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Mostly, this organization occurs in fits and starts and only ever in certain areas of my life. For instance, I'm pretty good at long-range planning and timelines, both making them and sticking to them.
This ability stems from my days as a copywriter and marketer. Both fields require a basic aptitude for keeping things on track. And, just to toot my own horn a little bit, I wasn't bad.
But my life is a lot less structured these days, and timelines aren't as pertinent as they used to be. In fact, most of what I used to do in my past life (i.e., working outside the home) is only loosely relevant to what I do on a daily basis now. Aside from getting dressed, of course. Still manage that one, though I do wear far fewer thongs and way more hoodies. Thank God.
Organizationally speaking, the other thing I'm pretty good at is list-making. I can list the hell out of a party, dinner menu, or vacation. I fill sticky notes up and down, front and back. They line our kitchen cabinets like Christmas cards in December. Except they pop up randomly throughout the year, and look a lot messier.
The practical things, like sorting through closets, bills, kid toys, and paper piles generally fall outside of my jurisdiction.
The Russian tackles most of those unsightly beasts, which is probably best because he's the purger in our family. I will think of a million reasons to hang onto something as ridiculous as a decade-old lotion sample from Nordstrom. Because it was free, and I might use it in five years.
But not my husband. No, The Russian is beautifully merciless. Which is why he often does his dirty work in private, and unbeknownst to me. Because, obviously, I would totally eff it all up by digging crap out of the garbage.
So, being super amazing at list-making and timelines is great and everything, but there's WAY more to being organized than that.
This ability stems from my days as a copywriter and marketer. Both fields require a basic aptitude for keeping things on track. And, just to toot my own horn a little bit, I wasn't bad.
But my life is a lot less structured these days, and timelines aren't as pertinent as they used to be. In fact, most of what I used to do in my past life (i.e., working outside the home) is only loosely relevant to what I do on a daily basis now. Aside from getting dressed, of course. Still manage that one, though I do wear far fewer thongs and way more hoodies. Thank God.
Organizationally speaking, the other thing I'm pretty good at is list-making. I can list the hell out of a party, dinner menu, or vacation. I fill sticky notes up and down, front and back. They line our kitchen cabinets like Christmas cards in December. Except they pop up randomly throughout the year, and look a lot messier.
The Russian tackles most of those unsightly beasts, which is probably best because he's the purger in our family. I will think of a million reasons to hang onto something as ridiculous as a decade-old lotion sample from Nordstrom. Because it was free, and I might use it in five years.
But not my husband. No, The Russian is beautifully merciless. Which is why he often does his dirty work in private, and unbeknownst to me. Because, obviously, I would totally eff it all up by digging crap out of the garbage.
So, being super amazing at list-making and timelines is great and everything, but there's WAY more to being organized than that.
In fact, I feel like organization is one of those pivotal matters that effects a whole slew of greater issues. Like core muscles serving as the foundation for a strong body. Not that I'd know much about core muscles, either.
But here's the kicker: my primary goal isn't organization.
Before you throw up your hands and call me a ditz, let me explain. Organization is a necessary and welcome part of my process, even though its not the pot of gold at the end of my rainbow.
Living with Purpose, that's my goal. (And yes, I know it sounds cheesy.)
What does living with purpose look like? Um, your guess is as good as mine. In fact, our definitions would probably be quite different. To each their own, as they say. All I know is that I want to feel more in control of this blur of a life.
Between homes and jobs and pregnancies and babies and school and a massive remodel, our years have gone by with not a lot of forethought. And it's all been exhilarating and amazing, and I know every young family can relate, but dang. Dang. Non-stop for seven years.
So, I want to think things out a little more.
I want to keep my brain sharp and pursue my creative interests; I want to instill a sense of wonder and adventure in my children; I want to explore the world; I want to thoughtfully love my family.
On a smaller scale, I want to spend more time planning our meals and cooking. I want to write every day with determination. I want to make nice things for people. I want to take a few cross-country trips before the kids get too old. I want to get my favorite pictures up on the walls of our home.
