11 Weeks to a More Organized Life & Home

October 12, 2012 By 4 Comments

Last year I started a blog series that was designed to help me get my life and home more organized. It was just what I needed to get things in order before the holidays and new year.

However, I have been slacking in some areas lately, and I think I need a refresher course. Therefore, I am going to blog my way through trying to get my life and my home in a order…again.

Why 11 weeks?

When I originally started this series there were 11 weeks until 2012. I had been thinking about why housekeeping goals I had made in the past never seemed to stick. I came to the conclusion that I was trying to do too many new things at once. I had tried adding a new routine each day before but had failed miserably after just a few days. Basically, I had organizational burnout.

One day I had an epiphany; it takes time for new routines to become habits. With that in mind, 11 weeks seemed like a reasonable amount of time to try to get my life and home more organized.

Yet, 11 weeks is an arbitrary number. I could have just as easily decided upon 10 or 12 or even 52 weeks. The point was to remind myself that I didn’t become unorganized in a few days, and I wasn’t going to become organized in a few days either.

I created checklists for each week to have a visual reminder of what needed to be done. Each week I added a new task to my checklist. By not adding too many new things at once, the tasks seemed manageable. Also, I just love crossing things off of a list.

This year I am going to follow a very similar plan with a few tweaks here and there. Would you like to join me for the next 11 weeks? I would love the company. :)

I plan to post the weekly goal on Sundays, and a review post on Saturday. In between I will try to update my Facebook page (Are you a fan?) with updates and encouragement. If you are going to follow along I recommend checking back regularly or subscribe via email or RSS so you will be notified when I write new posts.

Remember, going at a slower pace helps ensure that the goals we set will become habits.

Filed Under: Countdown to a New Year, organization
  • Abbi Cobb

    I am looking forward to these posts. This is something I have been working on as well. This summer when we had our homemakers group when, at the beginning of the summer, we discussed things that we struggled with so many people mentioned organization. We had thought about that being a topic one week but the friend and I who were leading didn’t actually schedule it in because we didn’t really feel qualified to teach it - however when it came up so much we decided we had better have it anyway. In preparation I read, prayed and thought about this subject and tried to get more organized in my life. I was in some ways and so not in other ways - I have discoverd that I had a lot of bad habits and have been working to change those and start good habits instead. Our life and home is beginning to feel more organized and less chaotic but I still have a lot of work to go.

    • http://www.blessingsoverflowing.com/ Jackie

      Thank you so much for sharing, Abbi! How nice that you have a group of people to talk to about topics like this. I too think I have a lot of bad habits such as letting some of the house things go (dishes, laundry, etc.) when there are other projects I am working on or we are busy with outside activities. Balance is key and after almost 17 years of marriage I am still a work in progress. :)

  • Jenni

    Sounds just like what I need!!!! Count me in!

    • http://www.blessingsoverflowing.com/ Jackie

      Great, Jenni!