What’s next?

After doing a few trouble spots of organizing in the house, what is next?  (see last week’s blog for details) 

My spots were the pantry and a kitchen cabinet.  And I feel better already! 

You can keep going and hit a few more small spots.  It’s an easy way to feel a sense of progress and success.  Also, you will be learning your style of organizing.  This is important when you get to the bigger stuff.  To know how you clean out and how throwing things out and moving things around affect you will be important when you get to emotionally charged things. 

So, what about organizing style?  It may seem, by watching home improvement shows or reading magazine articles, that there is a right way to get organized.  But there are SO many different styles of getting through all the stuff and finding a system that works for you. 

The most important thing is to find an organizing system that works for you is that it is easily maintained.  But here are a few basic principles to keep in mind: 

•  Find a spot/home for everything – nothing lands and stays randomly

•  Keep surfaces mostly clear

•  Pair down enough so that things can “breathe” - aka you can see everything!

•  Group like-items together

You might not be a labeling person – and that’s ok!  You might love storage boxes or baskets.  You might like to hang things on the wall (going vertical is a great way to use space).  I love to label, and I like to contain things.  But you might like open shelving and easy access to items.   What you want to find…is all your stuff!   

You want to find a system for you that you can maintain.  There will probably be an initial purge.  But after that, there needs to be a plan for things that enter the house.  And this can be for each area as you get to work on them – different plans for different areas of the house.  The plan will change over time.  And the plan will be forgotten.  And cleaning out will happen again.  But getting to know how this system works for you in YOUR house will help in the future.  It’s best to not just throw everything out (even though, some days, I just want to do that) – it’s going to be a slow-going and sometimes frustrating process.  Yikes!  Who want to start now?!  Yay?  But it’s like a diet – you need something that will work long term.  A crash diet will work short term, but it’s hard to maintain and there is major burn out quickly.  To be organized in the home is to find a “stuff diet” that works – and can keep working. 

The goal should be that you are using your home and storage areas to have the things you need and know where it all is and have easy access to it when you need it.  I am going to be on this organizing journey too.  I like to do it – but sometimes it just NEEDS to get done!  Organizing is an ongoing project.  Things are always coming in the house and need a home.  And if the stuff that’s already here doesn’t have a home, where is the new stuff going to go? 

So I am going to be tackling some big areas in the near future…  There’s a room in my house that has been catching stuff all summer (and for the past 4 years) – and there are so many things that I need in that room, that I think are in that room, and I have no clue where they are.  Or I have to move stuff out of the way to access them.  And it’s driving me crazy.  It wastes my time.  It results in duplicate stuff.   And the time is now… or at least very soon!  

Let’s get started

So the weekend is almost here, fall routines are finally kicking in and the house still seems to be disorganized.  The relaxed and haphazard days of summer are long gone, but now the fall stuff is sitting on TOP of all the summer stuff in the house.  Those “summer” projects are still sitting there – that room, those shelves – that were going to get to before school started are still there.  And now things that have come in the house for school, for fall, for later - are now piled on top of those undone projects.  So how do you dig out of that?  How do you get motivated?  How do you get started, if NOW is the time to get organized?

Start Small. 

Pick something small to start with – I suggest a drawer.  Now, which one?  Find a drawer (or even a small cabinet) that is just bugging you.  It could be a desk drawer, or one in your bedside table.  Maybe even a kitchen drawer, like the utensil drawer.  Here are my criteria on what to pick for that first “get you going” project:

1.     Pick a small area that can be started and completed within 30 minutes or less. 

2.     Pick an area that is used often and would benefit from a quick emptying, purge and cleaning. 

3.     Pick a spot that will give you high impact after it is done – this is good encouragement for your brain to continue the process and pick the next spot! 

4.     Pick a place that is “neutral” – meaning no emotional items or hard choices need to be made.  

One place you may have that you might want to start would be a “junk” drawer in the kitchen (or in my case, a junk spot).  My advice is save that one for a little later.  It could turn into an archeological dig that might stir up emotions and would probably take longer than you think.  This spot is usually the “save for later” spot.  There is a reason that so many things land here.  It’s where things go that have hard decisions with them.  Should I keep it or not?  Where should I keep it?   How about here for now…  Save this drawer for a little later in the process!! 

