Clocks, Colors and Hooks--A Year of Organization

When I am out running errands with all of the kids hanging off of me like grapes, people often ask, "How do you do it?"

My pat response, as I reach over to catch James as he finds something dangerous to interest him, is "prayer."

Which, of course, is the basic truth. I would never survive one day in the life I've chosen without massive gifts of grace, and my day is full of prayer. Prayers in this context: "You painted your brother with butter? Have mercy!" or "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, who let the cat out?" or "Ay, Dios mio!" (which, incidentally, is probably not really a prayer....sigh) Before meals, I bow my head and thank God for the food He provides. I teach the kids the prayers of the Church. And I kneel by the bed next to Bill at bedtime to pray for my children and godchildren, for my marriage, for my family and friends. Honestly, I feel like I don't pray enough.

But back to my commissary questioners. The answer they are probably more interested in is one they can see. If they looked in my house, what secret weapons against chaos and insanity would they find? Since I'm devoting this year to getting our house in order, I'm keeping my notes here.

Clocks: Our most lived-in rooms have clocks in them. They are mostly analog because I have trouble reading them, which makes them a nice reminder of the things in life that I don't do well. But they are really there to help us maintain an order and rhythm to our day. It is sort of sick that my 3 year old says, "It's 7 o'clock, Mommy!" instead of "Good Morning", but we both know that 7 is the time when my private self has prepared herself to be "Mommy." And if she didn't take a shower and read her Bible instead of sleeping in, well, Mrs. Private-Self knew 7 was coming. At any given hour everyone in our family knows what activity is expected and what will come next, and I find that brings a level of peace into our home.

Colors: Truthfully, my favorite color is blue, but I love the colorful chaos here which could only be described as "colorish." I use color coding as often as possible. For example, each child has his own color towel. Then, when it's time to play the "who left his towel on the floor" game, I don't have to start a fingerpointing contest an octopus would lose.

Laundry boxes, water cups, school books and sock markings are some of the places where I use color to sort with a quick glance.

Hooks: I've come to terms with the fact that no child hangs things well on a hanger or towel bar. So instead of fighting that fight, Bill has hung hooks all over the house for us. Hooks in the bathroom for bath towels and hand towels. On the fridge for keys and oven mitts. In the laundry room for coats or bathing suits. From chore card to rosaries, with a little imagination, hooks can bring order to most things in the house. I even think of my calendar as a kind of hook for all the things jumbled on the floor of my brain.

As I reorganize from space to space, I'm remembering the wise words of my coffee mug: Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication. So, out with the unnecessary and organize the rest!