Getting organized - Secret #8

We are down to my last two secrets...

I must say, however, I am not going to miss the clutter and disorganization!!

8. Multi Task.

While you are on the phone with a friend or on terminal hold, you can organize a drawer in your kitchen, or office. You could sort your dirty laundry, or fold clean laundry while you are watching a favorite TV show. You could knit a pair of socks while you watch a movie. Oh… Knitting socks is for me, but you could too if you wanted.

See you again soon.

Getting organized - Secret #7 - AND Spring is in the air!

It is so beautiful here today!! The flowers are blooming. The grass is begining to green up and the trees are showing signs of life. It is so nice to feel the cool gentle breeze on my face. I can smell the fresh scent of spring in the air. What a joy to be alive in this day and enjoy God's creations.

Who wants to be cooped up inside getting organized? Not me, but here I sit...

Secret # 7...

7. Clean as you go.

It has been my experience if I “let things go” for a while, it is overwhelming when time comes that cleaning must take place. When things get messy, I get overwhelmed, so it is easier for me to clean as I go rather than letting it pile up. I have a weekly cleaning list that I use to tackle house cleaning chores each day so I am not spending more than an hour, two at the most cleaning daily. I clean the kitchen and dining area daily and after each meal. I add one or two additional rooms each weekday to the mix so I am really just staying caught up weekly without having to have a full 12 hour day of cleaning each week. I do laundry and clean bathrooms on Mondays, in addition to the Kitchen and Dining area. I sweep, mop, and polish all the floors in the house on Fridays so they are nice for the weekend and any drop in guests that might show up unannounced.

When I am cooking I wash up the dishes as I go, so there is not such a huge mess at the end. I avoid messing up every dish in the house too!! I am not about making more work for myself. NO WAY!! I have enought to do as it is. ...stepping off that soap box now... If I can use the same bowl for two things, I will. I really do hate to clean, so I have to do everything I can to simplify and make cleaning not seem overwhelming to me. I wipe down the counter and stove constantly as I am cooking so that I don’t have to spend another hour in the kitchen cleaning after each meal.

Clean as you go is put it away now’s partner. They work hand in hand to help you get organized and stay organized.

We can do this!!!

I just wanna talk about me...

That's right! Today I just wanna talk about me. Today it's all about me, me, me!

It has been busy week. I knit up a cowl but I don't like the way it turned out so it is now at the frog pond. Rippit!! I knit up an eternity scarf that I really like, but I have been so busy I have not had time to photograph. I will try to do that later today.

I do have pictures of my little precious one though...

I guess I want to talk about her now. Here she is just after a nice refreshing bath.



I know this is going to sound strange, but it is true. She gets upset to the point of making herself sick if I don't take her with me everywhere I go. She is my little shadow, I do love her as much as she loves me though. I am glad she wants to be with me, but I wish she would adjust better to Tuesday and Sunday mornings when I am out of the house without her.

On with the story. I left the house Tuesday to attend my regular Tuesday morning Bible study, which she has never gone to with me because really... Anyway, after bible study I went into town to eat lunch with my hubby. Little Miss Priss didn't want to be left home alone for those 3 hours even though she had toys, food, water, and lots of room to play. She was so stressed by my departure that she was a sick little girl when I got home. So, I spent the remainder of the day Tuesday, and all day Wednesday holding and loving her back to her less stressed self.

This is not the first time I have been away and she was so stressed that she got sick. Funny thing is, when I get home and hold her, she perks up and begins to get better almost immediately. How strange that seems to me. Has anyone else experienced this with their little Yorkie? I have read that they get very attached to their owners and will stress to sickness if their owner is away, but I really just thought it was bunk until now.

I said that to say this... Back in January I had scheduled her for surgery on Thursday, March 25th, to be spayed. She is just too small to have babies, in my opinion. I was probably overly concerned, but she does weigh only 2.7 lbs and she just stressed herself sick when I was only gone from home for a few hours. So I took her into the vet first thing Thursday as scheduled and explained how worried I was and how I was thinking we should just postpone this since she had just been stressed to sickness on Tuesday, the anesthesia is hard on small ones, she would be alone overnight, blah, blah, blah, and on and on why I should just take her back home with me and forget this surgery. Long story short, the vet said he would take her home with him overnight but that she needed to stay there overnight to be monitored. because she is so small. Reluctantly I agreed that we would proceed as planned and left the vets office.

