Disorganized once again sort of....

The New Year is almost upon us and we have returned from a brief vacation in visiting with my folks. My son made out like a bandit and we returned home with more toys than we brought with us. I find myself already wanting to fish through and donate what toys my son has yet to play with; however, I also find myself thinking about child #2 and so I plan on packing a box or two. I am somewhat more organized when it comes to school. I am starting two internships in January which both will end in May of 2011 and I already have binders for them and have started placing clients on my calendar as well as scheduling mealtimes for myself. I do need to get with the rest of my team and get meetings on the schedule for us to meet up and hash out the week with each other.

Classes Started

Well, I can say I am organized as far as classes as to where I am suppose to be and when as well as my practicum hours which I really was not expecting since I lost the one I had though God came through in the last minute, literally. I also have daycare lined-up for Jaedon and what days he goes and visits his friends. I was able to resign up for the class though now I'm taking three classes instead of two. The house is getting trashed since I want to spend time with Jaedon and housework has gone to the wayside for now. Denver has decided that he is able to vacuum on Mondays which help me out with the housework.

The places that I had decluttered, well they are cluttered again and my classwork has exploded in the family room. Before Jaedon, I would take up three rooms though now I'm down to 1/2 a room. Denver and Poppy have the dining area. Jaedon and I share the family room. I downsized a little bit at least.

New Planner

I picked up a new planner the other day that was wire-bound like a notebook that you would take notes in for school. I really like it because each month has a different beach scene. I really like the beach and the sounds of the waves as they approach the shore. The lapping of the water is so relaxing and love watching sunsets as the sun dips below the horizon. The sky changes colors from golden yellow to a deep purple. I don't have times in this planner though I have plenty of space to make up my own daily schedule and flexibility to change it when necessary.

Jaedon is now into his 6-9 months clothing and most of his 3-6 are in boxes. I'll get the rest when laundry is done and put away. I can't believe he is 5 months old already. He will be almost a year old when I am finishing up my education in seminary. It has been quite the journey.

Continuing On After Finishing the Book

I finished the book this past week and have found I am more organized than I thought I was within the domains of my home. There are a couple of things I would like to get like a bigger planner that is closer to 8 1/2" x 11" and a calender that is erasable or bigger than the one we have now so I can write more things on it. Other than my weekly schedule I would also like to put together a daily schedule so I am able to manage my time more efficiently. Bins will have to wait for now.

Keeping on Top of Things

My son is not old enough to have acquired too many toys and I definitely need a separate bin for books. He loves to look at his books and have me or his dad read to him so I have to remove what toys he has to get to his books then put the toys back in their place, only to be removed again to put his books back when we are done reading. I need to put a new system in place so both his books and toys are easily accessible for the both of us.

Re-Organizing My Life

I have a weekly schedule of housework planned out; however, I also need a daily schedule planned out so I know what needs to be done with my time such as baths for me and Jaedon as well as when am I going to eat breakfast and lunch. I also need to get my daily house activity down on the daily schedule. I think this is where I need to get to an office supply store and see what they have as far as schedules and calendars that are able to be clean easily. I believe this is why I like school so much. A schedule is made up for me and I don't have to worry about it. I know when chapters need to be read and when papers are due. My life is organized for me and I follow the syllabus. Here I am organizing my own life and I don't know where to start; however, I am off to a good start. I have already done another tip in the book by breaking down my home into bits and pieces instead of looking at the whole picture and feeling over-whelmed by not knowing where to start. Slowly by bits and pieces I'm getting my domain underneath my rule as God had created me to do so in His plan for me. Also, I learned I need to get a larger planner with more options than the one I currently have right now.

Breaking Things

I have discovered a new way of getting the clutter out my house. My kitchen for the most part is organized that way I like it and my spices are kinda in one spot. Denver does most of the cooking and am broke at the moment to buy cute knick-knacks that hold spices. The new way to de-clutter my house is to break things. I went to get Jaedon's tub out from underneath the cabinet that could be turned into a Lazy-Susan and a vase that I was wanting to get rid of fell on the floor and broke. It didn't break into a million pieces so it wasn't' that big of a mess to clean up, fortunately.

Still Ahead of the Game

I have finished Chapter Six in my book about organizing your home and life and I have already learned the lesson that is taught in this chapter. I have a Mary heart rather than a Martha heart. It's not that I don't want to serve however it is that I would rather sit and worship. I enjoy my prayer time with God and I have learned how to balance my time to which college and grad have forced me to deal with study, papers and life. I find much freedom in that I can choose what I want to do with my time and how much I can handle. I have learned to say "No" without the guilt and I have strong boundaries so I am less of a people-pleaser and being a people-pleaser drove me almost to my death during my early 20's

The Kitchen

I am thinking about where to start in the kitchen and work my way around my home from there. Fortunately, I will be able to skip my son's room because there is not much stuff a will be 4-month old is able to stash. The basement will not need to be touch either since we are in the process of remodeling it and is gutted to the bare bones. Once I get the kitchen organized, then it will be the bathroom, our room, then the computer desk area.

Where to Start?

I have been doing some thinking about where to start organizing and it seems I have been organizing in all the rooms in the house; however, I have yet to actually complete a project. In this case I have been thinking about about the kitchen because that is where my dinette table is at and cupboards that hold kitchen items that we have yet to use so I would be able to donate these items. We have been in our new home for two years so it's organized in a messy way and could use some straightening up in areas like the linen closet. Towels have this bad habit of flopping over once the towel pile gets so tall. So I saw this neat idea of rolling towels instead of folding them and using these separators to help keep them nicely piled. I'm not sure what they are called though I've seen them around in stores and when I see them I will be able to pick some up the next time I go shopping.

