The List Book

Some people might have a "To-Do" list. Yep, I have one of those. (Well, more than one, to be honest!) Those are located at my full-time job - my daily list, my lunch list, and my "do this on your way home or when you get home" list!

But I also have a List Book.

Early in life, I found that making a list of things helped me to organize my thoughts, and since I've always had lots of different activities going on, it helped me not to forget anything at the same time. As time went on, I ended up with not only a few more "projects" but also the need to condense everything together in some concise form.

Enter: The List Book! Now, no more pieces of paper floating all over creation!

I happen to LOVE Vera Bradley, hence the pretty pattern! And it's not big - about the size of your average diary or journal.

So, what do I mean by a List Book?

It's pretty simple: it's full of lists. Lists such as...

• People to Have Over for Dinner
• Office Projects
• Living Room Projects
• Dining Room Projects (okay, every room of the house has a list, so you get the idea!)
• Places to Go (for when me and my hubby both actually have a day off at the same time!)
• Songs for CD (one day we plan on recording one!)
• Dishes to Try
• To Blog Of
• Books to Read
• Shows to Watch
• Things to do in D.C. (our next vacation spot!)

I basically condensed down all the lists I had floating all around, and put them into one notebook! And that's not all this helps me with...

Also in the List Book, I keep listings of all of my frequented websites, along with account numbers, usernames, passwords, things like that. Yes, they are color-coded (with MARKERS, for my friends who LOVE to pick on me for this aspect of my O.C.D., ha!): Pink is Personal, Green is Photography and Yellow is Clever Container.

Whoops, that picture had no yellow on it.

There we go!

It's so easy to be able to grab this book and look up exactly what I need in a split second, or, when I get a brilliant idea, use it to make a brand new list!

And yes, sometimes things change. Lists get completed and websites expire, etc. That's why, at the beginning of every year, a new List Book is purchased, and all the necessary information is transferred over!

Try this on for size in YOUR life! I promise you'll feel more organized!

An Organized Trunk

This has become somewhat of a running joke between a few of my friends - Kristen's "Trunk Baskets" =) But some are honestly interested in the process, so, here goes!

Several years back, when I was a full-time college student, "nannying" for triplets and their baby brother (all boys), directing the Kid's Choir at church, singing in the the adult choir at church, leading worship for the College & Career Group at church, freelance writing for Focus Magazine, and attempting to still  have time with family and friends, not only was I in my car more than any other place, but I was LOOSING things left and right. There was just too much stuff for all my activities to keep up with. It really was ridiculous, and I was so tired of feeling unorganized every single day!

Sooo...to The Dollar Tree I went, and I purchased 6 plastic bins/baskets. Of course, back then each bin was assigned a different task than today's, but the basic idea was, anything for school went in the school bin. Anything for "nannying" went in the nanny bin, anything for writing went in the writing bin, and so on and so forth. Worked like a charm! Plus, it freed me from having "stuff" slide all over my back-seat every time I made a turn...I REALLY hate that!

Yes, I still employ this system today! Check it out!

1. Shopping & Errands (You can see the re-uasble shopping bags there now, but if I have any items that need to be returned, or I'm trying to match fabric etc., all that goes here)

2. Action Items (This is pleasantly empty at the moment, but if I am running food to a new mom or clothes to the seamstress, etc. here's where these things go)

3. Emergency Items (First Aid Kit, spare pens and paper, air fresheners, sewing kit...it all goes here)

4. Photography (You can see my camera bag here now ready for today's shoot - what you can't see is the packet of proofs that's underneat the camera bag, ready to be delivered)

5. Clever Container (As you may notice, I have an envelope here, ready to be delivered to a hostess today)

6. Work (This is the basket I carry in to my full time job and then back home with me every day - my briefcase of sorts. Don't you love the lunch box???)

7. I like to leave some space open for whatever may come up! And, generally, all of these bins can be stacked in one row across the back and leave room for larger items, like packages I've picked up or groceries I've made a run for.

It's also great to look back and see how many of these baskets are empty at the end of the day. That makes me feel accomplished! And it works the other way, too - a quick reminder of what I still need to get done!

I hope this is helpful for everyone! It's very easy to toss whatever is needed into its corresponding basket, and then, I know exactly where it is! No more losing things in the car, wohoo!