Reading Right Now: Organized Simplicity

Well, I am just loving this little book! I really like this author's writing style and her "take" on managing and enjoying family life. She's exploring two things I long for - organization and simplicity - but I often find it hard to achieve one and the other. So I'm "listening" as I read with "all ears." :)

I'm only about halfway in, but so far my favorite chapter has been the sixth, "A Gathering Place," and it's all about a home management notebook. I know a lot of my readers put much faith in home management notebooks, so I thought I'd share a rather lengthy quote from this chapter:

"I'm sort of a minimalist by default, but it's still not easy to keep a well-organized, efficient, peaceful home when you've got three-foot mess makers running around. Or six-foot mess makers, for that matter. Sometimes, oftentimes, it can just get overwhelming.

This is when grace comes into play - giving heaps of it to yourself and your family members, remembering that the life stage of having children at home is so short. If you believe relationships are more important than a perfect house, you really can cut yourself some slack.

But you still need to keep up the house. Your current life stage - whatever it is - doesn't give you a "get-out-of-jail-free" card when it comes to home management. In fact, I find that the stage of raising a family makes it all the more important to find a management system that works well. Kids are happier in a home in which things have their place. Parents can hold onto a string of sanity when there's a tangible goal toward house cleaning, and at the end of the day, the family can relax in an actual haven, not a chaotic zoo.

My personal home management notebook is my lifeblood for giving me some direction, goals and checklists for my job at home, and it's a great place to dump all the paperwork that you believe you need to keep but aren't sure where to put.

What is a Home Management Notebook?

It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the tasks necessary for running a household. There's laundry, bills, errands, cooking, parenting, even homeschooling for some. Add in making quality, laid-back family time a priority, and it's a full plate for any well-intentioned home manager.

A home management notebook is exactly what it sounds like - a simple catchall for those important reminders, papers and documents that easily get lost or scattered. It's a daily reference for your tasks, and once you start using one, you'll wonder how you managed without it.

You can use a basic three-ring binder, a Moleskine notebook, a simple folder, or even an accordian-style expanding file. Use whatever works best for you and our organizational style. The important thing is to make it practical, easy to use, and something that serves you - not the other way around.

So once you have your notebook, what do you put in it? There's not a definitive list you must follow, because it's meant to serve as your daily tool. Simply fill it with what's important to you and your job."

Organized Simplicity is written by Tsh Oxenreider, mother of three and creator of the Simple Mom (Live Intentionally) website. I was not familiar with this site before I started reading this book so I'm quite excited to peruse it ... once I carve out some "free time" for myself. :)

So I hope you enjoyed this little bit of food for thought this morning. Let me know what you think if you have a moment, but either way have a wonderful Wednesday ...

And I'll see you here again very soon!

❤