I had plans to start this school year off more organized and prepared than I had in years past.
Then my husband got hurt, plans got completely derailed, and now we are 35 hours from our first day of school and I am nowhere near ready. Or prepared.
I cannot afford to be disorganized this year.
And I don’t mean that figuratively. I literally cannot afford it. Every minute counts, especially considering our situation.
I do not have time to waste looking for socks or searching for papers or trying to locate a brush or realizing 5 minutes before the bus comes that we have no idea where the hell a shoe is.
And I am so stressed out now, forget that I can’t afford to waste time. My brain just cannot handle that stress.
This is the school year that I have to have order.
I just have to.
Of course, my whole house right now is a mess.
My kitchen is a mess.
My cabinets are a mess.
My dining room table is a mess.
My refrigerators are a mess.
My mudroom is a mess.
And I know it’s not as bad as it could be.
But I can’t handle chaos right now. I need everything to be able to be located quickly and easily. For me and for the kids.
Especially if I want to continue to stay in the yell-free zone with them. Which I do.
Part of my problem is that I don’t have systems or routines that are organized enough or in some cases, at all.
And part of the reason why I don’t have some areas organized or a system in place is that if I can’t do it perfectly, then I don’t do it at all.
Or if I can’t have it all set up before the school year starts, then I just say fuck it, and decide I’ll start next year.
But who knows what the hell is going to happen next summer.
In a perfect world, I would have gotten all this stuff set up this past week.
But my world just isn’t perfect right now, and I need to get some shit in order.
Especially since I’m on my own for the next couple months.
I’m now the head developmental coach for the swim team.
That’s great for us, because we need the money desperately.
But I wasn’t planning on my husband being out of commission for the next couple months.
And as soon as the kids get home from school, I’m going to have to load them in the car and take them all to practice with me. And then once we get home, it will pretty much be dinner and straight to bed.
I know I’m not the only person in the world who has afternoons and nights like this. But I wasn’t really prepared for it. And I just need to have some order.
I really, REALLY don’t want to be running around like a lunatic from the minute the kids get home from school all the way until bedtime. It’s tiring enough. I don’t want to make things more difficult or challenging for myself.
And you know what they say…
When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
I am not going to fucking fail.
So I’m going to start small, and take care of stuff gradually.
I know what I need to get organized in order for the mornings and the evenings to run smoothly.
Lunch stuff needs to be organized.
Clothes, shoes, and before too long, jackets need to be organized.
Papers need to be organized.
Swim stuff needs to be organized.
Dinner needs to be organized.
I need to get systems into place. I had them in place when I was a teacher. I’m not sure why I don’t have them in place now.
Luckily, the kids have been making their own lunches for a couple years now.
But when the supplies, water bottles, snacks etc. aren’t easily accessible, it can make it chaotic.
So today I started there.
With the refrigerator and pantry.
I didn’t try to tackle everything at once. I didn’t overhaul and clean out the entire fridge or the pantry shelves.
Just what was absolutely necessary for right now.
I went to Costco earlier this afternoon and made sure I had food for lunches, and I went to the dollar store and got some baskets and containers.
I cleared off two shelves in the fridge and one in the pantry.
And I made space for some baskets.
That was about it for today.
Tomorrow the kids will help me fill them up, and then they will also know what their options for lunch are.
And then, we’ll tackle the next thing that needs to get done in order for the first day to have some semblance of order.
I’ll fill you in on that one tomorrow.
If you are over having your mornings (and evenings) being chaotic and rushed from September to June, you can join me.
Step by step, we can get our asses organized together.
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I so needed this and will be right there with you in our organizing journey! Thank you!
Beautiful! I too feel that an organized environment is essential for keeping sane.
I too love using dollar store bins. They’re really great used for toys in the playroom and the bedroom. Each bin holds one type of toy (eg., Barbies in one, doctor kit things in one) and we store them lined up on yard store bookcases. This is an easy/inexpensive way to encourage keeping sets sorted (so there’s not just a mush of junk) and pretty easy to clean up by throwing things into bins.
I don’t know one person who’s world is perfect!
“I know I’m not the only person in the world who has afternoons and nights like this.” You said it and you are sooooooooo not alone!
In your previous post from vacation realizing that you had too much crap, someone suggested the book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. I immediately downloaded it from audible and listened to it. It is a really fucking weird book, and downright silly in some parts, but the main process is remarkable. I tackled the girls’ room the other day, and we all feel great about it! I literally can’t wait to have time to do the rest of the house.
