Resolution #2

The second resolution is a continuation of something I've already been in the process of doing:  Getting myself and my home better organized.

I am a clutter bug, as you may have noticed in previous posts where I show pictures of areas where I've gotten better organized.

I need to get some systems in place, however, if I want to take it to the next level.

Among the areas I need to do better with the organizing is with the time I have available.  People may not realize that in addition to working full time, I am also the sole caregiver for my Mother.  This eats up a lot of my non-working time.  As a result, I've had to tweak and remind people of the boundaries that I have so I can keep a healthy balance.

Work now stays at work.  Before, I was bringing projects home and doing stuff off the clock.  I can't do that anymore.  Thankfully, I've recently gotten a promotion at work that no longer requires me to take work home.

My time with Mom is precious to me, and I try to make the most of the time I spend with her.  It's not sitting around chatting.  We are grocery shopping together, doing laundry together, running errands together.  I am grateful that Mom is still somewhat independent.  She can do some things on her own without me, but there is still quite a bit I help her with.

Church is another big chunk of time for me.  I enjoy getting my spiritual bucket filled, but a lot of my Church service is restricted to Sundays only, due to work demands, Mom demands as well as things I need to get done personally.

The "me" time is split between household duties and time outs for myself.  Because of this, I have a schedule that breaks down some of the routine household duties so that it isn't all happening on Saturday.

Sunday - Church & Rest.
Monday - Gas up the car, cat food shopping, grocery shopping.
Tuesday - Finance & Temple.
Wednesday - Snail mail and recycling.
Thursday - Clean out Rachel's litter box and take out the trash.
Friday - Vacuum and laundry.
Saturday - Laundry and Organization.

To help me with this, I use an app on my iPod Touch and iPad called HomeRoutines.  I heard about this from Martha Stewart and have loved using it since.  You can set up routines according to day of the week, the monthly stuff that has to get done, to do lists as well as lists for what to get done during breaks when I have off.  I also use it for my grocery lists as well as Mom's grocery lists.

Among the other resources, I use Organizing From The Inside Out from Julie Morgenstern.  I love the book and DVD (I have both) as they provide a lot of fantastic information on getting organized in a way that works for you.  I'm still getting things perfected in my home, but this provides some great tools to use.

A few videos I found on YouTube:










Another favorite to get ideas from is Alejandra, on YouTube.