HomeschoolMamaOfTwo Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I'd love to join you guys in this. My mission in 2013 is to get my home in full order, have a routine, and only have the things we truly need and use in our home. I am tired of all of the EXTRA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagine.more Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I got a blog post up with pictures and a simple description of my GTD notebook. Not sure how to upload pictures on here yet so I figured this'd be easiest. planningonit.blogspot.com/2012/12/getting-things-done.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeschoolMamaOfTwo Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I got a blog post up with pictures and a simple description of my GTD notebook. Not sure how to upload pictures on here yet so I figured this'd be easiest. planningonit.blogspot.com/2012/12/getting-things-done.html I like the post it notes! That would make it really easy to move things around, grab your "to buy" when you are running to the store and everything. But then, I was thinking, do you just need a one page notebook then? Maybe I could just do the post it note technique in my planner instead of a separate notebook, I am wondering. Hmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynnae Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 Well, I figured out my big goals for this year, and now I need to break them down into actionable steps. Since it's a holiday, that's about the only thing on my agenda today. Tomorrow I get back to organizing with a passion! Here's to an organized 2013! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I'd love to join you guys in this. My mission in 2013 is to get my home in full order, have a routine, and only have the things we truly need and use in our home. I am tired of all of the EXTRA! Welcome! The more the merrier! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I don't mind wasting time either. Like a pp noted, that's part of the reward for being organized and on track. I haven't had any problems with FB. Partly because I really do keep it to friends and family and that's it. I never play any games or whatever on it. And that's how you can use notifications to your advantage. I have blocked all invites and games and stuff. I never even see that stuff. And I just set the lock screen on my iPad to show my todo lists! So when I grab my iPad, the first thing I see is my to do list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 Well, I figured out my big goals for this year, and now I need to break them down into actionable steps. Since it's a holiday, that's about the only thing on my agenda today. Tomorrow I get back to organizing with a passion! Here's to an organized 2013! I am working on goals too, and on my agenda for today is to clean our very messy storage room. I did walk this morning, which is one of my goals for 2013. Oh, and I found a book by David Allen called Making It All Work, which he wrote after GTD. I will be back later to report on my storage room progress, not that you are all dying to know, but the accountability helps me. :-) Happy New Year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 And I just set the lock screen on my iPad to show my todo lists! So when I grab my iPad, the first thing I see is my to do list. Oh, nice! Do you mind sharing how you do this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I wrote my list on sketchbook, saved it in my photos, then made the 'photo' my wallpaper on my lock screen. I figure once a week or so, I can rewrite it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynnae Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I am working on goals too, and on my agenda for today is to clean our very messy storage room. I did walk this morning, which is one of my goals for 2013. Oh, and I found a book by David Allen called Making It All Work, which he wrote after GTD. I will be back later to report on my storage room progress, not that you are all dying to know, but the accountability helps me. :-) Happy New Year! I need to walk today too. And you're report on the book, too, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagine.more Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I thought about the one page thing too but then realized I would have plenty of next action items that wouldn't fit into one of the post it categories. So i'll use the pages behind it for those lists. I like the post it notes! That would make it really easy to move things around, grab your "to buy" when you are running to the store and everything. But then, I was thinking, do you just need a one page notebook then? Maybe I could just do the post it note technique in my planner instead of a separate notebook, I am wondering. Hmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I don't mind wasting time either. Like a pp noted, that's part of the reward for being organized and on track. I like this way of thinking. Lately I have noticed that even when I have finished everything I need to do for the day, I still feel guilty and can not relax. Not good. No wonder I'm feeling so tense lately. And I just set the lock screen on my iPad to show my todo lists! So when I grab my iPad, the first thing I see is my to do list. This is genius! Thank you for mentioning it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I wrote up a summary of GTD, applying it to homeschool moms instead of businessmen, and ran the series on my blog: 31 Days of GTD for Homemakers. I think getting a system like that going is a 6-12 month project, especially with the reality that you can't dedicate huge chunks of time to it in the midst of homeschooling life. You are AWESOME! I just bookmarked your blog. I too need to be much more organized in 2013. I've been a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type for far too long. Areas I'd like specifically to work on: Keeping my house clean and organized Keeping homeschooling time set