What works best for YOU!

Summer brings sunny days, lazy afternoons and a new set of rules where organization is concerned. The routines I created and followed (when I actually followed them!) during the school year, are no longer beneficial. Obviously, certain things are still and will FOREVER be useful; such as making lists. I'm speaking however; of things such as: ironing the kids uniforms for the week on Sunday, making their lunches for the week on Sunday, etc.

I was browsing through a few pages of a magazines article on organization and the article gave very clear and definitive steps for obtaining and maintaining organization in your life. While I agreed with many items, some of their tips just didn't quite mesh with my personality or lifestyle. For example, one "organization coach" suggests that you eliminate paper all together and keep/store everything electronically. I definitely use my laptop, cell phone, and palm to help organize my life, but I also like to keep an actual paper planner as well. It's kind of my "back up". I mean what happens if batteries die, or it gets lost, or stolen (my phone was recently!)? So yes, 9 times out of 10 I refer to technology when making/confirming plans, but I always take the extra 10 seconds to include the information in my other planner for my own sanity.

Maybe you don't need that. Maybe you always have extra batteries, back up regularly, and never let things out of your sight. Me...not so much!

Bottom line, customize all the "tips and tools" you learn to meet your needs where you are today and what will work best for you and your lifestyle.

Stress Free Swim Days

I'm sitting here at the pool (one of our many weekly trips) and I realize that this is yet another opportunity for me to utilize my developing organizational skills.

Typically on days my family visits the pool I make certain that I feed them a hearty breakfast and lunch before we go, then pack a few snacks for them to munch on while we're there. Somehow I always underestimate just how hungry swimming makes little kids!

So this summer I've ditched my Books & Co. tote and invested in a mini cooler (I've tried lunch coolers, but they're just not quite big enough). Check out Target's Multi-Function Convertible Rolling Cooler. It has enough room for about 10 lunches (just about what my kids eat during a 5 hr stint at the pool!) I just love the divider which keeps your drinks and perishables away from the other items that don't need to be kept cool. With our new cooler, we're able to enjoy our pool days longer, without my children gnawing off each others arms! The fact that I'm able to avoid looking like I've just left the grocery store with 3 or 4 Kroger bag is an added bonus:)

Share your tips for staying organized on trips out with the kids by commenting here!

New Beginning...seriously!

Well, I honestly thought I would be able to keep up on posting at least weekly to the blog…yeah, not so much. This is what happened; got into an accident, got behind in school, had to catch up before finals, went from working part time to full time, in addition to normal wife and mommy duties. That all adds up to NO POSTS!
I really missed not being able to capture all the funny/crazy things that were happening each day. The funny thing is it kind of goes back to the “O” word O-R-G-A-N-I-Z-A-T-I-O-N. I would have been able to handle all of life’s unexpected situations and the blog had I been organized. (Note to self, get organized)
Never fear, I’m back on my mission. First step, find Digital Camera! I really want to show you the cool tools I’ve been using to get organized. I also have decided to go back to setting a couple of goals each week, but limiting the number based on how extensive or time consuming the tasks are. I determined my weekly goals by doing the following:
Make a list of all the areas in which you need more organization. Be sure to really think of every area. For example, organizing all the rooms in your home, and organizing the completion of household chores may be two different things. For me, it’s easy to give everything a home and clean up various rooms. Making sure I keep the system in place for maintaining the organization is a different story.
After you’ve made your initial list, you need to make detailed lists for each category. Walk through every room in the house to see where storage/organization solutions need implemented. Take pictures if necessary/applicable. After all of your lists are made. Determine which you’ll tackle first. If they are simply storage solutions for a room, choose one room to complete at a time. When trying to create a system for maintaining organization, work on 1 or 2 goals at a time.
Each time you’ve accomplished a goal or completed a task check it off your list and move to the next item. Be sure to have a written plan for how you’ll maintain the work you’ve completed as well as a household inventory list (to help you remember where everything is!) if necessary.

Whew! That’s a full time job right!? Just remember don’t get discouraged. This (unfortunately) isn’t an overnight transformation, as such; you should expect and accept that there will be days you don’t make progress. As long as you get back on track, you are still in the game!