Menu-planning

Sorry I haven't been writing this much - I was getting the kids back to school and changing my website and little time-consuming things like that.  The agendas are working well and I've managed to stick to the chore lists since school was back in so it's moving along.  I've completely fallen behind with fly lady though and now that things have calmed down a bit I will be back on that too. 

I'm only four weeks into this new habit of menu planning but so far I can see a major difference in our monthly food costs.  At first I was shopping for one week at a time, but last time I did two weeks because I thought I could - it worked.  According to a website focused on Newcomers to Canada, the average cost of one month's worth of groceries (for one person) is between $200 and $300.  We have six people in our family; myself, husband, and four children aged 3 to 11.  According to this figure we should spend between $1200 and $1500 per month. HAHAHAHA! No.

For simplicity, let's assume that the youngest requires about $100; the other three are school-aged so we will add a little more to their monthly need at about $150 each.  Myself and my husband will each take $200.  That's $950 per month.  It's possible we were spending this until I began menu planning.  I've started a blog for the cooking as well and the first posts went up on Friday.  I've stopped ordering out for pizza because I knew we needed to reduce that cost.  We still do pizza Fridays though, just using a kit instead.  After four weeks of menu planning, I am pleased to say that we've spent a grand total of $570 - a major difference from any of the numbers mentioned previously (this number also includes some non-edibles like laundry detergents and sandwich or freezer bags and other household needs).

Aside from the monstrous savings, we are eating so much better in terms of both nutrition and taste - I don't think I'll ever buy pre-packaged foods again.  I don't clip coupons and I don't hit five different stores when I shop.  I get the bulk of my list at No Frills and anything I can't find there I can usually get at either Co-Op or Sobeys.  I also cannot buy fresh chili peppers anywhere in this town.  Weird.

Today is my grocery shopping day and I will make up my menu with both Ramsay's book and a new one I just picked up.  So far, these are working beautifully and I'm certainly learning a lot about basic techniques.  Win/win/win.  It's also been nice not having to wonder what I'm going to cook for dinner.  Preparation is easy because I know when we're going to have certain things so if it's frozen I'm able to make sure it's taken out in time to thaw.  Everything is coming together - slowly, but surely.

Day 24

Man, organization is time-consuming!  I tried to finish off back-to-school shopping yesterday so I was barely in the house.  The only thing I managed to do at home was a couple loads of laundry.  Hunter is not helping out with his room as much as I hoped he would.  The other day as I was tidying it up, Hunter sat on his bed, pouting.  When I finished I asked him if that was better and he said "You messed it up!!"  So - okay then, agree to disagree.

I've purchased the kids' agendas to put their organization list into and I've barely finished my own.  I don't know how people do it - how do you suddenly organize your life?? I'm sure one of the answers is "baby steps" but I am extremely impatient with myself.  Do it now! Finish it now! And when I can't because I have other things to attend to - well it gets me grumpy.  Somewhere though, I have this optimism that perks up and says "it's okay, one step at a time".  Breathe.

I've completed the last of the laundry so that I, too, can have tomorrow off.  The weekly home blessing is complete and so that is out of the way as well.  I think one thing that we Moms need to try our best to do is work for that day off.  Especially if we're out of the house.  I used to like it (and even suggested to the hub that we do it more often) when we were expecting company on a Friday night.  It forced us to move along during the week and Saturday was truly our day off.  Granted, I usually had school work to do, but it beat laundry and vacuuming.  And if the house was already clean, I definitely felt less guilty about doing something else.

And speaking of something else, I have some kid's agendas to get moving on so have a happy weekend and I will see you in the living room next week.  Or in my case, since the living room is still very well organized, back at the Master bedroom.  That is nowhere near complete and as luck would have it, this month's InStyle magazine focuses on purging your unused clothing that is taking up way too much space in your closet and dressers.  Still don't want to do that, but kind of getting tired of looking in my closet and thinking "I don't want to wear that"... so, don't - get rid of it!  Wise words...

Day 23

Apparently today is "Anti-procrastination Day" so before I began my control journal, I went into the master and did a fifteen minute declutter.  I have had the kids' school year memory books on my floor by the bed for the better part of a year (I'm guessing). Since I tidied out the closet yesterday and found that nifty fabric box, I discovered I had a place to put all four of the binders and then placed it up on the top shelf of the closet. And since they are now in said nifty box, there will be a place to put momentos if I run out plastic inserts or whatever I need to put new things in - everything in one place.

I also tidied up a small pile of my own school books and took them to the bookshelf and filed the papers that I'd brought into my room from the kitchen during a declutter there.  Voila.  Fifteen minutes and my side of the bedroom floor is actually passable (and I forgot to take a before picture - but I highly doubt you think it was already tidy if you've been reading this the whole time).

Again, this was done in the AM and I'm totally giving that credit.  Plus my apparent acceptance that fifteen minutes is good enough - I don't feel that way all the time, certainly, but I also want to put my control journal together and decided to do fifteen minutes only so that I could get started on that.  This post is going to take longer to complete (not that it will be noticeable) because I'm going to start it now.

Heading to FlyLady's site. Woohoo! And twenty minutes later I have had a lightbulb moment.  While entering in the home blessing (what some of us may remember as Saturday chores) I realized that Fridays would work better for me.  Then, as I was writing down the home blessing to-do list, I realized MY KIDS CAN HELP!  So I will change the sheets, and mop the kitchen and bathroom floors and each of the three older ones can take turns with vacuuming, dusting and mirrors because they're home at 12:30 every Friday! Super!! Sometimes I hate how easy this whole planning ahead thing seems.

FlyLady only publishes one month's worth of zones at a time, so I will have to check back to get September.  Still, I can look at my new journal and see which zone we are in.  It's not like there's fifty-two zones either; we will be back to each one and that is what will make the true difference.  I am not optimistic about getting into my own dresser this week (was going to say drawers... hope you see the humour), but at the same time I think I've danced around them all I can with only two sessions so maybe I will.  I am going to continue with the control journal and write again tomorrow.  Happy organizing!

