Only A Year to Get Organized? Well, Meet Molly
When we last left Molly, she was really hitting a stride in her home organization journey.
She had just attended a Paper Organizing Retreat, tackled the storage room, and was getting ready to start the second round of the 100 Day Home Organization Program.
If you subscribe to the Organize 365 podcast using a podcast app like Stitcher, iTunes, or Overcast, I’ve already dropped that episode into your feed. If not, I definitely recommend you listen to that episode first before this one.
(I also hope you’ll forgive me for the delay on the kids program I talked about in that episode. It’s coming this summer 2019!)
Who is Molly?
Molly is a soon-to-be 40-year-old woman with 3 kids, ages 10, 13, and 6. She sure reminds me of myself before I took back my house, and I bet she reminds you of yourself.
Molly isn’t a real person, exactly, but she’s the combination of stories I’ve heard over and over through the years.
She’s overwhelmed like you, she wears many hats like you, she wishes her home was under control just like you do.
Or, rather, she was all of those things, but now that she’s halfway through her first year with Organize 365, she’s watching herself and her home transform.
How is Molly doing?
Because of her schedule, Molly dedicates Tuesday as her organizing day, plus a few hours on the weekend.
She got through days 1-42 during the first round, but lost steam just after the primary bathroom and closet.
That’s totally normal!
Instead of feeling bad about falling “behind,” she decided to focus on her family and projects the rest of the time, and start the next round by skipping Days 1-42.
She starts by planning, mapping out Days 43-100. She looked in the planner at the worksheets and the tasks and decided she can do this!
She and her husband even decided to use the organizing projects as dates, and have discovered a love for working together toward a common goal.
It’s all about your mindset.
Using Organizing as Family Bonding
Together, Molly’s family decided to have a family garage sale in the spring to raise money for a family vacation. They earned $750, and then (here’s the important part!) donated everything else right away.
She bought three more Sunday Baskets to help her plan an epic summer for her family: a High School Box for her oldest son, a Summer Box for kids activities, and a Friday Work Box for her, since she was preparing to return to work full time that fall.
The Spring Break garage sale was such a success that it became a family tradition each year.
Also during the summer, Molly attended the Embrace Conference to meet the women who had been supporting her during her journey.
To hear more about the Embrace Conference, be sure to listen to this episode of the podcast to get all the details about this year!
The Third Round of 100 Days
For Molly’s last round of the 100 Days, she was pleasantly surprised that it was mostly about maintenance!
Having that storage room done was the game changer. Because everything had a spot it could go, putting it in the right place felt calming and restorative.
During the Embrace Conference, Molly got to spend the entire weekend reflecting on her own dreams and goals. She realized, like so many women do, that once we strip away our identities as mom, wife, homemaker, employee, chauffeur, and all the rest, we can struggle a little with what our hopes and dreams even are.
Now that Molly’s home is organized, she has the time (and the energy) to discover and re-discover her own passions.
Yes, she’s still plays the same roles that she used to, but what she isn’t doing is looking for lost items, shuffling papers around, and stressing about her cluttered home.
That frees up a lot of time!
Molly started out like so many of you, but by the end of her year of organizing, she could maintain this system. Your year may look different, but there are similarities, too!
Your organizational journey will ebb and flow. Success will depend on it becoming a daily habit!
As you start (or continue) your own organization journey, I encourage you to share your photos and tag #organize365 so that I can cheer you on. Whether you’re in the 100 Day Home Organization Program or not, I’m rooting for you!
