Yesterday I had an idea for this post. Between then and now I forgot. That seems to happen a lot these days. I will admit to being in my mid 60s. As a child people said that I had memory of an elephant. I still do for some things - my husband can tell you that I remember things from decades ago that he has forgotten (or remembers totally wrong), but from one minute to another I might not remember. Not sure if it is aging and an actual memory problem or lack of interest in remembering something - although I am sure that is not why I forgot what I was going to write about. So I will write about remembering things to help get organized (unless the other idea comes back to me.)
One problem in organizing and getting rid of stuff is remembering what needs to be done when. For example - one needs to do food and related shopping to keep the household going. I used to have a paper list on the fridge. If we were running low on something I would put it on the list. Husband knew if he was running low on something, he should add it to that list - and he did. Originally I went food shopping on Thursdays - why? Well, my mom did her shopping on Thursdays! We have tended to eat on weekends for most of the time we have been married. So food shopping on Thursdays actually made no sense - the food was sitting around for 3 days before we even started to use most of it.
I switched my food shopping to Mondays. In those days the weekly supermarket sales started on Sunday so by switching to Monday not only did I have fresher food (nicer looking produce) I also was more likely to find the sale items in stock. I found out the first year that we were married that I should not take husband food shopping. He was on vacation from work. (He was on a school year schedule and had several 1 week vacation plus 4 weeks in the summer.) I invited him to the supermarket with me. We left with nothing. Why? “I don’t feel like this for dinner tonight.” Me - “No we are buying this because it is on sale and we will buy extra and freeze it. We don’t have to eat it tonight.” So after doing my food shopping on Monday, I would go again on Friday if anything was needed for the weekend. My week at that time was Monday - run household errands, Tuesday through Wednesday I would work, go out to clients, etc., Friday I would do our banking, buy an extra food, run errands and enjoy lunch out - alone (cheap). My big joke - remember I work by myself - was that “the office voted to go out to lunch together on Fridays”. Saturday and Sunday was our time together. This worked very well.
Over the years other chores were added in that had to vary through the week. For about a decade we were both in two rotating art exhibitions. This involved bringing his work - cut paper, leather, turned wood - and my work - textile/multimedia dolls - to a showcase at each of the two sets of exhibitions we were in. Various libraries, local government offices, & businesses would come and select whose work they would like to have at their locations. The exhibitions were for 1 or 2 months. The artist would bring the work and set it up at the locations and then at the end of the month take the exhibitions down. Since the exhibitions had to be set up/removed during the day, I would do it for both of us. I had to juggle setting up/removing 1 to 4 exhibitions a month over a 2 county area. Not an easy thing to keep track of or to do. But - it was actually easier when I did this alone than when husband stopped working and was doing this with me. I knew the different locations and what would fit and how I had arranged the pieces in prior years. Some locations were really great and I would do a big exhibition with papers explaining the work and which pieces were which and some of the locations had room for 3 pieces. Some of the work was hung on the wall (or on standing panels) and some had to go in cases. Some had employees were who were excited and nice about what was being hung - some were annoyed that we were there. I had computer printed forms I brought with me to list to pieces on for it to be signed for. I also have a data base for each type of work in my computer so I know which pieces had been exhibited where and when. I had an appointment in my computer calendar/cell phone to remind me to call and make an appointment to bring the exhibitions in to set up and another to remind me to make an appointment to take them down at the end of the month or 2 months.)
Similarly I used to have to go to clients on a monthly or quarterly basis. I had to remember which client to go to when and what had to be done when I went there. At first I made notes about what to do at each client and put it in my, originally, paper calendar book, later in my cell phone. Of course over the years I basically knew what to do at each client by memory, but kept my notes. I am now down to one client except for annual income taxes and it is easy to remember what to do there. Also over the decades the client’s records all were put into my laptop computer to make it easier. I still have reminders of when which taxes are due for client and for our personal businesses.
Friends are amazed that I remember their birthdays and anniversaries. I would mail cards to friends children when they were young - I remember the excitement of getting something in the mail. All of this was in special calendar book that I just kept same in so it did not need to be carried to a new book every year in the old days. Now it is all in computer calendar and automatically is there every year.
I have alarms in my cell phone and computer that remind me when something needs to be done - including when to stop working at my computer in the office and go down and make dinner. (This happens 15 minutes before I need to go down so I have a chance to finish up - and back up.) Reminders for birthdays and anniversaries go off a week before each event. I also have a memo/to do/note program in my cell phone (and syncs with my computer) to keep track o f information. The first one is a shopping list - I have various stores/types of stores listed and I add in items we need to buy. Since I find that I am using much fewer coupons these days (as there are so few which match with what we need) I will put “coup” after the item if I have a coupon for it. (Coupons are in sorted holder in the car.) I have a category in this memo for Christmas - this way I will remember next Christmas if we need to replace strands of light or if we have enough card and wrapping for next year. Another category in this memo is things that we cannot find here, but can find in Pennsylvania on trips. I have one memo which holds the specifications of various things in the house that we might buy items for - such as sewing machines so I can buy bobbins for them. Another memo has which light bulbs we need for where. Yet another says how much fabric I need and which buttons I need for reenacting clothing in case we come across something interesting. You get the idea.
THOUGHT FOR THIS WEEK -
If memory or a need for reminders is part of what keeps you from getting organized - use your computer or cell phone - or even an old fashioned calendar/agenda book and a shopping list on the refrigerator - to help you keep track of everything.
Those of you who were hit by the storms across the middle of the U.S. - I hope that you are safe and warm and the results of the snow and rain disappear quickly.
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