Why small success? Because that’s the only kind I know! Even the big ones come in small steps. Here’s my paltry offering for the week:

1. Reduced the email clutter – I got our email inbox on our home computer down from more than 11,000 emails to under 400. You read that right – 11,000! And that’s an inbox I tended to daily, deleting spam and various other messages and filtering others into appropriate folders. It took a couple of weeks of daily devotion, but I did it. I plan to maintain the comparatively low number of messages by regularly purging. Continue reading →

Why small success? Because that’s the only kind I know! Even the big ones come in small steps. Here’s my paltry offering for the week:

1. The end of summer stuff – The final days of summer vacation included the usual consultation of lists and running from store to store. School supplies, uniforms, shoes, and a backpack were purchased. It doesn’t seem like a lot when it’s condensed into a nine-word sentence, but with four kids, summer uniforms and gym uniforms, it becomes a project. We also turned in our summer reading packets to the library. I failed at listing books and counting minutes for the little kids, so only the older kids and I were able to collect our free books and prizes. Continue reading →

Why small success? Because that’s the only kind I know! Even the big ones come in small steps. Here’s my paltry offering for the week:

1. Visited the township recycling center – Before you roll your eyes at this minuscule task, let me explain why this is an accomplishment of any sort. First, after weeks of tripping over the overflowing box of plastic caps and bag of used batteries along the basement stairs, I have to get said recyclable stuff – along with the old UV bulb encased in bubble wrap – to the car. Without spillage by little hands. Here’s the big challenge: Our township recycling center keeps arcane operating hours, changeable at any moment. It’s open something like the third Wednesday following the full moon and the hours between twilight and dusk on Fridays equidistant from the nearest solstices. Continue reading →