Do you have a million ideas swirling around your head at any given time?  Do you tell yourself you'll remember that thing you need to do, but then forget before the day is even over?  Do you see that same little imperfection or incomplete project every time you walk into the room but never seem to find the time to get it taken care of?  If you answered yes to even one of these questions, I'm here with a simple idea to help!

​Track your home projects room by room.  It's so simple it's hard to believe it would work, but just give it a try. 

• Decide on Paper or Digital

The first step is to determine how you prefer to track your home projects.  If you are a paper person, you can have fun selecting a binder or notebook, dividers, and a nice pen or pencil.  But if you prefer digital, you can use a tool like Evernote to easily get organized with a new digital notebook and notes.  The benefit of a digital version is that it can be accessed on your phone and is more portable.

• Define your areas

Make a quick list of all the rooms or areas in your home.  Make sure to include garage, barn, deck, yard, basement, etc. Now, create a section in your notebook for each area.  You may want to group some together if it makes sense.  For example, I combined deck and yard into one section.  

If you go the Evernote route like I did, create a notebook titled Home Projects and then create a note for each room/area.  Insert a checklist so that when you are done, you can simply click to check the item off!

• Do a walk through, and write it all down

With your new notebook, take a walk through your home, and take a good look around each space.  Make a checklist of all the things you want to do in each room's notebook section.   Include little items like "replace the light bulb above the kitchen sink" or "get a new air freshener" to bigger projects like "clean out the refrigerator" or "wash the baseboards."  You can include ideas or daydreams, too, like "get new carpet in the living room" or "rearrange the bedroom furniture."    You should indicate if something is a  "now" project or a "future" project.  If you're using paper, you could highlight or star the future projects.  If you're using digital, you could change the font color or put an * in front of them.

Once you have all of the to do's out of your head and into your notebook, you will waste less of your time trying to remember what you wanted to do and can spend more time getting things done!  (Getting things out of your head is great for more than just home projects - read a Brain Dump How -To for more info!)

• Start a shopping list/wish list

This is where you are going to record what you need (or want) to purchase.  If it's as easy as a light bulb, you likely aren't going to have to do much research or shopping around, but if it's a new light fixture or paint color, you may want to keep track of some websites, photos, or paint swatches.  This is why I like digital - because it's easy to insert a link or a photo.  I prefer to keep my shopping list in the section for each room, but if you'd rather, you could make one master shopping list.

• Add to your lists

Now when you are in your bedroom and notice a scuff on the wall that you think would probably come off pretty easily with magic eraser, just add it to your bedroom list!  In the past you would have noticed it and thought to yourself that you should probably write that down somewhere, but when you left the room, you likely forgot and then never got around to it!

​Sometimes you need a quick win to get you in the organizing groove.  Organizing your bedside table gives you a lot of bang for your buck!  A clean and organized bedside table can do wonders for your mood because it's one of the last things you see before you go to sleep and one of the first things you see when you wake up.  This is also the reason, they have a tendency to get messy since we are usually tired when we are near them. ​

• Completely clear top and drawers and clean

Start by clearing everything off the top and all shelves and drawers.  I recommend putting everything on your bed because then you won't be able to go to sleep until the project is finished!  When the table is cleared, give it a good dusting and wipe down the inside of the drawers. 
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• Refill drawers with purpose

Purchase or repurpose some sort of organizer in the drawer.  This can be anything from a silverware organizer, to any type of small open-top boxes.  Look through what you took out of the drawer and only put back in what is essential and trash or relocate the rest.  Thing I like to keep in my drawers are chapstick, pain reliever, lotion, headphones, a flashlight/book lamp, journal and pen, book, etc.  If you are low on dresser space, and have an extra drawer in a bedside table, you could consider it overflow and use it for something like your socks!  

• Keep the top simple

Now for the top.  The rule of thumb here is minimalism!  Place only what you need and use daily on the top of the table.  Mine has a lamp, my Google mini speaker, a coaster, a small bowl for jewelry that I may take off while I'm in bed, and tissues.  This gives clear space to put a book I'm reading and my glasses. 

• Maintain!

Now protect that bedside table and it's pristine condition!  Take a look at your end product and remember how it makes you feel to have things clean and organized and commit to a quick edit of this space weekly.  Take empty cups to the kitchen, throw away any trash that's accumulated, put away jewelry you may have removed before bed, and rearrange the drawer to put items back in their proper spot.  This process will take you less than 5 minutes but give you a big sense of order!   

It's that time of year when most of us are trying to stick to our New Year's resolutions.  Chances are that if you're a woman and you made a resolution, it had something to do with eating healthy or losing weight.  According to an article on inc.com 71% of people who made a New Year's resolution focused on diet or eating healthy. 

Only about 8% of people who vow to make a change in their habits for the New Year are actually successful, so how can you be one of those who meet your goal?  There are many factors in meeting a goal including setting a S.M.A.R.T. goal, creating milestones, monitoring progress, developing new habits, finding someone or a group to encourage you and keep you accountable, and avoiding obstacles.

Today I'm going to focus on two of these factors - developing new habits and avoiding obstacles - and how organizing your refrigerator can help you accomplish your resolution to eat healthier!  ​

Avoiding Obstacles
One way to avoid obstacles is to remove temptation.  When you give into temptation, you might say you have no willpower.  Give yourself a little more credit - it's not that you have NO willpower, it's that willpower is a limited resource.  An American Psychological Association article suggests that willpower is similar to a muscle that can get fatigued from overuse.  We use willpower all day every day whether it's forcing ourselves not to daydream when we should be paying attention in a meeting, not blurting out what we are really thinking when it would be inappropriate, or choosing an apple over a chocolate chip cookie.  All of these instances take energy, and the more we can remove temptation, the less work it is to make good choices throughout our days.

