Getting Organized...

A New Year, a new resolve to try harder to stay on top of things and keep the 10 balls juggling in the air.  :)    Last year wasn't perfect - but I feel like I was able to stay on top of things better than previous years.  Super-husband and I had the discussion the other day - it seems like the busier I am - the more on top of things I am - how crazy is that?!   I certainly don't want to invite more "busy-ness" into my life, so for now I'll try to take advantage of some resources that have helped me.  (Note:  I'm not paid or compensated in anyway to say what I am about these services/products - but I thought I would share them with you)  :)

Erin Condren planner:   First off,  I will say that I do think these are on the expensive side.   For months, I read all the hype in blog land about how great they were;  how beautiful they were; and then around  March of last year I found a discount code and decided to go for it.  I'm not sure if I used it because it was the most expensive calendar I had ever bought in my life & I didn't want the money to go to waste or because it really worked for me.  

I like that each day is divided into Morning, Day, Evening -- 3 blanks boxes to fill as you wish - I like to put my "to-do's" for the day in those boxes.  Additionally, on the side of the week lay-out, there is list for "to-do's" -- here I put my list of "would like to get done" -- it helps keep items on my "radar" and if I get to them great.  It's a little on the larger size compared to another planners - but they have some really cool design and personalization options to make up for that.  :)   I didn't order one for 2013 but I put it on my Christmas "wish-list" and was happy to unwrap it from my brother.

Meal Planning:   I did meal-planning off and on during last year.  I subscribed to 5 Dinners in 1 Hour.  It was a great way to get a list of meals that weren't in my regular rotation.  She includes a shopping list and directions to make the meals ahead of time.  This was a huge time-saver when I was taking night classes.   She offers three different types of menus:  classic, clean-eating, and gluten free.  Not sure if it is for you or not,  you can view a free week on her website.    Not only does this help with meal-planning, but I found it helped with grocery spending too.    

In addition, I came up with a list of around 32 tried and true meals for us.   In October,  I tried to meal-plan the entire month & do one big grocery shop.  The one thing I didn't account for was how many meals would leave us leftovers, so on a good note - we didn't even go through all the meals I had planned.   Pinterest was another source of inspiration.  I had a new recipes board of eats that sounded yummy & delicious, but I found inspiration for meal planning too and created a meal planning board.

Household cleaning:  Once again, PINTEREST helped me find a system that worked for me.  I don't use it every week or follow it religiously.  It's a very reasonable plan and time efficient too.

 

 

Not sure who to give credit too - the link on Pinterest is a dead link.

Also, I try to email my pals (A&S) a list of to-do's that I would like to get accomplished each evening.  Sometimes, this proves to be very productive for me and other times I'm flat out lazy - either way, I have to report back to them the next morning.  Accountability!   If you are looking to organize your home, I recommend A Bowl Full of Lemons organization challenge.  


These are just a couple of things that help keep me on-track.  I can honestly say when I try to follow the cleaning plan or meal planning plan,  I am less-stressed and more balanced.  Do you have any tips for staying organized?