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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

on September and getting organized

little man at age one.
September always feels like a new year to me. Perhaps it’s because dada and I spent the first 8 years of our marriage pursuing degrees (college for me, college for him, masters for me, law school for him). Something about the feel of the air. The occasional steamy day mixed with crisp mornings (ooh, gloriously so this morning!) The golden tint to trees. The sky that seems bigger and bluer.

To me this is a more appropriate time of the year for resolutions. In January one is completely worn down from winter and holidays. Who has energy to start working out in the dead of winter?? Not me. But fall. Fall is lovely. It is fresh.

We don’t yet participate in the back to school routine (opting to delay little man start of pre-school until next year, a long story perhaps worthy of another post). But yet I feel this urge of the new year.

So instead I am planning on making this Getting Shit Organized Month.

Let’s call it GSO month to prevent my plastering obscenities throughout this post.

This involves a whole realm of things. Personal goals. Weekly goals. Family goals. Organizing the household. Etc.

I am the type to love lists and organizing and sorting and etc. Even if my method is somewhat haphazard. (I go into the bedroom, start sorting socks, get up to get the rest of the laundry, get absorbed in cleaning off the countertop in the laundry room, take the tools lying on the countertop to the tool bench, notice the toy storage box in the corner, and drag into out and into the family room to put more toys into storage, then two hours later I find myself in the bedroom staring at the pile of socks that need to be sorted…)

As part of GSO month I have honestly been thinking of doing the whole day of the week thing like Monday is Baking Day, Tuesday is Playdate Day, Wednesday is Craft Day etc.

Is that so corny of me?

I have also been thinking of personal New Year-esque resolutions. Writing. Yoga. Baking. Etc.

There are also goals for our little family. Date night. More than once every 6 months, for example.

And thrown in there is my idea of doing some kind of pre-school-ish activtity for little man.

As an aside, my mom, when I told her this, started chortling into her elbow. She is a super-mom who homeschooled all of us. I always said I wouldn't do the same. But she apparently believes I am on the slippery slope to homeschooling my children by suggesting this….eh, maybe she is right. Especially if I could buy 20 acres outside the city, put up a yurt, and start a dairy goat farm. Then I would have a bazillion babies – or as many as could fit into the yurt, to work the farm of course – and homeschool every single socially awkward one of them with a smile.

While wearing homemade moccasins – ooo, the kind that lace up to your knee! I kinda like those.

With my hair in dreads – I am nearly there anyway.

And a handknit sweater – with wool from my own watchdog llama.

And, of course, an apron - maybe one made out of organic hemp. HA.

You are welcome to visit should this come to fruition.

And all of that above, that vision of my alternative self makes me think of who I am becoming.

Am I on the road to being that Sara? As opposed to suit-wearing Sara who mingled with politicians in foreign countries? (If you can believe it, yes, that was me pre-babycakes - very, very different from the above goat farming mama image)

Huge digression. Sorry.

Although, thinking about self and direction and fruition of dreams is a good thing. Especially at the beginning of a new year, which is what September is to me.

In any case.

I am thinking of this sort of thing for weekly routine:

Monday –
Morning, clean up from weekend. Laundry, diapers, etc.
Afternoon, Baking projects.

Tuesday –
Morning Playdate (at the park, the mall, friends house, etc)
Afternoon, writing

Wednesday –
Craft day, mama does crafty things, kids do crafty things

Thursday –
Morning, library or something like that
Afternoon, writing

Friday –
Morning, fun errands (where we spend time at the park or getting a hot chocolate, etc)
Afternoon, cleaning for weekend (A clean house really helps the weekend go more smoothly, if you are neurotic like me and can only relax in a clean environment. Ok. I am pathetic. I know.)

Daily things:
30 minutes of reading/letters/numbers with little man.
Sweeping/basic picking up/laundry (obviously)

Now, I have to say. I have always thought that this kind of a daily schedule was, well, lame. I like to think I am more flexible in my life than this. But, the fact is, I crave routine. It is nice to wake up and think “This” is what is happening today. A working life is like this (Monday staff meetings, Wednesday client presentations, etc.) so home life can be too. And I think having these things ordered (with the baking and the crafting and etc) will help me actually do them.

