The theme of this past weekend was "organization." I am not, by nature, an organized person. I am not dirty (there are no dirty plates in my bedroom, dishes are done right away, etc.), but I am very cluttered and messy.
We've had a dog walker/house helper since last winter, and he was a huge help in this regard. He walked the dogs, did our laundry, made our bed every day, and kept the kitchen somewhat straightened. It was a wonderful luxury. BUT, when we decided to take a close look at our budget and our financial goals, having a "house boy" just didn't fit in with our plans. We want to take vacations, and wear nice clothing and eat out at great restaurants (not to mention send Max to a great preschool, pay our mortgage, etc.). It became very obvious that we had to cut out the house boy and take care of our own damn selves, so this weekend I decided I'd "get things in order" to make it easier for us to maintain.
On a scale of 1-10, I think I scored about a 6 in my quest to get everything together. The laundry for the week is ALMOST complete, I made a ton of food yesterday (more on that tomorrow), and I have almost completed CLOTHING ORGANIZATION QUEST 2008.
While David (the house boy) did indeed get our laundry done, his putting away methods were a little wacky. Like, sometimes I'd find a nice shirt folded with my pajamas. Or my leggings would be in my underwear drawer. I do blame myself a bit. My clothing is located in four separate areas in my bedroom for some reason, so it can be really hard to figure out where anything goes. This weekend I attempted to remedy that, and I am almost done. I think it will be a much better situation, and I'm hoping that the organization will encourage me (and my messy family) to live more neatly. And if they don't? I'm calling in Niecy.
We've had a dog walker/house helper since last winter, and he was a huge help in this regard. He walked the dogs, did our laundry, made our bed every day, and kept the kitchen somewhat straightened. It was a wonderful luxury. BUT, when we decided to take a close look at our budget and our financial goals, having a "house boy" just didn't fit in with our plans. We want to take vacations, and wear nice clothing and eat out at great restaurants (not to mention send Max to a great preschool, pay our mortgage, etc.). It became very obvious that we had to cut out the house boy and take care of our own damn selves, so this weekend I decided I'd "get things in order" to make it easier for us to maintain.
On a scale of 1-10, I think I scored about a 6 in my quest to get everything together. The laundry for the week is ALMOST complete, I made a ton of food yesterday (more on that tomorrow), and I have almost completed CLOTHING ORGANIZATION QUEST 2008.
While David (the house boy) did indeed get our laundry done, his putting away methods were a little wacky. Like, sometimes I'd find a nice shirt folded with my pajamas. Or my leggings would be in my underwear drawer. I do blame myself a bit. My clothing is located in four separate areas in my bedroom for some reason, so it can be really hard to figure out where anything goes. This weekend I attempted to remedy that, and I am almost done. I think it will be a much better situation, and I'm hoping that the organization will encourage me (and my messy family) to live more neatly. And if they don't? I'm calling in Niecy.
You should look at www.flylady.net. Yes, it is very corny, but if you look past that part, the methods do work! When we switched from a nanny to preschool last spring, I lost our "house woman" too. Adapting the flylady ideas to our busy family life has been the only way I have been able to handle it, and it has made the new school-year transition as smooth as it could be.
Posted by: Jessica | Monday, October 06, 2008 at 10:51 AM
We are the same--so cluttery, not messy to the point of gross because I have a germ/sanitary thing, but piles of stuff are everywhere (mail, books, baskets of shoes, etc.) and we have a catch-all desk in our office/playroom that is just atrocious.
Let me know how you do with organizing...man, before kids, I used to be so neat!
Posted by: Stefania/CityMama | Monday, October 06, 2008 at 03:30 PM
ooooh. i can so relate to this one. i have been on a kick too. obsessive almost. i did closets (will post soon). i have my stuff separated everywhere too! we used to have someone do laundry...but she turned things green and gave my clothes to daughter, never to be seen again....so i stopped that, too. my new strategy is ONE LOAD A DAY. much like picking up after your dog in the yard -- MUCH more palatable to do often than all in one swoop. oof. i try to put the laundry in every morning before i leave for work. switch, fold and put away at night. i even organized daughter's closet to allow her to be able to put away...a true experiment!
Posted by: allison | Monday, October 06, 2008 at 06:25 PM
You're welcome to come help us organize in Georgia... if that's where we go.
Posted by: Reese | Monday, October 06, 2008 at 08:21 PM
Would one of those thingies we used to see in teh baby catalogues with kids clothes all laid out like a week in advance, 1 shelf for each day work? it might make things move along quicker? It might cost money but in the end it would save time which is of course money :)
Posted by: kyooty | Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 06:28 PM