A good place to start in the kitchen, if that is where you are motivated to be, is the pantry OR fridge.  Most items are easy to make decisions on.  Has it gone bad?  Are we going to eat this?  It’s a great way to clear out and make a huge impact!   Another one is the utensil drawer.  It’s pretty easy to do and just a clean and straighten can make opening that drawer more pleasant! 

So once you decide your spot – and set aside your time to do it – get going.  Because this small accomplishment will get you motivated to attack that corner of your closet.  Or that junk drawer which might be next… 

What do you want to be?

What do you want to be when you grow up?
 I don’t know if I really ever had an answer for that.  When I was a kid, I guess I probably said something like a nurse or whatever came to mind at the time.  When I went to college, I was pretty sure I wanted to be a physical therapist – but things happened and my path was changed.  That’s a whole other story, but I ended up just where I was supposed to be – it didn’t make sense at the time, but what things like that DO make sense?   So I thought about what I wanted to do – what did I want to be now that I was pretty much grown up?  I was married, so I knew exactly what I wanted.  I wanted to be a mom.  Well, it wasn’t so easy for me.  Through many struggles, hopes, longings, heartaches and joys, I am now a mom!  What do I want to be?  A Mommy!
 And once again, I’m asking that question.  What do I want to be, now that my kids are growing up?  They are still so very little, but I want to put in practice now, doing something that I love.  So, what do I love?  I love organizing.  I like cleaning out, making systems and rediscovering stuff I thought I’d lost or space that I didn’t think I had!  It’s energizing to me!
I also love writing.  Journaling and blogging (when I make the time) really bring me joy, bringing out the creative parts in my brain.  The day-to-day life of moms with young kids can sometimes wear down those creative juices, so I’m working on bringing them back!
 I want to be doing something with organizing – helping people, helping myself!  So I’m starting a blog about organizing!  Instead of waiting for something to happen in the future, I’m jumping in the way I can right now!  I’m going to work on cleaning out and organizing spaces and stuff in my house.  I’m going to share tips, goals, ideas, fun ways to get organized and successes that I have at my own house!
 

Wacky days are here to stay

Last week, my Wednesday was weird.  And it seems that the weird stuff always happens on Wednesdays...  But last week, it was really awesome stuff.  (wait... or maybe that was two weeks ago - either way, it was pretty cool)
God was moving in my life in a very simple, but clear and obvious way.  I found out some great news from some friends - God was blessing their family in an amazing way!!  And answered prayer too.  And the things that happen that are totally bizarre or even somewhat inconvenient at the time, but then completely make sense later that day - seem to always happen on Wednesdays to me.
The other wacky thing is the draft of this blog that was not published somehow published itself.  Um, it wasn't really sentences yet.  Not that what I write is ever in a complete sentence...

And then last week, I just had a wacky week - the WHOLE week.  It was just crazy enough to not fit all in one day.  Among them were a closed road due to a gas leak (thankfully we didn't have to evacuate our house like last time.)  And I think my favorite was the huge bumble bee in my shower stall at the gym - that one was just crazy and disconcerting (that buzzing noise...yikes.)
One night of storms kept me up a lot, so the next day I was tired.  I didn't know how tired until I stumbled in my bathroom into the drawer handles and got two HUGE bruises.  Seriously, I hit that hard?  Then the next day, I tripped on a little car that was left in my path.  I slid and rolled my ankle and smashed my toes.  I was sure that one of them was broken.  I couldn't walk for a while.  And my oldest remarked, "You have ANOTHER boo-boo" - yes, yes indeed.

Rainy Monday

I love rainy days.  And I really love them when they are on Monday.  I'm not sure why I love Monday.  Maybe it's because I'm not going into an office anymore.  I was SO not cut out for the Monday - Friday work week.  8am Monday and I were NOT friends.  It wasn't pretty, even with coffee.  But now my job is at home.  Still not pretty without coffee!  It's 7 days a week - more exhausting, but more fulfilling.