aside daily, homeschooling materials organized Getting around to the little home improvement projects that I never get around to, because I am too disorganized Having the kids rountinely doing chores. They are old enough to help out more. A number of years ago, Real Simple magazine had a great organizational system of keeping a house clean and organized. I save the article, and turned it into a checklist, which I then never used. I think my goal for this week is to dig that up, adjust it as needed, assign some of it to the kids, and then move forward from there. I am also getting ready this week for homeschooling next week... actually printing out all of ES's Logic Stage Biology for ds, etc. I need to have everything ready rather than be running to the computer constantly to print out this or that, which just totally interrupts the flow of homeschooling! We've been slowly purging the house of everything we don't use. I'd like to continue that, maybe speed up the process a little. I re-read Living A Beautiful Life last week, and so much of what the author said really resonated with me - have beautiful, useful things instead of things that you just have but don't really love. I'm applying this not only to clothing, but to storage baskets, dishes, cookware, knick-knacks, etc. I think also I will make checklists for homeschooling, espeically for ds11. I think he would enjoy checking things off as he/we get them done. Other things I need to make time for include exercise, grading papers, my homework, etc. I have a strong feeling that if I am more organized, I may actually have time for reading a good book, or knitting, painting, etc. I'd love to do Weekly Check-ins, so I have some accountability! Off to review my master house cleaning checklists now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 Hi everyone! So yesterday I finished my 'everything' binder, labelled the tags and put things in the right sections. I organised a school work binder for my school aged kids, most of their school work will go in there. I sorted through ALL the pens/pencils/crayons/textas etc. Chucked out a bunch, only keeping the ones that actually work! Then I put all of these things in a box next to my desk, it's the first thing I'll grab and we'll be ready to start school. In the box I also put the kids checklist things (I made them last year with velcro pictures to take off when task complete), my clipboard with my checklist, lessons plans for the week & schedule, and my little planner to take notes to have a record of what we got done. I also moved my inbox, it was becoming a clutter attracter, so I moved it & my chore cards to my room on top of the filing cabinet. My house was spotlessly clean on monday, then my 2 older kids came home after a week of camping with my in-laws... Not so spotless anymore! :rofl: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 How do you deal with spouses who want to keep things you want to purge? My husband gets so upset when I get rid of stuff, because "we paid good money for that" or "we might need that someday". If I kept all the stuff he wants to keep, we would be candidates for an episode of hoarders. And yet, he appreciates a clean and orderly home. I have explained to him that I have to simplify in order to keep things halfway organized. He doesn't get it. I have resorted to stealth purging. I don't like to go behind his back, but I have no choice unless I want us to be drowning in clutter. He never misses what I have purged. Sigh. I don't like feeling sneaky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in NZ Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 How do you deal with spouses who want to keep things you want to purge? My husband gets so upset when I get rid of stuff, because "we paid good money for that" or "we might need that someday". If I kept all the stuff he wants to keep, we would be candidates for an episode of hoarders. And yet, he appreciates a clean and orderly home. I have explained to him that I have to simplify in order to keep things halfway organized. He doesn't get it. I have resorted to stealth purging. I don't like to go behind his back, but I have no choice unless I want us to be drowning in clutter. He never misses what I have purged. Sigh. I don't like feeling sneaky. This happens a lot here :tongue_smilie: I've finally decided that the easiest way to deal with this is to tell dh that I don't want _______ in the house. If he wants to keep it in the garage, he can. The garage is dh's "office" so this put his stuff in his way instead of my way. Dh has spent the past week sorting out his treasures in the garage. He's frustrated as he doesn't see much progress (too much stuff) after a week's work. I told him yesterday that I've the same issue inside. I think dh has enough tools to outfit 2-3 carpenters & 2-3 engineers and still have extras! At least they are all stored in his space. JMHO, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynnae Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 This happens a lot here :tongue_smilie: I've finally decided that the easiest way to deal with this is to tell dh that I don't want _______ in the house. If he wants to keep it in the garage, he can. The garage is dh's "office" so this put his stuff in his way instead of my way. Dh has spent the past week sorting out his treasures in the garage. He's frustrated as he doesn't see much progress (too much stuff) after a week's work. I told him yesterday that I've the same issue inside. I think dh has enough tools to outfit 2-3 carpenters & 2-3 engineers and still have extras! At least they are all stored in his space. JMHO, I don't have to deal with this, as my husband thinks we'll end up on hoarders someday, and our clutter REALLY isn't all that bad. But when we helped his mom move several years ago, he saw what collecting tons of useless stuff can do, so now he's quite minimalistic. That said, I think Deb in NZ has a great idea. Is there a space your dh can have that he