Okay, so I am pretty much THE most unorganized person you will EVER meet. Some people have "organized chaos." I have pure chaos. You know how you see those television shows about the families with a gazillion kids and the mom is super organized? I wish that was me. I also wish my kids did chores like theirs do, but I digress. (Oh, and I'm super jealous of their laundromats inside of their homes...when I have a house of my own, I'm SO going to have multiple washers and dryers! So cool!)

So anyways, in an effort to be more organized, last night I made a list of household chores I wanted to get done today. Usually, I just kinda wander around the house, aimlessly, doing the things that look like they need to get done. I think this leads to a lot of wasted time. I have major time management issues. OH MY GOODNESS...lists are SO much fun! Seriously...had I known just how much I love lists, I would have done this a LONG time ago! Very few things give you the same satisfaction as checking that little box. Last night's list looked something like this:
_ Clean bathrooms
_ Do three loads of laundry
_ Clean bedrooms
_ Wash walls in hallway

When I got done washing the walls in the hallway, I checked that off. It was as though the heavens opened, light shone down and angels sang...yes...checking that off felt that good. So, I redid my list to look something like this:
DOWNSTAIRS BATHROOM
_ Wash countertop
_ Wash Sink
_Wash toilet outside
_ Wash toilet inside
_ Wash mirror
_ Vacuum floor (who puts carpet in the BATHROOM?)

So, now instead of one check for "Clean bathrooms" I got six checks for a single bathroom! So much fun!

The part I'm concerned about though is that I may not get through my list by the end of the day. What do I do with the things that didn't get done? Do I just put them on tomorrow's list? Do I not go to bed until every single thing is checked off? I have a bit of a problem with obsessive behavior. Once I start something, I go full steam ahead until it either gets done or I simply cannot move anymore. I HATE leaving things unfinished. I will fixate on something and do it to death. (Well, except with my knitting, it seems, hence the five or six projects I'm currently working on) I think that's a big part of why I have such a hard time with daily house upkeep. It's all incredibly daunting because once I start on a room, it must be spotless before I can move onto another room. However, with six kids, nothing seems to get spotless, so it all just becomes overwhelming. I'm hoping my new list obsession will help with that. If it's not on my list, I don't need to do it. If I don't write down that I'm going to clean the baseboards with a toothbrush, I just won't do it, and I'll be okay with that. Plus, I don't need to stick to one room and clean it until it sparkles. I can look on my list and decide to do one thing in one room, then another in a different room. As long as the list is getting checked off, I'm good! I figure this way, by the end of the day, the house is in a managable state because I had a clear view of what I wanted to get done in the beginning instead of, "I really need to clean this room."

Tomorrow I'm making a grocery list. WOOHOO!