Saying Yes to CSA

I've been intrigued by the idea of participating in a CSA (community supported agriculture), however I never signed up because:
1) I felt our eating choices & lifestyle may not have supported the commitment and
2) I'm lazy (I didn't want to have to drive to the downtown farmer's market where they did the drop off because it's way too busy...it's the kind that's actually in town and they block of access to a few blocks).

However, as luck would have it, FarmFreshToYou found me. They had a booth set up at Lowe's this past weekend for a Muscular Dystrophy Association charity drive. All told the event had a car show, sponsor booths and Lowe's employees ran a few things for a $1 each (kids bounce house, Raider's gear auction, food booth, etc.) The Lowe's proceeds were all donated to MDA and I saw one vendor saying that 10% of their sales went to MDA.

Anyways, FarmFreshToYou delivers right to my house and there's no commitment or contract, so there goes my objections. We signed up and our first delivery was yesterday. I can definitely tell the taste and quality difference between what we received compared to what we used to purchase at the grocery store. Now I finally get to have organic, very local fruit & produce and support our area farms too.

Another strong 'pro' to their set-up, in my eyes, is that we were not 'stuck with what we get'. We are able to make note on our account of certain fruits and/or vegetables that we never want to receive (really awesome since there are a few strong food aversions in this house!) and that we can substitute for items that we'd rather not get for that delivery. All they ask is that we substitute a fruit for a fruit or a vegetable for a vegetable and that the substitutions have to be called in at least 48 hours prior to delivery. Sounds fair enough, I say.

Our Mostly Fruit box contained a few substitutions. In exchange for the naval oranges, lemons and grapefruit, we received blood oranges and more of the pears and strawberries. Since this was our first experience, I also substituted the Braeburn apples for Fuji apples to have a real side-by-side comparison. Fuji apples are my favorite and most-often purchased choice for an apple.

In the last year or so, as I've become much more aware about taking care of me on the inside, my fresh, non-factorymade food choices have evolved from slim-to-none into eating a greater variety and having several servings per day. My fruit intake has increased from just bananas, green grapes, the occasional melon and Red Delicious apples to several varieties of apples, apricots, avocado, bananas, a number of different berries, cantaloupes, red/green grapes, kiwis, kumquats, nectarines, peaches, plums, pineapples, pomegranates and watermelons.

And to hear me even talking about eating vegetables, or dare I say talking about how much I love eating this or that, is a total 180 from where I used to be a few years ago. Now that I've finally stopped saying "I hate vegetables", I've grown to like most raw veggies and am willing to try just about anything, especially if cooked in a way I haven't tried before. Seriously, I watched Claire's enthusiasm as she roasted brussels sprouts on her show "Five Ingredient Fix" and now I want to have a taste. I'd always imagined brussels sprouts as steamed, mushy and just plain yucky. But crispy and flavored with bacon, now that does sound like some vegetable goodness!

Based upon the yum factor of what we ate from our FarmFreshToYou delivery just yesterday alone, I know that we made a healthy and nutritional choice for our family by signing up. I am so very happy for what I will get to try but, even more than that, I'm excited to be teaching my children that nature is abundant and delicious!

Though this may sound like a paid-for-review post, it is most assuredly not. I'm proudly sharing my family's experience with a local CSA so that others can read a firsthand experience. If you've participated in a CSA, please share your experience in the comments! As all CSA's are not created equal and not all are located in the agriculture a'plenty state of California as mine is, a broader range of experiences will be welcome.

Until next time...Take Care Of You!

Photo Credit: Colorful Veggies
Photo Credit: Fruit Salad
Photo Credit: Roasted Brussels Sprouts
(as prepared by Claire Robinson, Host of 5 Ingredient Fix)

Copyright © 2010 by tcoyou.com | all rights reserved
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My Best Tip for Housework Motivation

As a child, the year 2010 and later held such wonder and promise of better things that I was sure we'd have self-cleaning houses by now. As you well know, although we've had numerous advancements in lifestyle, technology, etc, the self-cleaning house hasn't been made widely available to us all just yet. Darn!

So, here is my best tip for working with yourself, not against yourself to find the motivation you need to keep doing the honorable task of taking care of those who live within your home (you included!) by taking care of the home.

Take a picture!

First, take a picture of an area that you are willing to clean at this time. The best areas are the ones that need your attention the most right now. For example:

* The area that a person first sees when they enter your home (i.e. outside entry, inside entry, the first room in the house);
* The room you/family are in the most (the room that our home's occupants use most should always be the most welcoming, in my opinion); or
* An area that has been in this state for quite awhile but the procrastinator in you has won out and not taken care of business.

