Getting organized

I would consider myself an organized person. Obviously, I have three kids, so I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

I remember when I was in high school and college, I would diligently coordinate the colors of my notebooks and folders for each class. One year, I even kept my closet color coordinated. I used a planner religiously and would even add activities and meetings to it to keep everything in one place. Cell phones and smartwatches were not an option back in those days.

When planning our wedding, I kept a notebook with all my ideas for dresses, cakes, decorations and the guest list. Digital options were available at that time to keep track of everything, but I like pen and paper. I had plenty of ideas saved on Pinterest, too, but I would save my top choice in the notebook.

This spring, I bought several storage containers for the kids’ toys: one for Allison’s Barbies and accessories, one for Carson’s tractors, one for his dinosaurs, and so on. They worked great for a month or two, then the kids started using the containers for other purposes — such as sitting in them and pretending they are sledding or as a house for their stuffed animals. While this may be cute for a little while, it does not serve its intended purpose. So, therefore, our house looks like a tornado went through it — daily. Since I do not want to stay up until midnight every night cleaning the house, I have accepted the fact that this is the stage of life we are in right now.

The one area of the house I would like to adjust but am not sure how to go about it is the kitchen. When we got married, I just moved into the house Jason was living in and added what I had to what was already there.

Thankfully, there is plenty of cupboard space and a walk-in pantry. In fact, the top shelf in some of the cupboards only has one or two things on it, which I do not use frequently.

This summer, I did adjust two cupboards and essentially swapped what was in them with the other one, and so far, I do like that better.

Now that I have started canning, the pantry is bursting at the seams. So, my next project is to organize the pantry. I thought about bringing some of the canned goods downstairs, but the best place to put them is the room where Allison’s dollhouse is. The other two kids play in that room, too, so I am worried they would bump into the jars and knock them over. Therefore, I am planning on taking some of the non-food items out and putting them somewhere else.

As I was mulling over possibilities, I realized that part of the reason I like to be organized and keep mentally giving myself things to do is to feel accomplished. There is not much I can do about keeping the house clean without going crazy or staying up all hours of the night. But there are other areas around the house and yard I can work on that will stay mostly organized.