s/o from Discouraged, now organizing to have time for the components of your life

[LifeLovePassion]

I am really enjoying my audio of Getting Things Done. Lots of great tips. I think I might bump DH's making an entertainment center in favor of a file cabinet/printer stand. I need to order more label maker tape too, mine is out!

[Runningmom80]

So I finally got my outbox and inbox figured out. I have 2 big laundry baskets full of paper & miscellaneous junk to go through.

 

 

[PrairieSong]

I am getting my storage room cleaned and sorted while listening to classic rock music. Creedence Clearwater Revival makes everything better in my book! YMMV I have a ton of books I need to sell/give away. I wish you all could come to my house and pick what you want!

 

I am also re-organizing my wrapping paper and all my sewing and knitting stuff. Fun fun! I always have to make a mess before it gets better. Back to work!

[Halcyon]

Okay, so tonight i am going thru my inbox, and updating my Household Notebook with current information. Will post back if...no...WHEN mission is accomplished. :)

[swellmomma]

What the heck was I thinking starting my bedroom the other day. Holy carp I have so much to do, and so much done. Closet has been completely emptied and items sorted/purged (well except the scrapbook stuff and game peices), room itself is 3/4 of the way done and looking huge when it doesn't have boxes of books all around the perimeter. A chair that only seems to collect clutter and never get sat on was put in the basement. It will go in the livingroom when reno is done. I have started weighing the bags of trash and boxes of donated items as they go out the door and will be keeping a total in my siggy of how much excess weight I drop from my house this year. Most of the to be donated items are in my office waiting for me to finish the room first(the 2 rooms are attached). So my mere 17lbs of trash thus far will skyrocket as I sort that stuff. I plan to finish the bedroom come hell or high water tonight. During the breaks I am taking I am working on creating my notebook, and as I purge I am adding more and more items to my brain dump as they pop into my head. Heck sitting in the car outside ds's work today waiting for him to come out I came up with a 20 item list lol. The ideas just pour out as I am doing other things. If I sit to think about that list I draw a blank. But as soon as I start doing something else the ideas just start flowing. No wonder I knit and such while reading online and taking this all in, and no wonder I always get sidetracked when I would follow those ideas after starting something else.

 

I took a couple pictures of the closet and initial pile when I emptied it. So not a whole room photo but a basic before shot. I will be taking some after pics when done, My list includes many many more projects for the bedroom to get done but this initial cursory purge and clean is worth documenting. That stuff i will add to my blog when I make my first post about this.

[LifeLovePassion]

Oh and I found a calendar on clearance on Michaels and picked up a 1/2 size binder to keep my lists of next actions, etc in. I picked up Jr. legal pads at Target and some manila file folders at Walmart tonight.

 

DD had an appointment this morning, but this afternoon I got to some filing and paper shredding. Tomorrow I hope to finish up with sorting through my school work (which my mother saved and gave me over the holidays). Not sure how much/if any I should keep...thoughts? And clean off the counter (again) and maybe start on reorganizing files/reference material

[swellmomma]

Oh and I found a calendar on clearance on Michaels and picked up a 1/2 size binder to keep my lists of next actions, etc in. I picked up Jr. legal pads at Target and some manila file folders at Walmart tonight.

 

DD had an appointment this morning, but this afternoon I got to some filing and paper shredding. Tomorrow I hope to finish up with sorting through my school work (which my mother saved and gave me over the holidays). Not sure how much/if any I should keep...thoughts? And clean off the counter (again) and maybe start on reorganizing files/reference material

 

How long ago did you graduate? Have you felt any desire to look through old school papers in all that time? If not pitch it all. Glance through if you want a trip down memory lane but then pitch it. It has sat in storage for however many decades, it can go straight to the trash imo

[LifeLovePassion]

Most of it she had was my elementary school stuff. I don't think there was anything from middleschool except report cards, and nothing from highschool. Some of it was funny to see, and I think I am going to frame a picture for my kitchen I made that said "I can wash the dishes". I have elementary yearbooks and cards from my birthdays I will probably save.

 

Other things like get well cards from when I was sick in 4th grade were funny to read, and I do remember the names when reading through them, but I'd rather forget that year.

[imagine.more]

Wow Swellmomma, you've been busy, I'm impressed! I love the idea to weigh the clutter, that is a weight loss program I can get behind, lol!

 

I sorted and purged my wardrobe this evening during baby's fussy time. Gotta love a ring sling for staying productive with a newborn :) Next on my list is to organize a random box of shoes in our coat closet that I shoved there when we moved 3 months ago.

[Lynnae]

I didn't get much done in the way of actual organizing today, but I did get a lot of cleaning done, and I returned the library books before I incurred a fine! That's a small miracle. I also got some review stuff done for my blog. So while things aren't more organized around here, I'm feeling more caught up.

[PrairieSong]

I took a couple pictures of the closet and initial pile when I emptied it. So not a whole room photo but a basic before shot. I will be taking some after pics when done, My list includes many many more projects for the bedroom to get done but this initial cursory purge and clean is worth documenting. That stuff i will add to my blog when I make my first post about this.

