to ask how you become organised and together? Seriously how??

[inatrance]

This is a question for any of you who used to be disorganised/flaky and are now organised and sorted. I have been like this for so long and I drive myself and everyone around me crackers. I'm unbelievably forgetful, I am late a lot and I'm rubbish with finances. I'm so fed up of cringing because I'm so bloody rubbish and make stupid mistakes all the time!

I've got an 8mth DS and a 10yo DD and while I've always had disorganised tendencies, since I had DS, it's gone from bad to ridiculous and I feel like I am constantly trying to catch up with myself.

I'm self employed (which is for the best as even I'd have sacked me by now) and have somehow managed to run my businesses haphazardly over the last ten years without fucking up too massively. Well, not often anyway...

Well, no more, I've had enough. I am using the New Year to kick me up the arse and I need your help.

If you used to be crap and are now brilliant and incredibly organised, please, please tell me how you did it. What changed in your mind and where the hell did you start?

I need a magnetic (to stick on fridge) notepad - anyone seen a nice one? It's for noting stuff we've run out of.

Riding, not a notepad, but I have a stick-on peel-off blackboard with chalk from Lakeland on my fridge for this. Saw magnetic Cath Kidston notepad in John Lewis yesterday if that's your bag.

Blackboard sounds good, not keen on Ms Kidston. Too twee.

sighs I've taken down the Christmas cards & decorations. Have left the box for the DD's to undress the tree (by their request)

Am now doing lists for the weekend and next week,to-do lists and shopping lists with a basic meal plan.

Is that a start?

midnightblue organised mum do a magnetic meal planner and shopping list combined and also a magnetic shopping list and to do list combined.

Can't link as on my phone.

helena thanks, sounds perfect ... as does your job .

I'm a bit scared to ask this but how far ahead do I (a)start to plan a children's party or event and (b)finalise it? this is where I get caught out thanx x

Just lurking ....

Kitty's birthday party is on the 5th February. The invitations have just arrived and I will be sending/distributing them this weekend with the thankyou cards.
I will be making bonfire night style food for it as and when I get time and freezing it - we are having a hot meal as we are doing it late in the day so we can get some fireworks. I'm making a Rastamouse cake which I will probably do on the week of her birthday.
Got to buy a few party bags and some fireworks. But that's about it. I started planning what I was going to do in November

I've really enjoyed reading this thread over the last couple of days, in between doing house work :)
I'm mostly organised, mainly by necessity of having 3 DSs and a DH who works long hours (I'm a SAHM), but I'm always looking for ways to improve life so thank you all for the great tips.
I find roughly planning meals for the month and doing a big old online shop at the beginning of each month is a life saver. DH and I also have the mother of all spreadsheets for our accounts, budget etc, which accounts for every penny and gets updated every Sunday.

A few posters have mentioned the HomeRoutine app. Does anyone know of a similar android app?

whattodo someone on the fly lady read I am on mentioned the Chore Checklist for android

And maybe home routines is available on android too? It is pretty awesome

To 'ohdear' flippin eck! well done you! ds will be 6 in June and dd 4 in April so I'd better crack on I do find discussing events with dh just slows process down tho x

Sometimes its just as quick to do something there and then than add it to your to-do list.
Perfectionism can be your enemy if you have a lot to do - aim to do it adequetely.At least it'll get done until the time you're better organised and can devote time to perfectionism.

countess I think you are right, I find all this organisation & perfectionism, alternately inspiring and rather overwhelming!

Best to keep your to do lists short and sweet. Anything else is usually unfeasible.

Make a list of three items per day on top of the basics (which are -- shine the bathroom/s, clean the kitchen, make the beds, plan dinner) at the most to begin with. If you get them done early you can write another list and tackle those items. If you find you're twiddling your thumbs a lot then you can start to look at making a longer list.

SOrry if repeating up thread, it's very long!

List Strategy I learnt once.
Make your list. It can be as long as your arm.
Now categorise into A B and C
A is needs to be done today
B is can be done tomorrow
C is sometime this week

Now re write all the A's together.
Now label them in terms of priority 1 2 and 3. No more than 3. Just 3.
The only job you need to do immediately after writing out this list is the job labelled A1.
If you also manage A2 and A3 well done, continue but, the rest can wait!!!

