Day #29 of 30 Days to a Simpler Life --- Find Out What Works

Today fill out the checklist below.  It will help you see at a glance what works and what doesn't in your life.  Make a copy of this list and keep it in a place where you will refer to it again (your bulletin board or date book).  Add additional categories as they occur to you.  (30 Days to a Simpler Life, p. 180-182)

There is no way I can do today without sharing the list...and what a list it is!  Decide if you're okay or need help in the following areas.  My answers to the questions are bolded to the right.

Closet

Love and Wear clothes exclusively     OK

Closet organized     Help (I still have some stray stuff on the floor that needs donating)      

Accessories managed    OK    

   Stockings     OK (I only own 1 pair...I'd say this is okay :-)

    Belts     OK

    Scarves    OK

    Shoes     OK

    Jewelry    OK

Clothing Systems

Dry-cleaning system    OK (we don't really dry clean much :-)

Laundry system     Help (it could be better.  Tom Thumb was out of underwear yesterday.)

Out of season system    OK (all in Rubbermaid tubs or hung in the hall closet.  It was fine until Red raided the summer bin a couple days ago for some shorts.  Now all is chaos!)

Recycling System     OK (outgrown or not used clothes go to Purple Heart or my niece and nephew)

Linen closet     Help (needs assistance after I bought new pillows for the guests from Tennessee last month. Now it's jammed!)

Kitchen

   Counters cleared     Help (I'm still working on keeping that darn counter cleaned off)

   Storage organized     OK

   Love and Use items exclusively     OK (except the china cabinet, but that's technically in the dining room :-)

   Meal Planning System     OK

   Grocery Shopping System     OK

   Entertaining Menus and Setup   Help (but I'm really not entertaining much currently so maybe I am OK)

Home Office

Mail Handling     OK

Desktop Papers     Help (I get this under control and then this immediately goes to hell again)

Office Supplies     OK

Bill-Paying System     OK (Cobbler's domain)

Filing System     OK (all below are okay.  They could use some updating, but are okay)

     Current   OK

     Important Documents   OK (in safe)

     Estate planning   OK (in safe)

     Tax records   OK (yay---taxes were filed on Saturday)

     Home improvement records   OK

     Insurances   OK

     Archives   OK

Stationery and stamps   OK

Ticket system   OK

Gift wrapping   OK

Photos   Help (still working on this one)

Subscriptions   OK

Travel files and planning   OK

Kids

Kids' rooms

     Closet   Help (Tom Thumb's closet leaves something to be desired)

     Desk   OK (because there aren't any!)

     Storage   OK

Kids' papers and mementos  Help (Just got caught up on pasting Red's art projects into her book today.  Still a long way to go.)

Babysitter information current   OK

House Maintenance

Supplies organized   OK

Daily Routine  Help (in all these cases, I have a written routine I just don't do it)

Weekly Routine   Help

Seasonal Routine   Help

Garage OK (Cobbler's domain)

General

House sitter information current     OK (more cat sitter than anything)

Recycling system for useless stuff   OK

OR for serious simplifiers only...

If you are highly motivated, in the next three months, tackle all the areas marked "Help."  Some areas will take just a few minutes to simplify and organize, while other will take hours.  Imagine how you will feel when the job is complete.  (30 Days to a Simpler Life, p. 182)

           

I'm going to keep at it when this 30 day process is done.  For me, it's going to be a life long thing I'll continue to work on.  I'm not a naturally organized person (I tend to drop things on the floor as I walk along) so I really have to be intentional about simplifying and organizing.  As I've been saying all along---baby steps.  I think you'll see a lot more posts in the coming year about meeting the challenges above.

Today is my Dad's 67th birthday!  That's my Dad and Red at my Grandma's cottage on Lake Erie almost 6 years ago.  Happy birthday Daddy!  We're going over to my parents' house tonight to celebrate by eating some of my mom's homemade pineapple torte.  Yum!  My little sister is in town from Wisconsin for a visit too.  Can't wait! :-)