can consider his? Let him store all his stuff there, and the rest of the house can be uncluttered. Maybe when he sees what the rest of the house is like without the clutter, he'll be more able to let go of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stansclan89 Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 How do you deal with spouses who want to keep things you want to purge? My husband gets so upset when I get rid of stuff, because "we paid good money for that" or "we might need that someday". If I kept all the stuff he wants to keep, we would be candidates for an episode of hoarders. And yet, he appreciates a clean and orderly home. I have explained to him that I have to simplify in order to keep things halfway organized. He doesn't get it. I have resorted to stealth purging. I don't like to go behind his back, but I have no choice unless I want us to be drowning in clutter. He never misses what I have purged. Sigh. I don't like feeling sneaky. I have the same problem. Sometimes I get rid of it while he is not home. Usually with things he wouldn't care about anyway, but would still say something about if he saw me doing it. I also have to work with the kids helping them purge their rooms while he is not home. We just can't get it done if he his contradicting me. If it's something he would care about, that should be his to deal with I do something like Deb does: This happens a lot here :tongue_smilie: I've finally decided that the easiest way to deal with this is to tell dh that I don't want _______ in the house. If he wants to keep it in the garage, he can. Except that we don't have a garage. In our current house we have a storage room that is half for food storage and half for Dh's camping/hunting/tools. I put it in his end of the room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Can you invest in a shed for him to use? If it prevent marriage squabbles and helps you decluttering the house, it would be money well spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeschoolMamaOfTwo Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Do any of you find that every time you go through an area that you find even MORE to get rid of/declutter? Why don't I just get rid of it all the first time? I don't get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Can you invest in a shed for him to use? If it prevent marriage squabbles and helps you decluttering the house, it would be money well spent. We have a shed AND a garage. They're pretty full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Do any of you find that every time you go through an area that you find even MORE to get rid of/declutter? Why don't I just get rid of it all the first time? I don't get it. For me it depends on my mood. The more frustrated I am, the more I will purge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagine.more Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I deal with the same thing, see my comment a few pages back. My dh also holds onto clutter but enjoys a clean and orderly home. It is incredibly frustrating to me and my dh because he feels our house is stark and i feel our house is cluttered. If he had free reign we'd end up like his parents, who moved with TWO full-sized moving trucks 17 years ago and have accumulated a lot more stuff since. Right now I do a mix of stealth purging, nagging/bargaining with him to get rid of things, and spending a lot of time finding organizing systems to manage the stuff I can't get rid of. Still, it keeps my house from looking and functioning the way i want it to :( In fact right now I'm practically twitchy over the christmas decorations cluttering my house because dh won't let me take them down until the 12th day of christmas. How do you deal with spouses who want to keep things you want to purge? My husband gets so upset when I get rid of stuff, because "we paid good money for that" or "we might need that someday". If I kept all the stuff he wants to keep, we would be candidates for an episode of hoarders. And yet, he appreciates a clean and orderly home. I have explained to him that I have to simplify in order to keep things halfway organized. He doesn't get it. I have resorted to stealth purging. I don't like to go behind his back, but I have no choice unless I want us to be drowning in clutter. He never misses what I have purged. Sigh. I don't like feeling sneaky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I am like your friend. NOT born organized. ........ ......... I am naturally creative. My brain is wired that way, to love music, art, literature, and creating things with my hands. I always have more ideas than I can do, and don't understand how anyone could ever be bored. Time can get away from me very easily. It is very difficult for me to estimate how long something will take me to do, whereas my business-minded husband can tell me almost to the minute how long something will take. It boggles my mind. My dh is a Type A personality, and I joke that I am Type Z. There have been times I have hated being this way. I hate forgetting things, disappointing people, realizing that I have overscheduled or over committed myself AGAIN, and will not be able to get done what I want to or should. I have stayed up till the wee hours sewing Halloween costumes or wrapping presents on Christmas Eve. And yet, people like me do have our strong points. ...... Just had to give a shout-out, I am a type "Z" person too- ha, I love that, will have to start calling myself this! My dh is very linear and organized/logical and he is very patient with me. I usually describe myself as "scattered" your point reminded me of a moment one morning that crystalized for both of us how differently our brains operate... one morning on vacation I sailed into the room in my p.j.s with my oatmeal and diet coke and sat down at my computer. Dh reminded me that we were planning on being somewhere at 10 o'clock. I nodded okay and continued with my relaxing, leisurely breakfast. Dh watched me