Organizing is like a bowl of oatmeal

This post is something akin to
"Life is like a box of chocolates."

Let me explain...

My husband eats a bowl of oatmeal almost every day. However, he rarely finishes it before he leaves for work and he finishes it on the way. That means the bowl sits in his car all day before he gets home and sets it in the sink.

You know what that bowl is like 10 hours later, right? The difference between dried oatmeal and superglue is minuscule at this point. That bowl has got to soak for hours in water before it can be cleaned (by hand). There's no point in putting it in the dishwasher, which seems to only multiply the superglue effect of dried oatmeal.

My point here around organizing is this: it's often much easier to get to (and complete) a project or task right away, rather than letting it "ripen."

Those bowls or any other dishes, when newly dirty, are often extremely easy to clean. A moment of swishing a bowl with water and a scrubber will clean them well enough to set in the dishwasher for a thorough cleaning and sterilizing.

However, if you let dishes sit to dry and harden, it not only takes time to let them soak, but then more water (a precious resource in in drought-prone California), more effort (elbow grease) and more time (scrubbing, soaking) to get an item clean. What might have taken seconds and very little water, is taking minutes and gallons of water and energy just because you didn't rinse an item right away.

Now, is this an essay about the rewards of doing your dishes right away? (Yes and no.) For some of my clients, creating a habit of cleaning the kitchen is something we work on together. But really, I'm looking at the bigger picture here.

What other tasks are you putting off that cost you more in time, effort, energy and possibly money (since time is money)?

I know I've got a couple of overdue library books racking up some fines. (Actual dollars there.)

If I let the laundry go too long, then I suddenly have several loads to wash, dry, fold and put away. (And in the same vein, if I let the laundry sit in the dryer too long, I then have a load of wrinkled clothes that will now cost me time (and electricity...$) to iron.

If I don't open my mail and put all the bills in the "bills to pay" folder, I might miss a bill, have to pay a late fee ($) and possibly harm my credit.

If you can nip anything in the bud, then you will keep it from overtaking you and putting you in "overwhelm." Often, "overwhelm" isn't because we have so many things coming at us (well, for some people it is), but it's because we've let so many things get away from us and they become wild and unruly like spoiled children. Kids don't come out of the birth canal spoiled. Parents that have neglected to set rules and boundaries create spoiled children. Omissions rather than an actual act of trying to spoil kids. A lot like our omissions of not getting to tasks.

(In truth, a child does come out of the womb spoiled. They have had everything they have ever needed fed to them through a tube or encased around them. Heck, they haven't even had to chew and swallow. And I do believe we should "spoil" them for quite awhile after they enter the world with all that they need: food, sleep, clean clothes and diapers and love and attention. At some point, though, gentle boundaries are taught and they begin to assimilate into a world with other beings. But I think I have digressed a tad...)

All I am saying is this...the next time you are about to procrastinate on a task, think down the line a little. How long will it take right now versus how long it will take tomorrow or next week? Is there a price to pay? The price you pay may be in dollars, time, effort, another person's hurt feelings, your reputation or your credit score!

What's it worth?

Oh, and those oatmeal bowls? I think I'll encourage DH to eat toast...

The $40 Shopping Trip

I began a personal experiment several weeks ago--attempting to do my grocery shopping on $80 a week. (We are a family of two adults and one 7 year-old.)

I learned a number of things, some of which surprised me and led me to realize it was a grand experiment, even on the "organizing level" which I had not intended.

It began as a way to curb our budget–we're all trying to tighten the purse strings these days and I know that while we do not go overboard in the food department, I knew we could reign things in a little. Sometimes produce goes to waste in our fridge or leftovers don't get eaten in time.

My original thought was to try to spend only $100 a week at the grocery store, but I wanted that amount to include the lunches my DH buys during the workweek. So I have him $20 of that (telling him I would make his lunch twice a week.)

That left me with $80. I was afraid that if I spent that all at once, I would have forgotten something important, and then blow my budget. So, I cut it down to $40, knowing that, even though I abhor grocery shopping more than once a week (once a month would be super if the produce would only stay fresh!), I would go twice.

Of course the first and best tool in this project is a planned week of menus (I had already been doing that–mostly) and a grocery list. I didn't think $40 was going to leave me any room for impulse purchases, and I was right. I also planned to take $40 in cash with me, not write a check as I usually do. This meant even more organization on my part, having to go the the bank and withdraw cash for the week.

Here's what I thought would happen and did:
1. The very first time I tried this (taking a calculator with me and adding as I shopped), I spent $40 exactly. Exactly! Forty dollars and no cents. $40.00 Even including the tax on one or two items, and having produce which of course could vary a lot. I saw it as a sign from the gods that I was meant to continue doing this. (Even the cashier was pretty astounded, even more so when I told him I had intended to spend only that amount.)

2. I made no frivolous purchases. I picked up two chocolate bars at the end (I consider those staples) and even put back another snack food to afford the second bar.

3. I only bought what I thought we would need in the next few days, not the whole week or for the next week.

If we had one block of tofu already in the fridge, I didn't buy another, knowing that was enough protein for a couple days. I bought just a few yogurts for DD and just one or two for me, since I only use a half of one each morning.