SO... I spent the rest of the day worrying and doing anything I could to keep myself busy so I would not worry so much about her. Hubby took me out on a lovely date to a very nice restaurant and all I could do was talk about the baby (that would be Prissy). We did manage to have a nice evening all in all. He is a good husband.

I am excited to say Prissy is home now and doing well. I just love her to pieces. I am doing better too now that she is home.

I think that today we will sit in the bed, watch good movies, and knit something. I don't know what we will knit yet, but I will think of something. I am sure one of the yarns in this house will call out to me just begging to made into something.

Ok... I am done talking about me for awhile. In my next blog, I will continue with the organization tips.

Hope you have a GREAT weekend.

Getting organized - Secret #6

6. Put it away NOW, not later!

This secret works with the decision secret. I have a terrible habit of coming in the door and tossing whatever I have in my hand on the nearest table or counter top with the best of intentions of coming right back to put it away. I bet you do too, unless you are already organized. Hey!! If you are already organized why are you reading this? Well, I am glad you are reading this even if you are organized.

Not putting things away right now is one of the main reasons things get cluttered and unorganized. It doesn’t take much longer to put things away properly than it does to toss them on the nearest table top. Most importantly, the habit of putting things away now will save a tremendous amount of time when it is time to clean and when you are looking for something you need right now. It will save days of sorting and organizing later. Just think… what if we had been doing this all along? We would not be spending days, weeks, maybe even months getting organized now.

Starting today, force yourself to put things in their home the minute you are done using them, not later. In a few short days you will have formed the habit and putting things in their home will seem the only rational thing to do.

Thanks for stopping in today. I hope you will comment and come again. I only have three more posts in this getting organized series. What are we going to talk about next? Knitting? Food? A little of this and a little of that? I don't really know, but we will talk about something. A girl can always chat about something.

See you again soon!

Back to getting organized... Secret #5

Good afternoon!

I hope all is well in your world. We still have snow on the ground here, but it is slowly melting away. I was hoping to have a picnic on the new dock down at the lake, but I guess that will have to wait until next week, or at least for a warmer sun filled day.

Ok... Back to getting organized and staying organized.

5. A place for everything and everything in its place.

We need to have a designated place for everything in our lives. No more junk drawers!! I bet you know where your makeup is. It has a home. I bet you know where your jewelry is. It has a home. Do you lose your car keys? I lose mine all the time. Why? Because I don’t put them where they go, which is in the front pocket of my purse. Where do your car keys go? You should have one place for them (in your purse or next to the door is best) and you'll never lose them again. Where do your old newspapers go? Pens? Pencils? Magazines? Children’s toys? Pet’s toys? Everything should have a home, a place to go when it is not being used.

Determine what organized looks like. To me organized is not cluttered. An organized home is a welcoming, calm, clean, place to be where things can be easily located and retrieved. An organized home is a place I enjoy living in and don’t mind visiting.

We need to find a "home" for every item in our home. If we have homeless items in our lives we need to find a home for them. If there are things sitting on your kitchen counter that don’t belong in the kitchen, they are homeless. Do you have things on your bed that don’t belong there? How about things on your desk that don’t belong? Now is the time to make a decision about where these items will live. Take action, file it, throw it away, give it to someone who will love it and use it, or find it a home, now. Don’t just keep moving these homeless items from one homeless shelter to another.

Some people love labels. Labels may help you keep things in their home, so you might want to use labels.

Think about how you use the items in your home when you are finding homes for things. You want your homes to be easy to get to and you want to be able to find what you have put away easily. Put items near the point they will be used. Store all the laundry items in the laundry room or near the washer and dryer. Keep your dish washing detergent next to the dishwasher. Put your pots and pans, pot holders and cooking utensils next to the stove. I know you are thinking duh??? But not everyone puts things in the most obvious place and then they are surprised when it is not convenient. Trust me, I know, I have put things away and then could not find them. Planning is a good thing!

