31 Days to Becoming an Organized Mom: Day 5- Life’s Curveballs

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Today has been anything but like what I had planned. I was going to have an incredibly productive day at home organizing, but instead I am sitting in a Barnes and Noble reading books to my little girl and typing this post out on my phone while I wait for my van to be fixed. It was supposed to take 40 minutes but 4 hours and $400 later I’m still waiting.

I’m attempting to have a good attitude about all of this but can’t help but feel disappointed about not checking anything off my to do list or furthering my home organizing. But life happens and will continue to throw us curveballs.

It is because of days like this that I strongly desire to get and stay organized.  These days will be less painful if I am more on top of life.  It’s a journey though and I’ll get there.  I just have to remember that it takes time to get there.

How’s your week been? Have you had an curveballs thrown at you this week?
Filed Under: Mommy Tips, Organization

What Moms Love Weekly

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I am thrilled to have Julie sharing all about what she loves this week. Check out Julie’s fabulous Etsy shop where she sells her amazing knitted goods {be warned- there are super cute pictures of babies too}.

Julie Says: “I’m a Mom to three boys. 10 year old twins and a 2 year old. Trying to get everyone to look at the camera is impossible. Some of the things I loved this week with my kids:
We’re enjoying being outdoors more
– visiting a petting zoo and seeing the joy on all of their faces as they got to pet goats, chickens, ducks, and a tortoise
– planting a tree together in our backyard
– tossing a football together”

Here are some of Julie’s Favorite finds for outdoor toys. Even with the age gaps her boys have there are some that they all enjoy together:

 

1. Nerf weather blitz football

2. Tonka trucks

3. trikes and bikes

4. four square balls & Sidewalk chalk in the foursquare kit.

How about you? What are you loving this week?

Filed Under: What Moms Love Weekly

31 Days to Becoming an Organized Mom: Day 4 Eliminating Distractions

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Eliminating the distractions is such a big step in becoming an organized mom.  Distractions keep us from being as productive as we can.  Some distractions are hard to break free from but there are some ways to help avoid distractions that will rob you of your time.

 

2 Distractions to Eliminate that will Save you Precious Time.

Magazines

I like to get mail. There is something rather thrilling about a shiny new catalog addressed to me with pretty pictures and things that I would love to have.  But there’s a problem. These catalogs stack up and I feel the weight of them each day as I pass the pile. I need to get to them but I keep putting it off. When I do go through them I don’t want to get rid of them because they are filled with things that I want to purchase one day when I can afford it.  But, hey, would I have ever even thought I needed that “thing” if I hadn’t received this catalog in the mail that shoved it in my face and pretty much yelled at me “you didn’t know you needed this but now you cannot live without it.” What if I never got the catalog? Would I ever even miss the thing that I thought I really needed?

 

It is for these reasons that it has become easier for me to say no to these distractions. I have begun to unsubscribe from catalogs.  Instead I only see things when I am searching for them specifically. Chances are good that if I don’t need it I wouldn’t be looking for it anyway and wouldn’t need a catalog to point it out to me.

 

This also works for email. Sometimes I feel like I will miss something if I am not getting all of the store sales and deal emails. That’s where they get you though.  You think you’ll miss out and they get to influence you to buy things you didn’t even realize you wanted/needed. Think about how much time you have spent browsing a site after getting an email about a “big” sale.  Perhaps sometimes you do find a deal but often you just waste precious time browsing through stuff that you don’t want or can’t afford. It can be hard to let go but I’ve also found that if there’s really a great sale that I shouldn’t miss my friends are pretty great about making me aware of it.

 

I am pretty sure that, by {mostly} eliminating catalogs and sale emails from my life, I have saved hours a week that I can use on more important things.  Seeing the lost hours return makes it all the easier to unsubscribe.

 

How about you?  What distractions suck your time? Do you have any tips for getting some of that precious time back?

Filed Under: Mommy Tips, Organization

31 Days to Becoming an Organized Mom: Day 3 Where to Start in Your Home

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I should have done this 31 Days to Becoming an Organized Mom series a long time ago.  It is really working for me and I am starting to really get more organized. I am more than a little excited about this! Yesterday I talked about where to start which is really all about your mindset.  Today I am talking about where to start practically in your home.

Where to Start When it All Seems Overwhelming

If you are anything like me then it may be hard for you to even start getting things organized when everything seems to be a disorganized mess.  I know that organizers will tell you to just start somewhere and work on a little bit at a time but I often want to tackle a whole project and get frustrated when I don’t have time to complete it.  So, I really put a lot of thought into where to start organizing.  Since I need to spend time in each room in my home I struggled with where to start. Finally it came to me.

Start in the room that you spend the most time in.

 

This is the room that the family hangs out in the most.  When this room gets cleaned, organized, and even a little more thought put into decorating, then it feels so peaceful. And, like icing on the cake, when this room is done it seems to automatically make me want to extend the beauty and peace to other parts of the home.

So there you have it. Short and simple. Start where your family spends most of it’s time.  This may be the living room or family room for you or even then kitchen or dinning room. For us it is our living room and it is starting to shine {pictures to come}.

Where are you at in your organizing journey?  Are you able to work in small chunks of time or do you dive in and work until it’s finished?

Find all of the 31 Days to Becoming an Organized Mom posts here.

Filed Under: Mommy Tips, Organization

31 Days to Becoming an Organized Mom: Day 2 Where to Start?

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Want to join me on my journey of 31 Days to Becoming an Organized Mom?  Today I am chatting about where to start when you are feeling overwhelmed with disorganization. In case you missed yesterday’s meal planning post you can find it here.

The Mindset

Grace.  It’s a good thing.  Moms need to have LOTS of grace for themselves, for their children and for their husbands.  I like to be covered in the stuff {smile}.  But I think that there can be too much of a good thing and I’m pretty sure that’s why I’m in the disorganized mess that I find myself in today.

Hard Work.  It’s not fun but it’s necessary. I’m pretty sure that I thought that I was allergic to hard work for a while.  But, as I look around my home and my life that has been pretty “fly by the seat of my pants” lately I see that a lack of hard work has gotten me here.  As I wallow in my wondering about where to even start I know that I am dealing with the consequences of not being willing to do some hard work along the way.

Yes, I have 6 kids {and for some reason everyone seems to think that automatically makes me super organized} and they make crazy messes {anyone know how to get melted crayon out of every thing in the wash load?} but there are plenty of days that the hard work of staying on top of everything kept me from doing anything.

So what do I do about a messed up mindset?  Have you ever heard that the greatest is the servant of all?  I have to put on a mindset that I am here to serve my family.  They deserve it.  If I am willing to clean up and make amazing meals for guests shouldn’t I do that ALL THE MORE for my family?  I love these people {crazy messes and all}.  If I fail to serve them and let them know that they are the most important people in the world to me then I have failed as a mother.

Having this new mindset has given me the strong desire to do the hard work.  For me {and my peace} and for my family.

It Is Work

I am the one who let things get so out of order.  I am the one who was too tired to set a system in place.  So now I am paying the price and have so much more work to do to get back on top of everything.  And that is okay.  I acknowledge this and I stand up and get to work.  One thing at a time.

Where I start is with my mindset and my attitude.  If they aren’t in the right place then I will fail as soon as I begin.

How about you?  Do you struggle with where to start?  How can you look at things differently to be able to overcome your obstacles?

 

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