A Day in the Life of an Organizer Mom

Here is a day in the life of an Organizer Mom.  I am not Martha Stewart.  My house does not look like a Pottery Barn catalog.  I am not perfect.  I don’t have it ALL together, but I am organized and that makes a difference.  It’s true, I do practice what I preach but as you will see, stuff happens. I have found that the more organized I am, the easier it is when the unexpected arises.  This is just a glimpse into what a normal day is like in my world.

5:00am: My Fitbit alarm goes off way before the kids get up. I check my phone for texts, emails and Facebook posts. Respond to anything urgent. Today I do a bit of yoga before I get a shower and get myself ready.

6:15am: I wake the kids up (Julia 15, Caroline 13 & Drew 7). Make sure everyone is up and getting ready.  Set out “snack baskets” so the kids can make their lunches.  Grab pie dough out of the freezer for dinner tonight.  Make sure all the kids have forms and money they need. Pack my lunch.

6:50am: Drew realizes he is wearing his uniform not his gym uniform. CRAP! I forgot it was Thursday! Caroline thinks he should be wearing his regular uniform because it’s open house day at school. Fabulous! Now I have to search through old emails, ask Facebook and text another mother to find out what he needs to wear.

7:00am: Receive confirmation that he should be wearing his gym uniform. He changes and disaster is averted.

7:00-7:25: Wait with Julia for the bus.

7:30: Get Caroline and Drew ready to walk out the door.  Confirm with the kids that the sitter is picking them up from school. My husband takes kids to school.

7:35: Finish getting ready.  Pack my workbags and double check that I have everything I need for work and meetings. Double check I have my power cord for my computer because I forgot it last time.

7:55: Head into the office

8:30-1:00: Work in the office.  Lot’s of brainstorming today, creating new packages. The internet is down so it’s like working with one hand.  Ugh!

1:15: Arrive early for the meeting to make copies.  Call the babysitter to remind her to pick the kids up.

1:30-3:00: PTO meeting at The Harbour School.  Meeting runs late so I don’t leave school till 3:15.

4:00: Arrive home and start prep for Chicken Pot Pie at Caroline’s request.  While making dinner, help Drew with homework.  Stop several times between both because he has a particularly challenging assignment.  Drew complains a lot and homework is taking twice as long. The girls bombard me with forms that need to be filled out and information that I need to read. I can’t concentrate to look at these forms now, so I do a quick check to make sure nothing is due tomorrow. The papers go in the folder to review tomorrow during my planning hour. I set aside one hour every Friday to review paperwork, review the calendar, meal plan and make my grocery list.  Is it happy hour yet????

5:00: Homework is done. Take a minute to check email, FB and calendar for the next day.  Send out emails about PTO board meeting.  Text Julia’s Waiver Aid about meeting tomorrow. Make a quick call to Tara to discuss another blog post. Work on this post for a few minutes. Waste 10 minutes trying to figure out something on my computer, nothing has been the same since my hard drive was replaced.

5:20: Dinner is ready to go in the oven.  Now it’s time for a glass of wine. Ahhhh…. Check out a few recipes and work on meal plan and grocery list to get a jump start on tomorrows planning hour.

5:50: First sip of wine because I was too distracted by the children arguing.  I also realize that dinner is not cooking fast enough.  May not be ready at 6:00. Sigh.  Call for Julia to take a shower before dinner since now she will have time.  Notice Drew’s book bag is in the middle of the living room floor.  Call for him to put it away, otherwise tomorrow morning will be running around trying to find it

6:00 Nope, dinner is not done. Go on FB to share Tara’s blog post.  Check my Fitbit app and realize I am behind my buddies in my Workweek Hustle step contest.  Walk around my dining room table several times to get a few extra steps.

6:20 Crap. Dinner is still not done.  Continue to walk around dining room…..

6:30: Dinner! Finally.

7:00: Cleaning up dinner.  Phil texts and says he is on his way home. Once everything is cleaned up, I hop on the treadmill and try to catch my competitors.

8:00: Say goodnight to the kiddos. Phil puts them to bed.  Log another 30 mins on the treadmill

8:30: My favorite time of day, bath time.  I enjoy a long soak in the tub while watching TV.

9:15: Hop into bed and try to keep my eyes open for a bit longer.  Who am I kidding I’m asleep by 9:30.

And….it all starts again in the morning.

If you enjoyed reading about a day in the life of an organizer mom, let us know.  We are considering making it a multi-part series.  This day in the life was written by Joan Robinson, our Senior Project Manager at No More Piles.  If you liked this article, you’re welcome to use it in your own newsletter or blog as long as you include the following blurb: Joan Robinson, our Senior Project Manager, helps families get organized and declutter so that they can focus on what’s important. Get our FREE weekly tips and advice at www.NoMorePiles.com.