So Mondays to me are kind of refreshing.  A new start to the week.  Kind of a "reset" on everything that went a little off-kilter over the weekend.   And just add in the rain - Makes the morning a beautiful gray color that invigorates me!  But let me be clear - just RAIN.  Not storms.  Maybe 3 rumbles of thunder, but that's all for a nice rainy day for me.  Mondays are my fresh start - new lists, new goals, more "possible" chances to get the stuff done that I didn't get done last week.  More opportunities to maybe read a book?  Or even blog?  Monday is my day to hit the ground running after a restful Sunday.  

So a nice refreshing rain.  A nice run on the treadmill.  A nice Monday to start the week.  Let's go!  

Throwback Thursday

So I'm going to do a throwback series:  "This week in 2010."
Mostly instead of pictures, I'm going to take a look back at my old calendars, blogs and journals.  This is RIGHT before we got kids. And right in the beginning of when I became a new mom.  It should be an interesting journey!  It doesn't seem that long ago, but it really was!  I feel like a totally different person now.  It's weird that I've been a mom for less than four years, especially with having one starting kindergarten in the fall. But I wouldn't have it any other (crazy) way.  It was perfect!

-----   -----   -----   -----   -----   -----   -----   -----   -----   -----

So today, we find ourselves in the first half of April 2010...

It was already Easter - it came early that year.  And it was already really warm outside.
A silly thing that I did - I was working outside trying to cut weeds and vine growth away from our outdoor AC unit.  I really was trying to be careful, cutting back and pulling out.  I was even trying to watch out for poison ivy.  There was one stubborn weed that wouldn't pull loose.  It was going up under the unit.  And of course, I didn't want it to get caught in the fan and cause a problem.  That really was my thought process.  It looked like a thorny branch - like one of those brown ones that's more like a root.  So I cut it and then tried pulling it.  Oops.  It was actually a wire going into the AC unit.  My bad.  The thermostat wire.  It could have been really bad.  So I had to have someone come out and replace it.  The guy said, "It looks cut.  On purpose?"  Yep.

I had joined a Bible Study at church and started my first year volunteering at VBS as a director for preschool children.  I had done both of those sooner than I really wanted to.  I really wanted to have kids so that I could be a "mom" in Bible study.  I thought it would be really hard being with other ladies that were mothers, while I was still waiting and longing.  God was really faithful to be to give me courage to just jump in anyway - before I thought I was ready.  He placed some wonderful godly women in my life at just the time that I needed them.  What a blessing!

And I thought I was crazy volunteering to work with KIDS when I didn't have any yet.  But when I was asked to be a part of it, I prayed and the answer was clear.  I did wonder why, but I just blindly followed and began a journey into the children's ministry at my church.

And oh how things were just put in place, paving the path, marking the way for the years to come.
And oh how I didn't know it at the time - not that would ever.  But I wasn't even looking at it that way.
And oh how God was waiting for this perfect moment in time, to change my life forever.
Little did I know...

Frenzied Friday

So Friday is a day that I seem to always be frantic and frenzied.  I was thinking about the differences of the meanings of these words...  So I looked it up!
Frantic: desperate or wild with excitement, passion, fear, pain, etc.; frenzied
Frenzied: wildly excited or enthusiastic. also, violently agitated; frantic

So they are kind of interchangeable - but also sort have a different feel to them.  Such is my day on Friday.  I am usually frantic with trying to get done the things that I didn't do over the past week.  And then getting things ready for the weekend.  This Friday, indeed was that way.  I was trying to get a few things that were straggling from Monday through Thursday.  Plus prepping for a trip out of town - so that included packing and getting the kids stuff ready for the sitters that were coming to stay with them for the weekend.  Mommy and daddy got a little vacation!!  So indeed frenzied with excitement and frantic with prepping...

And some of my frantic catching up... here are the themes for the missing days this week:

Wacky Wednesday and Throwback Thursday
coming next week!