I have always been a pretty organised person. Sometimes completely too rigid, nowadays I believe that running round like crazy trying to do all and be all is way overrated. But then, some organisation is great for clarity of the mind and focus on individual tasks. I think if I just lived spontaneously all of the time then I would never get anything done and I probably wouldn’t be sat here now writing this.
So what do you think is the minimum organisation that you should implement? Cont…
Happy first of the month/April Fools Day!
I love the start of a new month, its like a mini new year, a bit of a fresh start if you need one.
At the beginning of every month I review my goals, as advised in the Leonie Dawson workbook. And I set goals for the next month from my workbook. I sit down with my calendar and work out a budget for my money for the month. I make any appointments I need to for that month and I make time to be ready for any birthdays and parties that I have coming up with regards to presents and cards. I check that everything in my calendar is in line with what I have in my diary and work out my study planner for the month.
Sitting down at the beginning of every month to organise myself makes my time less stressful and more productive. It normally take a couple of hours maximum and is worth every second of that time. Give it a try and see how much smoother and more rewarding this month is for you.
For any more help and ideas contact me at imogenjhope@gmail.com
Peace & love,
Imogen x
As I have mentioned on the blog a few times, food shopping and making is a big issue for me. I forget to food shop and so frequently run out of things. I am trying hard to be more organised in this area. Also ideas for meals trip me up regularly and I often end up running out for food last minute or getting Mr.H to pick things up on his way home from work and on his lunch breaks.
While working on creating new routines I have created 2 time slots a week for shopping. The main one is on a Friday at 6pm when Mr.H gets home. I can go alone and take my time looking for everything that I need. I create an ongoing list on my phone through the week and pick up everything else we get every week. The second slot is on a Tuesday morning when I am in town to take Vi to a baby group. Before we go i’ll get any fruit and veg i need for recipes and snacks from the market and get anything else that we need from the shops in town that I can’t get from the supermarket. This normally includes cleaning stuff that i can get cheaper than the supermarket, health foods, toiletries and such. I have tried to keep this system going for a couple of weeks and so far it seems to be working pretty well.
The other thing I tend to have difficulty with is providing actually meals for my family. It sounds terrible but I just haven’t been organised enough. My children don’t want to eat the same food as i do. I think this is the main problem. I try to be healthy and cook proper food whereas they would probably live off fish fingers and waffles. I don’t really want that so i try to make the best of both worlds. The breakfast staple in our house is cereal, the kids have it and Mr.h, its easy and they seem to wake up ravenous so I need to get them something quick. I generally have porridge with cinnamon and agave nectar or scrambled eggs with vegetables. Everybody seems happy there. Snack-wise, the kids are totally fuelled by fruit and the odd breadstick. For lunch we all love natural peanut butter on wholemeal bread when not at school. School dinners are free these days so i know J gets a big, varied, proper meal everyday. And cake, everyday. hmm. Anyway tea times are the main issue for us. I try to keep it simple during the week. The last thing I want to be doing is slaving away cooking for hours when we could be playing or reading. My kids love pasta so often they will have that with pesto and some vegetables. They absolutely love scrambled eggs on toast, well one of them does and theres no way I’m doing them different meals! Pancakes, Staffordshire Oatcakes, Beans, Sausages, spaghetti Bolognese are all eaten regularly and it seems to keep it simple enough for me to not be driven completely crazy. I sometimes make myself a huge salad while they have that. Or a stir fry or now and again I’ll just have what they’re having.
I like to make a bigger deal of meals at the weekend. Especially tea. I like us all the sit down together and eat the same thing. This give me a chance to try out a new recipe off pinterest or to have something bubbling away in the slow cooker all day long.
Do you have any tips on how to simplify meal times and shopping?
Imogen x
In 6 weeks we are moving house. We will be downsizing 😦 But! The new house has a lovely big garden! Woohoo!
This will be the 4th time we have moved house in 5 years. Thats really crazy i know but what can i say we have been looking for something we haven’t quite found yet!
I love this house. I really seriously love this house. But there is no garden just a few flag stones and actual stones. This house is a hundred+ year old weavers cottage. Its over four floors including the cellar and our magnificent bedroom is the whole of the top floor with en suite bathroom and beautiful view of the cheshire countryside. But as i poked my nose out into the world of rentals to see if we could get something with a garden i found one. Its a beautiful garden with a smaller house attached. With 2 floor and smaller rooms. But less money so hey, let look on the bright side. As i went to see it i pondered where i would put our masses of belongings and then PANIC ‘there’s a few people interested’ ‘we’re waiting for a phone call right now from a lady who wants to take it’ ‘if you want it you’ll have to do it now’. And these statements were all true. I could tell. Its a nice area and a bit of a bargain by all accounts so next thing i know i am signing, paying and mr.H hasn’t even seen it yet! But it felt like the right thing to do i went with my instinct and flowed with what was happening. So were off. And I am now 6 weeks away from a big down size. So first things first. Before we start to think about packing we need to declutter like there is no tomorrow!
So here is my lovely declutter to downsize in 6 weeks checklist (note; also works on general house clutter, space clearing, feng shui-ing you way to a clearer clutter free house and mind)
Week 1
Yard/garden, cellar, garage
Week 2
Clothes, shoes, coats
Week 3
Bedrooms/other, general bric a brac and furnishings
Week 4
The biggy for us-the kitchen
That will leave us with 2 weeks of packing fun and plenty of time for trips to charity shops, the tip and returning things to where they belong.
There will be more detail to follow on each area.
Thanks for reading!
Imogen x
imogen j hope 