In your refrigerator, you can easily remove temptation by cleaning out the items that are unhealthy or not on your eating plan.  Well....this is easy if you live alone and no one else has to eat out of your fridge!  But even if you have a family not on the healthy eating train, you can still make this work (especially if you are the one who buys the groceries!)  First, eliminate the items that no one needs.  Examples could be sugary drinks, desserts, condiments high in sugar, etc.  Then designate a few areas of the fridge that you are "allowed" to eat from.  Guard these areas and only allow foods that you should eat to go in them.  In my fridge, I eat mostly out of the crisper drawers and the bottom shelf.  This concept applies to your pantry as well.

The second way to avoid obstacles is to make it more convenient to make good choices.  Rearrange your fridge so good foods are easy to access.  Consider a small lazy susan to help you get to items in the back of the shelves more easily.  Remove packaging and prewash and cut fruits and veggies.  Having clean, cut strawberries makes it much easier to choose them over a packaged treat when you don't have to spend extra time cleaning and cutting them when you are hungry!

Group foods that you use to together.  For example if you make smoothies for breakfast like I do, put all of your refrigerated ingredients together.  Use bins to make it even easier on yourself so you can simply pull out one bin, put it on the counter, and have everything you need for your breakfast.  I prefer clear bins so you can stack items, but still see what is in the bottom.   If you make a lot of salads, you could use one crisper drawer for all of your cleaned, cut up veggies and proteins.

Developing New Habits
Another critical component to achieving a goal is developing new habits.  Don't think of a habit as something big like "eating healthy," but rather the tiny things you do that lead to milestones along your journey toward your goal.  When it comes to a healthy lifestyle, little habits related to your refrigerator can be very helpful.
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Some of these habits do double duty and also help you avoid obstacles - win, win!  

• Go through leftovers and produce at least weekly and throw out the old BEFORE you go to the grocery store so you know what you need and have room for.
• Meal plan BEFORE going to the grocery store by planning around what you already have in your refrigerator or freezer.
• Clean fruits and veggies (and cut up if necessary) before putting them away.  Add a paper towel to the container you store them in to absorb the moisture from washing.  You can change the paper towel every few days to help your food stay fresher longer.  I even do this in bags of pre-washed salads.  Don't be afraid to store fruits in the plastic, clam-shell containers they come in.  Just wash them well, put a paper towel on the bottom, and add clean fruit.  I like to write CLEAN in sharpie on the top to remind myself these are good to go!
• Cut produce to make it fit in your space.  For example, I often cut the tops off of celery if it is too long to fit in my crisper drawer.  It's annoying to fight with the drawer, and if it's not easy to access, you may avoid eating the good food it contains!
• Remove packaging from foods before putting them in fridge.  If items are more convenient when they stay in a box, tear off the flaps for easy access.  Recycle any cardboard packaging.
• FIFO - first in first out.  When you are down to your last yogurt and buy a new package, make sure to put the oldest one at the front so you don't let it spoil.  Using all that you buy keeps your grocery bill down and removes the obstacle of "healthy eating is too expensive."  I also use this concept for eggs if I have more than one carton, newest ones go under the oldest ones.  You can stack several egg cartons and use vertical space on your shelf!

• Keep like items in bins (preferably clear ones) so it's easy to put away and find items.  When you use bins, you can better use all the space in the back of your fridge because you can just pull out the front bin to access what's in back instead of having to juggle items while you try to access the back.
• Add items to a grocery list when you notice them getting low.  If you wait until you're completely out of something, it's very easy to revert to unhealthy eating when you don't have a good option in front of you.  I use a Google Home speaker so it's really easy to just say aloud what needs added, and then I can access the list on my phone at the store.
• Keep clips near the fridge so it's easy to securely fasten partially used items.  This helps food stay fresher longer.  I use freebie chip clips and even cheap wooden clothes pins to secure bags of pre-washed salads.
• Use stackable containers for leftovers.  I love my stackable Rubbermaid containers with lids that fit multiple sizes of containers and stack securely.  They are also clear so I can see what's in them.  Stacking items uses the vertical space on your shelves and allows you to fit more healthy food in your fridge.
• Label foods that are in solid colored containers or ones you want to make sure you know how old they are.  I like a label maker, but a piece of masking tape and a sharpie work just as well!

 
If you can get into these refrigerator related habits, you will have a better chance of being successful with your healthy eating plan!

If you would like to increase your chances of meeting your goals by joining other women for encouragement and accountability, consider joining the Achieve! program.  Registrations for the February/March 2020 session are still open! 

Sources
Economy, Peter. “10 Top New Year's Resolutions for Success and Happiness in 2019.” Inc.com, Inc., 1 Jan. 2019, www.inc.com/peter-economy/10-top-new-years-resolutions-for-success-happiness-in-2019.html
Weir, Kirsten. “What You Need to Know about Willpower: The Psychological Science of Self-Control.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, 2012, www.apa.org/helpcenter/willpower.

My husband and I have been talking about a kitchen remodel for years, and when the doors to our cabinets literally began to fall off, we knew it was time!  We are still a ways from a final product, but I'm very happy with how the process has gone so far.  I planned more for this project than any other home improvement project, and it's been worth it!  

What I've learned so far:

• Start WAY in advance

Home improvement projects always take longer than expected, so start much earlier than you think is necessary.   A kitchen may be the most difficult of all remodeling projects and the timelines are longer than I ever would have expected.  5-6 weeks for cabinets to get in and ANOTHER 4-5 weeks for counter tops once cabinets are installed seems extreme, but once you know what to expect, you can begin the planning process.

• Ask lots of questions

Do your research!  Ask professionals and, more importantly, friends who have been through a similar project.  Ask for your family's input, too.  They will be the ones living with you in the space, so you want to make sure it's functional for them as well.  Things you want to learn about are style, color, materials, functionality, and durability.  

• Visualize the final product

Look at magazines, watch some home improvement shows, browse home home improvement stores, and of course create some Pinterest boards to help plan out your final design.  When you have a design in your mind, it's easier to make all the choices required for a remodeling project.

• Make your temporary space work for you

When you are remodeling a section of your home, it's an inconvenience not matter how you slice it.  Take a little extra time to set up the necessities in another area in your home.  Our family has been using our breezeway between the kitchen and garage as our temporary kitchen complete with our fridge, microwave, toaster oven and kitchen table.  Yeah, I washed dishes in my bathroom for a couple of weeks, but other than running water, I had everything I needed!

