Thursday, January 08, 2009

ORGANIZE

That Ali Edwards is one smart cookie.
I bow down to her insight and look forward to any new idea she has up her sleeves.
Who knew the power that choosing a single word to focus on would have on your daily life?
Did you choose a word for 2009, a word to help bring clarity or fun to the day to day?
My word for 2009 is Organize.
I'm a procrastinator. It is often at the last minute that I get my act together and get things done. And I HATE that, because with my husband's schedule, there are often unforeseen obstacles that interfere with that last minute, which takes away a lot of my joy. And I'm not just talking about scrapbooking. For example, if I kept the house clean all the time it wouldn't freak me out to have unannounced company. Or if I watered the plants regularly, they would always look beautiful, instead of that pathetic droop that often greets me as a reminder to grab the watering can.
I have come to realize that my whole life has been cluttered for quite a while, and it just occurred to me where it stems from.
In late 2005, when I was 6 months pregnant with Payton, we bought a new house. We were spoiled with our first house. It was brand new. It was about 1500 square feet. It had a decent backyard. But it was in a subdivision and there wasn't RV parking or a place for Steve to spread out and have a shop, etc., etc. So we looked and looked and finally, Steve found what he thought would be the ideal setup for us and our budget. We wanted to keep our first house as a rental, so we didn't have a lot of money for a down payment, so we went for the maximum we could afford.
I live in a resort community, which means that housing is rather expensive. But we found a place on 2 acres just outside city limits, which meant we had space for that RV, a boat, and room for a shop. It also meant we had space to stretch our legs and a little "farm" for our kiddos. But because of the location, location, location, we had to sacrifice in a very important area.... the HOUSE. Steve's dad is a licensed contractor, so Steve wasn't worried about the house. It was built in 1980 by an environmentally friendly ham radio operator, so it has the sloped roof for solar panels, and is considered "green" with a man-made burm (Is that how you spell it?) up against the house for energy conservation, etc. It is an ODD looking house. But it's square. Steve said it wouldn't take much to lift the roof off and change the whole thing.
So in late 2005, 6 months pregnant with my second child, I moved into a house that needed a LOT of work. 1100 of the 2200 square feet of the existing home was considered an unfinished basement.
For the last 3 years we have put a lot of money and time into this house, and it still isn't finished. And we aren't financially ready to add-on yet. And now we have two children, and we all know that going from 1 to 2 is more than twice as hard, or at least, I think so! lol
So things have been unorganized and overwhelming and cluttered for three years now. If I get overwhelmed, I am one those people who just stands there, paralyzed. Sometimes I can't see a clear place to start, when there is so much to focus on.
But 2009 is the year where that changes. It is the year I make a fresh start and take charge in how things go.
I got a notebook and have started making lists. Even something as simple as emptying the dishwasher is written down there, because I feel a big sense of accomplishment when I cross something off and look at the list at the end of the day.
We made the house a priority this year. Last year we were gone traveling and camping far too much. This year we are going to finish a few things. We need to put up new fencing because our steers wreaked havoc last year. We need to figure out what to do about the yard, because my yard wasn't properly cared for previously and not all of the grass growing is lawn grass. We need to finish putting up TRIM. We made a lot of progress because we are now living in all 2200 square feet of our home, but we need to keep pushing and finish all of the projects that we have already started.
I need to focus on the kids. They are only young once, so I need to do better about making them #1. Sometimes I feel like I push them off to the side with a cartoon or a craft project so that I can focus elsewhere, when what I need to do is drop everything and give them 100%. There is going to be more of that in 2009.
So that's it. 2009 I shall be organized! That's one reason I'm doing that 2009 layout challenge. I'm not organized enough for 365 photos, but I am going to be organized enough for 12 layouts highlighting my whole year.

What's your word?

13 comments:

  1. My word is focus. THere are some major changes I want to accomplish this year and without focus, it won't happen.
    I like making lists, too! Good luck with the organizing! (maybe I should add that to my list as well! lol)
    B

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  2. Great post Davinie! My word for 2009 is Peace I want to have peace within myself,be at peace with my life around me and the happenings in it, and be at peace with the decisions I make.I would like to grow from finding my peace.

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  3. Anonymous8:34 PM

    davinie, as i was reading your post it felt like you were describing me - to a T as a matter of fact! wowsa! i JUST told my hubby and son last night that i am going to take 2009 to be organized; with the house, with my time; everything!

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  4. Anonymous10:54 PM

    Organise was my unofficial word for last year but I failed :o( So this is year my word is Patience... don't be so hard on myself and be more patient with my soon to be 3 year old! My DD and Payton must have been born around the same time!

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  5. FOCUS- I got this from Tina Zarlenga http://ryzmomplus2.typepad.com/ F= family 1st
    O= organization in all areas of my life C= create-something I love to do and want to do more often U= unfinished projects- finish all those unfinished projects S= self-take care of myself so I can take care of others
    Amazing, I think that sums it all up at least for me!

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  6. It always seems there's some sort of home improvement to do no matter how many years you've lived there. You just have to take it one project at a time. My word for '09 is simplify and it is for much of the same reasons you talk about. I want my scattered self to stay focused on what's important to me and get rid of the rest. Finding that path and sticking to it will be the hard part.

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  7. Anonymous4:15 PM

    Davinie, Brandy J. here from Paper Crafts mag. I love your blog and the banner is so darling! I also saw Ali's challenge and I decided my word is balance. I want to be better at balancing things in my life so I can appreciate everything. As a side note, I am a mad list maker and I highly recommend it. Keep up the organizational work and I'll focus on the balance. Deal?

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  8. I am the SAME exact way!! I am a procrastinator and when there is too much to do, I am paralyzed as well. And I am a pack rat, which means I have too much stuff... I really need to downsize and take on less! That should be my goal for the year. To clean out every closet and the storage room downstairs. I just hate to throw things away..I might "need" them some day. ha Loved reading your post.

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  9. I could have written much of your post myself! I can so relate, Dav. I put things off too. And then I'm a frantic wreck trying to get out the door in the morning or pick up the house, or whatever. And I'm the paralyzed type too. I often just feel so overwhelmed with the housekeeping that I don't even know where to start. Adn I just go in circles! sigh. So, good word. I haven't come up with one myself, but I'm enjoying thinking about each of the words everyone else is coming up with!

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  10. my word is "home". you can probably guess why.
    and you can totally do this organization thing.
    lists are KEY as is purging and reassigning. once everything has it's place, then you will feel so much better. i just want to encourage you that you can do it. and what a blessing to have such a big home..ours is a ridiculously tiny one bedroom. =)

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  11. Great post, Davinie!
    I know what it means to live with renovations--- for years we've been in renovation mode. Unfortunately, my husband doesn't feel the same way about completion as I do. I love completion and push for it. He's a little more laid back. If it's functional, there's no hurry to finish it. But unfortuntately, I can't rewire the bathroom so the light works, or install the vanity and sink in the bathroom, so I wait.
    My word for 2009 is love. (Unrelated to the renovations in our home, but definitely connected to my dh. LOL!)

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  12. Hey, I just found your blog today while cruising 2peas...I love your art!! So whenever I see anything about organizing I have to check!! I am-you know-challenged in that area :o)and I have been searching since dh and I are considering adopting a sibling group (if I don't get organized, I suspect we will all die!!) So I have to tell you about a book I just read that I lovelovelove. Its called "organizing from the inside out" May even steal it from the library until I can get my own copy...check it out!!
    good luck and thanks for all of your inspiration!!
    hugs,
    Holly

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