Today, as I was coming downstairs I heard the words that a woman never wants to hear.
“Kim thinks the freezer stopped running.”
Ugh – that is not what I wanted to hear from Sunnie, my ministry manager. Really? Had it really stopped running?
Well, the Skinny Cows that were now Runny Cows were the first indications that a mystery kid hadn’t just left a door open for a few minutes.
But I’m the kind of girl who turns defrosted lemon juice into lemonade. I thought, “Well, at least I can clean out the freezer from expired food and get a fresh start!” Lemonade.
So I started to go through the frozen dinners I’ve made with The Frozen Gourmet, drippy chicken breasts, and frozen yogurt containers. My only consultation? At least I was clearing out all that food that was past it’s prime.
Except? There was no expired food. Not one ice cream container, not one frozen pizza, not one icy pork roast. Nothing was expired.
Nothing.
A few years ago? Half the stuff would have been older than my kids.
So, do you have an Organizational Milestone that Martha Stewart would Never Understand?
- You found your car keys without having to pay your kids to help you.
- You went to get your allergy medicine and it was right where you expected.
- You fit your car in the garage.
- You opened up a DVD case on your shelf and the right DVD was in it.
Share with me. If you do, I will choose one commenter to win a copy of THE FROZEN GOURMET. (The winner will be announced on Monday.)
I am cracking up! One of my favorite strategies is to pay my kids a dollar to find something that’s missing, especially the dead cordless phone or my glasses.
In the back of my car is a battered cardboard box. It contains a set of curtains Ikea doesn’t sell anymore, an extra Bible Study book from the study I started over a year ago, 2 extra sprinkler risers and a frame and mat that I need to ask a certain craft store to re-do. I seem to have trouble getting items we don’t need/don’t fit returned to stores.
The other day I realized that with the exception of one small plastic aquarium plant, I had returned everything that needed to go back from the last two months. O’ Happy Day!
I am cracking up one of my favorite strategies is to pay my kids a dollar to find something that’s missing, especially the dead cordless phone or my glasses.
In the back of my car is a battered cardboard box. It contains a set of curtains Ikea doesn’t sell anymore, an extra Bible Study book from the study I started over a year ago, 2 extra sprinkler risers and a frame and mat that I need to ask a certain craft store to re-do. I seem to have trouble getting items we don’t need/don’t fit returned to stores.
The other day I realized that with the exception of one small plastic aquarium plant, I had returned everything that needed to go back from the last two months. O’ Happy Day!
I made comprehensive lists of all items I need when I travel and then laminated them. There is a list of clothing items and a list of sundry items for my suitcase.
Since I have been gone almost every weekend speaking, the quick list of items I need make my life easy…
And I only mistook the toothpaste tube for the Vagisil tube once… good thing a spare toothbrish was on the list.
I admit it…I’m an organization junkie! My DVD’s and CD’s are in alphabetical order, food in frig and pantry are grouped by like items, and my closet is organized by type of garment (shirts, pants, etc) and then by sleeve length and then by color. One of the joys of being single…it is all about me! Seriously, I have found that keeping track of taking my meds is much easier with one of those weekly pill holders. I keep in on the kitchen counter next to my water bottle so I always remember to take my pills.
Everyone has such great stories! I was just happy to find the tv remote between the cushions of the couch, right where I knew it would be!! 🙂
A few weeks ago we were selling our van. The buyers were coming to the house and I wasn’t even home yet. I had no idea what needed to be filled out or where the title to the vehicle was. When I got home I checked the safe and there was the title! Apparently we thought it was important enough to keep there and it made it much easier than looking through my filing cabinet!
Last year I would forget to give my daughter her allergy medicine EVERY morning. I’d remember as I was drivng her to school. So finally I started keeping the allergy medicine in the car! Viola! Every morning I continued to remember it on the drive, but I had it to give to her. Unconventional, yet it worked!
Organizing our files and papes is not my strongest quality. But the other day, my husband sent a text asking/alerting me to the fact that he needed particular papers later that week to finish some work. He wanted to give me plenty of warning so I could have time to find them. I was so thrilled to send him an instant text back telling them that I had just laid the papers on the counter so he could take care of it that evening. I had filed them in the exact right place so I was able to instantly find them! That was a huge ‘checking it off’ feeling!
Since reading the Me Project and starting a Checking it Off series on my blog, I’ve been trying to remember to focus on small steps toward my goals and celebrating them regularly. Finding those papers was a great step on my goal toward being organized in my files!
Five years ago, we moved from a house that was 2 minutes from several 24-hour grocery stores to a house that’s a solid 20 minutes from grocery stores that close for the night.
Thanks to our perpetual grocery list on the refrigerator (nothing fancy — just a Target $1 magnetic lined list!) and monthly checks of our stockpiled non-perishables, we’ve literally had NO emergency runs to the grocery store at inconvenient times. The rule is simple: If it’s on the grocery list, it’ll get purchased within 2-3 days. (If it’s not, you’ll be able to enjoy it 2-3 days after you finally DO put it on the list!)
This from a woman who used to make half-a-dozen repeat trips to Safeway…on Thanksgiving Day alone!