Are you and Organized Mom or Scattered Mess?

Joys of Being an Organized Mom

In 1992 or so, I had to make a decision. I was running a daycare out of my home and had a direct sales business. My oldest child was in public school, and things were looking grim for her. The school did not treat advanced children well. So my husband and I made the decision to bring her home to school.

I was already an organized mom, but now it was imperative that the whole family get even more organized so I could be an effective teacher while running a day care and my little direct sales biz. With God and a wonderful husband, I was able to take three weeks off while we got the house ready for all that would be happening inside. I explained to my young children what we were doing and as a family we got ready to homeschool. We cleaned out everything we no longer needed, put things in proper and permanent places and learned what type of schedule worked best for each of us.

1. I printed out 10 copies of an empty scheduling template.
2. I put a child’s name at the top of each one.
3. Each night I’d map out the next day. (I even made one for myself.)
4. Whatever didn’t work was changed.

Picture this, we all would be working through our schedules until I noticed something wasn’t jiving. It was a kind of stop the presses moment. I would stop the kids right in the middle of whatever it was we were doing and say, “Okay, guys, this isn’t working. Let’s regroup.” I’d go over what I thought was not working and discuss it with the two older children, ages 4 and almost 7. They loved having a say and being respected.

After a little less than the 3 weeks, we were like a well-oiled machine. I was fortunate enough to be able to plan 6 months in advance for most things, such as field trips, days off, & vacations with the family, which was such a blessing!

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If you’re a type A personality, getting organized comes naturally and is much easier for you than the type B personality. So let’s give the type B woman some time here. There are several ways to become an organized mom with the type B trait.

A. Have a Type A come and help. She’ll do most of it for you, and it will be done THAT DAY!

Details for the Type B

B. Do as much as you can approach in 5, 10, 15-minute increments. Get revved up and keep going.

Here are details to help you visualize. I’m a “learned type A”. My father was a type A, and, therefore, I learned by experiencing. My father physically taught me how. When my bedroom would get out of control, he’d take everything that was out of place and put it in a pile in the center of the floor. Next, he’d have me put away everything I could in 15 minutes, then come back when the time was up. He’d help me a little, and then leave me to work by myself for another 15 minutes, and then come back again. By doing this, I learned how to view the room the way it “should” be and then put items that were out of place, where they belong. If you can do that for each room of your home, one room at a time, you’ll gain instant gratification. You’ll also learn how to organize.

C. Multitask by visualizing your home as it is at the time you plan on cleaning and set out on a path in your head. For example, I start in the kitchen collecting anything that does not belong. I stop in the laundry room along the way to put up a load, then put away the things I collected in the kitchen before returning to the kitchen. Next, I put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and click start. Then I put up a pot of coffee and clear the counters, putting everything away that is out of place. Finally, I spray and wipe down everything I can before heading back to the laundry room to put the wash to the dryer. After this, I’m ready to start my workday in the home office.

The Benefits

If you get on a roll like I do, it gets the heart rate up while accomplishing all of the housework. By working on things this way each morning, you can move onto the next level of cleaning a little at a time, each day. For me, that meant more time on the weekends with the family.

Of course there are the times when I turn into a type A and plan deep cleaning on a weekend. I gather all cleaning supplies for the area I’m starting on. Then I go from top to bottom in that one area before taking a break. However, the type B in me needs to visualize the time of day I’d like to be done so I’ll still have time to rest or go out.

What type are you?

©2007 Susie Glennan
All Rights Reserved.