You want to know the secret of my organization skills?
It has nothing to do with age, nor money.
To answer your queries:
I have now a household of 6 helpers and 2 drivers.
A poolboy who comes 3x a week;
7-8 gardeners who come every 3 weeks, to maintain the gardens inside bakod and outside also;
a male office messenger who takes care of changing bulbs, heavy lifting, etc kung ano hindi magawa ng maids dito sa bahay.
Of course, we are in construction -- so any maintenance is a matter of my secretary scheduling what needs to be done or cleaned.
I have regular quarterly/semi-annual maintenance service of my appliances, house equipment, chandeliers, baby grand piano -- that my secretary schedules. I believe in preventive maintenance.
I even contract out the dressing up of my tree. A team comes to put it up, light it up and put all my decor on it. (Ako naman ang nag choose ng decor). I now have a 12 foot tree, and I am not gonna risk falling off a ladder. I better spend my time watching Bloomberg.
I will not apologize -- my house is big, per my husband's preference.
Mukha lang madami akong intindihin at nagagawa kasi nga, my house needs are more complicated due to size.
I do not like to do laundry, cooking, cleaning, whatever. So what I can delegate, I do. But I am good at business, so doon ako concentrated. Kanya kanya kasing skills sa buhay -- do what you do best, IMO.
But I love to organize and do interior decoration -- these de-stress me.
BUT -- I can do all those things I do not like to do -- kaya hindi rin ako takot mawalan ng maid; at hindi ako puedeng lokohin ng maid. My mom trained me well in that aspect. The blind cannot lead the blind, so pano mo mapagawa ng mahusay sa katulong if clueless ka di ba.
One thing I am sure of -- I make happen the way my family likes to live, at kaya namin (no apologies again, hindi kami nangungurakot/corrupt).
We like, we can afford - so be it. I do not try to live beyond my means.
My husband has embraced my preference -- that we live 24/7 in a 5-star hotel. Now, RASPBERRY do not get the wrong picture.
"24/7" just means que may visitor or wala, my house is clean and everything in place like all the time. Of course, nothing is perfect. But technically, it is ALL THE TIME.
" 5-star" means that everything is functional. Ang 5-star hotel -- wala extraneous, unnecessary details yan. Every place has a purpose/use; and decorations are very minimal. Things are of quality materials because they are meant to last for a couple of years -- disruptive kasi to now and then have to change/repair.
Now a 7-star hotel -- yan opulence, extravagance, unnecessary details -- iba yan. that is not us.
RASPBERRYGLACE04, the real secret of my good organization skills at home and at the office? -- malimutin ako, in bold letters. As in noong bata ako, my mother would say ang hindi ko lang makakalimutan ever eh ang panty ko -- yun lang akala nya. Nakalimutan ko na rin mag panty several times. LOL
Now, believe me --- Fear is a great motivator.
I am afraid to forget what I should do, or where I put away stuff.
Crisis ko when I was even in my pre-teens, hindi ko mahanap my assignment kasi nakalimutan ko saan ko tinabi. Ganoon ka grabe. So there -- my biggest secret is out in the open.
Pero hindi naman ako ganoon ka hopeless like a BFF of mine, nakalimutan nya her 2-week old baby in the dressing room at Neiman Marcus. Nakalabas na sya, tanong ng husband nya: where is the baby? LOL
The next thing I accepted in life from the start is -- we are generally creatures of habit. People just cannot change overnight, even if their lives depended on it. So, I organize around that. Change comes gradually, sometimes years. Ex: my husband used to get out of the shower stall dripping wet. Yuck! Parang wet market. Hindi ko inaway, I just bought super big rugs -- 2 to get him from the shower stall to the sink. Now, he dries himself before getting out. Hindi na sanay feeling wet tiles underfoot.
The 3rd principle underlying my organization -- that classic management mantra: KISS ("Keep it simple, Stupid.) The simpler a rule/habit is -- the better for implementation and staying power.
