15 Minute Friday: Setting a Goal
In response to last week’s 15-minute Friday, some readers mentioned Fly Lady.
I am a HUGE fan of Fly Lady. She absolutely changed my ways of keeping house, which I wrote a bit about in a (very early) post about keeping our housekeeping problems small. I am not perfect in my practice of Fly Lady methods, but one of hers is to set a timer for 15 minutes and tackle just one thing. Awesome advice.
However, that’s not quite what I’m hoping this 15-minute experiment of mine will be about. I think that Brooke (of Slow Your Home) was writing about a different kind of thing in the post that inspired me. While I’m always interested in better ways of maintaining our home, I want to think about something bigger than that.
Something important that I’ve been putting off starting because it just feels too big to fit into any time I might give it.
So I spent some of my week thinking about what my big thing might be:
- Taking our blog to a different level.
- Writing a book.
- Knitting something.
But yesterday I discovered that a big deposit to my savings account had gone awry. (Insurance check for the car that got totaled in September.) Long story short, I spent (wasted) a bunch of time on the phone dealing with a problem that would not have been a problem if this weren’t my current system for dealing with mail:
And I realized that as much as I’d rather use this project to tackle something as fun as really learning how to knit, I need to get a handle on organization in our home–so that I might have real time to learn how to knit.
I’ll never be able to knit like my Grandma (who made this sweater), but I’d love to learn how to really knit something.
Here’s the problem:
We moved into this house in August, 2011. At that time, the size of the chaos was so immense that it was a huge victory just to get all the boxes unpacked and find some place (any place!) for the things we decided to keep.
This was how our garage looked after we’d been living here for a month. A month!
It really wasn’t until last spring that we considered ourselves all unpacked, when I finally organized the craft supplies in our garage.
This is what it looked like before.
But, even though things look pretty good on the outside, all you have to do is open some drawers and slide some cupboard doors to see that all is not well on the inside:
I hate this.
I can’t find things I need, I keep screwing up the payment of bills, and I’m constantly wasting time because of both things. The car accident–and all the paperwork that followed it–has forced me to confront the real problem that this is.
Why haven’t I tackled this sooner?
Because it seems like a big frickin’ big job. Because it is a big frickin’ job. (See collage above. That’s a lot of mess to sort.)
And it’s not just that there’s a lot. It’s that all the parts are inter-connected. When I start to clean out one drawer, there will invariably be things in it that need to go someplace else.
Last weekend we cleaned up part of the garage (a never-ending task, it seems) and I started putting homeless things on the top of the dresser in the bedroom. This is what it looked like when I was done. (OK, fine: It’s how it still looks today.)
I feel I need a master organizational plan.
I do need a master organizational plan.
But you know what? I bet I can get started on one in 15 minutes.
So that’s what I’m going to do. Today.
Right after I go to the eye doctor, hit parent conferences, and indulge in a little left-over Halloween candy…
Some of the Wednesday-night spoils…
What are you going to start today?
What seems to big to tackle–but maybe could be? I would love to have company on this journey. If you you’d like to travel side-by-side, please let me know in the comments.
Nov 02, 2012 @ 13:09:09
October was my month to get everything in its place. I got about 75% of the living quarters finished.
November is my month to get back into the habit of FlyLady’s daily “shine the sink” and “swish & swipe”, as well as put into practice her flight plans that I’ve been getting for 2 months now. We cook ALOT so the daily sink thing always takes more than 15 minutes.
I’m hoping by December, I’ll be in an automatic habit of daily chores and can easily slide another 15-minute thing. Until then, I will start with one 30-minute day. Thirty minutes is the length of various television shows – many of which Sweetie watches that I couldn’t care less about – so I just need to pick which one and do my thing. This way I wouldn’t be taking time away from us (I don’t think watching television counts as time together) and I get to figure out which hobbies I enjoy as much as I think I do.
Shaina recently posted..The Final Days: William Morris Project – Days 28 through 31
Nov 02, 2012 @ 19:44:57
I have been putting off tackling our junk closet. Ugh. I have stuff in there to list on Craigslist, DVDs to sort through, huge containers of CD’s- and just a bunch of junk.
15 minutes would make a dent in it. And it would feel nice to do something, rather than just think about how I’m avoiding it!
Katherine recently posted..Worth the Money
Nov 03, 2012 @ 07:23:10
I love “junk closet”! We have one, too–but I’ve never thought to call it that. I know I could get started in tackling ours by just removing items I know we don’t want any more. And I think getting started will do more than just feel nice–for me, I just need a little tiny movement to get some momentum going. Good luck!
Nov 06, 2012 @ 10:40:39
Oh, man, I have soooo been there. Now, I donate it all! Listing and sorting and selling is horrendously time-consuming. Apart from consigning clothing, which I do for store credit, the tiny amount of cash I could get from selling things on Craig’s List is worth far less than my time. It’s very liberating!