I'll start with those little ambitions and go from there. And maybe my version of living with purpose will end up being a long line of little ambitions. Which sounds good to me. Manageable goals make sense.
But let's be honest, its a freakin' banner week if the kids' bathroom doesn't smell like pee and our feline doesn't attack the mail lady. How am I supposed to accomplish the rest - the dreamy, perfect world, purposeful rest?
Well, it helps that living purposefully isn't finite. It's a work-as-you-go kind of thing. A one-day-at-a-time kind of thing. A take-a-deep-breath-and-clean-out-your-fridge kind of thing.
Because it looks to me like being organized and being purposeful go hand in hand. By cleaning up my everyday life here and there, I might have a better chance of accomplishing some if my little ambitions.
Case in Point: the cake. Making a nice thing for someone.
But here's the kicker: my primary goal isn't organization.
Before you throw up your hands and call me a ditz, let me explain. Organization is a necessary and welcome part of my process, even though its not the pot of gold at the end of my rainbow.
Living with Purpose, that's my goal. (And yes, I know it sounds cheesy.)
What does living with purpose look like? Um, your guess is as good as mine. In fact, our definitions would probably be quite different. To each their own, as they say. All I know is that I want to feel more in control of this blur of a life.
Between homes and jobs and pregnancies and babies and school and a massive remodel, our years have gone by with not a lot of forethought. And it's all been exhilarating and amazing, and I know every young family can relate, but dang. Dang. Non-stop for seven years.
So, I want to think things out a little more.
I want to keep my brain sharp and pursue my creative interests; I want to instill a sense of wonder and adventure in my children; I want to explore the world; I want to thoughtfully love my family.
On a smaller scale, I want to spend more time planning our meals and cooking. I want to write every day with determination. I want to make nice things for people. I want to take a few cross-country trips before the kids get too old. I want to get my favorite pictures up on the walls of our home.
I'll start with those little ambitions and go from there. And maybe my version of living with purpose will end up being a long line of little ambitions. Which sounds good to me. Manageable goals make sense.
But let's be honest, its a freakin' banner week if the kids' bathroom doesn't smell like pee and our feline doesn't attack the mail lady. How am I supposed to accomplish the rest - the dreamy, perfect world, purposeful rest?
Well, it helps that living purposefully isn't finite. It's a work-as-you-go kind of thing. A one-day-at-a-time kind of thing. A take-a-deep-breath-and-clean-out-your-fridge kind of thing.
Because it looks to me like being organized and being purposeful go hand in hand. By cleaning up my everyday life here and there, I might have a better chance of accomplishing some if my little ambitions.
For the first time in eons, I made a cake from scratch. As in actual flour, sugar, and eggs in a bowl.
I should tell you that I love cake mixes. I use them frequently. I use them because they're easy and pretty damn good. And that's never gonna change.
But I've had the desire to bake a cake from scratch for a while. There's something really special about made-from-scratch cake and frosting.
I should tell you that I love cake mixes. I use them frequently. I use them because they're easy and pretty damn good. And that's never gonna change.
But I've had the desire to bake a cake from scratch for a while. There's something really special about made-from-scratch cake and frosting.
It was delicious. You can find the recipe here. The kids and I even did a fun, little heart-thingy with sprinkles on top.
But sprinkles aside, I'm serious when I say that I want to work on organization and living purposefully. I'm also serious when I say that The Russian and I often feel as though we're barely keeping our heads above the crazy current of life.
So, for right now...today...I'll focus on cleaning my kitchen and doing the laundry. I'll finish this post, and after the kids have gone to bed tonight, I'll work on my story. I may even polish off that bottle of wine, because the recycling really must go out in the morning. Just doin' my part.
And I'll think of the lovely cake that we made for my mom's birthday.
A little ambition realized.
A good place to start. :)
I loved everything about this post... Laughed out loud through the whole thing, related to almost every paragraph, and loved each of you more by the end.
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