I've been rather overwhelmed lately with all there is to be done around my home. The clutter is piling up, spring cleaning has hardly even been started, the clothes need to be sorted out and changed for the warm months ahead, the storage shed needs to be cleaned out(so I can move the clutter from the house out there!). Painting, sewing,decorating, organizing...there's so many things!
I do well with my daily routine-cooking meals, general cleaning and the like. It's the little extras that continually crop up that get me!
Yesterday, I sat down and made a small list for tackling the clutter since that's the thing that bothers me the most.
An "all or nothing" person, I can easily get overwhelmed and stressed because I try to do everything all at once. Sometimes a small bite here or there is the better choice of action. I am having to learn that!
The rooms that are the worst right now are where my childcare kids sleep, so I can't get to these things during nap time, like I would normally do! Ideally, I should try to do these tasks first thing in the morning before they arrive!
I started with a list for the office, since it needs the most immediate attention. My issue with this room is that it needs to serve so many purposes. It is the main storage area so I end up tossing everything that doesn't have a home elsewhere into the office. You can imagine how chaotic that gets after a while! This room houses the computer, filing cabinets,all office supplies, musical instruments and amps, kid's supplies, sewing and craft supplies,special occasion dishes and all manner of anything else that needs a place.:-) One of the babies I care for sleeps in there, so there is also a crib and a small chest for his things.
I have large bookshelves on one wall which keeps most things within reach or out of reach, depending who you are-haha! The sewing stuff is fairly organized so I don't really need to do much there. It's the other shelves that need the most attention.
Here are a few things I listed for the office(my notes are in italics):
-Replace the small shelf with large bookshelf for extra storage.
Until last year, I had 3 large shelves then we did a furniture switch-a-roo and moved the matching ones to the living room. I ended up with only 2 large and 1 small bookshelf for the office. Big Lots has the put-together shelves like the others I have for $30. I just need to go get one!
-Replace the 2 small filing cabinets with one large filing cabinet. This will make a huge difference in space! I'm looking for one of these used since the new ones I've found so far are a little out of our price range for the time-being.
-Box up extra toys and take them to toy bin in shed.
I got this done this morning! I also boxed up some toys that belong to one of the kids that they aren't playing with here anymore and will send those home tonight.
-Get box of Ebay items ready to list and sell.
-Create bill-paying box/basket.
-Clear off computer desk.
-Weed out papers and STUFF! I did this last year but obviously, it has gotten out of hand again!
-Organize kid's art supplies and manipulatives.I worked on this for a few minutes this morning, but am still not satisfied with it.
I think if I work on these things a few minutes at a time, 3-5 days a week, I should be able to get some things crossed off my list as well as making my home a little more of a haven!
I'll be blogging about my progress probably once a week or so. Feel free to join in on the fun and leave comments sharing your best tips for keeping up with all these little tasks as well as what projects you are working on!
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3 comments:
I just did a post today about making "someday" today. I am bad about putting things off, especially if I feel overwhelmed. I am planning to start working on the extra things I want to do. Not always easy, especially with my daycare kids here.
Good luck on getting things in order!
I definitely agree with your post title, Mary Ann. I think moving in less than 4 weeks is really starting to sink in--even though we're not going far, we have much to do!
I have to always schedule my day lightly since I will never know how I feel physically. It's not easy sometimes but I have no choice. I try not to fight it. I'm finding that 15 minutes at a time really helps. There are days though that I can't do that.
I think spring time is when people get involved in many projects so it's easy to make the to-do list long. I've gotten frustrated about spring cleaning myself, but who says it has to be done in the spring and all done in a week? :)
I try to take a step back and be more realistic about what can be done. When I'm feeling overwhelmed it helps to also talk to my husband.
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