Proverbs 7:4 "Say to wisdom, 'You are my sister,' and call understanding your intimate friend."
Lists are my favorite and very necessary pals... They have saved me from so many over-sight issues, faux pas, and brain-wracking efforts. And still, I get myself into trouble. I tried making bread in the fool-proof breadmaker and messed up twice in a row. Back in High School, I was ALWAYS redoing my science experiments. They never once worked. And I should have failed Home Ec. I realized that I needed to check each list item more than Santa. At the very least, 3 times.
But without a list, I would be extra-doomed. I can so easily become distracted. If there isn’t something to distract me, I make something up. Or, my brain will take off all on its own, and I completely “go away.” When I “come back”, I KNOW I was thinking, but I have no idea about what.
To cope, I find myself hyper-thinking – going into the zone – deep, deep into the heart of the issue. This is when I have to start making my notes and lists. I have made lists for just about everything. I have lists for groupings of lists. I should really have a master list, but I figure, “Eh, I’ve made it pretty obvious, OR some things will just be a surprise when I stumble onto them later.”
Some of the lists are just crazy! Like logging all the movies I’ve ever seen (which is currently well over 3,000). And now that I’ve tracked these for this long, it is a compulsion that I cannot give up. I got rid of my binder at around the one thousand mark and entered all the recorded data into a spreadsheet. I am so thankful for the computer. I can effectively file all lists without any paper-clutter. Still, when my husband comes across a piece of paper with odd scribbling, he leaves it alone. He knows full well that it is probably something important – something that I have yet to add to my computer-list-collection.
I must say, some of my list ideas are pretty awesome. Some are extremely quirky. Below, I’m going to add some of them to the comment boxes. I look forward to seeing some of your ideas, not that I need to be encouraged.
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MY MASTER LIST: which is my calendar, contains everything I need to do on which day. Right beside this is my ongoing grocery list.
GROCERY LIST: (kept right beside my calendar) as things run out, I add the item under the proper column (I buy certain items at several different stores).
Before we moved, I shopped at a SuperStore which had most EVERYTHING I could every need at a great price. THEN I had a master-shopping list of all the items I would ever buy, all in order as they were found in this particular store. I always kept the same route. So when it came time to prepare my list (with the items I had been noting throughout the week), I would go through this master list and put my weekly items in order. Also, the master list would bring to mind items that I may have missed. This way, I rarely had to make any emergency shopping trips, and actual shopping time was minimal.
RECIPE COLLECTION & MENU PLANNING:
I took all my recipes and typed out each meal into a separate document, in a format that is very easy to read. These are filed under the particular meat that is used in the recipe. If I never make that meal, out it goes. (It’s very handy having it your computer, so when people ask for the recipe, you don’t have to keep writing it out for them.)
THEN, I print out each recipe onto an index card in the same format (if it doesn’t fit onto one index card, it’s too complicated and I shouldn’t be making it.) In the top right-hand corner of each card, I note the type of meat and type of starch it would accompany. After this, I lay all the cards out into weeks, which give an order of variety (so I am not always serving hamburger and pasta over and over). Picking up the cards in that particular order, I put them into an index box.
Now, instead of wracking my brain about what to make for supper, I just look at the top card – make THAT –then put the card at the back. This also helps me know what to put onto my grocery list for that week.
CHRISTMAS GOODIE BAKING STRATEGY:
Because this is tradition-based, I placed my recipes onto index cards and put them into an order that was most time-efficient to prepare, as some dough needs to chill over night, and other items are quick to make, etc.
I also went through all of the ingredients and added up the amounts needed for each, compiling a master Christmas goodie ingredient list. WHY figure this out every year when every year it’s always the same?
PACKING LIST:
I found myself making up my packing list every time we went on a trip, and invariably I would forget something, or I couldn’t relax for fear that I would forget something. I also noted that the major part of my list was always the same, especially in the toiletry department.
So, on my trusty computer, I listed everything I could possibly need on any given trip. I have all my toiletries listed first (doesn’t matter if the trip is a day or a week, I always need everything!). All possible medications are next. Then, typical clothing items are listed. Swimming articles are bunched together. Etc.
I very rarely print this out because I make it into a check-off chart. Each column is a separate trip. I keep this packing list near my suitcases.
MOVING LISTS:
Moving can be very overwhelming, and we’ve moved enough times to warrant an entire folder dedicated to this process. The master list is to let me know what we should be doing at each stage. What I can pack up and when. There is a list just for notifying people and businesses about address changes. And as we move into a new area, I update the lists of utilities with their phone numbers and procedures, just so I know whom I need to contact and what to do for the next move.
When I was 14, I wrote out all the reasons why I wanted to save myself for marriage, and another with all the reasons why I wanted to look for someone who was also saving himself for marriage. (ie. shows the guy’s strength, means that he has always remained faithful to me even before he knew me...) This helped firm up in my mind the importance of this desire and actually helped give me strength and confidence in my decision. Of course, God was my ultimate strength and support. He saved me from myself a few times.
I had a list of pre-requisites for any guy that I was going to date and eventually marry. This list only contained absolutes, and consisted on things that were most important in my life (ie. he also had to be a practicing Christian, have a sense of humor, etc.). If he didn’t have ALL of those attributes, I would not even consider going out with him on a first date. Why waste my time or his?
Oh - WISH LISTS: I actually have a difficult time remembering all the fun things that I wouldn’t mind getting as a gift. My husband is afraid to guess because he thinks that he usually will get it wrong. And when he would ask, “What do you want?” I can’t remember. So I have an ongoing wish list. I add to this IF and when I think of anything that would be cool to get. Then, when he wants to surprise me with a gift, he can refer to this list. And it WILL be a surprise because I usually forget what’s on my list.
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