• ​Do first things first

Based on all the questions you asked earlier, you should know the pieces of the project that take the most time.  Make yourself a timeline so you don't have to put your project on hold or have your house torn up longer than necessary.  For example, we took measurements first, then found our installer which allowed us to get his input on materials and be aware of his availability.  Next we ordered cabinets so they would be delivered in the right window of time.  We knew we need to have our cabinets torn out, floor repaired and floor installed first, and we didn't want to have a kitchen's worth of cabinets taking up our garage space for longer than necessary.  

• Find the right person to do the work

Some of you are able to do home improvement projects on your own...and then there's the rest of us!  Finding someone who does quality work when they say the will do it at a reasonable price is one of the hardest parts of home ownership.  This is why asking around to others who have been through the same type of project you're doing is so valuable! Learn from their experience (and their failures!)  and ask for and take recommendations.  

• Be willing to wait for quality

Along the way, there are going to be surprises (especially if you live in an old house like mine!)  Try not to get frustrated if your well-laid plans get pushed back.  It's more important that the job get done right than get done fast.  Make sure to plan in some "fluff" time so that you don't end up having the painter scheduled to paint on the same day your counter tops are being installed because the cabinet installation was delayed due to unexpected issues with the floor.  If you build in some buffer days, your project will flow much more smoothly!

• Don't forget progress pictures!

It's so much fun to see those progress pictures.  It helps you appreciate how far you've come even when the project seems to be going slow.  When I look back at my green linoleum and what was under it, I'm even more grateful for my new, level floor!  We have a few more weeks before we can call the project complete, but we've come a long way!

Around the holidays, I always get the urge to purge!  Life gets so busy between Thanksgiving and Christmas around my house with school programs, parties, shopping, decorating, family gatherings, etc.  It seems extra difficult for me to stay on top of the regular tasks like laundry, dishes and clutter, so this is the time that having less stuff is really appealing.  Whenever this feeling strikes me, I take advantage and get out some trash bags and cardboard boxes!  ​

I like to do pre-holiday purging in the areas that I'm most likely to acquire new stuff.  The prime location to begin, kids' rooms!  It's ideal to involve your kids in this process, explaining that if they want to enjoy new toys or gifts, they have to make some room.  I like to give the kids 5 options on every item in their room:

1. Keep for everyday use
2. Keep as a keepsake
3. Give away to someone we know
4. Donate 
5. Trash

For me and my sons, it works best if I'm in the room with them, holding up each item, but if you have older kids, they may be able to do this process on their own.  Since there are 5 options, we use 5 containers - a combination of trash bags, boxes and storage bins.  To be very thorough, have your smallest child crawl under the bed or to the back of the closet to make sure you get everything!  I have found that option 2, keep as a keepsake, has helped reduce the time it takes to make a decision.  Kids are sure about the things they want to keep and get rid of, but there are some items in between.  Rather than force them to decide one way or the other, we keep a box of keepsakes in the basement.  Occasionally (but not as often as we should) we go through those keepsakes and purge  further.  I also throw in the option of giving away to someone we know because it's easier to get rid of a beloved toy if they know it's going to their younger cousin who will like it (and they may get to play with it at their house, too!) 

Just like I make my kids go through this process, I like to do it myself on my clothes, coats, jewelry, and shoes.  It works out well since this time of year usually aligns with when I do my clothing seasonal switch.  I also like to go through things like CDs, movies, craft supplies, and kitchen gadgets.  If you want to do some in-depth work on your kitchen, check out my video series, 7 Days to an Orderly Kitchen! 

I have a hard time getting rid of things that prove my kids are growing up - like kids' movies and music,  games for younger kids, coloring books, and even little spoons and cups.  This is where giving to someone I know comes in handy for me.  I can much more easily part with a Sonic the Hedgehog activity book, a plastic Spiderman plate and silverware set, or Veggie Tales DVDs when I know my nephews (and now niece!) or a friend's child will enjoy them.  

​In addition to purging, I love to use this time to get organized as well.  The key is to be realistic about how you use your spaces and to store items near where they are typically used.  Using the correct storage solutions is important.  For example, you don't want to stack bins on top of one another that you want to access often. Instead, consider a shelf with bins, hanging closet shelves, a set of drawers, or stacking bins with front access.   Make a list of what storage problems you have and then do a little organization browsing online or in person.  Select one area to focus on first and either purchase or re-purpose some organizing supplies for that area to be complete.  This will give you so much more satisfaction than getting one thing for each room.  You can slowly add to your collection of organizing supplies as time goes on.

On my last day of Thanksgiving vacation, I'm planning a fun filled day of purging!  So family and friends (you know who you are,) prepare yourself for being offered a bunch of stuff we no longer need!  I remember receiving lots of hand-me-down clothes and toys from others who had older kids, and even if I didn't keep everything, I always appreciated free stuff and knowing that someone else thought enough of us to pass down things they used to love.   Happy pre-holiday purging to all!

Last winter, my kids had a magical three days when my husband’s and my flu-like symptoms overlapped.  It’s not that they wished us poor health, but they did enjoy our lack of enforcement of the no TV during the school week rule.  We were too tired to care, so we all got too much screen time for those few days.
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When are bodies are worn down, our regular routine usually goes out the window.  It’s so easy to get behind while we are sick – dishes pile up all over the house, hampers overflow, tissues cover end tables and the floor next to trashcans, and stacks of mail begin to topple.

The best way to keep it together when we don’t feel good is to create systems to follow while we are healthy so that we can afford to take a few days off when we're sick without things falling apart.  If you do these seven simple things on a regular basis, your house will be manageable, and when you get sick, you’ll have a little latitude to slack off.  

