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Today I’m going to share with you my best way to getting organized on a budget. Why? This is a very simple step you can take starting tomorrow and it doesn't cost you a single thing.
The other day I asked the hubby to add something to my monthly grocery list. I said, “It’s in the white binder there on the table.”
“This big one?”
“No, the other one.”
“This one?”
“No, the white one.”
As he flipped through the pages of the correct binder I heard him mutter, “OCD”, under his breath. I just couldn't help but reply,
“Why yes, I am a little OCD, but that means there is food on the table each night and groceries in the pantry and sanity left at the end of my day after working and caring for the baby!”
That was the end of that discussion! (And yes, my item got added to my grocery list!) The truth is, yes, I have several binders full of things I need to get me through each day. I’m a stay at home, work from home mom and homemaker. Like many of you I have a million little things I need to get done each day otherwise this nice little system that we enjoy so much will break down.
How’s that for pressure? It’s really not that bad…it’s not like the end of the world if I don’t get the dishes done one day or if I don’t get supper ready until after hubby comes home and we end up just eating pancakes (which we happen to love anyways). But it does make for a more stressful day and then more things added to the next days’ to-do list.
So where is a good starting place to get organized and get going? I’ll let you in on my secret…
I get up early.
Seriously. I've found that if I get up an hour and a half to two hours before the rest of the family I can get a ton done. (I usually get up around 5 – 5:30 and get the rest of the family up at 7.)
And I know this sound crazy, especially if you aren't a morning person…but you can ask my mom, when I was growing up I was not in any way a morning person! But you know what? It grows on you after a while. I actually enjoy my mornings more than any other time during the day. It’s quiet and peaceful and incredibly productive. Before, I would get up at the same time as everyone else, feel totally overwhelmed for hours and maybe finally get showered and cleaned up at about noon. I was not enjoying that at all and it was not working for our household very well!
But then I decided I wanted to start getting up and making hubby breakfast in the morning so we could eat together before he left for work. I liked it so much I started getting up earlier and earlier until I realized how productive I could be!
Do you get up early? When is your most productive time of day?
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I was not a morning person until I had a house to run and kids to take care of. It makes my mornings run so much better when I am up at about 5:30am. I get a shower, prayer time, and a few moments to myself to plan out my day.
Yes… I so, so need to do this. I keep thinking about it but it hasn’t happened yet.
I’m in the same boat
My only trouble with getting up early . . .is getting up earlier than everyone else. Because as soon as I make the decision, guess what? That’s the morning my toddler decides he’s going to wake up crying that he’s hungry at 5:45. I tell him no, it’s not time to eat, but the only way to make him not cry is let him come in the living room with me and lay on the sofa (where he does fall asleep). Then my 5 yo gets up at 6:15. Then my 8 year old gets up at 6:45. So much for my morning. The next morning, better success. The morning after that, no one sleeps in. The morning after that the two younger ones know the secret and just pop awake at 6:15. So I do keep trying, but until they’re all over the age of 6 I really doubt I’m going to be able to get that down (and since I just had a baby, that means 6 years from now).
I worried about this too and just found that I had to do really quiet things so my little wouldn’t wake up. Even if I could just check my email or get my online work done for the day it still helped me out
The only thing I do is drink coffee (that’s already made) and read my Bible, check my computer, etc. I don’t even dare workout. And I’m downstairs. They simply have a sixth sense that tells them I’m getting up early. So if I do manage to get up early 5 days a week, only 2 of those are maybe quiet. That’s why it’s a struggle for me. I’m trying, I am, but it’s a struggle.
And I’m not describing a worse case scenario that I’m afraid will happen, I’m describing what has and does happened.
I have been meaning to get up before the rest of the family for years…. but it is just sooooo hard when it is cold and dark outside (we only heat with a wood fire so it is very chilly in the house first thing in the morning in winter – yes, we have a simple little house, prairie style!) But now that summer is approaching and it is lighter and warmer in the mornings, you have inspired me to give it another go. I know that on the odd occasion that I have started the day early I have always really enjoyed it!! So…no promises but I like what you say and maybe I’ll also finally establish the habit.
I am retired, so I can get up when I want – and stay up later – so the morning factor isn’t so much of a deal as the binder! I only have one – and the cover says “The Book that tells me when to Breathe!” (based on a similar book in a mystery by a favored author – Donna Andrews) My husband of 39 years has been trained to use it too!
I keep phone numbers, lists, passwords, insurance information etc. in it. My shopping list is separate though – it is on a clipboard – with categories on it (fruit/veggies, baking, frozen, meats etc. etc.) and hubby is trained on that one too! Whether you get up early or not, the key for me is to have in my head what I want my life to look like, how I want my home to be, and what my priorities are. LOVE your blog!
Absolutely agree! While we don’t have kids yet I still love to get up early and get most of the household done (so much more and quicker than doing it after work). It also gives us time to sit with coffee/tea and talk about the day ahead, plan dinner etc.
I work, so I have to be up at a certain hour anyway, but I don’t like it….
I’ve considered training myself to wake up early and get things done, but when do you spend alone time with your husband? My daughter is 13 and from 8-9 she is getting ready for bed while I am making tomorrow’s breakfast/lunches. Then at 9 she is in bed, I start the dishwasher, and my husband and I sit on the couch, chat and watch TV shows that are innappropriate for her to watch (Lost Girls or Game of Thrones, anyone?). That puts my bedtime at 10. and that is assuming that everything happened in some magical Donna Reed fashion that it rarely does. When does couple time work into the system. on days when I have to get up 2 hours before my husband, that night I’m in bed 2 hours before him, and that means that I’m down for the count by the time he meanders into the bedroom. I don’t even notice when he gets into bed!
Ideas? Advice? I’d love to get up earlier and be able to get things done before things start blowing up for the day.
In that case I would see if my hubby would get up with me in the morning, we could work together then and talk about the day to come. In our case my hubby sleeps in until 7 in the morning but we put the baby to bed at 8 so we have about 2 hours after that to be together as a couple.
We’ve still found that our time together as a couple is lacking so we’ve decided to try and do a bimonthly date night if we are able to find a sitter.
I was the same way when I was growing up. Ask my mom too, I was not a morning person. But now I love to get up and get things done. I like being productive.
I would like to sleep in, but I can’t. No matter what. The latest I seem to be able to sleep (on weekends) is 7am. I am so tired. I go to sleep early, drink my chamomile tea, take my melatonin, and still wake up during the night, sometimes 1am, sometimes 3am, but always… I hate it!!
I completely agree with your morning routine…I’m not a true morning person either, but it gives me some much needed (and coveted) me time and I get so much accomplished while the rugrats are still sleeping!