Productive Outlook

[Phoebe]

I am trying to turn my lacking of coping into something productive. My first step is to get organized. Part of my harried existence is that I am always rushed.

Solution: Get up before my kids to get things done.

What are some of your best organizational tips? Anything would be helpful.

Jennifer

[DCJenn]

I have every single bill set up on the bank's online banking program. I have most of them set up with automatic payments, and then I download everything into Quicken. It takes a while to set up but it's well worth it. In five minutes, I just paid the cable bill and the cell phone bill. I also schedule the payments as soon as the bills come for those that aren't automatic so that I know EXACTLY how much money we have. I can't imagine life without it.

I also have decided to do laundry once a week. I had been trying to do some every day but that's proven to not work- as I kept forgetting that I had laundry in and several moldy loads later, I learned my lesson. (apparently that's a steep learning curve!)

Jenn

[Sheherezade]

I do flylady. I know it isn't for everyone, but she has some great organizational tips that can be modified to fit your life. (You can read advice at http://www.flylady.com without signing up. )

The most important part of her system is setting up a morning routine. I get up, get dressed, clean up the bathroom, start laundry, unload the dishwasher and make breakfast. Getting those items started makes a big difference in the day. I also do a a shut down the house routine at night that starts my day out better (clean kitchen and downstairs mostly). Her scheduling can get a little over the top, but taken in small doses it is an excellent remedy for that overwhelmed feeling.

Lists are also good. I read somewhere that a good way to eliminate worry was to just write down everything you had to do. Downloading this info from your head to paper can help.

That's all I've got!

I tried flylady and honestly all of her emails about eliminating clutter just cluttered up my inbox! Maybe Angie could start a version of "flylady-lite" for those of us not willing to commit to plowing through all the emails.

Can you tell that I'm an instant-gratification kind of girl?

[Flynn]

1.) Get up before the kids and either A.) shower and wash hair/get ready or B.) quick shower, don't wash hair and pay bills, organize crap etc.

2.) Do something productive for 30 minutes before you hit the rack. I pay bills, fold laundry, pack the bag for the following day, lay out my clothes...stuff like that.

3.) Pay bills online

4.) Plan ahead and do things EARLY. Example -- my kids have birthdays in October. I have 75% of the shopping done, the party booked, and the invitations will be mailed at least three weeks in advance.

5.) Organize one area of the house per month. Sometimes it needs an overhaul, sometimes it needs some quick reorganization and some stuff needs to be thrown out or goes to "storage." This month : getting my daughter's room back in order now that we are "scared of the dark and need two nightlights." We needed to move some stuff around to utilize limited outlets and it' doesn't function as well as it can.

She also has no closet in her room so we will put her frame back on her bed and use the space under her bed for storage now that "a big girl bed" is no longer new.

6.) Do two loads of laundry a week. Run it in the morning/early afternoon and fold (yes wrinkles can be an issue here! ) before bedtime or at naptime.

I could go on and on and on...
I am a bit of a freak about this stuff (a bit???) but a happy Mommy/wife makes everyone a bit happier. Even if I'm behind, I need a "system" in place so I know I will catch up eventually. The "not knowing when I will get anything done" drives me more nuts than the actual incomplete tasks.

[Sheherezade]

I stopped getting flylady emails a few years ago. I did get them and follow them for the first year (more or less), but it is an overwhelming number of command!!! After you have your own system, you don't really need her constant prodding. I belong to the group but have emails turned off. I only turn them on as a personal reminder when I start to get slovenly.

[fluffhead]

Online bill paying has been a HUGE timesaver. I used to DREAD paying bills, and now it's quick and painless.
I also try to deal with much of the mail as it comes in, try not to procrastinate it. Also that way I can put my wife's stacks and stacks of junk in a pile, and blame her for the mess, instead of feeling guilty myself

I really like getting the abridged version of the flylady from this website! I went to her website and thought....this is so cluttered but she helps people unclutter? Huh? I have a sort of morning and evening routine and that helps too. I'm trying to always do the dishes at night so I don't have to deal with them in the morning, that sort of thing.

Geez, I need to try the on-line bill pay. Sounds like the way to go. One thing I have been doing, as $$$ allows, is to pay bills when they come in rather than wait until they are due. Much less stressful.

I get really stressed out by clutter so a few days ago I went through all of our closets and donated a bunch of stuff that we no longer use/need. I used to dread opening my closet because it was such a mess...and I was always thinking in the back of my mind about how disorganized it was! I feel so much better now that it is organized and clean. And I no longer have the urge to go out and buy a lot of "junk" because I don't want to let the house to get cluttered again.

Also, since my husband gets paid once a month, we pay all of our bills at the beginning of the month. I hate paying bills so it is nice to power through it at the beginning of the month and not have to worry about it again for the rest of the month.

:coffee and :chat:

This is me today. This is one of those perks of 15 years post education.
I have fulltime housekeeper in the house and I have a live in nanny. I do work some from my house. Now I had said in my introduction post that we have several homes. These do need to be managed, decorated, fixed etc
My primary residence in CA is 8200 sq ft; the other 2 are 7600sq ft and 5200 sq ft. In fact I leave tomorrow for Vegas to finish some work and meet with the drapery persons. So I am busy just not with Laundry, cleaning and paying bills.

