New Year's Resolutions

I don't think I've ever stuck with a resolution...have you?? This year, because I know it's going to be CRAZY, I didn't limit myself to one specific thing, like lose weight. I simply told myself that I'm going to be the very best mother that I can. I figure that covers just about everything, right? For me it covers being healthy, being organized, saving money and getting out of debt, relaxing more, providing my family with food by cooking and gardening, and a bunch of other things that I haven't thought of yet.

So, I've got to start somewhere. Obviously, I can't start on the weight loss just yet although I do have a game plan for it. I figure I might as well start with getting organized. Now I'm a half organized person to begin with so I figure its not going to be a huge challenge for me. What I didn't realize is that not only am I going to have to keep my house and finances organized but I'm going to have to keep my time organized. This poses a problem, since I've never had to use my time management skills outside of work. While I have the ability, I don't know if I have stamina to use it ALL DAY LONG!!! We shall see....

So, I sat and contemplated which aspects of the house need to be organized the most and came up with a couple of things. First, the bills and mail....WOW. We always have stacks and stacks of envelopes laying around. I definitely need to come up with a system for this. Another aspect is meals. I cook just about every night but its sporadic and usually unplanned. So I figure it would behove me to start planning a weekly menu, especially since I'll be nursing Gabbie at the same time. This way I know exactly what to cook and everything is prepped and ready to go. It will also help financially because I'll have to plan shopping trips. Another thing is laundry. We usually get the laundry done when we're completely out of underwear but with a baby its going to double. I need to get a system going so that I'm doing a little at a time and I don't have to spend an entire Saturday getting it done. I also want to get in the habit of washing things like sheets, blankets, etc on a regular basis. While I wash our sheets often enough, its not one of those things that is routine for me.

There are a couple issues with my resolution. First, I'm going to try and implement it while on maternity leave. Key word there is TRY. I'm not going to push myself and have a ton of unattainable dreams, but I figure that while the rest of my life is being re-vamped I might as well add one more thing to the pile. Secondly, for the majority of the things I want to change and organize, I have no clue how to. I know there is a system out there that will work for us, it's just finding it. So all you mom's out there....HELP!!!! The third, final, and hardest issue is getting The Man to agree with the system and stick with it. Its pointless for me to come up with a system to organize the mail if he doesn't agree to use it too. If it sounds like I'm speaking from experience...I am.

There are several other aspects of my resolution but I'm only going to tackle the organization first. Once that is done and is working, I will move onto the next facet. I'm trying not to have unrealistic goals so I'm going to take it one day at a time. Wish me luck! I will let you know how it goes.

Until next time...