Day 22

Well, I decided to stop procrastinating since I hadn't been writing and hadn't even noticed - even though I noticed I hadn't done anything overly productive.  I started reading some of FlyLady's emails today (because I've ignored those too) and the first one reminded me - again- about something called a control journal.  This is a journal for us disorganized folk to remind us of what we have to do in a day.  I feel like a true dumbass for having to do this but what the hell - if it will help...

This week, FlyLady has us in the master bedroom.  I so did not want to go there.  However.  I tidied the closet a bit.  Well - a bit means a lot in my world.  I had school supplies in there (kids'), purses were everywhere, bags of mismatched socks, a nifty box that held - surprise - crap, a fold up poker table... and probably some more crap.  I folded all my scarves and got rid of about seven. I put purses in the shoe holders because apparently my shoes are elsewhere.. probably the front closet because it's summer.  I might have to take those spaces back soon but for now, they're being utilized.  The closet doors  open with ease (even though I'm still bugging Geoff to make them open up like a proper door so I can see everything at one time) and that's made me feel pretty smug.

I also had a couple of bags of giveaway stuff in my room.  I sorted those and had half a bag of Hunter's stuff for a friend.  This reminded me to clean out Hunter's drawers.  So I headed into Hunter's room and went through the two drawers and now I have a full bag to give away and two impressively tidy drawers.  In the end it took me about an hour and a half and I'm glad I started in the morning because otherwise I bet it wouldn't have happened.

Now for the control journal.  FlyLady has one but I'm much too impatient to order it.  My daughter is bugging me to go shopping so I imagine I will find something adequate if I remember to stop at the dollar store.  I also have to pick up the Mom's Calendar for school stuff.  FlyLady apparently has one of those as well and maybe I'll break down and get one for next year because hers is big enough to fit dinner menus also.  Right now I'm using a piece of loose leaf with the menu stuck on my fridge with a magnet.  It worked well last week too. 

Again, thinking of the control journal makes me feel like a dumbass.  I know what I have to do in a given day... but I admit that organization is not my strong suit.  I also have a lot of distractions until next week ... at the same time, I know I need help so I will take FlyLady's advice and get one started. Keeping up with my blogs is hard enough some days and I'm beginning another soon as well - family fare - just have to get the chef on board with making me a book.  I'm persuasive.  It will happen.

Day 14 - actually Day 21

I sort of suck at this whole organization thing. I mean, I can do it, obviously I was on quite a roll there, but ... well I hate to say it but I think it was easier when I only had two kids for those two weeks. NOT that I want to say that it's easy having two kids... but perhaps just a tad easier than having four.  Of course, even if I was able to organize around two, at the end of the day, I have four.  So it's just going to have to take a little more ... work.

 However.  I have kept up with menu planning - that has been awesome; my pantry is not nearly as full since I haven't written down potato chips on my shopping list.  Without the frequent trips, I'm not buying any (not trying to lose weight, just trying to eat healthier).  I have also relatively kept up with laundry... again, slightly easier when I was missing two. 

I have kept on Ethan about his room and he has tidied it each day.  This has also required me to keep checking on his room regularly throughout the day, so that's new but it's worth it to never have to clean up that kind of mess again.  And I've got them putting their shoes away still, so that's helped the entry way stay tidy. 

Each night after dinner I've been getting the boys to empty the dishwasher and then I can pack it up after supper.  Ocean helps to set and clear the table.  On the whole though, I'm still okay - just haven't made any significant headway since the linen closet ... a week ago.  I think I might have to do my fifteen minute declutter in the morning.  Night time does not work for me.  I'm just too .... finished by the end of the day.  I like to get up early in the morning because it's the quietest time in my house.  So I will start that.  Tomorrow.  New plan - should work. I will let you know.   

Day 13

Well it's actually Day 15 but I didn't want to ruin the flow of the post titles.  I haven't actually stopped working, I was just too busy fighting with build your own website stuff.  On Friday I only kept up with everything (which is still fabulous progress and I am not ashamed).  Saturday, which is reserved for "family day" was a little more productive.  I don't think this is a bad thing from the perspective of those who work outside of the home.  Keeping up will allow you to eventually have that weekend family day, but for major work, like the garage thing, well that's just going to have to be done when you have more time.  Little by little though, those precious days together will become more fun - not that there were any complaints at all from anyone :)

In my house we have certain... areas.  Though I used to complain about what I felt was some sort of male chores vs. female chores thing that Geoff kind of made me feel existed in the home, eventually I took on the responsibility - prompting my Organization Evolution.  We still sort of have this, but I must say that he has been super helpful in the last couple of weeks, at first with little things like helping to clear up after dinner.  And he totally cleared off his dresser on Saturday night. I'm not saying there's a pattern emerging, I'm just putting this out there. 

On Saturday Geoff built some stuff in the garage, with the boys' help of course.  I organized my linen closet for some reason.  I say "some reason" because there was a weird push to suddenly do this.  It took forty five minutes and I was able to remove a reasonable amount of old towels, baby blankets (that the kids never attached to - I kept the rest) and some sheet sets that we don't use.  Well that made a difference.

There are two reasons I was able to actually clear out this closet.  One, I'm keeping up with laundry so I noticed that we didn't actually go through all of the towels - therefore we don't need them all.  Two, everything else was kept up so starting something that wasn't screaming to be done - haha, other than the complete disarray which would have given the most organized of people a panic attack upon discovery - could be done.  And who knows, maybe it was in the back of my mind because it was beginning to look so out of place compared to the rest of my house.  In either case, it's done.

I also made my dinner menu for the week. That was a lot more planning than perhaps it was supposed to be, but I'm only recently becoming interested in eating better and trying new things.  Hunter and Aaron will take some work - neither of them ate last night's dish.  Unfortunate because it was pretty good.  I'm working out of cookbooks mostly because I really wanted to try some new stuff. 

