Getting Organized: The Plan

In my quest to get better organized at home I've come to realize that autism plays a big part in this. J keeps me hopping. His methods of order are not always in sync with mine. In fact, there is a figurine of a lady in antebellum dress that has gone missing. I already knew that he'd been relentlessly searching for the correct place for it--out of his sight and off my kitchen counter--so I'm not a bit surprised it's disappeared. The fun part will be looking for it. 
 I've decided the whole house needs to deep cleaned and organized. Now seems to be as good a time as any. This will be challenging because J does not seem to care for empty spaces. He tries to fill them. Most of the time it is trash or clothes that he uses to fill the gaps. This cannot continue. I've been trying to figure this one out for several years now. 
  My plan:

• write out a menu for the week
• better schedule both my time and J's
• deep clean the entire house
• organize  all the clothes and send what we cannot use to the thrift store or trash.
• reduce the number of books in the house
• redo my home management notebook.

Why do I want to do all this? Because I want to make better use of my time. I want to be able to work on fiction stories that are buzzing around in my head, I want to play with my stamps and make cards again, maybe venture into scrapbooking again. I want more time with my family. I want less anxiety when I look around my home.  I want to be able to have friends and family drop in unexpectedly and not be frozen like a deer caught in the headlights. And it will keep me busy during a hard time in my life. 
 What about you? Are you gearing up for another year of homeschool or school? Still loving the lazy days of summer? Any tips for organization you'd like to share?

In my quest to get better organized at home I've come to realize that autism plays a big part in this. J keeps me hopping. His methods of order are not always in sync with mine. In fact, there is a figurine of a lady in antebellum dress that has gone missing. I already knew that he'd been relentlessly searching for the correct place for it--out of his sight and off my kitchen counter--so I'm not a bit surprised it's disappeared. The fun part will be looking for it. 
 I've decided the whole house needs to deep cleaned and organized. Now seems to be as good a time as any. This will be challenging because J does not seem to care for empty spaces. He tries to fill them. Most of the time it is trash or clothes that he uses to fill the gaps. This cannot continue. I've been trying to figure this one out for several years now. 
  My plan:

• write out a menu for the week
• better schedule both my time and J's
• deep clean the entire house
• organize  all the clothes and send what we cannot use to the thrift store or trash.
• reduce the number of books in the house
• redo my home management notebook.

Why do I want to do all this? Because I want to make better use of my time. I want to be able to work on fiction stories that are buzzing around in my head, I want to play with my stamps and make cards again, maybe venture into scrapbooking again. I want more time with my family. I want less anxiety when I look around my home.  I want to be able to have friends and family drop in unexpectedly and not be frozen like a deer caught in the headlights. And it will keep me busy during a hard time in my life. 
 What about you? Are you gearing up for another year of homeschool or school? Still loving the lazy days of summer? Any tips for organization you'd like to share?