Things I have to do...

...but I don't plan on making myself busy with them.
does that make sense?

I mean, I have a to-do list that, to me, seems pretty long. Yet, none of them are ubber important. I have added a priority rating per say to each of them.

There are things like, redesign the aePhotography blog/website, build/paint shelves for our closet downstairs, make curtains, go through all of our clothes and purge at least 40% of them.

Nothing earth altering and none of it has a deadline date to it.
This is a good thing...my nature is to make a list and want to get through it at lightning speed.

But then, I just find myself busy checking off to-do list items and missing out on life too, missing out on spontaneous creativity and such. So...not this round.

Even though, I felt that I had pretty much effectivly redone how I put my to-do list together, the researcher in me decided to look around to make sure I wasn't missing some other super effective changes.  Here's what I found:

• Organize the lists - i.e. "Tomorrow," "This Month," "House Maintenance," " Personal."

Let's take the "Tomorrow" list...they say:

• Spend 15 minutes at the end of each day to plan "Tomorrow's" to-do list. Not at the very end of the day...then you will just end up jotting down what didn't get done today. Give yourself time to plan, check out tomorrows schedule, the calendar, etc.
• Don't write your to-do list on the morning of the day you plan to complete the list. It should already be waiting for you.

Why? Writing a to do list the day before has many advantages over planning your upcoming day on the morning in question. After all, you have just completed a day’s work and hence you should have a good idea of where you are in the grand scale of things. What didn’t you get to today? What tasks will naturally fall into tomorrow’s to do list? Writing tomorrow’s to do list can also be a way of recognizing that everything does not all need to be done in one day.

• Prioritize the tasks.

Oh good, I was on top of this one! Give them a rating of sorts, Red = Get it done, most important, Yellow = Want to be done soon, Green = No deadline, get done when you have time.

When color coding a list, it's important to bump previously unchecked, incomplete into a higher priority for the next day, to encourage thier completion.

• Don't make everything Red, there's no need to be dramatic about your to-do list.

Go digitial. Trust me, as much as I love a handwritten to-do list...going digital just makes sense. For example, on my phone I use "Evernote" or "Springpadit." In the past I have used apps like "Remember the Milk" and "Todoist." There are also online applications as well, such as "Tadalist," "Toodledo," and "Remember the Milk." RTM can be used on  your phone and web...making it one of the best all around options! Just remember, don't get too fancy with the lists. It's pointless to have a to-do list app or program that takes longer to set up and manage than it does to actually complete the items on the list. duh.

Other things to remember...don't write things like "start..." or "research..." on your list...items like that are time suckers with no real end point. Also, manage your completion and reward yourself with a break. Days are meant to be loaded down with to-do this and to-do that. Remember...a few mall things done in a timely manner each day will give you more time...don't fill it back up.

Here's to a more organized,  less crazy busy 2012. :)

De.Clutter.Ed.

Declutter.
It's like a magic word from baby Jesus. 

Where do I sign up?! Oh, I already did...I am following the "My Simpler Life's Declutter Calendar" during 2012. So far, I am loving it. I already feel so challenged and victorious over clutter!!

Sunday, I thought about "Who I want to be this coming year." Not sure I came up with a real answer, other than the fact that I want to become more organized. Funny thing is...this calendar will help!!

Monday, I set up a "donation station" downstairs. It's nothing super formal...I plan to get some rubber tubs specifically for this. Then I want to quarterly take whatever I collect in this station to Goodwill. This also helps with taxes. You know you get credit for that? Awe.some.

Tuesday, (well, actually we did this last Friday...whatevs.) we decluttered the top of our cabinets (kitchen and bathroom), which actually didn't require any decluttering, however it DESPERATELY needed a dusting. Thanks to Husby who stood on the countertop for over 25 minutes to vacume up there, and all over the ceiling and walls in the kitchen! That job, simply made me breath easier! Since that task was already done, I moved onto Wednesdays' task...So on Tuesday night...I kinda got ahead of myself here, and I did Wednesday and Thursday's job too. I decluttered the top shelf of one of my cabinets (I picked the Baking/Spice Cabinet). I even ended up decluttering the entire cabinet. As well, I went through and discarded all expired and old spices. Gosh, I should have done that a while ago...the oldest one was from 2003. "No wonder the food is bland sometimes," I quipped to Husby.

So, I guess technically I get a day off today and tomorrow since I finished that task yesterday...but I will stick with the organizing game. Tonight, just for the heck of it...I am organizing and decluttering the sock drawers. If there are no matches, old socks and the like...they are gonezo. Tomorrow, I will probably make a run to Wal-mart for the rubber tubs I need for the donation station downstairs.

So I would say that the longest tasks took just under a half on hour each. That's not a bad amount of time to take out of your day to declutter.
I think I'll stick with this.

How will you declutter life?

I'm feeling the itch...

April writing...

...to get organized.

I know what you are thinking...those who know me well enough that is. "April, you are already pretty organized...what's left to organize?"

Well the answer my friend is blowing in the wind...er...the answer is that ALOT needs organizing still. While there have been many projects in our home over the past few years...it still seems as though there are many more projects to come. While we wait, gather the funds and the energy...it seems more projects creep up.

...then in the meantime things get left "undone" such as, filing, purging, decorating and organization.

Here are a few of the un-organized thorns-in-my-side:

• Office filing cabinet - this area is actually pretty well kept. I mean I add the papers to their proper folders and all, but the cabinet is packed. Half of the stuff is old enough that we can shred or pack away in the attic filing boxes. It's just a bear of a job...that I have been putting off.
• The attic - When we bought this house we were lucking enough to have a wide open attic that is accessible via a stairway. So there is SO much room and SO much junk up there. I need desperately to go through it all...organize it (so things are easy to find) and get rid of all the junk that we haven't laid our eyes on in years! Another bear of a job...that we have to do during mild weather...because there is no insulation up there...so if it's cold outside, it's cold up there and if it's hot up there...it's HOT up there.
• The kitchen - When we remodeled the kitchen, we added like double the cabinet space...and while every nook-n-cranny is in use...it's not necessary. There are tons of kitchen items that I NEVER touch. And why take up the space if you don't need to. Sell it all I say!
• The basement - Specifically in the area of the pantry and my temp-craft-space. I have cleaners next to cans of good and paper products next to marshmallows...and it all just bugs me. And my temporary craft space...there is alot of stuff I could get rid of...to make room for a newer hobby (sewing). Plus I just have alot of scrapbook stuff that I will not use. Another yard sale booster...hobby misc.

So those are my buggers. I CAN get it all done...I just need the energy, the time and the drive to do it. I had the best of intentions to take care of a couple of these jobs on my Christmas vacation, but I was sick...the entire week. So now that has pushed my plans farther into the present and springtime...which is no good either. I want to be spending that time working on my GARDEN!

Anywho...maybe putting it out there like this will push me to just take baby steps and little bites out of each job as I get the time.

So early spring...probably the beginning of April...swing by my house on any given Saturday...we will have lots of LOOT for sale. :)

What's your un-organized space? What's keeping you from getting it done?