Have you ever watched an episode of Til Debt do us Part? One of the first things she always does when trying to get people on a budget is forcing them to meal plan and only shop once a week.  With four kids, you know I'm going to be out again for milk and the like but I've done my best to stay away from convenience stores anyhow because milk is about $7 there and I can get it for $5 at any other store.  A week's worth of groceries, plus a couple of extra things that I knew we needed, like ketchup and syrup (and something we didn't like raisin bread), my total cost was $129.  For a family of six, I saved twenty bucks.  And there are some things I picked up that will last a little longer, like cheese - I will be able to use those again for meal planning next week without having to buy more.  However, it wasn't all unicorns and rainbows and you can read that on Facebook at the Mom Evolution page.  I'm not a professional yet; I'm creating new habits.

This week with FlyLady we are in the "bathroom(s) and one other room".  I still need to declutter my own drawers and closet.  I'm not procrastinating, it will get done... but I know I don't need so much of what I have for clothes.  I don't wear much of it.  I know this... I will get to it.  And I have a drawer in my dresser that is filled with ... stuff.  Not clothes, but pictures and I don't even know what else.  Clutter, I assume.

For anyone dealing with this clutter issue, FlyLady posted an email she'd received about the same. The woman writing in was asking what do with all the "leftovers"; stuff that didn't have a home.  FlyLady's response was "if it doesn't have a home then get rid of it." End of story.  I know that's what's coming for me too - if I haven't opened that drawer in, oh let's say six years, then do I have any sort of attachment for what's inside?  Probably not.  Yet there it sits.  And I will agonize over where to put things.  Maybe.  I'm just being presumptuous here. I will get to it.  The kids go back to school in the last week of August so I don't have much time.  Everything must be done in order to begin our new organized lives.  Fifteen minutes at a time.  Happy organizing!

Day 11

Well, I decided to make use of FlyLady's golden rule today: declutter for fifteen minutes with a timer.  I'm still well ahead of the other chores this week and I have spent a lot if time out of the house, fighting with computers and programs and I'm done. 

With that being said, I knew I had to do something today and so I went with the only thing FlyLady really expects of us anyway- fifteen minutes.  The rest if the house is still great.  I've kept up on laundry and tidying the living room, kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms a of course it's easy because I do it every day- but I hadn't gone further.

So I picked a cupboard- a nasty one we've been using as a junk cupboard. I pulled Geoff in on this because half the papers and mail belong to him. Two piles, recycling and filing. But it was the batteries and the Christmas decorations (??) and unused school supplies and supply lists for September that I don't want to lose... and frankly I'm incredibly surprised I have at all!  

I have to admit, it looks better than it did  (sorry no before shot, i just up and decided to set the timer and then I began).  Sad, I know, but I just didn't feel like doing more than fifteen minutes. Point is, I did it and I stopped. I put everything that wasn't figured out back in to sort tomorrow. And I don't feel bad because this is my clutter. The stuff I don't know where to put and I'm going to have to throw stuff out. 

I'm not sentimental about it really, just unsure if I will need it or want it.  With that being said, the first run was okay. I'm not sure what to do with the battery chargers and box of rechargeable batteries- hey, maybe if I use them instead of the box of non-rechargeable batteries (why wouldn't I have both? I'm disorganized) I could put everything in one spot. It will happen; fifteen minutes at a time. Happy organizing!

Day 10

Well, I'm just going to throw it out there - I've been busy not doing anything new and I've been ignoring FlyLady.  The house hasn't gone to total crap or anything, I've kept up with what I had accomplished last week and my sink is still shining (though it wasn't this morning because I forgot to unload the dishwasher earlier and then I just didn't feel like it). 

That did not feel very good.  However, one little slip is not the end of the world and I have since unloaded the dishwasher and shined my sink.  But there is a basket of laundry... anyway.  Yes I threw myself into it last week and it felt awesome to accomplish so much in only one week.  Now I'm all... running the kids out here and there and I have appointments ... same stuff busy people do and I'm procrastinating just as I have in the past.

Although it pains me to say it, I figured it would be worth it so that you know it happens to others as well.  FlyLady sent a rant out the other day - somebody (or a few bodies) got on her nerves.  Summary?  You're a procrastinator and nothing will get done so long as you remain one.  Ouch.  A couple of days ago she sent a lovely email about keeping our routines up.  Maybe that's why I've kept up - nah, it's the fact that it's so freaking tidy to begin with.

She did say though that it will never be finished unless we remove the clutter.  I think that's where my procrastination is coming from.  Upstairs the only room that hasn't been decluttered to the same extent as the rest is mine and Geoff's.  I have to get rid of the junk drawer.  I don't even know what's in there but it might be absolutely precious.  Yeah, so precious that I only add things to it, never take away.  But, I was scared of Ethan's room too.  So much easier to get rid of the stuff I think is crap in his room though, because it's not my clutter. 

I will do it because I have to.  I need to clear out every piece of useless (to me) stuff in my house or eventually these hiding places will be too full and it will become a disaster again.  First thing tomorrow I think we have to go to the skate park again ... maybe not since Aaron earned his game finally.  Might be able to hit that dresser drawer.. and under the bed... I CAN DO THIS.  So can you.

Oh, and I will be moving this blog to my website as well; www.themomevolution.com I will probably keep posting here for the two readers who might be getting something out of it... You guys rock! 

Day Nine

Well, today's task was menu planning and sorting appointments for the week and essentially making a list of what needs to be done.  I did not organize any new rooms, nor did I attempt to clean out a cupboard.  Eventually of course, this will have to be done lest I end up telling the two people who read this that I quit - already.  And I won't do that.

So I didn't start my task until 4:30 - yes, ten minutes ago - and I'm done already because this really requires more pre-planning effort. I'm sure this effort will come on Friday when I'm grocery shopping because I will know before I go what I need to have ... before I go.

Now you are supposed to organize your dinners and seriously the easiest way to do that is look and see what you have.  Another way to do it might be directly before you go grocery shopping and see what you need to make dinners you actually want.  I will do that Friday. 

