Too Busy for Your Own Good (48 page)

Cleaning
. Make each person responsible to declutter and clean his or her own bedroom and bath. The common areas, such as kitchen, hallways, and family rooms, can be divvied up by week according to ability. Heavy cleaning, such as for windows, screens, and blinds, should be done together on a weekend morning.

Meal prep
. Believe it or not, this is something everyone can pitch in to do. (See “Feeding Time” earlier in this chapter.)

Laundry
. Working mothers should not automatically be the ones doing laundry for the entire house. Each person can be taught how to wash, fold, and put away his or her clothes and change the sheets on the bed. For young children, you can encourage them by telling them this is the way “big kids” do it.

Pets
. Who feeds, exercises, and cleans up after Fido? Is the cat avoiding the litter box on purpose? The feeding and cleaning up of the family pet is rotated among
all family members. If a child has her own small pet (hamster, fish, snake, lizard) in her room, she must feed and clean up after it.

Become a list maker. My friends laugh at the lists I have for
everything
. Oh, sure, I am a bit obsessive, but I've never been without my toothbrush when trapped in an airport or without my husband's size when I find 501s on sale. Here are a few of my favorite and indispensable lists.

People lists
. I use ACT!, a contact management software, on my computer. It has lots of basic fields, including name, address, e-mail, phones, and website, along with blank ones that I use for birthdays, anniversaries, and preferences. I code and group everyone according to where they fit (friends, family, church, clients, readers, organizations, media, etc.). It's a drag to set up, but a lifesaver for labels, holiday cards, targeted mailings, etc.

Goals
. Writing your goals on paper not only gives you a chance to dream wonderful things for yourself, it invokes powers
unseen
to work on your behalf. I have been formally and intentionally writing my goals since I was in high school and can attest that this works.

Packing lists
. Have one ready for every type of travel you embark on. Make your lists detailed right on down to your specific toiletries, electronics (especially chargers), and underwear. This is especially needed if you do “carry-on only” for business trips. My packing lists include “Business Travel,” “Tropical Travel,” “Cold Weather Personal,” “Travel with Husband and Dog,” “Day Trail (on horse),” and “Overnight with Horse” (like moving a condo!).

I've noticed that when I go shopping without my list I forget items and spend more money than I should. Without my list, I can't remember if we need tomatoes, so I buy some; but if it turns out I had them already, now we have so many that they end up rotting. I often get distracted by some free sample and buy it on impulse.

Keep the household lists posted so everyone participates and learns to be a better shopper.

Groceries
. Weekly shopping for meals and supplies becomes faster and cheaper (no impulse buying) when you include brand, size, and general price.

Big box
. Bulk items at the warehouse stores can save bundles, but if you leave it up to impulse shopping, you might get lost in the massive aisles, debating whether to purchase that year's worth of Heath bars that's on sale.

Items for delivery
. You can save so much time when you don't have to drive and park. Bulk buy your supplies for office or home business, school, projects, and pets from a list so you can take advantage of sales and free or reduced delivery fees for orders (usually offered for purchases over $50).

Clothes
. You'll save oodles of time (and untold dollars) when you keep a running clothes list. Organize it by person and occasion, favorite brands and sizes such as “Lisa: underwear, CK, brief, medium,” or “David: dress-up, navy blazer, 40 long.” Keep it handy in your calendar (electronic or paper), crossing off and reprinting as needed. Watch for holiday sales, seasonal specials, rebates, and twofers.