How do you manage?

[katybug]

Hey all!

So I've been thinking lately about how to organize my life. I have ideas, but I love brain storming and hearing how other people handle it. So my question is how do you handle it, chores, house up keep, projects, life in general. I tend to get easily distracted (I wouldn't say I have ADD but I do have trouble *staying on task*) and I also have the problem of "Holy Moly it is SEPTEMBER already?!?! type of losing track of time.

Please tell me your strategies, your methods, even just your ideas! Even if you don't have a plan, please feel free to voice your opinions, or even just thoughts or ideas. They can be general or specific, really anything! Of course I would also love your ideas that coincide with the frugal lifestyle we are all trying to live.

~KB

[nuisance26]

~I'd always felt like there wasn't enough time for everything I had to do until I started doing things in bulk.
-Cook and bake in bulk and freeze(less prep and cleanup compared to making an item several times at different times).
-Shop in bulk(I go once a month to get loss leaders and 'ingredients', as well as any household items, clothes, gifts we may need. I usually hit 4-6 stores. DH picks up anything else we need at Aldi on his way home from work).
- Work sessions(If dh is working on something, I get up and do something too and vice versa. We're competitive so although we never specifically race we do compete to see who can get the most things done, which is fun!).
-Laundry in bulk(4 loads in one day rather than as needed).
-All Finances in 3 sessions per month(I spend an hour with my financial notebook when I need to write checks, which is twice a month, plus one more session at the end of the month to tally and prepare for the next month. I wait until my sessions to record all our purchases and paychecks, pay bills, plan purchases and file important paperwork and receipts.)
Etc.
I just had to change my mindset about tasks.
Now if I'm cutting up onions for dinner I ask myself if I should cut up the rest of the onion for a recipe later in the week. That way I get two tasks done but only I've only 'touched' them once.
If I think of something I need to look up online, I write it down. When I get 3 or 4 things on the list I go to the computer and power through the list in 15 minutes. I usually set a timer so I won't be tempted to wander online.
Timers in general are quite helpful. I've used them very often in the last 6 years to stay motivated. You end up learning very amazing things when you work with a timer.
Like last night I was reminded of my timer cleaning sessions when I whipped through my horribly messy living room, cleaning up, sweeping and mopping and dusting(even dusted the fan)in only 10 minutes. Yep, 10 minutes.
The timer will break your belief that the task is too big and will take too long.~

[zakity]

I have white boards everywhere and I use the Outlook calendar to keep track of things. I even have a "to do" list and an "errands" list on there. My calendar downloads to my phone so I have the lists when I go places.

[shoiji]

I can understand what you mean. When things start to get really busy here I tend to get a little lax on things.

I try to clean different parts of my apartment on a daily basis. Tuesday-vacuum, every other tuesday is laundry day
Friday - dust and vacuum
Sat/Sun - sweep and mop floors, clean bathroom
The kitchen is given a quick wipeup after doing the dishes.

I also have gotten better about getting rid of things I am not using. Also having a place for everything. This makes it alot easier to put things away. Right now I need to give the bedroom and kitchen a straighting up. Fortunatly I have gotten so used to having things in place I get anxious when things start looking messy. Which makes me want to put everything away.

On days when I would rather do something else besides domestic work I try to do what I need to do first then reward myself by doing what I want to. Guess it goes back to being a kid and being told I could go out and play once my room was cleaned and chores were done.

[lotsadebt]

I would find everything that I had to do seemed so daunting. The list was so long and there was so much to do, it would take forever. I felt so bogged down at what I had to do/ Guess what the answer was : It was a symptom of depression. Yep, I found out that it was one of many symptoms that I was just living with for a LONG time. But now after meds, and therapy that I still have alot to do, but I look back and think "Wow that really didn't take as much time as I thought it would." Now I am also inspired to do more things from scratch. I make my own bread, just make egg noodles, own cleaning products.

[Thevail]

I'm a list writer! I sit down with my morning coffee and make out a list.

That way I don't forget something I need to do, and I get a weird satisfaction from checking things off my list. If I do a task that I didn't originally put on the list, I write it on the list and then I get to check it off immediately. (Cause I'm nuts, that's why!)

[gapeach]

I'm a list person as well. I start the day's to do list the night before. As I think of more things to do I write them down. What I don't complete that day rolls over to the next day. It works for me.

I also do weekly menu planning. I keep a freezer inventory (I take inventory on the 1st of the month) and this has helped reduce our food waste. When I put things in the freezer I try to remember to write the date/name on the package to eliminate the guessing.

Hope some of this will help you.

[Libby]

Specific basic chores - which I do religiously or try to - have their own assigned days - laundry, bathroom cleaning and emptying out the garbage and recycling.