Step two is to look at all your appointments for the week.  Well, as you can see, Thursday became leftover day once I realized I had an appointment at 4:00pm.  That meant no prep time for dinner.  Hah - and now that I see this I have actually made my life easier on Thursday because I won't be thinking we were going to try some awesome peach chutney with those pork chops that I wasn't going to cook tomorrow.  Now I will make the whole thing of pork chops tomorrow so we have suitable leftovers for the next day.  Wow.  This really is helpful.

Also notice that we are having leftovers and hot dogs tonight because I did my menu planning when? That's right, eighteen minutes ago.  Huh.  And now I'm finished with the blog too.  Nice.  Happy Tuesday!  PS FlyLady has a special calendar that will fit all of the planning things you're supposed to have to make YOUR life EASIER.

Day Seven and Eight - you'll see why

On Friday I began my ten year old's room.  He loves Lego, has way too much of it, and sadly, he is a pack rat.  He brings home all sorts of goodies all the time. It's awful.  My daughter, who is eleven, did not want me to do his room. "He should do it" she declared with utmost maturity.  Well, yes, I agree.  I also know that his room had gone, once again, beyond his capacity to do anything with.  It was too much, the mess was too big, he would have had to have help and there's no way it would have been complete in a reasonable amount of time.  I had to give him a starting point.  All told, his room took six and a half hours. 

WHY did it take so long?  Because I wasn't just tidying up, I was organizing.  Painstakingly going through every bin, every cubby box, taking out garbage, extracting every little tiny piece of Lego from each and putting them in their proper bins. I've said it before, every room has looked clean before - but it wasn't organized.  Being a pack rat made his room so much worse of a chore.  I have a plan for that.  Dollar store, here I come, but first, the unholy transformation.

I spent three hours in there on Friday and I was done.  I was also feeling extremely imperfect because it was the first room I hadn't been able to straighten up in one day.  I half wondered if that was too much, even for me, in my incredibly determined state.  I closed his door and felt horrible but I couldn't handle it any more.  It was such a big task.  I woke up on Saturday a procrastinator but that didn't last long.  The rest of the rooms were accessible and neat.  Every other room on the upper floor was tidy, so I got to work.

On the one hand, I had thought that most of the hard stuff was done the day before and to a point, it was - I had organized the majority of the Lego and I had stopped when I found one more fabric bin full of Lego and other ... crap.  That was my breaking point on Friday.  It was the first thing I dumped out on Saturday.  The thing was, I could still barely move in there.  After the bin was done, I removed an old dresser from his closet.  More Lego.  Fine.  Picked it up and decided I really needed some sense of accomplishment so I grabbed the vacuum and did the closet and entry way of his room.  Well that sparked some additional motivation.

I thought about FlyLady's "hotspots".  If there's a place to put crap, the tired us will put it there.  So I removed a shelf that he clearly didn't need.  I rearranged the dresser and the bookshelf because the dresser stuck out more, giving Ethan a nice little hiding place for, lets face it, more crap.  Exit the unnecessary shelf and put the Lego bins into the closet; suddenly, there's more space.  I can move around.

Is the closet the best place for the Lego?  Probably not, but lately he hasn't been using it as much and though I would have loved to take it downstairs, that seemed like a disaster waiting to happen.  It's also summer time so I hardly expect him to be sitting in his room playing Lego all day - that will change come fall/winter.  I notice that he needs some place to sit in there now and low and behold - we can fit stuff!  I'm considering a futon (we have two around the house) because the extra bed wouldn't be a bad thing either. 

I'm purchasing three baskets for the top of his bookshelf.  One will be for "new" things he brings into the room (aka; the packrat crap).  One thing that has become amazingly obvious to me is that our entire household needs an overhaul in our organization methods - or in our case, we need to implement them or we will be right back where we started.  Each week, let's say Thursdays, he will have to go through the "new" basket and decide what to keep (place in basket number two), and what he may be undecided about (basket number three).  On Saturday, anything in the "keep basket" must find a home.  I expect this to take ten minutes or less and will supervise.  The "undecided basket" must be decided; find a home or place in garbage bag, in hand.

My hope of course is that this exercise, if adhered to regularly, will make him think twice before bringing it home to begin with.  I refuse to saddle some poor woman with a packrat in the future because he will either find another packrat (heaven help them) or she will leave his packrat butt and he might come home again.  Neither is an acceptable option.  Future daughter-in-law, you are welcome.

Since today is a holiday, FlyLady has us working on the weekly "home blessing" and the rest of our week is spent in the kitchen.  The "weekly blessing" is a quick refresh after the weekend break and normally happens on Sunday.  Run the vacuum around the main areas, put stuff away if you just got back things like that.  My sink is still shiny - is yours?  I need to get into my kitchen cupboards - the rest of the kitchen is still clutter free after one week!  But there's some disaster areas; drawers and cupboards will be my FlyLady focus and I have to get the back yard done and move into the basement. Room by room, one a day.  I am so looking forward to real fresh start in September.  Cheers!

 

Day Six: Too Far, Too Fast?

I was talking with someone yesterday who reads my mom blog and she said she doesn't want to read the organization blog because she thinks it might make her feel bad.  I realize I am pushing forward with this, really fast; much faster than FlyLady intends.  I decided to blog about it because I figured it would make me more accountable to myself but also because I wanted to show that it was not impossible.  I do wonder though, if I began with such absolute determination that perhaps I've made it seem like it's not possible for everyone.

I mentioned that I've used FlyLady before and I found it amazing, even though I didn't keep up with her.  I also didn't finish my whole house so I'm sure that didn't help.  There is something to be said for those baby steps; if you don't eventually turn them into bigger steps then you're not really making any progress. That's what my problem was the first time.  I read the testimonials from FlyLady and they are incredibly inspiring. Some are funny (like the woman who used her declogger device for dusting - it blows a whack of air so she was able to "dust" a hanging tapestry, blinds and all those hard to reach and hard to dust places, giggling the whole way). 

