Efficiency = Found Time

I usually start each day with a list of things I want to get done that day. I don't always accomplish the goal of crossing everything off that list, but I like to try. I can be really bad about not using every last minute to my advantage. Now, I don't mean that I have to be working all the time, but if I want to read a book, why not read a page here, a few there instead of not even trying?

It was 40 minutes until I needed to pick my daughter up from preschool today. My youngest needed a nap, but there was no way to squeeze one in before we needed to leave. I started to get into "hang out" mode to wait until it was time to leave. That's when it hit me. Yes, it's obvious, but why not get one task done before picking "Princess" up instead of waiting until afterwards? Um, hello?

I packed "Little Guy" into the minivan, and cruised on down to the library to return the books that were due today. I managed to get to "Princess's" school with time to spare. This extra time usually goes wasted, but not today. Today I thought ahead and brought along a sweatshirt that needed some sewing done to fix it. Voila! Lost time, found!

I was so impressed with my thinking ahead that I think I'm going to try to make a habit of it. I think I'll keep something I need to do in the minivan so I can be more efficient. Efficiency = found time!

Reusable Grocery Lists

Once a week I have to deal with the dreaded job of grocery shopping. I guess in some ways I don't dislike grocery shopping, just sometimes the preparation can seemingly take forever. You know what I'm talking about if you're a couponer like me - find the deals, plan your meals, make the list, clip the coupons, etc., etc., etc. The time invested is worth it to save a ton of money, but I love anything that allows me to spend less time on the prep work.

To try to streamline my grocery shopping "experience", I made a list of the major items in each aisle at the grocery store. This way, I don't have to write everything down. I can just circle or highlight most of the items I need to buy.

This may sound silly to you, but it bugs me that I am wasting two sheets of paper each week just for my grocery list. The only problem is that if it's not written down, I won't remember it. I think I might have a solution. Here's hoping that it works!

I'm going to pick up some notecards - maybe I'll color-code them - in addition to a metal ring clip and something to help me sort of laminate them. I'm going to have one card per area / aisle, leaving space to write in extra items not on the list. Then I'll laminate them, or possibly just cover them with clear packaging tape. After that, I'm going to clip them all together using the metal ring. Before each shopping trip I'll mark my needed items on the note cards using a dry-erase marker.

The only potential problem I see is the items being wiped off by accident when the dry-erase marker rubs against something else. On the plus side, though as I buy each item, I can simply wipe it off the list. With the metal ring, I'll be able to attach my shopping list / cards to the cart so I won't lose it. I may see if I can attach a pouch of some type to keep the coupons that I'm using that shopping trip together so I won't lose them. (I'll still take my regular coupon pouch with me.)

Alright! I'm ready to get started! Unfortunately I need to wait until I go to the grocery store again to make sure I have all of the items listed in the correct order. Phooey! I'll let you know how it goes and will post a photo once I have it all made.

Do you have other ideas? Please share!

Organizing, Finances, Kids, & Changes, Oh My!

When I started this blog, I did it to encourage myself to get my house and life in order. I love to organize, so I thought this would be fun. Well, while I've been enjoying writing and feeling like I have a daily "job", I'm just not really happy with the direction in which I have started taking this blog. I'm no professional organizer, just a wanna-be, so I really want to back away from the path I was starting to go down - a bossy one! =)

In addition to enjoying organizing, I really enjoy saving money and seeing how far I can stretch a buck. My husband and I currently don't carry any debt other than our mortgage. (We've both been very lucky and very strategic with our money.) At a couple of points, though, we've leaned on our main credit cards. This may sound silly, but I really got a kick out of figuring out how we'd go about paying off the credit card and how quickly we could do it. Now, we were never in debt by much, but I enjoyed the challenge that debt offered.

One other topic I like to talk about and makes me happy is my family. I love to share stories about my kids in addition to hearing stories about others' kids. Our two very different dogs provide a bit of humor from time to time as well.

I guess what I'm saying is that I may take this blog in a whole other direction than I had initially planned. I think I might try to figure out how to mix these three interests of mine. I know, good luck, huh? Unfortunately, this blog itself likely won't be very "well organized" for a while. Hopefully it'll be more enjoyable to read with changing things up and me writing more in the same style that I talk.

