SYL - Week 29

I am struggling a little at the moment. Trying to find my blogging routine again. Trying to find the motivation and time to sit and write. Trying to fight off the fog that is nipping at my heels. But I can and I will.

Week 29 is one that I have jumped in to. Organise Paper Information is a process that I need to try hard to make habit. I am a 'throw all the mail in a pile on the kitchen table' kind of girl. I have a filofax, it has a whole heap of paid bills and some receipts in it, usually ones that I don't need and not the ones that I do. Maybe I should say it DID have those things in it.....

No matter what my gorgeous Mum might believe, no one needs paid gas bills from 1998 or the original receipt from their first washing machine, 30 years ago. As strange as this sounds, my Mum has a book with the dates bought and costs of most of her big ticket items. We like to laugh but also love to look back and see what things are so much cheaper now or so much more expensive. But, as nice as it is, I don't NEED those things. The above photo shows what was once these unnecessary pieces of paper. They will help our new compost bin make wonderful feed for our new vegie garden! Now I have a filofax that has a few paid bills, some receipts and our important documents in it.

I also managed to set myself up a little 'office' area in the dining room. I have a cork board, white board, to do list, shopping list, weekly chore chart and a 21 habit chart (Most thanks to Kikki.K! Gosh I could spend every dollar I have in that store!). I also have 2 file box things (official name) like an inbox. One for the bills or mail that are waiting to be processed and one for the ones ready to be filed. The kids and hubby are really pleased with this set up. It makes it easy for them to see what needs to be done and gives them a place to write down things they might want or need done.

So we now have the area set up, the filing trays, the filofax for completed paperwork and the supplies needed to keep it up. We are planning to spend Sundays writing meal plans and shopping lists, filling in the to do lists and sorting the calendar ready for the next week. It will take some practise and time to make this a habit but we are well on the way and looking forward to perfecting our system.

We also managed to sit and write a Master To Do List after moving house. We are working our way through that and will revisit that each week as well.

Life may not yet be simple but it sure is on it's way

Jo xo

SYL - Week 27 and 28

Catch up time after moving house! I've missed this whole challenge so much but the things I've learned have been running through my head the whole time. I have often realised that something is not working as well as I think it could and I've been able to think back about SYL and either find a solution or consider my options at least. I love that I am seeing changes in myself and the way I work and think.

Week 27 - Routines and Systems

We have very few routines. I am coming to realise that this is not helping me. It often causes me to be late, underestimate the time I have or the time it will take to do things, it leaves me unprepared for certain things. At the moment I don't have a regular grocery day so I am either shopping 4 times in a week or we're running out of things all over the place because I haven't stopped to realise that it has been 10 days since I last did a proper shop!!


I want to get in to the habit of using one day a week to plan. Plan the food shopping, the weeks appointments, even some family outings or just activities we can do at home. I need to write everything down for everyone to see. Meals, Jobs, Ideas, almost anything! I now have a space in the new house for the pin up board and my folder with my menu plans and lists in it. Now I need to remember to use it ALL THE TIME. This is what I am going to work on, this will be the first step to getting me organised again.

Week 28 - Cleaning

Oh cleaning, you are my Nemesis. I want to be able to get everything done but I honestly feel that I lack the time and energy. When I think about it, I lack time and energy because I'm starting from a cluttered point every morning and finishing there every night. The last house had become the clutter zone. It was too big a job for me every day because I never felt like I got anywhere. This new house will be different!! Once we manage to unpack and organise everything again. Moving has both helped and hindered me in this challenge but I know in 

On to the questions.....


What is your minimum standard cleaning routine?


I am going to set my minimum standards in terms of daily,weekly and monthly tasks. Each task needs to be done at least once in each category.


Daily - 
Dishes
Empty rubbish and recycling
Sweep tiles


Weekly -
Plan for the week. Meal planning, shopping list, appointment list
Vacuum lounge room
Mop kitchen and dining room
Clean bathroom
Do washing


Monthly -
Vacuum bedrooms
Mop hallway and laundry


Ok, that seems so manageable it's almost funny! A minimum that will help make every single month, week and day so much easier. Baby steps again, they work so well. I won't even plan any other way.

What is your cleaning approach?

This one I'm not 100% sure on just yet. I think I'll have a try of a couple of different ways and see which one works the best for us. The daily jobs will most likely be done at the end of each day. The weekly and monthly ones are things I would get done best in the mornings, except probably mopping the floors, that would need to be done at night when the kids are in bed I think.

I think a checklist is a good idea. A print out on the pin board or even a white board. Something that the whole family can see and use, fingers crossed it gets them even more interested in helping.

Do you use any systems to save you time and effort with cleaning?

The system that will help the most would have to be decluttering. Tidying the house as we go and at the end of each day. That will mean that when it comes time to sweep the floor or vacuum, the floor will be ready for it. There won't be toys all over the place or shoes hanging around where they shouldn't be. The 'everything has a home' philosophy is also going to help. It already IS helping because we are remembering to put things where they belong (those pesky shoes especially!).

So I think the way forward for us has less to do with routine and more to do with habit for us. The way I've been able to break it down, with the help of the three questions, has made the way forward clear and seemingly easy 

Oh it's nice to be back,

Jo 

SYL - Week 26

Everything Has A Home

Wow, even when I am moving house, this week is tailored to me! This is exactly the right way to start when organising our new house. Finding a home for everything and keeping it that way. 

Finding a logical home for everything really makes sense now that I sit and think about it. I honestly waste about half my time, every single day, looking for something. Keys, shoes, handbag, drink bottles, hair ties, the tv remote, I could go on for days! The list is seriously endless. The whole family, yes me included, just drop things. On benches, tables, the hallway floor!! It raises my stress levels more than anything else and causes us to waste so much time looking for all these things again when we need them.

While I was packing the other day, I emptied a nice cane box and decided to make it a shoe box for the little kids shoes and put it near the front door. Most of the time this week, Jack and Hannah's shoes have gone in that box, either straight away or when I have seen them laying somewhere and asked someone to put them away. The most important change has been when we're getting ready to leave the house. Everyone knows where to get the little ones shoes for them. We don't have to spend 20 mins searching every room in the house!! Now I just need to find a nice rack or box for everyone else's shoes.

The other tip that I have been doing is putting car keys in a little basket near the front door. This works great for me because I always drop my keys in there on the way past. Trav on the other hand doesn't always and we sometimes have to search for his keys. Hopefully I get can him in to the habit of putting his keys in there instead of his pocket. There is still a problem with this bit though because the basket collects all kinds of crap that no one knows where to put. Little bits of lego, hair bands, pins, badges. All those little things that don't have a designated home all the time.

This is where finding a home for everything will solve post of our problems. Clutter won't collect and we won't waste time searching for things! Our new house has less clutter hot spots (well it looks like it and I'm going to work hard to make sure I'm right!) so I think designated and even labelled areas will work really well. I plan on getting the whole family involved again so we can all think of logical places to home things.

Time to go and pack another box and think about the wonderful, warm, new home waiting for us at the end of the week.