Most of them are about the "A-ha" moments when they realized something small that made a huge difference; like the lady whose laundry baskets were otherwise in use for a week so she folded everything immediately and put it away, immediately, and saved herself and her family a tonne of time because they stopped looking through the baskets of folded laundry for their clothes.  Her "A-ha" moment was that without the baskets to "hide" the clothes in, she stopped hiding them; and found how much easier that actually was for her.

One most recent testimonial was from a mom who had thought she was personally well-organized but had a terrible morning routine where she was constantly on her children about getting ready and making sure they had everything for school, which they seldom did. She had read about "FlyKids" and since hers were aged 11 and 8, she put their organization kits together and suddenly her morning stopped being hectic because her kids began to organize themselves.

Both times I've used FlyLady I was determined to make a change.  That in itself makes a difference to any undertaking.  Even though I didn't complete it the first time, I still saw amazing changes taking place in a very short time.  That's what FlyLady is all about.  If you have the time to spend completing the tasks, you will complete them because of the nudge to start in the first place.  If you don't have the time to complete a whole room, you will still have completed the task set from FlyLady because she only asks for fifteen minutes.  That's how it works.  That's how I've come so far so fast; I had the time to move ahead so I did.  She will get you going, whether it's in small paces or big ones.  She gets you motivated because she gets you started and that is half the battle.

Since I have kids, three of which are school aged, summer is the perfect time for me to do this because there is one less thing for me to do (morning school day routine).  Now I'll tell you what happened yesterday.  It amazed me once again.

Embarrassingly, these are before pictures of our room I took on Tuesday.  Yesterday, I didn't really have any desire to tackle a room and I spent the day doing other things, not that anything spectacular comes to mind.  I have kept up with the laundry over the last week and laundry is the habit for August anyway.  Thing is, I walked into our room and decided to clear off the dresser.  Within twenty minutes, I had tidied up our room.  Sure I still have two bags of giveaway clothes because I've been taking stuff out of the laundry right when I see it; but they are bags, not piles.  The room is not complete by any means because I have to go through the drawers and the closet as well, but it's well on its way and I was shocked because it took so little time. 



I'm not sure if we've been doing a little in that room each day.  I think I've been putting things away each night before bed; if I'm wearing a hoodie, I've hung it up rather than put it on my floor by my bed, or if it was the housecoat, I hung it on the hook. Dirty laundry went straight into the basket.  Little things like that.  Keeping my kitchen, living room and bathrooms tidy have miraculously made me do this little thing for myself so maybe it was done here and there.  In any case, twenty minutes had it tidied and although more awaits, there is suddenly less to do in there when I go to organize a few drawers.

Personally, I saved the worst for last (yes, the before picture of my own room is NOT the worst room in my house).  I am still scared of Ethan's room.   It is the last room on the upper floor that needs to be done.  THE LAST ONE.  I will not leave it untouched.  I'm not sure what Geoff has planned for the weekend but I want to organize our drawers.  That's my plan.  If it changes, so be it; I probably deserve a break.  The best part of this week is that I have kept up with every room I have done, fully aware that picking something up that doesn't belong is so much easier than waiting to do it later when there's more.  There is an element of intentionality in my movements this week and I am so thankful for it. 


I have big plans for my life once my house is organized.  Again, I have a goal; one which I felt I could not attain while I had so much disorganization around me.  Everyone has a goal, whether it's the desire to do something more or something less (read: relax in your own space).  I absolutely, positively promise you that organizing your home will make anything else you want to do seem one hundred percent possible.  If you are looking for something else, but acknowledge a need to start with your home, then visit www.flylady.net.  Just to see.

Onto Day Five

Today was Hunter's room.  I know I'm moving really fast with this and I can't help it.  I happen to have the time right now and I'm making the most of it.  I've never really been good at working bit by bit.  What I have thought of though is a similarity for anyone who truly doesn't have this sort of time on their hands.  Number one, you do these rooms on a day off.  Part of the challenge is to keep the one room clean while you go through your normal routine so if you can only complete one at a time, the challenge is to keep it organized until you can get to the next one.  I'm also in a push here because my eldest two are away for the week and so I have less to keep up with as I move along.  FlyLady says it won't get organized in a week but I'm trying anyway because right now, that's what works for me. 

So onto Hunter's room.  I mentioned that Geoff had helped out by tidying the other day and that was great, but decluttering takes longer and involves more mess.  I had to empty out all the bins and remove garbage or broken toys,  so the room became a disaster again before it was tidy.  I was also organizing certain things.  Hunter plays with the cars, super heroes and tool bench most often, so I wanted to keep those in his room but get everything else out.  He also has a book shelf that is fairly full. 

Here's something you need to know: Hunter is three and after I had replaced everything on his bookshelf and left the room for something, I came back and he'd taken a bunch of stuffed toys out and they were on the floor.  It dawned on me at this moment that maybe he didn't want them in his room.  So I asked.  (Lightbulb moment!!)  He said, no, he didn't want them in his room.  So I asked if he could put everything he did not want into a bag as I held it and he said "Sure!!"  He wanted less things in there than I even realized and in asking him I was able to remove almost everything out of those shelves except one baby, his books and the Dora backpack.  Due to the fact that he may not need a bookshelf in his room now, I am keeping it in mind for a possible move to another room - reuse!

The closet was the hardest because some of that had been in there from the move.  Again, I sorted what was useful now and since there was already a bag of too small clothes in there, I added anything else that fit that description.  While I was doing this, I realized that I'm going to have to come back and regularly do this type of organization.  FlyLady has a calendar that I have not yet signed up for because I hadn't seen the necessity.  Once I get to the starting point, that is, when I'm all organized to begin with, I will have to download that app because I'm certain there are the monthly reminders to do something that needs to be done once in a while but if you forget you'll make more work for yourself.  One would be the children's clothing inventory. 

