How To Attempt Staying Organized Each Week

So moms always ask me "how do you do it all"?  There are many responses to this answer, one if which is that I don't do it all.  I fail every day in some areas or another.  But I also succeed in a lot of other areas mostly due to staying organized. But one way that I get stuff done is by having a weekly "to do" list.  And here it is below.

This is my very basic Word document that I keep on my desktop for easy access.  Every Sunday I fill in the blanks with my school volunteer schedule, work projects, appointments, kids activities, ect.  Then I immediately email the hubby what he needs to know about the week.  Then I print it out and put it on my clipboard that I have on my kitchen counter all week long.

I keep all my appointments on a Google Calendar which I ADORE!!!  It's also an app on my iPhone so now when people ask me if I'm available, I can quickly check and confirm.  Plus my husband can view it anytime and anywhere...not that he does!

But what I love about this is that most of my days are the same.  Those things never change so I don't have to re-type it every week.  I just fill in the blanks and print.  It keeps me on track and, quite frankly, I get a little thrill out of crossing something off my list multiple times a day. :)

If you read the schedule then you also discovered my other two secrets to getting it all done...my cleaning ladies and my laundry helper!  Sweet Baby Jesus they make me happy!  My cleaning ladies come every other week and they do all of my deep cleaning.  And my laundry helper comes every week and folds and puts away my laundry.  I wash, dry and the kids sort it...but then she does the job I hate most!  With a family of 6, that's about 8 loads per week and she knocks it out in 2 hours....$20 bucks and totally worth it!  If I had to do it with the kids bugging me all the time, it would take 3x that amount of time.

The last secret you saw was my weekly therapy appointment.  Some people like exercise, some like reading, some like wine to relieve their stresses...I love therapy!  It's like a weekly massage for my emotions!  I "reboot" with some wisdom for her and vent my ugly thoughts.  This keeps me from curling up into a ball in the corner of my house somewhere weeping.  It helps me to want to participate in life with love and acceptance!  I've been going for 2 1/2 years now and nobody messes with that appointment...nobody!

Here's what it ends up looking like by the end of the week.  All scratched up...just how I like it!

So it just took an hour one day to type this all up and get my facts straight.  Once that was done it became so easy to do on a weekly basis.  I've been doing it every since I've had kids.  And since my brain likes to lose thoughts like my dryer likes to loses socks, it's best that I keep up this practice! :)