Prior Preparation and Planning

Now that Boxing Day is upon us and the festivities of Christmas are mostly over, we can start planning and gathering our tools for being organised.

Disclaimer: I have not been paid to advertise any products in this post. All products used are by my experience only. I give full credit to FlyLady.net and The Organised Housewife for their products.

Planning

We need to plan time, tools, goals and reward. In the beginning, just seeing a clean room may seem like reward enough to some, but for others of you, you may need a tanigble reward for completing a task. I know for me, it was as simple as have sticks of Chai Latte in the cupboard. When I had completed a challenge, I would reward myself with a Chai Latte. Over time the challenge became less of a "Chore" and more of a routine(and yes it is ok to fall down and pick yourself back up, I did this many times and sometimes still have to).

For me, the most important time of the day to get organised is the evening. After dinner, my 30 minutes of organisation begins. 

• Dishes get done, benches, table and stove are cleaned (15 min)
• Washing is collected and tomorrow's load is put in the machine. The detergent is added to the dispenser and the machine is set and ready for Hubby to hit the start button in the morning. (5 min)
• I then plan tomorrow and lay out my clothes as appropriate for the day ahead. (10 min)

These few tasks make the morning run smoothly. I can get dressed while still half asleep, the kitchen is tidy and makes me smile when I come in to make breakfast for the family. The washing load is then ready for hanging, as soon as I arrive home from school drop off/ work. Having my day planned, means that I can see what NEEDS to be done and what can be FLEXIBLE, should something come up that needs my attention.

Gathering our tools

In order to get organised and on track for peace in our home, we need to have a few inexpensive tools.

• 3 containers for our organising missions. (Give away, Put away and Throw away)
• A container to hold our cleaning equipment ( I got this cute one at Kmart for $9)
• Micro-fibre Cleaning Cloths approximately 3-5 will be enough. I personally like the FLYLADY ones.
• All Purpose cleaner. I have recently Changed over to making my own as we have skin irritation issues in our family. You can find the recipe for it here on The Organised Housewife website.
• Glass Cleaner.
• A non abrasive scourer.
• Gumption or Marble Paste.
• A toothbrush and a Dish brush.
• Furniture Polish. (Optional) 
• A working Vacuum cleaner and a broom/cobweb broom.
• A timer. THIS WILL BE YOUR BEST FRIEND

Tomorrow I will introduce a simple plan for keeping on track with our Goals at home.
Stay tuned and God Bless

Rivkah