I’m Karen. Welcome to my Parenting Mini-Course. This Simple Solution is to Organise and let your children know you can cope.
What does being Organised have to do with being a good parent?
Surprisingly quite a lot. For starters, it’s so useful. Everyday tasks, like getting out the door in the morning with everything our children need, are so much easier. Meals are thought through in advance so there are no last minute panics – “Oh my goodness. It’s dinner time again? What do I cook?” Everyday items are where they belong so we aren’t caught off guard by the likes of, “Darn it! Somebody bring me some loo roll!” Bills are paid and money is managed so we can buy necessities when we need them. And we can find things like toothbrushes, homework, clean underwear, the keys and our mobile phones.
How can getting Organised improve my relationship with my children?
When we’re Organised, life is so much less stressful and overwhelming. We waste much less time, so there’s more time to spend with our children. The time we do spend together is better – because we’re more relaxed and happier, not so frazzled and stressed-out. There’s also more time to organise activities for our children, like trips to the park or friend’s houses, so they aren’t left sitting on their backsides in front of the computer or TV all day.
You get the point.
What if I don’t have time to get Organised?
I know it’s hard to get everything done. I didn’t have two seconds to sit down and read a newspaper or watch TV for years when my children were little. If I stopped at any point during the day, chaos would instantly spring up around me. I just had to keep moving.
What’s the best place to start?
Lots of people find the best way to stay organised is to turn off their phones and computers for a couple of hours in the evening when their children come home from school. Otherwise things can head south so quickly it’ll make your head spin. The house can suddenly become a wreck, dinner gets late, homework doesn’t get done and your children start vying for our attention. It’s so not worth that phone call! Turning things off during the evening is also a great way to be available for our children should they want help with homework or even just to talk to us.
Just the thought of getting Organised feels overwhelming.
Getting Organised won’t happen overnight. It takes a while for things to get out of control and it takes a while to get new systems going. But you can do it. Add time for Organising and planning ahead into your daily routine – around 30 minutes a day – and take it one step at a time.
You might feel like you’ll never have the time or brain power to do what it takes to get organised and plan ahead. But if you think things through bit-by-bit, you can do it.
I could never understand why the house was such a mess when the kids came home and why we’d spend ages running around looking for jackets, schoolbags and homework.
It wasn’t until my oldest was in year 4 that I realised it’s because there wasn’t a place by the door for each child to keep their things. Once I did that, it solved so many problems.
Getting Organised doesn’t come naturally to me. Any advice how to do it?
You’ll find lots of super simple tips on getting Organised and overcoming the chaos on my website. Don’t feel bad if you feel overwhelmed by the chaos and untidiness of your house. The vast majority of parents out there say they do too! But there is a lot you can do about it, and it really is worth it.
Leave a Comment