Organizing Life Part 3: Systematize

Now we are getting to the heart of "Organizing Life." It is creating a system that will work for you and helping keep track of all the things that need to be done in a day. If you have simplified the areas that you know aren't working, and come up with a strategy to get it done(see:Organizing Life Part 1 and Organizing Life Part 2), then you are ready to start systematizing. I am going to focus on some main areas of organization  and the ways  I run a household with a husband, children, housework, home schooling and meal planning.
For a system to work it needs to be user friendly and do-able. Often we can plan for failure by trying to plan too much and then end up frustrated and abandon the plan all-together.
September seems to do it in home schooling families more than the normal January start to a calendar year. There are marvelous plans made in the mind to be done for the home schooling year and then reality hits and things start to get in the way. Holidays creep up, family obligations, sickness, appointments, burn out,  and boredom. A system of success will plan in for the unexpected and allow for life's unending schedule changes.

Binder System: Home Management Binder: Free Basic Sheets for Creating A System

• This is where you put your brain on paper when you can't remember what needs to be done next. See: Organized Mom and Brain In A Binder Pages For Purchase
• Make it as simple or complex as you need. Remember you are unique and so will your schedule be.
• Make broad categories and then sub-catergorize as needed. (Ex: Housework-daily chores-monthly cleaning-semi annual-annual cleaning)
• I put my notebook pages in a large 3 ring D binder. I also use plastic page protectors   I found them from Sam's Club and only about 20.00 for 200, 8 1/2" X 11" pages. These are very helpful to guard against spills, and using them as wipe off page with dry erase markers. I also use them to protect recipes and music pages for our downloaded worship song pages.
• I also recommend tabs. These are very nice to find the section you need in a hurry for your Home Management Binder instead of flipping every page. I used Post-It Flags that I got from Dollar General for $1.00 each color. 3M has a great coupon deal right now until 11/30/2011 for $2.00 off a minimum of $4.00 in post-it flags. These tabs are great: they can be written on and removed whenever you want(with no marks). I use them in our books to mark pages, in teacher's manuals-to keep track of lessons, book mark Bible pages and as place holders for favorite recipes.
• Another popular smaller sized pre-made organizer is by Franklin Covey  where you can build your own system and add what you want and then reorder pages when you need it. Price is around $25.00 to get started with your own design. They come in binder style or spiral bound.

 Electronic Organization Systems  Top Apps for I Phone & Top Apps for Android 

• I must admit I haven't gotten into this area of organization and productivity. I only am listing ideas that others have used and found helpful for organizing their lives. I include it here because I know there are a lot of people switching their  life's schedules into an electronic virtual calendar of events. Personally, I prefer paper, because technology is constantly becoming outdated and failing. Imagine your entire life on a virtual device and one short circuit happens,  your whole organization schedules and personal info gone *poof* in an instant. Talk about frustration, I get frustrated when I can't find the car keys, I can't imagine everything I did gone when I lost my phone or dropped it in puddle.
• The top apps for smartphone users created just for moms.  It does sound intriguing as a back up, but for now I can't justify the $200 plus cost of a smartphone and the $30 month extra charge for using the internet on the phone to have all these wonderful tools and have them suck my time away.
• Since I know the apps are being used, after research I did find the saying true, that there is an app for everything. Here is one for housework, another for meal planning  , home scheduling, calendar and syncing of programs and grocery buying. Just need to find one that will do it all  for you now.
• I also am thinking about eliminating the need for so many books, which I love and have 1000s of them. I might actually break down and get a kindle or nook. It would be nice for traveling light and it allows you to download all pre-1923 books for free about(1.8million). Gotta love the classics! Probably will save up for it, who knows. Heard great reviews about them, but then again if it crashes there go all your books.

 How It All Fits Together

Put main categories first in your system, what takes the most time, and plan around it and for it. Don't forget to check out the spring planner pages  at Passionate Homemaking for ideas in your system.

http://momstoolbelt.com/

My Home Management Binder Includes:   

• Housework Daily Schedule Candy's schedule adapted from her e-book The Joyful Christian Homemaker pg. 70.  I also adapted a half sheet list for each day on my refrigerator of focal points so I don't need to constantly turn to my binder.
• Meal Planning/Grocery Lists Dinner Tool for meal planning All Recipes for more great recipe ideas and for Grocery Lists as well as coupons Grocery Wiz
• Home School Weekly Schedules   Unit Study Planner  Semester Planner
• Appointments/Events Upcoming field trips, Dr. appointments, planned trips, possible trips
• Ministry  events, places, ideas, appointments
• Budget pick one you like Printable Budgeting Worksheets
• Contacts business card info, websites to remember, links I love, home schooling groups, networking
• Organization Tips Get Organized For Homeschooling  and One Bite At A Time  and Fly Lady

The Home Management Binder is a work in progress, so it changes as our needs change. Anything not used gets thrown away and another item takes it place.

Let me know about your system and share any links or ideas that work for you! I am always eager to hear of new and better ideas.