It made me more aware of what I had in the pantry or fridge already, and not overbuy. Which in turn kept some of that fresh produce from spoiling because I knew I needed to use it up. I stopped preparing only our favorite foods and used up the other stuff (perfectly fine and tasty) we already had. I even discovered that my DD will eat what we call "Beanie Weanies" and loves them. (Baked beans with cut up Smart Dogs.) And I can make cornbread in a flash if I have at least 20 minutes.

4. By limiting myself to the cash in my wallet, and to the $40 limit, I really did stick close to $40. When I know I have that "open checkbook" I tend to spend three times that amount.

What I hadn't expected:
1. Shopping was a whole lot quicker! You have your list, you fill it (and you know that $40 goes fast!) and you get out! Time and aggravation saved!

2. Healthier foods. Again, since $40 isn't much, there's no room for a lot of processed or prepared foods. You've got to buy the "cheap" stuff that you are going to process yourself at home. Of course this translates into a healthier diet. I found my cart loaded with fresh fruits and veggies, a couple veggie proteins, a few cans of beans or tomato sauce, soy milk, yogurt and a loaf of bread. I also found that I saved time since I wasn't stopping to inspect labels of any new items. The few processed things I did get were familiar and I'd inspected them in the past.

3. Easier. Forty dollars generally only gets you two bags of groceries. (At Whole Foods, anyway.) Two bags of groceries means: Only one trip up the stairs in the garage into the kitchen instead of three or four. Only a couple minutes putting groceries away in the kitchen instead of 15 or 20. (Or letting them sit on the floor for days because I was too tired after trudging up the stairs three times.)

4. Less wasted. We often don't even eat all the food I planned for the 3 days, and it is still in the fridge. I had learned this a few years ago when I started doing weekly menu planning. I would rarely use up all the groceries I had bought for the week and much was there (and some of it going bad) the next week. But this held true for menu planning/shopping for just a few days at a time. (I do plan the whole week's menus, but just shop for a few days.) So, we eat even less than I thought we did.

What didn't quite work on $40 a trip:
Once you start running out of non-food items, your bill goes up dramatically. I needed to readjust the budget to include the reality of the expenses of toilet paper, tissues (we have hay fever), paper towels (even though we use these sparingly), shampoo/conditioner (long hair takes a lot of shampoo), deodorant, razor blades, dishwasher detergent, dishwashing liquid, clothes washing detergent, feminine hygiene products, etc. We did our best to root out these things that might be hiding somewhere in the house–using up all those tiny little hair products from previous hotel stays, for instance. That would stretch the budget a week or so.

My take-aways:
1. Coaching metaphor. A very surprising take-away came in the form of a coaching metaphor, which I will explain in a future blog post. But it has to do with the idea of having only $40 worth of time vs. that open checkbook.

2. Food waste. I am much more careful about using up leftovers and not letting food rot in the fridge. I'm not perfect and it still happens, but I feel I am much more aware of what I am putting in my cart and the likelihood of it getting eaten.

3. I tend to "hoard" less. Similar to #2 above. I let go of the feeling that I need to buy several of each item (maybe it's on sale), when in reality, it's like borrowing money from myself. Why let my money sit on my shelf as a tenth can of beans when it could have gone to pay down a real debt? (I'll be blogging this summer about a project my local organizers' group is doing around disaster preparedness. That may also alleviate my hoarding tendency by knowing I have my "disaster hoard" already completed.)

4. High cost of non-food items. I'm more careful about non-food products since I now realize just how expensive they are--or rather, what a large percentage of our "grocery" budget they are. I've switched to a cheaper shampoo/conditioner that still meets my "natural" requirements. I've toyed with the idea of cutting my hair short again, but since short cuts need to be kept up more often I think the savings is in having fewer hair cuts. (And, no I won't switch to a $15 cut!) I have begun to just not wash my hair now and then, if I can get away with it. That's probably even better for my hair and certainly saves me time. And, no, I'm not ready to give up deodorant!

5. Shopping at two stores. Since I like two stores in town, and each carries a few things the other doesn't, I know I'll be getting to each of them in the week.

Conclusion
I'm still trying to shop with only $40 at a time. I've fallen off the wagon a few times, hard. Trader Joe's is a third store I like to shop at, but ours are in the next town, about 30-45 minutes away. The hoarding tendency takes over knowing I might not get back there for awhile and I'll easily spend $150. My stomach turns when I do that. So, I'm still working that out.

Costco is another issue. I don't really buy much food there, although on the last few trips I have found some good deals on fruit, which my daughter loves, and I try to eat more of. Other than fruit and juice boxes, I find myself buying non-food items like TP, tissues, batteries, printer paper and printing ink.

I think this experiment is a lot like diets I've been on. Over the last 20 years, I've tried different "diets" and come away with a new knowledge base, and I think I'm healthier for it. On McDougall I learned where the fats are in my food, on the Atkin's diet I learned where all the carbs were and where the protein was, on the Fiber diet, I learned, you guessed it, where all the fiber is. And lately, with the "UltraMind Diet" I am much more aware of wheat and sugar in my diet and how it affects me.

