My Strange Extreme Coupon Hoarding Obsession Intervention

My part-time job, which I see as my contribution the family's finances is to collect coupons to save more money on our household needs, and sell stuff on eBay for people where I take a small commission. The extra cash is my stash to spend on current obssessions which at this moment are the CrossFit gym membership, improved mom-uniform styles, and the less and less frequent pedicure.

I teach a savings workshop on preparedness and couponing and the mantra is "nothing extreme" and you can save $100's on your weekly grocery trips "in just a few hours a week". This claim is true and my stockpile is ample, however it is not on display in my living areas to show off when company arrives. My web consignment biz could always use a few more clients, but I need to be careful what I wish for. Baby Trace's room theme has already gone from cuddly Safari to cluttered Sanford & Son, and the stacks of canned goods are starting to overflow into the piles of good boxes you should keep for shipping things. Posting, managing and shipping the items for auction which have ranged from 20" dubs to wedding gowns, is tedious. That's why I'm doing it, because you don't want to. I do all the work and you just get paid!

So here's where the intervention comes in, and you've heard this a million times before but, how do you balance it all? I want to be crock-potting and keeping the house clean, while couponing and cashing in on the consignment, while keeping the kids engaged, nurtured and cared for. Oh and I almost forgot, I'm supposed to be a kind and caring wife to my hard-working hubs!

This is what I've come up with and forgive me for it is still in the scribbled on a cocktail napkin stage. I have got to structure my day with the same precise scheduling as a day at my child's preschool. The day starts with circle time and a story; that's going to be my time with Him. P.E. is my time at CrossFit. Media time! Check email and tweet, post, and dish out a few "likes". There's clean up time, and time for creative writing, and hooray for snack time and free play! You get the idea.

I'm excited about where this could lead. At worst, I've just added another chart and wipe off board in my home to continually update, but the way I see it I'm not going to stress about everything all at once all the time. I'll walk by the laundry pile with a sense of peace knowing its not "washday Wednesday". Clearly, there will be several kinks to work out here and I trust that having a boy go commando in an emergency should not do too much damage. On second thought, I'd better begin to stockpile boxer briefs as soon as possible!