So I’m trying to get things organized around here before the school year overtakes us.  This morning we were in my daughter’s room.  She’s 8 and is just entering the “tween” stage.   Oh my. This gives me a little stress, but that’s another post.

Regardless of how much the two of us need to stick together in a house with 4 other males, sometimes I’m baffled at how different we are.  Whereas I’m forever looking for stuff to get rid of, she likes to keep EVERYTHING.  She’s particularly partial to itty, bitty pieces of paper (what is it with girls and paper??), miscellaneous crafts she made last year, various notebooks and writing instruments, anything that grandma gave her (the girl WILL NOT throw away anything grandma gave her) and small, porcelain whatnots you might find at the garage sale of a 90-year old.

But today she rose to a whole new level.

I noticed a pair of athletic socks laying on her floor.  They were balled up so I assumed they were hers.  “Peanut,” I say, “put your socks in the sock pile.”

“Oh, those aren’t mine.”

“Oh,” I say, somewhat puzzled. “Who do they belong to?”

“I don’t know.  Here are three more pairs,” she says as she shows me the rest of her stash.

“They’re not yours?”

“No, I just found them so I thought I’d start a weird guy sock collection.”

I’ve been on an organization kick lately. (It must be all the back-to-school prep.) As a rule, I’m a huge fan of efficiency. I’m constantly trying to think of ways to make my life more streamlined and fuss-free. Here’s a sampling of my line of thinking:

1. Nonessential walls in houses are dumb. I don’t like walls because if you have them, you have to fill them. With stuff. And I don’t like “stuff.” Just more in life to keep track of.
2. However, there is a fine line here. I like streamlined, but I don’t like cavernous because cavernous usually means echo-y and I hate echo-y. My dining room is echo-y because there ain’t much in it. Someone was visiting once and he asked me how long we had lived here. I said three years and I don’t think he believed me. He thought we had just moved in and hadn’t finished unpacking. Nope. That’s all there is. And it’s echo-y. What can I say. I just try not to talk on the phone in that room because I don’t like the idea that I sound like I live at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
3. I don’t like bookshelves. Not because I don’t like books—books are fine—I just don’t like bookshelves. I don’t like them because they’re a royal pain to clean and equally hard to keep tidy. The only surefire way to keep them tidy is to not touch the books they hold. And what’s the point of that? Bookshelves with glass doors is definitely the way to go if you must.
4. This I like. I’ve always thought the fanny pack was a great idea—too bad the traditional fanny pack, while functional, is not exactly fashionable. As far as I’m concerned, not having to carry a purse is freedom indeed. Well, now there’s a solution…almost. I say almost because this pretty little thing costs a pretty little penny. Maybe I’ll just have to make my own.
5. The computer has got to be one of the finest inventions man has ever seen. (Second only to Cold Stone Creamery.) Imagine. Every single piece of information you could every want or need right at your fingertips and you don’t have to file a thing. I stand in awe.
6. My personal multitasking record: I was shopping at Walmart once with all three kids. Then the baby got hungry. Then my sister called. So there I was, walking through Walmart pulling one kid in the cart, keeping track of one kid tagging along behind, a baby in one arm, nursing, talking on the phone propped between my chin and my shoulder, smiling at the Walmart employees staring at me and throwing things in the cart as I went.

Now. What’s your best streamlining idea?

I surf the internet. A lot. I like it because I never know where I’ll end up and there is no shortage of interesting things to discover and learn.

Every once in a while I go on a surfing binge. Twas the case for the last two weeks. Lots and lots of surfing. Lots. These binges always seem to coincide with weeks that are particularly challenging in the way of childrearing. I guess it’s because surfing the internet provides the illusion that I’m running far, far away.

Anyway, I thought I’d share with you some of the places I’ve been…

Remember the Milk. It’s a very handy online to-do list/task manager. Now if only I could actually DO the things I need to do…

A Nation of Wimps. An interesting an thought-provoking article.

DesiringGod.com. This site is chuck full of good stuff. I especially like John Piper’s Magnifying God with Money series. (Here’s Part 1A to get you started.)

The Evolution of Mom and Preparation for Parenthood. Ain’t this the truth.

PocketMod: The Free Disposable Personal Organizer. Now here’s a clever trick. And a great tool for that budding author in your life too.

LifeHacking Your Grocery List. Wanna take control of your menu planning and make cooking a whole lot easier? Look no further.

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. I’m going to live in one of these someday.

Dealing with Bullies. A much-needed resource in our family lately. Unfortunately.

Make-a-Flake. Rather useless, but so very, very cool. The things people think of.

There. Now you know some of what’s been going on in my life.