How it's going on the getting organised front.....

I have done a ton of research. I love to do that. I read anything I could get my hands on on the internet and then went to Borders and looked at some books. Realised that the information in the books was easily found on the internet and decided to save my money (and time to keep from putting the damn thing away again and again) and to go by the tips I had already gathered.

Basically, this is what I have done so far;

• worked out exactly what needs to be done at our house on a daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal basis
• wrote each thing on a piece of 3x5 inch card and filed it under the days of the week, then weeks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the month and then each month of the year in one of those office organiser thing-a-ma-jigs
• I sat down and wrote out all the appointments I have each week, like Mother's group, Moo's creche day, etc etc and decided which days to: do the grocery shopping, do cleaning, pay bills and do the finances etc (obviously not set in stone because I'm just not that kind of person!)
  
• I place each card behind it's day or month and so it's there to tell me what to do each day/week. (Mind you I don't always stick to doing the things. Sometimes I just refile them for another day.)
  
• wrote a huge long list of all the things that have been bothering me re the house, like painting and repairs and am slowing working down this list
  
• set aside 20 mins each day to devote to decluttering. I've found that like going to the gym the starting is the hard part. I have actually been spending a lot more than 20 mins because once I start I get all inspired.... (sad, isn't it ; )
  
• placed a container in each room for all the stray bits and bobs. When the box is full all of the things go back to their homes. It means I can do a quick tidy in 5 mins and the room looks spotless again. I also got a box with hubby's name on it to put all of his things in. He can put them away himself 'cause I'm no maid...... : )
  

This may seem completely over the top but I needed to do it. The state of things was really stressing me out and cleaning had become such a chore because the longer you put things off the harder they are. A boring example: Each morning after I finish showering I take a rag (I have a box of them under the sink) and I quickly swipe around the basin and wipe any marks off the mirror. Bathroom always looks like it's just been cleaned and I've spent all of 30 secs.
I've come to the conclusion that it's all about habits and working things into your everyday routine. The cards are just there to remind me and keep me on track. Of course seasonal things are easy to forget so it's nice to have a reminder for that stuff.....
Now that I've bored the socks off you it's time to go and tidy the dinner dishes! (And you put those socks that I've bored off you into the dirty laundry basket or else!!! ha ha ha)