After much consideration the word I have chosen for 2011 is
By using the word organize I don't mean that I just want to organize my kitchen better or keep a cleaner house, although those things are part of it.
I need to organize my entire life.
Friday I got a notice from our daughters pediatrician. It was the second time I have missed an appointment. I have no idea how I forgot AGAIN!
That is so not like me.
It made me feel embarrassed and irresponsible and very, very disorganized.
Why?
Because I thrive on organization and schedules.
This past year I have been all over the place.
Most days I felt like this:
For a year that had the word 'Peace' as its goal, that wasn't good.
There were peaceful moments and many peaceful breakthroughs but I found that I just expected too much of myself this year which left me feeling overwhelmed.
It didn't really hit me until October/November when my daily to do list hit an all time high.
All at once I was juggling being a wife and mother, trying to take time for myself, exercising, vision therapy, personal progress with Abi, blogging, other computer time suckers like facebook and email and surfing in general, creating my Little Women Personal Progress Program (yes, it is done but I need help getting it downloadable so I'm still working on that), planning our vacation, sewing clothes, getting ready for Christmas, sewing projects, preschool with Abi, Story Sorority (my online book club I run), church, cleaning, cooking, and a million other household things as well as so many things on the to do list that weren't getting done.
This left me feeling like I really needed to streamline everything.
I've been thinking a lot about it. I have tried to re-organize my thoughts and figure out what the most important things are to me.
I need to organize every area of my life so that it will all work together as smoothly as possible.
This means that my goal this year is to think "organized".
I need to organize the house. I have to find a system that works for me and for my family so that I am not constantly behind or cleaning. I feel like all I do is clean because I have some little 'helpers' that always want to undo what I just did. I am constantly re arranging furniture because I am not content with the set up. I need to organize rooms based on what we use them for... not based on what others will think if they come over or what is pretty. I can have a perfectly designed house later when my kids are grown. For now, I just want it clean and organized and useful.
I need to organize my time so that I have time to do the things I need to do but also have time to do the things I want to do. I want to be able to engage in a little more spontaneity without it throwing my whole day out of whack. Believe it or not I used to be really spontaneous and outgoing. Where did that girl go?
So, I will try to figure out a schedule that allows for all of these things while still keeping our household running smoothly.
I need to organize my time with my kids better. School takes over. It is so much work to teach Abi. I am actually looking so forward to Kindergarten- not because I want her to be away from me- but because of the time that will give me. That sounds so selfish. I feel selfish now. But preschool takes so much time. Not just doing it but the planning, the preparation, the studying. Everything. Also, it takes an entire area in our house that I will be able to use for something else until Maddy is three.
I started reading the Little House series to Abi last year and it has been one of the most rewarding things I've done. And yet we stopped when we left on vacation and have yet to pick it back up.
I am starting a new chore system with Abi that I think will help me to organize her chores better and help so much around here.
I know I will always be thinking about a trillion things at once and doing way more things at a time than I should but I want to keep that under control as much as possible.
This will be a work in progress the entire year, but hopefully by this time next year I will have accomplished just as much as last year but had a much more relaxing year!
