Saturday, May 19, 2007
Getting Organized
I love to organize. I will actually let certain areas of my house get a little cluttery just so I can spend time reorganizing. I consider it a very fun thing to do. (I know some of you will consider this a sickness!  )Still, that being said, my house can get a bit untidy at times. -Hmmm, well more often than I wish to admit. As I look around my home at this very minute I notice that my coffee table needs to be cleaned and my living room floor vaccuumed. I know for a fact that my kitchen cupboards are ultra organized as is my linen closet in my downstair bathroom. Now, if someone was to enter my home for a visit this evening would they notice my beautifully organized cupboards and closets? The odds are against it. However, I can be pretty sure they would notice the dirt on the coffee table (we use it as an ottoman) and the dirt on the living room floor too. So, I need to do more than just organize, I need to actually spend time doing the day to day cleaning details (ugggh!) The day to day work for me seems so uncreative and can be a drudgery to do. Yet I know that it is a ministry to my family and guests to have a clean, tidy home. I have found the very best advice for having a tidy, organized home are the old adages "A place for everything, and everything in it's place" and "If something needs to be done, do it". Well, the second one isn't old, I just thought of it but it is true none the less! We can read all the books we want, attend all the seminars offered, and make oodles of charts on the computer to help us organize our lives, but if don't actually put some "foot action" behind our plans than our homes will be unorganized and cluttered in no time. There are a few helpful resources available for getting and keeping your home organized. I have read many books and articles on the subject but 3 resources stand out as the best for me and my personality. #1 on the list is "Finally Organized" by Inge Pohl Cannon. This 2 tape set comes with a booklet that summarizes all the principles taught on the tapes. Mrs. Cannon has many practical tips. I have had this set for a few years now and listen to it at least twice a year just because I enjoy hearing what she has to say! #2 on the list is the brand new book by Marilyn Rockett, "Homeschooling at the Speed of Life". This book would be good for anyone interested in organizing their homes or lives whether they homeschool or not. I have loved the articles Marilyn wrote for the Homeschool Manual (by Ted Wade) and the Teaching Home and have reread them oodles of times, as well as used her wonderful charts included in the back of the Homeschool Manual. I was so excited to hear that Marilyn wrote her own book on homeschooling and this book meets all my expectations! She has included a free cd with many charts for organizing as well. This book is definitely the "homeschool best buy of the year!" #3 on the list is the goal making advice Lorraine Curry has in her must-have-if- you-are-homeschooling book "Easy Homeschooling Techniques" . I have referred to her techniques again and again over the years. Her system for goal making, as well as homeschooling, is easy to use and effective. Well, that is my 2 cents on organizing. Now I'm off to vaccuum the floor --- well, I'll get it done right after we watch a family movie (yeah, right.)  ~Penni |
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