Then, have at it. I know, I know, I haven't showed you the motivation part yet but we'll get there. Right now it's time to clean the area, so that you can learn something from the experience and that will be the part that feeds the motivation the next time.

Once your done, take another picture or several!

Now pretend it's a later date and you aren't feeling that motivated, whether it's day-to-day cleaning or tackling a larger project. Time to pull out your photos and use the 'before-and-after effect' for your motivation.

No matter which you choose to look at first, look at a photo and feel yourself in that environment. Imagine you are coming in to your home, after work or after running errands. Imagine you are welcoming someone in to your home. Imagine that your family is there; what are you all doing?

The photo will bring out true feelings and there is nothing wrong at all if the after photo doesn't motivate you. However, maybe it does. Does it remind you of something nice you were told by your husband or a guest? Do you remember having the space available to play on the floor with your kids and make some warm memories? Do you remember coming into the room and feeling happy to be home, as if your home was welcoming you?

There is something about seeing your space differently; through the camera's eye instead of your own as it were. Maybe, it's because we've put ourselves in the place of someone else and seen the space through these 'new eyes' or because we've identified the quality of life that is being lived in that area and want it to, of course, be the best possible.

A special note for Perfectionists...

As a recovering perfectionist, I've learned that nothing motivated me more than turning a really dirty area into a clean one. It took me a long time to realize this about myself but, when I did, it made perfect sense. The thrill of transforming the area and making it shine was what derailed me from keeping up with housework! Instead, I tended to wait until it was 'dirty enough to clean'...which was my way of actually getting a reward for my work (the dramatic change I unknowingly craved).

Sadly, 'beautifully clean' only lasts for a short bit and it takes much more time for the house to get 'dirty enough to clean'. When I became aware that my perfectionism was forcing my family and I to have to live this way, it was a bit of a shock. With time, I learned to trick my mind into cleaning more often by using a photo as a reminder of the 'beautifully clean' look. After all, that is what I wanted most...not the hours of work it took to change it from really bad to really beautiful.

This is when I personally learned about the 'before-and-after effect' and its power to motivate. First, I took a picture of an area that I had worked so very hard to clean. I wanted to start myself off slowly, and more forgivingly, so I never took 'before' pictures. I think I had taken enough of those mentally to last me a lifetime!

Later, when I was feeling a very strong urge to procrastinate doing anything regarding cleaning (because I didn't have time, I wasn't in the mood, etc), I would try to remember to look at my 'after' photo. I admit, in the beginning it didn't do much to motivate me in the moment and, eventually, the perfectionism monster talked me out of cleaning.

The best part, though, is that I used these times to gain awareness. Every day that I thought about cleaning, I would make note on my calendar; a smiley face if I did at least 15 minutes of effort or a sad face if not. I began to realize that even if I didn't clean immediately after seeing the photo, later that day I would! It was like the best of both worlds; I got to procrastinate and 'do it later'...and later ended up being sooner rather than never. The photo represented what I wanted most and I knew it. The key was to find a way to work with who I am and not force the issue. My "inner brat" would clean when she wanted to and not when being 'forced' to, that is!

Until next time...Take Care Of You!

Photo Credit: Lady Taking Picture
Photo Credit: Pile of Pictures

Copyright © 2009 by tcoyou.com | all rights reserved
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Taking Care of Your Home is TCOY

It's More Mental Than Physical
Cleaning our home is a job that does not ever end. If you are one of the majority who don't absolutely love it, then I bet you wish you could give it no more of a passing thought than, say, breathing. But that is not so. It's a major endeavor that drains us emotionally, mentally and physically; calling upon our lesser traits, such as procrastination, guilt and self-loathing, to aid in wearing us down. Sounds so melodramatic, I know.

This is not the case every time but I'm sure you know how it feels when it does happen.

For some of us, we can do so well for quite awhile. Then life happens and suddenly we wake up one day to realize that our house is a mess. Who let this happen and why? Or maybe you're the type who handles all the housecleaning day in and day out, with no problems whatsoever. Well, except for feeling unappreciated and not realizing your amazing efforts equate to taking care of you. And still others may not have ever known how it feels to have your home welcome you in the door -- free of trip hazards, piles everywhere and bad smells.

