Since I’m busy organizing my files today, I thought this was an appropriate post. Since I wrote this post, I have moved. And since the move, I have really struggled with organization. This is a good reminder to me. And I hope you enjoy the look back at this post from a year ago.
Most of the time I’m a fairly organized person. There are times, however, when organization goes out the window, and the clutter in my life begins to pile up. It’s at these times that frugality goes out the window.
An example of how disorganization cost me happened yesterday. We received a call from the YMCA on Friday reminding us that the deadline for soccer sign-ups was today. So yesterday I loaded up the kids and drove to the YMCA to sign them up for soccer. I knew soccer sign-ups were in August, but I never called to find out when they started.
Had I called, I would have known that the early sign-up deadline was August 21. Because I missed that deadline, I had to pay an extra $5 for each of my children. You may say it’s only $10, but $10 mistakes can add up quickly.
Other symptoms that disorganization is costing you are:
- eating out too often, because you don’t know what’s for dinner
- buying duplicate items, because you don’t know what you already have on hand
- washing one outfit at a time, because you need to wear a particular outfit tomorrow, but you forgot to throw it in the laundry with the rest of your clothes a few days ago
- paying a higher interest rate, because you forgot to pay your bill on time
- paying late fees, because you forgot to return a book or dvd to the library
What is the answer? Learn to be more organized. Yes, organization can be learned! Some resources for learning to be organized are:
Flylady.net. In simple steps, Flylady teaches you to organize your home little by little. I have had a lot of success using morning routines and weekly home blessings. When my home is organized, I don’t feel overwhelmed by clutter, and I am more productive.
Getting Things Done. I had heard great things about this book, but I didn’t know if it would apply to a stay at home mom like me. I read it, and I have found ways to apply it, especially when it comes to paper clutter! David Allen presents a pretty good system for filing and keeping track of all the papers and emails that make their way into our lives. I recommend this book for anyone who has trouble with paper clutter.
If Getting Things Done is too much for you, Leo Babauta of Zen Habits has written an e-book called Zen to Done. I’ve read about 2/3 of it so far, and its a great alternative to Getting Things Done! It simplifies the GTD system and helps turn the ideas from GTD into simple actions that anyone can do. As a stay at home mom, Zen to Done has been perfect for me!
HouseWorks is a great book if you really don’t know where to begin with the clutter in your house. Written by Cynthia Townley Ewer, the CEO of Organized Home, this book is a wealth of information from how to declutter your house to how to clean things. I wish this book would have been around when I first got married!
Having a tough time with meal planning? Try Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely. This book has 6 weeks worth of dinner menus for every season of the year, complete with grocery shopping lists. Copy the list, cook, and eat! It doesn’t get easier than that! The recipes are very healthy. The groceries cost me more than what I personally budget for a week, but it’s still less expensive than eating out. Leanne also has a website, where you can get menu plans emailed to you every week for a fee.
A free option is Menus4Moms. I love this website when I’m strapped for time, because I can get 5 dinner plans for the week plus a grocery list FREE! The grocery list also includes an estimate for the cost of the week’s groceries. I’ve found that it’s usually pretty accurate. The menus aren’t quite as healthy as the Saving Dinner menus, but they’re kid friendly, and still much healthier than eating a Big Mac.
You now you have some resources to help you get organized. No more excuses for unpaid bills and last minute trips to McDonald’s for dinner! Now excuse me while I do a 27 Fling Boogie!
If you have a favorite website or tip for getting organized, please share it in the comments!
Photo by evelynishere.
{ 14 comments }
Guilty! I wish I could undo all of the late fees of my past . . .
DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad.com’s last blog post..Goal Posts Revisited
I find that disorganization also costs me money because I forget to send in rebates on time and/or lose receipts. This has happened a few times and is very frustrating. It is hard to have a system because when I get the receipt in store, it then has to make its way home where it is joined with the UPC symbol, the rebate form, and all the other stuff it needs. I still haven’t found the right system for this yet!
Coupon Artist’s last blog post..Alternatives to Payday Lenders
None can doubt the veracity of this atrcile.
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The goal once I moved out of remodeling phase was for me to empty all the boxes and what didn’t fit easily into my tiny house had to go. Unfortunately, I have not made enough progress in that area. Finding a place for everything is not happening. So this week I had started throwing all the misfits on the kitchen table – there is a big pile – and either finding a permanent place or into the ‘gone’ box they are going – to donate to the local charity thrift stores.
So, I ordered 2 of the books online from my local library – I’ll get an email when they are in for me to pick up. And I’ll check out the online book. The flylady has great ideas, but the amount of emails was too much. I just followed some of the online stuff.
Good post – good reminder.
Organization does not need to be overwhelming. All it takes is small steps on a daily basis. I find that it is even somewhat self-sustaining, as long as I am consistent. Good for you for getting your files in order. That is a huge help that will yield both long- and short-term results.
Angelsong’s last blog post..Finances are looking up
I have a bad habit of avoidance. I put off something as simple as returning a late library book because it takes on a whole new life in my head. I don’t know why I let it build up, but there you go. I’m pretending that acknowledging my behavior is my first step toward changing it. (I have gotten better.)
That said, I post weekly dinner menus + grocery lists at my site on Mondays, six meals designed to feed 4 – 6 people with leftovers eaten for lunch.
Thank you so much for linking to us earlier this week.
Heather Solos’s last blog post..How to Use Dry Beans in Recipes
This post hit me at just the right time! I have been feeling somewhat overwhelmed lately due to unorganization. One of the big things I noticed when I am not organized, it affects my health. I don’t sleep very good, I find myself not eating as well either. And that starts to make me stressful. And that effects not just me, but my family. So, it becomes a vicious cycle.
I used to belong to Flylady and it really helped me feel “in control”. I didn’t do everything exactly as she talked about but, it did help a lot in keeping a simplier routine and therefore, things fell into place much easier. What I found most was, it freed up a lot of time by doing the routines you set.
Diann @ The Thrifty Groove’s last blog post..Thrifty Thursday!
Hey there! Found you about a week ago and have been going through old posts. I really like your website and find all your info practical. I was wondering something though…. I was visiting the websites you posted today and I am wondering if Menus4Moms now charges. Everything I found was for a price, unless I missed something? Did they change since you origianly posted this?
Keep up the great tips!
Chris
Wow! It’s like you were reading my mind! I just posted yesterday about not being organized and trying to manage my time, etc. I love your site and all the info you offer. I’ll definitely be back!
Somewhat Frugal’s last blog post..Finding Time for it ALL
What great timing. I was just talking to my husband about this very thing. Every since my baby girl was born 6m ago (or maybe ever since I got pregnant 14m ago) I haven’t been able t get back into my groove. I used Flylady for a while & loved it, but I recently tried to sign up again & they’ve changed their format. That’s just an excuse I need to just get started. Baby steps, right?
Lorie’s last blog post..Growing, Growing
Thanks for sharing all of these great resources! I am so disorganized and it drives me crazy. I actually just went out and used some of my bday money to buy all of the supplies for my coupon organization……once I get that all figured out, I will feel so much better about myself! :-)
These are really great tips! It is very true that disorganization can cost you money in all of the ways you mentioned, and more! Another great website full of tips and tricks to help you get organized is my own…www.tips-to-organize-life.com
These are great tips. I was just going to post about my huge $30 mistake. I’ll be sure to provide a link to this great post giving my readers some good ideas for getting themselves organized.
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