 

Swellmomma, you are a force of nature. Truly. I *might* take some before and afters of my storage room if I am brave enough. *gulp*

 

I did not get it all done today. The oldest daughter of the family with the very sick 23yo son called me. I had offered to help the family however I can. She is almost due with Baby #7 and she has been going to her parents' house three times a day to let the dogs out and feed them. I am now going to do this until they get back. It's not such a big thing because I can get to their house in two minutes. The dad and youngest daughter (teen) have been the only ones living there for about two months now. They left yesterday in a hurry, so when I went today I washed dishes that they had left, and my dd21 picked up and swept their living room and family room. Whatever the outcome for their very ill son, they will all be tired when they come home and don't need the added stress of dirty dishes, etc.

 

So...back to some storage room sorting before I go to bed. Onward!

[Lynnae]

Feeling good tonight. I started a new system with the kids. They get $31 at the beginning of the month (a mix of dollar bills and quarters). Every morning I check their rooms, and their beds have to be made and rooms picked up, or I take a dollar. And during the day if they leave their stuff laying around the house, I take a quarter for everything I have to put away. I'm not totally strict about it, but I hate it when they leave socks and food wrappers laying around. The house was SO CLEAN tonight, because the kids were actually picking up after themselves!

 

I got the idea from the book Cleaning House. I read it last year, but I never got around to doing anything with it.

 

I've been mostly working tonight, but I asked hubby if he could finish the one task from motivated moms I didn't get to today: organizing the desk. He did such a great job! I haven't seen the desk that clean in a long time!

 

I took before and after pictures of my bedroom closet organization project. I'm going to do a blog post on it next week.

 

Now I'm happy, but I'm beat.

[joannqn]

I have a Google calendar for events, appointments, and the like.

 

I have another Goggle calendar for our menu. I put in breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next week by Saturday and print it for the fridge. The kids love being able to see what is probably for breakfast/lunch/dinner. I say probably because sometimes I have to switch things around. Then I use that to create my shopping list in Grocery IQ. The app was recommended by a friend, and I'm still undecided about it. I see that it may have functions that make it worthwhile. DH and I shop together on Saturday after my list is done. The meal planning and weekly shopping at a cheaper store is saving us between $400 and $700 a month on groceries.

 

Even if Evernote ends up being nothing more than a reference, I love it. I'm slowly working on getting everything in there. Here's the system One PP asked what notebooks we have so here's the list:

 

I have a Notebook Stack called "I'm Proud of You" with a notebook for each of my kids and my husband in it. I'm hoping to get into the habit of writing down positive notes that I can then use to write encouraging notes to them with.

 

I have another Notebook Stack called "Reference". Inside it are notebooks for Articles, Books, Checklists, Contacts, Mariam, Movies, Passwords, and Recipes. Articles are web or email articles I might want to read again. Books and Movies are for keeping track of books and movies I want to buy, read/watch, or have completed. I have tags to denote those differences. Checklists isn't really being used right now but it is where I'm keeping my master list of projects. Mariam is for keeping track of the outgoing and incoming mail for our sponsored child. Passwords will be where I put all of those eventually because I'm lost when Google doesn't auto-complete for me. Recipes is a growing searchable cookbook.

 

I have another Stack called Tasks. In it I have a ".To Be Processed" notebook. The period is to keep it at the top of the list. This is my default notebook, my inbox. Then I have a Brain Dump where I'll be typing in all of my projects, which are currently on paper. Then I have a homeschool notebook, projects notebook, and to-do notebook. The latter is those misc. tasks I need to do. Projects in my mind are home improvement and craft/hobby type things.

 

I have one final Stack called Tickler. In it, I have a notebook for each month of the year, denoted by two digits to keep them in order. In these, I put notes for that month to remind of me of things I need to remember in that month.

 

Then I have tons of tags. I changed the Now, Next, Later tags to Today, Tomorrow, This Week, Later, and Sometime. Even if I don't get it done today or tomorrow, those names have more meaning to me. I have homeschooling tags for each subject for use in my homeschool notebook. In that homeschool notebook, I have notes on things I have to do "today," which are first priority so we can get back into the swing of school smoothly. Other notes are tagged with "tomorrow" and the subject tag; these are our next assignments to do. I don't know if I'll actually keep using these this way but it at least got my mind organized for school since school was a big hot mess.

 

I also have tags for different kinds of recipes: breakfast, dinner, dessert, lunch, gluten-free, etc. to use as I add recipes.

 

Where tags aren't really working for me because I don't really have different work places. I'm keeping them for the time being because I can see how they could be useful.

[swellmomma]

I did it! I finished my room (well mostly lol tomorrow I need to do behind the bed, wash the floor and sort 1 shelf. But it is nearly 130am and I am tired and dd5 is asleep in there. Of course now my office is a danger zone with all the buckets and bins to be sorted. I will have a few hours tomorrow afternoon, and then we go to a family party for the girls dance studio until 9pm. dd13 gets to sleepover at the studio so when I get home I am hoping to do a large chunk of the office again. If I get lucky tomorrow I will finish it. Whether I do or not, Friday-Sunday I have to focus on the main living areas and hauling the old dryer out because the new one is due to be delivered around the 8th, and we start school on monday so I have to have a clean space to do those things. I can't wait to go to sleep in my nearly empty room :)

[Jungle Mama]

I have a Google calendar for events, appointments, and the like.

