It started with a very long to do list, all dealing with getting the little things in the house organized: labeling Grant's toy bins, sifting out all his broken cars, getting his school stuff organized that we do at home, throwing out the millions of scrap pieces of paper lying around, finally getting rid of boxes of clothing from the move that we're not ever going to wear (or fit into) anymore.....you get the picture.
Grant has been a tornado of late and with a whirlwind of movement through every room he passes, it is turned upside down...literally. It's hard to notice at first, because he plays quite well by himself, enthralled in what he's doing...but by the time he's done, it's a disaster to say the least. In the past I haven't been as good as I should about making him pick up his messes, truthfully it has just been easier for me to do it and it gets the job done in about 5 minutes. A few weeks ago I asked Grant to pick up his room and he looked at me (pretty innocently) and said, "That's your job Mom." So, added to this very long to do list is revamp Grant's job chart to include some more specific items such as cleaning up...wait....that one's already on it! I guess it's ME that needs the reminder to reinforce. So, we have attempted this as much as my patience can handle starting Sunday night. "Grant, will you please pick up your toys?" "Okay Mom!" as he picks up his toy Taxi Cab that now will occupy his time for the next ten minutes until he is given another reminder....Practice makes perfect, right?
Last year Mark and I went to Hawaii in September and had an amazing time. We relaxed, snorkeled, shopped, ate good food, watched movies, lounged on the beach....and attended one of those lame time share presentations so we could get a $100 gift certificate to a restaurant and some free hotel nights. Here is what the dinner got us:
It was delicious!
Which brings me to another item on the very long list: find the free hotel vouchers. I know exactly where they were BEFORE we moved and now as we are settled in and unpacked we are wanting to take a long weekend to the coast (which just maybe there might be a free hotel included on the list of vouchers)....it's no where to be found. After moving in a had put a lot of boxes in closets to come back to later...last night up in my office (as Grant calls it) I decided to thoroughly look through to see if I could find that voucher. Hours later, a garbage bag full of dejunkment...it was no where to be found. It is officially gone, lost in the move. Although I did find a large bin full of fun art supplies that I pulled out envisioning setting up in the corner of the room with the easel...waiting for me to be inspired and throw something on a canvas or paper....by the end of the night it was tucked safely back in it's plastic bin...sigh.
Lastly- this very long list of to dos had me organizing our pantry. When we lived in Sumner and had a large basement with ample storage room we attempted and had a pretty good food storage going. Luckily I convinced the movers to pack all our canned goods (and gave away all the dry goods) to move with us. Thus I have MORE than enough cream of chicken, cream of broccoli, cream of you name it soup as well as canned chicken, vegetables and tomato everything! So, Sunday night we had Hawaiian hay stacks (YUM!), so two cans down....tonight it will be Southwestern chicken salad..three more cans down.... ANYONE, have any GOOD recipes for these lovely canned items!?
While attempting to scratch some things off this list and become more organized I have found myself finding more things to add to it! I found the my bin full of scrapbooking stuff and years of printed photos I need to get organized, art supplies I'm dying to use again, more organization to do in Grant's room, mainly his closet and organizing meals to coordinate with all my canned food that is going to expire this year! As well as training my son to clean up quickly and quietly after himself. Big sigh!
If you are still reading this...by chance do you have any helpful hints for me? Nancy, you seem to be a list maker? I think I need to get out and take some pictures rather than worry about a very long list of to dos, that's much more fun!
8 comments:
Welcome to my world, friend.
Too much stuff that needs a place to go, not enough time to get in all done at one sitting, and a little blonde tornado destroying all around you.
I do have a couple of recipes...I'll get those to you later.
And remind me to tell you tonight about how the girls finally turned into "helpers".
Good luck and I can't wait to see the pictures you took today.
Still LOVE the pics. You are awesome! Possy stew is all canned food in a pot. We eat it on cold rainy days. Very similar to taco soup (canned version).
I, too am trying so hard to organize things. I thought moving into a larger house would be easier. I didn't think about that fact that we had a huge pantry there, and built in shelving everywhere. Both systems are missing here. Darn! My torando has curly hair to match the whirlwhinds she leaves behind when she moves!
Best of luck!
You are well aware of my organizational habits, so I have no advice for you, except to just tackle one thing at a time, so you can stay focused.
Amy
I have a white board that is my to-do list. It great because you can erase the item as soon as it is done. I've noticed just doing 1 thing a day helps. Don't let it get to you if something stays on the list for a really long time. I've had finish printing scrapbook titles (I have about 10 pages nearly done, all I need to do is actually journal on them! Still sitting on my desk from MAY!) I have a section for HOME, the daily stuff that is erased often WORK, (work of course), REMINDERS, these are the real TODO items that I don't want to forget.
I just recently had this dream I woke up and finished my list, then blogged about being caught up. Sad, huh? I am not sure which is worse the fact that I dreamed my to-do list was done OR that I then went and blogged about it.
YOU have created a monster!
~Leslie
I love to write lists too. I have written very lengthy lists in the past but, I always felt very discouraged in the end of the day because I didn't complete them all or even a fraction of them. So I simplified.
I have a master running to do list on my computer that I add to when something comes up. I pick 2 or 3 things a week that I will accomplish (depending on how big the project). I then do a "sub" list are little tasks involved to get that task done. So, even if I don't finish the whole task because of things coming up (2 kiddos) then at least I look back and think wow, I did a lot today and I am almost done with this one. This way I am always feeling productive.
I totally understand the whole picking up after your kids. It is so much easier to do it ourselves! I am very impatient. I tell Sophia to pick up 5 things and count them out so she is helping and counting at the same time.
Wow, sorry this is so lengthy! These are just some things that work for me. Maybe you can find them helpful too. Good luck with everything!
I am just jealous that you actually have to time to go through things. I tried to dejunk when we moved, but I decided if you move yourself you junk more than if movers move you. Sounds like you have a good start. The key to organization is dont' be like me a packrat, just throw stuff away. I am trying hard to do this more. Good luck in your orgainzing adventure, I am sure it will take you down memory lane.
Organinzing, I love to do that. I don't get to things as often as I would like. Good luck with yours. Getting kids to clean up after themselves. Hunter is 9 and still doesn't quite get the concept. Aaron is such a good example of motivating the kids. He sets a timer and then it's a race or make some kind of game out of it. I don't know why my nagging doesn't work? Good luck with it.
I'm still trying to get over the fact that my name was mentioned in this post. This is not a joke: I have also sat through timeshare presentations AND I have spent a inordinate amount of time searching my home for the vouchers we earned. Today I spent time digging through piles trying to: find the dry-cleaning stub, help Tommy pack up his homework, and just make sure there was nothing lost in those piles that would cause important parts of my life to come tumbling down. I may be a good list-maker, but the execution stage is in need of help. I happen to be working on a new system though. Stay tuned for more on that :). But here's a quick tip for today: Set aside a special spot for incoming bills. Never put them with your other mail, and never put anything else in with your bills. I learned this after far too many episodes of panic and anxiety over missing bills.
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