Help needed - Calling all organized people!

[cats7494]

How on earth do people stay on top of things?

Somehow - I do keep track but don't feel like I have the best system and I feel like I am scrambling. I can't do it all (and yes, my DH is very wonderful and participates in all duties)
How do other working moms keep track of work, kids activities, church events, pets, the house, cooking, and I am now in the process of starting a non-profit in my city to assist children and families who are homeless. (this task by itself has been huge!)

What products do you use? Websites? Techniques? I currently have a Blackberry and also have used cozi.com.

What systems do you use to organize your entire life? Including keeping a clean house??

How do you keep sane? I think that is a whole other issue! lol

Please - oh - please provide me some feedback!

 

[lisah0711]

A couple of suggestions: Google calendar (you can do a different color for each family member), www.flylady.com (for housecleaning)

It's hard to keep all the balls in the air and some days a few (or all ) will drop. But above all else, be sure and take care of yourself because you can't take care of everyone else if you don't!

Good luck!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

color code everyone!!!
I have a dry erase calendar for the week that is stationed over the kids cabinets where they keep their books stashed. That gets written on with different color markers. I also have a back up calendar on my phone.

fly lady is great for cleaning.

block out time once a month to make do ahead meals. I have a place about an hour away that does pre made meals. I order a bunch and have those on hand for busy days like today. I put them in the fridge the night before and they are ready the next day, I just have to make sides with them.

delegate when you can. the boys are in charge of laundry. DD is in charge of emptying the dishwasher.

I don't work but DH works on the road 45-50 weeks a year so it's pretty much all on me.

the last piece of advice I can give is make sure you can say no. You don't have to do everything. That was a hard lesson for me learn but it has really saved what little sanity I have left. LOL

 

[Minnie824]

I used to have a pda and it died and I lost everything. So, I'm back to basic lists. I have an excel spreadsheet for a budget, a regular pocketbook calendar in my purse, and index cards for lists of things to do and buy. No, not the best system, but this way i can write things down, change things quickly, and I always have the info with me. Also, for the cleaning...hire someone if you can! Definitely worth the money if it saves you time you don't have.

 

[marlynnp]

learn how to say 'No'

 

[C.Ann]

Don't over extend yourself, first of all..

Secondly, "lists".. The night before, make a list for everything that has to be done the next day.. Prioritize from most important to least.. Cross off tasks as they get done.. If something doesn't get done, it goes on the list for the next day..

 

[Jill in Chicago]

Here's the thing, no matter what kind of organizing system you use, you cannot add hours to your day. Period. You cannot do it all.

First things first. Sit down. Deep breath. What is truly important? For all of us that is a completely different answer. Write them down in order. Now think about all that you do. Does your list, in order, reflect what is truly important to you. Do you give your time to the most important things first?

For instance, where on the list does spending time with your husband go? For many of us spending time with our spouse gets shoved to the way bottom of our list. Where should it really be?

How about your own mental health? Does creating the non-profit make you feel absolutely incredible most of the time, or absolutely exhausted most of the time?

Back to your real question. At the very minimum all you need is a weekly calendar. When any piece of paper comes through your home you immediately deal with it. For instance, a kid's birthday party. You write down RSVP with a phone number. You figure out which day you will shop for the gift. You write down the party date and staple the invitation into your date book.

What this forces you to do is be realistic. You will look at your calendar and think I truly do not have a spare moment to buy a gift. That's when you have your child make a card, and you put a check/cash inside. Done.

 

[princessbride6205]

I have a wall calendar with columns for each person. DD doesn't have many activities, but it's good to have it up for other important things too, like reminders to pay certain bills that are less often than monthly.

For meals, I love my current system, which is cheap and simple: planning & post-its. I plan our meals for the week and write them down on a post-it which I stick to the fridge. Then I go shopping for the items we need. I put helpful notes next to the meals on the post-it, like a suggested side dish or "thaw" if it's something we need to pull out of the freezer ahead of the time. This has also helped ease mealtime angst and frustration with my DH that he never cooked dinner. He and DD arrive home 30-60 minutes before I get home from work. Now he can just look at the list and start cooking something rather than waiting for me to get home.

Oh and as for a clean house, that just doesn't happen.

 

[JennaTX]

I am another one who loves google calendar. It is so easy to use and the color coding really helps out!

It will send you an email every morning that looks just like an itinerary for your day.

 

[LovableGluttons]

I love Google calendar too! I use different colors to emphasize importance. The notifications go to everyone's phones. Dh, Ds, Dd, and even my parents use it to keep up with everyone's schedules. We even pencil in vacations and breaks.

We have been a two career family for over twenty years! We all have activities we do for personal growth and fulfillment. That really helps to keep you grounded and relatively sane too.

Remember, you can sleep later.....

 

[klacey1]

I use a gigantic desk calender hung up in the kitchen with EVERYTHING for the week on it-- work projects, any appointments, bills to pay, etc. Every Sunday night, DBF and I study it to make sure we know exactly what is coming up that week so there are no surprises. As soon as we know about something, it goes onto the calender! (We don't have kids yet, so I realize our schedule may not be as complex as some others', but we're still VERY busy and need to keep organized)
As far as cleaning-- we do the dishes immediately after we use them and then each day has a primary cleaning job as marked on the desk calender (Monday is dusting the living room, bigger jobs like vacuuming for the weekend. We try to do one big job per month-- like cleaning the cars or closets). We're honestly really good about staying on track, with vacations being our only interruption. Even during the holidays we try to keep up. I'd much rather do a little at a time than let it all pile up. (We only let laundry pile up so we can save water/electricity and only try to do it 1-2 times a month. That's another thing that's probably much easier without kids!)

 

[PollyannaMom]

We've started having a family meeting every Sunday, where we go over our schedules for the week and copy everything onto an erasable calendar, which hangs on the pantry door in the kitchen. It helps to know in advance which days are busy with appointments and activities, who will be out, etc.

For stuff I need to do, I'm definitely a list-maker. And I find I have to change the color/format frequently, or it becomes one more piece of "background", and I don't really focus on it. Right now, I have an 8.5x11 piece of paper divied into 9 blocks - one for each day specific day of the week, then the last two labeled "This Week", and "Projects". - Of course, most things on the "Projects" list tend to get copied over to the next week's list, but I'm working on it!