Let us talk about organization today, shall we?
As you can all imagine, I am super organized and never fail in any of my endeavors.
True. My purse might have some room for improvement.
Things you are sure to find in my purse:
1) Coupons. Most are probably expired. Yet, I keep them around for nostalgic purposes.
2) Chapstick. The lid will be missing. (I blame the children)
3) Gum. Half opened and filled with crumbs. (I blame the children.)
4) An old diaper. Not used. I am not disgusting. I am just lazy.
5) Small trains and cars. These are my life blood and have saved me from many a predicament with my boys.
Would you believe that somehow my Costco card “fell” out of my wallet and was severed in half in the bottom of my purse?
How does this happen?
I blame the children.
Note: Children are also good to blame for: bad hair days, no “cute” clothes, missing earrings, tummy fat, being late, and a dirty house.
So . . . how do I stay organized?
Well. I am not. Really. But I don’t think I am a complete failure.
Here is a random list of things I do to try and keep things running ship-shape.
And I use the phrase “ship-shape” quite loosely.
1) I do about two loads of laundry a day. This is awful and dreadful. But it is better than having a mountain of laundry glaring at you every day.
2) I do not exercise. Who has time for it? No. I have other things to do. Like laundry. See?! I finally came up with a good reason to not exercise.
3) I like to buy chicken breasts when they are on sale. Then I cook and shred them and freeze smaller portions to make dinners easier later on.
Reality: I have done this twice. But you can pretend you are impressed.
4) Coming up with this list is much harder than I had anticipated it would be. Perhaps I have been deceived in just how organized I think I am?
5) I make lists! Yes. Lists are good. I make lists of chores that need to be done. Then I run out of time and see that there is no way I can accomplish such things. So I throw it away and pretend it never existed.
6) I make lists for my two older kids of chores they can do. I do not give them the aforementioned option of throwing out their lists. Nay. They shall do it. And they will like it.
7) I pack things I need to get out the door in the morning the night before.
8) Amazingly, I am still late to everything.
9) I try to always make sure the dishwasher is empty before dinner. This may sound like a dumb one. And if so, just ignore it.
10) I try to go through all the kids clothes 2-3 times a year and donate all items we won’t use anymore.
That’s all I got.
Don’t pretend you aren’t inspired.
What are your tips on staying organized?
Please share.
Not that I need the help . . .
But others might.
***
I wanted to share with you all a cute story. Do you remember how when I was potty training Little Dude, I would show him his Thomas the Train underwear and tell him not to pee on Thomas’ face?
Sure you do.
Anyways. This morning, he had to go potty, but he was having trouble unbuttoning his pants.
Alas. He didn’t get on the toilet in time. He peed in his underwear.
Oh, for the devastation.
“I peed on Thomas! I peed on Thomas!”
He cried and cried.
He found it disheartening, to say the least. He just kept saying he was sorry to his good friend, Thomas.
I found it precious and hilarious. And messy.
Let us hope that his mother’s brilliant potty-training methods will not scar him for life.
Happy Thursday!
(I am linking up to Kelly’s Korner today. Click on the link to see more tips from other bloggers on organization. I am sure they will be more helpful than I was.)
I like lists too. If I’ve had an especially productive day, I leave them where Josh will find them.
And when I make a list, I always start it with one or two things that I have already done, so I can check them off right away and feel good about myself.
😉
Ha! I do the same thing.
My organization tip is . . . um . . . well . . . to ask someone else about organization.
My organization tip is to buy tubs. Or totes. Whatever they are called. And then cram them full of stuff that’s similar, shove the lid back on(sitting on it if need be to make it close), smack a label on the tub/tote, and then your closet or whatever looks organized! I love those things. Glad I could be of help.
my sister and I are laughing hysterically about the Thomas thing.
just you know, FYI.
You are more organized than me. So, that’s something (maybe it’s not, but let’s pretend it is)
I’m guessing that with four kids you are way more organized than you give yourself credit for or you would never get anywhere! And the cuteness of the Thomas story!
I am obsessive about writing things down in my planner. And then I hi-light the task when it’s complete. Even when I’m overwhelmed, looking back and seeing everything I’ve gotten accomplished makes me feel good.
Oh my gosh, but I am so anal about being organized. Ask my children. Ask my students. I tried to play an April Fool’s joke on my students…told them I’d left their tests at home. They were not fooled.
Ok…so my tips.
For my own children, I made an Excel spreadsheet with the chores, organized by daily, twice a week, and once a week. I left spots for them to write in their initials because they always fought over who had done what last. It worked marvelously. We used this method until Chicky went to college in August. Now I split the chores with Rooster, but we don’t sign anything. We’ve matured. Finally.
