| Life is such a whirlwind, isn't it? If you're anything like | | | | salad instead. |
| me, it often seems like the weeks go by in a blur of | | | | Regular decluttering and organising |
| activity...and then it's weekend again. Or the | | | | I tackle an area in our home every weekend. Let's |
| weekends go by so quickly and when Monday comes | | | | face it - if we are constantly buying things and |
| around, you feel like you've just started to relax and | | | | bringing them into our homes and lives, clutter is |
| the week is upon you once again. | | | | constantly building up unless we get rid of some of it. |
| The problem with this is that we never have a sense | | | | It doesn't have to be a huge exercise. While you're |
| of peace, calm and control. A feeling that we are | | | | busy cooking or baking, you can sort out a cupboard |
| directing the course of our own lives. I go through | | | | or two. I don't trust my oven timer (it is erratic) so I |
| patches of hectic too so I thought I'd share some of | | | | stay in the kitchen whenever I bake to make sure |
| the systems I've set up to make our lives easier: | | | | my muffins don't burn! I then use the time |
| Household calendar | | | | constructively to sort out the cupboards, plan my |
| We have one household calendar in our kitchen | | | | menus, write out my shopping list, etc. You can see |
| where we mark off any commitments like church, | | | | the fruits of my labour on the organising blog at |
| other ministry commitments, meetings, gym, socials, | | | | When you factor in just 15 minutes' decluttering and |
| and so on. We use a sticker system with a different | | | | organising every weekend, you can easily maintain |
| colour for each area of life. The nice thing about this | | | | your home if it is already organised. Of course, if |
| system is that when there are too many stickers, | | | | your house is nowhere near where you'd like it, I |
| we know we're too busy. I also mark off the | | | | would suggest 15 minutes every day. |
| recycling pick-up days, when the meter reader is due | | | | Launch pad |
| and of course, things like birthdays. | | | | Do you know the place in your house where you |
| I couple this with diary planning for the week ahead. I | | | | dump your bags as you enter? Flylady calls this a |
| look at my diary on a Sunday and put in my | | | | launch pad. I like that term because it reminds me of |
| appointments for the week. I also add any tasks | | | | action. We have an interesting, little corner in our |
| that I need or want to work on, like writing articles, | | | | entrance hall that I use for my launch pad and my |
| e-courses, newsletters and so on. | | | | husband uses another section near the kitchen. |
| Meal planning | | | | Mornings are one of the worst times in most families |
| I love meal planning because it saves me time. When | | | | - you can't find your keys, wallet, bag, etc. Frantic |
| I say this to people, they think I'm crazy because | | | | running around and screaming happens and that is |
| "how can all that planning save you time?" It's quite | | | | just not fun. |
| simple - a twenty-minute planning session on the | | | | The point is that we use our launch pads to ready |
| weekend saves me time from Monday to Friday, | | | | ourselves for mornings. Every evening I pack my |
| when I need it most. No more standing in front of | | | | handbag, work bag and keys, and they are all left |
| the open fridge wondering what to make for supper. | | | | here. In the mornings all I do is grab and go. Literally |
| And you can still be spontaneous within the plan. I | | | | once I leave the bedroom, I walk to the fridge to |
| plan meals for the working week but if I don't feel | | | | get my cooler bag with my lunch, set the alarm, grab |
| like a particular meal that day, I change it around and | | | | my bags from my launch pad and I'm out of there. |
| cook another day's meal. Like if it's very hot and I | | | | And that's two minutes tops! |
| planned to have baked potatoes with a topping, I'll | | | | Now, over to you. Which systems can you |
| postpone that to another day and make a pasta | | | | implement to make your life easier? |