I swear by notebooks; I even keep a mini composition notebook in my purse. I am very OCD and difficult when it comes to organization.
I MUST have things organized...I'm a freak about it. My Nanny main job is keeping all thiose toys in it's proper rooms ( each child has a bedroom and a playroom). The kids are usually with me. I just don't want to spend my time cleaning. As I type my 2 y/o is right beside me.

Yes I'm busy....VERY busy things just change. In fact I should get off this computer and get some work done !!

[houseelf]

One thing that I do to cut out the morning organizational rush--

My mini van is fully stocked for every occasion: I keep a fully packed diaper back pack with snacks, change of outfits, bug spray, pacifiers, and a book for me. Additionally, in the summer my van houses a fully stocked beach bag with sunscreen, fresh towels, swimsuits for all, beach toys, swim diapers, and goggles. I have a workout bag which has everything from a ponytail holder to shoes to a water bottle. I keep an empty canvas bag for impromptu trips to the library. When DS is involved in an activity like soccer or skating, I keep a bag packed with all his equipment in our upstairs closet so it can simply be grabbed and thrown in the van. Occasionally I keep a dry cleaning pile in the third row for drop off if I happen to wander in the area of the dry cleaners.
Finally, I keep a pack of mini water bottles under the seat for those times when the kids declare thirst at the park and I don't want to pay an exorbitant amount at the concession stand.

Yes, we could live out of this mini-van.

Heck, at the rate we're going, we may be living out of our mini van soon.

Kelly

[Amiens]

Re: Productive Outlook

I am trying to turn my lacking of coping into something productive. My first step is to get organized. Part of my harried existence is that I am always rushed.

Solution: Get up before my kids to get things done.

What are some of your best organizational tips? Anything would be helpful.

Jennifer

We must be one in the same Jennifer, because this has been my goal lately too.

We are trying to get things more streamlined in our house as well.


Bills- When I get a bill, I go immediatly write a check or schedule to pay in our money management program. All bills and deposits are put in the same spot on our desk. Also, I am huge with on-line bill paying. LOVE IT, LOVE IT!

As far as cleaning- I tried FlyLady, the emails got too overwhelming, BUT I was talking to a friend who had the same problem, she bought the FlyLady book, and thought the book was better than the website. I have thought about giving this a try.

Laundry- we are fortunate to have our laundry room upstairs. When we were living in an apartment I made a point to pick a day and just get it done. Now I have a laundry sorter (partitioned laundry basket) in the laundry room. I will do laundry when it starts getting full- about once a week.

Dishes- I load the dishwasher every night, and unload it every morning. Sometimes it gets unloaded and run again in the morning. Throughout the day instead of dishes piling up on the counters, they get rinsed off, put in the dishwasher. I found that helps a lot. Plus my two kids think it's a ton of fun to put their dishes in the dishwasher. (Little do they know.... :> )

Bedroom- My goal lately has been making sure to either hang my clothes up at the end of the day or put them in the hamper. I also make my bed first thing in the morning, I am finding it makes it less tempting to crawl back in when I know the kids aren't up.

Kid's Toys- they get picked up at the end of day, just after dinnertime and right before bed. Emma and Brigham are old enough now to help. To encourage them, we have been telling them that their toys will get thrown away if they don't help. Matt said his parents used the same technique, but it was called the "Burning Barrel Run." He grew up on a farm, and instead of a trash service they had a huge barrel on their property and they incinerated their own trash. Matt said that none of his or his 5 siblings stuff made it to the barrel, because they were all too motivated to get it picked up.

Other things- if I know I am going to be out and about the next day- I will get my diaper bag stocked and ready. IE- for church it gets put together the night before.

I hope this helps...... I look forward to reading everyone else's suggestions after I post this.

Crystal

Re: Productive Outlook

To encourage them, we have been telling them that their toys will get thrown away if they don't help.

hehe, I love this idea

I do this too - and always thought I was evil for doing so. I love that someone else does it.

[Sheherezade]

I've only done the "throw it away" drill once or twice, but nothing motivates my kids like me taking out a big trash bag and heading into their rooms!!!

We also pay bills online. I would like to start paying as they come in, but that hasn't happened yet. Another Flylady tip I liked was setting up one hour a week to sit down and clear your desk. (She calls it desk day; I say "Office Hours") During that time, I go through and clear all my phone calls, mail, internet things, etc for the running of our house. I also do a little filing. Since it is once a week, things don't stack up. During the week, I just put things in an "in" basket and take care of them on my desk day. I do the same thing with her Errand Day suggestion. I just have one day a week that I run around town and do errands - groceries, post office, etc. If something comes up, it goes on the schedule for the next errand day.

Menu planning also helps a lot. I have a general schedule (Chicken, Meat, Pasta, Soup/Sandwich, Grill, New Food, Dinner Out) and I choose one dish for each catagory. I use that for my weekly dinners. ("New Food" is how we are getting our kids to try new things - we always serve a great dessert, too.)

Re: Productive Outlook

To encourage them, we have been telling them that their toys will get thrown away if they don't help.

hehe, I love this idea

I do this too - and always thought I was evil for doing so. I love that someone else does it.

Add me to that list. Used sparingly, it is an *excellent* motivator. If you don't care enough for your toys to pick them up.....