puzzled and concerned and then added helpfully that if we needed to be at location at 10, then we needed to head to the car by 9:30 and then he proceeded to walk back all the steps I needed to complete. I looked at him kind of deer in headlights look, and then he said as I stared at him he could see it all sort of "click" in my head that he was right, that I didn't have all this nebulous cloud of time open to me till 10 o'clock. He said he realized at that moment that I honestly didn't "get" it about all the steps and the time and that I wasn't trying to be lazy or drive him batty, but that I honestly didn't see time the way he does. For me, it pointed out that I need to plan better and that I don't have a good grasp on time. Anyways, we still laugh at that and it helps us see that we are both really different and to be patient with each other. totally off track there, sorry, but your post reminded me of all that, and I agree, we type Z people tend to beat ourselves up and see ourselves at broken somehow, but we do have some good points/skills/strengths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I deal with the same thing, see my comment a few pages back. My dh also holds onto clutter but enjoys a clean and orderly home. It is incredibly frustrating to me and my dh because he feels our house is stark and i feel our house is cluttered. If he had free reign we'd end up like his parents, who moved with TWO full-sized moving trucks 17 years ago and have accumulated a lot more stuff since. Right now I do a mix of stealth purging, nagging/bargaining with him to get rid of things, and spending a lot of time finding organizing systems to manage the stuff I can't get rid of. Still, it keeps my house from looking and functioning the way i want it to :( In fact right now I'm practically twitchy over the christmas decorations cluttering my house because dh won't let me take them down until the 12th day of christmas. We leave ours up till Epiphany every year. However, I did purge some broken or otherwise unwanted decorations. Some of our stuff is OLD. Think cassette and VHS tapes lurking in the back of our entertainment center. At least we didn't have any eight tracks! Some of you younger moms may not even know what I'm talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Just had to give a shout-out, I am a type "Z" person too- ha, I love that, will have to start calling myself this! My dh is very linear and organized/logical and he is very patient with me. I usually describe myself as "scattered" your point reminded me of a moment one morning that crystalized for both of us how differently our brains operate... one morning on vacation I sailed into the room in my p.j.s with my oatmeal and diet coke and sat down at my computer. Dh reminded me that we were planning on being somewhere at 10 o'clock. I nodded okay and continued with my relaxing, leisurely breakfast. Dh watched me puzzled and concerned and then added helpfully that if we needed to be at location at 10, then we needed to head to the car by 9:30 and then he proceeded to walk back all the steps I needed to complete. I looked at him kind of deer in headlights look, and then he said as I stared at him he could see it all sort of "click" in my head that he was right, that I didn't have all this nebulous cloud of time open to me till 10 o'clock. He said he realized at that moment that I honestly didn't "get" it about all the steps and the time and that I wasn't trying to be lazy or drive him batty, but that I honestly didn't see time the way he does. For me, it pointed out that I need to plan better and that I don't have a good grasp on time. Anyways, we still laugh at that and it helps us see that we are both really different and to be patient with each other. totally off track there, sorry, but your post reminded me of all that, and I agree, we type Z people tend to beat ourselves up and see ourselves at broken somehow, but we do have some good points/skills/strengths. Hello, type Z friend! Thank you for sharing that! My dh is the same way, very linear. He likes to make plans and never sway from them. One weekend I announced I thought I would just have cereal for lunch. I poured some into a bowl, but then realized that we had plenty of leftovers that the others were eating so poured my cereal back into the box and got a plate. "But I thought you were eating CEREAL. Kids, didn't your mother say she was eating CEREAL??" Lol, poor guy. He is a wonderful husband, business man, and provider, but flexibility is not his strength. Your story about your dh reminding you about the time resonated with me. We have had many of those conversations here! And no, you are not broken, just differently wired. Thank God for all the different kinds of people with different strengths that complement each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynnae Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Just had to give a shout-out, I am a type "Z" person too- ha, I love that, will have to start calling myself this! My dh is very linear and organized/logical and he is very patient with me. I usually describe myself as "scattered" your point reminded me of a moment one morning that crystalized for both of us how differently our brains operate... one morning on vacation I sailed into the room in my p.j.s with my oatmeal and diet coke and sat down at my computer. Dh reminded me that we were planning on being somewhere at 10 o'clock. I nodded okay and continued with my relaxing, leisurely breakfast. Dh watched me puzzled and concerned and then added helpfully that if we needed to be at location at 10, then we needed to head to the car by 9:30 and then he proceeded to walk back all the steps I needed to complete. I looked at him kind of deer in headlights look, and then he said as I stared at him he could see it all sort of "click" in my head that he was right, that I didn't have all this nebulous cloud of time open to me till 10 o'clock. He said he realized at that moment that I honestly