To think that I will never be the sort of woman who buys tampons at the end of my period?

[acebaby]

I spend my life in a total panic over everything (expired passports, expired photo driving license when I need to hire a car, forgotten MOT etc etc). I have a fairly responsible job as a university lecturer, and I lead a research group. And yet I don't have a diary. Instead, I scan e-mails to see whether I have a meeting. If it's really important, I write a reminder on my hand (which means - obviously - I have to go into important meetings with writing on my hand). As always, this term, I lost the school calendar within about one day, so have been guessing about school trips etc for months. Naturally, I have one from about 3 years ago stuck on the notice board at home, next to my 2008 calendar.

Is there any hope for me? Will I ever buy tampons at the END of my period, rather than at the 24 hour sainsbury's late at night (when my regular cycle again takes me by surprise)? Has anyone got inspiring stories of how they turned themselves around organizationally in middle age (I am 38)? Where do I start?

[knackeredmother]

Ace baby- I leave the house in my lovely clothes (that I've frantically searched for and quickly ironed) and float into work thinking my god no one would ever know what chaos I have just left behind.
I may well be your GP (or many of my colleagues who are all in the same situation!).

[valiumredhead]

You need a mooncup and a smart phone diary.

My mother is massively disorganised and was when I was a child too - I am the complete opposite as an adult, super organised, makes me twitch not to be.

The whole beauty of a mooncup is that it holds so much more than tampons or towels that you don't usually need to empty it when you are out and about. IF you do need to empty it, you bung it down the loo give it a wipe with some loo roll and re insert. Some people like to carry a bottle of water to rinse it over the loo with. Easy peasy.

[Yama]

From the thread title I thought you meant that you were so pessimistic that you didn't know if you'd be around by your next period. I was coming on to say yes, I don't stock up either.

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

There was a thread on here a while back that gave me a bit of a kick up the arse as I am not an instinctively organised person. The gist of some of the comments from the more organised people was how much time it saved them in the long run. It is true, I have made a real effort to be more on top of things and it works. e.g. I needed to book a non-urgent appointment for my DC, I had their term dates in front of me so could book for October half term and then go into my work computer and immediately book the time off (I'd already checked it was available). So instead of my usual flapping around at the last minute looking for cancellations or having to take the children out of school etc I can now relax and it only took a couple minutes (the flapping around version would have taken twice as long).

[ThisReallyIsNotSPNopeNotAtAll]

I am so unorganised. I always have to do a run to the shop for tampons at the last minute although I know exactly when its coming and don't stock up.

[valiumredhead]

It does save masses of time to be organised. I just can't function without using diaries/lists etc. I don't think I'm naturally tidy but I don't like myself when I'm disorganised and messy.

[thebody]

Diary with a page for each day. Check it every day. Take it everywhere and write everything down.

[Dilidali]

The best diary I found is a Moleskine notebook, academic diary(18 months, starts in july, you find them in waterstones). It's as big as my purse, the whole week is on one side, the opposite page is blank for notes. Mine is soft cover, I can write better on it, as opposed to hard cover.
chose one from here
It is june and I am just changing it for a new one.
I put in term times, birthdays, MOT, insurance etc. i use different colours for each of my family memebers(daugher is violet, DH is blue) and make little notes such as to do lists for the week. I actually put down time for myself, or reminders to go to the hairdressers etc.

In the hallway I have a family calendar. It's not in the calendar, it ain't happening. Also, whoever wrote first has priority if we have several things the same day.

I have a pack of sanitary towels in the car, in the glovebox. Look, went into sainsbury's the other day and bodyform are on offer, £1, but they come with a slim tin for the handbag. Worth buying and keeping a spare in your handbag.


I have a coffee, my iphone and my diary as soon as I wake up and it took me a while, but I'm getting there.

[nameofanother]

Another vote for mooncup!!
One area of your life that you can be organised with!

I am like you except I have a mooncup!

[wem]

I keep buying diaries then not using them. I signed up for google calendar so that DH could update his work trips, but neither of us used it after the first look. My problem is I generally remember stuff so haven't needed a diary, but I'm sure there's a limit to that - about to be challenged when school starts and I start my own studying. So do I buy another diary that is destined to languish empty and unused?

