*When* do you organize?

[WatchingThemGrow]

I know not everyone has a 4,2, and 1yo to get in the way of organizing tasks, but I just want to know when you find the time to "work" on stuff. My sorted boxes are piled up in the dining room and FIL (absentmindedly) comments on them when they come over. He doesn't mean ill, he just is surprised by the big pile o' junk.

By nighttime, I'm exhausted from the day and can't get to it. By the weekend, I just want to get out and play with the family, with DH's help. During the day...no way.

[infomama]

I organize on my days off with or without dh here. My schedule varies from week to week. Based on your three options I would choose to do it little by little on the weekends while your dh is home and out with the kids. It's not an endless task although it seems overwhelming right now.

[DietCokeLover]

I completely understand. I have a 3 and 2 year old and there is no cleaning or organizing without "helpers" being involved. Our business is open 7 days a week from 7:30 am til 10:00 pm for 10 months out of the year so there is no "off" time and certainly no weekend time. I can't get anything done!

[Melaine]

The main thing I am able to get done is the prep for the organization projects....so I have no problem dragging all kinds of stuff out and about (and then the girls help me take everything out) but then things inevitably fall apart and I can't get to the actual organization or putting things back together part. Which is worse than not doing anything.

In the very short amount of time between DH coming home and the girls bedtime I have accomplished some stuff, but after they go to bed it's really hard to get the energy.

[MoJo]

One at a time, and it takes forever. But I can make myself deal with ONE box, or one SMALL stack of stuff, in the evening even though I'm tired, or on the weekend.

Trying to start during the day is a recipe for disaster, and I only have one helper! But she LOVES to help, and she will pull stuff out faster than I can sort, much less put away.

[KrisM]

I break it down to smaller projects. I just finished going through the bins from last month. I had 3 or so left of stuff to sort through and they were in my dining room. Yesterday, I put one on the kitchen counter and started while they ate breakfast. I did more when they were just playing quietly, and more still when I had 2 kids in school time.

It took me the month to get through those last 3 bins, which is annoying.

I do find I can do stuff during the day if it's small enough. I do better than than at night, unless it's a sit-in-front-of-the-TV-with-a-beer kind of project :).

ETA: I just read this blog entry (http://overcomingbusy.com/2010/08/31/my-house-cleaning-system/)the other day and am going to try to break it down in writing like she does the the bigger projects.

[Smillow]

Ugh! We are in the process of reorganizing our basement. EVERYTHING that was in it is in a storage unit about a mile away and DH is cleaning & painting the unfinished walls and then we are going to divide it into quadrants & put up storage systems that make sense...

When? Ha! DH has given me 2 or 3 hour to 2 hour breaks in the afternoon while DS is napping to go to the storage unit to purge & organize. But we have our own business, so he has the freedom to do this. Unfortunately he is also gone every weekend for at least 2 days so that limits my time on this project. DH gets up early and goes down to the basement to empty/clean/paint. We started about 2 months ago & I have no ides when we will finish! I don't get very much (almost none) "me" time, but this project won't last forever (I hope), and it will make my life easier when it is done. Trying to get anything clothes related done with DS is a joke as he feels it is his mission to scatter clothing throughout the house!
Good luck!

[niccig]

Here and there. DS is back in school now, but I have to work during his school hours. If you can break the project down into sections, it does help to do it bit by bit. The week before my ILs came I got a lot done. eg. I've needed to clean out my kitchen pantry so I did it shelf by shelf as I had a few minutes. I was kind of surprised at how little time it actually took. I'm trying to remember this when I don't want to do something, if I just do a little bit and often, it'll get done.

I try to set aside some time when something really needs to get done and have DH take DS out of the house. DH is going to be out of town for a few days, so I've made a list of what I need to get done in our bedroom - it's the easiest time to do it as I can pull everything out, work a little each night, and sleep in DS's top bunk.

If I do something after DS's bedtime, it's in front of the TV and something like shredding, going through some papers and sorting them. Things I don't have to get up and about, but don't take any brain power either.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I think maybe I just needed a break from my project. Some kind of prize at the end would motivate me as well. Actually, hosting playgroup or something else would be a good motivator. Maybe I need to get that on the schedule, then I'll find the time to do it. Maybe if I drink some coffee one day, I'll get started on it.