Every January I make a new list of resolutions. Then, I re-organize things in my house, like:
Re-organizing your home
- Cleaning out expired prescriptions
- Discard cosmetics that are not being used.
- Look through books and magazines, tossing or donating those I’ve finished or never intend to read.
- Check supplies of batteries, light bulbs and vacuum cleaner bags.
- Make a list from my birthday calendar of those coming up in the next 6 months.
- Quickly scan my closet for any “backward hangers” to see what I didn’t wear last year. I donate, consign or discard any of those items.
- Then I turn all my hangers backwards again, to see what I don’t wear next year.
And then in exasperation, I wonder how to keep it this way for the next year. Here is a list to help us all feel like we are staying better organized after we’ve attempted to get that way.
- Set timers to help manage time. With each item on my to-do list in the morning, I will set a timer to accomplish some of the items on my list. (i.e.. 15 minutes for making bed, unloading dishwasher, 1 hour for writing and so on.) This helps me stay focused and not jump from project to project.
- I will use the apps on my phone as “remindears”. The word dear at the end just seems a little sweeter to me.
- One app that I love is Home Routine. I’ve set up zones to work in everyday so that I don’t have to spend a whole day and a half cleaning my house. I attempt to work for 15-30 minutes in each zone – 6 days a week. It feels like my house is clean all the time.
- When I see something that needs doing and I can’t do it NOW, I add it to my remindears.
- After reading Stephen Covey’s, 7 Habits, years ago, I believe it is important to realize what our roles are and then designate time to each.
- For instance, I have 9 roles to fulfill in my life.
- Wife
- Mother
- Daughter/in-law
- Sister/in-law
- Friend
- Christian
- Writer/Wanna be Photographer
- Decorator
- Maid, Cook and Gardner
Just listing them makes me tired and brings up feelings of inadequacy, failure and panic. Perhaps by incorporating Covey’s 7 Habits we can get the most important things accomplished.
- Be proactive. I am trying daily to overcome my procrastination tendency.
- Begin with the end in mind. What is most important to me? People, things, or a clean house? As Covey says, think of what you want said in your eulogy, and live it. Your hearse will not come with a luggage rack and Heaven will not need a maid.
- Put first things first. My family roles are most important to me. Contact with each family member on a regular basis is #1. As they grow up, move away, get busy with their lives, it may only be through a text message, but at least I know what’s going on in their lives.
This is your mother calling. - The next four habits are for our public life. Think win/win. As a firstborn, I recognize my need for control in my life. I don’t really want to control others, but I DO want control in my personal space and in areas that affect me personally. It’s been a steady battle to remind myself that others want the same thing. And thinking of ways we can all win helps us to “keep calm and carry on.”
- Be a better listener. It’s ok to be quiet and let others talk. I learn more this way. Also, I had THE BEST TEACHER. My daddy is the best listener in my life.
- Keep an open heart and open mind to new possibilities. When others offer suggestions that might solve a problem, don’t remain dogmatic and end up wallowing in your own pig mire.
- Remain Active in 4 separate dimensions.
- Physical exercise – minimum of 30 min/day.
- Spiritual exercise – This is our reference point for our whole life. It is where the “end in mind” comes into play. Prayer and meditation of the scriptures are two I suggest.
- Mental exercise – Read, read, read and then read some more. Play games that strengthen your cognitive skills, take classes to learn something new. Take up a new hobby. Write a blog…hehehe, and as this whole post is about – do some planning and organizing. It cleans out the cobwebs and gives us something to focus on.
- Social exercise – Peoples faces are important. Why do you think Facebook and FaceTime were created? However, those two “faces” don’t do as much for our emotional well-being as sitting across the table from someone. I try to schedule at least one visit per week with someone I love, or in building a new friendship. Then, if travel permits, I attempt at least one gathering in my home per year, where all of these important people can feed each others emotional needs ~ especially mine!
If with each day, we begin with the end in mind, perhaps we can get more accomplished and stay organized a little more than the day before. It’s a worthy goal if it keeps life simple and loved one close.
Continue reading this 31 day writing challenge with Day 6: Starting Over After a Miscarriage