Control Freak

My mom always had/has everything "put together". Our house was always clean, laundry was always done, she never missed a single event that Jon or I did and supper was on the table every.single.night. (I have no clue how she did it!). She's a planner. My mom is DEFINITELY Type A.

When I was younger, there were lots of words I used to describe my personality: bubbly, hyper, fun, silly, out-going. But, Type A, was NOT one of them.

Wikipedia uses the following words to describe someone with a Type A Personality:

Type A individual as ambitious, aggressive, business-like, controlling, highly competitive, impatient, preoccupied with his or her status, time-conscious, and tightly-wound. People with Type A personalities are often high-achieving "workaholics" who multi-task, push themselves with deadlines, and hate both delays and ambivalence.

As I've gotten older (read: had three kids), I've realized I am just.like.my.mom! I have this compelling need for a plan. At night, I lay in bed going over a list in my head of the things I need to do:

Emma picture day. Hannah field trip. (Did I sign permission slip?) Remind Travis to make Hannah's lunch. Make beds. Catherine needs diapers. Emma dance. Travis wants pinto beans for dinner. Pay car insurance. Blog. Work on Christmas lists. Find desert for party this weekend. Emma and Hannah need footless tights. Pick up cornbread mix. Pick up dry cleaning. Pinterest. Transfer pics from external drive to storage website. Print new pics for frames in house. Twitter. Rotate laundry. Unload dishwasher. Pick paint color for kitchen wall.

At times, it's daunting. I have kept myself up at night for far too long making my lists and going through them again to make sure I haven't forgotten anything.

Our house is on the market (and has been for a YEAR), so that just adds a whole additional layer to the expectations that I have for myself on a daily basis.

(Don't get my wrong...most of these "things I need to do" are extra and have been brought on by myself)

Throw in working full-time and it's enough to make any one's head spin! (I will probably do another post about being a working mom sometime...but not to down play how difficult it must be to be a SAHM)

Let's face it people: I'm Type A. I'm a control freak!

Then, the heavens opened and angels sang.

I was reading a blog (I think it was Blue-Eyed Bride...but I can't remember) and she was talking about her home organizational binder and her Erin Condren Planner.

I thought, "Man, I should do that." But, I never followed through. Then, at lunch one day, Rachel whips out this gorgeous planner and binder. She explained to me how much it had helped her keep her head on straight and basically, why I needed to invest.

I was sold. I went back to the office, ordered my planner and built my binder that night. Let me tell you...I could not be happier or more organized! My binder is used mostly for work, meal planning and lists. I love lists. (I have even made a list titles "Lists I need to make".) The problem was I would make them and lose them.

The planner! OMG! It came in the mail and I spent two hours looking through it and filling in birthdays/important dates. It has tabs for each month. Behind the month tabs, each week is broken out by day with three sections "Morning, Day, Evening". PLUS, there are A.MAZ.ING stickers/labels that fit those sections perfectly.

(Of course...I'm crazy, so each person in my family has a different color sticker. Helps me keep them all straight. Plus...it's pretty.)

Take a gander at this, ya'll. Seriously. Amazing! I LOVE IT! (My inner-control freak 'bout passed out when I got it!) And...it works. Very little late night stressing. No more lost lists.

Click here to order yours!