1. Hang up jackets and put bags in a designated area when you come inside.
2. Have an inbox for all of your paper, and process it regularly.
3. Immediately put away your clothes, shoes, and jewelry when you take them off.
4. Create a laundry system that your family sticks to.
5. Put dishes straight in the dishwasher. Run and empty the dishwasher regularly.
6. Clear surfaces when you leave an area.
7. Throw away or give away things you don’t use or need.

When you are under the weather, give yourself permission to take a few shortcuts to keep your house from becoming a disaster zone. 

• Keep a few cans of soup in your cabinet so that when you get sick, you can cook an easy meal.  It’s also a good idea to keep a couple of bottles of Gatorade or lemon-lime soda on hand in case of upset stomach.  As soon as you use any of these items add them to your shopping list.  You don’t want to be home sick with nothing easy to fix.
• Use paper plates, flatware, bowls, and napkins so you don’t have to worry about doing dishes.  If you do use regular dishes or cookware, put them straight in the dishwasher.  If you use a reusable cup, consider using a plastic straw that you replace periodically or use disposable water bottles.
• Put all incoming paper into a designated inbox (ideally the same system you normally use) and give yourself the ok to skip a week of processing it. (Check out this previous post about wrangling your paper!)

• Create a “sick bin” to corral all of your supplies in like tissues, chap stick, medicine, cough drops, a bottle of water, and your phone.  It’s easy to misplace things when you’re not feeling well, so keeping them all in the same bin that you can carry with you from the couch to the bedside table will help.  A bin with a handle is a nice touch! You can also use a small gift bag as a portable tissue trashcan.
• If you still have to go to work when you’re sick, bathe and wash your hair at night so you can sleep in as long as possible the next morning.  Tame the crazy hair the next morning with a spritz bottle and quick blast with the hair dryer.

​The best thing you can do when you’re sick is rest so that you can get back to yourself as soon as possible.  Don’t feel bad asking for help while you are sick or even when it’s time to play catch up.  You’ll feel like a rock star when you are healthy again and you realize that your house didn’t fall down around you!

A few months ago, I wrote a post about my struggle with laundry (A Laundry Experiment: Part 1).  You can go back and read it, but the basics are this:  There was too much laundry and we never had the right things clean when we needed them or they were clean, but were buried in a giant pile of clean clothes on the couch, coined "laundry couch."  I tried to figure out how to overcome my laundry woes, and vowed to try the following:

• Get the whole family involved in bring laundry from all rooms in the house to the laundry room and sorting it nightly before bed.
• Wash loads of laundry as my laundry sorter got full rather than waiting to do it all on the weekends
• Create some sort of visual reminder so I would remember to start a load or switch clothes from washer to dryer.
• Fold and hang clothes IN the laundry room to avoid laundry couch!  This also means I wouldn't empty another load from the dryer until the previous one was put away.  

Though this experiment wasn't very scientific, I did have a hypothesis and have reached a conclusion (that are one in the same) - I HATE LAUNDRY!!!!  I've failed pretty miserably at most of the points above, but I did learn from my experience. Since I have accepted the fact that laundry will never end, I have some new ideas to try as a result of my failures.

Sorting
The daily sorting is the ONE part of my experiment that really worked.  We don't do it at night, but rather the kids do it every morning.  One kid empties and sorts the laundry from the first floor and the other kid takes care of the upstairs.  We have a two sided laundry sorter for lights and dark as well as a hard plastic hamper where we put the "hots" (things that should be washed in hot water.)  I really like this new habit.  It keeps hampers in the bedrooms and bathrooms from overflowing and makes it visibly obvious when we need to do a load!  We will definitely keep this one!

Washing on Demand
I have been doing laundry during the week much more than I did before, so I'll continue putting a load in the washer when I notice the sorter is full.  The problem has been that I sometimes forget to move it to the dryer and then it gets stinky and has to be rewashed.  The next point about the reminder is what I was really missing!

Reminders
I originally thought I'd make some cute sign that I'd hang near the laundry room to let me know when there was laundry in the washer, but instead I thought I'd go the technology route and set a recurring reminder on my iPhone.   Spoiler alert - - it didn't work.  I quickly became immune to the reminder and just swiped left to dismiss it every day, twice a day.  

Instead of this type of reminder, I'm going to try pairing, when you connect two activities or make one dependent on the completion of the other.  I first heard about the strategy of pairing from author and podcaster, Gretchen Rubin.  I'm thinking that I will pair TV with laundry.  Before I will allow myself to watch TV, I'll have to check the status of the laundry and do the next step - starting a load, switching a load to the dryer and/or folding a load. ​

Use the Laundry Room
I was naive to think that folding laundry in my un-air conditioned laundry room would work in the summer  - it was just too HOT!  In addition, my laundry room is the landing zone for things that have to go to the basement.  I keep clothes that are too small for my oldest son, but still too big for my youngest son in the basement, and with the way my 11-year-old has been growing, each week there have been new things to retire from his wardrobe.  I almost constantly have a bag or just a pile of clothes on top of the dryer poised to go to the basement, which doesn't allow me any room to fold even if the temperature were comfortable.

Since I'm planning to use TV watching to remind me to do the next step in my laundry,  I'm going to go back to folding while I watch.  I used to do this after it got really piled up, but if I fold this each time I watch TV (which is most days) I should be able to avoid laundry couch!  

I'm also going to use pairing to get items down to the basement.  I have one solid nighttime routine, and that is tucking my kids into bed (I've told them this will continue until they go to college!)  Since the only time I don't do this is when I'm not home or I am sick, I can count on this nearly every night.  As the kids start brushing their teeth in preparation for going to their bedrooms, I'm going to take one load to the basement.  If I do this nightly, the laundry room should stay manageable.

New Problems
I did notice a couple of new problems while being  more aware of my laundry process these past few months.  One was that my youngest son has TOO MANY CLOTHES!  This is not because we buy him stuff, but because he gets hand-me-downs from a few different sources.  It makes it difficult for him to put his clothes away because his drawers are stuffed!  Many times clean clothes end up on the floor and it's difficult to tell the difference between then and the dirty ones, so clean clothes are getting washed again!  It's time to purge again!  ​

I like to be self-sufficient, and I enjoy learning new things or figuring out how to accomplish a new task.  There are some types of tasks that I won't even attempt, but for most things, I'll at least do a little Googling or YouTube video watching and give it a go.  Though this "I can do it" attitude may help me become more well-rounded, save a little money, and keep things interesting, it can also severely impact my productivity and can create frustration both for me and my family!  Over time, I've learned that there is real value in finding the right person for the job!

