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Posted by Lisa Lewis Koster - - 1 comments


ORGANIZING
Tips for Tuesday



One of the ways God has gifted me is in the area of organization.  But allow me to let you in on a little secret – even an organized woman’s house can get out of control, it’s just that we can still find things (most of the time!)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m behind in everything.  While I would like nothing better than to stop time for a week and get caught up, obviously that’s not going to happen.  Some of my friends have asked me for tips, so I thought I would share my journey back to order here with you.

I have some ladies coming over tonight so we’re going to start where I am - in a crunch.  This isn’t my normal cleaning and organizing.  This is how can I get this place looking presentable quickly.


1. START.  Where?  Anywhere, just start somewhere.  When?  Now!

Sometimes the task seems overwhelming, and we can waste a lot of our time just figuring out where to start.  Here are a few questions to point you to the starting line.

  • What is urgent? Maybe you have bills coming due or papers that need to be filled out for your child at school.  That means it’s time to hit that mountain of paper on the counter and sort it.  At the very least, sort it into three categories: 1. Urgent  2. Important.  3. Other.  If time allows, tackle the urgent now, and work on the rest when you have more time.  If you’re planning on shoving it all out of sight, keep the urgent on top so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. 
  • What’s visible? With guests coming over tonight I need to focus on what they will see, even if it means leaving other things undone.  For instance, I washed the big picture window in the living room for the first time this summer, but I’m skipping the dusting because that’s something they won’t notice anyway (unless they’re reading this!)   

  • What’s driving you crazy? For me, it’s the windows, which is why I started there.  Taking care of what’s bothering you the most will help you to feel better about the rest of it. 

2. STOP


  • Doing it alone.  Recruit, recruit, recruit!  I caught my 23-year-old son passing through yesterday and recruited him to sweep the floors for me.  My children had responsibilities in the home from an early age.  When they’re young, their work might not be up to your standards, but patience and perseverance pay off in the long run. 

  • Doing it all.  If you have time to clean, it makes sense to take the logical next step, but if you’re in a pinch, let it go.  Normally, I wash my floors after they’re swept, but thanks to Ryan my floors are looking pretty good.  I skipped washing everything but the bathroom floors, freeing me up to take care of some of the other important things like sinks and toilets. 

  • Stressing out.  Unless your house is for sale, it’s you they’re coming to see. 

3. KEEP

  • Your focus on what's truly important.  There are 3 things that are eternal: God, God’s Word, and people. (See In the Scheme of all Eternity)  Make sure those things come first.  Don’t skip spending time with God to do something no one else may notice anyway. 

  • Your priorities straight. In the scheme of all eternity, a perfect house is not even a blip on the radar.  (Besides, there is no such thing as the perfect house.) See  Digging Out or Digging In

Good luck!

I’d love to hear from you on this new feature.  Let me know if you have any questions you’d like answered or any tips you’d like to share with others.

Blessings,


Lisa


One Response so far.

  1. Linda says:

    These are great tips, Lisa. Your points in #1 make me think of the advice I give - do the easy stuff first. Once you've taken care of that, you find you've made good progress and it gets the momentum going.

    Your post reminds me to step back and take in the big picture.
    Stopping in from R&R link party - have a blessed weekend!

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