 

I have another Goggle calendar for our menu. I put in breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next week by Saturday and print it for the fridge. The kids love being able to see what is probably for breakfast/lunch/dinner. I say probably because sometimes I have to switch things around. Then I use that to create my shopping list in Grocery IQ. The app was recommended by a friend, and I'm still undecided about it. I see that it may have functions that make it worthwhile. DH and I shop together on Saturday after my list is done. The meal planning and weekly shopping at a cheaper store is saving us between $400 and $700 a month on groceries.

 

Even if Evernote ends up being nothing more than a reference, I love it. I'm slowly working on getting everything in there. Here's the system One PP asked what notebooks we have so here's the list:

 

I have a Notebook Stack called "I'm Proud of You" with a notebook for each of my kids and my husband in it. I'm hoping to get into the habit of writing down positive notes that I can then use to write encouraging notes to them with.

 

I have another Notebook Stack called "Reference". Inside it are notebooks for Articles, Books, Checklists, Contacts, Mariam, Movies, Passwords, and Recipes. Articles are web or email articles I might want to read again. Books and Movies are for keeping track of books and movies I want to buy, read/watch, or have completed. I have tags to denote those differences. Checklists isn't really being used right now but it is where I'm keeping my master list of projects. Mariam is for keeping track of the outgoing and incoming mail for our sponsored child. Passwords will be where I put all of those eventually because I'm lost when Google doesn't auto-complete for me. Recipes is a growing searchable cookbook.

 

I have another Stack called Tasks. In it I have a ".To Be Processed" notebook. The period is to keep it at the top of the list. This is my default notebook, my inbox. Then I have a Brain Dump where I'll be typing in all of my projects, which are currently on paper. Then I have a homeschool notebook, projects notebook, and to-do notebook. The latter is those misc. tasks I need to do. Projects in my mind are home improvement and craft/hobby type things.

 

I have one final Stack called Tickler. In it, I have a notebook for each month of the year, denoted by two digits to keep them in order. In these, I put notes for that month to remind of me of things I need to remember in that month.

 

Then I have tons of tags. I changed the Now, Next, Later tags to Today, Tomorrow, This Week, Later, and Sometime. Even if I don't get it done today or tomorrow, those names have more meaning to me. I have homeschooling tags for each subject for use in my homeschool notebook. In that homeschool notebook, I have notes on things I have to do "today," which are first priority so we can get back into the swing of school smoothly. Other notes are tagged with "tomorrow" and the subject tag; these are our next assignments to do. I don't know if I'll actually keep using these this way but it at least got my mind organized for school since school was a big hot mess.

 

I also have tags for different kinds of recipes: breakfast, dinner, dessert, lunch, gluten-free, etc. to use as I add recipes.

 

Where tags aren't really working for me because I don't really have different work places. I'm keeping them for the time being because I can see how they could be useful.

 

 

If you have an Android device I found ColorNote is a great app for doing a very similar thing. My Next Action list has the same sort of categories of today, tomorrow, this week, later and maybe. In ColorNote I can create one big long list and just move tasks up and down the list as I realise that an item has changed in priority.

 

I love ColorNote and also use it for my menu planning, again with a huge list with all the meals we like and I move them to under the day I intend to cook them.

 

Loving this topic,

Jen in Oz

[Halcyon]

Most of it she had was my elementary school stuff. I don't think there was anything from middleschool except report cards, and nothing from highschool. Some of it was funny to see, and I think I am going to frame a picture for my kitchen I made that said "I can wash the dishes". I have elementary yearbooks and cards from my birthdays I will probably save.

 

Other things like get well cards from when I was sick in 4th grade were funny to read, and I do remember the names when reading through them, but I'd rather forget that year.

 

Here is an idea:photograph the neatest stuff, and then pitch it. Then upload the photos to shutterfly and create a slim digital book of Childhood Memories.

[Luckymama]

 

 

Here is an idea:photograph the neatest stuff, and then pitch it. Then upload the photos to shutterfly and create a slim digital book of Childhood Memories.

 

 

Halcyon omgosh, this is the BEST idea! Thank you so much! I am in possession of a gazillion boxes of papers, memorabilia, and family photos from my parents, my paternal grandmother, her sister, and their mother! My sister and I are gradually going through the photos (tossing, saving, scanning) but I didn't have a plan yet for the papers and other things.

 

The project will have to wait awhile as I still can't go through even one box without being sad :(

[Lynnae]

I have a Google calendar for events, appointments, and the like.

 

I have another Goggle calendar for our menu. I put in breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next week by Saturday and print it for the fridge. The kids love being able to see what is probably for breakfast/lunch/dinner. I say probably because sometimes I have to switch things around. Then I use that to create my shopping list in Grocery IQ. The app was recommended by a friend, and I'm still undecided about it. I see that it may have functions that make it worthwhile. DH and I shop together on Saturday after my list is done. The meal planning and weekly shopping at a cheaper store is saving us between $400 and $700 a month on groceries.