At work and at home, it's impossible for us to do it all, though I'm guilty of trying to do it anyway.  I used have a hard time with the group project concept.  I felt like it would just be easier to do it all myself.  At least that way, I knew it would get done.   Doing it myself meant that I knew the progress of the project and the barriers to getting it completed so I could figure out ways to overcome the barriers and meet the deadline.  This mentality causes stress, burnout, and ultimately leads to lower quality work and delayed results.  Why is it then, that it's so hard to relinquish a little control and trust others to help me? ​

​A great example of how finding the right person to do the job produced fantastic and quick results was when I wanted to create a logo for my blog.  I had an idea in my head, but I thought it would be too difficult for me to articulate that to someone else, so I tried to do it myself. I tried and tried to bring my vision to life, but without the proper tools or expertise in graphic design, I just couldn't produce something I was happy with.  I considered hiring someone, but I talked myself out of that by rationalizing that I was saving money by doing it myself and I could remain authentic to my own creative plans for my logo.  Well, what happened is that I didn't launch my blog because I didn't have what I felt was the perfect logo, and I became more and more frustrated and wasted a LOT of time. ​

​I now am much more inclined to hire work done or ask for help and suggestions.  The old saying, "time is money" is so true.  I could spend ten times as long doing something that would be a lower quality than if I hired the right person for the job.  I could use that time in a different way to produce real results.  I'm a big believer in frugality, so of course I don't hire someone to do everything for me!  I pick and choose what I can afford, what meets the biggest and most urgent need, and what I don't want to or don't have the capacity to learn how to do myself.  There are some things that are just fun to dabble in and the difference in the end result of me doing it versus a professional wouldn't be that noticeable, but then there are all the other things where an expert is definitely the right choice.  

This concept also applies to situations at home or work where we would should delegate a task to someone who is best equipped to do it.  Best equipped can mean they are an expert or they have the capacity to become an expert or simply that they have time to do the task.   When we delegate, though, we have to learn to accept the results may not be exactly as if we had done the task ourselves.  I have my kids do certain chores at home, and maybe the cleaning isn't quite as thorough as I would have done it, but it's done and I was able to complete other tasks instead. 

​I also try to remember that it's all about choice.  By choosing to do something myself (or learn how to do something on my own), I am also choosing not to spend that time on something else.  To get and keep my life in order, I have to learn to choose to spend my time wisely so that there is time for the things I'm good at, time for the things I enjoy doing, time for the things I am required to do, and most importantly, time for the people I love.

5. Don't let sentiment cause clutter
My dad is somewhat of a minimalist.  He doesn't care for a coffee table in the middle of the room or many knick knacks sitting around.  My dad had a decent sized record collection, some of which he'd had since he was a teenager.  They were stored in a wooden cabinet with sliding doors.  Several years ago, he wanted to use the record cabinet for another storage purpose (in the garage on that wall in front of the vehicles - thank you hanging tennis ball for keeping it safe!)  In order to use it for garage storage,  he got rid of the records. I remember feeling sentimental about him getting rid of them and they weren't even mine.  He didn't let sentiment cause any unnecessary clutter.  I'm grateful that my husband and brother got several of the records for their own collections!

6.  Research and analyze which is cheaper and better - fixing/refurbishing or buying new
This one may only apply if you have the ability to fix things yourself. If you know my dad, you know he can fix just about anything!  There are times that most people would have just gotten a new (insert whatever is broken in your house) but my dad did the research to fix it.  For instance, he put a brand new bottom in the bathtubs instead of replacing them.  It was cheaper and less work in the long run than tearing out the old one and installing a new one.  There are times though, were  you've fixed as much as you can fix, and it's just time to buy new.  

7.  Label generously
My dad has been making labels as long as I can remember!  His go to is masking tape and a sharpie.  Putting labels on things helps to identify them (the reason spices of similar colors are labelled in my mom's spice cabinet) and helps us remember where things go (this is why I label my clear bins in my refrigerator - I certainly don't want my raw meat to ever go in the bin where my yogurt is supposed to go!)  I have to admit, I did think my dad took it a little far when I saw that he had labelled the tape dispenser, "TAPE."

It FINALLY feels like Spring in Indiana, which means it's time for me to embark on the monumental task of the "seasonal switch."  This is when I put away the wintery clothes and get out the spring/summer clothes that are stored in totes in the basement.  It doesn't sound hard in that single sentence, but it is SUCH a process!  This year I decided to do things a little differently to try to make it more efficient and enjoyable.

I have two boys, so I save everything that's in decent shape from the older one for the younger boy.   Since they are 4 years apart, that means I have tote after tote labelled by size.  Currently I have totes for size 6, size 7, and two totes for size 8 (as the clothes get bigger it takes more room to store the same amount), an 8/10, a 10/12, a 12/14, a 16/18, one for my oldest boy's out of season clothes that still fit, one for my out of season items that fit, my too small tote, and my husband's out of season - oh and then there's one for boots (or sandals depending on the season), one for hats/ gloves, one for coats/jackets, and one for kids' shoes that my youngest hasn't grown into yet!  That's a lot of totes!  And it never fails that the one I want is on the bottom of the stack, so I have to do an intricate redesign of the towers of totes to get to it.

Yesterday was the day I decided to tackle this season's switch, and even though I think I've come up with a pretty good new system, there's no denying, it's still a lot of work!  Here's the new way I'm doing things and how I am organizing the totes of clothes so that when, in a couple weeks I ​find some T-shirt or pair of sweats that somehow escaped the switch , it'll be a cinch to store it because I'll be able to identify which bin it should go in AND access it easily.

