Keeping your life on track

orga-what? I have no idea what that is.

Actually, I run in spurts of organization, only to allow myself to slip back into chaos. When organized, I will make a list of what meals I bought ingredients for and put in on the fridge. I don't like to plan meals in advance (never know what I'm in the mood for), so this is a way to make sure things don't get wasted. I also keep a list in the freezer of what frozen veggies or meats I have so I don't keep buying more of the same.

[SuzySunshine]

My major organiztion is our meals. Rachel Ray and her 30 minute meals are my best friend in the kitchen so every Sunday I plan the meals for the week. If DH is on call that night is leftovers, I buy all the groceries on Sunday or Monday and cook for the week. I find it not only saves me time making short trips to the store after work every night but it saves us money because I'm not buying things I don't need.

i love making lists and itineraries. i basically try to plan as much as i can in advance, with some wiggle room, so that i can better deal with the unexpected. SO makes fun of my "vacation binders", but they have all the info we need right at our fingertips - flight info, hotel info, car rental/public transportation info, directions, side trip info, restaurant info...
i keep running grocery, drugstore and lowe's/home depot lists. the lists live in my datebook (which is always within arm's reach), so that whenever i think of something we need, i whip it out and write it down. that cuts down on buying things we dont need and forgetting the things we do, we stick to the list with an impulse buy here and there.

[Sheherezade]

Me, too. We could move to Utah! (Totally JK, all you Utah folk.....)

I love office supplies. Lots of binders, file folders, and what have you. I have a calendar in the kitchen with everything for me and the kids listed. DH has yet to let me know his schedule. I update once a week or as new things roll in. I get a little nervous if there are dates slipping through the cracks.

Sometimes I do lists, but mostly I'm all about grouping like things together. As in, this is the shoe closet, this is the bill basket, this is the kids school work folder and so on. I hate it when my stuff gets mixed up. Recently, I mistakenly put DDs report card away in my scrapbooking stuff - apparently I thought the year was over - and that caused me much mental distress. Honestly! It was in the wrong catagory entirely!!

Just a little OCD....

[Tenacious_D]

I feel right at home here. I am an organization freak. Binders, calendars and lists are my best friends. I have two timers in the kitchen that I use for laundry and other "timed" activities. I live for knowing what's coming ahead. I had an itinerary for our honeymoon and all of our other vacations. I do enjoy spur of the moment activities (as long as I plan ahead for that time )

[SueC]

I'm sort of a list-maker, I used to be a lot better at it, but now it often seems like too much work to locate pen and paper.
I do set the kitchen timer when doing laundry, so that I will remember to move it along. I'm getting better at writing every little minute thing that I'm supposed to remember on the calendar, and then trying to look at it a few times a day. Sometimes I call myself and leave messages on my answering machine or voicemail to remember to do this or that. I have two separate in and out boxes on my desk for personal and business stuff that needs to be filed or dealth with.
That's about it, I could learn a thing or two from you guys...

[Vishenka69]

I'm more of a planner but during the wedding planning also became a list maker. I need to plan as much as possible but only in certain areas. I don't plan our meals but always have something on hand that I can throw together last minute. But you should see my vacation spreadsheet. I love being able to have access to various account info online, as I'm really bad with paper and constant moving and shoving it from one box to the next didn't help.

DH didn't realize what a freak I am until we started visiting wedding vendors and he saw my lists of instructions. It all comes down to being a control freak, which I guess why I don't plan meals as they're under my control anyway. DH learned to just quietly stay out of my way.

[DCJenn]

I am also a list maker, but they're mental lists that I rehearse ad nauseum much to my husband's annoyance. When we first started dating he thought that I expected answers but finally he's realized that I'm just thinking out loud. I have an agenda for each day in my head and I also have certain days for certain things. Laundry day is usually Saturday, we walk in the mornings Monday-Friday, at least once at Ft. McNair...

I used to write everything down on my desk calendar when I was working but then HIPAA came along and I had to move everything to a daytimer which I found to be burdensome. So, I 've discovered that if I say it loud, "it is so."

Strange.

As for grocery shopping, I still use Safeway.com every other week for the big shopping sprees which I have found forces me to plan meals (again, all mentally- that way I have a selection 'planned' out but can switch as needed).

The other critical thing I did was that I had our closets done when we moved in. Now everything has a place and it's significantly easier to put away clothes.

Jenn

[mommax3]

I have mentioned before about my huge bulletin board......honestly, I would be lost without it. It has a calendar, DH's call schedule, all sports schedules, snack schedules for school/sports, show and tell schedules, notices from school about special events coming up, field trip info., the weekly school newsletter, any invitations we receive, etc. It is hanging in the hallway between the kitchen and the garage, so I pass it multiple times a day and it is easy to check on stuff.
Additionally, each of my kids has a weekly newsletter from their classroom teacher that lists the tests that are coming up and anything else going on in the classroom. Those all go on the side of our fridge and get switched out each Friday for the new letter. I also write down everything schedule-related in a little daytimer-type thing that I keep in my purse.

Day to day stuff......I mostly rely on routines. The older two boys have chore charts, so I know who needs to be doing what (they take turns fixing lunches in the mornings, for example) without having to keep it in my head. I very much believe in having a place for everything, too, and the boys are getting pretty good at knowing where their stuff goes.

I found that once I had my third child, my ability to remember the DETAILS of what was going on was completely gone......I could remember that my oldest had soccer practice on Monday, but I couldn't remember which field or what time because I was also trying to remember to remind DS #2 to try to pee on the potty and was wondering what time I had last nursed the youngest and which side did I need to start on next.......and could I count on DH that evening, or was he on call......blah, blah, blah. You get my drift. So I became OBSESSED with writing everything down. It has saved my bacon many times.

Sally