I've really been thinking lately that I seriously need to get more organized in alot of areas. I am not really talking about house cleaning organization, I have a plan for that and it works well - when I follow it. I am more thinking about a plan to keep up with paper clutter, plan better for birthday and holiday gifts that will save me from last minute shopping and things like that. I know if I plan better, I can give more presents and make them more meaningful without spending more money; I just need to plan ahead and follow through. I also want to be more organized about planning my garden, starting it earlier than normal and keeping up with it. I want to be more organized in many areas so that I will have more time to spend on the things I want to do. I know organization is such a time saver and a money saver. I really feel as if I'm rambling, so I'll stop now.
What do you do to help stay organized, in any area of your life? What things do you like to plan ahead for and how do you do it?
** On a side note, I'm so sorry to all my blogger friends. I have been so bad about getting online lately. I haven't been posting on my blog or visiting with my friends. I should be able to get online more now. I've missed visiting with you.
Blessings,
Rashel
Sharing my race of life in faith, fitness, food and family ~ 1 Cor 9:24-27
I don't know if this will help or not, but I've gotten to where I use my phone for everything. I do my dinner menu on my phone's calendar, I put every reminder (birthdays, birthday parties, events at church, even sales I don't want to miss) on my phone's calendar. Every "sticky note" is a note on my phone...even the small, "mental note" notes. My grocery list is done on my phone.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started, I thought it was sort of silly. I didn't feel like it was helping at all. As I've gotten used to it, it has proven to be far superior than trying to keep up with sticky notes, magnetic notepads, paper dinner menus, etc.
And I have to admit, it was my husband's idea, not mine. Don't know if it will help you, but it has helped me a lot.
As far as the garden goes, we plant a pretty large garden both in spring and fall. We plant potatoes in early February and the rest of it around Easter. We start planning in January. We start by seeing what seeds are in the freezer, left over from last year. Then we use a word processing program (OpenOffice Writer) and create a table, one row per row of the garden. We write in each row exactly what we planted: not just peas, but Mississippi Purple Hull peas and whether or not the plant is hybrid or heirloom, as a reminder on if we need to save seeds off the plant for next season. The table works because if we decide to plant a half row of one thing, and a half row something else, we can just divide the cell in half. We also make notes on if this plant made well, if the plants didn't thrive, if we didn't like it, etc. This way we can easily save the document and see what we planted in years past, where we planted it (crop rotation), general stuff you forget from season to season.
I know that description may not seem exactly clear. If you would like me to send you an example (sometimes pictures speak better :-D ), just email me. It's on my profile page.
It is always interested to read about ways other women organize.
ReplyDeleteI am finding that it is important to have one place for each type of item in our home. For instance, I have photographs in two different locations and I need to combine them.
I have a drawer to store gift items that I accumulate. A box would work as well.
I also have a box that I fill with my son's outgrown clothes, ready to be shared with another family when it is full.
I also keep a bag or box handy for items to donate to the thrift store. As I am spending time in various parts of our house, I try to find items that don't get used that can be placed in the give away container as an ongoing way to reduce clutter.
I hope these ideas are useful for you.........Denise
Elizabeth and Denise, thank you both for taking the time to respond. I appreciate both of your comments and got some ideas from both of you! Thanks again,
ReplyDeleteRashel