Too much…

So I have not organized much lately. For some reason it seems I can’t even keep my house clean. Jake and I clean, and it’s messy the next day. I need to figure out a way to manage our stuff. It’s a vicious cycle I tell you.

I still have high hopes for my upcoming projects. I have great ideas for them, but I just have to get my butt in gear and do them.

24 Hours in a Day. Really?

Do you ever feel like you have more things to do than there are hours in the day?  I do. If you really think about it, there are 24 hours in a day. 8 are spent at work, 8 (if you’re lucky) are spent sleeping, and that leaves 8 for all of your extra stuff. That seems like so much time but it never actually ends up a full 8 hours. How much time do you spend getting ready for work? How long does it take to drive to and from work? All of that eats up at my free time. Bummer huh?

How can I maximize my efficiency during my “8” hours of free time? Of course one answer is to be more organized so that my activities are more streamlined. Another is to break up your chores throughout the week so you don’t have to spend your whole 8 hours cleaning, doing laundry, and grocery shopping on your weekend.

What are your ideas?

Project #3- Master Closet (Part 1)

Well, I am working on our closet. It is a really big closet so it is really full. My plan of attack is to fold all of my sweaters and put them in some baskets on one shelf. I need to organize my shoes (and get rid of some) in some way that makes them all fit. I want to group all like types of clothes together. I have a small dresser in there and I need to reposition it so it doesn't take up so much floor space. We have some extra stuff on the very top shelf. This stuff can all come down and go somewhere else. I can put things we rarely use up there.

I'm hoping Jake will work on his half of the closet. Maybe he will We'll see.

I'll keep you posted.

My Ultimate Goal

I was doing some thinking today about this blog and what my goals are. I know I listed my projects and when I wanted to be finished with them. But what happens when they are all done? Am I just going to be done? Is organizing ever really done? Probably not. I think it's like cleaning the house... never finished. It will become easier with time, but for the most part, I will always be able to organize something more or better. Right?

I would like to continue with this blog as long as I can still type. I want to become the kind of woman whom everyone knows is organized in every part of my life. I want to be a blog that many people read on a daily basis (ok in reality maybe weekly). I'd like to come up with my own organizing and decluttering ideas. This will be a very big challenge for me.

My first challenge to you is to make a comment every time you read a posting. I have two great friends who always make comments and I can't tell you how much I look forward to that. It keeps me going. I check my blog, almost on an hourly basis, after updating to see if you have read it yet. Thank you.

The second challenge is to click on the button on the top of the right margin and follow my blog. My goal is to get at least 10 comments for each posting and to have at least 20 followers. I don't have a date to end this goal. I think it's one that will need to be modified (hopefully the number will need to be raised) and will go on forever.

Let me know what you think.

My New Diet

I found a great organizing plan online today. It is called the "Clutter Diet." It is a program that sends you "meal plans" for the week. They include a main dish- such as organizing your closet and 2 side dishes- which are 10-15 minute jobs. A sensible snack takes about 5 minutes and then of course there is dessert which is your reward for the week. You can post questions on a message board and get advice from professional organizers. It is $4.95 for the first month then $14.95 each month after that. There are discounts for paying for a year up front.

I think this will be a great investment.

Impromptu Project

Well, one chapter in Organize Now is how to organize your email. Even though it isn't one of my projects, I did it today. I have to admit, I feel great. It was very liberating to get my inbox down to 3.

I use Gmail for most of my emails. It allows me to label each message I get and put it in a corresponding folder. It then allows me to color code each folder which in turn, color codes the label. So, when you glace at your inbox, your messages will be color coded with each group it belongs to.

I made sure I labeled all of the stray messages that have been staring me in the face for who knows how long. I then made new folders and put them in the correct one. I was able to clear all 400 messages from my inbox in a short amount of time.

Organize Now suggests that when you want to reply to an email, but you don't have the time, hit the reply button then immediately save it as a draft. After that, erase the original message from you inbox. This keeps the message in a "To Do" folder of sorts, you can come back to reply when you have time, and you inbox stays clean.

I always like when I have a clean inbox. It makes me feel like something is clean and organized. It's not overwhelming with all of the messages demanding attention.

Let's keep it this way.

Not Much Done...

My next project is the office closet. It is a large walk in closet. I have so many ideas for it. I plan on having an area for my craft and scrap booking stuff, an area for all of our gift wrapping paper and ribbon, and an area to hold all of my past issues of magazines (because you never know when I'll want to read that one story again). However, this weekend has kind of been shot because of this whole "we may get a barn, we may not" thing. Just got word today, he wants $8,000 more to deliver it plus extra to put it back up and he wants the money now. No thanks. Sometimes a good deal, just isn't.

Anyway, needless to say, this weekend has kind of been a waste when it comes to decluttering project #3. I'll try to do some tonight and maybe some tomorrow morning. We'll see.