1.08.2012

More on The Plan!

Part of having a peaceful home includes me being more organized. Those of you who know me well, know for a fact that organization is not one of my strong suits. Actually, I rarely wear it as a suit at all!!! I grew up in a home with a lot of clutter. (see my sister's post on this topic) Neither the family I grew up in, nor my family now, has a single person in it with any organizational skills - AT ALL! Sometimes, I wish the Lord would have given me just one more child... one with a passionate longing to organize my home!

I like to think of myself as a Recovering Clutter Addict! And really, I have come a long way over the years. Especially since my college days, when each of us had our own room, yet I bunked in with a friend and left all my junk in the other room. I did clean it in time for inspections, but I think that was only twice a semester... I have spent time pairing down on my own personal items, but it doesn't help that I currently have 3 sizes of clothes in my closet (I don't want to have to shop and spend money if I lose or gain weight)...my husband owns at least a thousand books... and the kids both are sentimental and want to hold on to EVERYTHING!

The whole idea of organizing is so painful to me... enough that I want to just ignore it and go have a bowl of ice cream (ok, just being honest here). But, I am purposefully doing this in a low pressure way... SMALL steps at a time. Some of my friends would laugh, because they would have it all done in one weekend, but I'm pretty sure I need to take baby steps here. But you know, I have found that even in doing something like organizing my silverware drawer (which was desperate, by the way) I am encouraged by it and am eager to press on!

So, here's the beginning... In the past I have used a system for house cleaning and daily routines by Motivated Moms. I highly recommend it for those wanting get started with something. Her prices are amazing (it was $8 a year), and she incorporates spring cleaning and other maintenance items throughout the year in easily doable chunks.

She even has you clipping your children's nails every Wednesday. One of the reasons I am changing it up a bit is that when we are on the road a lot, I just need something that gets the main things done, and I'll tackle the other things at another time.

So, this year I saw a post over at A Holy Experience, and I have printed off her chart, but then made my own standard form for each day of the week, writing in the main chores I plan to accomplish on each particular day that works for me with our schedules.
Now all I have to do is photocopy each week and fill in the day's activities. I particularly love her space for the Memory Verse I am working on (a great reminder) and A Doxology for the day (looking forward to actively seeking things each day to praise the Lord for.)

Already this weekend, I had to cross a bunch of things off Friday's list that didn't get done, and transfer them to Saturday. I still have one outstanding item, and I may or may not get to it tonight. We'll see! I'm ok with that though. There was a time when I would get so stressed out by seeing the things on my list that weren't finished, and I realized that I was becoming a slave to a list and I was getting frustrated by it, which in turn leads to a less-than-peaceful home! Completely the opposite of what the goal is! So now, I commit my day to the Lord at the beginning, and I know that He will give me the ability, strength, resources and time to accomplish what He wants me to, and the rest, well, I'll just have to trust Him with those things!


Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
Psalm 37:3-5

3 comments:

Kim & Dave said...

I have used her checklist before...although I have to say I never clipped my kids' nails on Wed. :)

It did help me know what needed to be done, & I could pick or choose if it was something that needed doing in our family!

Adrienne said...

Sounds similar to FlyLady. I love her set-up because it makes things very methodical and easy to remember, without the guilt! SO glad to hear of others who also struggle with organization!

Jennifer said...

Lynn, I'll pray for your organization and you pray for my workout. :) Love ya!