didn't "get" it about all the steps and the time and that I wasn't trying to be lazy or drive him batty, but that I honestly didn't see time the way he does. For me, it pointed out that I need to plan better and that I don't have a good grasp on time. Anyways, we still laugh at that and it helps us see that we are both really different and to be patient with each other. totally off track there, sorry, but your post reminded me of all that, and I agree, we type Z people tend to beat ourselves up and see ourselves at broken somehow, but we do have some good points/skills/strengths. In our marriage, I am the linear, logical one, though I am definitely not organized. Well, I am in my brain, but not in the physical space around me. It dawned on me that we think differently about time one day many years ago when I was walking with a friend. My friend was telling me about another friend who "had this really weird way of thinking about time." She said when her friend needed to go somewhere, she would calculate how long it would take to get there, factor in extra time for being stopped by a train, and maybe a little extra time for getting lost. I looked at my friend like she had two heads and asked, "Doesn't everyone think like that?" And at that moment it dawned on me that the reason I got so frustrated with my husband is that we think about time differently. He has no clue how long things take or the steps that need to be done before we go somewhere. It's helped me to be a lot more gracious toward him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Just wanted to report that I did not get my storage room cleaned today. The 23yo son of very good friends of ours has been in the hospital for a couple of months and is now critically ill. He is in septic shock. All his family is there, in a hospital a few hours away. He has cystic fibrosis and has progressively gotten worse. He had some kind of influenza which can be dangerous for an otherwise healthy person, but even worse for someone with CF. A group of us met at the church this afternoon to pray, and I am mentally unable to tackle any big organizing projects ATM. Have been distracting myself being online and watching some football with dh. My heart hurts for my friends. I wish I could be with them. Today is a day they said he would turn one way or the other. His sister sent a message that he was dying, but I have not heard anything more. I would appreciate prayer for Rafe and his family! Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagine.more Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Lol, i must not be a young mom anymore, i know exactly what you're talking about, lol! I am planning to purge christmas decor next year, i prepped dh for it this year. See though, it literally takes 2 years to get rid of a light up crappy christmas village thing my grandma gave us 3 years ago. I have to heavily prep dh this year, then next year i can likely convince him to let me donate it. Craziness! We leave ours up till Epiphany every year. However, I did purge some broken or otherwise unwanted decorations. Some of our stuff is OLD. Think cassette and VHS tapes lurking in the back of our entertainment center. At least we didn't have any eight tracks! Some of you younger moms may not even know what I'm talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynnae Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Just wanted to report that I did not get my storage room cleaned today. The 23yo son of very good friends of ours has been in the hospital for a couple of months and is now critically ill. He is in septic shock. All his family is there, in a hospital a few hours away. He has cystic fibrosis and has progressively gotten worse. He had some kind of influenza which can be dangerous for an otherwise healthy person, but even worse for someone with CF. A group of us met at the church this afternoon to pray, and I am mentally unable to tackle any big organizing projects ATM. Have been distracting myself being online and watching some football with dh. My heart hurts for my friends. I wish I could be with them. Today is a day they said he would turn one way or the other. His sister sent a message that he was dying, but I have not heard anything more. I would appreciate prayer for Rafe and his family! Thank you. I will definitely be praying. Keep us posted on how he's doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I will definitely be praying. Keep us posted on how he's doing. Thank you, I will! I just texted my friend, Rafe's mom, to tell her I am praying and she said thank you so much, and asked her to let me know any news if she could, and she said ok. So no news for now. I suspect it may be a long night for them tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Lol, i must not be a young mom anymore, i know exactly what you're talking about, lol! I am planning to purge christmas decor next year, i prepped dh for it this year. See though, it literally takes 2 years to get rid of a light up crappy christmas village thing my grandma gave us 3 years ago. I have to heavily prep dh this year, then next year i can likely convince him to let me donate it. Craziness! Judging by the ages of your kids, you are young, younger than I am by far. I think for some people, giving away things people have given them is tough. My parents were like that. My dad still is; my mother is deceased. There is some Unwritten Rule of the Universe somewhere that says you must hang onto every gift and card anyone ever gave you, no matter whether you use it or enjoy it or not, even if it is in the back of a closet where you never see it. I do not understand that line of thought. I have cleaned out many drawers and closets at my day's house since Mom died--and he is very grateful--but MAN, it is like an archaeological dig. When I come home I start tossing, vowing that my kids will never have to clean out so much stuff after dh and I are gone. I think some people who grew up during the Depression