Cooking beforehand is way overrated. No wonder you hardly ever do it. It’s just not doable when you have so many children…or even two children as I do.
Oh. Organization. Let’s see. If you have to be somewhere on time the next day, put the kids in the car the night before. This saves oodles of time.
That’s all I’ve got right now. I use binders and whatnot for the other stuff, and I don’t clean…often that is. Like cooking, it’s overrated.
Bwaa haaa haaa haaa!!! I have four boys, age 5 & under. And I simply MUST try your early-van-loading trick. SO funny!!!!!
Too funny! “use the term loosely” …;) And Natalie above, why didn’t *I* think to put the kids in the car the night before? Brilliant!
Your LucyFur is adorable! We have a 15 month old golden male, and believe me, some days his ONLY redeeming quality is his cuteness. And I use the term “redeeming” loosely.
6) I make lists for my two older kids of chores they can do. I do not give them the aforementioned option of throwing out their lists. Nay. They shall do it. And they will like it.
That is my tip for organization. Wednesday I ran around doing all of the stuff I can’t do because I’m at work, and the house was a wreck. I offered to pay the girls up to ten bucks each if they would clean it Saturday to my satisfaction…
They eagerly agreed.
That, my dear is one fantabulous tip if I do say so myself!
I am better at doing the organizing than keeping it organized. One tip is that I have three metal buckets labeled Pay, File, and Misc. Then when I open the bills I stick them in the Pay bucket and put the due date on my computer in iCalendar, then when I pay the bill (since I do this online it’s easiest to use the computer calendar), I mark Paid under it on the calendar and stick it in the File bucket. Then after four months or whatever I finally bother to put the paid bills in the filing cabinet. I use the Misc. bucket for all the little things that arrive in the mail that I can’t make up my mind about. Keep or pitch? So I stick it in the Misc bucket and forget about it. Then eventually I still have to throw it out, but at least this way it’s not cluttering my table or counters.
Actually, I am impressed! Organization is quite vexing. #9 took me years and years to learn. Starting off the day without dirty dishes and ending the day with clean dishes makes things go so much smoother. I have just decided today to make out a weekly dinner list and post it on the frig. Dinner hour is so chaotic. I just started reading 30 Days to a Well-Mannered Dog: The Loved Dog Method by Tamar Geller. I have a very naughty chihuahua that needs a bit of organization.
Poor Thomas!
hahhahaaa…that made me giggle A LOT!
I would like to say my house looks like Martha’s house.
It does not.
I try to remember the pile that I last saw needed item in.
Sometimes that works.
Sometimes it doesn’t.
I would not recommend this approach.
A tip to stay organized……….. Let me think…………. I’m sure I have something to offer……..oh wait, I’m not organized enough to come up with anything.
By the way, love the Peed on Thomas part. Too funny!
Hubs refers to my purse as The Black Hole and recoils in horror if I ask him to get something .
I don’t think the dishwasher tip is dumb. It is so depressing to have to clean up after a meal and have to first empty the dishwasher.
Happy Easter!
At my apartment I cannot alter anything, walls paint etc. If I could shelves would help me tremendously. My best project for storage organization was realizing that if ALL my boxes were exactly the same size and white they would look good and stack up well. I invested in perfectly white boxes. Accidentally they sent me another size box I didn’t request. Because I couldn’t add shelves inside my coat closet I lined it with cheap pine boards from Lowe’s, put shelves on that and then organized all my office stuff, woodworking stuff, photos, CDs, stationery and Chrismas cards, glues, paints, crafts, candles, emergency items, paintbrushes, hardware etc. It so worked! Not cold here, don’t need a coat closet. I stenciled my bedroom boxes with soft pink allover design and it looks real nice. I recommend. Boxes from ULINE
Your son may be devastated about peeing on Thomas, but just imagine how Thomas feels! And your organization tips are hilarious. I moved about 6 months ago and still haven’t finished unpacking, so you’re doing better than me!
This post made me laugh! Love it! Now I dont feel so bad about being unorganized 🙂
It isn’t fair to describe my purse on your blog. I do forget to run the washer and end up washing the dinner dishes by hand.
Ha! You described my life! It is a daily struggle to keep up with life! 🙂 ha! Erin
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I feel your chap stick pain. I have three right now in one of my kitchen cabinets and none have lids. I too am blaming that on the kids, because never before I had them did I have a lidless chap stick! Great List!