 

Even if Evernote ends up being nothing more than a reference, I love it. I'm slowly working on getting everything in there. Here's the system One PP asked what notebooks we have so here's the list:

 

I have a Notebook Stack called "I'm Proud of You" with a notebook for each of my kids and my husband in it. I'm hoping to get into the habit of writing down positive notes that I can then use to write encouraging notes to them with.

 

I have another Notebook Stack called "Reference". Inside it are notebooks for Articles, Books, Checklists, Contacts, Mariam, Movies, Passwords, and Recipes. Articles are web or email articles I might want to read again. Books and Movies are for keeping track of books and movies I want to buy, read/watch, or have completed. I have tags to denote those differences. Checklists isn't really being used right now but it is where I'm keeping my master list of projects. Mariam is for keeping track of the outgoing and incoming mail for our sponsored child. Passwords will be where I put all of those eventually because I'm lost when Google doesn't auto-complete for me. Recipes is a growing searchable cookbook.

 

I have another Stack called Tasks. In it I have a ".To Be Processed" notebook. The period is to keep it at the top of the list. This is my default notebook, my inbox. Then I have a Brain Dump where I'll be typing in all of my projects, which are currently on paper. Then I have a homeschool notebook, projects notebook, and to-do notebook. The latter is those misc. tasks I need to do. Projects in my mind are home improvement and craft/hobby type things.

 

I have one final Stack called Tickler. In it, I have a notebook for each month of the year, denoted by two digits to keep them in order. In these, I put notes for that month to remind of me of things I need to remember in that month.

 

Then I have tons of tags. I changed the Now, Next, Later tags to Today, Tomorrow, This Week, Later, and Sometime. Even if I don't get it done today or tomorrow, those names have more meaning to me. I have homeschooling tags for each subject for use in my homeschool notebook. In that homeschool notebook, I have notes on things I have to do "today," which are first priority so we can get back into the swing of school smoothly. Other notes are tagged with "tomorrow" and the subject tag; these are our next assignments to do. I don't know if I'll actually keep using these this way but it at least got my mind organized for school since school was a big hot mess.

 

I also have tags for different kinds of recipes: breakfast, dinner, dessert, lunch, gluten-free, etc. to use as I add recipes.

 

Where tags aren't really working for me because I don't really have different work places. I'm keeping them for the time being because I can see how they could be useful.

 

Thank you so much for this post! I'm liking Evernote for the day to day processing of actions, but I was having trouble organizing the reference stuff. I like your ideas so much, I clipped the page and sent it to....Evernote!

I did it! I finished my room (well mostly lol tomorrow I need to do behind the bed, wash the floor and sort 1 shelf. But it is nearly 130am and I am tired and dd5 is asleep in there. Of course now my office is a danger zone with all the buckets and bins to be sorted. I will have a few hours tomorrow afternoon, and then we go to a family party for the girls dance studio until 9pm. dd13 gets to sleepover at the studio so when I get home I am hoping to do a large chunk of the office again. If I get lucky tomorrow I will finish it. Whether I do or not, Friday-Sunday I have to focus on the main living areas and hauling the old dryer out because the new one is due to be delivered around the 8th, and we start school on monday so I have to have a clean space to do those things. I can't wait to go to sleep in my nearly empty room :)

 

Good for you! I cleaned out my room last week, and I have to tell you, I LOVE being in there right now! It's so tranquil...

 

I'm not sure what's on my agenda yet today. I haven't looked at motivated moms yet. I'm trying to do the 52 weeks thing on the Chat board, too. I saw that the kitchen was first up and decided I needed help in that area.

[imagine.more]

That's really sweet of you! I know I'd be relieved to come home to a tidy house and the pets cared for if I was in that situation. Definitely a worthwhile use of time even if it meant the storage room didn't get done.

 

 

 

Swellmomma, you are a force of nature. Truly. I *might* take some before and afters of my storage room if I am brave enough. *gulp*

 

I did not get it all done today. The oldest daughter of the family with the very sick 23yo son called me. I had offered to help the family however I can. She is almost due with Baby #7 and she has been going to her parents' house three times a day to let the dogs out and feed them. I am now going to do this until they get back. It's not such a big thing because I can get to their house in two minutes. The dad and youngest daughter (teen) have been the only ones living there for about two months now. They left yesterday in a hurry, so when I went today I washed dishes that they had left, and my dd21 picked up and swept their living room and family room. Whatever the outcome for their very ill son, they will all be tired when they come home and don't need the added stress of dirty dishes, etc.

 

So...back to some storage room sorting before I go to bed. Onward!

 

[Critterfixer]

Feeling good tonight. I started a new system with the kids. They get $31 at the beginning of the month (a mix of dollar bills and quarters). Every morning I check their rooms, and their beds have to be made and rooms picked up, or I take a dollar. And during the day if they leave their stuff laying around the house, I take a quarter for everything I have to put away. I'm not totally strict about it, but I hate it when they leave socks and food wrappers laying around. The house was SO CLEAN tonight, because the kids were actually picking up after themselves!

 

I used to have a bin where I kept things that were left out overnight by the kids. In the morning they were allowed to pay a nominal sum for "bail." About three weeks of that and there was a lot less left out! I don't have to do it anymore, but I do make sure a pick-up happens at least twice a day. Another thing that seems to work here is timing the pick-up. For whatever reason, racing the clock seems to improve efficiency and accuracy with my two.

