Getting Organized: Setting A Few Small Goals & My Cereal Stockpile

I have shared with you guys here and there about how I am trying to become more organized.  Organization has always been a struggle for me, and now that I have a child in school, I know that my lack of organizational skills can lead to stress in all of our lives.

I have always been the sort of person who gets these ideas of what I want to do, and goes at them full force.  Then I end up worn out and never seem to get whatever it is finished up.  Because of this, I know that the best way to get myself organized (and to keep myself that way), is to set a few smalls goals to work on each week--until those things become a habit, and to have a specific project or two to work on each week, and only allow myself to spend  a small amount of time on that project each day.

That second part is going to be really hard for me because when I start something, I want to get it all done right then, I just never seem to have a big enough block of time!  Plus, if I know I'm not going to have enough time to finish something, at times I am hesitant to get it started.

For this reason, I want to start this "getting organized" series.  I am going to share with you, at least weekly, my progress, my goals, and my new projects.  I hope you will join in by leaving me a comment, or by sharing any advice you may have if you are a super organized individual.

For this first week, my main project is going to be organizing and taking inventory of my "stockpile" and freezers.  This is what I will be working on a little bit each day this week.

I had bought these little dry erase boards at the 99CentsOnly store at back to school time in order to aid me in this task, but haven't gotten around to using them yet.  I plan to record what I have and how many on these so it will be easier to keep track of what we need.

Since my coupons had been so unorganized (got that under control now!), my shopping trips had been scarce, and so my stockpile is looking pretty slim these days.

Yesterday, after my trip to Albertsons, I got a small start on organizing by getting my cereal stash in order.  I also decided to take a piece of advice I have heard repeated over and over, and I wrote the expiration dates really big on the sides of the boxes with a Sharpie.

Here's what it looks like now (I cleaned and straightened the whole top of the hutch while I was up there...boy did it need it!):

I still have to organize my pantry, my bathrooms, and one small shelving unit in the garage (I think only 2 or 3 of the 5 shelves are actually in use right now).

My goals for the week are going to be a continuation from last week:  clipping and putting away coupons the same day I print them (also any that come in the mail), and staying on top of the laundry/dishes.  I had done pretty well on the coupons and dishes last week, but the laundry definitely lagged behind.  I did a TON of that today though, so I should be back on track!

I also have a goal to use up my 10lb bag of potatoes before they ruin, so if you have any ideas for those, let me know. ;)

What are your goals/projects that you will be working on this week.  Leave a comment and we can encourage each other!