A Few Things I Love (and Hate)

A blogger friend of mine recently posted on Instagram about her “chocolate tasks” – the tasks that seem like chocolate to her because she loves them so much. Since I am currently writing a series about small and simple things, I thought it might be kind of fun for my readers to get to know me a little bit better by learning about some small things that I love – and some that I am not quite so fond of.

With that in mind, here are a few tasks that I love almost as much as chocolate (Because, let’s be honest…chocolate is really delicious…):

1. Cooking:  I am a “real food” lover. A cart full of produce and other unprocessed ingredients that can be combined to make something simple, fresh, and delicious strangely excites me. I usually cook from scratch (at least dinner…), and I am not a fan of processed, ready-made meals, or fast food. The thought of McDonald’s or Taco Bell makes me queasy. Nutrition was my minor in college, and I seriously considered making it my major. I have always been fascinated with food and the science surrounding it.

2. Going through things and getting rid of stuff that is no longer needed or useful:  It seriously makes me happy to throw stuff away or load it into the car to take to charity. Having too much stuff makes me feel heavy and overloaded. Clutter stresses me out in a big way.

3. Organizing:  An organized space is like a breath of fresh air. Living with a family where most people do not feel the same way presents a challenge for me. I have learned out of necessity that it is OK to let some things go, and that my house does not always have to be perfectly clean. But I still prefer it that way. 🙂

4. Journaling:  I have always been a writer at heart. In high school, I wrote in my journal almost every day. That slowed down a bit when I went to college, and even more when I started having children, but I love having a tangible record of my life. I will pull out my box of journals every now and then, and it is so much fun to read through pages of experiences that I otherwise would have forgotten about. Reading my own words and re-experiencing my own transformation through the years is nothing short of inspiring. Adding pictures to the story makes it even better. If you don’t currently keep a journal, go buy one and get started today. It is life changing!

5. Immersing myself into something and learning everything I can about it:  When I graduated from college, I was actually somewhat sad. I love learning, and I really missed the structure of school that gave me a framework for learning new things. Now when something interests me, I dive in head first, read everything that I can get my hands on, and immerse myself in the material until I feel like I have, in large measure, mastered it. My latest fascination is energy profiling and dressing your truth. While I am not following the program to the letter, I do find it intriguing. (I am a type 4, in case you were wondering.)

Here are some tasks that I am not so fond of:

1. Laundry:  I HATE laundry. With a passion. It is never done. I would rather clean toilets. Even as a teenager, I usually had a basket of unfolded laundry in the corner of my perfectly clean bedroom. That trend has continued to this day. I am working on it, but that is a hard one for me.

2. Planning/To-do lists:  Being the structured person that I am, you would assume that I am a planner and a list maker. But you would be wrong. I get overwhelmed with the details of planning a vacation, a party, ideas for blog posts, or even a daily to-do list, so I usually put off those things until I absolutely have to do them (or I just work on the fly). I use my calendar to keep track of appointments and deadlines, but otherwise I am very much a creature of habit and routine, which helps me to remember what things I need to do on a daily or weekly basis. I need some flexibility and spontaneity built in to my world of structure or I start to feel heavy and bogged down.

3. Shopping:  I have never been much of a shopper. I want to get in, get out, and be done. If I am not shopping for something specific, it is tedious and a complete waste of my time. I shop for practical reasons (I need groceries and clothes), but I do not really enjoy it much, no matter what.

4. Crafting:  I am not much of a crafter, and I did not inherit any of my mother’s incredible artistic talent. My idea of creativity revolves around using words and pictures to get a point across…not seeing what craft supplies I can buy at Michael’s to make something fabulous.

5. School Projects (especially those that require creativity):  I am a big fan of letting kids do their own school projects. I will help give them direction, but the ideas and execution are all their own. My kids’ projects are the ones that look like they did them alone…because they did. 🙂

 

Now it is your turn. What tasks are like chocolate to you?

 

This is part of a 31-day series about small and simple things. You can read the rest of the series here