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StefA
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| Posted: July 31 2010 at 8:44am | IP Logged
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Okay, I'm really unorganized. So unorganized I wouldn't know where to begin to *get* organized. I do have a book about organization that I've looked through. I'm unmotivated, though. The fact is we are coming up close on when we will have to start formal schooling for my son, and I am getting nervous about whether I am able to handle it. Any advice?
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~Stef, wife to Tsion, mother to Keegan (2-15-07) and Gianna (10-01-09), stepmother to Jayden (5-3-01)~
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zookeeper9
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| Posted: July 31 2010 at 9:15am | IP Logged
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A good place to start is FlyLady. She has a great system for getting you started. Once you have a plan you can be organized. This is coming from someone who also used to be unorganized, I now am able to have a functional house. :)
Once you get into a routine I would recommend Holly Pierlot's A Mother's Rule of Life. It is wonderful book to help develop a Catholic homeschool schedule.
There are a lot of other wonderful books out there, but this is where I started. :)
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StefA
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| Posted: July 31 2010 at 9:17am | IP Logged
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Thanks. I get the FlyLady emails- I just have to start implementing them! And I have that book, too. :)
__________________
~Stef, wife to Tsion, mother to Keegan (2-15-07) and Gianna (10-01-09), stepmother to Jayden (5-3-01)~
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zookeeper9
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| Posted: July 31 2010 at 9:22am | IP Logged
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Stef,
That is always is issue, getting started. I love FlyLady's take to start where you are. If the emails are too much look for the weekly summary. I stopped getting the emails because it was overwhelming for me. Once I switched to the weekly list it seemed more manageable.
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Mackfam
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| Posted: July 31 2010 at 9:33am | IP Logged
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Stef,
It sounds like you have the tools you need if you know about FlyLady and Holly's A Mother's Rule of Life. And, it goes without saying that you tweak both of those to fit your family.
So...if you have some tools...do you just need a little jump start? 
I become overwhelmed very easily if I start looking around and seeing everything that has to get done...it seems like a mountain I'll never be able to climb. I start thinking of how many times I'll get interrupted...and how many other things I have to do...and on and on and on. Until I've shot myself in the foot and I just stare blankly at my surroundings.
Perhaps the best thing to do is not to look at everything...but to choose one thing to work on. Just one. I always start with my kitchen because that room/space really needs to work for my entire family, but maybe you'd want to choose your bedroom so you felt like it was more of a retreat. Whatever room or space you choose, just pick one.
Now narrow it a little further...don't think of the entire space or room...consider a corner of it and focus on that just for today. Maybe work on your pantry...or your cupboards...or clean out your fridge/freezer...or totally go through your dresser and nightstands. Choose one thing, focus on it, and do it.
Make that one little area pleasant with *what you have on hand* - don't allow yourself to become distracted or discouraged by all the organizing materials you wish you had. Be creative with items around the house for storage - glass jars, cardboard boxes, cereal boxes, wrapping paper and scrapbook paper, shoeboxes, cans, tape...dig around in your basement or attic! Remove everything superfluous that distracts from order or that area's purpose. Give yourself a pat on the back and a tiny little square of chocolate as you sit down tonight after your work. Resolve to get up again on Monday and work on another little corner.
One little corner of a space at a time. Think small!
You can do this, Stef!  Hope this helps!
__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: July 31 2010 at 11:16am | IP Logged
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Stef, my guess is that you are more organized than you think! It's a matter of finding out what is working for you and what isn't. I shared this on another thread:
Angie Mc wrote:
Read Organize from the Inside Out as a quick start to organizing your space. Here's a summary of the how-to to get you interested, but her take on the *why* we are disorganized is totally worth the read.
Organizing time is usually more difficult and is greatly enhanced if your space is in pretty good order. Fine tune routines later. |
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FlyLady and MROL, both excellent resources, were WAY too much for me individually, never mind together. I'm very detail impaired so I get easily overwhelmed with micro-management. "Organizing from the Inside Out" was what I needed to find practical how-to macro-principles while also addressing my personal motivations in a way that is very humane, working with the reality of me.
MROL follows similar organizing principles but combines them with spiritual concerns. I prefer a more single-task approach...organizing in one book, spiritual growth in another. I did enjoy reading MROL after I had a well-established organization plan, as a spiritual book.
So, to get started, find one space to organize and make attractive for yourself right now. I would pick a place that lends itself to *staying* organized. It could be just a chair in the corner of your room surrounded by your favorite books in a basket - maybe "Organizinig from the Inside Out"  , a scented candle, and some favorite family pictures. Go to this space to energize and recommit to organizing when you feel unorganized.
Next, pick a doable space to organize - be it a drawer, a bag, a small closet, a small room and follow the SPACE steps in the second link I shared in the quote. Once you have done that well, and practiced keeping it in order, move onto a more challenging space.
You can handle this, Stef! Praying for your intentions.
Love,
__________________
Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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StefA
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| Posted: July 31 2010 at 12:20pm | IP Logged
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Angie Mc wrote:
Stef, my guess is that you are more organized than you think! It's a matter of finding out what is working for you and what isn't. I shared this on another thread:
Angie Mc wrote:
Read Organize from the Inside Out as a quick start to organizing your space. Here's a summary of the how-to to get you interested, but her take on the *why* we are disorganized is totally worth the read.
