That's my motto! I remember always hearing phrases like, "There's a place for everything, and everything in its place" and I have always taken that type of thinking to heart. I suppose when I was younger I wasn't the most organized, but, beginning in high school, I started developing some OCD tendencies that seem to be getting worse as I get older. But I just LOVE being organized, and I love to organize stuff. In high school I even had a teacher who was, shall we say not the best at organizing, ask me to come and "help" her fix her filing cabinet into something that made a little more sense. I put "help" in quotations because I really didn't "help" her do it - I just did it and when I was finished, explained everything to her so she could find it all.
I also remember in college having several roommates and friends who were lacking in this area and I attempted to help them. It seemed they were always misplacing items, so I helped them get organized so they would always know where things were. I remember saying all the time, "If you always put you ID card in the same place, then you will always know where it is!"
Now that I am out of college and am a homemaker, I see how vital organization is to reduce stress in your life. Once you add kids to the mix, then the need for organization is stepped up several notches. Now, I need to admit now that I definitely am NOT a pro at this, and am still learning all the time on how I can do things better. I had things pretty well down last year with Matt's schedule with church, my cleaning schedule, and the kids' schedules. Then, baby number 3 came along and everything is thrown out of whack. So I have been working the last week trying to figure out what works best for me now with three children. Matt's schedule with church obviously hasn't changed, but everything else has. So I am working on a project to help me with my housework and such.
One thing that is much different now is the laundry. It never ceases to amaze me how much laundry one little person can add to the bunch. But our laundry has greatly increased with little Libby here now. I hear of some people who designate one whole day to laundry, and only do it on that one day and have the rest of the week "off" from laundry. But for me, that just seems so overwhelming that I prefer to do a little each day. The reason for that probably being that I HATE TO FOLD!!!! I don't mind washing and switching to the dryer and putting it all away, but I hate to fold it all. So if I did all my laundry on one day, I would also have to fold it all and I know that I would not keep up with it, therefore some of it would never get folded - just pulled out of a pile when it is time to wear it again. So I do a little each day.
I must make a side note here to tell you something that I have not had the chance to tell you yet. The day before Libby was born, I got a new washer and dryer!!!! I can't remember if I mentioned this on here before, but when we sold our house, we sold all our appliances with it. And the house we moved into had a washer and dryer, but they were several years old (like maybe 10 years or more). The washer worked just fine, but the heating element on the dryer did not work very well, and I often had to run the dryer 2 times before things got dry. We could have had the dryer serviced, but we decided to look for a good sale and get new ones that would, hopefully, last us a very long time. Well, we knew we had some money coming to us in January, so I just made due with the two that we had until we got that money. And when we did, Matt went to Sears and we got ourselves a very nice Kenmore front loader set. They are a metallic blue color and I LOVE them!!!! I actually don't mind doing laundry now! :-) I am so thankful for them. They wash the clothes so well, and are much easier on the clothes, too. My mom was here when we got them, and she showed me how to use them properly since she has had a set for several years herself.
My new washer/dryer in my recently built laundry room!
Matt is going to build a little pedestal for me to raise them up a bit. You can buy them to actually match in color, but they are like $200 a piece!
So anyways, back to my story. I do a little laundry each day. For example, my schedule seems to be working out like the following:
Monday - Kid's clothes
Tuesday - Sheets and towels
Wednesday - Matt's and my clothes
Thursday - Kid's clothes
Friday - Towels
Saturday - Matt's and my clothes
So far, this seems to be working out pretty well. And it is nice to not get all stressed out when you see the hamper getting full. For example, say it is Wednesday afternoon and I see that the kids' hamper is full. I don't have to drop what I am doing and go try to get their laundry all done. I just remember that I am "scheduled" to do it tomorrow, and I go on and don't think about it again until Thursday morning. This system seems to work the best for me.
That is just one small area that I am working on getting all organized with our "new normal" as I talked about in a previous post. I am also working on my cleaning schedule, menus and shopping lists, and bigger projects coming up for spring cleaning.
In trying to get this all organized for my project, I have been doing some looking around on the Internet and came across this really cool article. It was talking about cleaning your home efficiently, yet fast, taking tips from the professional cleaning companies. One part of the article that I thought was interesting was a part that talked about the 4 types of personalities when it comes to cleaning. And I had to laugh because I can think of people I know that fit these personalities! They are:
The hoarder, who keeps everything thinking they will need it someday, whether it is a magazine or a plastic margarine container.
The Deferrer, who will leave things for tomorrow, like dishes in the sink, or clothes in the washer.
The Rebel, who refuses to do things like actually put their clothes IN the hamper when dirty, or the dishes in the dishwasher, etc.
The Perfectionist, who tells themselves they will do something next week when they can do it perfectly.
If I give in to my natural tendencies, my personality is the second one, the Deferrer. I am such a procrastinator - always have been. That is why it is so important for me to get organized!
So, all that has been to say that I am busy trying to get organized and get everything in order so I can have as little as stress in my life as possible. And if I am organized and not stressed, then my husband and kids are more relaxed. It really does affect everyone. And, as a homemaker, it is my job to do this. Have you ever read Proverbs 31 about the virtuous woman? Ya, I'd say she was a pretty organized woman! :-) And I am pretty sure the Bible indicates that she had a happy home - hence my title!
Well, I think I have rambled on long enough (as usual - I probably loose readers due to the length of most of my posts! Oh well!). But before I go, I know I told you all I would post a pic of my haircut. I didn't want to take a pic of just myself, so I grabbed Leila and we posed. It is not the best view of my hair, and my hair was not styled at the time, but it gives you the main idea. I will also post a "before" pic so you can see the difference. Enjoy the pics and have a wonderful day!
Until next time....
Libby was just a few days old here.
2 comments:
Now I have washer/dryer envy. ;-) I would LOVE to have front loaders someday, but I am thankful for the set that we have!! I can't imagine trying to lug laundry to a laundry mat with the lads in tow. I'm spoiled. I think your hair is cute! I didn't realize how long it was. Oh, and I love Leila's little "sprout" pony. Adorable!! Good job for being organized. I need to do some revamping of our schedule again for sure!
Ohhh, I love my front loaders! They work so wonderfully :) I'm glad you were able to get some! They are such a pretty color as well :) I hear ya about the organization, of course I'm not telling you anything you don't already know :)
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