Seriously, people. I wish I were kidding.
As I entered into a life of wedded bliss, I quickly realized that my husband struggled with the same issues as I did!! (Which, if you've ever dropped in on my Mother-in Law, you'll know that he was NOT brought up that way...I'm talking EVERYTHING has a place, and EVERYTHING is labeled! No joke - drop by and look in their garage...it's a thing of beauty!)
For the last 7 years, we've both really struggled in our cluttered messy existence, but it reached epic proportions when we had children. Kids come with a LOT of stuff...
I've tried nearly everything, from assigning "days" to do each step of cleaning, having my master-organizer sister Alicia help me, to designating entire Saturdays for un-doing the week's worth of mess. Nothing works.
I finally realized that on my own strength, nothing can change, so I started by asking the Lord for forgiveness for not taking care of my household like He would want me to and asking that He would give me the desire to provide a clean and calming environment for my kids and husband. I think poor Todd would have gone completely crazy had he woken up to not a single clean white t-shirt one more time!!
Long story short, here is what's working for me -
1. God has given me the desire to serve my husband well and keep our house clean and organized. Who knew?? :)
2. TV stays off during the day. It's too easy for me to have it on "for background noise" and end up parked in front of an all day marathon of "Clean House". Ironic, no? :/
3. Based on my more recent posts, you all know about "Operation Organization", and that I've designated almost everything in my house a "spot". (My Mother-in-Law will be SOOO proud!! ;)
4. I make sure the sink is free of dishes EVERY night before I go to bed. I also run it while we sleep and make myself unload it first thing in the morning. (Un-loading the dishwasher is on my list of housekeeping HATES...along with putting away the laundry and taking out the garbage. Not sure why, but I just loathe these tasks with a passion.)
5. I putter...this means that all day long I try to pick up what I can. I've come to the conclusion that it's pointless to pick up toys until night time, which is another every night task that Hailey helps me with as part of the bedtime routine.
6. Meal planning. I'm working on this one, but I have my system in place, so that's a step in the right direction. As you can see, I have a whiteboard calendar on the wall in the kitchen where I write down the meals for the month. Then I have a shopping list and my envelope of coupons on the cork board to its right. I'm able to plan my meals and then make my shopping list right there so I can be one step ahead. I'll let you know how this turns out, because I've only been doing it for about a week.
7. Our family calendar. This is going to rock my world, people!! Three months at a time at a glance. Loving this... :)
Well, there you have it. These are the tips for organization that are currently working for me. I am still a work in progress, but headed in the right direction. :)
13 comments:
YEAH. This makes me really excited. Now we can both geek out over organization stuff. :)
Jess, I am so impressed and so proud of you! (And praising the Lord with you for His strength and power in your life.) You go, girl!
YAY I love all the organizing tips! Thanks for sharing! Happy Easter!
THAT IS AWESOME!!!! So proud! =) Organizing helps me feel so much more calm in our home...love it! =) Although, I still feel like I have a ways to go too! I HATE the bathroom chores...I think it is a germ thing...ironically, I LOVE a clean bathroom.
Having the dressers near the laundry room has really helped with putting clothes away. I know this sounds funny, but the only thing I didn't like about putting clothes away was that I got kind of dizzy...all the piles were low and the drawers were low...up, down, up, down. haha! =) I think you are going to do wonderfully...the hardest part is getting started and the first month or so of forcing yourself to do it! Then, it makes life a breeze!
I love to go to bed with a clean kitchen sink too! Now I can't function w/out one! =)
Can't wait to see how things come along! It all just looks so pretty too!
also have you seen this blog:
http://orgjunkie.com/
it could help w/organizing!
Jess - I'm impressed! I need a little dose of that myself! Where did you get the white board calendars? I love them!
Stacy - I got the calendars at Pottery Barn. :)
Good for you Jess! God loves to help with all sorts of stuff. A tip I learned years ago is to start the folding process as I take things out of the dryer. I hang all shirts,pants etc over the dryer door, quickly fold the towels, and littles stuff like sock and panties go in the basket then lay the hung up things over the top to hang up or fold better. That way if I don't get to it right away the shirts don't get so wrinkled. It only takes a couple of minutes. Hope this makes sense. LOve you bunches.
Love this WHOLE post...the honesty, the heart, the tools, and the tips. Nicely done! :)
The folks who host our church home group have the same 3 calendars and I see it each week as I enter their home...it seems like such a great tool! I also like the fact that you can color-code by person/event. Ah, how I love this stuff.
Love that 3-month calendar!!
I see we're fond of the PB calendars.
I love your tips.
I have to be organized. We very busy and if I don't put appointments on the calendar well, it's not pretty.
Today, I forgot that I had a doctor's appt on Wed. Ugh!
Have a great weekend.
I'm SO taking your meal planning calendar for my own! What a great idea! Where did you get the whiteboards and hanger for your family calendars?
This post was so encouraging and practical! Thank you so much! I too
just recently started running the dishwasher each night and I'm amazed at how much that helps keep a clean kitchen :)
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