This is the year that I am going to get organized. It will happen. I read somewhere that a creative person is usually a cluttered person. Is that true? I want to say that because I spend hours each day devoted to the creative flow of my genius, that is why I am disorganized and cluttered. But, alas, I think it's mostly procrastination, laziness, a tendency to hoard, and a general lack of organizational skills. But things are going to change. I will go to battle against the Putting-it-offs, I will overcome the Lazies, and I WILL conquer the mounds of clutter in my life!
Here's my plan:
First, what I already have that's working for me--a cleaning schedule
During my first year of marriage, as I juggled working full time, adjusting to married life, and managing a household, I quickly found myself in over my head. But then I thought of my grandma who had passed away shortly after I was married. She was a clean freak. She was my cleaning mentor. She was the kind of person who polished her plants, cleaned behind portraits on the wall, vacuumed under the couch, ironed towels and bedsheets...weekly! Her house was spotless, but looking back, she always had time for me and for her favorite soap opera too. How did she do it? That's a mystery for another day. One thing I do know, is that she had a cleaning schedule. And so I implemented a cleaning schedule and that has made all of the difference. Granted, I am very flexible and some things, like dishes, need to be done everyday, but focusing on one area of the house everyday made cleaning faster, easier, and less overwhelming. Here's my schedule:
Monday--Kitchen and dining room
Tuesday--Bedrooms and vacuum hall
Wednesday--Bathrooms
Thursday--Basement and clean out mini-van
Friday--Living room and Laundry (though I do laundry through out the week as the hampers fill up)
Generally, I can get the cleaning done in 30 minutes to an hour (if I don't let myself fall behind which happens more often now that I've got three kids three and under). It's a system that works fairly well for me.
Next, I made a list of things that I need to get organized in my life: my time (scheduling), my house (I went through each room and determined the biggest problem areas), my bags (purse, diaper bag, etc.), the yard, the mini-van, church stuff, finances, technology (email account, blogs, computer files, projects, etc.), and my projects (in planning, in process).
Third, I went through the pins on my 'Getting Organized' board. Here's some of the ideas that I'm working on from my search:
I've been trying to figure out how to schedule and organize my time better and what tools to use to do so. Currently, I use the Cozi app (
Cozi Family Organizer). I like that it has a calendar, grocery list, to do list, and journaling features (and that the basic package is free). However, I don't always have my phone handy thanks to my three year old. I like white boards and magnet boards, but all of my boards are starting to get clutter-y. I like to write things down but don't like to necessarily lug around a day planner. But I'm a binder junkie. Quite the conundrum! I liked many of the ideas found here:
http://s3eventsanddesign.blogspot.com/2011/02/momager.html
I am currently debating this issue, so any ideas and input that you might have would be wonderful!
As for the house, here is something that I began today (so far with much success):
Stephanie, the creator of
Keeper of the Home, has created a list of 40 things to de-clutter, one per day. The goal is to do one thing a day, get rid of ten things each day, and only spend a little time on de-cluttering the home each day. She suggests putting the things you get rid of in boxes to sell at a garage sale, donate, or throw away. So far I cleaned out my silverware drawer and cooking utensil drawer today. It took me about 20 minutes and was fairly painless. And I'm thinking I will box up everything I clean out for a yard sale this summer. All proceeds from my yard sale can go toward a new flat screen T.V. That could be a good incentive for me!
