Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket

Saturday, January 30, 2010

An Inside Look at my Organizational Skills

No doubt, there are many areas of my life that are disorganized. I know this. I also know that (like my mother) I am a stacker. I create stacks of things then have no idea what things are in the stacks but think that the stacks at least look organized, so it is something that I continue to do. When I was growing up there was an area on the kitchen counter by the phone where my mother kept her stacks. When she would have dinner parties she would move the stacks onto the top of the dryer. Afterward, she would move the stacks back to their place on the counter. I have inherited this from her and I am ok with that. But that's not what I was intending to write about...

These are my three organizational skills that I excel at. Call me anal if you want to, that's ok with me.
1. We make a weekly menu. During the school year this is just for dinner. During the summer it also includes breakfast and lunch.
2. I make my grocery list according to the menu. And then I shop, with list in hand, and cross things off.
3. I lay out all 3 kids' clothes for the week. By outfit, in order.

I do these three things on the weekend so that our weeks (especially the crazy busy ones) run as smoothly as possible. When one of these items is not done, the week sucks. Not for me really, but for the rest of the family. Mainly because I am the planner and Chris is the doer. He takes all 3 kids to school, so I feel that I am contributing by laying out everyone's clothes. He does all of the cooking, so I feel that I am contributing by planning the menu (he has A LOT of input in this) and buying the groceries.

Because I have done these three things every weekend for almost the past 7 years, it should go without saying, that I can't handle it when something gets in the way of these three things. Like today, we made a menu, I made a grocery list and then I went to the store. The store was out of chicken. Not all chicken, just the kind that I needed. See, we're supposed to be eating roast chicken tomorrow night and then a chicken and broccoli ring on Monday. Its hard to make those 2 meals without the chicken part. I really don't understand why there weren't any chickens. We live about 30 minutes away from Gainesville - the chicken capital of the world. Sadly, because I could not buy the items on my list, we have no food for 2 nights this week. Without the list I am incapable of figuring out food items to buy. A little too organized for my own good.

4 comments:

Emily said...

Oh, I totally understand. The few times that I am organized enough to plan, I must. stick. with. the. plan. If something doesn't fall according to plan I have no idea what to do. Maybe that's why I don't plan..... :)

molly said...

Wow. I know this to totally be you, the planning part. To make you cringe, I did my grocery shopping for the week this past Friday night after work, spur of the moment, no planning. I bought 3 frozen pizzas, about 7 frozen Lean Cuisines (my lunch for the week), some Frosty Paws for Twig, eggs, bagels and hummus, oh, and beer. Then I bought a work out DVD and some new underwear. Pretty obvious that I'm single with no kids.

Patrick and Melinda Wallace said...

My mom did that stacking thing too. Still does, in fact. Last night, when we went over to her house to cook her a birthday dinner, I had to move the stacks from the kitchen table (her home for the stacks) to the dryer. :)

Teacher Lady Ma'am said...

I am such a stacker!! Unfortunately, one of my student's parents took this to mean unorganized and complained to the principal... I like my stacks. I don't like her!

Thanks for your blog! I love it and hearing about the kids!!