Flying By The Seat of My Pants

Do you use a chore planner or household planner?

I have tried.  More than once, in fact.  Here's the problem (I think).

There is something inside of me (call it my inner child) that balks at the idea of somebody (you know, the person that wrote the planner) telling me what I ought to do on any given day.  Oh, I've printed out planners with great intentions.  One is in the drawer to my left. Two weeks ago, I won a terrifically detailed planner, and I thought this would finally be the one.  It sits half-printed on a shelf.  God bless the people who create these planners. I'm sure there ARE people out there who use them effectively.  Me?  Not so much.

Now, you know I've been following the "52 Weeks To a More Organized Home" -- and that has really been helpful.  The reminders are delivered via e-mail, and I can check it out in more detail at the website as time permits.  And that's kind of been working for me.  How about you?

My mom and I talked about it, and agreed it's a good thing.  But, we sort of take it with a grain of salt -- if you know what I mean.  Sometimes, we feel like we have our acts together in certain areas, and so we bypass the suggestions for that week.  Or sometimes, we don't feel the need to go about it in quite the same way as others do -- like beautifying our recycle areas (which for me is just a bin in the garage).

Anyway, here's what I use... since my college days.  A desk-top book-style yearly calendar. The brand has changed, but the format is the same: you can see a week-at-a-glance and month-at-a-glance.  Not only do I write down appointments here, but I also jot down our weekly menu-plans.  On a good week, the menu is written down ahead of time.  But sometimes, I just write down what we've eaten after the fact, so that I make sure that I don't make my family eat soup every night.  (What a fabulous world THAT would be!)

Sometimes, I take my calendar into the doctor's office with me, and they say, "You're so organized!" -- because they don't have to give me a little handwritten reminder.  What they don't know is that in five minutes, I will have forgotten the next appointment, and will only remember it when I turn the page to that week in my calendar.  You can ask my mom or sister if this is true.  Many times, they'll say, "See you on Sunday" - and if my calendar is not in front of me, I just smile and nod -- because I don't have a clue what they're talking about. {One time it was my daughter's birthday party.  True story.}

Don't be mistaken.  This week-at-a-glance calendar doesn't tell me what chores to do.  But it DOES make me feel like I have my act together.  Even if it's all an illusion - HA!

I guess the moral of the story is to do what works for you.  And I am.  I'm going to go clean the toilet now... because NOBODY "told" me to do it!