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Imperfect Perfectionist: What A Difference A Snow Day Makes

I shuddered when I thought of what Wendy was going to go through at the site of snow again, let alone an ice storm.  I have seen her driveway. It is long, hilly and impossible to get a plow up easily!  When I saw her last week she shared with me the fact that despite recruiting members of the local football team, every kid in her home and calling a plow at the end of the day, it ended up being her versus the blizzard in her driveway for 10 hours. For her a snow day represents a battle in the driveway, for me it is a day to catch up in my home and is heaven.  

As Wendy pointed out, her support system at home needed to go to work and she was left with the snow.  While the family owns a small plowing machine it doesn't get the job done and by the time they call a guy to come plow the driveway,there is usually too much snow for the truck to make the hill.  This is where I would suggest considering the time/value of hiring a plow to come several times to plow out the driveway.

With anything in our life, our time has a value.  For those of us who are self-employed every hour of our time can be broken down to an hourly rate.  Even if you are not self-employed you can still associate a value to your time.  Wendy needs to figure out what her hourly rate would be.  If 10 hours in the driveway takes her away from 10 hours of working and producing income, she needs to evaluate if hiring a plow to come several times to clear her driveway is actually a cost-savings.  She might want to consider if buying snow blower would be a more effective tool to tackle her driveway.

If you associate the time plus the frustration and emotional toll spending time shoveling the driveway for an entire day, there is also a value.  Wendy needs to evaluate her budget, her workload and her emotional needs to come to a decision that can make her snow days a little more relaxing, productive and less stressful.

Check in next week to see Wendy's Response.  Kristin is a Professional Organizer and owner of Livable Solutions Professional Organizing and The Organized Lifestyle Store.