[chrome100]

My life was revolutionised by getting an iPhone. As I always have it with me, as soon as there is something of note I pop it straight in the calendar. Then at the start of the week I look through the calendar, see which days have a dot on indicating something to look at it and see what it is. For really important things you can get it to flash up with reminders. It has changed my life and is so easy to do.

[lottieandmia]

OP, I am exactly like you! But because I now have three children I've had to become a little more organised so I always keep a calendar in the kitchen which I write appointments and numbers on and this seems to work well.

[KirjavaTheCat]

People buy tampons at the end of their period? Really? I thought everyone surveyed the two left in the bathroom cabinet and prayed they'd get to the shop before they'd used them up. No?

[valiumredhead]

I just used to buy them when they were on offer.

[WinkyWinkola]

Buy double amount of tampons you need every single time you buy them. 50% of menstrual emergencies gone.

Using a diary isn't hard. I think some folk thrive on a bit of stress and fluster.

[BeCool]

I use the calender on my iPhone, which links up with both Gmail calender, and work PC calender. I'm not sure HOW these linked up but I do know the result is I can enter details on either home laptop, work PC or phone & get reminders on my phone. It is really very easy.

Enter school/party dates etc the moment the notice/invite is in your hand. I also take a photo on my phone of letters/notices/invitations etc as I invariably lose them/can't find them when I need them.

You can set annual reminders (never forget a birthday again) with reminders for birthdays popping up a week in advance so you can get card in the post - and appear to be actually AWESOME!!!

All the above takes NANO-SECONDS.

Also you can set reminders for way in the future and as it's all backed up on the Cloud - so you can set passport expirey dates in 5 year in your diary, with a reminder set for 3 months before hand.

Of course, you then have to make sure you ACT on the reminders.

as for tampons, just buy them with the supermarket shop perhaps? Or get a Merina coil fitted and be free of tampons forever?

Oh & please, when you get home throw away your old calenders and notices - unnecessary clutter is no longer required. Get rid.

[CatsAndTheirPizza]

Although the rest of my life is very PC/tablet/phone based, I do find some kind of weird comfort in having a paper diary.

BeCool - With the g-mail calendars, is there a way of amalgamating my gmail calendar/my work gmail calendar/DH's work gmail calendar? I don't want them to show all at the same time all of the time, but it would be good to try and bring them together when I need to.

[BeCool]

Yes cats - I have 3 different Gmail calenders amalgamated (one personal & 2 business) and have the option of viewing anyone of of them or all of them together. But I don't know/can't remember how you actually do this. maybe the techy people her can help?

I think its quite simple - your DH needs to invite you to share, you accept & it's done.

[BeCool]

I used to use notebooks - it's the family way :)
But I always lost them, left them behind etc.

[CatsAndTheirPizza]

socool thanks - I will look into it. It probably says in the gmail 'help' function somewhere

[MohammedLover]

My tips would be to have specific places in the house for certain things. So if we get theatre tickets or a map for a wedding reception or the like they will all be in the same pile.

If I have something to give to someone it will always be in one area of one room.

I'm never quite sure where to put post that needs dealing with but is personal enough to be put out of sight when we have visitors. I often find stuff days later in random hidden places if I'm lucky. How do folk get round this sort of thing???

[valiumredhead]

I have a plastic basket that I keep all post in. stays on the kitchen counter until I've time to deal with it.

[trixymalixy]

You need a smartphone. When I get the calendar letter etc home from school I put everything into my iPhone.

I use the notes in my phone to write down things that occur to me, e.g. Birthday ideas for kids, packing lists for holiday etc.

[SHarri13]

Buy a sickeningly expensive diary (roterfaden) so that the price guilts you into using it. Works quite well from personal experience.

[CreatureRetorts]

I have tampons everywhere. Every handbag, the bathroom, utility room and my locker at work.

As for being organised - I use my work calendar, iPhone and we have a family calendar at home.

My mum forgot my first day at school. I was late. I don't like the idea of doing that sort of thing to my children so keep several notes of things. I do have a good memory too. I'm not über organised but try.