04 December 2005

How do you do it?

I can't seem to get my shit together. I used to be organized. Before I had children I had a "real" job and I was great at it. I could keep 15 projects going at once. I knew where each one was at all times. I knew how to get my jobs printed even if I missed my press time. I had art files on each job and I was meticulous on organizing them. I could answer any question by any client at any time.

Now, 10 years later, I am a wreck. I have to keep track of my kids and their various activities. And I am trying to keep my house together. I can't get it all done and it is driving me INSANE! I have piles of crap everywhere. I can't quite get them all put away.

My kids work against me. I have to threaten them with torture to get them to put anything away. I am considering the drastic action of the eBay mom who sold everything her family left on the floor for a week:

Mom sells family's stuff on eBay. Jessica Schickel got sick and tired of picking up after her husband and two children. To teach them a lesson, she collected everything they left out for one week, and auctioned the contents on eBay. The winning bidder offered to give Schickel the items and her bid of more than $300, but Schickel is going to donate it all to charity.

Yeah, I wish I had thought of that!

I am trying to work from home. My husband is now working in another state during the week (a very long story!) so I have to get it together or I will lose a kid or a dog in the mess. I would love to get my business off of the ground, but that seems to always be the last thing I get to during the day.

I am considering the fact that I may be ADD. I don't know. Or I am just a sad case of Super Inorganization and I need an intervention.

I know there are lots of people who pull off working and keeping their home well. How do you do it? I am open to all suggestions.

6 comments:

sissy said...

Just remember files don't make messes themselves or go and mess up other files for spite. They don't spill, cry, fight, shed or pee. Give yourself a break! you are basically a single mom with 3 kids and 2 dogs. There aren't enough hours in the day. I have threatened the ebay thing myself! That mom is the new poster child at our house. Love you girl!

Just D said...

I just started working after many years at home. I find I just have to be disciplined to both doing what needs to be done right away and also to letting things be without worrying when other priorities are rearing. I do laundry daily (wash dry fold - the putting away takes longer!) and dishes, but other housework sits for a few days, and sometimes it takes me a couple hours to hit the pile of papers/bills if I let it sit too long... "manageable" is word only YOU can define!

cmhl said...

OK, I have NONE of my shit together. seriously. but I am fairly organized....

start by every every night before you go to bed, assign everyone to a room to do a 10 minute tidy--- put on "work" music (ugh, I know), no tv and tell them to work as fast as they can. and then vacuum. it makes a huge difference..

if you are really a glutton for punishment--- go check out www.flylady.org or maybe .com or maybe .net. something like that.

Anonymous said...

i'm 28 and my "house" ain't anywhere near order. it's ok, gina. everyone gets this way...
it ususally has to get to a point where there's not a path between rooms before i give in and have a cleaning day. i think it a rebellion to the fact that my mother was a clean nazi and as a youth i spent nearly all day saturday cleaning everything. now that i have my own house i don' tcare. so here' s a thought. clean it when it's gross, and it it's not c'est la vie. enjoy your free time.

Piece of Work said...

The difference with being organized at home and at work is that cleaning is pure drudgery. At least at work, there was some sense of enjoyment. I find that it is cyclical in my house: I'll be really organized for a month or two, and then it was slowly all fall to hell for a few months, and then I'll finally pick it up again.

Anonymous said...

Hello All! I am the E-bay Mom who sold my family's stuff after going on strike because they kept leaving their "stuff" all over the house... I thought that by taking such a drastic measure to help get their attention (and most importantly to teach a lesson that their possessions are things that should not be taken for granted) they would have learned the lesson.... I am sad to report that is not the case. Well, I have to be fair-- my hubby did learn his lesson but the kids did not. We have since appeared on Dr. Phil (show will air 1/2/06) to get his advise. Be sure to watch.... I wish all of you the best. I believe that being a mom is one of the toughest (and also most rewarding) jobs in the world and it takes a very strong woman to do the job-- so we should commend ourselves for all that we do!