I was so excited for my 2017 to begin and I am going in with a vengeance! Each year, I try to come up with the best organization/cleaning process that I can. In our home you have myself, my husband, 8 children and 4 cats (outdoor). My children range from 3 months old to 18 years old. I have 5 boys and 3 girls (not in that order) and boy, do we manage to get ourselves into a cluttered mess! Most would look at my house and think, "What clutter?" and you may be right! Well, I have ideas on my mind of what clutter is and it is time to get a hold of things!
While browsing Half Price Books in November 2016, I specifically went with the intention of trying to find the "highest of high" Organization Book....and I think I may have finally found it!
As I opened this book and saw each week covering something different in the house, I knew this was the book for me! Now, I do have 14 rooms in my house, 4 bathrooms, 2 car garage, 4 car garage, carport, pool area and very large yard...throw in a few vacations/holidays and you wonder how in the world it can all get down in 52 weeks thoroughly, but I am going to do it! I spent the last 2 months of 2016 going through this book and organizing it with our life and schedules. I had to bundle up a few here in there to fit in all of the extra rooms I have that this book may not cover week-to-week. I also had to figure in a week long vacation, Halloween costume making, 3 weeks of just enjoying Christmas, but I got it all figured out! The schedule I created has everything that this book offers, but in a different order than is written in order to correctly fit it into our busy schedule. For those who would just like to listen to our crazy days of what we do to clean and organize, feel free to listen in! For those needing a cleaning method themselves, you are welcome to follow along with me (don't worry, you have time to catch up).
Welcome to "Project Clean Up 2017!"
Remember, I had to bundle some weeks to make room for everything in my life so you may see a few things in one week instead of just one. I found that this is the best way to be able to get things done and take breathers in between. Try to get this all done this week or at least organized into your life.
Organize Yourself
Week 1: Organize your Mind/Schedule/Cleaning Schedule/Priorities
This week's goals (check off as you go). Don't let this list overwhelm you. Since I had to bundle up a few, there are only a few weeks that are this long...the rest are not. Don't forget, since I am a week behind on giving you this info, I will be giving you some info in a few days as well.
Your Mind
___ Get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep per night.
___ Start your day by jotting down a short To Do list of everything you want or need to do that day. This will free up your brain from the burden of remembering.
___ Start a journal. If you don't have time to write in it ever day, that's OK. Keep one for the days when you need to let it all out or record a special day or memory.
___ Limit the amount of television you watch.
___ Schedule a two-minute break two to three times a day to spend time alone and just be.
___ Practice meditating.
___ Schedule time to exercise.
___ Schedule more "me time."
___ Eliminate energy drainers in your life: clutter, unhealthy relationships, unfinished projects, items on your To Do list that don't need to be done until other tasks are complete.
___ Take control of your time. Set goals and then break them into doable daily To Do's.
**Stay Organized**
Once a Month: Schedule a day for you. Do something that makes you happy. Spend a few minutes writing in your journal.
Every 3-6 months: Spend an hour or 2 alone to take stock of your emotional state. How do you feel most of the time? How are your relationships? If you are happy, spend time being grateful and counting your blessings. If not, evaluate why?
One a year: On your birthday, make an effort to reflect on the past year. What did you learn? How have you changed? What do you want to accomplish in the year to come?
Schedule
___ Buy "one" daily planner to use for both work and your personal life.
___ Sit down with your family and plan your week/month ahead of time. Schedule babysitters, divide errands, plan meals, divide chores, Plan driving arrangements for activities. Schedule meetings with a beginning and end time.Schedule errands based on geographical locations. Don't waste time with extra driving.
___ Gather all your To Do items from sticky notes, calendars, scraps of paper and in your mind and create a To Do list that you keep in your planner. Be realistic about what you can accomplish in one day.
___ Sort your To Do tasks by: A. Tasks that need to be done today. B. Tasks that need done this week. C. Tasks that you would like to get done in the future.
___ Once you have your tasks sorted into categories, number the tasks in each category, in the order in which they must be accomplished.
