One of her suggestions I love whole-heartedly because I LOVE ROUTINE!!! I am most comfortable knowing what is going to happen and what is expected of me. My control journal is what I'm talking about today. ;) I don't know that mine is exactly what she has described, but it works for me... well, I should say it works for me when I use it. After baby #3 came along, all routine went out the window and my house looked like a train wreck. So, with baby #3 a little older now and with a new year and a new outlook on life, I am returning to my control journal. I've revamped it to include a few new things, but basically this is what it is:
A 3-ring binder with see-through binding. On the front is my daily schedule. I have designated certain days for certain chores (ie Mondays and Thursdays: laundry, Wed: trash, etc.) and the time frames to work on them. The idea is to keep the daily tasks manageable - look at the individual task, not the whole house.
Now, just for those of you thinking I'm a crazy rigid schedule maker, please know that this is routine oriented, not time sensitive. I don't do the dishes every morning at 8:32 am. I do the dishes around breakfast time. Nathan doesn't go down for a nap every day 11:00 am... Sometimes it's noon-ish. This is just a rough estimate to help me stay on track.
Inside my binder I have see-through pouches. I keep up with our receipts in the pouches. I have a pouch for Walmart/Target, stores at the mall, Home Depot/Lowes, etc.
I also have a pouch for my coupons that I have clipped but not yet organized.
I also have gone back to my system for my grocery shopping. A few years ago I realized that I was writing the same things down each week for my grocery list. So, being the computer geek that I am, I created a spreadsheet for all my standard purchases. I keep the list on the refrigerator so that whenever we run out of something, all that is needed is a little check mark. Jeff really likes this system and has been know to do some check-marking, too, which helps out tremendously!
I have tried my hand at Google's option of sharing documents. I hope this works. Here is my list in case you are interested in the fine print or want to adapt it for your own needs:
Page 1 of my grocery list
Page2
In the back cover of my control journal, I keep page 2 of my grocery list (after the shopping is done). Why Page 2? Because it contains my meal plan for the week. I don't plan my meals by the day (generally); I plan 5 - 7 meals for the week and pick from the list what I want to cook each night.
Behind my meal plan I keep the recipes I have printed from the internet so they are handy when it's time to cook.
So that's my control journal. A handy dandy place for me to keep my life in order!
I'm working on a bit of a "control journal" for the boys, too, to help them with their daily chores. I have a page for each day of the week; each page has different pictures on it representing their chores for that day. I just change the page in the morning to the corresponding day. It also helps Will know where he'll be going that day... whether it's school or church because I have a picture of that on the page as well. He seems to like it. (I think Will is a lot like me in that he likes structure.)
I've been using my control journal for about two weeks now and I must say... It feels GOOD! I've been accomplishing things and staying on task. I've limited my computer time and I'm getting more done. It feels good to be working towards my resolutions... taking baby steps and not getting worn out by doing too much all at once.
What do you have to talk about today?
And, hey, this works for me Wednesday, too! :)
14 comments:
Looks like a great system. Congrats on making progress on your resolutions!
That is a really good idea. I love the idea of keeping reciepts, coupons, schedules all in one place. It makes the little things seem managable. I have a cleaning schedule which I got a bit off track when I moved recently, but it really helped me get things done over the course of the week.
Thanks for sharing this!
Great binder! I created mine last week, and I've been trying to fine tune it this week so it has everything I need. I love to see what other people have in theirs!
I started flying again this week too. Flylady has really helped me change my attitude about cleaning, when I follow her systems, I actually like it.
Blessings,
Jen
Wow, I am so impressed! I have always thought of myself as a fairly organized person, but a handwritten "to-do" list is about as organized as I get with my daily routine.
I like your schedule idea though. I might have to try that since I often feel that my life and the clutter in the house just spins out of control and my 'to-do" list is merely my solution for when it gets bad, not my way of preventing it in the first place (which would be much better!).
I like the control journal idea for kids' chores too. I have had a hard time coming up with a good system for that.
Thanks so much for the ideas! I feel like rushing off and making my own control journal right now! (I'll have to schedule that into my schedule first though...LOL!)
Great stuff! I love that you posted a link to your grocery list. As I was reading I thought that I would have to do that, then I saw that you posted yours! Wow! I copied it and saved it in my docs. Now I just have to fine tune a bit for my family. Great ideas, thanks for sharing! :)
Great control journal. I'm sure Flylady would approve of you finding a way to make the idea work for you. I may have to take an idea or two of yours and adapt it to fit my family. Thanks for sharing!
Oh my goodness, did you steal that from my house??
I also have a computer generated grocery list with checkboxes for the normal stuff and blank lines for the add-on stuff every week.
AND I have an 8-week rotating menu and I keep the recipes for each week directly behind the menu so it's easy to find when it's dinner time.
GREAT SYSTEM!!
A few months after the birth of my first child, I started doing the FlyLady thing. I was awesome at it for about 2 months and then things started falling apart. Now that I have two kids and a much bigger house than before, I really need to get back into it. Looking at this house and all its messiness (we just moved in 3 weeks ago!) is really overwhelming. I think the journal would really help with that.
I also have a computerized grocery list that I haven't been using lately. I never thought about sticking it on the fridge to check off stuff as you need it though. Thanks for the tip!
awesome journal! I love all the visuals! Thank! It gives me something to think about.
~Amy
Excellent! It looks like an organizing weapon extraordinaire!
Great job on making your CJ and then explaining it out to the rest of us!
That is a great idea! I have tried to get one together too, I just have a problem sticking with it!
I *SO* could use your help in making a control journal.
I am not a SAHM (I wish!) so I'm having trouble trying to figure things out, so I would love any advice you have!
It's been a while since I've been at the flylady website... I still do follow some of her advice, but I might need a refresher course! I was never able to get a schedule down or a control journal figured out, I'd write down a few things and then get frustrated and give up.
I just typed up my "permanent grocery list" this week for the first time! It must be the new year that gets us going... I'm not sure how useful a control journal will be for me, but it is the first I've heard of that particular method. I currently have a schedule on my fridge (also new) from Managers of Their Homes (you can order it at www.titus2.com), which is a homeschooling tool. We're not homeschooling yet, but we're leaning towards it (our oldest is just 2 1/2). Anyway, thanks for the tips and I'm definitely going to reread the flylady site and finally implement some of it!
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