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?

Surfer!!! A flylady with no sink shining??? Makes me go all nervous and shuddery

I don't clear the kitchen of stuff at night either .

The only days I get clothes ready for the next day are those before work days (and not always then!).

I suppose I'm more of a flea lady than a fly lady.

I'm more of a swatted flylady right now.

I hoovered the DC's bedroom today - took 45 mins because of all the picking up first - and really went into the corners and under the beds etc. Feel so much better for it but so about the amount of fluff collected in the Dyson. Now I've just got to go and find a place to put all the stuff back from the floor (just piled up on the beds) and change the sheets etc.

Aside from the usual unload/re-load dishwasher, go out shopping for 5 birthday cards and a bottle of Hedrin, hang up a mega load of laundry and put another one in to wash tonight, cook healthy chicken casserole and mash and broccoli for DC's dinner ...

I'm a slut but at least I'm a slut with a guilty conscience ...

Have also started on the filing, and done a bit in the playroom.

No time for exercise/self-improvement/chats on the phone or anything just for me though .

I bought a page a day diary and each morning after I have taken DC to school I sit with a cup of tea and breakfast I write a list of what I want to get done today. The next day, I will look at the list cross off what I did achieve and put what I didnt at the top and start again. It was really hard to get into it as I didnt think it would help, but forcing myself to sit down for 15 mins and think about the priorities means that I feel in control, and that in turn makes me motivated.
I also cook casseroles and stuff in the slow cooker that i prepare in the morning when I have a bit more energy and flexible time, then I know that I havent got to faff around at 5pm cooking. I sit down once a week and plan the weeks dinners so when I shop I know exactly what I need and I know what to cook each day as it is on a board in the kitchen. This also makes me feel organised and in control!!!

For all you people who say they need to redecorate, why not do a House Doctor and magnolia paint everywhere, not very exciting, but quite cheap and brightens up the place. I did this in our last house, as the room used to depress me so painted it magnaolia and instantly felt better, I know its not a great solution, butit might then give you the inspiration to crack on with the sorting out/tidying up. Says she who is sitting here surrounded by toys and ironing and dirty dishes!!!!! Will get motivated soon Good luck

youngmumoftwo can you plst some of your recipes that sounds like a brill idea I need some ideas like that

twoisenoughmum - I'm in a similar place and trying to evaluate things and install new systems to ensure that my non-working days are as productive as my working days (I work p/t, from home but still don't manage to get on top of the laundry etc and housework, even though I'm at home all the time!)

I found another "methodology/cult" similar to FLYlady is a time management system called "Getting Things Done"
I found a feature on it here:
"Stuff is bouncing around in our heads and causing untold stress and anxiety. Evaluation meetings, bar mitzvahs, empty rolls of toilet paper, broken lawn mowers, college applications, your big gut, tooth decay, dirty underwear and imminent jury duty all compete for prime attention in our poor, addled brains. Stuff has no ?home? and, consequently, no place to go, so it just keeps rattling around.

Worst off, we?re too neurotic to stop thinking about it, and we certainly don?t have time to actually do everything in one day.

So you sprint from fire to fire, praying you haven?t forgotten anything, sapped of anything like creativity or even the basic human flexibility to adapt your own schedule to the needs of your friends, your family or yourself.

Your ?stuff? has taken over your brain like a virus now, dragging down every process it touches and rendering you spent and virtually useless. Sound familiar?

So how does it work?

identify all the stuff in your life that isn?t in the right place (close all open loops)

get rid of the stuff that isn?t yours or you don?t need right now

create a right place that you trust and that supports your working style and values

put your stuff in the right place, consistently

do your stuff in a way that honors your time, your energy, and the context of any given moment
iterate and refactor mercilessly

So, basically, you make your stuff into real, actionable items or things you can just get rid of. Everything you keep has a clear reason for being in your life at any given moment?both now and well into the future. This gives you an amazing kind of confidence that a) nothing gets lost and b) you always understand what?s on or off your plate.

Also built-in to the system are an ongoing series of reviews, in which you periodically re-examine your now-organized stuff from various levels of granularity to make sure your vertical focus (individual projects and their tasks) is working in concert with your horizontal focus (side to side scanning of all incoming channels for new stuff). It?s actually sort of fun and oddly satisfying."

Put 'GTD' into google or get the book out of the library and see how you get on. It might not be your cup of tea (i'm not sure if it's mine yet tbh) but I'm open to new ideas. It's probably like FlyLady - if you take some of the theories, it may help.

Sorry, this is MUCH longer than I planned (could distraction and procrastination be my problem??

Good luck

I bought a cook book for slow cookers and casserole, which i use quite a lot. Also got quite a few recepie ideas from here.
I will do a casserole or slow cooker meal on a day when I am busy, or a quick cook meal. Irish Stews, stews with dumpling and cooking big portions to combine at a later date are good, cheap and quick at dinner time.

Beef, mushroom and Beer casserole
Coat braising steak with flour, brown in a pan, put in slow cooker. Fry sliced onions in pan and then add to slow cooker. Add carrots cut into sticks, beer/guinness/stout, veg stock, tinned toms, and I often put in some english mustard, brown sugar and tom puree. Then cook on low for about 5 hours (or until meat is really tender, you can cook in casserole dish for 3 hrs on 150 celcius.

Pork casserole
I got this off mumsnet and then added a few bits. I brown some onions and garlic, some carrots and then add a tin of cambells chicken and some water, I then put in peeled potato chunks and season and add some thyme. I then put the streaky pork slices ontop so that they are out of the liquid sitting on top of the veg (bit like in a irish stew. I then cook in the oven for 2 hours, and take the lid off for the last 20 mins so that the slices brown. It is lovely and the streaky slices only cost £2!

Chorizo Hash
We often have this on a friday.
I parboil some potatoes, then drain and cut into small chunks (about 1cm), then I fry some diced chorizo, add some onions (you dont need oil as the chorizo has lots in it) then I make 4 holes in the mix and break 4 eggs in it. I then put it in the oven to set the eggs for a few minutes. The plan is to get the eggs to set but still be runny, we all love it!! and again its very cheap.

Get a slow cooker/casserole cook book as you can really cook lots of cheap meats and they taste amazng after being cooked for a while.

I also bought a white board and put each days meal for the week and if people are out, or we are eating out etc, its easy to look at and before I go to bed i walk past it and remind myself to get diff meats out to defrost!

Thats brill thanks, I see Argos have slow cookers reduced at the moment so may invest at the weekend. Really need to try and eat better this year, and this would make it dead easy. Thanks again. Sorry if this is off the thread

You are so organised, you are an inspiration!!!