Resolution: Organize - Week 1

A few months back, I picked up this book, Organize Now! at a book super-store. It was an impulse buy, which explains why its been a few months since I’ve looked into it.

The book divides your house and life into 52 sections, so you can tackle one each week (yes, that is why I was waiting for the new year… REALLY). For the most part, I’ll just follow the book in order. But the last section (weeks 44-52) are ‘special events’… Like Holiday, Trip, Safety Plan and After A Loss. So if those come up, I may jump ahead to those. Each chunk gives you goals to accomplish over the next week, focusing on the task at hand. It also has tips to continue this task over the next month, 3-6 months and year.

The first few pages are about the Basics of Organization. Mainly, this looks at clutter. You have it. I have it. Hell, the Queen of England probably has it (but hers are probably considered Historical Relics AND she can pay people to manage the junk). We’ve all seen Oprah or Dr Phil about The Hoarders. Scary. I can see how easy it would be to become one. And I don’t want to become one. Tips:

·        Make this book work for you

·        Leave free time, don’t over-schedule

·        Always complete your task

·        What clutter costs you; time, money, mental health

·        How to part with clutter

·        How to Green-ify your life

With that, on to:

Section 1 (weeks 1-4) Organize Yourself:

Week 1: Organize Your Mind

Well. I don’t know one person that couldn’t benefit from these tips. And it SO makes sense. The book states If we change our thoughts, we can change the world. I’m not out to change the world. Just to change my corner of it, making it more productive and comfortable for myself and my family. …your surroundings can affect your mind.  You can see how these go hand-in-hand, and working on your mind first sets you down the path on the right foot (and various other clichés).

I feel as if this book is talking to ME when it says your long To-Do list is not what causes you stress. If that list makes you feel overwhelmed, then you will think you cannot possibly complete all of these tasks, and those thoughts may make you feel like procrastinating or not doing it at all. Holla! I can’t count time number of times I’ve just given up on what seems to be insurmountable tasks. So for some goals:

·        Get a minimum of seven hours of sleep per night. You need to make sleep a priority, so readjust your schedule accordingly. You’re more productive and bring more quality to tasks when you are rested; your stress level may decrease as well! I do this just fine. E wakes up once a night for a few minutes, requiring little more than a quick back rub and a blanket re-adjustment.

·        Start your day by jotting down a short To-Do list. I think I will (try to) keep my list at 5 items or less. I may need to re-evaluate my 'daily' and 'weekly' cleaning lists. We'll see.

·        Start a journal. Not only do I blog here, but I have a private (paper) journal that I keep on my nightstand. I write a page when I lay down, then read a bit from whatever book I’m reading. That’s my bedtime ritual.

·        Limit the amount of TV you watch. This, honestly, will be hard for me. Being a SAHM, I have the TV on nearly all day, just for the noise mostly. I love to watch The Today Show, Ellen and Oprah during the day. I suppose outside of those hours, I can listen to music?

·        Schedule time for you. Meditate, exercise, phones off, etc… This is one of my resolutions already - a pedi once a month! And when Master E is napping, I do my own thing.

·        Cut back on negative information such as the news, depressing books, violent movies. That’s going to be pretty easy for me. I get my weather from the internet, etc. I've never been into violence or horror films.

·        Once a month: Schedule a day just for you… Again, pedi-a-month. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

·        Every 3-6 months: Take stock of your emotional state. I call this the “State of Me” address. How do YOU feel? How are your relationships?

·        Once a year: On your birthday, make an effort to reflect on the past year. And eat cake :)