___Schedule all dentist and doctor appointments for the next year and vet appointments if you have pets. Try to schedule your appointments for first thing in the morning. The later the appointment, the better the chance you'll be delayed.
___Place a small notebook by the bed for things you may think of while lying awake.
___Use a page of your planner for a long term To Do list. Gifts that need delivered, items you have borrowed that need to be returned, movies you want to rent, etc...
**Stay Organized**
Once a month: Pick a future task from your list (C) and schedule time to complete it. Schedule down time. Schedule dates with your spouse, your child, your best friend.
Every 3-6 months: Re-Evaluate your C Tasks and set final deadlines for items that have been left undone since the last time you evaluated. Compare your "To Do" list to your "Priorities" list and make sure your activities are honoring your priorities.
Once a year: On Labor Day, write down everything you wanted to do over the summer but never made time for. When you get your planner for the next year, schedule in these activities. When you buy a new planner, transfer all birthdays and anniversaries for the year.
Cleaning Schedule
___ Make a list of chores that need to be done around the house. Break them down into daily, weekly, monthly activities. Make your bed every day before your leave the house and teach your family this habit. Clean off the kitchen counter and wash dishes or load the dishwasher as soon as dinner is finished.
___ Carry a basket around the house while you are cleaning. If you find something in a room that doesn't belong, place it in the basket and later put where it belongs.
___ Take 15 minutes each night to straighten up the house. Assign each family member a different room and list this on the chore chart.
___Clean one room or complete one chore each day. This will save you from wasting an entire day on cleaning. As you clean a room or area, try to work from top to bottom then from left to right so you do not waste time backtracking. Play music when you are organizing and cleaning.
___Assign each family member his or her their own towel for the entire week. This will cut down on laundry. Color-coding the towels is the easiest way to tell them apart. If you have small children, write down jobs they can do and stick them in a jar. Each day have them choose a chore and complete the task. Let the children choose the day of the week they want to clean their rooms.
___Place a set of disposable wipes in each bathroom. These are great for wiping gobs of toothpaste out of the sink and cleaning up any accidents young children have around the toilet. Carry one large garbage can around the house while cleaning and empty the smaller ones into it.
___ Save space by minimizing cleaners. Start buying one all-purpose cleaner whenever possible. To tasks in bulk such as ironing a week's worth of items instead of just one.
**Stay Organized**
Once a Month: If there is a chore that no likes, rotate that responsibility each month.
Every 3-6 months: Change or launder the slipcovers on your furniture.
Once a year: Have a family meeting to update the chore chart and redelegate responsibilities. Steam clean your carpets and upholstery.
Priorities
___ Ask yourself: What and who is important to me? What motivates me? What do I want to accomplish in my life? If I could do anything in my life, what would it be? Minimize time spent with negative people.
___ Make a list of your top ten priorities. These should reflect what is important to you. If you don't decide yourself, someone else will try to decide them for you. Read your top ten list on a regular basis.
___ Make a list of all the activities in which you currently participate. Compare this list to your top 10 priorities. Decide on activities that can be eliminated to make time for your top 10. Make a list of things you and your family like to do that costs little or no money and then try to do as many of these as you can each week.
___ Right now, schedule time in your planner to contribute to your priorities. Appointments may include:
A phone call to a friend you need to catch up with.
Sit down dinners with family.
Family movie or game night.
Exercise.
A date with your partner.
Reading time for you.
Time to read to your children.
Craft time or time to work on a project.
Pray
___ Learn to say no! Set boundaries when needed to help you stick with your priorities.
___Honor your priorities every day.
**Stay Organized**
Once a month: Go on a date with your partner. Take time to call or write a friend to catch up. Spend the day out with your child.
Every 3-6 months: Review your list and add or subtract priorities as they change in your life. Spend time with an elderly relative. Do something positive with the environment.
Once a year: When you purchase a new planner for the year, schedule your priorities first. Evaluate your extra-curricular activities from the past year and decide if you want to continue those activities in the new year.
Credit to the book: Organize Now by Jennifer Ford Berry
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