Step 1 - Sort the new season's clothes
Don't start with what's currently in your closet or drawers - if you do that you may end up sleeping in a tent for two weeks.  That's what happened to my then-6-year-old last year when I switched his summer clothes to fall/winter clothes.  I started by sorting through the clothes in his drawers, deciding what would be too small next year and what I could save.  Then I didn't have anywhere to store the clothes for the next summer because the storage bins were full of the fall/winter clothes that I hadn't gotten out yet.  So, I dumped the fall/winter clothes on the bed, filled the emptied bins with the summer clothes, and took them to the basement.  When it was bedtime, I was OVER clothes sorting, and since his bed was a mound of long pants, sweaters and long johns, I tried to make it fun and let him sleep in a tent on his floor that night.  Well, one night turned many nights, and I actually lost track of how long he'd been sleeping in a tent until one night he said, "Mom, when can I sleep in my bed again? I've been sleeping in this tent since the night we watched the nun movie!"  He was talking about Sister Act, which we'd watched a full two weeks earlier!  

So to avoid tent sleeping due to a clothes infested bed, start with the new season's clothes.  I store our out of season duds in the basement, so I started with one family member (my youngest because I felt bad about the tent incident.)  I brought up several bins that contained sizes he may fit in this summer (if only there was truly a universal sizing system so I didn't have to have him try on sizes 6 through 8!)  I pulled everything out of each bin and put aside anything that was visibly too small or out of season (if I were better at planning I would have had my kids so they'd be the same sizes during the same seasons...)  and made a giant pile of what I needed for him to try on.  I did this only one bin at a time because, if you have boys you know that trying on clothes is something they can only endure for a very short amount of time.  We tried everything on and decided if it fit and if he liked it enough not to whine about wearing it.  We made three piles: it fits, it's too small or he won't wear it, and it's too big.  When we were done with each bin, we put all the items that fit into the laundry room clothes sorter, the too small items into a bag for my nephew (so my sister-in-law can store those at HER house!), and the too big pile back into the tote it came from.  We repeated with all of his bins (after some breaks in between each one.)

You can repeat this process for each member of the family:

1. ​Get out ALL totes that contain clothes for the upcoming season
2. Before trying anything on, sort out items that visibly won't fit or you don't like
3. Try on everything else, and create three piles:
   1. fits
   2. will never fit again (for kids these would be too small, for adults it is clothes that are for a weight that you realistically won't be again within a year or two)  OR clothes you don't like.  If it's something you know you won't wear because it's not flattering or it's a color you don't care for - donate it!  Don't waste precious closet space to store something you won't wear.
   3. will fit in the future (for kids these would be too big, for us adults, this could be the clothes that are within a few pounds of our current weight)
4. Put items that fit into the laundry
5. Put will never fit again/don't like clothes into a donate box
6. Put will fit in the future clothes back in a tote.

Step 2 - Sort the previous season's clothes
While the new season's clothes are in the laundry, go through the clothes that are currently in your closet and drawers.  Use the same general strategy as you did with the upcoming season's clothes with a couple of tweaks.

1. ​Take items directly from your drawer or closet and make a decision on each item (in other words, don't take them all out and make a giant pile.)  This allows you to do a little at a time and not risk the tent- sleeping -for-two-weeks fate.
2. Create three piles:
   1. fits
   2. will never fit again (for kids these would be too small, for adults it is clothes that are for a weight that you realistically won't be again within a year or two)  OR clothes you don't like.  
   3. will fit in the future (for kids these would be too big, for us adults, this could be the clothes that are within a few pounds of our current weight)
3. If you can make a decision without trying it on (since you likely recently wore most of these items) just put it into the appropriate pile.  But if there is any doubt, try it on!
4. Put items that fit or will fit in the future into the empty bins created when you emptied the upcoming season's clothes.  You may consider creating one bin for "will fit in the future" and another for "fits now" or you could put them all together since you'll have to sort them next season anyway.
5. Put will never fit again/don't like clothes into a donate box
6. Label the tote clearly on multiple sides.  If it's kids' clothes, mark the size and gender, but if it's adults' clothes, just mark it with the name (and if you separated by fits and will fit in the future, indicate that as well.)  Label it on multiple sides so that no matter which direction the tote is stored, you can see the label.  Colored duct tape and a sharpie make easy and cheap labels that can be removed so your totes can be reused.

Step 3 - Store out of season clothes
This is the biggest thing I'm excited about!  I am going to bite the bullet and do something I've been thinking about for several years...I'm buying shelves for my totes!    (I know big step, right?)  When totes are on shelves that means you don't have to play that game like the one you played as a kid where a square was filled with tiles and there's one blank space and you have to move tiles around to get them in a certain order.   I've ordered the shelves and can hardly wait til they arrive (don't worry, I'll let you know on Facebook when they do!)  Mine will go in my basement for the out of season clothes, but these could easily work in a garage or pole barn for anything you store in totes.

Bonus tips

• Make sure to put the tote containing the size of your oldest child in the most accessible spot because, as they grow out of things, you will want to be able to add to that bin without a lot of hassle!
• Keep a trash bag with handles hanging in the laundry room so you can toss too small kids' clothes for giveaway in it right after they come out of the dryer. 

​
Step 4 - Put away new season's clothes
After you've washed all the new season's clothes, put them away in your closet or drawers.  Use this as an opportunity to purchase new (or re-purpose other items as) closet and drawer accessories to keep you organized.  Some of my favorites for the closet are the hangers that allow you to hang multiple items and then collapse to save closet rod space, belt hangers or a purse hanger which takes advantage of vertical space, a scarf hanger which take advantage of the depth of your closet without hogging closet rod space, a cami hanger which can handle multiple sleeveless tops in the space it takes to hang one hanger, fabric totes where you can store items like t-shirts, hats, athletic clothes, stacking bins for closet shelves, hanging shoe holders, or shoes shelves.  In your drawers, use clear plastic shoe boxes or wire inboxes intended for a desk to divide large drawers, or criss-cross  organizers for socks and underwear.  

