Show Us Your Life: Organization

I decided to participate in Kelly's Show Us Your Life today to share my mad organizational skills (Read: OCD).    Really, it's a sickness.  No one should get as excited as I do about organize.com, or about the notepads in the $1 bin at Michael's.  I don't know where I got it, but I'm pretty sure it gets worse as I get older.  So read on if you want to learn how to be sick like me.

1.  I make lists.  This is a picture of my fridge right now.  I have many more notepads scattered throughout my apartment--one on the coffee table, one in my purse, several on the computer table.  These are just the ones on the fridge at this current moment.

Yes, I do need each of these lists.  Each list has a separate category.  That one the right is actually my menu for the next 2 weeks, which brings me to #2.

2.  I plan out my meals 2 weeks at a time.  I actually started doing this to save money.  The first month I planned my meals, made my list, and only bought items on the list, I saved myself about $200 in groceries.  The planning also helps me eliminate waste.  It is actually pretty hard to shop and cook for one person, so I try my best not to throw things away.  I make a big trip every other Monday, and on the in-between Mondays, I pick up things like milk, bread, and a few produce items.  I also package my leftovers into meal-sized servings whenever I can.  Then I can just grab a container and heat it up instead of having to scoop things out of different containers onto a plate.  That means I create less dishes, and also use less water to wash the dishes.

3.  Since it is just me right now, I only actually do about 2 loads of laundry a week.  I suppose I should enjoy this luxury while I have it.  I always make sure I wash as much as I can in one load to save water.

4.  I have a central calendar.  All of my medical appointments, lunch dates, etc... go into my calendar, and I usually take it with me when I leave the house.  I used to have a big, bulky leather-bound planner (it made my apartment smell of rich mahogany), but it took up too much room.  Now, I just use a simple spiral-bound planner from Target.

5.  Anytime I can use a bin, tub, crate, basket, or rack of some sort, I do.

All my scrapbooking goodies.

Sewing supplies (I love these stackable bins).

Christmas: ornament boxes, tubs for ribbon and bags.  

The silver boxes have Christmas dishes in them.

The rest of my Christmas decorations in festive-colored boxes.

My desk organizer--I put current bills in the front pocket, 

and move them to the back once I have paid them.

Pretty containers for Q-tips, cotton balls, and hair ties.

Hanging shoe rack to keep shoes from piling up everywhere.

I'm a wine-o, so of course I need a place to put 

my wine bottles and glasses!

6.  I use an Excel spreadsheet for my budget.  Each bill goes into the spreadsheet so I don't forget to pay any of them (it has happened--a lot).  Of course, it is color coded, and has way more categories than anyone should probably have for a budget.  I blame the week I spent learning to manage my money at the Navy's Command Financial Specialist school.

All of my organization may fall by the wayside when Macy gets here.  It stresses me out a little bit to think about it.  I guess I'll just have to wait and see.  Hopefully I don't end up having an anxiety attack because my infant refuses to get herself on a schedule.