Getting Organized - #3
Delegating and Getting the Job Done
by
Michelle Jones
I know I'm not the only working mom, nor am I the only working mom with a large family... but I am currently one of the busiest people that I know. And with busyness often comes disorganization. I can remember years ago, before I had my own children, my house was incredibly organized. Every closet, every cabinet, everything.
Now, 4 kids and 12 years later, I know where everything is, but climbing over the boxes to get to it is another matter. Last night, I saw a commercial on T.V. that very much resembled my life (until I recently got my act together and started getting organized again, of course!) It was for the Verizon telephone company and it went like this...
The scene was a guy sitting as his computer desk with several stacks of unorganized papers 2 feet high, the commercial was advertising the convenience of paying your bills online and as the young man had just easily paid his bill on time by using the online service (I think he even had his lunch sitting on the stack of papers), a large portion of the papers began to slide off his desk and form another messy pile. Oh how I wish I could say that my desk has never looked like that!
I have this picture in my mind of what a writer’s office looks like, and an editor at that. Books and papers would be everywhere, they’d be lucky to have even had lunch… and besides, who needs a lunch table anyways? But the organizer in me couldn’t stand it for long. After a year of not being able to see the top of my desk (unless someone walked to close and created an avalanche of papers), I had to get my desk back, and my house. And as a matter of fact, I do like pretty tables!
I’m happy to report that my New Year’s Resolution to get my house organized is coming along great. Every week or so I pick a room, closet, shelf or cabinet to clean out and make pretty again. And every time I finish a project, no matter how small it may seem, I know I’m another step closer to reaching my goal. Even though another job transfer for my husband may be near and everything will be packed up in boxes again… at least there won’t be any extra junk going in those boxes, this time!
I have one more important tip I’d like to share with you about getting organized. I’ve discovered that extra jobs around the house can’t get done, if the basic cleaning tasks are still on the list. And for most of us, that list is never finished. an on-going project, especially for those of us with small children.
So, here’s what you have to do. When you’re washing the dishes, open a cabinet and organize it. When you’re getting the vacuum out of the hall closet, take 10 minutes to organize it. When you’re putting your child’s laundered clothes in his/her room, grab a few items (clothing, toys, books, etc…) that aren’t needed any more and put them in your 'give away' box. Then as soon as your 'give away' box is full, give the contents away and start filling up another one.
Little by little, all the organizing and extra jobs around the house that need to get done, will!
And as much as I’d love to continue sharing my organizing adventure with you each month, this will be my last article for this column. As the editor, I know that delegating topics on the Blessings for Life Online Magazine is as important as delegating chores around the house within my family, but fortunately for the writers and I, much more fun!I hope you don't mind, but I’ve asked someone that spends her life on the subject of organizing to continue my efforts here. I believe she'll be a great encouragement to all of us. Her name is Maria Gracia, founder of Get Organized Now!, and she has agreed to take over this column and get us all more organized! I hope you will enjoy the new column, and since we’re taking a break this summer we’re publishing a few of her latest articles to get you started...
God bless,
Michelle
Get Organized Now!
(featured column by Maria
Gracia)