Do you feel like a mess in every way?
Are you mostly neat and tidy but need help with
organization?
Do you desire to be an organized and scheduled person but
have no idea where to start?
Do you start organizing your home only to get stuck and not
know what to do next?
If any of the above describes you, I’m telling you now…there
is hope! I have been a pretty organized
thinker and scheduled person my entire life.
However, that didn’t always translate to my surroundings. As a kid, I was a MESS! My parents would always have to make me clean
my room because I let it get out of control and then I had a HUGE mess to clean
up and didn’t know what to do with all that stuff! As I became a teenager I craved organization
and because I naturally thought in an organized fashion, I was able to be
pretty orderly….then something ugly crept in – OCD or better known as CDO to
those of us who have it J you know, because the letters are in order
that way! hahaha... Anyhow, when I got married it
was pretty bad, I literally would get up sometimes at night to straighten the
shoes in our closet…that was messed up.
My husband would say “you’re kidding me!? Get back in bed” I let it kind of take control of me a
bit.
Well, I became a mother and that
right there can cure you of some of your overly OCD tendencies! Then, we moved and moved again, had another
baby, moved again (twice in 3 months) then another baby and we accumulated more
and more “stuff”. At this point I was
anything but organized and I hated it! I
KNEW I could be organized but now there was finding that time (and energy) to be organized. I literally spent about 2 hours sitting one
day during the kids nap time and pondered how I could become the organized
person I used to be... within reason. I was
still scheduled, meaning we had a regular routine we followed each day, yet
there were times that were “dead” and honestly I could have been more
productive. Now, we have 5 (soon to be
6) kids ranging from 16yrs to 2yrs of age.
I am still always having to stay on top of things because that IS what
mom’s do but we have a schedule, everything has a place and most of the time everything
stays in its place. It can be a daunting
task to look at everything you have to do to simply maintain a neat, tidy home
but then to also need to organize and de-clutter your home as well can seem so
big. This is when a schedule comes in
real handy! The best advice I can give
you is, break it all down. Break it down
into small manageable chunks and it doesn’t seem so big. On top of that, you feel a sense of
accomplishment that will increase your desire to move on to the next task.
Some people like to have a step by step approach so they
can follow the steps to accomplish what they need to. I created to following steps with you in mind
J
The very first thing that is so, so important is to get
up before your kids and spend some time with Jesus. Give your day to God and bathe it in prayer. Ask God to bless your day, to give you
strength to accomplish all you desire for your day, to give you wisdom to know
when to stop if you need to. We can do nothing without Him and everything with Him! The days I have done this have gone so much
better than the days I have skipped it wanting a few more winks of sleep.
Next step, make a plan!
This step is two fold.
First, you must make a plan of attack. List the rooms/places that need to be
organized and be specific. I would list
by priority. You can then cross off as you complete each item on your list!
Next, create a
schedule for your day. Think about how
your days go now. What is your routine?
Do you tend to eat breakfast at the same time each day? Wash laundry at a
specific time? Nap time? Keep it simple
at first, as you become confident, you
can always add or change if necessary.
Post it somewhere you will constantly see it throughout the day.
Here is a sample schedule for you:
6:00am wake up/ wash face/get dressed/ make bed/devotions
& prayer time
7:00am start load of laundry/wake kids/start
breakfast/eat breakfast
7:45am clean up after breakfast/switch laundry/take out
anything for dinner or start crock pot dinner
8:00am morning chores
9:00am spend 15 minutes decluttering current project
9:15am spend time with kids
9:45am fold & put away laundry/switch laundry
10:00am complete any morning chores needed
11:00am spend 15 minutes relaxing
11:15am make lunch
11:30am eat lunch
12:00pm clean up after lunch
12:30pm fold & put away laundry
1:00pm nap/quiet time
1:30pm work on a small project you can’t do with kids
around
3:00pm kids up from nap/snack time
3:30pm rescue the hotspot areas
4:30pm start dinner
5:30pm eat dinner
6:30pm clean up after dinner
7:00pm bath time
8:00pm kids bed time/tidy any areas needed lay out
clothes for next day/lay out anything for breakfast that won’t spoil/shower
8:45pm spend time with hubby
9:30pm sleep
Here is a word of caution in your scheduling. The above is just a sample. You will need to make a schedule specific to
your situation. You may have a nursing
baby that dictates a lot of your schedule, give yourself time to nurse and nap
when everyone else is napping. It is
most important that you take care of you during this time as well as your
child. This is a season of life and will soon pass, enjoy it and give yourself
permission to take a break. Inevitably there will be interruptions in your day –
be flexible and know it isn’t the end of the world if your schedule is not
followed completely. Maybe, like me you
assign your older children to wash their own laundry, well then you may not
need to put laundry on your schedule for every day. Keep that in mind, don’t hold yourself to
someone else’s standards or schedule.
Make one that works for you and you feel you can follow or you will end
up burned out and give up altogether. Also, I have often re-worked my schedule. As your kids grow older things change in your home and so you have change your schedule. Know that at some point you too, will need to change up your schedule.
Ok. Those are the first few steps. Tomorrow, I will share tips on organizing a
closet.
Until then here is a challenge for you this week. Make a
list of the areas you want to organize in your home and create a schedule that
works for you!
Please feel free to ask any questions you have.
Blessings
Jenna