 

Yesterday I worked on creating a system to accomplish major tasks in the rooms that don't really need doing all that often: once a month or so. Now I can concentrate on those chores by noting which week they occur in. For instance, dusting the fans and removing bugs from the light fixtures is to happen in the first week of the month per room. Depending on what day it is, I know which rooms I'll be working in. It's sort of like the Zones from Flylady, but easier for me to keep up with.

[imagine.more]

I did it! I finished my room (well mostly lol tomorrow I need to do behind the bed, wash the floor and sort 1 shelf. But it is nearly 130am and I am tired and dd5 is asleep in there. Of course now my office is a danger zone with all

the buckets and bins to be sorted. I will have a few hours tomorrow afternoon, and then we go

to a family party for the girls dance studio until 9pm. dd13 gets to sleepover at the studio so

when I get home I am hoping to do a large chunk of the office again. If I get lucky

tomorrow I will finish it. Whether I do or not, Friday-Sunday I have to focus on the main living

areas and hauling the old dryer out because the new one is due to be delivered around the 8th,

and we start school on monday so I have to have a clean space to do those things. I can't wait to go to sleep in my nearly empty room :)

 

 

Good job! I think having your bedroom tidy and organized makes such a difference. I seriously sleep better when our room is clean :)

 

Afm, I tackled dh's side of the closet yesterday with his help and almost caught up on laundry until my 4 year old wet the bed, ugh! I hope to have laundry done today so dh and I can organize and paint the laundry room tonight. Then i can get my cleaning supplies off the floor, which is so impractical and dangerous with a 2 year old.

 

This year I want to do better about read-alouds with the kids so I'm clearing off a ledge in the dining room to put all our read-alouds for the year there. My hope is by making them visible and easy to grab it'll be easier to meet my goal of doing read-alouds every day at lunch and during down times. This is sort of combining this thread with the monster Circe thread from awhile back :)

[Tawlas]

can you stack notebooks in the iPad version of Evernote? If so, how?

[rieshy]

Stomach flu at my house. Spent 3 days in the hospital with my 6 yo and now that I'm home my 5 yo has it. I've had to wash and re-wash, and re-wash again tons of bed linens, the bathrooms, doorknobs and am about to mop the kitchen. Not the way I thought I'd spend our break. I keep looking at my hipster cards in a brain dead sort of way.

 

On the up side: some hand washable wool afghans that I needed to wash just to freshen up the living room suddenly had to be washed. Why the 5 yo had taken them to bed with him I'll never know, yuck. They are clean and outside drying in the sunshine. It's one thing off my list:)

 

I may have to postpone starting back to school but that's o.k.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Stomach flu at my house. Spent 3 days in the hospital with my 6 yo and now that I'm home my 5 yo has it. I've had to wash and re-wash, and re-wash again tons of bed linens, the bathrooms, doorknobs and am about to mop the kitchen. Not the way I thought I'd spend our break. I keep looking at my hipster cards in a brain dead sort of way.

 

On the up side: some hand washable wool afghans that I needed to wash just to freshen up the living room suddenly had to be washed. Why the 5 yo had taken them to bed with him I'll never know, yuck. They are clean and outside drying in the sunshine. It's one thing off my list:)

 

I may have to postpone starting back to school but that's o.k.

 

That sounds awful :grouphug:

[thessa516]

Stomach flu at my house. Spent 3 days in the hospital with my 6 yo and now that I'm home my 5 yo has it. I've had to wash and re-wash, and re-wash again tons of bed linens, the bathrooms, doorknobs and am about to mop the kitchen. Not the way I thought I'd spend our break. I keep looking at my hipster cards in a brain dead sort of way.

 

On the up side: some hand washable wool afghans that I needed to wash just to freshen up the living room suddenly had to be washed. Why the 5 yo had taken them to bed with him I'll never know, yuck. They are clean and outside drying in the sunshine. It's one thing off my list:)

 

I may have to postpone starting back to school but that's o.k.

 

Oh no!!!! I hope everyone starts feeling better soon.

[LifeLovePassion]

Here is an idea:photograph the neatest stuff, and then pitch it. Then upload the photos to shutterfly and create a slim digital book of Childhood Memories.

 

Great idea! I pinned this type of idea for my girls stuff but didn't think of it for myself. I also have the local newspaper from when I was born, and a couple people magazines. Those may go in my momento box. What would you do with childhood birthday cards?

[Reya]

For those of you decluttering as part of this getting organized project, what do you do if your spouse is a packrat and you're trying to declutter? I desperately need to declutter around here but my husband freaks every time i try. He thinks I'm too minimalist :p

 

Also, I'm halfway through GTD and loving it but still a bit unclear on this big brain dump concept. Anyone want to walk me through it as if I'm 5? So I get a notebook and start writing down everything that I need to do/remember whether it's home related, school related, parenting, marriage, or project-related. At the end I'll have a notebook full of random stuff, right? Then what do I do?

