I might have posted about this before but I am not organized enough to remember or find it ...HAHA, get it. Ok, ok, whatever.
So, I am unorganized. I know none of you are surprised so I will skip the explaining part. Part of my New Year's resolution is to become more organized. I feel like it might have been my resolution last year too but I am not sure. I am trying to come up with ways to do this and have a few ideas. I have found that I am better with a routine. I guess most people are...that is probably why they tell people to put babies on a routine, maybe we would all be happier on a routine. I also do better with lists so here are my ideas/struggles:
--I am going to make a list of "chores" that need to be done every week and do them on Sundays (other times if they need to be but even if I don't think they need to be done throughout the week I will do them on Sunday). I find that Sundays are really lazy in our house so this is a good time to get some of these things done (vacuuming, dusting, clean the bathroom, wash the sheets, etc).
--I am going to try to get some sort of organizer/system to organize my mail. I am curious what you guys keep and what you don't. I feel like even after I go through my mail I have a MILLION pieces of mail where Craig has like 5. I don't get it and it must be something I am keeping but don't need or am not filing (I don't even have one anymore).
--RECEIPTS- they consume me and my purse and various other parts of my house. It is ridiculous. I do ALL of the shopping at our house...Target, grocery, lowe's, whatever so I have a million receipts. I also have to keep up with all the ones for my million business trips and keep them organized to turn them in. I had more missing receipts than I would like to admit this last year and with me reporting to someone higher next year, I feel like I should get it together. I also have the ones for my photography business (though not much was bought there this year). I have the idea of getting one of those coupon organizers and doing sections for work, MAP, and various stores that I frequent (I am the queen of buying and then returning items) that I might need receipts for (I also have to keep the grocery store ones until I can enter the savings into my vacation fund...I would go by the receipt but last week I got one at Kroger that said I had saved $35 so far this year...um, no, way more than that).
--Coupons, giftcards, rebates. I am getting addicted recently, and I have forgotten to send in rebates or spend giftcards in the past so I want to organize them so they are all together. I feel like I can remember getting one and then I don't know where it is when I want to use it. I swear I found one the other day that I got from a friend about 3 years ago...wonder if it is still good.
--Clothes - there are just too many. You can put shoes in that category too. I know that you should throw out things that you haven't worn in a year, I just don't do it. Anyone have a good system of when they do this? I suppose seasons make sense, right? I need to 'pencil' it in so I do it. (again with the lists). I hold on to the clothes from my going out days that I know I will never wear again. I literally can't think of the last time I went out. I also have lots of cute heels and stuff that I would still like to keep for weddings or whatever...they are sort of classic styles so I don't have to worry about them going out of style but not sure where to keep them until someone else gets married or I need them.
--Food - I buy stuff but then I am not great about using whatever I buy to make meals. Sort of hard to explain but I will buy stuff on sale and not really think about what I would make to go with it so I always end up missing an ingredient here or there that I need to make a full meal. I would like to do more menu planning and then go shopping, just haven't found out the best way to do it.
Those are probably the big things. I know there are a million more but I have to be realistic about it all. Someone can't go from never being organized to being super organized in a week. Hopefully by the end of the year next year I will be much better at it and can have an original goal for next year. If you have any tips for me, pass them along!!
7 months ago
5 comments:
Couponing:
I have a hanging file that holds several folders. The folder labels are P&G, RP, Receipts, This week's ads, and then many dated folders that are for the end date of the coupon. I put receipts in an envelope in the receipts folder with the store name written on the outside of the envelope. I also have a huge ass wallet that allows me to have lots of receipts in it until I file. I have a caddy that my mom got me that holds all my frequent buyer cards and gift cards and it stays in my purse. Before I am headed to a store I make a list of what I'm buying there and put the coordinating coupons in an envelope with the list. I never go to the grocery store without a list (for several years) and that way I buy the ingredients needed to make meals. One idea that I thought of as well was to print out a blank calendar of the month and then you could mark on there your expiring coupons date if you don't like the file system.
I divide my "to do" list by work to do, projects to do, cleaning to do, and errands to do. I star my most important items to do that day and cross out when finished. I rewrite if it gets messy. This is probably not the easiest way to do this, but I have tried electronically and I prefer paper and pen.
