2013: A Year of Organizing

Well 2013 came flying into my life with a bang - sick kids then a sick mom.  I have not had sick puking babies in so long that I cannot even recall who was the last one to be that ill.  My sympathy lasted a couple of days and then it is just so. exhausting. dealing with cranky whiney babies, but then it hit me.  And I ached. felt like crying. ached. tried to nap. felt restless. BLAH.  Sometimes when I am in the middle of it all I wonder if I will ever feel well again, then it lifts and I do!

This year I am tackling in earnest the chore of organizing my life - I am 4 weeks into a program and so far you would never know it by looking at this house that I am in any type of effort to improve the situation.  But week 1 was all about clearing clutter in my head, with the suggestion of the book I am following I started a journal.  Having never kept any type of written document, I wondered if it would be helpful...  there were a few personal things that it felt good to write about, and I should know that I would benefit from something like that because I always have an easier time writing what I feel than actually talking about how I feel.  Now I am not an everyday type of journal keeper, at least not yet, but every once in a while a personal brain purge is a good thing!
Week 2 and 3 were about schedules - general household and then a cleaning schedule.  I feel like I actually have a decent handle on the general household schedule.  I have the white board calendars to write out appointments - I am trying to integrate my phone calendar into usage as well since it is always with me and can send out reminders as needed.  But the cleaning schedule is something I struggle with - my enginerd side of my brain likes things to be in order or at least the concept of living with order, but the creative flakey side often finds a reason to NOT maintain order like crafting, sewing, reading, dreaming...  And really it always waits.  The problem I find is that I get into a major creative funk when this house starts spiraling out of control, and I need to reign in the mess before I am able to accomplish anything creative.  Instead of trying to accomplish little chores each day and spreading the cleaning out over several days I decided to try one full day of cleaning each week, 2 laundry days, and creative outlets or time with friends on the other 2 days.  Of course there needs to be general maintenance on the non-cleaning days, but the deeper cleaning/scrubbing/vacuuming by mom will all be done on 1 day.  Although I see the wisdom in keeping the day the same each week, I need to be flexible, so for now it will rotate, but be pre-planned each week.  The kids will have to pick up the slack on the other days and help with the maintenance.
This week is about priorities - things I want accomplish and things I care about.  I did a little brainstorming today and collected a list of things that are important in my life.  It was interesting to see if written on a piece of paper.  As the list actually solidifies, I hope to share it in some form by the end of the week.  Also encouraged to find personal motivators, I am trying hard at a bit of self-discovery/reflection.  Usually I am a face-value type of person, not ready too deeply beyond the obvious  and it is interesting to analyze myself and my actions/thoughts.  Not to pick them apart and be overly critical, but to help understand me!