My heart goes out to all of those whose own mind or body works against them, whether it be mental illness, physical restrictions, etc. For the rest of us, we can keep doing the same thing and getting the same results or we can find out what else might work for us and move forward.

Make The Best of It
Now, I wouldn't go so far as to say that everyone should learn to love cleaning but there is some value in the notion of at least making the best of it. The way to do that is to look at it with a TCOY perspective.

Whether it be tidying up, general cleaning or deep scrubbing, if you are the one doing it then you need to look at it as Taking Care Of You. If it happens to benefit others that is great too, but, to find the true path to housecleaning happiness, you must be doing this for you. And, speaking of others, if there is more than one person in your household then my opinion on the matter is that there should be more than one person doing the work. Every dynamic is different so I can't propose any breakdowns here. I'll just share what I tell my own family and leave it at that: If everyone does a little, no one has to do a lot.

Below are six areas to focus on as you take care of you while taking care of your home.

Work With Yourself, Not Against
Realize you are unique and what works for some may not for you. It's good to look for new methods or to admire how another person handles their tasks but, ultimately, not even the best technique ever invented will work if it works against you. If it works against your strengths, gives power to your weaknesses and is not a genuine 100% effort, not only will the housecleaning not happen but you may be in worse shape mentally as well. We humans are not born with unlimited motivation. One of the greatest things we can do is to fire up our motivation. If you were born as self-motivated, use it! If not, you will have to use external motivation but, by all means, use it!

Be Aware of the Power of Habits
Much of what we do is habit driven. Only you will be able to know what your habits are doing or not doing for you. Take a look at your housecleaning habits.

* Are your habits driven by you? Meaning, is your housecleaning a process or more of an afterthought?
* Are your habits positive? Those that are positive should be built upon and those that are not need your attention to slowly but steadily make them into positive and fulfilling.
* Are your habits unconscious? If so, you will need to develop more awareness to realize their impact in your life. Write down what you do, when you do it and how you felt as it happened. You should begin to see that without fail, there are habits being acted upon even without your notice.

Work Backwards to Discover Your Barriers
It's time to look at your piles, hotspots, messes, or whatever you call them. Most of us are not absolute slobs and love being one, so, usually these areas exist because of a breakdown in the system. The most important of which is barriers. An active barrier would be that the dishwasher is full of clean dishes so the dirty ones pile up in the sink or on the counter. A passive barrier would be that you don't put things away because you 1) haven't identified a home for them and 2) actually do put them in that place.

It's pretty cool when you start realizing your barriers; it's almost comical. As you look at your 'area', you might remember why some of the things accumulated there in the first place. Identify the reason, the barrier, that led to it. In the future, this kind of situation will come up again. Hopefully, growing your awareness will enable you to see the barrier for what it really is so you can consciously move past it instead of being unconsciously derailed by it.

Now, if you can't readily identify the reason, there might just be a passive barrier at work. Begin examining what might be working against you, either internally or externally. Do you always set stuff here (habit)? Does the object not have a home? Was it only going to be set here "for a minute" (not utilizing the "Do It Now Principle")? As you start sifting through it all you might see that you were just being weak-willed or that the home environment does not support the change. Identifying the barrier will definitely help you to understand what's not working...so you can work on making it work for you, not against you.

Embrace the Do It Now Principle
Routines work great for me, personally, but I do realize that not everyone else does well with them. At the very least, realize that doing something a little at a time works with our internal desire to get out of work and that, when everything has and is returned to 'a home', you are halfway done as far as cleaning goes. Applying the Do It Now Principle, like wiping the bathroom mirror when you see toothpaste splatters on it or putting away shoes instead of kicking them off wherever, etc. will become a routine in and of itself. If you wish to add more and build bigger routines, please remember to do so slowly and in a way that works for you.

Remember, You Are Only Human
As always, be patient and loving with yourself. It is near impossible to change overnight with perfect results. Every step forward should be acknowledged and every step backward should not be used against you. If that backwards step can be a learning experience, find the lesson and apply it. Otherwise, let it go.

Take Action
OK, there's only so much "thinking about" needed. Now you need to take action! Go forth and conquer the task of housekeeping...or at least don't let it overwhelm you!

You and your family are your home's most important guests. Keep your perspective positive as you take care of your home the TCOY way...because your home should welcome you, not enslave you.

Until next time...Take Care Of You!

Photo Credit: Person Cleaning
Photo Credit: Barrier

Copyright © 2009 by tcoyou.com | all rights reserved
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