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Every spring my entire life goes a little off the rails. Working full time with 2 kids, 4 chickens, a cat, and a dog is can be frantic at times. From February to the middle of April, I’m working from 8 am until 8 pm and all those balls I’m trying to juggle come crashing down. My favorite line is “Oh crap, I forgot…!” And why did I forget it? It’s always because I was sure I’d just remember. No need to write it down… I really need to kick myself whenever I say that. The struggle for the personal organization isn’t just real. It is a daily battle in the war of life…

Personal Organization Battle

I’ve spent a lot of time gathering resources for my personal organization battle. I’ve spent a LOT of money on planners, organizers, chalkboards, whiteboards, pens, stickers, charts. I even had a Palm Pilot – remember those? Over the years, some of these things worked and others were more work than working for me… (I’m looking at you Palm Pilot!). What’s worked for me, has really kept me sane.

Electronic Tools

Google Calendar – this is my “go-to” calendar option. The why is because it connects with everything. It was super easy to set up on my phone, without adding an app. My employer uses Google Calendar and it’s simple to “show” them on my phone, home and work computer. Anyone who I know can literally share their calendar with me. I have set reminders for days ahead or minutes and they can be repeated as much as needed. I can even set up reminders for years ahead. Forget to schedule an appointment to service my heating system? Never again! I’m already teaching my daughter how to use it and put her stuff on her own calendar.

FlyLady.net – FlyLady has been around a long time. Did I discover her through Yahoo Groups in the 90’s? It was way before kids or houses or chickens. Or Google Calendar. I needed it. At the time, I got daily emails reminding to do certain things. Like, put a load of laundry in every morning. And another email to make my bed. And another email to… there were a lot of emails. They did, however, get me in the habit of doing those things, like the laundry “reboot” every morning and night. As my life has changed over the years, it’s really helped me keep up with daily tasks and feel more organized. Also, kept us in clean underwear, which is always a good thing.  FlyLady has books now, but the reminder emails are what really kept me on track. If I would have bought the book, I’m pretty sure it would have ended up with all the rest of the organizational books I’ve purchased over the years. You’re welcome, thrift stores.

Paper Tools

A few years ago, The Art of Simple (formerly SimpleMom.net) published “The Daily Docket“. It’s a simple paper listing of things you need to do, with categories for things are most important and goals. There’s also a place for blogging “to-do’s”. I know a paper list is traditional, but I find that writing everything out really helps me to prioritize, as well as organize my days. The author has moved on to a new phase in life, but all of her printables are still available for download. It’s completely free.

I also use a paper pantry inventory. I’ve tried various apps, but they tend to need a lot adjusting for our family. I’m trying to save time and not make my own list. I use a free printable from Meet Penny. It includes all the items I think of when I think pantry… flour, yeast, etc. and we use the same cleaners. Except for Clorox wipes, which I also highly recommend!

Daily Habits

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that faking personal organization is at the least a step in the right direction. Just feeling organized helps you to be more organized. Your kitchen can have piles of crap in every corner, but if your sink is clean and empty, it will feel cleaner. You may have clothing stacked 6 layers deep on the chair in your room. A made bed makes it instantly clean. Every day I:

• Clean the sink
• Make my bed
• Toss the junk mail
• Walk the dog

Not everything else gets done every day, but these things somehow keep the chaos from descending upon me. And if I have time to walk the dog, then surely I have enjoyed life.