Organization for Normal People
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Think that organization is only for people who have it all together? Au contraire. It’s for you and me, the normal people.
Organization, when you hear the word, may conjure a realm of different images: spotless home, alphabetized spices, labeled shelves. You may think of Martha Stewart or the people you know who are never a day late or a dollar short. You may think: perfect.
I’d like to challenge that perception. You can be a very imperfect person (read: normal) and still have organization play an important role in your life. It can serve you, flaws and all.
For me, a very flawed individual, organization means bringing order to my chaos. It means feeling at peace with, not overwhelmed by my stuff or my responsibilities. I am not always “organized”, but when I am, it helps me rest as well as enjoy my life a little bit more.
Over the next month, I’ll be posting short, daily snippets about how you and I (very normal people) can use organization skills to bring us and those we love more joy and peace.
I don’t want to be a slave to systems or stuff. So, the right kind of organization for me is the one that frees me and my family from monotonous or superfluous tasks. It allows us space to enjoy God’s world and one another.
And sometimes “organization” is really about getting rid of that extra stuff you don’t need, that’s just dragging you down.
Organization for Normal People
Here’s a list of topics we’ll be chatting about here on Life as Mom in October. In some ways it will be a condensed version of Zone Defense, but it will be more than that.
This series is about organizing the activities and “stuff”of your life in a way that brings you peace and helps you live your life better.
We’ll talk about:
- Organization for Normal People (this introduction)
- Organize Your Days for Success
- How to Organize Your Email
- Organize Your Meal Planning
- Organized Enough to Make Room for Fun
- Organizing Household Chores
- Setting Up a Homework System
- Make The Bathroom Less of a Dump
- How to Store Your Child’s Artwork
- 8 Great Ways to Organize Your Freezer Cooking Day
- Planning a Rest Day
- Organize Recipes So You Can Actually Make Them
- Organize with the Print & Go Planner
- Organizing Tips for a Home Office
- Travel Tips for Planning and Packing
- Organized Phone Apps
- Organize Your Weekend
- A Free Printable Meal Planner to Get You Organized
- Snack Planning
- What I Learned Cleaning My Kids’ Bedrooms
- Plastic Storage Box Addiction
- How to Get Your Whole House Clean at One Time
- Money Management Tips
- Plan for Self-Care
- 10 Tools to Organize Your Homeschool
- How I Made Laundry Easy on Myself
- Be Prepared for an Emergency
- Computer Maintenance: Keeping Your Computer Clutter-Free
- Organize Your Meal Prep
- Tips for a Great Family Movie Night
- Organizing Birthdays and Holidays
Each day I’ll present an area of life that could benefit from a little organization or even just a little more purposeful action. I’ll include ways to approach the “stuff” involved with that particular realm, but I’ll also offer suggestions on how to manage the physical and mental energy involved in that particular area of life. Both matter. I hope you’ll chime in and share what works for you!
Be sure to pin this post, as I will be updating it with links to the posts in the series.
I’ll be pinning new ideas I find or that you share with me over here on my Home and Life Organization Pinboard. Be sure to send me your great ideas — or leave them in the comments section.
I’m super excited to get our acts together — together. 😉
So, tell me:
What do you need to organize?
P.S. I’m participating in 31 Days.
I am very excited! 🙂
I always think of September as MY New Year!
Isn’t that the truth?!
Ooooo I am ready to hear all you have to share on this great series! I need help organizing toys, books, school supplies, science experiments, electronics and things that go with them-dvds, wires, software, linens, kitchen…help! :)I really have done a lot in all of these areas, but I still have more to go and want to be done!
The Zone Defense archives might cover all your questions if this month’s series didn’t: http://lifeasmom.com/tag/zone-defense
How about hand-me-downs? I need to revamp my system & it’s a seasonal change. I have a large family and the bins can quickly get out of control. I am also trying to figure out currently being worn shoe storage… We have a coat closet & they go in there, but it’s scary!
Love your blogs!
This is how we handle it: http://lifeasmom.com/2012/04/sorting-and-storing-kids-clothes-zone-defense.html At some point it’s become a moot point because of the sizes they are, but we also live where we don’t do a big seasonal switch.
Hi there, I bought Get Organized last year. Can I use it for the organizational challenge. Thanks a bunch,Amy
I’m not sure I understand your question. I don’t know what Get Organized is.
My desk! Papers!! I have tried the digital theory of storing papers. But I find I like the paper in my hand. Or rather stacked two feet deep in my desk! The only thing well kept is a filing system for my bills, ha, can’t pay those late! But all other papers in my life, it’s a joke! I teach preschool in my home and have a constant never ending pile of new ideas for preschool, my own family personal papers, kids homework, or papers that come home daily from school, , church activities, mail, dates idea with the hubby, etc etc.
LOVE YOUR BLOG!!
Thanks, Lorette!
I agree with all the above areas that need my attention yet just keeping piling on more stuff bc I feel I dont have time to thoroughly go-thru items to toss, keep or give away 🙁
thank you!
amy
We had to really carve out the time. It took three days of my life. Hard, but worth it.
my coat closet (which has no room for coats), my memorabilia (I keep too much), my rarely-used things like swimsuits, my toddler’s outerwear now that winter is coming, the upper corner cupboard in my kitchen (I’ve heard of putting 19″ lazy susans in there but the opening is about 12″), our shoes, etc. 🙂 I think mainly I need to get rid of my fear of throwing away something useful & just declutter. 🙂 Looking forward to this series. Oh, just read Janet above. Yes! Paper!
Have you seen the video on youtube about making your own lazy susan. You put marbles (from the Dollar Tree) in the bottom of a pie tin/ plate (also from Dollar Tree). Then add a second pie tin/plate on top of the marbles and voila, a homemade lazy susan. In my area I haven’t found a lazy susan cheaper than this DIY that costs only $3. Seems like it would fit in your cupboard also.
So the pie plates nest with the marbles in between? Genius. Thanks for sharing!
I hope you found some snippets that were helpful. All the links are updated in this post.
My life in general! At the moment.
I hear ya! I hope the series was helpful!
Paper — mail, receipts, school memos, kids artwork, bills, and on and on and on…
I hope this post was helpful! http://lifeasmom.com/2015/10/how-to-store-your-childs-artwork.html
Yay! Perfect timing! I’m going to re-set my organization (or lack thereof) and my brain (the clutter within), so I look forward to daily snippets!
I hope you found some new inspiration!
EVERYTHING!
18-month-old (youngest of 4) delights in unpacking backpacks, diaper bags, etc that are left on the floor. Also emptying any drawer which is not locked. There aren’t enough places up high to keep things out of her reach.
There’s a picture in this post of how we’ve managed that. My husband has installed pegs in every house we lived in: http://lifeasmom.com/2012/07/12-ways-to-save-on-home-improvements-frugal-friday.html
Bookcases! 🙂
Paper clutter! This involves craft patterns and recipes. How do I keep up with my bills without losing them???
I hope these ideas will help!
http://lifeasmom.com/2015/10/organize-recipes-so-you-can-actually-make-them.html
http://lifeasmom.com/2013/04/how-to-keep-better-books-frugal-friday.html
http://lifeasmom.com/2015/10/organizing-tips-for-a-home-office.html
I didn’t cover bookcases specifically in the series, but you can read ideas in these posts:
http://lifeasmom.com/2013/07/organizing-books-other-kid-stuff-zone-defense.html
http://lifeasmom.com/2012/07/how-to-organize-contain-childrens-toys-books-other-stuff.html