I have three boys, 10, 7 and 3.  My daughter is the oldest and the easiest to take clothing inventory on because a) she does it herself and b) when it's too small, it's gone.  The boys are harder because I will save some stuff and sometimes that stuff hangs in Hunter's closet.  Like a few shirts the ten year old never wanted so they were brand new.  The seven year old didn't want them either.  I'm saving them for Hunter.  Yeah, that's probably a waste of time, but they're in the closet, hung up, and brand new.  So long as I remember to check on these and see if they fit before they're too small, Hunter may get use out of them.

All told, this room took an hour and a half.  I used fifteen minute blocks for the three sets and crammed the last stage into a full forty-five minutes because I wanted to finish it.  I got rid of garbage and the toys have been moved to the play room, though not organized there.  That room is going to take some work and I will have to have help in there because the kids have to take part in deciding what to keep and what to "bless another family with" as FlyLady says. 

I had a doctor's appointment that afternoon and for the first time since I started this whole thing, I left the house without getting my sink emptied and I missed a couple of things that should have been picked up in the living room.  I was stressed about it when I left because I was reminded how living a busy life outside of the home made this happen on a regular basis.  I haven't always been at home, I was a student and I worked.  Things got left all the time and I didn't want that to start again already. 

With that in mind, it was the first thing I did when I got home.  Of course it only took a couple of minutes because there wasn't much work to be done, but had I left it again I would have been back on track to the disorganized mess.  Even though I didn't catch it before I left, it was done immediately when I got home and I averted impending disaster.  I like that it was so important and that it took only a few minutes to do.  Saved.  To me, this is the best accomplishment so far.

Day Three Complete, On to Day Four

Well I was a busy bee on Monday and I'd started my entry way last Friday - the closet anyway, so day three was rather lax.  I apologize for not getting a very good before picture on the entry way, I completely forgot to take one so I did it when I remembered and it doesn't look half bad - which was not the case prior.  Think: eight more coats (some winter), a backpack and purse I wasn't using that did not need to be on the hooks; a large box with a new pot in it and two bags of socks by the front door and; one bag of other clothes, a bike helmet, belt, two stuffies and a book bag on the bench,.  There were also about six random toys, a shirt and a single shoe of Geoff's on the floor.

Obviously, the picture does not capture that and I can't help but wonder WHY those things were there in the first place. Oh right, because my entry way is dumping ground number one.  The bench is such a great idea; it holds mitts and hats and scarves.  It gives you a place to sit and put your shoes on or take them off - but it's a "hot spot" as FlyLady would say. 

It took much less than fifteen minutes to declutter this area and I attribute that to the fact that at the entryway, most of the stuff has been recently used or soon to be used and just needs to go to its proper place.  I added the pot that had been sitting, unopened, to the dishwasher and turned it on.  I took the box out to the garage and folded it up with the recycling right away.  I opened the closet and hauled stuff out; made three piles; stuff going upstairs, stuff going down, and skates and helmets (yes winter ones) to the garage.  Easy peasy.

When we were moving into this house I knew my first purchase would be a closet organizer for the front closet. I think it cost about $40. Four kids means at least twelve jackets (though there could be more) that they need to be able to reach.  I bought the one with the shelving set too because I thought of the school backpacks and shoes. That is what I decluttered today because the shelves were being misused. 

The other side of the closet got that way from the tidy session on Friday and I didn't do anything else with it.  Until I get the kids' closets and possibly my own cleaned out, everything will just have to stay in this one.  They're hung up and out of the way for now.

All in all, this area took incredibly little time.  It was seriously a matter or putting the stuff away.  The skates and helmets did not need to be in the closet.  That was easy.  And the shelves were not really as full of stuff as they originally looked.  In my fifteen minutes, I had time to hang up the extra jackets, sort the bench stuff, clear the shelves, pile it, put it away,  AND sweep the inside of the closet and the main area before the timer went off.  Plus I took a picture of it mid-way.  Really, not so bad.

As I was reading through all of the emails I get from FlyLady, and there are a few, one thing sticks out.  First of all, this "system" is not especially designed for someone who has time to do everything; in fact, it's designed for those who don't.  Sure my entry way looks great but what else did I do today?  In all honesty, around my house... not much.  My sink was shiny when I got up in the morning because it was shined before I went to bed.  I tidied my counters right after the kids had breakfast and made sure they brought their bowls to the sink.  I rinsed them and put them straight into the dishwasher - shining my sink right after (this could become obsessive).  I tidied the living room which wasn't really all that untidy because I'd completely cleaned it the day before and maybe I tidied it again before bed. I say maybe because this is the other thing FlyLady does for me - I go on auto-pilot and grab something here or there that looks out of place in my uber-tidy space.  It's miraculous that it happened once and I feel incredibly blessed that it appears to be happening twice.

Today marked the second day in a row that the main areas were completely tidy when Geoff came home.  For me, that is freaking amazing.  And I took all the other "before" pictures of the other rooms just in case I get going on those and forget to show the absolute shambles they are in before hand. It is possible as well that the other rooms are actually becoming less tidy as I move things out of the other areas.  But the goal is not to get everything at once - it's about working on one (and only one) area at a time so you can see the fruits of your labour.  I can honestly say that I'm not looking forward to the other rooms at all.  But I will set my timers for fifteen minutes over the next few days and get into them.  Although I'm not really looking forward to the work, I am so incredibly looking forward to the end result - it's about focus.

I have to mention one last thing: FlyLady is adamant that you are not looking at what you haven't done, only what you have.  Even if you can keep one area completely lovely for yourself for a week until you can complete the next challenge, that is the best you can do as you move forward.  Keep in mind that you have a reason for doing this for yourself.  So far, I am surprisingly on track and feeling extremely proud of my accomplishments.  You have no idea yet the focus it takes for me to ignore the shape the rest of the rooms are in and feel this good. :)

Today we are still doing the entry way and dining room and since I have completed both, I am going to spend some time in Hunter's room. There is a lot of decluttering to be done in that room (but it's not as bad as my ten year old's room). Baby steps.  Fifteen minutes a shot.  I can do it.  The most difficult part is starting.  Deep breaths. GO!

