Vacation Planning

Since I am the planner in the family, I tend to run with the vacation planning. In fact, when hubby suggested we take a road trip to Arizona, four states away, I’m not sure he really meant it. However, once I got actually buy-in, the planning began. The number of miles and hours on the road would be many. But the places we could see would make for a great family vacation.

The road trip binder contained a day-by-day break down with directions and maps for the day, the activities planned and what we would need for each. Each of my girls also had a similar binder with journal pages and activity pages for each day. While my family tends to pick on me for being overly organized, the binders were a huge hit.

Three days of driving to reach our destination – my brother’s house. Four days of fun in the sun and three more days of driving to get home. Overall, we had a great trip. Visited family, saw great scenery, and did fun activities. Hubby, who has a bad back, was a great sport. However, I’m pretty sure he’ll be planning the next road trip – and that it won’t be such a long trip.

Next planning session - summer camping. Well, I’m off to start filling the camping binder with calendars, maps, and checklists.

How about you? Who does your vacation planning?

Domestically Disabled

My Blissfully Sweet Life of Organized Chaos

The topic of the day is who misplaces things and who can find them. The overall theme for this, to me, is organization, so read on to find out how we handle organized chaos at our house…
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Hubby: “Has anyone seen my shoes?”
Me: “Under the table!”
Hubby: “Which one?”
Me: “The end table where they were kicked under, like always.”
Hubby: “How about my keys?”
Me: “Downstairs on the arm of the couch.”
Hubby: “My phone?”
Me: “Stuck between couch cushions in the living room.”
Hubby: “Wait, what about my wallet?”
Me: “You left it in the console of your Jeep.”
Hubby: “Oh yeah. Has anyone seen my hat?”

Are you KIDDING me? Thank goodness I adore this man.

This is my life of organized chaos. We’re a fun loving family that stays very busy. A family of 4 with two Chihuahuas and a rotating door that invites houseguests at all times of the year. Our 2 crazy dogs that think they are Dobermans and bark at every knock or doorbell ring on the TV. My daughters are amazing. At 6 and 9, they could keep me laughing from morning ‘til night, if I wasn’t at work all day. They are creative, inventive and love doing projects with Dad. “Dad, Can I use the nail gun?” is a common question we hear. They and their dad absolutely make the chaos fun and the work day worth working.

My ultimate goal is to have everything organized and to simplify our lives. This would mean that everything has a place, closest are perfectly organized and labeled, my books and files are where I left them in my office, and shoes can find their own way to the closets. ~ I’ve since come to my senses and I’m settling for being able to see the kitchen counters and not get anything stuck to my feet when I walk on the wood floors in the living and dining rooms. Yes, it’s not my idea of “clean and organized,” but as long as others are helping out, I’ve decided to not be such a perfectionist.

I’ve noticed that everyone in our house misplaces things. Typically, things get set down where ever and I have a basket for each person that I put them in when I clean up. With my husband, however, I tend to have a different approach. I think I drive him crazy because he seems to want me to just leave his stuff where he left it (on the table, counter, window sill, etc), but I feel that if I give him a place to put his day-to-day things (wallet, keys, phones, etc), he should be able to put them there every time and know that they will be there when he needs them. This works sometimes. However, if these specified locations get filled with other items like tools, fishing line, other not day-to-day items, I move them to a basket in the closet. Therefore, I tend to misplace his stuff for him. However, I see it as cleaning up.

While things are certainly crazy all year round, I feel that summer is the craziest. With the entire family home, other than me, the house has no chance to sit and enjoy being clean. That is, three people here to dirty the house all day and the one that does most of the cleaning is at work and does NOT want to spend her entire evening cleaning.

Enter here…the chore list. Sometimes they get done, sometimes they don’t, but mom’s rule is that if it’s not done before I get home from work, you don’t get allowance for that day. It tends to work with my 9 year-old and I’m hoping that rubs off on the 6 year-old soon. However, she tends to be a walking tornado…things literally fall on the floor as she walks by. I’m thinking about having her tested for a sixth sense…what do they call it when you can make things move without touching them?

At least with a system of chores...(written down and posted on the fridge counts as a system, right?)...and some family members that help…(Kudos to my amazing 9 year-old!)...we can typically find the things we need to make our family function without too much freaking out…on good days. This is what I call Organized Chaos. Now, where is my energy drink and why is the dog in the baby doll stroller?
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Who is your household misplaces things? Do you have a system for keeping your family organized? Inquiring minds are always looking for ideas.

Thanks for reading: Domestically Disabled