Table of Contents

-Introduction
-Monthly Mission – Catching Up
-Check Out These Pages! – Relevant pages and new site additions
-Mental Load

Introduction

Hello Friends! I know I had said I wanted to get a lot accomplished this summer, but I feel like my summer is already nearing an end! How can that be? I have the summer off from work, but I spent the first 10 days of my break cleaning for house guests, running errands and taking kids to appointments. Then for the next 10 days we had family visit us and we spent the whole time relaxing, sight seeing and visiting. So that kind of makes this my first “real” week of summer break, which I have spent taking kids to appointments, having service people fix things in the house, cleaning and catching up on my routine stuff (bills, grocery lists, etc.). After this week, I only have three weeks left of summer to finish my humongous to do wish list of fun and personal things, like reading, sewing, etc., in addition to more appointments and errands and home repairs. BUT, it’s a wake up sign that if I (we) don’t grab our own personal time now, it will never happen. I think also, that we need to grab it all year long.

Also, after bumping around this house for a year and nine months, I finally got a small desk of my own! I finally have a place to put my stuff and keep everything organized. It really makes a huge difference and I’m so much happier now. Sometimes, it’s the small things!

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Thankfully, July is a catch up month. Time to have some summer fun, and spend any organizing time you can spare to keeping what you have already organized in good shape, or tackling some items you hadn’t gotten around to yet. To read more about the monthly mission for July, click here.

If you prefer to go digital, you might enjoy the Cozi Family Organizer. You can sync everyone's schedules together at no charge.

If you’re in a hurry to put some order back into your home, perhaps Mimi Tanner's unique method will give you that jumpstart. Check out her method at Declutter Fast: How To Get Your Home In Order Almost Immediately.

Here are some pertinent pages on the website you may have missed along with any new pages.

Garage Organizing - It's almost summer with lots of warm weather... the perfect time to get out there and clean out that garage! Crank the tunes and bring your favorite beverage!

Organize Toys - The kids are out from school. Why not make a plan to have them help you organize all their toys?

Home Filing System - Get your home filing organized before tax season gets here.

Meal Planning - Plan ahead for meals to reduce trips to the grocery store and save time.

Time Savers - Here are a few quick time savers to make your day run more efficiently.

The Mental Load

Perhaps you’ve seen this recent translated French comic that’s been going around, demonstrating the concept of the mental load that women all around the world take on. Now, I’m not bringing this up to start any tension between the spouses, but instead, because it was an “Aha moment” for me.

I always feel like I’m overwhelmed with so much to do and even though my husband helps out with dishes daily and some other chores, I still feel like I could use more help. The days that annoy me the most are when I feel like I accomplished a lot, yet when the hubby comes home, he notices all the things that didn’t get done. Really? My son said “Mom, keep a list of what needs to be done.” I tell him that I DO keep several lists, but they need to be managed, and sometimes things need to be remembered to be put on the lists. (The lists don’t just do themselves, you know?!)

Anyway, the idea of the mental load finally explains exactly how I feel and what’s going on in my mind. Generally, the female of the home is the Project Manager of all that needs to be done, including all the things you can’t see, such as kids appointments, daily medications, their clothing needs, etc. Also don’t forget service calls for home maintenance that is out of my realm of DIY. Oh, and don’t forget to put X, Y, and Z on the grocery list so you don’t forget. Then, pay the bills, follow up with insurance, doctors, and vendors about X, Y and Z. Don’t forget to manage that big home maintenance list you plan to get to on the weekends, etc. And when you get a chance to relax, try to shut off the mind that’s always running in the background, making sure everything has been taken care of.

Basically, we’re in charge of making sure that everything gets done around the home and to keep everyone and everything running smoothly, efficiently, and on time. The rest of the household may not even notice that these things are going on. They just happen like magic. And unless the project manager asks the other household members to do something to help, they’re likely not aware it needed to be done.

I found this article about the mental load to be very helpful in explaining the concept discussed in the comic. It also gives some suggestions for helping to lessen the mental load.

For me, just understanding what I couldn't explain before helps me feel better. I now know that I'm not alone, and that all the time my mental load consumes is genuine and important to holding the household together. Though, I am completely opened to others taking on some of the mental load and helping to reduce some of the stress.


Until next time, happy organizing!

Tracy Greene
Plan-and-Organize-Life.com