Organization {Part 1: Prioritizing}

I'm often asked how I do it all.  The easy answer....I don't! :)  As the title of this blog says....maybe I should be sleeping more???  Actually, its combination of a few things.  

1)  I multi-task...A LOT!

2) I'm rarely idle

3) I'm hyper organized

I grew up in a house that was always moving.  Neither of my parents are sitters.  We were lucky to get my dad sitting down long enough to eat a meal.  I'm starting to wonder how my mom kept track of the three of us kids and all of our activities.  She, like me, is organized and to this day, still has a calendar out on her desk keeping track of everything.  

I was that friend that went to other people houses to play and clean their rooms, organized their closets....for fun.  When dad was out cleaning or working out in the garage, I was sorting nail and screws.

At our Steering meeting the week before the MOPS meeting, I ran the outline of my talk by the team and was told that "God made me special" and "they have medicine for me."  I am admittedly Type A, so that could have something to do with it!?!?  

With everything going on in my life, how do I decide what to do???  Its a process that I do when new things come up, when life has a major change, when we move, when a new baby comes into our family (after I've caught up on sleep), or when I'm asked to take on something else. 

First you have to list all the things in you life.  Everything from being a wife to running the house to running the kids around...and even the   Everything.  Write it all day.  

Second, pray.  Pray for a clear level head when prioritizing all your responsibilities.

Third, write all your things down in order of importance.  Mine goes something like this: God, Hubs, Kiddos, Homeschooling, Family Time, Kids Activities, Running the house (cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.),  Exercising, MOPS, Etsy Store/Furniture Painting/Taxes (read: earning extra $), Blogging, House Projects/Repairs, Crafting/Me Time (notice its at the end ;)

For the big picture, the above sets you up for how to organize the 24 hours a day that you have.  An easy example: If your day is coming to a close and you have the bills to pay and a scrapbook page to finish and you can't figure out what you should do...look at your list.  While I would like to finish that scrapbook page (because doesn't that sound like a whole lot more fun than paying this bills), I can't really scrap in the dark if I don't pay the electric bill, right?  

Tomorrow - Schedules (Daily, Weekly, Quarterly)

The next few topics:

Meal Planning

Organizing a Space

Labels

Kitchen/Pantry/Fridge/Freezer

Junk Drawers

Linen Closets and Baths

Laundry Room

Coat/Entry Closets

Your Closet

Kids Closets

Playrooms and Toys

Office

Party/Event Planning

I hope to get to a topic a day....I hope!  I will include links to wonderful sites, lots of pictures from my home and homes around blogland and Pinterest (of course!)