C.O.P.E. with Organizing your Life
Whenever it comes to balancing a family, including young children, a home and perhaps a career to boot, you have choices. If you find that your workload sometimes seems like it is just too much, take heart!
From an outside perspective, I would say that the secret to success in organizing is the ability to prioritize your various commitments, enlist the help of others, and not sweat the small stuff.
PRACTICE THE C.O.P.E METHOD
Do you feel overwhelmed? If you want good time management skills, practice the COPE method.
COPE is an acronym for Capitalize, Organize, Prioritize, and Energize.
* Capitalize on the ability of every child to help with household chores such as setting the table, clearing the dishes and vacuuming the floor. Train them very early to put away their toys and make their own beds. Put all of your perfectionist tendencies aside while the kids are growing up. Do more with your children and less for your children. If you do all of this, you will be blessed.
* Organize your home to make it easier to locate and store things. Large shelves or a huge toy chest and hangers placed where children can reach them are good examples. Keep things in see-through containers, hang an essential rack on the wall, keep storage bins on casters beneath the beds and then centrally locate a lost and found basket to stash items left lying around the house.
* Prioritize each of your tasks. You cannot do everything but you can do lots. Pick the most important activity and then concentrate on getting it done. If something falls through the cracks, let it be the laundry but not the family outing. Do what is really important, not simply the things that need to be done.
* Energize yourself by getting plenty of rest, eat all of the right foods and adhere to an exercise program. Being physically fit and mentally alert will allow you to handle those stressful situations, which always pop up. Do not do chores at the expense of sleep time. Let the house collapse all around you before you do.
Rather than picking up the slack, offer some guidance and direction.
Get Organized Lists
Moving can be traumatic or it can be a new adventure for the whole family.
Enlist a new rule: throw out one old thing for every new purchase that enters your home. Alternatively, perhaps you prefer to be the MANAGER. They are the ones you would call on first when you need help to get something important done.
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