I'm trying to figure myself out this week, because I confuse myself. I'm trying to figure out why I am, by nature, a very organized person, yet SO disorganized at home. In the workplace or with any responsibilities I am given, I am very detail-oriented, stay on task and stay organized. But at home, I am a mess. I am disorganized, I lose things constantly, papers are strewn in different piles throughout the house, I am forgetful, and my house is a great big mess. I make lists for myself: shopping lists, meals & recipes, cleaning charts, projects to work on, etc... and then I lose my lists or forget about them.
Some of this comes down to basic self-discipline. This has always been a struggle for me in my personal life. I have struggled with discipline in the area of devotions, eating, exercising, staying on top of household chores, and much more. I just don't feel like doing things, and so I won't do them! Isn't that bad? I let things get out of hand because I don't want to take the time to fix them. Then it gets too overwhelming.
This is an area that God has been convicting me of lately. I want to honor God with my time, and I haven't been. I would much rather take a nap or read the newspaper than clean up the great big mess in the kitchen. I would much rather make a mess than clean it up. I would much rather go run errands than deal with a disorganized office. I see the effects of this, and it is not good. It even makes my family suffer. I was talking with my husband about it last night and he gently reminded me that when I am chaotic, my kids feel chaotic too. When I can't find things, I run late, and I lose my patience. When the house is a wreck, it does not make for a peaceful environment to live in. Every time I start cleaning, my kids automatically ask "who is coming over?" You know that's not good! :)
I don't know where to start. But here are the areas I want to improve:
-Waking up earlier
-Spending time with God
-Exercising
-Eating healthy
-Keeping on top of the laundry
-Keeping the house clean
-Having set "work" times so I'm not working all throughout the day
All of these take self-discipline. I know that this starts in the heart and moves outward. Maybe you guys can help me. Do you have any tips that help you be more organized at home or with your time? I'm sure you have areas too that you want to be more self-disciplined in. Where do we begin?
Trust me, I know about self-discipline! That's why I can't do diets. I have no control when it comes to food! Not good I know. Anyway, the thing that works for me is to make a routine out of it. Do one thing a day - bathrooms on Monday, living room on Tuesday, etc. However you want to do it. Of course dishes need to be done daily, but they can be done after the kids are in bed. Maybe it's something you & Martin can do together after the kids go to sleep so it's quicker! The key would be to do the cleaning & laundry while the kids are in school or napping, sleeping, etc. so this way when they're home and awake they're your only focus. It works for me, hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteI struggle with a lot of the same things! I still haven't figured it out. One thing I try to do is make myself do a task for a specific amount of time...like I'm going to clean the kitchen for 15min. Or I will do chores in the morning, so I can have down time while the kids nap in the afternoon. I am going to blog some stuff about balance coming up...look for it!!
ReplyDeleteOur pastor in San Diego gave great advice about this. He said it's so easy to get overwhelmed by all that we "should be" doing that we just don't try. So, his advice was to pick ONE thing and do it consistently until it becomes a habit (like brushing your teeth). Once it's habit, you don't have to constantly remind yourself to do it. You just do. Then you can move on to the next thing on your list. Then, you do that until it becomes a habit, etc. It has worked well for us. It's also important to give yourself some grace. :) You will never be perfect so just do your best.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I like to combine things. I have Skylar read to me while I'm sorting laundry or I pray while I'm loading the dishwasher. Multi-tasking. I also have a plaque at my house that says "simplify." I've tried to eliminate all the unnecessary clutter in our house. It's a work in progress but feels SO much better when there's not too many "extras" around.
I don't know how much tv you all watch or how much computer time you have, but I had to cut WAY down on those to get more productive (sadly). I also figure that when the kids are all in school, I will have more time to get things cleaner and even more organized!! Only 3 more years to go! :D
My sister in law is sooooo organized and I am constantly comparing myself to her. I think of myself as organized, too, but I am in no way as organized as her. I get down on myself about it a lot! I think that if you are feeling a conviction about it, then you need to seek God on what He is trying to tell you about your life in this area. If it isn't a conviction from God, and it is just a "should" that you think you "should be" a certain way...then you need to give that over to God, too. The most important thing (I think) is that you spend time with God and your hubby and your boys. If the house isn't perfect right now, who cares. Your boys won't remember and once they are grown and gone, they'll remember the time you spent with them...not if their home was perfectly spotless. Just my two cents...which isn't worth much. :-)
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