Happy New Year! I hope that this post finds each and every one of you happy and well and full of resolve to make this year even better than the last! The great thing about the new year is it is a fresh slate full of possibility; a chance to do things that we have been putting off or to try something new. The Evans Family is ringing in this new year prepping for yet another move and acquiring this new home has me full of resolutions and projects designed to keep the chaos(that is actually controllable) in check!
I have been taking stock of my life in an effort to actually make my New Year's Resolutions and I have found that my greatest frustrations and sources of unhappiness are generated by a lack of organization. This makes me sound like an unorganized person, which is about as far from the truth as you can get.
I am a very organized person, I do not function well in a mess and I am happiest when everything has a place and looks pretty in it's place. I also have four children, two dogs and a husband. None of whom really grasp my bone deep need for organization. I am guilty of letting a lot of things slide out of necessity(crying infants come first), some out of sheer exhaustion and the rest out of frustration at constantly being "mad mom" in an effort to keep it all tidy and maintaining our busy schedule. Granted, the roof has yet to collapse and everyone is still happy and fed and the house wouldn't make an episode of Hoarders and I have not yet dropped any scheduling balls. All that said, I am slowly and sometimes not so quietly, losing my mind. I have been evaluating and ranking the things that make me want to instantly drop whatever may be going on at the moment and suddenly rip out a label maker, hold a lecture on doing one's share or bring in a team of home organizers-yes, that is a profession, and I have come up with the following areas/tasks:
1. Any space that is used for storage. I feel like these spaces are functioning as dumping grounds instead of as accessible, useable parts of our home.
2. Daily Household chores and upkeep. The simple things like putting things in their proper place when finished with them and policing your possessions and spaces seem to be falling through the cracks. The chore list gets done, sort of...
3. Being prepared. Whether it's having everything in the bag, ready to go for an activity or having all the ingredients for a meal, preparation is being overlooked.
4. Time management. Our schedule is incredibly busy and I often feel like we spend a lot of time that isn't productive. I certainly don't want to have no down time, I am thinking more of the mini pockets of time in between larger events or tasks where we don't do much because we are waiting to leave or start something bigger. Chris makes multiple trips to the grocery a week, when it could probably be squeezed into one, making an extra stop when we are out to eliminate a separate trip later…Family time is often neglected and marriage time is nonexistent.
5. Cooperation and Willingness. While these topics aren't exactly a lack of organization, they contribute to the overwhelming feeling of chaos. When everyone is unwilling to do their part in keeping the household running smoothly and every request is met with a sigh, things don't get done to the highest standard, it takes time to get everyone on board and the result is unhappiness on all fronts.
So what is the plan to rectify these situations? What are the actual resolutions? The overall goal is to live a more harmonious life! To have more time for fun and to eliminate unnecessary stress and mess! The plan for getting there is of course, under construction, but I have some thoughts on how to get started. I have been a pinning fool lately, I LOVE Pintrest! The new house is my blank canvas for the year, the opportunity to start off with everything organized, pretty and well managed!
Let's address problem #1…Storage spaces that are berserk, there truly is no other word…
Exhibit A: The Pantry
Now, it doesn't always look like this, after a big trip to the grocery store, it is all nice and tidy, which lasts about 3 days. This is how it looks after we have used items, have things halfway gone, etc.. It makes my eyes bleed….I have found two methods of pantry organization on Pinterest that I am going to combine at the new house and the end result will look more like this:
Exhibit B: The Dream Pantry
You can check these methods out for yourself on Pintrest at: http://pinterest.com/pin/180918110005200317
There are many other spaces in our home that tend to look a little wild…I will not burden you with pictures, but if it has doors, it is inevitably crazy behind them!
Moving on to problem #2…The daily grind…That lately isn't grinding at it's best….I have found many a post/blog on speed cleaning. The concept is not to deep clean one area daily, but more to refresh each area daily. Thank god for my beloved cleaning lady, Luisa, since she comes twice a month, I have figured I can eliminate some of the daily steps like dusting every room everyday and a few other things and do them weekly. This will save me time, especially since my house is run on baby time, my hour of speed cleaning may be spread throughout the day. This combined with everyone putting their things where they belong and cleaning up after themselves will hopefully solve problem #2! I am not sure when or how that became an issue for us, but it is one. We will have to make it part of the routine and hopefully it will be second nature (again) after a while.