or shortly after tend to hang onto things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 On page 6 of this thread, it is great. I do not have any of the books listed and my library does not have them so I will order them from amazon next month but mystie's blog and this thread have given me lots to read/think about. Since boxing day I have been plugging away here, working on steps to big projects, decluttering etc. Since boxing day I have knocked a bunch of errands out, got the livingroom fully sanded, finished ripping up carpet tacks, and washed 2 of the walls with tsp. I have decluttered/reorganized my teacher supply cupboard and a bajillion regular cleaning tasks, as well as knit a dishcloth and cross stitched an ornament to give as a gift next christmas. Today has been a busy day alternating between reading this thread (and mystie's blog) while knitting a scarf, and doing an overhaul of my bedroom and office. I emptied the closet (who knew that closet could hold so much), ripped out the broken lower shelves in my closet. Moved most of the boxes of books that were stacked in my room into the closet. Moved all my scrapbook totes and tote of yarn and cross stitch stuff into the closet, moved 1 art supply rolling cart out of my room and 2 rolling cart of card games and wayward game pieces into the closet and now doing a massive culling of the book I had in there. I have hauled out 2 green garbage bags of trash, 7 boxes and laundry baskets of items to either donate or put somewhere else in the home, and am only 1/2 way done the room. While knitting and reading and taking notes I am jotting down all the to do stuff that is coming up as I work. Many items were put in my closet until I had time to mend them, or cut them out etc. There is so much good information in this thread that even though I have not read the books yet I am so eager to just get down to business and get it cleaned and at least a primary sort/declutter. I still need to go back and get rid of most of my scrapbook supplies, and sort all those game peices etc but they are written down for now to tend to later. Normally this is the part where I would get sidetracked, and do those things leaving both rooms upside down, the rest of the house not tended to, the kids running wild, no handiwork done etc but those game peices would be well sorted :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I am exhausted just reading this. You make me feel like a half frozen slug. Made of lead. Lol. I will read this again tomorrow to hopefully get some inspiration. Go Swellmomma! On page 6 of this thread, it is great. I do not have any of the books listed and my library does not have them so I will order them from amazon next month but mystie's blog and this thread have given me lots to read/think about. Since boxing day I have been plugging away here, working on steps to big projects, decluttering etc. Since boxing day I have knocked a bunch of errands out, got the livingroom fully sanded, finished ripping up carpet tacks, and washed 2 of the walls with tsp. I have decluttered/reorganized my teacher supply cupboard and a bajillion regular cleaning tasks, as well as knit a dishcloth and cross stitched an ornament to give as a gift next christmas. Today has been a busy day alternating between reading this thread (and mystie's blog) while knitting a scarf, and doing an overhaul of my bedroom and office. I emptied the closet (who knew that closet could hold so much), ripped out the broken lower shelves in my closet. Moved most of the boxes of books that were stacked in my room into the closet. Moved all my scrapbook totes and tote of yarn and cross stitch stuff into the closet, moved 1 art supply rolling cart out of my room and 2 rolling cart of card games and wayward game pieces into the closet and now doing a massive culling of the book I had in there. I have hauled out 2 green garbage bags of trash, 7 boxes and laundry baskets of items to either donate or put somewhere else in the home, and am only 1/2 way done the room. While knitting and reading and taking notes I am jotting down all the to do stuff that is coming up as I work. Many items were put in my closet until I had time to mend them, or cut them out etc. There is so much good information in this thread that even though I have not read the books yet I am so eager to just get down to business and get it cleaned and at least a primary sort/declutter. I still need to go back and get rid of most of my scrapbook supplies, and sort all those game peices etc but they are written down for now to tend to later. Normally this is the part where I would get sidetracked, and do those things leaving both rooms upside down, the rest of the house not tended to, the kids running wild, no handiwork done etc but those game peices would be well sorted :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Sorry to hear about your friend's son PraireSong. :grouphug: Well today bombed. And it started with such promise... I had a million phone calls, unexpected visitors & 2 year old disaster. My son decided that scissors & vertical blinds are a fun game :glare: On the plus side, my MCT package arrived!!! So tomorrow will be for cleaning, lesson planning & fun with my kids. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Yesterday i felt a bit ill.we did a full day of school and then watched a movie. So windows did not get cleaned, unfortunately. I did manage to enter all the animals' medication dates into my calendar, so that's good. I also organized my scrapbook stuff n anticipation of Project Life which is due to arrive today-yay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I still need to go back and get rid of most of my scrapbook supplies, and sort all those game peices etc but they are written down for now to tend to later. Normally this is the part where I would get sidetracked, and do those things leaving both rooms upside down, the rest of the house not tended to, the kids running wild, no handiwork done etc but those game peices would be well sorted :lol: This is so me! I can hyper focus on organizing one little area while the rest of the house falls apart. I think the brain dump and organizing all of it into different lists will help me to see the bigger picture. On a side note, have not heard any news about our friends' critically ill son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystie Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Just a reminder about the email groups, too, if you want to keep up the conversation about implementing GTD at home or want accountability with organization habits in 2013. Also, I just read a new eBook by Nony of A Slob Comes Clean called "Drowning in Clutter? Don't Grab a Floatie...Drain the Ocean!" with decluttering strategies. Through today it is only $3. It sounds like decluttering is what many of you are working on now, and she has some good, experience-based ideas. On to the new year! My habit for January is to actually, finally make my bed in the morning. It's supposed to be a "lynchpin habit." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Just a reminder about the email groups, too, if you want to keep up the conversation about implementing GTD at home or want accountability with organization habits in 2013. Also, I just read a new eBook by Nony of A Slob Comes Clean called "Drowning in Clutter? Don't Grab a Floatie...Drain the Ocean!" with decluttering strategies. Through today it is only $3. It sounds like decluttering is what many of you are working on now, and she has some good, experience-based ideas. On to the new year! My habit for January is to actually, finally make my bed in the morning. It's supposed to be a "lynchpin habit." Okay, a somewhat silly question....do I really want to join an accountability group? Won't that just upset me if I don't/can't keep up? Can you tell I've fallen off the wagon before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynnae Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Okay, a somewhat silly question....do I really want to join an accountability group? Won't that just upset me if I don't/can't keep up? Can you tell I've fallen off the wagon before? I used to think that, but my experience has been that accountability groups are pretty good at cutting members a little slack, because most of us have fallen off the wagon many times. I think the big difference an accountability group can make is encouraging you to get back on that wagon after you fall off, instead of giving up all together. Can you tell I've fallen off the wagon many times before? :) After doing absolutely nothing yesterday, it's time for me to get back to working hard today. I even left my email sitting in my inbox yesterday, so now I have a bunch of it to get through this morning. My top goals for today are: Getting Some Exercise Processing my email and looking over everything I have in Evernote Doing my Motivated Moms chores and catching up on what I didn't do yesterday. Writing a couple of reviews for my blog. I'll let you know how it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I used to think that, but my experience has been that accountability groups are pretty good at cutting members a little slack, because most of us have fallen off the wagon many times. I think the big difference an accountability group can make is encouraging you to get back on that wagon after you fall off, instead of giving up all together. Can you tell I've fallen off the wagon many times before? :) After doing absolutely nothing yesterday, it's time for me to get back to working hard today. I even left my email sitting in my inbox yesterday, so now I have a bunch of it to get through this morning. My top goals for today are: Getting Some Exercise Processing my email and looking over everything I have in Evernote Doing my Motivated Moms chores and catching up on what I didn't do yesterday. Writing a couple of reviews for my blog. I'll let you know how it goes! How do you like Motivated Moms? I contemplated using it last year. For some reason it loos more doable to me than other things I've looked at. I asked about it here before, but didn't get much of a response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Going well here I think. I finally solved my *me* time in the morning business. As I cannot magically make the baby sleep, nurse and wake when I wish I've decided to just roll with it more. I wouldn't allow myself to take time in the am if I didn't wake up early but I've decided I will take it regardless. The kids can do some quiet time in the am just as easily as they can in the afternoon. I am also working on making bedtime consistent which makes an earlier wake up time more likely. More important for that goal I am being strict with my diet which means I sleep better in general and am more likely to get up earlier. We are getting back in the groove with school here this week, starting slowly. Keeping up the house and trying not to be too anal. I am pretty happy with my habits in that regard. I need to expand my household notebook. I've been think about things to include. One section I want is for ideas list. Ideas for Christmas, Birthdays, holidays, school projects, etc. I have all these ideas sometimes but not a particular place to put them so then I just end up forgetting them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynnae Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 How do you like Motivated Moms? I contemplated using it last year. For some reason it loos more doable to me than other things I've looked at. I asked about it here before, but didn't get much of a response. I really like it. It's not perfect, as my house and her house are obviously different. For instance, she has vacuum the living room & kids' rooms, and we have laminate floors. But it's easy to substitute chores on the fly. I have a tendency to want the perfect system, but I came to the conclusion that an imperfect checklist was helping me out more than waiting to create