Happy Organizing!

Day Two Complete, Day Three Begins

Motivated?  Not overly at the beginning of the day but that changed once I set my timer.  I had said I would do it before lunch and I managed it - even getting a little help from Hunter since half the living room mess was his anyway.  When I first asked him, he said "no way".  Then I mentioned that we couldn't go to the park until it was tidied up and he said "okay!".  Live and learn.

I set the timer for fifteen minutes. The greatest thing about the timer is that I move a lot faster for it.  I also focus the entire fifteen minutes on the one room which is something I don't normally do - usually I'm moving around between rooms because there's so much to do in each. The before picture, and then the after is below.  I took the picture directly upon finishing the fifteen minutes.  I did not declutter this room so to speak - sure I removed stuff that shouldn't have been there, but that was just basic tidying.

Onto the matter of decluttering.  Fifteen minutes per day in the Zone. Since we are on the living room, family room or den, and I am working in the living area, I did the bookshelf.  Since I am at home with the kids, I have other things to attend to that just come up.  Like the additional laundry I had to do today because Hunter crawled into bed (mine) without a diaper. 

The bookshelf.  That area is often a dumping site and it is overflowing.  I actually removed one shelf of books and brought them to another shelf in my office because I had an empty one there.  I realize that makes a huge difference - to have had somewhere else to put those books.  However, that allowed me the room for the ever-increasing kids books upstairs.

The whole process took about 5 minutes from pile to restocking downstairs.  Then a quick wipe of the shelf.  I admit, I did not remove all of the books from shelves and wipe it down super proper.  That would have taken more than fifteen minutes.  I was aiming for mostly complete so I quickly wiped down around the books and pushed them up and over while wiping underneath.

Since the main goal was declutter, not clean, I'm ahead anyway.  I also got a chair and checked the top of the shelf.  I was not impressed.  Votive candles, a flashlight, sewing kit stuff that never made it to the kit and a bit of banana peel.  Expletives were silently running through my head and I showed Aaron the peel. "I didn't do it" came the not unexpected reply.  Be that as it may, how gross.

Now one thing I was aware of while doing the bookshelf is that I couldn't just put that extra stuff (minus the banana peel which had an obvious destination) anywhere.  I put it where there is a bunch of other sewing stuff; my dresser.  Yes, I will have to put it somewhere better in the future, but right now I'm putting it in the same place until I find something to put the sewing stuff into.  Maybe it will be some unused Tupperware, maybe I will find a drawer or a basket as I get through the other rooms. Whenever I get to that spot or find that perfect container, I will know where everything is.  The votive candles?  Why do I even have those?? Garbage.  Done.

 Again, a fifteen minute process and one more item off my list.  The fifteen minute intervals are working well and I am more motivated than I was this morning to do a few more spurts in other rooms.  I did not make it into any other rooms however, just kept up with the living room and kitchen.  A swish and swipe in the bathroom, and laundry for sure, but only the main rooms I've been working on. 

Today we are doing another living room declutter but can also move to the entry way and dining room if there's nothing more to do.  Hah.  I imagine that a cursory look behind the furniture will take care of another fifteen minutes anyway.

Remember when I said that a spouse "may" help out?  Well I actually got a whack of help last night after he got home and I was thrilled.  I noticed something though.  He wasn't in the rooms to declutter, he just tidied up.  Sure I don't have to tidy up those areas now, but they still need to be decluttered.  That's where the mess comes from, having too much stuff in one spot that makes it's way to another.  So I now see how all the help in the world will not get us where we're going if we don't get rid of the extra stuff.   It will still need to be done but the help is much appreciated anyway :)

I woke up to a shiny sink again and this is now four days in the running.  I know the greater challenges lie ahead because I've had the organized looking house many times before - it just doesn't stay that way.  Do check out FlyLady.net if you're struggling with organization yourself - I'm only telling you my story and there are many other parts to the help they give: motivation, Q and A, plus other helpful hints like the Swish and Swipe habits.  I like to think that the past four days of keeping my kitchen counters clear are a tribute to this habit.  In my house, that's about three days more than I've managed it before.  Happy Organizing!

Day Two

Day two has begun and I cannot tell you how much I don't want to get going on this.  We were away for the weekend so the last thing I did is everything I posted last and I only kept things up on Saturday before we left.  However, that is still an accomplishment and I am taking it as such.

One of the greatest challenges to making changes is our own negativity towards reaching a goal.  In the area of home organization this seems to me to be the easiest way to talk yourself out of further accomplishment. But take a moment to reflect on everything else you accomplish: especially what you accomplish outside of the home.

If you're working full-time, you are likely successful there.  What makes you a success?  You probably work hard with a "never stop" attitude and a singular focus on accomplishing the tasks at hand.  The fact that this attitude may not transfer to your home-work is not a complete loss.  You already have it but the drive is not there.  I get this. I have this. I have to make the changes in my thought process one day at a time.

When I received my Monday prep list yesterday, I was exhausted and I didn't feel like doing it.  One hour is all it was designated to take, but I didn't get it done.  However, rather than focus on what I wasn't getting done, I focused instead on what I did do.  I tidied my counter because it had been tidy before we got home.  I shined my sink again because there were a few cups and drips in it.  I did the same again this morning after the kids had finished their breakfast.  That is an accomplishment.

 

FlyLady only focuses on fifteen minutes of work each day.  We all have fifteen minutes even if we don't want to spend it on home-work.  I am there, this is how I got here - by not spending the time.  FlyLady is aware of the fact that we didn't get into the disorganized state in one day and it will take more than one day to get out of it.  Our battle is not so much with the work as it is with our own discipline.  Again, I am there and I am looking for ways to motivate myself. 

Number one motivator: where else are you successful?  For me, I look at my blogs because this is the most recent change that I have made and I stick to it.  On The Mom Evolution, I write every day.  Sure it takes, on average, longer than fifteen minutes but I do it, every day.  I have only been writing for a little more than a month but I have 50 segments.  I have stuck to it with little to no fanfare - at first. 

