8.24.2010

organizing my life...or trying to anyways...

okay,
so you all, who have been reading me for more than a few months, know that I bought every self help book in existence. My less than stellar upbringing combined with the insight that I had no rolemodels for a healthy and balanced existence led me to purchase every book I could find on how to straighten my warped view of reality.
I purchased:
relationship books.
self esteem books.
organizational books.
A guide to the narcissistic family...( a must read for anybody who grew up with self absorbed and abusive parents..)

So, I have taken the main ideas from a couple of organizational books and have concocted this kind of crazy plan for directing my life.
It's a combination of fly lady routines.
S.H.E (sidetracked home exectives notecards for 10 minute chores)
Oh, and even if you don't implement all their ideas...the book itself is so funny you would have to read it just to be entertained._
and making it home zones.... Making it home was a homemaker's magazine that is no longer in print....it was produced by Catherine staat. I read it for as long as it was out and keep the copies to re read.

anywhoozle.
You seperate your house into zones.
Zone 1 foyer living and stairs and front porch
Zone 2 kitchen and computer area
Zone 3 laundry area and youngest dd's room
Zone 4 master bed and bath
Zone 5 downstairs bath and kids bath.

Zone cleaning is deep cleaning
it's dusting, baseboards, wall washing, fixture dusting type stuff...
along with organizing and decluttering.
You assign zones to the weeks of the month.
I know when people think of months they think of four weeks...but every month has at least 5...one being shorter than the others.
The theory is you assign your easiest area to the short week.
so zone 1 is week one and so on.
I will do my zone cleaing three days a week M, W, and F from 5 to 6:30 except for every other wednesday when I help to run the girl scout meetings.
That should be plenty of time.

Next I institute routines from flylady.
This is for my morning and evening routines so I learn to do it quick and in a subconcious manner.
When I get up I do things in a certain way.
like...
get up and make bed
makeup
dressed
tidy up my area...
Then wake kids and so on.
I do it the same way every morning till I get good at it and I am fast at it.
My day is pretty much spelled out for me because I homeschool...so from 6 till 3:40 in the afternoon I know what I have to do...
I am switching my gym times to the mornings. I have worked out the last two days at nine in the morning.
This is huge for me.
This way once my workout is out of the way, I can have the rest of my day uninterrupted.
so, drop kate off and get to the gym...get home, shower and start school.
this is all routine stuff.
I have set up my school day like this
drills math multiplication tables, english-parts of speech, bible reading, pledge...
page one of math.
history
english
science
reading
School starts at eleven and done by 3..
And while sophie is working her lessons I can do 10 minute chore notecards...You write chores that take approximately 10 minutes....like washing a window or the back door or doing lunch dishes or putting them away..and when you have a bit of time, you pick a notecard and do that chore.
from 3 to 315 i clean up school stuff and then pick up oldest from school
(it's a charter, no bussing)
home.
4-5 sophie's outside time with neighborhood kids.
5- 6:30 either zone or weekly cleaning (will discuss next)
6:30-7:30 dinner
7:30 30 minute pickup..whole family involved.
8-9 blogging while kids take showers
9-9:30 get sophie ready for bed, read story
9:30-11 personal time.

On tuesdays my little one has an all day homeschool enrichment class (with other homeschool kids...art, music, science etc.) and I will be going to the gym after I drop her off (also why I want to workout in the morning...this way I get it done and out of the way.) And now for the FUN PART, I will spend the afternoon doing quick sketches out in town....my favorite way to draw.
I did a ton of this stuff in germany and it was where the inspiration for some of my best stuff came from.
Then I can spend after school with her talking about her day away.

So, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays will be weekly cleaning.
Things like floor mopping and vacuuming and cleaning and sweeping bathrooms (not deep cleaning...just the sink and mirrors and stuff. Then laundry...
I am switching my 'day of rest' *which means no excercise* to sunday. I will do my walk on Saturday along with the family fun day and church. I think I will make Saturdays sandwich night for dinner.
We all like it and Saturday is a really busy day.
I will walk in the morning, write my grocery list and clean out the fridge..
Sunday will be my errand day...off to grocery shop, pick up girl scout stuff and any homeschool supplies I will need for the week, and pay bills as well as a special dinner every sunday.
Meaning either my world famous lasagna or pizza or dinner out.
If any of you are wondering right now when do I "rest" that will be on Tuesdays from 11-3 when I am drawing...I am looking forward to this if you can't tell...lol.
And I rest in the summer.
IT's always this way...I have just never put it in writing or had a plan to address it before.
Last year was worse...add in girl scout troop leader and then cookie time and you can see why I was constantly b*tching.
So..there it is guys.
My plan in a watermelon shell.
lololol.
I had a great workout today.
Plan on the stairstepper tomorrow MORNING.
Who would have thought 2 years ago that I would be working out at nine in the morning, having a schedule, be eating yogurt and be a co leader in a girl scout troop..not I.
Get healthy and start living and life will happen.
Have a great night guys.
Hugs,
Chris

11 comments:

Seth said...

Look at you all organized! I like it, but I like organization and at times need it or I go crazy.

awesome job.

Ali said...

This sounds great, Chris. I need to write out a plan too.

I LOVE the Sidetracked Sisters! I've read all of their books, and you are right, they are FUNNY!

I used to do the card system back when my oldest two were small. It worked wonderfully, too. Not sure why I got away from it.

Anonymous said...

I LOVED the S.H.E. series. I got the first bood the sisters wrote and then the second which was, "Catch Up on the Kitchen" I forget the title of the first book--it might have been Sidetracked..... Can't remember. But it was hilarious and it worked! I still have the rubbermade box and color coded cards I used.

I don't use the whole shebang anymore, of course, but still do some of it.

Good luck--your schedule could choke a horse! Good thing you have all of that new energy and stamina. :)

DEb

Amber said...

Oh oh, Chris is all scheduled now.
You are starting to sound like me, scheduling every minute of the day.
Like it, sounds like a good plan!

See ya tomorrow!

Fiona said...

I had a simpler version of the plan all laid out a while ago... some of it even stuck!! I lay out my clothes, jewellery etc each night before I go to bed as it makes my mornings smoother and less stressful. We arranged nights for shopping and housework... but DH has random days off and does the housework on those days instead. And shopping became more random too. I think you have inspired me to go back to our plan - it reduced my stress a lot!

Retta said...

You are one busy lady... I will never complain about my schedule again!
Loretta
=^..^=

Robin said...

I have so many thoughts I don't know where to start. I see why you don't watch TV. I see why you need a strict plan. I think that you are the kind of person who flourishes when they have a strict plan. This was very interesting.

Anonymous said...

LOL....sounds very similar to the plan I've had in place for decades!

I'm having to do some tweaking and reassigning as my kids get older, rotating the oldest out as she just left for college and spreading the responsibilities among the remaining three at home.

Oh! And once the kids start driving, you'll have MORE time to get a workout done, because payment for the privledge of driving one of Mom and Dad's cars is chauffering younger siblings!

M Pax said...

I need to implement 'zones'. I think about it ... need to get thinking to doing.

E. Jane said...

Great plan, Chris. I know that when my home and life are organized, my food is too. When my food is sloppy, my housekeeping is not so organized. Thanks for this information. I really like the 'zone' idea.

Chupsie said...

momma your amazing and so is everything you do! Im so upset with myself that I haven't been keeping up with your blog! every day is a new and better day!