that ever elusive perfect system. It's really helped me to stay on top of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 One argument for not putting the Christmas stuff away (right away) is the opportunity to purge and purchase new. We've got the tree down, and ornaments in boxes, garland down, etc. But it's not all stored away yet. The DH wanted to shift it right back up in the attic, but I convinced him to let me keep it down this week. My goal is to go through the old stuff and get rid of what isn't nice anymore, and then to hit the sales this weekend. Once the new things are packed, then up they go. My goal today is to continue the year in preview with a school focus. We're back to some work today, and I'm going to be logging time over the next two weeks. We have been having some trouble getting to some areas I'd like to do more of (history/science and formal grammar) and I'm monitoring whether I will need to cut some time in other areas to allow for more work in the subjects I want to get to. I also am seeing what can be integrated into other subjects to continue to streamline the school day. Okay, a somewhat silly question....do I really want to join an accountability group? Won't that just upset me if I don't/can't keep up? Can you tell I've fallen off the wagon before? I'm not one for accountability groups either. For one thing, my schedule really alters from season to season. And in summer, because I have more outside work it may alter from week to week. I also think that there is a bent to comparing myself to others that I shouldn't encourage--it's a real vice, and I'd rather not be patting myself on the back or telling myself what a terrible mess I've made more than is necessary. I think it is hard as an atypical organizing type to be happy with small progress while still knowing there is a long way to go without getting discouraged when in a group. Checking in with the thread is enough for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Here is a link to some printables I'm using this am- I love finding stuff already done for me! I am printing out a calendar, birthday/anniversary list, username and password lists (desperately needed!), friend and family contacts, books to read and movies to watch(I LOVE this idea!), menu plan & recipes to try list. http://www.organizinghomelife.com/archives/4275 This is a sheet for gifts- I'm using it for writing gift ideas- I'm putting this with our Birthday and Anniversary list. http://www.theprojectgirl.com/2009/11/29/gift-worksheet-free-download/ re: Motivated Moms- I did it a few years ago and really found it helpful. As Lynnae said it is not perfect but it helped me establish some habits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thessa516 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I'm working my GTD system. DH helped me organize our evening routines with the kids, so now I just need to follow what we've set out. Isn't that the hard part? :) The house is coming together, but I have to tell you I'm dreading getting back to school. I've put off school until Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 One argument for not putting the Christmas stuff away (right away) is the opportunity to purge and purchase new. We've got the tree down, and ornaments in boxes, garland down, etc. But it's not all stored away yet. The DH wanted to shift it right back up in the attic, but I convinced him to let me keep it down this week. My goal is to go through the old stuff and get rid of what isn't nice anymore, and then to hit the sales this weekend. Once the new things are packed, then up they go. That's what I did last week. Purged the stuff I didn't put out this year, and a good chunk of the ornaments I did. My poor tree looked like it was going to fall down this year because it had so much stuck on it. I got rid of all the older satin balls, and other ornaments that I didn't love or that had no sentimental value to me. I only bought 2 window light decorations so that was easy to store away. All the bins but one are in the basement stored for next year. That one is in the kitchen and as I wash the christmas linens, soap dispensers, oven mitts etc they are getting placed in there. It should be in the storage area by Saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Since the 30th, my house has been brought down by flu. Nada getting done here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 We have a shed AND a garage. They're pretty full. For me it depends on my mood. The more frustrated I am, the more I will purge. Do rules help? Maybe a rule that there has to be room made in the garage or shed for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I organized my notebook today. I have 5 sections- Calendar - 2 page monthly spreads with to-do lists and such on them I'm working on my own daily and weekly chore lists, they will be very basic. I don't like to schedule too much for the day to day, especially at this stage with a small baby. To-Do lists and Schedules- Only thing added here so far are books to read and movies to watch list- which isn't necessarily a to-do but I've wanted to keep track of those things I found that were interesting. Meal Planning- - my current food plan (whole 30) -recipes to try- one page to list them and then I am filing them behind the sheet if recipes are liked then they will move to my recipe binder -weekly menus Financial-This was already in here but I think I will pare it down still. I did have sheets for each budget category with each purchase wrote down. I think for the coming year I will leave the detail on Mint but record monthly amounts for each category perhaps. -Yearly goals/networth (need to update these for the New Year- hopefully today) -Monthly Budget Contacts and Reference -Contact Lists- friends, family, neighbors -Usernames and Passwords - Birthdays and Anniversaries w/ a sheet for gift ideas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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