The rest of my non essential chores if you will go on a general TO DO list, nothing urgent - no set deadline but rather just things that need to get done. Examples - organize pantry/stockpile shelf; vacuum; sort clothes for donation; sort through pile of papers on desk; mend socks etc.

I love being able to cross things off the list as well

I do also try to do a quick 10 minute pick up tidy up of my living room before bed each night. Its part of my bedtime routine.

I need to try the timer thing....It may force me to focus on the task at hand vs starting here and ending up over there b/c thats where the one item belonged and I started tidying up over there lol.

Great thread!

[Pemberleyan]

There are some great ideas here. I think I could learn from all of you – you sound so efficient. I am trying very hard to truly get organized this year. This week: clearing out magazines, books, old toys, music cassettes (no kidding), old costume jewelry and going through old mail. I've also been doing a lot of grouping like things together and making labels for bins and boxes.

Even when I finish the task of decluttering, I realize I need to develop new every-day habits to keep things from getting out of hand again.

I keep a TO DO list on my laptop and a grocery list. The grocery list has all sorts of stores listed on it and gets printed right before we go shopping. When I get home, I mark off everything we bought. As soon as we run out of something or get close to running out of it, it goes on the list.

[dcompton]

These are some good ideas. I used to be quite organized and on top of things, but the older I get, the more sloth seems to take over. I am just very burned out on housework. Do dishes NEVER end? Well, no. When I'm not at work, the last thing I want to do at home is more work. But how to manage? Well, just buck up and do it I suppose.

I've tried the day by day breakdown, and don't make it stick. I need to try that again. I always intend to vacuum or wash dishes or whatever before I grab that book, but ...

I admire all of you who are so organized and energetic.

Ok, no answers here, just a whine. It guilt, pure guilt.

[Moor]

Well, I am very organized at work, but at home, that's a whole nother ball game! LOL

But what works for me is that I have the kids help. We have two that still live at home.
They help with laundry, keeping the main areas in the house clean and they help in the kitchen. They also keep their rooms clean.

Dh does all the vacuuming, sweeping, and mopping, as I can't do those sort of things because of my back. (I can, but he won't let me!)

We have days when we all get together and give the whole house a good once over.

As to staying on top of things, I just have them help me.

[NikoSan999]

I'm a list writer! I sit down with my morning coffee and make out a list.

That way I don't forget something I need to do, and I get a weird satisfaction from checking things off my list. If I do a task that I didn't originally put on the list, I write it on the list and then I get to check it off immediately. (Cause I'm nuts, that's why!)

I do all of this too, even down to the "didn't originally put on the list, I write it on the list and then I get to check it off immediately".

I've always figured might as well get credit for it.

[Holding Pattern]

We have a chore list. Some things once a week, some on there daily, some go without saying. No one's name is assigned to any one chore but between us we make sure that the three or four things per day get done.

Monday:
Floors downstairs, downstairs bathroom, litter

Tuesday:
Upstairs floors, upstairs bathrooms, litter

Wednesday:
Windows, Recycling, kitchen

and so forth...

also a dry erase board works well for short-term things. we love lists.

[Siebrie]

Last year, when I worked fulltime and dh was a SAHD, I refused to do any housework. I put in 40 hrs/wk outside the house, he would put in 40 hrs inside the house. Regrettably, that did not always happen and the house was not always upto my standards (is that a man-woman thing?). Now that he has started fulltime IT training, we've rearranged the housekeeping. You see, I don't mind doing the housekeeping when he's doing his homework. I DO mind housekeeping when he's in front of the tv. As long as we're BOTH constructively working on building our lives and future together most tasks come easily/easier.

[littleplum]

I tried a bunch of different types of organizing systems (binders, Flylady, reminder lists, etc) until I realized that I don't need them, and they were more trouble than the good they could possibly do. IMO, chore charts are for children who need to be reminded that they are working for their commission. I'm sure it works well for people who are easily distracted, or just don't know where to begin, but I find them to be a PITA.

I ultimately decided that I know what needs to be done. I know that dishes need to be washed after each meal. I know that carpets need to be vacuumed semi-weekly. I know that when a bird poops on the window, the window needs to be washed. Trying to organize the chores turned out to be silly time wasting foolishness.

It takes far less time to just grab the hose with the power washer and spray the bird poop off the window when I notice it, than it does to put it on the list and then scratch it off the list weekly as I check for bird poop. Likewise, it is faster to take off shoes by the front door than it does to go through the house every day and collect shoes and put them in the closet by the front door.

We follow a clean as you go method, finishing or putting away one project before starting another. A load of laundry gets done every day. Dishes get washed after every meal, and dry dishes are put away before the next meal is started. Trash is taken out daily, after dinner. Because we keep the floors clear of "stuff", the vacuum can be run twice weekly.