 

Agree to spaces where he can keep things. When the space overflows, he has to cut down. My DH brings almost nothing into the house, but he also lets nothing go voluntarily. "Hey, dude, you're out of space in your dresser. Could you decide what you want to keep so I din't have to donate what doesn't fit?" works fine for us. His stuff is inviolable as long as it fits in his spaces. And when it doesn't, it usually has accumulated a bunch of junk.

[swellmomma]

So I was lazy today. Okay not lazy per se I was barely home, but when I was I sat on my butt. You know that draining feeling you get after days of a major decluttering project, yeah that. I did continue to work on my brain dump, man does my brain hold alot, I have nearly filled up a notebook already. And printed off some things I want in my home journal thing because I could work on that while sitting down. DD13 had a phot shoot today for a calendar for her dance studio, then we were at a party for 4 hours and now back home. Plus the time ti took to pack for dd's sleepover at the studio, the pot luck items, getting her hair done for the shoot and everything she might need there. It was a draining day even without the decluttering. I need to get the book then at least when having a draining day I could be reading it and feeling like I was doing something. Tomorrow I clear out my office of all the buckets and boxes I piled in there while doing my room, and do a general clean in it so I can have a usable work space to finish creating my home journal/notebook thing. This weekend will be general cleaning for the most part in preparation of the new dryer arriving.

[Runningmom80]

I still have a laundry basket to sort through. Im having a problem with sentimentality. I have info saved from the hospital when my kids were born. Why? I have no idea. Lol

[kwickimom]

Well I did all my stuff digitally and.... I don't like it :001_smile: I think I am forever a pen and paper girl. SIGH. I really wanted full use of my iPhone but I just cant do it. Following Motivated Moms app is about all I can do on there. I am going have to have to transfer everything to notebooks this weekend. I think I will get a small notebook for my purse that will hold my next actions list and everything else will go in a binder or notebook on my desk.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Well I did all my stuff digitally and.... I don't like it :001_smile: I think I am forever a pen and paper girl. SIGH. I really wanted full use of my iPhone but I just cant do it. Following Motivated Moms app is about all I can do on there. I am going have to have to transfer everything to notebooks this weekend. I think I will get a small notebook for my purse that will hold my next actions list and everything else will go in a binder or notebook on my desk.

 

 

I went through something similar a year or so ago. I have tried several of the apps mentioned here, but they didn't work for me. The one thing that stuck was the cloud calendar for scheduling. It makes it easier to coordinate family schedules. Almost everything else is paper.

[swellmomma]

Early start to today, phone rang at 6:55am and I could not get back to sleep after that so I cleaned my front entrance. It was holding hockey helmets to go back out to the garage, cardboard stacked up for the recycling, boxes and bags for goodwill, all the boots, coats, hats, mitts etc scattered from teh kids and a suitcase spilling out everywhere from when the kids came home on the weekend that I had not unpacked yet. All done, and an additional 44lbs out the door once I loaded all the goodwill stuff into the trunk. I have to leave in about 15 minutes to pick up dd13 from her dance sleepover so i will drop it off then and the cardboard ready for recycling too since the bins are next to each other. Once home I am hauling the old dryer out the door and vacuuming the backroom. Thankfully I did my cursory declutter and cleaning in there while the kids were away. I can't very well weigh my dryer, so I googled a similar model and going with what they say the weight of that machine is. Mine is older and likely heavier but close enough. And then before I do any other cleaning or organizing I am going to assemble my notebook from my stack of printables, papers etc before they get damaged and I have to start over. The rest of the day we will have to see how it plays out after lunch

[Lynnae]

I still have a laundry basket to sort through. Im having a problem with sentimentality. I have info saved from the hospital when my kids were born. Why? I have no idea. Lol

I have one keepsake box for each kid's baby/hospital stuff. My rule is that everything has to fit. So i have newspaper clippings of the day they were born, hospital bracelets, coming home outfits, first Christmas outfits, etc. But I had to get rid of a lot of stuff. I haven't missed it, because I still have the important stuff.

Well I did all my stuff digitally and.... I don't like it :001_smile: I think I am forever a pen and paper girl. SIGH. I really wanted full use of my iPhone but I just cant do it. Following Motivated Moms app is about all I can do on there. I am going have to have to transfer everything to notebooks this weekend. I think I will get a small notebook for my purse that will hold my next actions list and everything else will go in a binder or notebook on my desk.

I'm a pen & paper gal, too, but I'm giving myself until the end of the month to get used to my Evernote system. Last year at the beginning of the year I started using the Cozi online calendar, and I hated it at first, but now I can't imagine using anything else. Having everything accessible from my computer/phone/tablet is a huge benefit to me. So despite the fact I'm having a hard time getting used to the online system, I'm going to stick it out for a while. Hope it pays off! I will admit to putting a section in my notebook called Brain Dump, though. It's all the stuff I write down during that day that I can move to evernote when convenient.

 

I need to do the grocery shopping today, so I'm not sure how much organizing I'll get done. I hate grocery shopping. Especially on the first Friday of the month, but it needs to be done...

[Luckymama]

Dh and I started using the Cozi calendar yesterday. His work calendar will sync with it :) I had wanted to use google calendar but it's blocked at the office. We don't have smartphones yet so I'm going to have to rely on memory while out and scheduling appointments. I use an iPad and the free Cozi app will work pretty well. I just don't like how there isn't a monthly view on the version.