Nov 08, 2012 @ 20:28:09
I donate too. The tax write off is worth more than I’d get consigning or garage sale-ing it.
Nov 03, 2012 @ 11:23:21
My husband and I were just talking about this!
Our house was robbed two weeks ago. They only got electronics and some cash (and one of our cuddly fleece couch blankets which we just realized yesterday – bastards!). For the insurance claim and the police report we needed serial numbers and as many receipts as possible. Thankfully, we have them due to my husband’s foresight. Left to my own devices I would have chucked the box to the Wii we got in 2008. But still, had we been more organized it wouldn’t have been so much work to file the insurance paperwork. We need to have a file with all that information as well as things likes copies of all our birth certificates and social security cards, not to mention our will and insurance information and put it in a safe deposit box. A project for winter.
And in the future we need to delete our social security numbers from tax returns stored n the computer. Not sure why this didn’t occur to us before. Duh.
Nov 03, 2012 @ 12:04:19
Oh, Beth–That’s terrible! And I never thought about the information stored in my computer. I see my project getting much, much bigger suddenly. So sorry to hear about your loss. Having to deal with all that junk feels like violation on top of violation.
Nov 04, 2012 @ 12:12:04
Well, it could have been much worse. I’m married to a computer guy so he has an external hard drive backup of our desktop that he keeps at work. He last updated it in May so we didn’t lose much.
I find myself most upset about the blanket!
Nov 05, 2012 @ 17:26:58
I know what you mean! I would be more upset about losing something of sentimental value that couldn’t be replaced.
Nov 03, 2012 @ 18:06:48
Aren’t those interconnected jobs just a bug bear? Before I start X, I have to do Y, but to do Y, I’ll have to finish Z.
Ten years ago when we bought our house, we realised the lounge area needed painting (X). But the walls are not plaster board, they’re some cheap tacky wood veneer that need replacing (Y). But, we planned on putting a deck on the front of the house and moving the front door (Z). Some of the walls would then become doorways, so wouldn’t need plastering (or painting). The front entrance needs tiling (X number 2), but we decided to wait til the front door moved and the area was no longer trafficked. Yesterday the second corner pole for the long awaited deck was concreted in. YAY! Next weekend the cross beams should go up. The weekend after the bearers, the following weekend the flooring and balustrades. No idea when the new door will happen, so still no time frame on painting or tiling.
When it comes to “X needs Y needs Z” cleaning and sorting my process is:
- take three boxes – rubbish; give away; belongs elsewhere
- open a drawer or cupboard; tackle a flat surface
- sort into the three boxes
- when the ‘belongs elsewhere’ box is full, sort it. If stuff in it belongs in a drawer/shelf/etc not yet cleaned; I just dump the stuff there. I figure when I get to that area, it’ll get dealt with. If the stuff in the “belongs elsewhere” doesn’t have a home yet (I need to create a new system or whatever) I do that when I come to sort out the box.
This helps me not get sidetracked by Y and Z while I’m tackling X.
SueBK recently posted..Saturday – outreach
Nov 04, 2012 @ 05:54:18
The story of your lounge area is the story of our bathroom! Funny how the smallest things (a coat of paint, replacing some tiles) can turn into the biggest undertakings.
I like your sorting method. It really is what I do, too. My problem is that we’ve never really figured out the “where stuff belongs” part of the process, for too many things. I’ve realized this week that that’s the first step.
Thanks for writing.
Nov 03, 2012 @ 20:13:57
Oh, boy did you hit me right where my guilt lives with this post. Paperwork/mail/billing is just a mess in my house right now. I have autopay for most of my bills and do a lot online, which saves me from overdue notices, but that’s about all I’ve managed to accomplish. I went from a financially complicated divorce to a house purchase, and my move was hurry up and get my crap moved out, and then hurry up and get my crap moved in. Things have remained wherever they got shoved in closets, basement, and garage a year and a half ago. With two jobs and four kids I feel like I’ll never conquer the pile.
Laura recently posted..Tick, Tock, Kitchen Clock
Nov 04, 2012 @ 06:09:27
Been there…well, not quite there. Can’t imagine doubling the number of kids I was raising during the hurry up and move/shove crap fest that is part of divorce.
Like you, when I moved into the first house after separating, there was a lot of just shoving stuff into places for the sake of getting it out of boxes. A year later (thanks to not having to work during summer break), I was able to overhaul the whole house in terms of organization. It felt so great and things worked so much more smoothly. I wish I’d done that this summer for this house. Going to start now, 15 minutes at a time. I hope.
Nov 04, 2012 @ 08:20:36
Oh my goodness – when did you break in and take pictures of my house??????
My paper work is a mess. And it is mess in multiple pieces all over the house. I’m so looking forward to both of us dealing with this.
Nov 05, 2012 @ 17:26:25
This made me smile. Nothing else about this mess is, so thank you! Looking forward to hearing how it goes for you.
