Getting organized: Listmaker, listmaker, make me a list!

Nothing beats a good old-fashioned checklist for getting everything you need to do corralled into one place so you feel a little less overwhelmed.

For household issues, I like to use a yellow legal pad. Every time I come across something that needs to be cleaned, fixed, filed, replaced, removed, redecorated, de-cluttered, reorganized... I write it on the list. It may not get done right away, but I don't have to fret about it because I know it won't be forgotten. It's on the list.

But what never ceases to amaze me is how one item on the list can actually become several tasks. For example, I need to replace the drapery rod bracket that fell out over my sliding glass door. Should be an easy thing to do, right? Well...maybe not.

To do:  Replace drapery rod bracket

• Find the screw that fell out and rolled under the sofa
• Buy a safer, taller stepladder - the one I have is too short and wobbly
• Charge the electric drill and look for the phillips screwdriver drill bit
• Discover that my jar of spackle is hard as a rock. Buy new spackle to fill the hole and cover the bright blue drywall anchor forever lodged inside the wall
• Since the curtains are down, may as well wash and press them
• Realize that one reason it all fell down was because the curtains are too heavy for the light-duty rod
• Wait for coupon to come in mail for favorite home decor store, then go buy new rod system
• Two weeks have passed...need to charge the drill again and re-press the curtains that got creased while draped over the chair all this time
• The "knocking" technique is not turning up the location of a couple studs to ensure the new rod brackets never fall out...need to borrow somebody's stud finder
• Give up and add it to a different list of things I need to hire a handyman to do for me

Oh well, so my family room gets a little more light, lol. 

I still feel better knowing everything I need to do is on a list. If one task gets frustrating, I'll just move on down to another task that I can actually complete and feel good about it!

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."  

—William Morris