This is a technique to practise how to prioritise and I suggest you build up slowly.
Use a notebook by the way for the lists. Keep it next to the below file....

My other tip is pretty boxes. I have one in each room. Coats, toys clutter crap gets piled into the box before I can have a sit down. If there is no room in the box - NO SIT DOWN!

And two magazine files for paperwork. One inside the cupboard, one visible on top of the cupboard. Once stuff arrives in post, if it isn't urgent and just needs filing - inside cupboard. If it needs to be dealt with - on top of the cupboard AND ADDED TO THE LIST BOOK! Check this box daily.
The one in the cupboard? File it when I can't ram anything else in it!

I have to say this thread is so my new bible..

I'm struggling to keep up the momentum but am going to implement my Stage 1 Decluttering process tomorrow. I'm finding it hard to organise myself enough to think in an organised way though, I keep finding myself getting caught up in the day to day stuff, then it's the night and too late, then it's morning all over again and my To Do list is getting longer. Dammit I WILL be organised if it kills me.

inatrance have you tried one of the fly lady threads?

inatrance you may be a visual person. I tried this with an arty, very visually cued client:

Can you walk through your home visualising where things should be? Walk through your day - where do you feel is right to put your keys? Your coat? your diary? Where feels natural to put your lists? Menu plans? Tackle those areas first because that will help you feel successful. Then work at keeping those areas clear and ordered which will inspire you to tackle other areas.

If it's all feeling overwhelming try to change no more than three things at a time - one if that's all you can face. You'll still see change!

imo it is important to enjoy what you're doing re thinking of the outcome rather than the task in hand. Try not to look at the mountain ahead but focus on the task that is in front of you. I live in a valley with enormous hills every which way: if, when I'm cycling up one of them, I look up to the task ahead (the giant hill), I'm off my bike within a few seconds, pushing it the rest of the way. If I keep my head down - safely, of course! - I'm always surprised and thrilled to reach the top before I expected.

inatrance I know exactly where you're coming from.As the person who does the lions share,and work P/T,I find just the day by day things can take up all the time.Do you have DC's and how old?If they are not crawling on the floor eating everything,don't do the hoovering for a few days and use that time to tidy/declutter instead.Or don't make the bed every day - just "air" it.

Cut back on the so-called "essential" every day things sometimes to make room for the big organise,otherwise nothing will improve.

It works for me,and while my house isn't perfection,its gradually sorting out,and to skip a bit of cleaning in the short term won't hurt (unless the Queen is coming to tea).

You can't make more hours in the day and you can't work every waking moment.

I had a little New Year present today!Hoping to get back on the paperwork sort out,I opened my filing cabinet to find that in my last attempt I'd sorted the bottom drawer to the point that it contains stuff to archive in storage.That means I now have a clear drawer to set up some new files which I badly need to deal with the teetering pile.I'd forgotten all about it,and Christmas prep took over,so its made my day!!!!!

Helenagrace you are so right that things need to be in their natural place if they are to end up there.

I also think its good to tackle the thing first that'll make the most difference in your head to being in the right place to declutter.If your handbag is so bad that in the morning when you pick it up you immediately feel disorganised and on a downer,do that first....etc

I had a quick look at Flylady last night strangely only read the sink thing, maybe I should do that first. DS (8mths) is off out for a walk shortly so am kicking myself up the arse and sorting the kitchen.

I'm an artist too Helenagrace and I've just been doing a mental walk through to try and visualise where stuff should be. It's a bit similar to that cycle ride in a way Springy, in how I've started seeing tidying. In that I try to look at the space between the mess, rather than the mess IYKWIM? Then try to make more space.

It is all the 'essential' stuff that messes up my plans. Washing for instance, it takes over my life, my kitchen is always bloody full of the stuff!

Oh inatrance. 8 month old.So you have got the crawling on floor eating everything stage .It kind of necessitates the essential hoovering bit.

Oh well,less tidying up then the toddler stage...

This is such a great thread, lots of lovely ideas! I am reasonably well-organised but could definitely do better, and am finding this thread very motivating. While DS was eating his egg and soldiers this morning, I tidied a kitchen drawer that had been full of random rubbish so it can be my Useful Drawer, and ironed the teatowels and pillow slips - I don't normally do this but DP had hung them up very gently without shaking the creases out so they were all scrunched up.