Within the past three weeks, I have been getting some encouragement.  Random people either telling me they enjoy reading them or commenting on my Facebook to let me know they "love it".  It didn't happen right away.  The same goes with the home-work and my inner voice because even if you have a spouse and kids, are they going to walk in the house and say "Wow! That looks great! How can I help?" Who knows? Maybe they will, but I'm not holding my breath.  The organization is for me; I want the house organized and they can deal with it.  I will make them.

 I made a real dent on the first day but haven't done anything amazing since.  However, I have kept up with what I did that day and am focusing on that as an accomplishment.  Creating a habit does not happen in one day but it starts with one day.  FlyLady is adamant that we do not put more time in than fifteen minutes because we are only just beginning.  Of course if you have the time, then you'll totally just keep going, but if you don't, you'll have done fifteen minutes than you would have otherwise. 

This week FlyLady is directing us to "Zone five- the living room, family room OR den".  One room only.  Declutter in this room for fifteen minutes each day over the next three days and set a timer. On the following two days we will be in "Zone 1: Front porch, entrance and dining room".  My motivation is going to come in two forms: first, I am going to blog about it and so I have to have something to say; second, I will pepper this with the pictures which I wasn't going to do, but honestly, it will help.  This will assist me two ways as well: I will be able to say, with some growing confidence, that I am doing something and I will motivate myself with before and after shots.  And even if you have no intention of posting them, you could take some for yourself and look back to remind yourself that you are indeed moving forward.

I hadn't really wanted to do the before and afters but I think that will help more than just talking about it.  Granted, even I see that it's not perfect in my kitchen after shot because the coffee is still out and I need to put that away but I will, once I finish writing.   That will take me a whole 9 seconds.  The living room, well, it looks like it might take a few minutes more, but I will set the timer for fifteen minutes because I have to get lunch ready and then I will take the kids to the park.  So I can spare fifteen minutes now. 

Note: as I was heating up two different lunches, I realized I had some spare time.  I decluttered the computer desk as I was waiting for lunch to cook.  Sure I only had five or so minutes, but I put the time to use since I was standing there anyway.
. 

Day One

Good morning!!

Today is the first day of the rest of my organized life.  I have never been an organized individual which is somewhat surprising when you consider what I've been doing with myself for the past few years. I have a husband and four children: Ocean, 11, Ethan, 10, Aaron, 7 and Hunter, 3. In April I graduated from the University of Calgary with a BA in sociology (the math is correct, I had Hunter during my first year back at school).  I've also been working part to full time, marketing a post-secondary planning program and delivering presentations on the same to students, parents, agencies and interested adults.  Obviously I had to have some organizational skills.

However, I was only organized in some parts of my life.  Sure I had the kids doing their things and I kept up with school and work, but my house was a disaster area (let's be honest, something had to give with that kind of schedule).  It wasn't unclean, just disorganized to the point of utter frustration.  We had too much stuff and nowhere to put it.  So even after a cleaning day, I ended up stuffing things anywhere to get them out of the way. 

Now that I've graduated and lost my amazing care-giver (she decided to go back to school as well) I've had to think of plan B.  I figured, since I have four children anyway, I would be off for the summer and I knew I needed to get organized.  Last year we moved and took possession of our house at the end of August - not enough time to get things ready before school started up.  So that's essentially where I'm starting.

In my desperate need, I turned to FlyLady.net.  I'd been there before and they helped out immensely with the daily reminders and scheduled tasks (I stopped using it for some reason - probably thought I could keep up on my own, but I was nowhere near ready to fly alone).  So I am back with FlyLady and I decided to share this expected miracle with others who may be in a similarly disorganized state.

Lets get to it.  Yesterday was day one back with FlyLady.  Rule number one is to shine your sink everyday.  I got to this around noon.  There's no time limit, do everything when you can.  But OMG, once you start... well there's a reason this is the first step.  Once you see that beautiful shiny sink, you can't help but want other areas to shine as well.  Although shining my sink was the only task of the day, I will tell you what else I did. 

I cleared the clutter that had gathered around the sink.  The loose screws, the little pieces of paper from a "collect and win" thing from Co-op that ended like months ago.  Hey, while I'm at it, pull out the toaster and make sure the counter underneath is clean.  Heck, let's move the canisters away from the wall and check that too.  My fridge needs wiping, I'm there anyway.  The cupboards haven't had a wipe down recently - I'm there anyway.  That was first.

FlyLady has added a few things since I was there last.  My new favourite??? "Five minute fire drill".  Gather the kids and set the timer.  Hunter had apparently taken some Rice Krispies into the living room and they were all over the floor (stuff like this happens all the time if I'm occupied in another room - I just deal).  I showed Hunter how to use the vacuum and told the other three about the five minute fire drill.  They ran around and tidied, shocked that the time went by so fast - it was AWESOME!!!

The timer went off and I told them they were done - in the middle of something or not, you're done.  And they were thrilled.  So was I.  Since I had help from three helping - wait Hunter cleaning Hunter's mess obviously counts so four helping for five minutes, that saved me twenty minutes at least.  WOO HOO!  I did other things too.  I completed three loads of laundry, folded and put away (because the kids had tidied the living room, I didn't want to leave the clothes either in a basket or folded and sitting).  I wiped down the counters in the bathrooms and cleaned the mirrors because I was in there too. 

During the second five minute fire drill (I decided this could be done more than once a day) I directed the kids to the front entry way.  They tidied it, but later I ended up organizing the closet.  Because it was started.  Now it's done.  Of course, I ended up having the time to do all of this extra stuff in one day and because I had the time, I did it.  Today is Saturday so there are no tasks scheduled.  My sink is still shiny (or it was before I started writing, I will check on that momentarily). And I am dressed to the shoes (day two every day rule).  I'm happy to be back with FlyLady.  And looking forward to the organization of my home and life. 

I will post every day and I would love to hear your stories as well so feel free to comment!