Organizing Life: Part 2 Strategize

This is part 2: Strategize of "Organizing Life." If you missed part 1 find it here: Organizing Life Part 1: Simplify

strat·e·gy

   a : a careful plan or method : a clever stratagem b : the art of devising or employing plans or stratagems toward a goal

In any plan for organization there needs to be in place a strategy to accomplish what you want to do.  There are hundreds of ways to plan for your own personal organization needs. It is not one size fits all. Some organizational needs will meet single people, married, one child, several children, a large family, or a new "empty nest". Every need is different and therefore the strategy for filling the needs may look different. So coming up with a plan that works just for you involves your time, personality, resources, learning style(3 Different Learning Styles) and mental attitude.

•  For some, it helps to write down what you want to achieve and then list ways to accomplish it. 
• Others need to see a pre-made concrete list to follow and adapt it to their own situation.
• Another common approach is watching and helping out an organized person walk through their day and pick their brain for ideas.

Enjoy the journey, if you look at organization as running your life and not life running you it makes coming up with a new strategy fun instead of a dreadful task.(Unless you are one of the rare few who live life searching for things to organize, if so we'd love your input and ideas in the comments!)

I have created a list of websites that I found with free organization pages to complete a home management notebook that accomplishes what you need for your own situation. I will categorize areas later in Part 3 Systematize in order to make it easier to start broad and get more specific, then you won't need to go back and forth to each site later on if it doesn't apply to you. 

General Home Organization Topical Pages

Cindy Rushton Limited Time Deal Had to add this one in last minute this was a tremendous help in organization. Her birthday deal offers 66% off anything in her e-store. Browse this store something is sure to bless, encourage or inspire with a great price, well worth the investment. Help for the weary moms. I bought the Organized Mom Super Set under the bundles section.

Organized Home Notebook Pages includes loads of general topics and hints for a home management notebook

Note Booking Pages Free Printables This is the largest note booking site I have ever seen, sign up by email and receive samples and discounts of note book pages on just about any subject. It is great for homeschooling families. WARNING this site has so much to offer it might lure you away for hours! Make sure to come back and get a strategy down first!

Passionate Homemaking: freebie I found some great sample pages here and is what I used to revamp my old notebook and help me enjoy looking at it. The notebook is a sister site to Note Booking Pages above. A lot of the information pertains to 2010 but I loved the cover "Keeping the Home One Day At A Time". Stop by momstoolbelt.com  to get their free samples too or buy the whole deal for $15.95 with edit before you print page capability and seasonal cover changes.

http://momstoolbelt.com/moms-home-journal

The Home School Mom Just as the name suggests, this site offers items specific to home schooling families and schedules around it. It also has some general items as well which anyone could use such as menu planning pages and calendars.

My Blessed Home Freebie This is a  large free ebook that contains tremendous amounts of hints, inspiration and practical knowledge in organization. From being joyful at homemaking, building a notebook and ways to organize, to recipes that are nutritious and delicious this book is a winner! Pass it on to a friend, they are sure to love it.  Candy the author was my first introduction to a Home Management Notebook and I have dug out those first pages that I downloaded from her 6 years ago and have reincorporated into my new notebook. Stop by and tell her thanks for such a wonderful resource at http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/.

These links should get you started with ideas and there are 100s of other websites out there that pertain to household management and organization if you run a search. Figure out which organizational face lift you need in life and fits your lifestyle and then you can move on to systematizing your plan into action.

Remember:   Two key areas that can hinder someone from coming up with a viable strategy are:

1. Being Paralyzed Into Doing Nothing. Everything is in chaos so where do I start?

The hardest part is staring at a blank page wondering where do I begin? My whole life  is a mess.

The book ""Confessions of an Organized Homemaker" by Deniece Shoefield  has an entire chapter  (Chapter 21) devoted to "Where Do I Start?" on page 205 of the 1994 edition she recommends starting with a simple checklist:

• "I am able to keep the house picked up"
• "I am able to keep the laundry current"
• "Meals are well prepared and served regularly"
• "The kitchen is usually in good order"
• "Bathrooms are usually cleaned and straightened regularly"
• "I am able to keep the entry areas cleaned and tidy"

If you can't check off one or more of these areas you will know where to start with a strategy to conquer it. 

I started more broadly and decluttered everything. Too much stuff was littering every area of our lives. I tended to ignore it, but when it started to hinder me and others I realized it was time to go. 

I am a very visual, left-brained person and organization and scheduling are definitely not on my resume of strengths. I could not even think of using a time schedule for the day with every waking 15 minute increment of time mapped out for me. On the other hand, managing the lives of 8 children and the varying schedules needed to run a household, I had to have some kind of guidance to see that I was accomplishing something each day. So I went with a strategy that includes a daily guide with goals to accomplish rather than a detailed hour by hour guide. I can make room for more or less detail with the pages in my Home Management Binder and not feel constrained to a routine that would bore me into doing nothing. I can look and see whether or not there are schedule conflicts and know what things to say yes or not to. I think Lewis Carroll's quote here is fitting:

“If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.”

    2. Procrastination: It is the enemy to any strategy, putting it off till tomorrow will keep you perpetually going nowhere. Here are some quotes if you tend to be a procrastinator.

"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man." (Proverbs 6:6-11)

"The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat." (Proverbs 13:4)

" He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster." (Proverbs 18:9)

"Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands." (Proverbs 14:1)

Find one area to get started with a strategy and go forward. Look for areas that are specifically hindering you and conquer these areas by forming new habits that will keep you on a path moving forwards, not backwards or into stagnancy. Don't be afraid to venture into territory you've never tried before, your attitude should be one of enthusiasm not drudgery. No strategy will work if you are going to dread looking at it every day. Get a fresh outlook on things by looking at how others do it. Most of all have fun coming up with a very personalized strategy you and your family will enjoy, include everyone them come up with ideas together with you.