Problem #3, Preparation…I have given this one a lot of thought…on the portable necessity front( dance bag, diaper bag, backpacks, etc.) instant stowing where they go and replenishment are key. I am hoping that if I repack everything when we get home from being out, that the stress of trying to repack before we leave and remember everything will be eliminated. I am also going to beef up my car kit, I often wish I had certain items on hand, because I live in my car. I saw this Pin and I love the tidiness and visibility, so much better than my bag in the back! I can have one for the littles, one for the bigs and one for me!
As for meals…I am cringing as I write this, I am going back to planning and shopping for our meals on a monthly basis( with the exception of dairy, produce and deli/bakery items, which we will purchase weekly)…OMG. Chris has been after me for awhile to get back to this system. I used to do this when the older kids were smaller, our budget was tighter and our schedule lighter…It is a daunting task. I have been resistant due to schedule constraints and the unpredictability of the moods of the younger two. Some days we are moving and grooving and some days I am still unshowered and in my pi's at 3 pm, so sticking to a plan is hard. Not to mention having the time to actually make the plan. This is not for the faint of heart. My hope is that buckling down and doing this will help with Problem #4, our food costs and the inevitable scramble at dinner time. The trick to this is having tried and true recipes that you rotate and coordinating these with your monthly schedule…i.e. lasagna takes an hour to prep and an hour to cook, don't plan lasagna for a night when you only have a 30 minute window to cook. Once you plan what you will be eating, it is time to make the VERY long grocery list; be careful to take inventory of dry goods and spices and condiments when making the list. I always use the recipe when doing the list, it helps me judge quantities and remember the little ingredients I might overlook. I am also going to be doing some make ahead and freeze meals that can be easily thawed and reheated or thrown into the crock pot. I don't know if I will be ambitious enough the first go round to do a whole month like the girl in the pin, but we shall see. I am going to use these on nights when I may have typically thrown a hot dog at the kids. Don't forget to add nights out and leftovers to your rotation…NO ONE wants to cook every night!
There are lots of areas of preparation that we could work on, but these two were my main irritants, so I am starting with those.
Oh, Problem #4…Time Management is hard, especially when you feel like you don't have a spare second to begin with. My hope for tackling the issue, is to actually free up time for more fun and relaxation. I am starting with scheduling fun…our household runs on a very intricate and tight schedule and honestly, if it isn't on the schedule it doesn't get done. I am adding a weekly two hour period for family time (excluding dinner) and a monthly family day. Also joining the schedule is a weekly two hour period of time for Chris and I to be alone and a monthly date night. It may sound sad that we have to schedule time to spend together but this is the reality of the American Dream. Now, onto the yucky parts of tackling our time management…there will be no more multiple trips to the store, it is now a once a week event. If there are other errands to be run, they will be run when we are already out and about, i.e. if I have a doctor's appt. I need to stop by Target and the pet store on my way home, they are on the way back and it is senseless to come all the way home, to turn around and leave again. If we are watching tv, laundry can be folded simultaneously…these little pockets of time that we waste, add up to a lot. I think the best way to manage time better is to make a weekly list of tasks that would typically be saved for the weekend (refrigerator clean out, sorting out the clothes the babies have outgrown, etc.) and try and get them all accomplished during the week and voila!, weekend! To keep all my lists and schedules in one place, I use the Cozi Family Calendar App on my phone, this allows me to be more efficient, I can add things to the lists when they pop into my head, I don't have multiple pieces of paper cluttering up my house/bag. I find it to be user friendly and love that my whole family can access it.
Now, for the really tough one…#5- Cooperation and Willingness. How to get the whole family on board and in sync…I have struggled with this a lot. I want my kids to be kids, my husband works hard, I don't want them to view our home life as a chore or something to survive. But, the reality of life is that in order to have the life we do, it requires every single person participating. I am not at all saying they never help, far from it, but often there is resistance to helping and the help is given sporadically. I propose that each family member commit to the above plans for one month and see if they find our home a happier, calmer and more pleasant place to be. At the end of the month there will be a survey about what everyone feels works and what doesn't, is there more fun or less, etc. It will be interesting to see their responses.
I hope that this motivates you to take stock of what makes you feel a little crazy and that you resolve to make it better! This post may strike some of you as OCD, and maybe it is, just a little bit, but I really want my home life to be more fun and peaceful! Your home should be an oasis, not a black hole that sucks you in and keeps you from enjoying it! I will keep on posting on our progress and I am toying with the idea of starting a home making/home improvement type blog to show our work on the new house, our DIY projects that I am hoping we will have more time for and to provide a place to share more organizational/lifestyle type tips…I will just have to add that to the schedule! LOL!
