As everything in my apartment is being torn apart and packed into boxes, I have been thinking long and hard about this organization challenge. I’ve decided that for me this is going to boil down to three major points: my habits, arranging my physical space in an efficient way, and getting my family on board.

Adjusting my habits will help keep laziness and poor planning from derailing my efforts. This is a problem for me. When the girls were babies I fell into some bad habits out of exhaustion and they need to be broken.

Arranging my physical space in an efficient way will make it easy to do the things I need to do. Having things laid out poorly wastes time and effort that could probably be spent more efficiently elsewhere.

Getting my family on board is crucial. My girls are old enough to put things away and help with chores. The responsibility is good for them and I have better things to do than pick up their toys all the time or put away clothes they pulled out of the drawer for no reason. Zach is more than willing to help, but when things are disorganized he gets overwhelmed. Having him help with organizing things he uses everyday will make the system work for both of us, not just me.

Deciding which to tackle first feels like a chicken-or-egg sort of question. All of these factors are very much intertwined. I have to start somewhere though and I am starting with my habits. I can’t tackle the new space until my dad has moved out of it and I think the kids have enough on their plate right now just adjusting to the idea of moving.

I’m going to start with three simple things this week.

• First, I am going to make sure I put the cloth grocery bags back in the car when I’m done. This will prevent me from getting to the store and realizing that they are still at home.
• Second, I am going to rinse out my travel coffee mug when I am done with it and stick it directly in the diaper bag so I don’t forget that either. I always have the diaper bag with me, so that should prevent me from forgetting it.
• Third, every time I leave the house to go somewhere I’m going to ask myself if there are any other errands I need to run that are on the way there or back. I got a good start on this today. I planned ahead and did my grocery shopping after work.

How are you doing this week?