Time

I am an obsessive list-maker. I write lists about what groceries to buy, who to call after work, what errands to run on my lunch break, what chores to do when I get home ~ the lists are endless!

Yet, even with all of my list-making, there just never seems to be enough time to get everything done.

I had to stay home from work on Friday because I was incredibly sick and positively run-down {just 2 weeks after starting my new job...eek!}. I think I not only put too much on my plate, but I put too much pressure on myself to get everything done.

I think that being a newlywed gives me the added pressure of wanting/expecting to be the perfect wife for my husband.


{Are you still considered a newlywed if you've been married for over a year? Our 2 year anniversary is June 6th of this year}.

I envision having all of my errands done during my lunch break, home-cooked meals every night, and a house so clean and beautiful, it brings tears to Martha Stewart's eyes. And when that doesn't happen {which is, um, never! At least not all at the same time}, I am way too hard on myself.

So, this week will be all about prioritizing, balancing, and re-organizing my life.

As a sort of preemptive strike, I did some research on how to simplify everyday tasks. Enter: Organized Home. This site offers tons of useful articles, links, and - my favorite - lists to help keep you organized.

I immediately printed out the "Favorite Recipes" list, which allows you to organize your family's favorite recipes by name, cookbook/source, page number, and comments. Now, when I am in a pinch for time, I can just pick a recipe from the list instead of wasting time searching through all of my cookbooks in hopes of randomly stumbling across a good recipe.

Another great tool is the "Master To-Do List". Although I write everything down in my planner, this list allows you to highlight the most important events that could otherwise be overlooked. I don't know about you, but I often find myself saying things like "What?! Next week is the beginning of April??". The great thing about this list is that is has space for you to write today's date as well as the "target date" for when each item needs to be accomplished. This will keep you from letting the days slip by and will help you stay on track.

The "Monthly Meal Planner" is an additional resource that will be helpful. I currently use mealsmatter.com for all of my meal-planning. Although I do {try to} enter all of the meals I plan on making, I am definitely a pen and paper kind of girl. So, it will be beneficial to have a monthly menu printed out and available to view at a moment's notice.

There are lots of other useful resources on the site, so I encourage you to check it out for yourself.

Does this ever happen to you?
If so, what have you found to be some good time-savers?