleece jacket that I have been wearing when I walk in the mornings and the cuffs had a tight piece of elastic to circle the wrist. It was super uncomfortable with my Garmin, my gloves, and that cuff at my wrist, so I took apart the cuff today and removed the elastic. Now, I'd like to make cuffs with thumbholes to add onto it. It won't be pretty, but I'm all about being practical when I walk in the mornings. I looked up a tutorial today and then fell down the rabbit hole on YouTube watching so many videos about clothing alterations!

Clean out my closet. I need to get rid of clothes that I'm not likely to fit into again. I've held on to hope for the last three years that I'd get my weight back down in the low 130's, but now I'd just be happy to get back to the mid-140's! If I ever get back to the 130's again, then I'll buy some new clothes, but I'm not going to dwell on it.

Touch up the paint in the kitchen. I've been meaning to do this for months now. There are a few little nicks in the paint here and there on the cupboards, mainly due to moving everything around when we were putting the house back together. It bothers me every time I notice a spot, so I want to just fix it and be done with it!

Organize the pantry. Somehow it turned into a catch-all for random stuff because it's big and has a lot of shelves. I had it very organized when I finished painting it and building the shelves but now it's a mess.

Start a gratitude journal. Being November, the month of Thanksgiving, I feel like it's a good time to do it. I've been feeling really negative lately and I want to make an effort to be more positive. In 2017, I was on a mission to find my happiest life--and I felt great! This year has been far from ideal and it's hard to focus on the positive. I am hoping that the gratitude journal can help me to appreciate the little things more and to feel happier in general. 

Okay, I'll start with those. If I can get those things done soon, I'll come up with some more "to do" items. 

Do any of you keep a gratitude journal? Do you find that it helps you to feel happier/more positive in general? I've never kept a journal specifically for gratitude before because it seems like it would be redundant. I can imagine I'd be writing the same things all the time. But it's certainly worth a shot--I do have a LOT to be thankful for!

6 comments:

  1. Great list Katie. I made a list of things I want to focus on in November. One of those was write down one gratitude and/or positive thing in my life. I've done this before and it helps with remembering the good. This year has been a whirlwind, we have to do what we can to feel good. I'm writing the one or two things on a calendar. It can be as simple as a word, a full sentence, or a story. Whatever I feel that moment. Also, love your blogging streak, you'll make it to December 31st!

    Happy Monday

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  2. With respect to gratitude, you might like The Frugal Girl’s blog: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/thankful-thursday-yay-for-contacts/

    I really like her general attitude about contentment, but she’s been doing these Thursday thankfulness blogs every week in the time of COVID.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've kept a gratitude journal for the first time this year. I started it in January. It has been really helpful during this pandemic to think of 3 things that I'm grateful for each day. It has really helped me to keep things in perspective and to realize as much as everything sucks right now, I have a lot to be grateful for. It is definitely something I'm going to continue next year. It is wonderful for my mood.

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  4. I love these daily prompts for gratitude. They really help me to think outside of the box and expand my awareness of things for which to be thankful. They also help to keep the practice fresh and fun. ://s3.amazonaws.com/a.voskamp/BlogFiles/JoyDareCollectionFinalRevision.pdf

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have done a gratitude journal before and was amazed at how well it worked. I was in a very dark place and read this book about just writing down 3 things. They could be as simple and mundane as having hot water. I need to start another one. I don't know why I stopped.

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  6. I'm not sure if you already have a gratitude journal, but if you don't my mom has an Etsy shop with printables and one of them is a gratitude journal. Just something simple that you could print off and put in a binder if you'd want. :)

    https://www.etsy.com/listing/730730472/gratitude-journal-self-care-journal?ga_search_query=gratitude&ref=shop_items_search_2

    ReplyDelete

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