Better Off Than I Thought

As I continue my travels through my book about getting and staying organized, I learned that I am more caught up than I thought I was. I am not a pack rat and neither is my husband except for some things. I have my counseling magazines to which I may go through them and clip out the articles that I would like to keep and recycle the rest. Then, I would be able to place the articles I want to keep in paper protectors placed inside a three-ring binder. I also have all my handouts from school that I have tossed if they were not of interest to me and those that I have kept and I have more kept handouts than tossed to which they are organized for the most part though would be nice if I placed them in binders though they are in the filing cabinet for now and future reference.

I have gone through all my clothes especially since I have had a child. I am not sure if I will get back to my size 6 though I do believe I might be down to an 8 so maybe I am getting there. I periodically see if my jeans still fit and as of yet they do not and the ones I have are getting a little big on me.

I guess for now I have a head start on my organizing though that also means there is work that I need to be doing to be like getting my papers in order and filing. I am for the most part in charge of our finances; however, I take that very lightly because I also want to keep Denver involved with how we spend our money and me not getting sucked into every FOP and VFW drive they hold to raise money. I have many friends who are in the military and a friends as well as a cousin who are a part of the police department and they deserve to be supported as well. So it is with a heavy heart that we choose to hold off for now in supporting these organizations due to our financial status. However, yesterday I did give the VFW $20.00 when we have the money and I am waiting for their kit in the mail which I will send back when we have the $20.00 to give them.

Lesson has been learned that I will ignore the Caller ID and hold off until we have the finances to cover all bills for the month and next month.

Things That Tick Me Off, makes me tick and tickles me

Today, I'm thinking about things that tick me off then find a way to change the routine, the things that make me tick and find a way to fit them into a daily routine and things that tickle me. I consider myself to be very easy-going so it takes a continuum of many things to tick me off. I find more often things that I find to be very frustrating and irritating though I'm not sure if I consider them something that would tick me off. Things that I frustrating is Denver not picking up after himself. I don't want to become the dreaded nagging wife and I don't want to be disrespectful towards my husband who is very devoted and dedicated to me and our son. So then, what is next? Recycling. I am not a recycler. I know I am now a horrible person, however, Denver is a recycler and he bought these wonderful stackable bins that are in the basement for items that can be recycled. The problem is that these items rarely make it down to the basement and they sit on the counter for weeks on end or days. I get irritated and will rinse out the items then take them down to the basement. Denver is the one who drinks out of bottles and cans which can be recycled. Anything I use, I rinse and take down to the basement. However, Denver does not pick up after himself and this includes clothes, dishes, cups, glasses. I will let items sit and he ignores it as though they don't even exist.

In regards to his clothes, I've told him that anything that is not in the hamper will not get washed. So his clothes sit on the floor or on the bed. I will not pick up after my husband. I have myself and Jaedon to pick up after at least until Jaedon is old enough to pick up after himself.

So to some this section up: 1. Denver picking up after himself 2. Recycling items

Things that make me tick: I would not have been able to answer this question years ago because I was such a person-pleaser. I felt I needed to do things that made others happy and not necessary things that made me happy or feel joy. I need to list 5 things that I like around my home that are already happening:

1. Having Jaedon on a schedule though flexible enough that we both don't go nuts.

2. Having a clean and somewhat organized home by the end of the week

3. Time to play with Poppy

4. Enjoying meals with Jaedon and Denver

5. Enjoying a good movie with Denver

Here are 5 things that tickle me:

1. Bible study/spending time with God

2. Hanging out with friends and hearing their God-stories

3. Spending quality time with Denver

4. Going for walks

5. Relaxing with a good cup of tea or hot cocoa

Next, I will need how I'm going to fit these into my schedule and come up with some elaborate things that tickle me.

Three Areas I Want Changed in My Life

My son apparently fell back to sleep so I will continue to blog about the book I am reading. I need to come up with three areas I want to change in my life. So this is what I have come up with so far.

1. Cut down on the time I spend on facebook--one time on facebook and be done with it. I really don't need to be on there ALL day.

2. Bible study! As much as I love studying the Bible, I really don't have my Bible study time anchored out like how I used to when I was an undergrad.

3. The Kitchen table. We have a small dinette set in the kitchen and it always ends up with a mound of stuff on it.

Okay now I need to come up with what I am currently doing in these three areas and I think I already stated that up above however I am frustrated in these three areas as well. My mom even gave me a "Busy Mom's NIV Study Bible" to which I have my choice of spending 1, 5, 10 or 20 minutes for Bible Study time and I'm not even using it! Plus Nathan emailed everyone a simple reading plan in studying and reading the Bible which I have thought about doing though haven't tackled that yet. I love my Lord very much and I talk to Him and I love spending time with Him though I don't spend any time in his Word except on Wednesdays and Sundays.

The kitchen table is the first thing I see every time I walk into the kitchen and it is so messy it grates on my nerves.

About a Book

Okay, so a friend asked me about blogging and I'm not sure how I feel about blogging however, a book I am reading as triggered a button in me to start blogging. This is me becoming organized. I have lived in my new home for almost two years and my husband has put in all new windows except for what is in the basement and kitchen. Hopefully, the trim on the windows will get done sometime this month.

If you have ever met me, you will know I am disorganized (even though I keep a planner, I still double-book myself), spontaneous and whimsical. I live life by the seat of my pants and am easy-going with very little that irritates me. Very little has changed since I am now a mom or maybe I need to say many things have changed. I am still spontaneous since I have now started to blog from encouragement from a friend and book I am reading about organization and getting organized. The only schedule I have is the one I created because I needed to otherwise nothing was getting done around the house and I am a "facebook" junkie. I hear my son stirring from his nap I better get going.