Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Tell Me: Does the word 'organize' exist in your dictionary?

It seems I've been totally out of sorts lately. There was once a time I used to have things ready to go weeks in advance.

My kids have a doctors appointment. Our insurance card is in my bag, their growth chart books are in the car ready to go, I know ahead of time whether today is a day they get immunizations or not so I can be prepared ahead of time and I used to show up at least 5 minutes early. This last time I was just lucky to get there on time AND bring the appropriate child to the visit. Sheesh.

Tomorrow my daughter has a clogging recital. It's her year end dance and we get to invite all of our friends and family. Did I have her costume out and ready to go? Nope. In fact I've been thinking all week, "I really should try to look for that again." FINALLY tonight after the kids were in bed I set out to look for it again (to be fair I had tried a handful of times) and after several hiding spots actually found it. Good thing my daughter didnt know the extent of my stress. I'm just glad she'll be able to dance tomorrow matching all her friends instead of being the only one up there in a very obvious non-matching outfit.


When did I start to loose my mind? When did I stop remembering things? Where did all my old tricks go? What happened to my organizing?

I know this is awful timing, seeing as how the kids are going to be home from school for the next three months, and it may be a bit tricker trying to keep to a general schedule but it's my (now public) goal to get and stay organized!


Tell me Tuesday (yes it still counts, there are still a few minutes left of the day): Do you have any great organizing tips? What works at your house? What have you heard that you might like to try?

13 comments:

Kristina P. said...

Let me know if you find out.

Wonder Woman said...

Uhh......I got nothing. I just realized about 20 minutes ago that I need to make 5 dozen cookies for tonight and I don't have all the ingredients. Plus I'm babysitting this morning so I can't go to the store now. And I have to find a babysitter for tonight.

I have never been a really organized person. I live in controlled chaos.

Rochelle Brunson said...

I am not organized either. I have a lot of appointments going on with my kids and stuff, and in order to keep track I have a giant white board calendar in my kitchen to write everything down, plus there is room for notes, for example:

may 10-Ivy's Heart appt-pick up sedative Rx.

It helps a little.

Anonymous said...

I'm OCD. Hugely. I have everything in my calendar on my iPhone (which is totally my lifeline), as well as a student planner/calendar I carry with me and color code, and another calendar that's stuck on the fridge so that FH knows what's going on (though he rarely looks at it, so I suppose it's just one more place for me to write things down).

Despite writing things down 3 times, I still forget stuff all the time. Even with as OCD as I am, I'm still horribly scatter-brained. If it weren't for the alarm function on my phone, I'd probably forget everything. LOL

MamaKitty

Anonymous said...

I'm OCD. Hugely. I have everything in my calendar on my iPhone (which is totally my lifeline), as well as a student planner/calendar I carry with me and color code, and another calendar that's stuck on the fridge so that FH knows what's going on (though he rarely looks at it, so I suppose it's just one more place for me to write things down).

Despite writing things down 3 times, I still forget stuff all the time. Even with as OCD as I am, I'm still horribly scatter-brained. If it weren't for the alarm function on my phone, I'd probably forget everything. LOL

MamaKitty

Jenni Elyse said...

I'm pretty good at organizing my desk. I like things neat. I'm also good at organizing my books on Shelfari or Goodreads. But, I actually have a hard time putting things to use. I procrastinate my homework, so I don't get to use my organized desk like I should. I don't actually read the books on my Shlefari of Goodreads shelf; I just look at how pretty they are.

When you find out how to be better organized with your life, let me know.

Olivia Carter said...

Ah, tell me how you do it because I'm like a crazy woman over here!

Me (aka Danielle) said...

Being a mother..with time, I think even the most organized woman tend to lose it.

I don't always succeed, but to keep organized...I start by keeping a calendar in the kitchen. I use that calendar to mark all upcoming events. I also carry a notebook with pages designated for my To-Do lists. I allow myself to literally mark off things completed..it keeps me motivated. (There is a lame sense of satisfaction in being able to look at the list and visually SEE what I got done)

Good luck finding your mojo!

Mel Sims said...

Deb, if you figure this out, please let me know! I used to be so good at this, and for the past ten years or so I'm just happy if I can keep my house "looking" organized...forget if it really is! =]

Aren't you working now? You must have a lot on your mind! I hope you find your answers, and pass them on to the rest of us!

<3 Mel

Heidi said...

I thought it got easier when the kids got older. Yikes! And I tell you - a bigger house will NOT solve your problems either... except maybe give you one room you can clear all your crap out of by throwing into all the other rooms. Maybe that's something. You should get that "Confessions" book. It really had awesome tips. I have been able to "lock" in some small bits of control thanks to those ideas. But there are some that I'm still struggling with. Maybe we just need to do some serious kid swapping (aka park time) so we can buy each other 3 kid-free hours each week. It's an idea...

Victoria said...

I get a little depressed just THINKING about organization... :(

Krystal said...

I am so scatterbrained, it's not even funny! I will set attendance cards down somewhere in my classroom, and then forget where they're at... I am losing my mind!

Annette Lyon said...

This spring I totally lost it when it came to being organized, especially with kid stuff.

I'd find important notes weeks after they were due. My first grader had four or so weekly homework packets never turned in. Today I stumbled across a sign-up sheet. Who KNOWS how long it's been in that stack.

I'm hoping to plead temporary insanity, because if this continues, it doesn't bode well!