No real advice on clothes since I struggle with that as well. I do give away, but I am also not going to throw out something just b/c I haven't worn it that year. You just never know when you are going to need it.
By no means am I an expert organizer, but this is just how I do things. Good luck!
The one thing in your list I can relate to is meal planning. We sit down before we go to the store for the week & plan our menu for the week. That way we can plan to buy missing ingredients we will need & always have the right stuff. Of course this could potentially fly in the face of the couponing, where you buy whatever is on sale (since you might not need it for what you've planned, or the items you need for the meals you've planned may not be on sale). But we find it helps immensely to have our menu planned out for the week. Of course, we do have 2 small kids who expect to be fed by 6:15, so time is definitely of the essence when we get home! :)
Thanks guys.
@Drena, I like the blank calendar idea for expiring coupons or maybe to have some sort of system to take them out the week before the end of the month or something. I seem to get screwed on them expiring sometimes. I also hope that following these couponing websites will help me to use more of them before they expire. Is it sad that there are supposed to be lots of inserts in my paper this weekend and I am excited about it. SICKNESS!
I am also one of those people who needs a paper and pen in order to stay organized. I am a list maker too and I think that my problem has become making the lists and then not looking at them so I think that I need to get more of a routine. I had tried to split them into smaller projects earlier in the year and it worked well so I will try to stick with that. Thanks for the suggestions. I have seen your wallet and don't want to get to that point :-) but the other ideas are really good.
@Rebecca - I think that I can do both the couponing and the menu planning. Ideally if I have bought stuff that is on sale in a previous week but we don't eat it then I can plan to make that and just add the extra stuff to my list. I am pretty decent at always having SOMETHING to make, it is just that I am always missing one ingredient. I have learned in the last nine months that Craig doesn't care what we eat and we tend to eat a lot of the same things over and over so I hope that I can plan for those and then have a new recipe in there every now and again. Glad to hear that the planning is working for someone!
I also found a good site. orgjunkie.com that has some ideas so I am going to try to use some of those too.
Wow! Great New Year's resolution. Just got a new bigger bookcase and organized the kids playroom (even labeled the bins!). Hoping to also make being organized a goal this year. As far as things I already do:
To do things, etc, chores - I am still a big paper and pen person and use my planner for everything - Appointments and monthly/weekly/daily items. I go forward and will pencil in things in an extra box also so they do not jump up on me - like in early Sept "start thinking about Halloween costumes" and then the last week of Sept has "have Halloween costumes", November has get Christmas picture, etc. (Yes, those are already in my new calendar). Then I add to it things like "buy birthday present for" the week before an event when I write the event in. When things get closer I add in all the everyday things that need to get done and then distribute them throughout the week usually on Sunday or the Friday afternoon before the week ahead. I bring forward anything that did not get done and love crossing things off as I get them done all week. When I feel like I am not getting much done it is usually because I have not been looking at my planner.
Coupons/Meal planning- Cut coupons from the paper of things I tend to use or may want to try and keep them in an envelope on Sunday. It can get pretty messy and thinking I need to move to a couple envelope system (maybe one for each of the stores I go to with the coupons for stuff I buy there). It is pretty easy to plan my shopping since Target and Harris Teeter are pretty much the only real stores nearby (Walmart is pretty far and Harris Teeter is on every corner). Anyways, pull the coupons and Target circular on Sunday and after clipping fresh coupons look through Target see what is on sale. Make my Target list for the week (down to once a week usually) based on what I need and what we will need soon if it is on sale. Go through all the coupons pull anything that is on the list and paper clip it to the back of the list. Put it inside my planner (which goes inside my purse every day).
Meals I pull the Harris Teeter circular every Wednesday from the newspaper (store specials change every Wednesday). Go through to start thinking about meals. Usually plan meals on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning for the next week. Make grocery list based on what we are having and what is on special, go through coupons, attach to list with paper clip. Usually head back to the grocery on Tuesday or Wednesday for any thing we need to finish out the week or if something is going on/just came on special that we really need. Do not usually do major stocking of anything (chicken broth, cereal, etc) unless it is on big special or triple coupon week.
Clothing: not a lot of help. When things get too crazy or cannot find any hangers I usually decide it is time to go through clothing. Shoes need some major attention and maybe one day I'll tackle them.
Anyways, not really very organized, but I am trying. Good luck with it!
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