Organizing time is usually more difficult and is greatly enhanced if your space is in pretty good order. Fine tune routines later. |
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FlyLady and MROL, both excellent resources, were WAY too much for me individually, never mind together. I'm very detail impaired so I get easily overwhelmed with micro-management. "Organizing from the Inside Out" was what I needed to find practical how-to macro-principles while also addressing my personal motivations in a way that is very humane, working with the reality of me.
MROL follows similar organizing principles but combines them with spiritual concerns. I prefer a more single-task approach...organizing in one book, spiritual growth in another. I did enjoy reading MROL after I had a well-established organization plan, as a spiritual book.
So, to get started, find one space to organize and make attractive for yourself right now. I would pick a place that lends itself to *staying* organized. It could be just a chair in the corner of your bedroom surrounded by your favorite books in a basket - maybe "Organizinig from the Inside Out" , a scented candle, and some favorite family pictures. Go to this space to energize and recommit to organizing when you feel unorganized.
Next, pick a doable space to organize - be it a drawer, a bag, a small closet, a small room and follow the SPACE steps in the second link I shared in the quote. Once you have done that well, and practiced keeping it in order, move onto a more challenging space.
You can handle this, Stef! Praying for your intentions.
Love, |
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Thanks Angie, I will take a look at that!
__________________
~Stef, wife to Tsion, mother to Keegan (2-15-07) and Gianna (10-01-09), stepmother to Jayden (5-3-01)~
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: July 31 2010 at 1:19pm | IP Logged
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Oh good, Stef. Keep us posted! I'm constantly amazed at the organization tips and encouragement shared by members here and how Jen and Suzanne, the mods of this forum, keep up our enthusiasm!
For example, they recently helped me to organize and pack for a quick get-away. Awesome! So when you get stumped, post your challenge here and I have every confidence that you'll feel motivated!
Love,
__________________
Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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quiltmomof3
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| Posted: July 31 2010 at 4:50pm | IP Logged
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For me, decluttering all the time is the key. I use the walmart bags from the grocery and say to myself I'm going to fill this bag today. It took me forever to understand that organizing was not my problem, too much stuff was. No matter how often arranged it, it was too hard to keep it that way because I just had too much stuff, we all did.
I would start small with something like a drawer in my kitchen and say I'm going to do this drawer today. You will be surprised at how easy it is to declutter by just filling up those Walmart bags. LOL.
Oh I called our church and one of Father's organizing the kids from the local college to come to the house in the afternoon and pick up used stuff. He uses it. So I don't even have to drive anywhere to get the stuff taken away ! LOL.
Susan
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cornomama4
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Stef, Also I'd say you've got a couple years (or more!) before you need to do anything that looks like "formal schooling" :) If it's Keegan I mean, if it's Jayden maybe you're right!
I'm ridiculously unorganized except in certain areas, none of which involve housekeeping. I've been a SAHM for almost 1 year now, so I think it's time I got it together and realized this is my new job.
Whenever I "try" and get things going I choose the area or chore that drives me the most crazy. Like our clean laundry always piled up on my bed and while I sometimes enjoyed sleeping in a nest, dh wasn't thrilled. So now I have a small folding table in my tiny office that I fold on and put in baskets for each child and the parents. My older kids (9 and 10) put away theirs and the little's. That way I can do 4 or 5 loads in one day and get it all folded and in baskets and even if it doesn't get put away that day at least it's not on the bed in piles! I'm also getting good at having the sink cleaned out before I go to bed...nice to get up to a clean sink and ready coffee maker :)
I'm great at starting things and not following through (see my foyer of inspiration post) and this causes even more chaos. This year I'm trying to slow down my "projects" and force myself to do the mundane, everyday running of the house. I'm still hung up about the value of work being related to a paycheck, but hopefully I'll get over that soon. St. Therese, pray for us......
Don't try too much at once! Look at what you've managed to do and change, rather than what you haven't. And ask your dh what he'd put as top 3 things to change...that helps me sometimes. Good luck!
cm4
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violingirl
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I'm not naturally organized at all, but I have to be for anything to get done otherwise I just forget about it. I'm also very sentimental about "stuff" and have a hard time parting with some things. I've been working on that for about 3 years now and I finally feel like it's not so difficult for me to keep in our space only what we need and use.
I *loved* the book Angie Mc mentioned- Organizing from the Inside Out. It helped me to really think about what needs to be in a certain space vs. what just happens to be there.
I also get really overwhelmed with too much to do, so for me the key was to focus on just building a few habits. I worked hard at establishing a morning routine for what our family needs me to do, and I started by asking my husband what 3 things would mean the most to him. He said having the bed made each day, 1 load of laundry completely done and the kitchen always clean.
So I started there. I made a point of making the bed right away in the morning, starting 1 load of laundry right before breakfast and being sure to take care of the dishes after every meal. (I used to let them go all day and then do them all in the evenings, and now I load as I go). After I had pretty well established those habits I added 1 or 2 more things, and eventually worked up to a pretty regular morning routine that included the basic daily chores. I also include decluttering time a few times a week because that part is just never done. There are always more things coming into the house and I've tried to firmly hold onto the saying "if something comes in something else must go out."
__________________
Erin
DS (2005) DS (2007) DD (2012)
Mama In Progress
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: What if I'm VERY Unorganized?
