Dear Self:

You've done really really well this week! The house has been clean and maintaining itself all week. You've done a great job of putting food away and washing dishes after every meal. It really helps make the next meal easier to prepare. The new system in the refrigerator is working well, too, because you're eating everything you bought. You haven't thrown away any food this week so far. It helps to have a clean fridge!

When HD sprayed the stuff in his eyes, you were able to lay him on the counter and wash his eyes out because it was all clean and the sink was empty. That system worked great and showed you how important it is to have a clean counter.

This week you organized his art area so that he can find his materials, and what do ya know, he has drawn more pictures and done more creative things this week than he has done in the last month.

Don't forget about that morning that you made your bed without thinking about it--you actually went back to the bedroom to make it and found that you had already done it. This means your routine is becoming a habit! That's great!

I'm proud of all your hard work and I want you to keep it up.

This week the main project will be organizing the office so that you can focus on business matters and not be held hostage by the clutter. You can do this, 15 minutes at a time. Also this week I want you to work on doing all the steps of laundry--don't leave clean laundry in the basket! If you do one load all the way through every day, it will be easy and you'll never find yourself cussing because what you want to wear is dirty or wrinkly.

Also this week I want you to work on maintaining a better attitude. I think that for the first ten minutes of Sprout's naps, you should meditate. No matter what else you have or want to do, use that first ten minutes for meditation and I think you'll be much happier and calmer for it.

Lastly, good job on saying nice things to yourself. It's easy to focus on the imperfection, but you are steadily moving forward and I'm proud of you.

Now, say it the right way:

I'm proud of myself. I have worked hard and my home is getting better and my family is experiencing the rewards.

Good job. ;)