Becoming Organised

I used to like to think of myself as a fairly organised person. Sure, I owned too much stuff, and couldn't always locate things when I needed them. But my bills were (almost) always paid on time, I was hardly ever late to anything, I had paperwork sorted, I had systems and routines in place, and nearly everything had a checklist.

Around the time we started planning for our second child, that all went to hell. I still went on, thinking I was a totally organised domestic goddess, completely oblivious to the mess around. The forgotten appointments, the lost items, the house over run with… just… stuff.

This morning, this all came crashing down. My eldest starts Kindy next year. I found all the notes in his bag from his pre-kindy session yesterday about food (what he can and can't bring, and how it needs to be stored), library days, show and tell, appropriate clothing, etc, and started reading through it this morning over breakfast. My first response was "Hell, there is a lot of rules!". My second response was "Argh!!! I am soooo not this organised anymore!!"

I have really let go since my youngest was born. Struggling with sleepless nights, a baby with reflux, a mischievous 4 year old pushing for attention, and then I went and added studies to the mix.

With less than 6 weeks before I go back to full time work, and I have to juggle work, study, kids/partner needs, home duties, football training for my son, kindy and daycare requirements for the kids. Not to mention trying to clear out the house, and packing for the move later in the year. It's time I get my butt into gear!

Checklists are my best friend. Along with anything that can help our time-poor family. When we are both working full time, we do our grocery shopping online. I also try to do this as often as I can with other shopping. This means I need to be organised. Making sure I allow enough time for items to be delivered for things like birthday presents. I find this quite budget friendly too, as I'm less likely to make impulsive purchases. Most websites offer free delivery over a certain amount, too. Coles do free delivery on Wednesdays, and Target offer free click and collect over $40, or free home delivery over $75.

My planner is probably my bestest friend on the earth. It holds everything. Including lists of present ideas for the kids, my budget, birthday party planning for the kids, and assignment due dates. Unfortunately it's way too big to take out everywhere with me, but it sits at home, and will stay in the car for times of need once I start working again.

I guess the main things I need to stay on top of are routines - washing, cleaning, lunches, study times, etc, and clearing out the house to make sure that we have less items to navigate in the house. This was really the kick up the butt that I needed to get back to being super-organised-mum, and a minimalist too!