Organizing My Life

This week I have decided to take control of my life. I need order and organization in my life to be able to function at my best and somewhere along the way I lost the ability to keep it all together. During the first 20 years of my marriage I was organized, knew where everything was, and had routines that kept my life in order and me sane. I'm not sure which came first, the insanity or the chaos. It is kinda like the chicken and the egg thing; it doesn't really matter which came first because either way one of them caused the other and the cycle simply continues.

Meal planning and execution are a big challenge for me. Sweet G has wheat and peanut allergies. I suppose that my problems with meals started around the time he was diagnosed. You can't imagine how many products contain wheat. It is almost impossible to eat out and typical kid foods are out of the question. As I am writing this post I came to the realization that there are tons of things G can eat, they just aren't quick and easy. No PB&J when mommy is having a stressful day. Spice mixes are often wheat culprits causing stress in remembering which ones are safe. We basically need to cook all our food from scratch. As I read this I am thinking, "Isn't that what you should be doing anyway?"

Anyway, this week I found an app for my iPad. You can either use Paper plate online or with the app and they sync with each other so you can switch from the computer to iPad without losing anything in the process. It will allow you to plan menus, record recipes, make shopping lists, and more! So far I love it. I am able to set up several menus and simply insert them onto my calendar. It keeps everything at my fingertips which simplifies my life.

During the writing of this post I realized that I need to create my own spice mixes so I can eliminate that problem from my life. No more packaged spice mixes! I guess that is next on the agenda in the kitchen department.

My second project has been to clean out and organized the computer. It is full and reminds me of days during my teaching practicum when I would try to file things in certain teachers file cabinets. There is only so much one drawer can hold and still be functional and the same is true for my laptop. My entire college experience is crammed into that hard drive and it just can't hold anything else. The photos are the main problem. We have thousands of them and I am sure some of them are duplicates.

Every little bit I do makes me feel better. I am trying to stay focused and take baby steps so I don't get overwhelmed. I just have to keep telling myself, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can." I'll keep you updated on my progress!