EeeeeK - I've Got Too Much To Do And I Just Don't Know Where To Start!!!

[twoisenoughmum]

I'm afraid to sit down and write a list because I don't think it will ever end and it will just have me reaching for the gin bottle.

Its a question of priorities, but how do I sort those out?

Any one else feel like this?

Shall I carry on living in chaos, or can I really sort myself out? I need those Life Laundry ladies, but failing that, can Mumsnet come to my rescue?

Come join the FLYlady thread...

I'm going to whisper this, but am sure someone will come right out and shou it while I'm typing this.....you could try FLYlady...breaks the mountain of AAARGH into 15 minute molehills...try it, give yourself ove rto the wholse schticky, cult-y idea for about a month and then, personally, I think you can then pick and choose and adapt it's ideas to suit yourself

Have you been to see the FLYladies? They're good at this sort of thing.

I had a big clear out over the summer and that helped me start to get things sorted (though being ill its all slid again )

What are your priorities?
Clear out
Sort out
Storage
Tidy and clean?

Is it house that needs organising or life as well?
Have you got time to do a huge sort out or need to do it bit by bit (flyladies works on a bit by bit basis afaik).

Message withdrawn

Told you so!!

...

I am having panic convulsions anout our house as it is chaos and there is a tv crew coming next week.

why?

some teachers tv programme about the fcatI work so hard I never have tme to do naything else - like clean my house!

You could try FlyLady's Crisis Cleaning suggestions?

I tried flylady once and did have a lovely sink but the emails drove me mad.

don't do the emails, just remind yorself of the stuff online and do it here.

I have started setting the timer for my kids music practice - works a treat

Armadillo:

Living Room - not too bad.

Kitchen - not too bad.

Play Room - hell hole.

My bedroom - black hole of Calcutta.

Kid's bedroom - bedlam, on a very bad day.

Cellar - unspeakable.

Attic - can't bear to think about it.

Paperwork - out of control. No discernable filing system. About 10 piles of random papers scattered around the house some of them containing important bits of information, such as daughter's swimming pass, dates/instructions for when little boy starts nursery next week. No idea where those particular VERY IMPORTANT items are.

Entire house, apart from hall and landing needs redecorating - and we need a new kitchen.

Also need to

Entirely overhaul family budget and get on top of overdraft/no savings/pension/ problem

Organise birthday party for DD 6 very soon

Find new part-time job

Sell about 300 items of children's clothing

Find a way to make my brilliant business idea happen and make millions £

Lose 2 stone

Give up smoking

Stop drinking so much

Stay in touch with friends better - people always make the effort with me, rather than the other way round

Read more

Learn to use the video/my mobile phone/computer/i-pod etc better

Have a better relationship with DH

Be nicer to children

and on and on and on and on. Feeling sorry for myself, going to stop now.

JackieNo (hello) I'm going to have a look at the Crisis Cleaning thingy now.

Hi, twoisenoughmum. That's quite a list. I have all that sort of thing swimming around in my brain too.

What about starting with the paperwork? Have you got a filing cabinet?

Once paperwork is organised it will be easier to work out a budget, sort out finances and to sort out money for redecorating. So basically covering a few things on the list by starting with one.

Don't try to change everything at once as it can become overwhelming.

As for getting in touch with people - why not make it a task to phone one person this week and start from there?

HOw old are your dc's - can they help by starting on the playroom?

holy crap twoisenough - have you stolen my list????

If it makes you feel better i still have several boxes in my dining room that I moved in with in 2004

Selling kids clothing - are they packed up and ready to sell and have you advertised them and if so where?

Birthday party - how soon is soon? What have you done so far.

When you have so much to do it can seem too overwhelming to start but once you get first task finished it will seem so much more managable

For important info and notes from school and the kids other activities I got a bulldog clip for each of them and put hooks in the kitchen wall for them each activity has a clip and the most important note is on the front of each pile, try to disgard each letter or notice as soon as it is passed.

Anything that has to be filed in I try to fill it out as soon as I lift it out their bags as I have a bit of a memory problem so it gets put down and never done, so filed out and staright back in the bag.

I like the flylady techniques, try think of your house in zones and do a bit in each zone each week. It is not just about house work there is help for healthy living and all that too,

yeah!, come and join us FLYers in the FLYlady threads

BTW you will feel great when you have but the word DONE after each on your list!

I agree with the FLYing sugegstion, but gotta say Skribble loving the bulldog idea. Not so much for members of family in my case but for areas of 'work' eg nursery, bills etc, I may have to nick that one

twoisenoughmum break it down further, what needs doing in playroom for example. Grab a notepad and head each page with a room and right EVERYTHING that needs doing on the page, even the little things, cos it will give you 5 minute jobs that you will actually DO instead of freaking about the room as a whole and make you feel great when you tick things off

Just popping in to say thanks for the suggestions. Can't post much more right now, tummy feeling decidedly gippy, and very distracted by that.

I dipped my toes in the FlyLady threads but I can't really abide being told what to do. I get the whole idea about baby steps and all that, but I can't honestly see the point of shining my sink (or whatever) cos my sink's not usually too bad, when the rest of the house looks like it has been ransacked by a gang of crack crazed burglars.

Got to start thinking about the children's dinner now (oh dear) - at least cooking is something I do manage to do quite well - after I've washed up all the pots I'm going to need first, of course .

you sound v similar to me except I don't smoke

I think it is very hard to motivate yourself when your house needs complete redecoration. Ours does too and we need a new kitchen and bathroom. I go into the kitchen and it looks reasonable but it's never sparkly clean and I can never be arsed because it's a horrible old kitchen and one day, I'll get a new one .

I would say concentrate on the stuff that has to be done to get by - so try and get the washing done so everyone has clothes and the kids have uniform. After that, make sure the bathroom is clean - doesn't have to be tidy but a minging loo is pretty disgusting.

We too have piles of paper and we have tried other systems but we find the best way is to have a massive inbox (like a wicker box) where everything that's important goes - every few months, we spend a morning filing stuff away (got paper files from Woolies which sit in drawers in a desk).

Rest of the house only needs to look reasonable if you have visitors or are bothered about it looking clean and tidy.

Oh and if your children are old enough, make them tidy their mess up and threaten the old black bag if they don't (anything left lying around goes in black bag and straight in bin).

That's where the shiny sink comes in - if its shiney it means the pots are done and put away

If its any help I hate being told what to do as well but using the thread on here and (most of) the 31 day thingy really helped me start to see a way through a similar list.
HTH

Choose which version of shiny/shiney you want to use

I do Flylady, but I've made up my own version. I've never shined my sink but I've applied the philosophy of flying instead.