Madali maintintindihan ng helper what you expect, how you want it done and when. No dispute, wala nang batbatan. Saves you a lot of wear and tear. I never assume na "gets" ako at the start.
The 4th Principle -- control what you can, and do not bust yourself over the uncontrollables. Life will always pull surprises on you. If you take care of what you can, or better -- delegate -- you will be able to deal with surprises better.
My cook is good, kasundong kasundo ng husband ko.
But semplang sya when it comes to the pasta sauces my kids and I like. Do not ask me why. So I have my 1st Cleaner watch me when I cook -- natuto, may interes. Now, she is able to prep the ingredients for me.
Also RASPBERRY -- I do not cook everyday, ayaw ko.
But when I feel like cooking -- I do it like the way I do the rest of what I do in the office -- multitasking. Hindi ako tatayo prepping the ingredients. The cook and cleaner can do that for me -- may recipes naman eh. Hindi rin ako tatayo just waiting for 1 or 2 dishes to be cooked, I am not a patient person kaya hindi ako nag ambition maging security guard.
Saturdays, for 2-3 hours, I go cook when all is prepped for say 3 pasta sauces, beef kaldereta, bulgogi, etc. At the same time, I marinate myself and have stored in the chiller chicken teriyaki, Rosemary chicken (for roasting in 2 days), beef tapa. When I cook, 5 dishes are on my Smeg hob -- it is the smallest professional hob. Kaya kahit 5 pots kaya tumayo sabay. I use 3 timers -- and post on my nearby magnetic board which is to be done when , para ako mismo hindi malito. When the alarms go off -- and I am watching Bloomberg or playing with the kids -- the cook calls me.
Now, RASPBERRY -- what I cook or marinate, I double it. As in -- freezer half of it all. That way, in 2 weeks, makikita ko na naman that ulam, pero hindi ako umulit nang pagluto. Now, I accept my current limitation that my ulam blueprijnt repeats in 2 weeks. For some better at it, talagang walang ulitan ng ulam in 30 days. Wala ako ganoon expertise/illusion -- so I let that part slide. Nobody is perfect, there is no such thing as a perfect life. But life can always be better -- yan mantra ko.
Now, yang pang luto at breakfast ng tapa na marinate ko -- teka, kaya na yan ni cook. RASPBERRY, what I can delegate nga I do -- you just have to cultivate other people's confidence.
PERO -- watch out for the Peter Principle -- people get promoted to their level of incompetence. So dapat alam mo kung hanggang saan lang puede umasa at mag delegate nang whatever.
The 5th Principle -- which I think is the most important -- be true to yourself and to your family. How do you and your family want to live your life? That is the aspiration di ba. Now, kaya ba? If you will try to live someone else's life, not yours, believe me -- you will always be frustrated, bitter and eventually, expose yourself as a fraud.
It is effortless for me now to manage my home coz well, nag invest na ako nang time in coming out with my manuals.
Teka, ha RASPBERRY -- these are KISS manuals. May pictures lang kasi mas madali pakita sa helper your expectations, parang may codigo sila, kesa describe ko pa in prose -=- naku may English/dialect proficiency issue ka pa ryan.
Sorry, but I see no big deal in coming out with personal home management manuals. It is just a listing and pictures of what you want to see when you get home. Gusto ko ganito, ako ang senyora -- tapos ang kwento. Make it easy for them to follow and deliver what you want.
Now, kung ang iniisip eh nakakahiya or pretentious ang mag manual -- that is another issue altogether. Naku ha, in this age of digicams and cell cameras -- may nakakabili pa ba ng hiya?! LOL
Easy for me too to make a manual, hindi naman ito tulad ng office manuals ko or business manuals -- the fact that no legalese is involved -- eh these are just like simple kiddie story books. Parang - o sige, monkey read, monkey see, monkey do ha. But I do not call them monkeys ha! Mademanda ako pag ganyan. My manuals are print outs from my laptop, dinikitan ng pics na print out din from my camera -- and then, lagay sa clear book. Hindi ko linalagyan ng borloloy tulad ni Lucy Torres.
