I had some girlfriends over for lunch yesterday and I realized something.  MOST people are not nearly as organized as I am.  And I don’t mean that in a bad way.  Looking at my girlfriends, I would never know that they are or aren’t organized.  It’s simply the responses that I get when they see how organized I AM that I realize I am not the norm.  For example, one of them was looking at my dry erase board in the kitchen that lists our dinner menu for the week.  For me, that is simply a reminder of what I can make with the groceries I have.  If I didn’t post that in plain site for myself, I would be frazzled every afternoon, wondering what I’d make for supper.  Another example is my “household notebook”.  I proceeded to show my girlfriends my household notebook and my “master lists”.  I have a master list for packing, groceries/shopping, dinner options, and lunch options.  This is simply an easy way to cut time out of the things I do on a normal basis.  A great deal of planning goes into packing for a household of five to go away for a weekend…or even a day!  BUT, I can save a GREAT deal of time by printing my “Master Packing List” and simply going down the checklist.  Remember, I still have to make sure that all the necessary items are clean, the suitcases are down, the baby items are up-to-date with the age of the baby, my house gets cleaned before I leave…you get the picture.  But the time I save not having to make that list over and over is invaluable to me.

Another example of the order in my life is my cleaning schedule.  Thanks to Flylady, my house is always 20-30 minutes away from being ready for company.  That means, I maintain the cleanliness and tidiness of my home well enough, so if someone calls and wants to “drop by” in about thirty minutes, it doesn’t throw me into a state of panic.  It also means that I don’t have to spend an entire week or even a few days cleaning for a weekend dinner party or get together in my home.  A lot of that has to do with the fact that my house is not cluttered.  To me, when the house is cluttered, it doesn’t matter how clean it is, it just doesn’t feel good.  One of my girlfriends that was over yesterday commented on how uncluttered my house, especially my living room, is.  I don’t really realize it because I’m here every single day and have to pick up the same messes of clothes, dishes, and toys day in and day out, but it was good to know that it doesn’t look cluttered to an ‘outsider’.

Laundry will be my last example.  I have a four section laundry sorter in my garage/laundry room.  Kids clothes, adult clothes, linens, and whites.  When one section gets large enough to make a full load, I do it.  Occassionally I’ll spend the better part of a day on laundry, just so I can skip a few days of doing a load here and a load there.  And keeping it sorted makes the putting away part much easier.

Please don’t misunderstand me.  My entire life is not completely orderly and organized.  There are PLENTY of areas that need improvement.  For example, I wish I was more organized and disciplined with my childrens’ homeschooling.  I need to spend more time blogging and working on my business.  I don’t keep my finances as up-to-date as I ought to/need to!   Sometimes I’ll go two or three weeks without recording anything in my checkbook or balancing it!  I always have a running tally in my head that keeps me from getting in trouble, but I really need to be more precise.  My husband would say that my car needs more attention.  I love my luxurious minivan but sometimes I’ll go six or seven thousand miles between oil changes and that is BAD!   I’ll be driving this vehicle until the wheels fall off and I really need to take better care of it.  And finally, my master bedroom!  No matter how clean and uncluttered the rest of my house is, I can never seem to conquer the master bedroom.  I have excess magazines, unmatched socks, clean/dirty clothes in baskets, it’s endless.  I think I will work on that tomorrow!  I’ll let you know how it turns out!  I’d love to hear about the areas in YOUR life that are the most organized or need the most improvement!  Please comment and let me know your style of order.

~audrey

Tags: cleaning, cooking, laundry, order, organization

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