When I was married to my first husband, the only thing he was really good at was housework. He loved to clean and I was happy to let him. I guess I should have hired him as my maid instead of marrying him.

When we divorced, my list of things to do doubled and tripled and became a bit overwhelming. Adjusting to the amount of work around the house and extra things he always took care of took some time. But I found a system that worked for me and eventually things fell into place.

Five years since my divorce, my future husband doesn’t use to-do lists like I do. Cleaning is not his strong suit, either, which I’m taking as a good sign. Each week, I try to prioritize what needs attention between what is work related, house related, and wedding related.

He finds my little lists all over our apartment and luckily, he finds it endearing. Honestly, I find satisfaction seeing the line through a completed task. Any FWW methods to control the day-to-day madness?

A girlfriend and I were reminiscing the other day about our wild single days in Minneapolis right after my divorce.

We agreed that there are some things that a newly single girl can't live without. We came up with this list — feel free to add your thoughts in the comments!

Friends! Good, solid friends who will listen, cry, laugh, eat chocolate and shop with you.

Storage unit. If you don't want to throw every bit of your past away, get it out of the house. Deal with it when you're ready.

A journal. You'll be surprised at what emotions will find their way to the page, and as the months go by, you'll be able to read about your healing and growth.

A girl toy. Enough said.

Music. Discover new artists that fit your mood, and where every song doesn't remind you of your ex.

A hobby. Learn something new! I learned how to cook and picked up the guitar after my divorce.

Clothes & Shoes. You can only hide away for so long before your friends take you out on the town. Be confident in your new single status and explore your personal style.

A vacation. Start building new memories through travel.

Flowers. Treat yourself to small things that will brighten your home and your day.

A support network. Somewhere — like First Wives World — where you can read, comment or vent freely on your divorce experience with others who have been where you are right now.

My fiancé and I worked on our wedding registry the other night. Things have changed since my first marriage. Everything is available online and it's so convenient! We were having fun looking at new items to add to our kitchen since we love to cook.

Eventually, we started looking at china and I mentioned that I already have two sets of china--one from my first wedding and one that was passed down from my grandmother. I noticed Joe bristle. He's been great at handling the fact that I'm divorced and has never passed judgment on me. When I asked him what was wrong, he said that he really wanted things that were "ours," not "mine." He said that we would be using the china at family gatherings like Thanksgiving and Christmas and that he didn't want even a speck of my first marriage lingering around.

I totally understand and respect where he's coming from. The only bummer is that I love my china and if it had to go, I wanted to find it a good home. I told Joe that I'd find a way to get rid of the china. So I e-mailed my mother and asked her if she would like some new gold china and she e-mailed back two seconds later and said, "Are you kidding? YES!" Problem solved.

Because I'm a songwriter, I have a knack for adding words to music. Being part wordsmith, I enjoy the challenge of rhyming words and opening their meaning through a song. However, it seems that my fiancé has a different definition for what's "clean" versus what's "dirty."

I moved to New York about seven months ago and I love it. The move was partly professional, but mostly personal. My fiancé and I had had a year and half long-distance relationship and decided one of us had to move. I had always wanted to live in NYC, so I happily made the move.

Now, I love my fiancé for what he is and for what he is not. I know he's not perfect and we all know I'm not either. (Can you hear the "but" coming?) BUT, when I got back into NYC after being gone for a month in Minneapolis, I came home to our apartment to find it in a state of disaster. When I walked through the door he handed me a glass of wine (smart man) and we found an uncluttered place on the couch to talk for a bit.

As I scanned the room, I knew the next day would be full of cleaning. He noticed my wide eyes and said, "I really cleaned last night before I went to bed." This is when I realized that my definition of clean is very different than his. For example, I see a plate that has something on it. That plate is dirty. He sees it, wipes it off with his shirt, and now it's "sorta" clean. Ah, the growing pains of living together! Anyway, I'm glad to say that I did spend all day cleaning and when he walked through the door last night, all he said was "Wow!"

So, I moved to another New York City apartment with my fiancé and then flew back to Minnesota to sort through my storage locker to see what I could bring to our new place because we actually have room for the stuff!

I lifted boxes and moved them out of the locker so I could evaluate what would make the trek and what would stay (thank goodness I was a detailed labeler!) As I shuffled my belongings around, I realized how much "stuff" I gave up in my divorce. My ex was such an electronic person and I wasn't at that time in my life, but once in a while I think the Sony flat screen TV would have come in handy!

So, the things I got in the divorce? Well, maybe it's not so bad. I got all the pots and pans, even though at the time I wanted to sell them all on Ebay because I didn't cook. However, fate knew something that I didn't and now I love to cook.

I got all the paintings my ex and I bought in Italy and strangely enough, they match our new apartment. My fiancé is such a wonderful man. He's Italian, so he doesn't even care that they're from my former marriage. He sees it as honoring his heritage.

So, do I care that my ex kept the Sony flat screen, laptop computer and DVD player? Not anymore. He seemed to want to keep the things that he brought to the relationship and really, they don't carry any emotional weight.

Just give me a stainless steel sauce pan so I can make some of my favorite dishes to share with friends and family and I'm just fine!

I’ve owned a piano for about eight years. It’s traveled to Minneapolis, Chicago and then back to Minneapolis and now to New York City.

It’s a little scratched up, but still running strong…kind of like me. That piano has helped me write sad songs, love songs, funny songs and beautiful instrumental pieces that have helped me sustain a life in music. In a sense, my piano has been my therapist by listening and helping document stories that I set to music to reflect what’s going on in my life.

But as all good things come to an end, I'm selling my piano to a dear fellow who’s just starting piano lessons. I had to replace it due to the types of gigs I’m getting. And I don’t have room for the big piano and a new keyboard.

The piano’s being picked up today. As I write this, I realize that the only constant in my life during my divorce was that piano.

Sure, I have a few items of comfort clothing (a well-stained sweatshirt I will never give up) and my Bunn Coffee Maker (once you go Bunn, you’ll never go back) that have also been constants, but I’m not nearly as attached to them as I am to that piano.

What I'm realizing, however, is the only constant is change. It is with bittersweet sadness that I bid farewell to my therapist with the 88 keys.

Click below to download the song, “Goodbye San Francisco.”