Well, that is the plan at least.

But then, besides ordering home life I need to get my act together too. So I am thinking this sort of thing.

Personal goals:
  • Do a real live yoga class every week, with real live adults.
  • Running (by MYSELF) after dada comes home at least once a week (running with children in a double stroller, which I do, is so aggravating. DON’T HIT. Here is your juice. Here is a snack. I said DON’T hit. Etc. etc.)
  • Get out of the house by myself every week. (yes, this would be a major accomplishment.)
  • Write 1,000 words a day on writing projects.
  • Post here daily (or is that overkill? Would you all read that much of my ramblings?)
  • Etc.
And then there is the To Do List.

I have many to do lists throughout my house for many areas of life. I love To Do Lists. But for the purposes of this discussion I will only inflict the one currently on the fridge upon you dear readers.

Things To Do Around The House. (dada LOVES this one.)

Things like:
  • Organize toys (taking some un-played with toys into storage, pulling others out, etc)
  • Organize kids clothes (small summer clothes out, fall clothes in, assess wardrobe needs, etc.)
  • Organize adult clothes
  • Get little man to go to sleep by himself at night (OMG. we have started doing this and it is WORKING!! AND, an added bonus is that it makes him stay in his OWN BED ALL NIGHT. Amazing.)
  • Go through each room of the house and simplify (I plan on doing this the easy way, taking piles of crap and moving it all to the basement where I will deal with them at some point in the winter when I need a project to keep me sane.)
  • Rotate pictures, decorations around house (I have a TON of knick knacks in storage, lets face it, preschoolers and toddlers do not mix with a knick-knacked-up house)
  • And etc.
So. GSO month. What do you think? READY. SET. GO!


Next up: Am thinking woolie-how-to post needs to happen, especially if the lovely cooler weather continues.

7 comments:

  1. I'm fully in favor of GSO month, and the title is brilliant! We did some massive purging before we moved, and it was BLISSFUL.

    Kudos for the schedule--I think the kids may like knowing what's coming next. I have a morning schedule on the upstairs bathroom door and downstairs refrigerator, in itemized task form, with words/times for my daughter and corresponding pictures for my son. It saves a TON of questions (and subsequent frustrated yelling) in the morning, bc I can just say, "What's your next job?" and they find it and go do it. I plan to do a similar weekly calendar once we get our afterschool activities scheduled, so they'll know what's coming up for the day. We all seem calmer and I'm definitely less harassed when they know what's coming next. (Or maybe they're just good little Montessorians and like to be self-sufficient!) One project I've been putting off--doing the same w the grocery list, so they can help me and not harass me when we shop.

    I'm sure you have some great resources from your Mom and friends for homeschooling, but in case you want another one, look at www.montessoriforeveryone.com They have lots of free printouts for activities, which are great in and of themselves, but also good idea starters for your own creativity. And who knows, once you get started w the pre-preschool activities, you may just find yourself sliding right into homeschooling...and a yurt. ;-)

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  2. Sorry for the chortle...love ya!

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  3. tracy - a picture schedule?? BRILLIANT. we are kindred spirits i think ;) maybe i could do that for days of the week? hmmm. thanks so much for the link. i definitely need to get on that kind of thing for him....
    mom - kisses!

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  4. oh sara... i am laughing so hard!!! i love it! go for it... whatever makes one sane is worthy of our time and attention... even if it is only for a little while!
    love ya!!

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  5. i love september and fall and lists.
    and getting shit organized.
    love!

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  6. @tracy: i got home yesterday to find a picture schedule of the week on the fridge. little man showed me each picture and explained what they represented. of course there was craft-time and park-time and pickup-toys-time, but my favorites were the morning picture of coffee and the after lunch picture of a bed. thanks for the idea, i think it will help in terms of the kids knowing what is next and staying in rhythm.

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  7. Hey I'm pretty sure I took that picture!

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