May 29, 2008
Organization
Written by Shirley Karr in Jaunty PostYesterday I realized I need to return two pairs of shoes. When they say having a baby changes everything that means your feet, too. But the receipt wasn’t in the shopping bag. I think it fell out onto the dining table when I removed other items from the bag. If you saw our table, you’d know what a daunting task it is to find a small slip of paper amidst the mounds of mail, pizza coupons and other important things waiting to be sorted and put away. Finding “away” for everything is a challenge we’re still working on.
With Daniel happily playing in the activity-thingy beside me, I get a sack for recycling and begin sorting paper. Daniel has a major spit-up which requires a wardrobe change, which reminds me I need to start another load of laundry. To keep up with a baby, we need to average one load per day. In transferring the previous load to the dryer, I notice we’re low on fabric softener, so I write that on the shopping list posted on the frig. Then I remember we’re also low on butter and bananas so I snoop through the cupboards and add more items to the list. Where was I? Right, looking for a receipt.
Now Daniel is fussing – it’s time for a diaper change, bottle and a nap. A half hour later I finally get him settled in his crib and return to the table, but something in the sink reeks. I load the dishwasher and head back to the table.
There’s a couple of bills in the stack, including a credit card bill for materials my husband used on a job (he’s a self-employed paint contractor) which reminds me the client still owes us for the now-past-due invoice. So I pull the job folder and make phone calls to track down someone at the property management company who will get the check in the mail for real.
Daniel awakens and we go through the whole diaper change/eat/clean up/diaper change routine. Husband has arrived home and showered so I hand off the baby and return to my office to put the folder away, and almost trip over a box of papers I found while cleaning in the baby’s room (our former guest/storage room) last week. Mixed in with other stuff are old magazines I promised to give to a critique partner tonight so she can make a collage. I sort papers for a few minutes but realize it’s time to go to Jazzercise class. I’ve given up trying to lose the 30 pounds I gained post-partum – three months now of thrice-weekly 60-minute workouts and still the scale refuses to budge – so instead am focusing on tightening up the 30 extra inches on my waist. Okay, it’s not really 30 inches, it just seems like it when I look in my closet at all the clothes that used to fit. And I am making progress, just very slow.
The store where I bought the shoes is only a short detour on the way home from class and this would be a perfect time to return them… except I still haven’t found the receipt. Sigh.
I recently told a co-worker about a similar day, when I did a bunch of things but not the one thing I set out to do, and she told me about a marvelous book: Organizing Solutions for People with Attention Deficit Disorder, by Susan C. Pinsky. Neither of us have ADD but she pointed out us creative types tend to have many traits in common with those who do. Hmm.
As I thumbed through the pages, I was amazed at how many of the tips I already use. For example, we don’t sort laundry. We have three baskets in our room – no hampers with lids because we won’t take the extra steps to walk over there and open a lid but we willshoot for two points – one for whites, one for my delicates-keep-your-paws-off-my-silks! and one for everything else. With added baby stuff, we’ve learned you can wash almost everything together – just use cold water, add a cup of baking soda, and don’t use bleach.
Some of Pinsky’s rules are too strict for those who don’t have ADD – I think we do need more than one wooden spoon – but there are some tips I hadn’t thought of and want to put into practice. Better organization = less time spent looking for things = more time to write.
Now, where did I leave the book…?
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Amy Says:
Shirley,cute!!! Thank you for the heads up on the books by Pinsky. My 14 year old daughter had ADHD and is going thru a bit of a struggle right now, so I’ headed to the library!!!
Amy
Margo Maguire Says:
Oh Shirley, can I ever relate. It’s been years since my kids were little, but I sure remember those days. Hugs … it gets better!
Shana Says:
Shirley, I’m exhausted just reading about all of that. But you definitely have your priorities in the right place (if not your receipts). Daniel is lucky to have such a great mom.
Fedora Says:
Shirley, thanks for the book recommendation! I do think that having kids adds quite a bit to the mix… hope you find that receipt! And let me know if you see any of mine…
Emily McKay Says:
Sounds like most of my days, so I’m right there with you.
And someday I’ll tell you about how my feet grew in an Incredible-Hulk-like way with this last pregnancy. Very sad.
recycling and tips Says:
[...] in the shopping bag. I think it fell out onto the dining table when I removed other items from thhttp://jauntyquills.com/2008/05/29/organization/Readers pour out their bottled-water tales The Daily DispatchIn an earlier column, I wrote about the [...]