 

I also started using the lists in Cozi-----I've created a generic daily list (school w dd, exercise, laundry, prep dinner, update Goodreads (one of my goals for this year), do daily decluttering task), a running grocery list, a running Costco list, and a basic to-do list. After I read GTD I will refine my lists, I'm sure :lol:

 

I've always been a paper planner/list/calendar girl so this is feeling odd. I do appreciate the fact that dh can no longer schedule something with clients when there are already multiple things scheduled!

[I.Dup.]

I finished Switch and am reading GTD and I'm REALLY enjoying it! Taking notes.

 

Since we have moved so many times, we really don't have a whole lot of extra "stuff" so I'm kindof lost with all of this organizing I'm supposed to do. I can always re-organize our kitchen cupboards and find things to organize, but we really don't have a house or a garage full of junk. My main area I want to work on is getting more organized with the kids schooling. So far I have planned the next 4 weeks for my 5 year old (I haven't been doing anything structured with him on a regular basis) and bought new reading curriculum for my 7 year old. I am also working on making a new daily schedule and changing the times around a bit. I'd love to hear how more of you have organized your schooling/school days.

[I.Dup.]

I also started the 52/52 books challenge and organized my Goodreads list. That was fun. :)

[Rosyl]

I discovered the Microsoft one note on my computer......and I love it!!!!!! I deleted Evernote. I also have been employing the Hipster PDA. Thanks for all the great ideas.

[TracyP]

I finished Switch and am reading GTD and I'm REALLY enjoying it! Taking notes. Since we have moved so many times, we really don't have a whole lot of extra "stuff" so I'm kindof lost with all of this organizing I'm supposed to do. I can always re-organize our kitchen cupboards and find things to organize, but we really don't have a house or a garage full of junk. My main area I want to work on is getting more organized with the kids schooling. So far I have planned the next 4 weeks for my 5 year old (I haven't been doing anything structured with him on a regular basis) and bought new reading curriculum for my 7 year old. I am also working on making a new daily schedule and changing the times around a bit. I'd love to hear how more of you have organized your schooling/school days.

 

I'm in the same place - I don't have a lot of places or things that need organizing, it is more persons and ideas. ;)

 

Here is what is working so far. We eat breakfast at 6:30 and then spend from 7-8:15 getting ready for the day. I don't have a particular order but my list is:

take vitamins

kids dressed/ teeth/ hair (I shower and make bed before breakfast)

make beds

laundry

sweep

breakfast dishes

piano practice

 

The older two do what they can on their own, and they know to keep moving through the list until it is all done. The younger three are "tomato staked" to me and I help them with their chores and they help me with mine.

 

We start school at 8:15 and school takes about 3-4 hours. Sometimes that has us done before lunch, sometimes we finish after lunch. After lunch and school we have quiet time from roughly 1:00-2:00.

 

2:00 is snack (Tea Time on Tuesdays) and then I get back to work. I do dishes and laundry everyday. I also have a note to remind me to check tomorrow's meals to make sure I have meat out, etc. After that each day has a particular focus.

M: bathroom and entry way

T: kitchen

W: my bedroom, piano lessons and library trip

Th: meal plan, groc list

F: pay bills

 

Fridays are short school days with only math and piano practice. We deep clean on Friday mornings.

 

All this is working really well except school. :( It is fine, but it just boils down to being really hard to teach and referee at the same time. I want to have a better routine w/in our school day, but I'm not there yet.

[Lynnae]

Dh and I started using the Cozi calendar yesterday. His work calendar will sync with it :) I had wanted to use google calendar but it's blocked at the office. We don't have smartphones yet so I'm going to have to rely on memory while out and scheduling appointments. I use an iPad and the free Cozi app will work pretty well. I just don't like how there isn't a monthly view on the version.

 

I also started using the lists in Cozi-----I've created a generic daily list (school w dd, exercise, laundry, prep dinner, update Goodreads (one of my goals for this year), do daily decluttering task), a running grocery list, a running Costco list, and a basic to-do list. After I read GTD I will refine my lists, I'm sure :lol:

 

I've always been a paper planner/list/calendar girl so this is feeling odd. I do appreciate the fact that dh can no longer schedule something with clients when there are already multiple things scheduled!

 

I think you're going to love Cozi! I love that we can all access our calendars from wherever we are!

I finished Switch and am reading GTD and I'm REALLY enjoying it! Taking notes.

 

Since we have moved so many times, we really don't have a whole lot of extra "stuff" so I'm kindof lost with all of this organizing I'm supposed to do. I can always re-organize our kitchen cupboards and find things to organize, but we really don't have a house or a garage full of junk. My main area I want to work on is getting more organized with the kids schooling. So far I have planned the next 4 weeks for my 5 year old (I haven't been doing anything structured with him on a regular basis) and bought new reading curriculum for my 7 year old. I am also working on making a new daily schedule and changing the times around a bit. I'd love to hear how more of you have organized your schooling/school days.