It’s okay to duplicate items in different homes within your home. You will need a pair of scissors in your kitchen, and you will also need to have a pair in your home office. I also like to have a pair of scissors in my knitting corner(s). You might also like to have duplicate cleaning supplies in each bathroom. I know I do. It saves me time when I am cleaning the bathrooms and I don't have to lug around a cleaning tray.

That's it for today. See you soon with secret #6.

Spring, smhing!

I thought it was spring. Look what I woke up to this morning.





I can't even see my little yellow buttercups anymore. Can you believe it was in the upper 60's on Friday and this morning snow and lots of it?

I think I will just have a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy some knitting.

I will continue our organizing secrets tomorrow with secret #5.

God bless you!
Debbie

Getting organized - Secret 4

All I can say is getting organized takes time.

4. Make a decision and act on it.

Do you have a stack of mail sitting on your table, counter top or at the point of entry you’re your home? I do. Is that stack of clutter growing daily? That stack of mail is a result of the fact that I didn’t want to deal with the mail when I had it in my hand so I dumped it. Now I have more mail to deal with than if I had just made a decision, acted on it, and moved on to my next task for the day. Most of the clutter in our lives is directly related to the fact that we put off making a decision until later. If we want to get organized and stay organized we will have to make decisions, act on them and move on.

Let’s tackle the mail and paper clutter we have in our homes and offices. Are you ready?

We need to set up an inbox for all of our papers. Paper could be mail, phone messages, notes that we wrote to ourselves and laid down somewhere (we aren’t doing that anymore, because we are not collecting our thoughts in our notebook.) etc. You might like to have an inbox close to your point of entry and possibly another inbox in your home office if that suits your needs, but one at the point of entry should be enough.

Once you have your inbox in place you will want to put all of your incoming paper in that box. Then once a day, it will only take about 10 minutes, go through the inbox and do something with each piece of mail and/or paper. Make a decision. Pick up the top item in your inbox. Does this need to be filed? File it. Does this need to be thrown away? Toss it in the trash. Can someone else handle this task? Delegate it. Does this paper require you to take action? Put it on your to-do list in your planner, or do it now. Is this a bill? Write a check to be mailed and place it in the out portion of your box to be taken with you to the PO when you run errands, or pay the bill online now. Does it need to be shredded? Shred it. Continue this process until the inbox is empty. Make a decision, act on it NOW, not later, and move on.

Whew!!! I got it done. I feel better already! How about you?

Adding a contact me gadget....

I learned how to add a gadget to allow others to contact you. This is what I did if you are interested in adding a contact button to your blogspot blot.

From the dashboard choose the layout option.
Click Add a Gadget
Choose Picture
Type in your title. (example: contact me by e-mail)
In the Link box type: mailto:youre.mailaddress@wherever.com
Load your chosen image and save.

Back to your layout page you will be able to move your gadget where you want it and save. This will allow others to send you an e-mail from your blog.

Geting organized - Secret 3

3. Write it down! NOW not later!!!

You know what they say; The faintest ink is better than the best memory. I have CRS. You know I Can’t Remember Stuff. Sometimes it is important stuff too! I bet you forget stuff too. Come on, admit it. No one will know. SO, rather than trying to keep that list going in your head without getting lost in your brains massive storage cabinet, write it down. I keep a notebook by the bed and as I think of things; ideas I want to remember, things that need to be done around the house, in the office, or just in my life in general, where I am putting something that is important and will need again in a few days, etc., write everything down in the little book for remembering.

Another thing I do to write it down is: I have a laminated grocery list that I use so when I or hubby take the last or next to last of something from the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer, we mark that item for purchase. I keep the grocery checklist on the side of the refrigerator so it is handy and I keep the dry erase marker on top of the fridge. Everyone in the house knows that if it is not on the list, it won’t be in the house come grocery day. Let your family know it is there and they will use it too.