Nov 05, 2012 @ 05:19:11
Ug, Rita – I feel your pain. There is just so much to do that setting up systems sometimes gets left to another day. That is just reality. I hope your 15 minutes go well and don’t create more chaos. My unsolicited advice is to pick the one thing that will make the biggest difference (where to put incoming mail/papers for current ongoing projects maybe?) and tackle only that. It takes a lot of discipline to ignore everything else, but when I have no time to do anything and everything seems to be spinning out of control, I have to make myself walk away from what is not the priority. Christmas stuff can wait, junk drawers and craft supplies may get messier, but oh well. Picking the most important thing which will ease your mind and setting something up to make this part of your life run more smoothly, will make the biggest impact. Good luck!!!
Annie Kip recently posted..Luminary Stroll
Nov 05, 2012 @ 17:27:48
This is a great suggestion, Annie. I’ve been a bit paralyzed, and I think it’s because I haven’t been able to pick the one place to start. This is helpful.
Nov 05, 2012 @ 08:27:01
I don’t get much ‘real’ mail anymore. And I try to stop the junk mail from even reaching my mailbox. I even posted a little sign in my mailbox that said “Last Name” mail only…no owner, resident, neighbor mail. Doesn’t work. BUT…I don’t even bring it in the house. I walk straight over to the recycle cart and dump everything I don’t need. Once inside, I open everything right away at the kitchen counter, again deciding what I don’t need and putting important things in their place to be dealt with later. It really helps the paper clutter, because I can’t leave it on the kitchen counter (tiny kitchen).
Also, I took 15 minutes yesterday to re-sort three dresser drawers. For the last month I found myself shoving folded clothes into them and realized that my latest thrift finds meant I now more than I needed. Out with the really old stuff, and now I had organized space for my new old stuff.
Nov 05, 2012 @ 17:29:50
I really like the idea of getting rid of one thing for every new thing you bring into the house. I don’t know that I really do that, but I like the idea!
And I like your mail idea. I did have a designated place to put the mail, but it was out of sight. Rather than dealing with it right away, I’d put it away to deal with “later.” Often too late. Gonna have to change that.
Nov 05, 2012 @ 16:32:49
oh, wow, ditto. This weekend I pulled every single basket of mail (legions) and put them all on the dining table and sorted them. It took so long that it was dinnertime and I had to clear the table…and all the crap is now diminished (one full trashbag) but still in those same damn bins I was trying to sort. I have paperless billing, online bill pay, and STILL we are drowning in paper. And it is SUCH a horrendous chore to me.
My other problem area, which I keep meaning to tackle and link up to Wm Morris every single week–the upstairs hallway cabinet area. It is a natural landing place for crap, and when we went to NJ in JULY (!!) I pulled out all the medicines for Henry and it is still a giant jumble of various medicines. (Yes, that many.) And it just looks like such a horrible job and I keep putting it off.
good luck with yours
Lisa recently posted..state of the union
Nov 05, 2012 @ 17:34:33
I also do much of our billing online, and yes, it is a horrendous chore. I’m not sure why, but I really hate it. I’d rather organize just about anything else. I worked on this stuff for more than an hour Saturday, and I was in such a terrible mood when I was done. Probably because I made only a small dent, and it was still a big mess when I was done.
Nov 06, 2012 @ 10:32:05
Start? No! I need my 15 minutes to finish things. Finishing things requires uninterrupted time and a determination, as well as an absence of pressing matters. When you have children, this perfect storm rarely happens.
This is how changing out a hand towel holder in my master bath lasted about two years:
1. In a hypo-manic fit, order two new towel hooks online. When they arrive, toss them, still in their shipping packet, into the laundry room.
2. One year later, unearth them.
3. Some weeks or months later, remove existing towel ring and install two hooks. Yay! Spackle holes left by old ring mount. Leave the crusty Spackle on the walls for at least six months.
6. One of the new hooks starts to come loose. Husband removes the hook, tries to drill deeper hole, hits metal heating vent behind wall. In process, creates more ugly holes that will need to be patched. He immediately patches them, bless him.
7. Mere days later, clean the repaired area, dig out paint, and roll it on both patched areas (on two adjoining walls). When the paint dries, see that this sample can of the paint color that eventually went on the walls is not an exact match.
8. Days later, get new can at paint store, knowing that even though it is the “same” color (“Sudan” by Pratt and Lambert), both walls will have to be painted over entirely.
9. Days later, tape off the two walls and otherwise prepare area for painting.
10. Next day, paint and clean up. When the paint dries, see that some places are patchy and will need a second coat.
11. It is over a week later. The second coat has still not been applied.
Does this sound familiar to anybody?
Today, I shall finish it. I swear. Unless a dog throws up on a carpet or I have to pick up a sick child from school.
Nov 08, 2012 @ 16:27:37
This made me laugh! And feel much better about how things go around here. To be honest, I’m finding the 15 minute thing tough. Hope to find a few 15 minutes to write about it tonight.
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