Organizing Yourself

 Time management is about organizing yourself. That means you not your closets and drawers.

  Ther are many ways we can organize ourselves

Source: google.com via Alynn on Pinterest

Time budgetting or how to use your time to get done what you need to do.On any given day we have stuff to do.

Go to work-cook-spend time with our children-clean-laundry-be a taxi-walk the dog-refill our basket

And there is only so many hours in which we can do it (please don't loose sleep over unfolded laundry we are already sleep deprived).

This is when you need to time budget. How many hours are we out of the house for work? How much time will you spend on housecleaning? Don't forget to take some time to read a book or do a hobby so we have something pleasurable to do to refill our apple baskets.

Is there somethings on our list we can hand off to someone else-kids vacumn their own room, husband get kids through bathtime routine?

Is there something we can do faster or easier- cook two meals at the same time so we don't need to cook tomorrow, have the kids do their reading homework by reading to you while you fold laundry?

Source: allsorts.typepad.com via Portia on Pinterest

What about creating a to-do list. I love to make list, making them up in the morning or the night before. Sometime if I do something that isn't on my list I will add it just so I can cross it off (please don't judge me).They can be daily, weekly or monthly. I have a friend who has one that she keeps in a spiral notebook, she adds to the bottom of the list and crosses things off as she does them.

Do you have a family calendar to keep track of multiple schedules. I write each person's schedule in a different color ink so I know at a glance whose dentist appt it is and get the right absentee note off to the right teacher (once again organizing myself).

 I created a housework checklist where I listed everything I needed to do in a month then made boxes to show how many times I wanted to do that chore that month. You can download a blank one here and read about why I chose this method.

Source: Uploaded by user via Daryna on Pinterest

Though sometime I look at my checklist on the wall and still walk away to go sit on the couch to read for a bit- usually while saying to my munchkins " this is the first time I have sat down today please don't ask me for anything for 15 minutes" and this is okay cause we need to schedule in me time so we can keep on going.

I keep all the equipment my kids need for their various out of school activities  in bags ready to go. You can read about my bag system here.

These are few ways I organize myself. This month my posts are going to focus on organizing ourselves  

Source: sageventure.com via NICCI on Pinterest

Expanding on the time saver "don't look"

I recently posted some ways to save time during your week.

I wanted to expand on the idea of "don't look" as I only gave a few quick examples in the previous posting.
 
My husband always seems to be looking for something- his keys, wallet, a receipt etc. Sometimes he wanders around the living room looking on shelves or in drawers and I'll ask what he is looking for "Nothing" he says " just practising". LOL but I figures he probably spends 5 minutes a day looking for something.
There is a great organisational idea that everything in your house should have it's own home- the place this thing always gets returned to. Now I don't have a home like that, all the surfaces covered in 'homeless' things tells you that. But I do subscribe to the idea that 'home' is where they are needed.
Maybe the disinfecting wipes tucked away on the counter beside the fridge doesn't enhance the decor but when I want to do a quick wash down of the counter they are only steps away. I keep a container of these wipes in both bathrooms as well for quick cleanups while the kids are in the tub.

 *Hey I found recipes and directions for making your own wipes and I will post about these on Friday- My frugal inner me is jumping up and down in glee here*

-Sawdust stored near the laundry sink where my oldest cleans her guinea pig cage

-an extra stain removing stick in the kitchen for when I need to rewash something that didn't get clean the first time(I fold clothes in the living room and have a hamper in the kitchen)

Have you created homes for things that seem unconventional? Do you have a way to store these things so they don't stand out in their chosen home?

 

 Another way I "don't look" is my bag system. All those reusable bags that come into our house now have a use beyond going shopping. Any activity that happens outside the house now has a bag assigned to it.
For swimming lessons there is a towel, swimsuit, extra underwear( for the ones that always seem to get dropped in a puddle) and a snack. These bags go into the laundry room when we get home from lessons and then get refilled after things are washed and dried, then put back in their rooms (hooks behind the door).
Same goes for Chinese school, preschool and any other activity we do that requires us to take stuff to. No more looking for soccer socks on Saturday mornings before the game.
This is also helpful if you are not the only  person who may be taking your child to their class. The kids can just grab their bag and they are ready to go.

 
How often do your kids come to you asking you to look for something? My kids use to do this all the time. A quick glance around and "they can't find it". I would then stop what I was doing to go look in their bedroom and find it in a quick minute tucked under something. Now I don't mind helping them look for something but I wanted them to put some effort into it before coming to me for help. I started telling them that I would help look but if I found it first I got to keep it for 5 minutes. Usually whatever they were looking for they wanted now so needing to wait for 5 minutes to get it was horrible. They would then go off and make a real effort to find it. No more "looking" for me and maybe they learned to put their things away so they can find it easier next time.

I am all about faster and easier and my "don't look" philosophy is just that.