Another great book I listened to recently is Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. If you combine the methods/theories in these two books, you have a great plan/method for getting organized bit by bit, and choosing the most important stuff first.
I like audio books because I can listen to them while I’m driving, doing laundry, cleaning, etc. It’s not like I have to make time to read in my busy schedule. You could probably get them from the library too.
I will be following the getting organized journey with you, and working on my own life and home! My new goal is to not be rushed and in a hurry ALL the time! I never feel relaxed, and that needs to change!
I recommend Flylady for easy routines to follow. All her info is free on her website. Before bed routine, morning routine, afternoon routine….that’s the order of importance. All ages can follow them. I use them with my own family and teach them to my fifth graders every year.
It’s a similar philosophy to the Fly Lady. I like her routines, but I can’t handle the amount of emails she sends out. Very annoying.
if you sign up for “Fly Lady Light” you get ONE email a day. Sort of like a checklist. I love her and her suggestions/mantras…. “one load of laundry a day keeps the chaos a way”… “you can’t organize clutter”…”set your timer for 15 minutes, do the job and then you can stop”… “declutter for 15 minutes every day”… stuff like that. It slowly seeps in and helps build a healthier mindset!
I agree about the amount of emails being too much. Her website can be a bit overwhelming too. Just sticking to the simple routines is a good start. Short lists are better.
Hm. I’ve enjoyed reading your posts for a while, but this one prompted me to leave my first comment. Viewing your photos, I was struck by how much is in your pantry and refrigerator; not the disorganized state (which is arguable and a matter of degree), but the sheer amount of things in there. I was also struck that your reaction was to purchase more things. The fact is, buying more things will neither be a deciding factor in your organization, nor will it help your financial situation (no matter how cheap the bins were).
I’m in a situation that’s similar to yours. Two years ago, I had a picture-perfect marriage with a wonderful son and a well-stocked, well-organized home that we owned, and a great job and plenty of money. Today, I’m raising a son on my own in one of the most expensive parts of the world (Marin County, CA), lost my main source of income and scrambling to find rent every month so we don’t end up homeless. I understand your wanting to feel organized and how it’s necessary to be organized in order to be efficient in your home. I also can tell you from experience – both from my own house as well as from my experience as an organizer (one of the jobs I’ve recently started performing to make ends meet!) – that getting organized means not buying new things but rather dealing with what you have. Your pantry and fridge are full; the secret is to use what’s there, all of it, before you buy more. Use what’s in your pantry. Get super creative. Start embracing the feeling of scarcity and desperation. I’ve found it’s addictive in a way. I cook healthful meals for my son out of the lentils that have been neglected in our pantry since 2013 and the wilted dregs from our crisper. Things can’t go to waste.
I don’t mean to attack you. I think you’re a badass and I like the way you operate. But I also saw your overflowing tupperware drawer and then your new tupperware purchases and it made me think of the tendency we all have to think that there’s a solution that we can buy for everything, and in some cases, especially when money’s tight, the exact opposite is the case. Get by with less. Sell what you have. My first step in organizing has been purging and selling the things we don’t or haven’t used on eBay; I’ve made over $1000 in the past 2 months. I’ve gotten creative, using glasses with lids for food storage, and asking on Next Door for jars. I know these things take time, but not much more than running to Costco or the dollar store.
Anyway, I really just want to remind you that a lot of this process involves letting go of the consumerism and need for bounty that we’ve been trained to expect and need. (Again, I’ve seen lots of evidence that you’ve changed your mindframe, but this one stood out to me.)
Hi Susie! I love your blog – your kiddos are hilarious and I think you have some awesome ideas for saving money, getting organized, etc. I was on pinterest the other day and I remembered seeing a few organizational ideas that I thought I would share with you after reading your post (all about picking out clothes for the week on Sunday). Hopefully they will help for you to de-stress your mornings & afternoons. Good Luck!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/167970261074879996/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AYH3h3EfvzIa7ziskF80d78BJgwWAtMAnlFp-w5dhpHsnJFD8QeC5NU/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/138767232241699762/
I was wondering if your family would qualify for free or reduced lunch at school. That could be a load off your shoulders, one less thing to worry about at night or in the morning. Also, if you do qualify you might also qualify for assistance with after school programs for the little ones so you’re not having to drag them to your practices.
I’m new to your blog so maybe you posted about this last year…