Q&A: Organization & Time Management

How do you limit the activities your children are in? How do you know when to say "no" to something?
I am lucky because my kids are still so little they aren’t involved in a whole lot. My oldest is 7 and we allow him to choose one activity at a time to participate in. During the school year we are very strict with him about getting his school work done as soon as he gets home. He only has one evening activity during the school year.

What tools do you use with your family so everyone knows the schedule for that week? How do you communicate everyone's schedules with everyone else?
I have two calendars – one that I can carry with me in my purse to schedule events up to three months in advance {sample calendar}, and a weekly calendar that I have up on the wall for everyone to see.  Our weekly events are all up so that my hubby and I can make sure that we are on the same page with the week ahead. I find that being able to see a week at a time helps to keep me on top of everything and is a manageable chunk of time so I don’t feel overwhelmed. {printable 8x11 calendar} {printable 5x8 calendar}

How do you organize your kids each day so they know what they need to pack, prepare or plan for during the next day?
Much to my delight, my oldest son is quickly learning from his OCD-organized mommy. He also feels most organized when he has a to-do list and is able to cross things off as he finishes them. At their age (7,4, and 18 months) I am in charge of keeping track up what is coming up, but I do make sure that they know ahead of time what the plans are and what they need to remember to make sure things get done.

How do you plan meals? About how much time does it take you to plan a week's worth of meals?
I plan meals for my family two weeks in advance and make a major trip to the grocery store only once each paycheck. I spend about an hour-two hours planning meals for our 14-day menu. For two weeks I plan & shop for 6 prepared breakfasts, 4 hot lunches, 10-14 dinners depending on our plans, and 6 sweet treats/desserts. We use Bountiful Baskets for our produce, so everyone knows that for morning snacks to choose a piece of fruit and a veggie for their snack in the afternoon. {printable 14-day menu planner} {Family Menu Board with Printable}

How (or when) do you get your quiet times in?
I try to spend 30 minutes every day praying scripture over my husband and my boys. I usually find time to do this during naptime or just after they have gone to bed at night.

How do you keep up with housework (do you have certain chores you do each day)?
The best advice I have about keeping up with housework is to start a load of laundry very first thing when you wake up (usually I can get it into the dryer before we have to leave the house), spend 15 minutes putting things away in a “clutter-zone” (that one place in your home that everyone seems to drop their stuff), and end each day with a clean kitchen (start the dishwasher, empty the sink, wipe the counters).

After all of that, how do you have YOU time? And time with your spouse?
I get to my son’s school 30 minutes before he gets out and spend this time reading a book, listening to Pandora, napping...Watch for times during your day that you are ‘waiting’ and fill them with something you enjoy. Get a book on CD and listen to it while you are driving around during the day, or carry a cooking magazine in your purse to flip through. My hubby and I struggle to find time together – he is working nights right now so our schedules don’t match up very often. When they do match up we insist on an early bedtime for the kids so that we can be alone together even if we don’t go out on a date.

How much sleep do you get per night? Do you wake up before your kids in the morning?
My kids all wake up at the crack-of-dawn, so I am usually in bed pretty early. I usually get 8 hours of sleep a night, and no I am not up before them in the morning, rather I usually wake up to them begging me for food because they are “starving” or to the sound of them spilling something as they try to do it themselves so Mommy can sleep in. HA!

What tips/ tricks do you have for staying organized?
Write everything down!! I may seem old fashioned because I don’t use my iphone for my calendar but in my humble opinion some things are better done the old fashioned way. (plus that way your kids can’t accidently delete all your hard work as they are trying to find your angry birds app)

Have you always been organized or did it take some time for you to figure out?
I have always been organized. My parents like to tease me that I would order my books and toys as a little girl from biggest to smallest and that everything had to have a place. Aside from now as a mother of 3 boys and military wife, the time in my life when I was most organized was my last semester of college. I took 12 credits on campus and another 12 online. My oldest son was 6 months old at the time and I was determined to stay focused on one thing at a time so that I could get my degree and spend more time at home with him. Keeping a positive attitude and not letting other peoples’ negativity get to me was also huge!