I’m on a blog break really but there’s not long until the next start date for Jo Ebisujima’s My Organized Chaos course and I’ve been meaning to write about it for a while. I live in total mess; Chaos isn’t just a blog name it really is my life. I shared some pictures in an earlier post, which won me a place on the course last October.
I’ve not written about the course because my depression hit in somewhere in the middle (entirely unrelated!) so I didn’t complete all the assignments. But, the beauty of this course is that once you’ve signed up, you can join in every time it runs.
What does the course involve? It’s an eight week online course where you get about three ten minute presentations to watch each week, so nothing too arduous in terms of time, plus downloads to read and lots of helpful checklists and forms. The course is split into easy to manage chunks and all the information given is straightforward and sensible. The huge benefit comes with the exclusive Facebook group where you can share your progress and fellow coursemates can offer advice. For the eight weeks Jo will reply to any of your questions and concerns via the group or e-mail and her wealth of expertise is fantastic.
What the course sets out to achieve:
- have a more organized home
- have dedicated areas for your children to read, study and play
- have easier, stress free mornings and dinner times
- be able to tackle the daily struggles of parenthood
- have more independent and more helpful children
- have the quality time you dream of with your family
- have more time to do ‘the fun stuff’
- have a more stress free, easy-going lifestyle
- enjoy spending time with your children
Did I achieve all of this? Ha! Did you see the mess I started with?! Also, sadly my depression/anxiety did have an intensive period during the time of the last course (and beyond) that I think I’m through now. But lets look at each item on the list in turn.
A more organized home – Actually, yes I do. Oh, there is mess everywhere still but I started from a huge disadvantage compared to ‘the average’ household and what has changed is not only the way things are organised, but the attitude to the mess. I have kitchen cupboards with labelled food items; toys and games with homes to go to; and much less clutter due to putting so much into the recycle or charity.
Dedicated areas for your children to read, study and play – This fell apart at Christmas when we needed to find somewhere to put the tree, but instead of just stressing about mess mess mess, I’ve observed what the children use most and made these the most accessible items plus rescued the child-sized table and chairs from the outside playhouse which has been a huge hit. We have so many books it’s taking longer to sort but my Our Week in Books posts show that we can access the variety of books easily now!
Easier, stress free mornings and dinner times – Hmmm, working on this one! I didn’t really tackle this part of the course.
Able to tackle the daily struggles of parenthood – Huge improvements in this area too. The chaos/mess really made me miserable and the changes we have made together have really helped. Depression/anxiety is not something the course can fix, but it can possibly help to reduce some of the triggers if they’re mess related!
More independent and more helpful children – Helpful is a matter of opinion… 
I’ve been generally aware of Montessori principles in helping children be more independent but the course’s reminders of these have helped. If you’re not aware of Montessori, this course covers the important principles behind her teaching which are easy to implement in any household. I have reminded myself to be less helpful to my girls, so they have to do things I know they can do themselves.
The quality time you dream of with your family – As a stay-at-home mum, I’m fairly lucky in the time I get with my girls but also need to remember the time to be a grown up too. This is another area that needs work but the worksheets looking at time spent given in the course will be helpful.
More time to do ‘the fun stuff’ – This was covered in the part of the course I didn’t really complete but the ideas given have already been helpful in planning some of our chaotic days into something more worthwhile than TV watching!
A more stress free, easy-going lifestyle – I don’t think my personality will ever be stress free, but more organised certainly helps with a lot of the stresses.
Enjoy spending time with your children – Most of the time…
The next course starts on February 18th, for eight weeks, and costs $345. How much?! Bear in mind, for this you get lifelong access to the course, so that every time it’s run you can join in again. During those eight weeks you get personal input from Jo on any problems and questions you have. There is also a 21-day cooling off period so that if the course really doesn’t work for you, you can claim the fees back.
Would I be doing this course if I hadn’t won it? Honestly, no 
But that’s entirely down to current personal finances where we have absolutely no leeway in our budget. Three years ago, when we were both working? I would have asked Jo lots of questions about the course and taken a deep breath about committing, but the money back guarantee and my belief in Jo would have swung me to start, and I definitely wouldn’t have regretted it after. In a few years, when hopefully our finances will be back to normal, I’d certainly sign up for other relevant courses that Jo offers.
If you don’t want to do the e-course, there’s a home learning pack which includes all the documents included in the course, but excludes the videos and support. This is $99 which can be put towards the e-course if you choose to join that at a later date.
I have signed up to be an affiliate, which means that I will get paid if you click on an affiliate link from here and sign up. But I believe in the course so much, that you have the option to choose the affiliate links or not. The affiliate links are the badges in the sidebar to the right (possibly not viewable on a mobile device) and the badges at the bottom of this post. Any other links are not affiliate links.
Please have a look at the pictures of the mess in my house taken last September. Here are some pictures taken today:
There’s still mess, this is a lived in house, but look at all the visible carpet; see the clear surfaces; not to mention the organised interior of the cupboards that you can’t see! But it’s not just the decluttering, it’s the mental shift that’s happened to make it easier for us all, and for that I can never express enough thanks to Jo. My Organized Chaos e-course was a lifeline thrown when I was drowning; I’m no longer drowning 
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Good for you for embracing change and going for it, even when you are feeling low. Full of admiration and respect this end!
Leoarna recently posted..To play or not to play, that is the question
You are too kind, thank-you
I think it looks lovely, not a mess at all, a house where lots of imaginative play goes on. I know clutter can get one down and sometimes one longs for cool, empty spaces (not often, actually) but children can’t make up games without making a mess and it’s SO important that they should have the freedom and inspiration to play untidily! They are exhausting when young and I think you’re doing an amazing job. (And having visited your September post, now at last I know what MG and DG stand for!) x
griselda heppel recently posted..Nearly 1,000 eager readers
I may possibly have taken pictures of the least messy parts of the house above…
But we are getting closer and closer to an organised house, it’s wonderful. Mess whilst playing is understandable, and looking at what the girls play with most frequently has led to quicker clean-up times because I put those things in easy to reach (and therefore easy to clear up to) places!
I use twitter too much – MG and DG use less characters! They have superhero online names because they’re my superheroes. I thought about changing DG to Darling-Girl but she really is Destructo-Girl!