 

My copy of GTD just showed up at the library! Since I need to run errands today anyway, I'm going to pick it up. And since my husband is out of town overnight, I'm sure I'll be up late reading and taking notes!

I also started the 52/52 books challenge and organized my Goodreads list. That was fun. :)

 

You can organize your Goodreads list? Must look into that. I'm doing the 52 in 52 also, and I haven't even begun to play with Goodreads yet, though I have an account.

[swellmomma]

Interesting bump in the road. Why is it I can jump right in and start clearing things out, writing down the things that pop into my mind of should do's but the thought of creating a home notebook has me hitting a wall of "nuh uh, not gonna do it" ? I have most of what I want to put into it, I jsut need to do so, but the thought of it is making me feel sick to my stomach. Haul a dryer outside by myself with no appliance dolly (which I did this morning) no problem, 3 days of doing a complete overhaul of a room peice of cake, rip out a carpet and start a reno one day just because I was sick of the room sure why not. Put paper in a notebook in an organized way, oh h*ll no. I think I am broken or something.

[AngelBee]

Looks like an amazing thread. Too tired to process it right now. :p

 

I will be back...

[LifeLovePassion]

I've been purging my e-mail inbox. I had probably around 8000 emails and 4000+ unread ones (subscriptions, etc). I have that down to 4800 total and 1200ish unread. And I've set up filters on most so they will auto-delete old ones.

[LifeLovePassion]

Oh, and I have a box of clothes that my girls have outgrown to give to a friend.

[Hunter's Moon]

Tip for those wanting to keep a simple budget on paper: I am using graphing paper to write down the amount we have every month and from there I subtract as we pay bills, shop, etc. so I always know where we are financially. It has definitely lifted a weight off of my shoulders.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Does anyone need a copy of GTD? I know some people said their libraries didn't have it or they were way back in the hold list. I found my original copy (I knew that was going to happen!), so I have my very-good-condition used-bookstore copy to gift to someone who hasn't managed to get their hands on it yet.

 

Anyone? PM me if you need it.

[joannqn]

I discovered the Microsoft one note on my computer......and I love it!!!!!! I deleted Evernote. I also have been employing the Hipster PDA. Thanks for all the great ideas.

 

How is onenote different from evernote? Is it easier to use? Does it share with a web-based version and android app like Evernote does? I have Evernote all set up but I might end up having to upgrade to the paid version so if Onenote can do all of the same things for free, I might have to switch.

[shanvan]

Interesting bump in the road. Why is it I can jump right in and start clearing things out, writing down the things that pop into my mind of should do's but the thought of creating a home notebook has me hitting a wall of "nuh uh, not gonna do it" ? I have most of what I want to put into it, I jsut need to do so, but the thought of it is making me feel sick to my stomach. Haul a dryer outside by myself with no appliance dolly (which I did this morning) no problem, 3 days of doing a complete overhaul of a room peice of cake, rip out a carpet and start a reno one day just because I was sick of the room sure why not. Put paper in a notebook in an organized way, oh h*ll no. I think I am broken or something.

 

 

Well, then we must both be broken! I'm working on my brain dump list as I move through my house organizing and decluttering and don't really have everything split into action items, projects etc. yet. I read 'create a home notebook' on the 52 weeks challenge and just thought 'why should I?' Actually, if I'm organizing all my projects, action items and more, why do I even need a home notebook? I guess I'm not even really sure what it means. I'm skipping it for now.

[Lynnae]

Interesting bump in the road. Why is it I can jump right in and start clearing things out, writing down the things that pop into my mind of should do's but the thought of creating a home notebook has me hitting a wall of "nuh uh, not gonna do it" ? I have most of what I want to put into it, I jsut need to do so, but the thought of it is making me feel sick to my stomach. Haul a dryer outside by myself with no appliance dolly (which I did this morning) no problem, 3 days of doing a complete overhaul of a room peice of cake, rip out a carpet and start a reno one day just because I was sick of the room sure why not. Put paper in a notebook in an organized way, oh h*ll no. I think I am broken or something.

Because thinking about great ideas is a lot more fun than organizing them. :)

[thessa516]

Interesting bump in the road. Why is it I can jump right in and start clearing things out, writing down the things that pop into my mind of should do's but the thought of creating a home notebook has me hitting a wall of "nuh uh, not gonna do it" ? I have most of what I want to put into it, I jsut need to do so, but the thought of it is making me feel sick to my stomach. Haul a dryer outside by myself with no appliance dolly (which I did this morning) no problem, 3 days of doing a complete overhaul of a room peice of cake, rip out a carpet and start a reno one day just because I was sick of the room sure why not. Put paper in a notebook in an organized way, oh h*ll no. I think I am broken or something.

 

I think it's related to the gene I have. Dinner party tomorrow night. Should I finalize the menu or paint the hallway? Yeah. I have to restrain myself from painting just so I could finish the menu. It's WAY easier to just pick out the appetizers and make the grocery list than it is to paint a hallway! What is wrong with me?

[Rosyl]

I think one note is simpler. I think the set up is easier, the getting started tutorial was easier to follow. It flowed better for me. In a nutshell, the learning curve was almost non-existent :hurray: . It syncs with computer and emails. I don't know if it goes with an android or ipad because I don't have one.