Ok, so TV-free may be an exaggeration but Joe and I both agreed we should cut back on our TV viewing so we are limiting TV time to 1 hour per day. When I was a kid this would have been my worst nightmare, but on day 3 of cutting back TV as an adult I am feeling pretty good about it! Oddly enough, I was inspired to do this by my favorite TV show: fixer upper (it's on HGTV, even if you limit your TV you should watch this show I LOVE IT). Anyway, this couple makes a career of remodeling houses and staging them beautifully...and I noticed that there is NEVER A TV in any of their houses. I started following JoJo from the show on Instagram and discovered that they don't have a TV in their own home...just 4 kids, a few dogs, cats, goats, chickens, and cows and a huge garden to keep busy. It got me thinking that I spend an awful lot of time watching other people live their lives on TV when I could be doing a little more with my own.
Now, I did finally get into the groove of grad school last semester and I will say that during the semester I really only watch TV one or two nights during the week because I have class 2 nights a week and a decent amount of homework the other nights if I want to enjoy my weekends. However, I'm in the middle of a 4 week break in between semesters and I knew the laws of physics would take over: a body in motion unless acted on by an outside force will stay in motion, and a body at rest unless acted upon by an outside force will stay at rest (or something like that? I was awful at science). Basically, when I am busy with stuff I am at my most productive. I get more done because I have to plan out my time so I seem to always be doing something. When I don't have anything that I *have* to do, I don't do anything because I know I can just keep procrastinating...I get caught in the Netflix void and never pull myself out. Before I know it, 5 days have gone by where all I did was work, sleep, watch netflix, and eat...the laundry baskets are full, the floor needs to be cleaned, and I don't think to do any of it until something else comes along and then there's no time for any of it. In an effort to avoid this situation, I simply decided to enact a little self-control in my life. I wanted to go completely TV-less for a week but Joe convinced me that one hour before bed was a good way to unwind and reward ourselves for an evening of completed chores. Monday we tore apart our kitchen and cleaned it from top to bottom, even scrubbing the backsplash and the cabinet doors. Then we scrubbed the bathrooms...like washed the floors and toilets on my hands and knees with a scrub brush clean, not just hit everything with a clorox wipe like I usually do. Last night we gave Otto a little haircut/shave (much harder than you might think...mostly just trying to get him to stay still long enough to get an even cut) and then we vacuumed and mopped the entire main floor of the house. Upstairs I vacuumed and dusted our bedroom, but like even dusted the ceiling fan blades and moved the bed out to get the dust behind the headboard. We did some thorough cleaning...stuff that I always have in the back of my mind as something I should do, but am always just "too busy" to get to.
I gotta say, I'm feeling pretty good about actually using my free time instead of plopping down on the couch after a long hard day of sitting at a desk in front of yet another screen. We still caught 2 episodes of Friends both nights on Netflix before bed (Joe has literally never seen Friends...we're on episode 100 and he is always surprised by what happens next which cracks me up). Tonight we weren't really sure what to do with our time since the house is already clean and all our laundry is also clean, folded and put away. We practiced some tricks with the dogs and debated what else to do. The problem with January is that once I am home, I don't want to go back out into the cold. I have a few errands I needed to run, but I didn't want to leave the comfort of my kitchen or wear anything other than my sweats. I have a few projects I want to do that involve re-finishing furniture but I either need to do those either outside or in the garage and it's too cold for that! Instead, Joe and I made a nice dinner (salmon, twice baked potatoes and green beans if you were wondering) and then we actually looked at each other and talked for about an hour after the meal...it was great! Now I'm writing this and Joe is reading a book...which I got him for his birthday a year ago and he's only on page 20 so far. (Paddle Your Own Canoe by Nick Offerman...it's gotta be a good book, if he doesn't finish it I'll read it instead!)
While I don't subscribe to the new years resolution school of thought, I do believe in making little changes to improve your life. If there's something you don't like, change it! If you find yourself wishing your life was a little more like the people you watched on TV...stop watching and start doing. Maybe we'll keep this up, or maybe we'll just do it for a week. Either way, I'm glad we're getting out or our routine a little and feeling good about getting our life organized!
No comments:
Post a Comment