What do you think? Anyone out there? =)

A Lazy Day...and Changes

We've already gotten so much organizing and decluttering done that it's about time we take a day off. It's hard to stay charged up to get things done when you never take a day off. Besides, that's the whole reason to get all of this organizing done - to have more time for everything else.

Also, after trying out my posting schedule for a few weeks, I think I'm going to change it up a little. I'm going to keep the schedule essentially the same, but instead of organizing an area on Wednesdays, I'm going to take that day to share about either a fun organizing product I've found, a great organizing post I read elsewhere, or to share wonderful organizing ideas I've gotten from you! Let me know what you think of the new schedule!

I hope you have a wonderful Friday! I'll be back tomorrow with my weekly review!

Today's task... enjoy the day!

There's never enough time...

"There's never enough time..." seems to be my mantra lately, unfortunately. With three young children and everything that goes along with keeping a household running, I rarely seem to be able to get everything done. It can be frustrating knowing that if I will just stay on task, I can get a lot more done in a shorter amount of time. Unfortunately I easily get side-tracked and often move on to other tasks before the first one is completed.

Making a schedule has helped with my cleaning schedule. Has it helped you stay on task? I have found that it's easy for me to forget to do things if I don't have them written down. That is why today we're going to talk about using lists to help get things accomplished.

Using Lists as a Tool to Get Tasks Accomplished

There are many pros and cons to lists. Lists are great in that they can help you use your time more efficiently. They help you keep your thoughts organized and remember what needs to be done. Lists give you something to cross of when you've finished a task which can give you a wonderful sense of accomplishment. Unfortunately, lists can also overwhelm you with everything you need to do. Also, lists can get lost resulting in you forgetting something potentially important. In my opinion, though, the benefits far outweigh the negatives if lists are used properly.

If you're a list-maker like me, pick one place to keep all of your lists - your computer, phone, or notebook. Keeping your lists all in one place helps eliminate clutter and helps you ensure you don't lose anything important. I keep all of my lists in my phone so I'll always know where they are.

Because I often have more than one day's worth of tasks to remember, I like to have a couple of lists - short term and long term lists. I tend to start each day by making a short term list of everything I want to accomplish that day. The trick here is to make sure you don't over estimate what you think you can get done, because having too many things on the list can be very overwhelming. My long term list generally includes tasks that need to be done but can't get done that day. Having two lists allows me to remember everything without feeling like I have to get it all done today.

As I accomplish tasks, I like to cross off or erase the task. It's silly, but I get a very satisfying feeling of accomplishment when I get to cross tasks off as completed.

Time Wasters

I have found so many time wasters that sometimes I think I've become a professional procrastinator - you know, if there were such a thing! Anything that is a "black hole" of productivity or keeps you from accomplishing your goals is a time waster. My biggest time waster is the internet. Believe me, I can find plenty of reasons why I need to be doing things on the computer to keep from getting things done. What are your biggest time wasters? Take your time and consider what they may be. Having this knowledge will help you with this week's challenge.

A Challenge for Myself

I have two goals for myself this week. My first goal is to actually complete one task on my daily list before moving on to the next one. (This is huge for me!) My second goal is to avoid getting on the internet until each of the tasks on my list is done. If one of my tasks requires me to be online, I will commit to doing nothing other than that task until my entire list is complete. Now it's your turn... I challenge you to stay on task and finish all items on your list before giving in to your time wasters. Hopefully we'll all learn to work more efficiently by sticking with this challenge.

What do you do to help you stay on task? Do you have any tricks? I'd love to hear them - I could always use more ideas!

Time management task for this week: identify your biggest time wasters, each day / week (whichever you prefer) create your list of tasks to be completed, commit yourself to completing your daily task list before giving in to your time wasters.

Cleaning schedules

Cleaning, ugh!!! I love to organize but boy do I dislike cleaning! Maybe I should pair up with a friend who loves to clean, and we could swap organizing/cleaning jobs. Hmmm...I might be on to something! Unless I make it a priority, the cleaning just doesn't get done. Believe me, with three young children, I can always find something else to be doing. That is why we're creating a cleaning schedule today. A cleaning schedule can help you be more efficient with your time. You know what that day's task is so you can spend less time trying to decide what needs to get done.