I hope these 4 steps will help your "seasonal switch" go much smoother this year.  If you are lucky enough to have huge closets, you may not even need to go through this difficult process (I'm jealous!) but for most of us, we have to store at least part of our clothing in a different location when they are out of season.  If you have multiple kids and are saving their clothes for a younger sibling - kudos to you for saving all that money!  Take it from a mom who's done it the hard way for way too many years and try some of these tips.  

During a recent "discussion" about what my son should wear to school, he told me that I didn't do laundry often enough.  Before I realized that I felt like a failure as a mother, I kind of lost it!  That day, I washed ALL the dirty clothes and had a giant pile of clean laundry waiting for him in the middle of the living room floor when he got home.  I had him separate out what was his to demonstrate that he produced a LOT of dirty laundry!  I explained that if you don't spill something on them, fall and get mud on your knees, or pee your pants, jeans really don't need washed all that often!  I also suggested that a shirt can be reworn if it passes the armpit sniff test!  I promised if we had less dirty laundry, I could keep up with it better.

For the next couple of weeks, it was working!   Then I began to notice the same exact clothes being worn day after day.  One morning at breakfast, I required both boys to change into something they hadn't worn the previous day, and I heard, "But you said to wear clothes more than once!!"  I explained that didn't mean they could wear the same things multiple times IN A ROW.  My oldest responded, "This is so confusing!!"  I get it - laundry is confusing.  We needed a new plan.  My son and I brainstormed together to come up with some new ideas and he said, "Hey mom, you could write about this on your blog!"  So here we are!

​My little analytical mind started thinking through how we could start a laundry revolution, and of course, I turned to a spreadsheet and chart.... It takes about 30 minutes to wash and 60 minutes to dry in my machine, plus there's folding and putting away time, which I'll estimate at 15 minutes/load.  If I did 6 loads sequentially, the least amount of time it would take me is just under 7 hours.  In real life, I'm not usually standing there waiting for the washer or dryer to finish, so I need a better plan, so I don't have laundry couch all week and am not stuck at home all weekend. ​

​
​We have hampers everywhere - one in each bathroom, each kid's bedroom, and one in the laundry room.   On laundry day I have three other pop-up sorters.  I'm not a crazy sorter, I just do lights, darks, and stuff that needs hot water (sheets, towels and stinky stuff). Mine and my son's idea was rather than keep dirty clothes in the hampers and dump it into a giant pile to sort once a week that instead we leave the laundry sorters out in the laundry room all week and sort as we go. 

​Lastly, I have made a pact with myself to continue doing what I started this weekend.  I will not take clean laundry out of the laundry room unless it's folded or on hangers.  My ultimate goal is as soon as I take laundry out of the dryer, to fold it or hang up on my over-the-door hook immediately.  But even if it's not immediate, I vow not to empty another load from the dryer until the previous one has been put away.  No more laundry couch for me!  

I'm going to give this experiment about a month and then will give you an honest report of how it went.  Laundry has been my nemesis for years, and I'm determined to beat it!  Some of you may suggest having kids do their own laundry, but I've been hesitant to do this because I don't want to waste water with small loads of individuals' clothes that could be combined.  I do get my kids involved by switching from washer to dryer and starting new loads in the washer. I'd love to hear any other ideas you have for keeping laundry under control so please leave a comment below. ​

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how my journey to get my life in order began.   There were two key things I learned initially that I've been trying to implement ever since:  

1. Don't expect more from myself than I expect of others.
2. Set boundaries, and stick to them.

Today, I want to elaborate on the first point.  I had an AHA! moment when I talked to my coach about all I was dealing with. She repeated everything I had listed on my responsibility list and asked me if I would expect someone else to handle all of those things in the manner I had explained that I wanted them done.  I immediately said, "No."  When she said if that was true, then I couldn't expect that of myself, I felt kind of stupid.  I mean, that made a lot of intellectual sense, and even though I wanted to insert a "but" and follow it some logical reasoning - I couldn't.  She was right, just plain right.

Realizing, and then internalizing that lower self-expectation didn't mean I wasn't good at my job, good at being a mom or a wife or a friend or a homemaker or any of the other roles I was in - it was FREEING!  I could be a "regular person" and didn't have to keep up the superwoman facade.  I deserved the same respect and grace that I gave to others, and I was really the only one who could give that to myself.  As easy as it is to complain about how others treat us or what they expect of us - as I've often told my kids, "you're in charge of you."  I needed to realize that applied to me as well!

• Parenting/Family Time - I was fortunate to have amazing parents, and I want to be the same for my kids.  I choose not to spend as much time on other things so I can spend more time with my family (and be less stressed doing it!)  Deciding on my family as a priority over a clean house or a packed schedule doesn't mean that I don't get to have my own interests, hobbies, and friends or that I don't get to spend some time alone.   I think by having outside interests, it shows kids what being a well-rounded adult is like.  Even so, I feel pretty strongly that the the old adage about quality over quantity time is only partly true.  I guess this is where I've lowered my own expectations - I focus on quantity and don't worry so much about quality.  Being home nightly for dinner and bedtime, spending some parts of weekends at home all together, and attending school and sporting events - those are quantity goals.  The quality part comes in the consistency and just "happens."  It's impossible to create quality without some quantity.  We may eat a speed dinner before cub scouts; I might have to sing a lightening fast song and say only a short prayer before lights out because of an evening commitment; or I might fall asleep on the couch while the kids watch a movie in the same room - but I was there, and it's still communicating that being WITH the family is important to me - because it is.  Even though I'd love to, I don't have to be the PTA president to be involved at their school, I don't have to give them expensive gifts to show them what they mean to me - I can simply choose them, have routines and traditions in our home, listen, be present, and show affection.  I'm certainly not perfect, but I'm  learning the balance ...I may say "I love you" too much, but I'll risk that!   

