The Workings of Organization

So, I have set a goal for September to be nice and organized and have the whole month of recipes. I actually just decided this about 45 minutes ago. While flipping through The Pioneer Woman and looking through all those yummy recipes, I decided that I really need to get back to cooking proper meals again.

This summer has been hot. HOT. And while the majority of people are loving it, I am not. I live in an old house with lots of leaky walls that are not even close to energy efficient and aren't so good at keeping the heat out (or the heat in during the winter, but I can deal with that). Even the idea of having the oven on makes me want to peel my skin off. And I really enjoy cooking. Just not while sweating. It just doesn't appeal to me.

We had a few days of cooler temps this week and it really kicked in my urge to cook and bake again. Enter tonight's plan.

I eagerly got out of bed (yes, I was already tucked in to bed for the night) pulled out all those recipes that I have been meaning to organize, threw in a few cookbooks in the mix and started off making my monthly menu.

I always have the best of intentions when I start - (please excuse the quality of the pictures, it is late, our lighting is horrible and my camera is on the fritz)

Those are my husbands feet. He was sleeping and he came downstairs when he heard the ruckus (I'll explain later)

But I keep on getting distracted my articles I'm finding in with the recipes in my "magazine clippings' file.

Fancy dog bed made of an old door (email Canadian Living for patterns, they are no longer listed on their website)

And these great Halloween gourds

And then my cat came out for a snuggle. He's not been talking to me lately because I took away his hidy-hole sleeping spot in our crawl space. I figured I better take the affection when I can get it or there is no telling how long he'll give me the silent treatment.

And then there is this yummy cake:

I actually went to far as to see if I had the ingredients for it. And then I started a grocery list and remembered that I am supposed to be planning my month of cooking (I am thinking about self diagnosing myself with ADHD because seriously, I can't seem to keep a single thought going these days).

So I went back with my grocery list pad of paper and started on week one.

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And then I realized that I needed a bigger pad. A note book.

The note book I used two years ago when I planned out 6 weeks worth of recipes and the shopping list for each week. (Yes, I know I could just use those menus and forgo the whole plan, but that would be easy, and I don't tend to do things that way.)

There is no picture of this note book.

I can't find the note book.

So I've been looking for it. That is what woke up my husband. Well, that and me asking him if he has actually seen my note book. Who knew he'd not be able to get back to sleep again?

You'd think he'd help me with this big mess here.

Apparently not.

You might be wondering what any of this has to do with the title of this entry. But I wanted to show you that this whole organizing thing is real. And while my before and after pictures look great, getting there takes me so much time because I cannot. keep. one. train. of. thought. going.

I tend to be a drifter, have been my whole life. And while I am really really REALLY focused when it comes to work related tasks, when it comes to my private life, I tend to be a little more ... shall we call it free?

Either way, this is me and this is pretty much the same process I go through with each room and each task. And you may think that this is something that I need to work on, but this procrastination and road less traveled approach is what gets me to the final crunch time of "Holy Hannah I can't take the mess here any more" focused cleaning frenzy that happens about once a week.

This is not to say that my house isn't clean. It is for sure a nicely organized and clean house. But every week I find some other thing that needs a more mirco-organization intervention.

It is my new organized and everything gets done that isn't on the weekly list during that time.

Some people might call it unhealthy, unfocused and un-housewifey.

I call it Organization, Marina style.

And who would I be if I wasn't me? (probably organized)

I am going to finish looking for my note book now.

I say finish because I am also a person who has a high degree of tunnel vision and stubbornness and I won't be able to fall asleep tonight until I find the book.

As for the mess on the floor. That is all going back in the file and on the cook book shelf until tomorrow, when I can pretty much guarantee I will have a fit because while it is all filed away nicely, it serves me no purpose in a file on a book shelf.