Organization - Lessons Learned

• Less is More - We have learned to have things to improve our quality of living not live to take care of the things.  More things means that they take longer to clean and take care of.  It is also very hard to remember everything you have when you have a lot, which leads to buying doubles and essentially wasting money.

• It is Ok to Say No - We have had many things offered to us in the course of our marriage.  We have had to learn that if we don't need it or it does not reflect us that it is ok to say no.  Some are ok with this and others get offended even though we always try to say no as politely as possible.  We had to ask ourselves if it was better to live with unnecessary things, take time away from our children trying to re-donate the item, or to risk offense. While not what we want, we have come to the conclusion that in these cases it is better to risk offense.  We have also learned that if the giver has the best interests of our little family that the offense wears off rather quickly and they do understand that we are trying to give our children the best life possible.
• Organization can Create a Happier, Less Stressful Environment - I am not talking about the ocd it can't ever look like it's been lived in kind of organization.  I am talking about the we have what we need and everything has a place type of organization.  The not having to hunt for the keys, knowing what bill needs to paid when, and being able to sit down with the family without those dirty dishes haunting you.  For me as a trucker's wife I find this to be an absolute necessity, a big time and money saver, and very valuable for my sanity.
• Organization Saves Money - When we know what we have and where it is we don't need to buy all kinds of extras.  I have also found that by knowing what I have many times I can repurpose  an item instead of going out to buy a new item.  We have also found that Christmas and Birthday lists save money for the giver and make them feel better because they know they are getting a gift that our child needs/would really like so their money is not being wasted.