With the arrival of sunshine, many of us are feeling the need, and finally the desire, to organize. But if you hate that very word, stop trying to be Martha Stewart, and instead try one of these quick tips to jumpstart change.
1. Accept some chaos. Understand that no matter how many great tips or fabulous formulas you use, if you have a family, there will be mess. It doesn’t mean you have to accept it everywhere, but simply not to stress when the garage is untidy AGAIN (not that this happens at our house, every other week). Or that your children don’t remember their dishwasher day AGAIN (every Monday and Tuesday). Or that the boys’ bathroom continually smells like, well, a boys’ bathroom (again and again and again…)
2. Bite off chewable chunks. You don’t need endless hours to complete a task, but you do have to be content with a little here, a little there. A few weeks ago my goal was to declutter the kitchen cabinets. So I did one drawer, A DAY. Can someone say excruciating? But that’s all I could do with my baby, my other six kids’ schedules, and Back to Basics. But it’s paid off. Tonight, at the last minute, the kids wanted to make s’mores, and in a moment I was able to quickly say, “The crackers are up above the fridge, the candy bars and marshmallows are in the kids’ cabinet, and the metal skewers are in the bottom specialty drawer.” Can someone say Stellar Mother Moment (that no one appreciated but me)?
To read more of Connie’s blog, go to Mommy Author’s.
