Do you ever have those weeks that fly by and you wonder where they went?  Suddenly it’s Monday again and you feel like you’ve been running around in circles?  It is only Tuesday and it has already seemed like that for me. 

I decided, with the encouragement of a workout buddy, to start going to the gym at 5am again.  Yesterday was Monday.  What better day to start, right?  I sluggishly rolled out of bed at 4:45am, got dressed, and out the door at 5am.  Our spinning class wasn’t until 5:30, so I stopped at the gas station to get some coffee.  By the time I got home at 6:45am, I was wound up and ready to start my day at full force!  Before I could even take my shoes off, I started straightening the office, picking up leftover toys from the night before, cleaning up the kitchen, starting a new load of laundry…I was ready for a productive day!  I made a few mental notes about what needed to be done that day and kept moving.  I changed the sheets, did about four or five loads of laundry, took my five year old to piano lessons (in the pouring down rain), made lunch, did a clean sweep of the house and put the baby down for a nap around 12:30.  By this time, I was running on fumes!  I took my clean sheets out of the dryer and bundled up on the couch while my older two watched Nemo… I ended up taking a two hour nap!  That was quite refreshing, but I was still dragging the rest of the afternoon.  However, because I had already gotten so much accomplished earlier in the day, I was okay with my afternoon laziness.

Today was a completely different story.  My husband and I got up around 8am, made breakfast for the boys, and left to go vote while my father-in-law watched the munchkins.  By the time we got back, around 10:30am, Josh left for work, the boys all went out back to play, and I got started on more house stuff.  I’m pleased to report that I finally finished my laundry, the kitchen is clean, the entire house was tidey and picked up, my grocery list and menu are ready for the next two weeks, and I FINALLY tackled my master bedroom…and WON!  It’s absolutely amazing and baffling to me how much stuff accumulates in my bedroom!  Here are just a few examples… childrens’ shoes, pacifier clips, medicine bottles, lots of miscellaneous trash, tags ripped off of new clothing, unmatched socks (I matched every thing I had and trashed the rest!), old magazines (these can clutter every room in your house if you’re not careful!)…the list could go on, by I won’t.  Now it is 4:30 in the afternoon.  My house is quiet and peaceful.  I’m babysitting for a friend who went to vote.  Her baby is laying down in the living room with my older two and Owen is taking a very long, much needed nap.  I now have the time to catch up on the things that I love to do, but often get pushed to the back burner…like blogging!  It feels great to have productive days like today.  I got a lot done, I spent quality time with the kids, I’m not exhausted, I haven’t blown my top today, and I still have a good six hours before my day will officially end.  Overall, I complete success!

~audrey

P.S.  To tackle your magazine clutter, pick out your favorites that you just don’t want to part with.  Get a three ring binder and a box of clear plastic sheet protectors.  Go through each magazine and tear out your favorite design ideas, recipes, crafts, etc.  Make dividers in your notebook for the subjects that pertain to your interests and slide each page into its own sheet protector and you can compile a notebook of the very best of all of those magazines that take up so much space around your house.  Recycle the remainder of the magazines and you’ll be one step closer to organizational bliss.  Once your notebook starts to get full, you may need to make a separate notebook for each subject.  However, that will still be more functional and take up less space than saving all of those magazines!  Happy Organizing!