Local engineer defines time and space

   Last January when the repairman declared my oven officially dead, we had no choice but to by a new one. I hated spending the money, but while we were at it, we went ahead and bought a combination convection oven. Maybe over the years the energy we conserved and money we saved by baking multiple dishes at the same time would pay off. And I especially looked forward to baking my Christmas cookies. Every year I make about 10 batches, mass producing them all on the same day. The convection oven would certainly save both time and electricity. I felt for sure I had finally entered the new millennium. 

   Early in the morning on my traditional cookie baking day, I quickly slid three cookie sheets of chocolate crinkles onto the racks. All right! I thought. At this rate, figuring 10-12 minutes per batch, this will take me only a couple of hours instead of all day. It almost made me wish my old oven had died decades ago.

   As I went to spoon out the next batch, I suddenly realized my only three cookie sheets were in the oven. I would have to wait until those chocolate crinkles baked and cooled and then I’d have to wash the cookie sheets before I did the next batch. What a bummer! I think this year my cookie baking took longer than ever!

   I shared this story with Rosanne Larkins, a professional organizer and owner of Defining Time and Space. 

   “I thought I had my act together,” I said. “What should I have done to prevent this disaster?”

   Leave it to me to come up with a problem that can only be solved through experience in my own time and space. But Larkins had lots of other ideas to share for keeping both aspects of life under control for everyone.

   For eighteen years Larkins, an industrial engineer, juggled her profession and her personal life along with sit down dinners every night with her husband and four children. 

   Now working on her own, she’s helping others – individuals and groups, including Gwinnett County Public Schools Nutritional Staff – to better manage their time and space.

   For day to day living, Larkins has several good suggestions, like making a list on Sunday night of all the things you have to do that week, then sticking to it.

   Drawing on medical research, Larkins supports the findings that eating together as a family helps reduce stress. And this doesn’t have to be all that big a deal.

   “Keep track of your meals for two months. Most people discover they cook pretty much the same things,” she said. “Make note cards of all your menus. Once a week pull them out, see which ones work best for that week and take them with you when you shop to make sure you have all the ingredients. It also helps your kids to know what’s coming.”

   If you have any questions about organizing time or space, click Larkins on her blog link at www.onlineorganizing.com and ask her yourself or visit her Web site at www.definingtimeandspace.com .

   In the meantime, I’ve started my list of things to do for the whole year. At the very top is making sure that by next December I have enough cookie sheets. (And maybe I can even go down in posterity for discovering that minimum time is directly proportional to maximum space.)

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