What Are You Organizing For?

When you think about organizing or getting organized, what is your purpose?  What is the appeal for you?  Do you feel better when you are organized?  Are you tired of looking for things?  Do you feel overwhelmed by stuff?  There are lots of reasons to want to get and be organized, but when you find your reason - organize to that reason.

I watched an organizing video by someone who was over and above organized.  And it was Too. Much. For. Me.  She had every paper color coded by year and pattern.  Her sticky notes were organized by her color and her light bulbs had labels.  There was a recycling container by anything she might ever throw out - light bulbs, batteries, papers (I'm not against recycling, but there were too many for me.)  I'm sure that for some people, this type of organizing works great, but I couldn't handle it or live like that.  So I'm not organizing to reach that type of perfection.  I am organizing so I can find what I want when I want it, so I can use the things I have, so my house isn't overly cluttered and so I can live the way I want to live.

In the past few months I produced a play, "As You Like It."  I was in charge of costumes and scenery and many of the props.  Seven years ago, I produced a different Shakespeare play.  When I went to costume, do scenery and props, I could easily pull out the things I used seven years ago.  I knew where they were, they were accessible and not ruined..  Why?  I have a system in my house of where things are and where they belong.  It includes taking care of the things I have and using them.  My system and organization helps me to do the things I want to do.

What do you want your organization to do for you?

Be Ready and Do It When the Time Is Right

It's been raining all week at our house. The ground is sopping wet and saturated. But today it stopped raining, so I went outside and weeded. There were plenty of other things I could do today, but the time was right, so I went. The weeds came out easily and in no time and I had lots of piles of weeds all over my yard (but no longer growing in the ground).
There are lots of things that are easier to do if you do them when the time is right. Here's a few things I try to do that are much easier if I wait and prepare for the right time.

* Weeding.

*Copying. If I know I have copying coming up (anytime), I try to get it ready. Then if I don't need it immediately, I just leave it around my house. Almost inevitably, someone will need to copy something before I need my copying done and I can send it with them. It combines 2 copy trips into one and eliminates something from my "to do" list.

* Projects. I happen to have lots of projects going on at my house all the time. I like to have an idea of the things that are coming up in my head. That way, whenever I am shopping, I can be looking for the things I need for those projects. They may be months away, but if I get the things I need when I'm already shopping, I can usually save money on them, and be done without an extra shopping trip.

* Scheduled times in my life. (There is another post dedicated to this topic). I have scheduled times when I work on our finances, send big emails, and even write in my journal. Since I have a set time to do those things, I don't need to worry about them - or even think about them - at other times. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I have a time for those things - and when I do, I try not to spend any more time thinking about them.

What things work for you if you wait until the right time to do them?

One Room Done

I guess if I'm going to be a blogger, I've got to change the way I take pictures. I don't have any before pictures of what I'm going to talk about today, so you can't really see the change, but hopefully, you can imagine it.

Yesterday was our day to clean the boys bedroom. It was pretty much a disaster (see my previous blog). We started at nine in the morning. After an hour and a half, my 5-year-olds stuff was pretty much done, but my 11-years-olds was just scratching the surface. It was a beautiful day (this is a serious weakness I have), so I told all my younger kids they could be done and go play. My 11-year-old wanted to play too, but he could clearly see that his stuff was not done. So he offered me something I find very hard to resist - I could clean his room. I have mixed feelings about this, but I have been trying for years to limit knicknacks on the dresser, clear stuff off the bulletin board, throw out the little broken toys he never plays with (because he can't), and put stuff the way I want it. So I took the opportunity, and he went outside to play.

It took most of the day. I didn't put the last thing away until 10:00 last night, but I finished and now I love to go in that room. Here are some pictures:







We took out 4 bags of garbage, gave one bag to the DI, and found the lost library book. Here are a few things I noticed:
* Less is more. I love looking in those nearly empty drawers and uncluttered dresser. Having more and showing more does not make you "more". Being able to find and use what you do have is the real "more."
* My 9-year-old came in to help me. I let her go through the stuffed animals and of her own accord, she found a bunch that she wanted to send to the DI. I wouldn't have gone there with the stuffed animals, but I'm happy to be rid of them.
* Finishing is hard. I got the whole room clean except the pile of 25 things I didn't know what to do with. To get rid of that pile, I called my kids in and asked if there was anything they knew we didn't need. That got rid of one thing. Then I looked hard to see if there was anything I did know what to do with. I found 5 things I could put away. Then I decided on some things to throw away - 3 more things gone. Then I just left the pile for awhile. I wanted to finish so I could cross it off, but I didn't know how to get rid of the pile. Then I moved the whole pile to the kitchen counter so I could vacuum the room and have the room done. Finally, right before bed, I looked at the pile, made decisions and found a place for everything.
* I love having one place that is completely clean. It makes my whole house feel better.

Successful Project Day With the Kids

I just wanted to share a successful project day we had this week. Project days are Mondays at our house and the day to get stuff done that needs doing. This week the kitchen needed doing. While I cleaned the stove and microwave, my 2-year-old grabbed his rag and wiped the stove with me. My 5 year old went through the pencils and pens, sharpened them or threw out what didn't work. My 9 and 11 year olds washed the floor, baseboards and bottom cupboards. We spent about 45 minutes and got the kitchen clean! It was one of those happy days when everyone helps and you get something done that needs doing.