THE CHALLENGE— TEN THINGS TO ORGANIZE
I thought it would be helpful to have a challenge this week- to write down ten things in your life that need a little organization. Not in any kind of order and not necessarily in order of importance. I think putting it in writing (or putting a note in your phone or email) is thought provoking and helpful to get the ideas out of your head.
I wrote down my list and I am not going to lie, it was more challenging than I anticipated. Not to say I couldn't think of things that need to be organized or cleaned up in my life, but I really tried to be mindful of what causes stress in my life right now and what would make my life easier if I took action. Some of them might take me a while to accomplish, but others I have started planning already.
Here are my ten:
1. MY CLOTHES (DRESSER AND CLOSET). Truth be told, we have owned our home for almost three years and we still do not have master bedroom furniture. I jokingly say it looks like a garage sale in there because all of the furniture is mismatched and out of place. I have scoured the internet and furniture stores but I have been unable to find something I love. But it is time. I cannot stand it any longer. So I need to clean out my clothes, donating as much as I can, in preparation for a new dresser and fresh look.
2. PLAY ROOM. We have a large bonus room that serves as a guest room and a play room. I need to make the room more functional. I have planned out a few ideas that I will (hopefully) get to soon that will help organize all of the toys and tie the whole room together.
3. IPHONE PHOTOS. I need to organize the photos on my phone. I would be devastated if anything happened to them. I back them up to iCloud right now, but that is not my favorite method. I also want to categorize them somehow to make it easier to find photos. I need to do research but some of the options I would like to explore include Google Photos, Dropbox, Amazon Photos, or better utilizing iCloud.
4. LAUNDRY ROOM. There was a lot of wasted space in our laundry room when we moved in to our house and I hated being in there to do laundry. I still have several things to do to make sure I maximize that space.
5. EMAILS. I am one of those people that does not like notifications on my phone, so I either delete or read emails right away. However, the opened emails in my inbox pile up. Its time to do an email cleanup (future post about this coming later).
6. WORKOUTS/WORKOUT SCHEDULE. One thing I learned about myself during quarantine is I have little motivation to work out at home. Before the stay-at-home order, I was in a great routine going to the gym, going on walks… and then it fell apart. And I have not been able to get in a good routine since. My goal is to come up with a workout plan and schedule, dedicate time and effort to that schedule, and stick to it.
7. LIST OF HOME PROJECTS. I need to make a list of the home projects we would like to get done in the near future and try to come up with a priority list so we can start budgeting and start some of them this fall.
8. FALL/HOLIDAY SCHEDULE. I want to come up with a tentative (my husband is more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kind of fellow so we have to compromise with “tentative”) schedule for fall and the holidays. There have been years in the past that I feel like I have not utilized my time wisely and then scrambled to fit everything into a few weeks. Not this year! Last year, we added a few traditions like going to a local pumpkin patch, a local Christmas tree farm, and pictures with Santa, and I would like to do those again this year (if it is safe to do so and those businesses are open). There is also the coordination of family schedules for the holidays. Again, there is planning involved to make that work and I want to reduce holiday stress as much as I can.
9. STORAGE SPACE. We have a storage area in the attic, but there is no rhyme or reason to how all of the “stuff” was put in there and I am not sure I could find something if I tried. I need to make that area more functional and organize that space.
10. MEAL PLAN. Like the workout schedule, my eating habits really fell off during quarantine. I desperately need to get back on track and the only way that will happen is with planning and getting a meal plan and grocery list organized each week.
What is on your list? I would love to know! I challenge you to make a list this week of ten things in your life that you need to get organized. Once they are out of your head, maybe it will get the ball rolling on some projects to eliminate stress. Here’s to hoping it works for me too.
— Mrs. B.