Keeping expectations for myself at bay is a constant struggle, but it's a struggle worth having.  Feeling accomplished and satisfied with my less-than-perfect life is so worth it! ​Do you agree that lowering self-expectation is a good idea, a way to survive and thrive in this fast paced world we live in?  Or do you disagree and feel that we should expect more of ourselves?  I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

It's party day, I have 30 people coming over, and I want to have my whole house sparkling.  For some reason, I think it's a great idea to also do my entire week's worth of laundry because I'm feeling like a superstar hostess.  A couple hours before the party, I realize that I forgot to clean the toilet, we need to set up all the tables, I'm a sweaty mess and still need to take a shower, AND I have a mountain of clean laundry all over my living room.  I begin barking orders at my son and snapping at my husband to do what I think is important instead of whatever silly thing they thought they should be doing.  My brother-in-law and sister-in-law arrive earlier than I expected, and as the minutes tick down to party time, I throw all my notions of appearing to have it all together out the window as I frantically reveal to my sister-in-law all the places in my bedroom where clean laundry can be stuffed out of sight!  I finally jump in the shower and emerge from the bathroom with wet hair and no makeup as the rest of the guests arrive.  True story - Labor Day party 2010(ish).   

A very similar version of this story would happen almost every time we had friends and family over for the next several years.   I love to host parties at our house, and we have several a year.  I started getting tired of being a grouch (or even mean) during party prep, feeling unprepared, and rushing around at the last second.  As the years have gone by things have improved, and at this summer's 10th Annual Labor Day party, my whole family was laying around resting a couple hours before guests were supposed to arrive.  I started thinking about what was different this year so I could recreate the calm and prepared feeling I had!  Here are the 10 steps I came up with for planning an organized party!  We just got through Thanksgiving, and though I didn't host this year, we still did plenty of cooking and planning, and these steps did not fail me - it was a great and relaxing day!

1. Set realistic pre-party project goals and prioritize them!
The reason we started our Labor Day party tradition was because we had several large outdoor projects we wanted to get done and thought if we had a firm deadline like a party at our house, we'd be more likely to actually complete them.  It worked, but it was a ton of work and very stressful!  That year we rebuilt walls on an outbuilding, put on siding, installed an overhead door, painted some doors, stained our deck, built a fire pit, and did some landscaping.  I'm tired even writing all of that!  

In the years since, I've learned to set smaller, more realistic project goals and to determine up front which ones must get done and which ones would be nice to get done.  Of the optional projects, it's important to prioritize them so you don't start them all and finish none!  It's also necessary for my husband and I to discuss the priorities together because we don't typically agree on what should be done first (maybe we're unique, but I don't think so.) You want the projects that don't get done to be the ones you care about the least and/or the ones people won't even notice aren't complete.

2.  Lower your standards.
You have to cut yourself some slack to stay sane (and not yell at everyone in your path.)  There are some things that aren't going to get done, and honestly, no one is going to notice.  In the past, I wanted to have potted flowers on the steps by the door.  Since I'm terrible at keeping plants alive, if I have an event that I want flowers for, I have to buy them just a day or two ahead to make sure they live long enough.  For my last party, I forgot to buy flowers ahead of time, so a couple hours before the party, I looked at the existing dead flowers in the pots, considered driving to the store to get fresh, living flowers, but then just decided to stick the pots with dead plants in the garage.  No one would know that I had even intended to have potted flowers. 

I've also had several parties where I didn't mop my floors (gasp!)  Mopping is one of those jobs that no only do I hate, but it holds up progress for everything else because no one can walk on the floor while it dries.  If anyone noticed my unmopped kitchen, they didn't mention it, and I don't think I lost any friends over it.  

I gave up the idea that I had to make everything I serve.  I'm now ok with buying prepared foods if it's quicker, easier and tastes just as good.

3. Start preparations early and keep running lists.
The first part of party prep is to pick a date and send out invitations.  I think the sweet spot for sending invitations is about a month in advance.  It's long enough to get on people's calendars and allow you time to get ready, but not so long that it gets lost in the someday syndrome (someday I'll plan that/do that/go there - - and then it never happens.)  

Once the party is on the calendar, it's time to start a few lists.  They don't have to be fancy, you can use good old paper or if you prefer an electronic version, my choices would be Google Sheets or Evernote.  Depending on the type of party, your lists may vary, but I usually have the following:

• A guest list so I have a count of confirmed guests and maybes - this is important so you have enough food, seating, and favors (if it's a kid's party.)
• A menu/supply list including all the food and drinks, paper supplies, chairs,  etc. and who is bringing what.  On the food side, if it's a pitch-in and you don't care if there are duplicates - just worry about what you will make and let the rest of the menu just fall into place.
• A shopping list for anything you need to buy - groceries, paper goods, bug spray, decorations, etc., etc.
• A project list for everything you want to get done pre-party (in priority order.)
• A day-of to do list working backwards from party time.

4. Ask people to bring things
Just as I discussed in one of my very first posts, asking for help is one of the key ways to really live a life in order.  I used to want to do everything myself to give the illusion that I was the proverbial "hostess with the mostest," but after a few of the clean-laundry-stuffing-into-the-closet incidents, I realized that doing it all myself, while still working full time, being a decent mom and wife, and maintaining my sanity, just wasn't possible.  Now, I almost always ask guests to bring food, drinks, supplies, chairs, tables, or even come a little early to help with final preparations.  I've never had someone say no or not come because I asked for their help, so I will keep it up!

5.  Do as much the day before as possible.
The less you have to do on party day, the better!  Having your lists made will help you to identify what can possibly be done ahead of time like cooking, cleaning, and set up.  We used to get up really early on the day of a party and start cooking only to be exhausted by the time guests arrived.  My husband, who does most of the cooking, decided one year to try smoking the pork the day ahead and then warm it in the oven the day of.  We both had reservations about how it would taste, but it turned out just as good and as a bonus our house didn't smell like a BBQ pit!

I used to think that I couldn't clean ahead of time because it would just get dirty again, so I'd wait til the day of to dust, vacuum, clean the bathrooms, and mop.  I'd often run out of time and either do the cleaning half way or not at all.  It's better to do it ahead of time and risk a little dust settling rather than not do it at all (unless not doing it at all is good enough - - see lower your standards above!)