Side note: I have tried to figure out how to insert a document here for you, but I just can't get it figured out, so.... if you would like a copy of our grocery list leave a comment and I will send one to you via e-mail if I can easily determine your e-mail address when I click on you. It is a word document and can be easily edited to add or delete items that you use or don't use in your home. OR you can shoot me an e-mail by clicking the e-mail button on the right side of this blog.

Get a calendar and place it somewhere you can see it every morning. Maybe you want your calendar in your kitchen, or on your desktop. It is okay to duplicate a calendar in more than one place. Track important dates (birthdays, dental visits, Dr. visits, your kid’s activities, important events) on all your calendars. Look at your calendar each morning before and during your planning time so you don’t forget or miss anything important on that day.

Tomorrow will be Secret 4 for getting organized.

Back to getting organized...

When we last spoke about getting organized and staying organized, not counting a small mention of it yesterday in my blog, the last thing I said was, "Don’t be upset if you don’t finish, there is always tomorrow and the reward of being organized will be worth it!"

So if you got started and are like me I can just hear it now...

Uh oh, now I have a new pile of “stuff”!! Get rid of it. You need to do something with it now. Do one of the following: sell it, throw it away, donate it to a worthy charity, or give it to someone who will love it and use it.

Ok. I hear you saying but I really just can’t bring myself to get rid of insert your temptation item here. Ask yourself some questions when you are reducing/de-cluttering. Do I really need this? Have I used it in the past 6 months? Will I need it in the next 6 months? Do I really love it? Does this item add to my life in some way? Do I know someone who could really use this and would love to have it? Will I miss it if I don’t have it anymore? Did I really even know I had this?

If you still cannot bear to part with the item, put it in one box or storage bin. One is all you get. Label the bin with every item that is in it, date the list, and store the bin in the garage, the attic, the basement or somewhere out of the way. In six months, when you haven't needed any of it, out it goes. Sell it, donate it, throw it away or give it to someone who will love and use it.

I personally will have a yard sale and make a little extra cash. I will donate everything that does not sell to a goodwill shop in the area. You can do the same, or if you don’t want to go to the bother of a yard sale just donate your items to a goodwill shop in your area and be done with it. Most will come to your home and pick up the items you are donating. It can be a nice tax deduction too.

When my house is clutter free, I will treat myself to some nice yarn - uh... I mean… uh… - treat myself to something nice that will not bring the clutter back in our home. I have worked hard to get it out and I want things to stay organized.

I mentioned that we also need to reduce in our scheduling as well. Are you asking, How am I going to reduce in my schedule? If you are like me your schedule is cram packed each day and could use some de-cluttering. We can start by getting rid of all the extras.

I hear you asking and exclaiming, What are extras? I don't have any extras?

Yes, you have extras, and so do I. Extras are activities that you are not all that gung-ho about but do anyway. Extras can also be people that drain your time and energy. Extras can be some of your children’s activities that they are really not that interested in. Take a minute to think about how much simpler and less stressful your life would be without the energy drainers and only participating in 2 or 3 extra activities rather than 8 or 9. You will not be so pressed for time if you can reduce your schedule and you will get more out of the activities you really enjoy and want to participate in.

After you drop the extras, it is time to work on the daily to do task list we discussed in the planning secret. Take a few minutes to make a list of everything you want to accomplish (if you have not already done this). Prioritize that list and incorporate it into your 6 most important tasks each day, until all the tasks in your list have been accomplished. Yes, the list will most likely grow, and some things that seem important now, may fall off your list, because they are not really important in the big scheme of things.

We can all do 6 most important things each day. Prioritize the most important list each morning before beginning your day. Schedule tasks so that you are making the most of your time. Combine like tasks. Make all your phone calls during one block of time. Do all your filing in one block of time. Pay all of your bills at the same time (maybe twice a month). Run all your errands and shop at the same time. This will help you stay focused and make the best use of your time.

Tomorrow we, really I guess it will just be me here typing to me again, but oh well... Tomorrow we will discuss secret #3 and it will be a short post compared to most of my ramblings.