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If you're here for just the penny-pinchin' deals, scoot on past this post to the next penny-pinched deal! But if you could use a little help with organization this month, this series is for you. (And know that I am soooooo preachin' to myself right now!)
A few years ago when talking with a friend about all that was on my to-do list, she made the comment “Well you know, if it's meant to be, it's up to me!”  As I started thinking about doing a series on organization here on PPP (after a request from so many readers . . . ) that quote rang over and over in my head.  Here's the problem though. . . there's this little thing that sooooo often gets in our way when it comes to organization:
ourselves.
I am the worst. As a couponer, I've shared before that all too often I'm the crazy lady with the coupon stuck in her hair, careening through the grocery aisle like a mad woman.  I'm constantly in a hurry, live my life almost always behind, yet wholeheartedly want to grab the reigns and settle myself on down.
But I think we can do this.
We'll talk lots of specifics in this series, including menu planning, lunch box making, laundry tips and more, but ultimately, we have to get past the very first point of procrastination and choose today that we're in charge of where we want to go.  I will never forget the “lightbulb” moment I had at twelve years old while staring into a dishwasher full of clean dishes, and realizing for the first time that I could walk away from those dishes all day long, but they’d still be sitting there when my mom got home from work.  (And she would not be happy; she was tired too!) I figured out then and there that I might as well just go ahead and put those dishes away (because they sure weren’t going to put themselves away!), so I chose to get to work. The same holds true today – you might as well go ahead and tackle whatever chore it is that lies ahead of you, because it’s highly unlikely it’ll ever get done if you don’t get started.
So as we start this 25 days, here's what I want you to decide right now: you (and I. . .) are not going to procrastinate about the work that lies before us. Â If there's a dirty sock that needs to head to the laundry, pick it up right now and get a load of laundry started while you're there (or at least get your hubby or kiddos started on the job?) Â If you need to make a menu plan, make it. If grocery shopping is on your list this week and there's no way you can skip a trip this week, make your grocery list right now. Instead of becoming overwhelmed by the daunting to-do list that lies before you, attack those little jobs so you can mark them off your list. Â There's no fancy formula or high dollar app that will actually do any of the organizing for you: ultimately you have to take control of your life and decide to live in a more organized way.
(Although, I do think this Motivated Moms formula and app do come in pretty handy . . . )
Your turn now!  To help me out as we get started, I'd love to hear what's the one area of your life that you struggle  in most when it comes to organizing. Trust me, I'm pretty sure we're all in this one together, but I think we can motivate one another to get where we want to go!
I worked a lot on organizing my kitchen last year and one of the best tips I came across was stacking cookie sheets and muffin pans vertically instead of horizontally. This has turned out to be such a huge time saver.
My craft room and kitchen. I have a very small kitchen, small cabinets and no pantry. The craft room always looks like bomb went off which is stopping me from going in there.
I soooo understand the craft closet issue, and a small kitchen is always hard to deal with! Here’s something I did that helped our craft area a little bit ~ https://passionatepennypincher.com/?p=57168
i would love how to control the clutter. i know put it away but it’s EVERYWHERE!
Controlling the clutter is what we’re working on TODAY! I don’t know that putting it away always helps…. I’ve been just getting rid of stuff and it feels soooooo good!
I would love some tips on organizing kitchen cabinets. My pantry is fairly well organized but I struggle with things like pots and pans, plastic containers, small kitchen gadgets etc. I think part of the problem is I have too much stuff. A list of kitchen essentials would be helpful. I mean how many muffin tins does a person really need!!
I *love* the idea of a kitchen essentials list ~ just added that to my to-do list and I’ll include it this month!
This. I need this. Badly. I have a ton of storage in my kitchen and it all falls out of my cabinets! Ready for a purge!
I have tried the “control” journals, but the paper clutter and just general stuff with 3 kids 5 and under is so hard. BUT, with our last move, I made colored cards of what was in each box a well as colored a corner of the Bo and put its code on it… Wow, as we unpack this weekend, I can make priority of the “must haves”. I’m going to try to fid a way toast the same type of system for our home
The journals really don’t work for me either – just one more thing to keep up with! I am slowly figuring out how to manage what works for us, and while I think the organizing journals look great for some people, I think they’d overwhelm me! Good luck unpacking (that’s a daunting task in itself!)