One place that is particularly helpful for a system to be in place is when packing and moving. Often, because of excitement and newness, a system will be started, but for a smattering of any number of reasons, systems can be difficult to stick to when it doesn't actually work for everything, or it is too complex and difficult to remember, especially once others get involved.
Some ideas of simple and easy systems:
* A green (or whatever) sticker on everything going on one level of the house. When you move, there is usually some help needed for the heavier things and while you don't need everything put exactly where it will end up, it is helpful to have it on the correct level of the house. If you had two levels, one sticker color would suffice, since everything without a sticker would go on the opposite level. You could use two colors for three levels. When you make this part of remembering and moving too complex, you are asking to be completely ignored. If people are coming to help you move they are not going to memorize the color-coded system for every room in the house. It just wouldn't make sense for them to know which room you plan to use for the guest room, either, so do not expect much help in that department if your system gets too complex. (And labeling all the rooms probably works best if you are not using free help. Just keep it simple and easy enough for your 4-year-old to remember.)
* Another helpful system that will probably go against everything you want to do is for you to not help come moving day. Yes, please be there if you can, but be available to give orders and direction, because again, that sticker system will be drilled into your brain, but everyone else will be stressed and just trying to get the move over with and you being present in the heaviest place of traffic will allow you to answer questions and more easily direct things to the appropriate levels of the house they belong on. So, unless you have no other choice, try not to do all the heavy lifting once you are actually moving things in. There is nothing more frustrating when helping others to move than needing a question answered and having to track down the only person that knows.
* On the same train of thought, when things are being moved out, it can be very helpful for you to have a sticker system or labels saying, "DO NOT MOVE" on everything you plan on leaving. If you are helping to load or packing up last minute things, it is tricky to be everywhere for every person. Having things clearly labeled for what will and won't be moving saves time.
There are probably 2000+ systems that could be used for each area that I touched on today. Developing a system, even for a short period of time, like moving, is helpful for your brain and blood pressure in the midst of an already busy and stressful time. The simpler a system, the more likely you are to use it all the way through to the end. When you find yourself ready to move or in the middle of a new situation, take some time and develop a system that will work for you and for the situation you find yourself in. It takes a few minutes to think through, but will save you time and headache in the long run. Happy Developing!
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