In other words, I have become more aware. I don't try to stick with just one of those diets--but it was like a decades long nutrition course that has helped me form choices about what I put into my mouth, and be very aware of when I stray from my good choices.

This budget experiment has made me very aware of the foods (and non-foods) I put in my cart, and how much they cost me financially as well as in time, potential aggravation and waste.

I think I'll keep to the $40/trip, knowing that there may be one or two extra trips each month when I have to stock up on items that last more than a few days but are essential to our lives.

When I see a $5 magazine at the check out (or any other frivolous item), I tend to think of it now in terms of how many cartons of blueberries it would buy. (When I was a kid, and bubble gum was a penny, I often looked at things as "How many pieces of bubble gum would that buy?)

Blueberries are expensive, but nutritionally very valuable and my DD loves them. That helps me make the choice.

Rebel Without a Clock

Well, it was just so fortunate to find an image of a James Dean clock! Talk about synchronicity!

I'd like to take some time to talk about time...

For years, I was a rebel without a "Clock" or watch. Or really, without a routine. Clocks, watches, routines, all that stuff was just 'the 'man' keepin' me down." I'll show them. (I'm not sure who "them" is. Uh, who them are? Wow, that's a tricky one.)

I did feel that I was "rebelling" against something by not having routines. That I somehow was exerting my independence and freedom by doing this. Right...

Exerting my freedom to be always late for things...

Exerting my independence to make others wait for me...

Exerting my freedom and independence never to have enough time to do what I really wanted to do. Gee that's ironic. My rebellion against constructed time was keeping me from doing things?

Now, please remember, I am not perfect now. But I have changed some of my ways, my attitudes and my way of seeing things. My perceptions of time and routine. It's unfortunate that the word routine sounds so, well, routine. Like mundane.

A routine life does not sound like an exciting one.

But that's the thing. Life does not have to be routine or mundane. There are mundane things in life that need to be taken care of. And once they are....then let the excitement commence!

(And you can always interject some excitement even into the mundane, right? Try grocery shopping in a prom dress or watering the lawn in a ballet tutu. And of course you can always vacuum au natural--just keep the curtains closed or you might find getting thrown in the pokey part of your new routine!)

So, what are the mundane things in life?

Well, the usual suspects that keep us going: food and shelter. Grocery shopping, food preparation and keeping the housework up. (Keeping the housework up is not quite as important as feeding yourself, let's just get that straight. Food is first.)

Yes, you need to support your fun stuff by building a firm foundation. If you are fed, you have energy to do laundry. If you have clean clothes, you can get dressed and go to work to earn money to feed yourself. If you can earn money you can afford that roof over your head and the food in your tummy. Yes, it's quite the connected circle.

Now while I try, I know I can't solve all organizing issues in one blog. I just want to get you moving in a direction. Even if it's just to change your perception of something.

Let's take meal planning.

I have found that if some external structure is imposed on me, I do very well at meal planning and grocery shopping. If some scheduled activity lands me near the grocery store, then that's my day to do grocery shopping. When my DD was a just a toddler, the library held story-time on Wednesdays. Lovely, since the grocery store was just down the block. Wednesday became my grocery day. I cursed the library when they stopped story-time for the summer. (Damn those under-funded public institutions!) Yes, we did still manage to eat in the summer, but I had to look for another time structure.

Fast forward to when DD is in ballet class, held even closer to the grocery store, and she is now old enough to be left at class. Woo-hoo, a whole 45 minutes to run and do the grocery shopping! (Or nap in the car if really needed...)

What this structure does is remind me that, yes, I should do the meal planning the day or evening before, or at least while I am eating breakfast that morning. I sit with my giant family calendar and check our activities for each day that week and gauge my potential for crankiness each evening. (Should I have a frozen Amy's pizza at the ready or will I have the strength for a full-on stir-fry?) At my fingertips I have my grocery list ready as I mentally (or physically) check my pantry for the needed items. I use the "All Out Of" notepad from Knock Knock, which includes a section for vegetarian items. This is a great magnetic notepad I stick on the fridge. DH can check off things as he runs out (Yeah, it happens once in awhile. The theory is nice.) and I can too.

The wonderful thing about shopping once a week is that I am not tempted to shop more often and therefore waste more time and spend more money. If I know that I am shopping on Monday and we run out of peanut butter on Friday, then, heck, we just try and make it through the weekend without peanut butter, use up something else that is probably about to go bad in the fridge and spend that time doing something more fun. Like napping.

Summer always presents a problem since the lovely structure and routine of the school year is delightfully out of whack. I'm realizing (I am determined to not let summers get the best of me) that I need to re-evaluate the routine every week or every-other week.

Just a little forethought.

A little.

If I don't do a little forethought a week or two at a time, I have to think all the more each and every day and every hour of that silly day. But if the important stuff is planned and on the calendar, then I don't have too think so often. And that's the whole point. Not having to think so much about the mundane things. And having time (and brain power) to think about the fun or creative stuff.

Or take a nap.

That'll show them.

Watch for future blogs about the importance of getting enough sleep. :)