The thought of cleaning our entire house makes me want to not even bother starting. Talk about an intimidating task! I have found, though, that by placing my cleaning jobs on a schedule so I have a smaller job each day, I'm much more likely to get the cleaning done.

To create my cleaning schedule, I listed all of the tasks I would like to get done each week: vacuum/sweep floors, dust, water the plants, clean the bathrooms, de-clutter the minivan, and wash the bedding. Your tasks may be completely different from mine depending on your situation.

Once you have your list of jobs, break the list into smaller chunks deciding how much you feel you can readily handle each day. At this point, look at your weekly schedule and decide which day would work best for you to tackle each cleaning task. Here's what mine looks like in addition to my reasoning behind why I set each task on the day I did (if there was a particular reason):

Sunday: sweep/vacuum and mop floors

In reality, the mopping doesn't happen every week, but that's my goal. I set this on Sunday because it's the best day for me to try to squeeze it in.

Monday: wash all bedding

I almost put this on Friday so we'd have wonderfully clean sheets for the weekend, but I had other tasks I wanted to tackle then.

Tuesday: vacuum and sweep

Wednesday: dust and water plants

For some reason, I have a really hard time remembering to water plants. That's why I put that task on my schedule. If it's not on the schedule, it's probably not going to happen. (Most of the plants in my house are very draught-resistant!)

Thursday: de-clutter minivan

Three young children... need I say more?

Friday: vacuum and sweep - again

With three young children and two dogs, there's always going to be stuff on my floors. I figure there isn't any point in my going crazy trying to vacuum/sweep more than two to three times a week.

Saturday: clean bathrooms

This is my least favorite cleaning task. I stuck this on Saturday because it takes so much time.Also, it's a lot easier for me to clean the bathrooms if my husband can take the children so they aren't getting into the cleaning supplies. Depending on when we're likely to have guests, I'll sometimes stick this on Friday.

Once you have created your cleaning schedule, post it on your calendar or somewhere you're likely to see it on a daily basis. Stick to your commitment to get the cleaning job done each day. If some part of the schedule isn't working for you, change it up so it will work better. While it's important to stick to the cleaning schedule, it's just as important to be flexible with it as needed.

Now, let's get cleaning!

Topic Schedule

Since this is a blog about getting organized, I suppose it would be a good idea to make a schedule of sorts to help me keep on task. I don't know about you, but I get pretty overwhelmed when I don't have a plan for accomplishing something - especially something as big as a blog!

Schedules and lists are so important to me. They are about the only things that help me remember to get certain things done and help me stay on task. Lists and schedules are important, though I think it's also important to remember that they need to be flexible. While I try to cross everything off my list by the end of the day, sometimes life gets in the way. That's okay. Also, sometimes a schedule I've worked out for myself just isn't working. That's when the flexibility comes in handy - being flexible enough to change the schedule around to try to find one that will work better.

To start, I'll try to stick with the following organization topic schedule:

Sunday - time

Monday - house

Tuesday - finances

Wednesday - house

Thursday - decluttering / eliminating / simplifying

Friday - house

Saturday - evaluating the past week and planning for the week ahead

What are your thoughts? Is there an area you would be interested in covering? Let me know!

New Year's resolution time!

Yep, I'm a day late with wishing you a Happy New Year. Better late than never though, right?

With every new year comes new year's resolutions. Why not make it your new year's resolution to get your home and life organized with me?

You know, I never fully understood the need to have my life be organized until I became the mom of three. Before my youngest was born, I was able to procrastinate and still pretty much get everything accomplished. Now, my procrastination is resulting in more stress, things not getting done, and less time for everything I really want to be doing.

How about you? Have you been putting off being organized because you just don't have the time? Baby steps. It's all about taking baby steps. Trying to take on too much at one time can be overwhelming. Let's aim for baby steps. If I can do that, so can you!

Today's task is to resolve to get organized this year. Together we can get it accomplished!