Posted on March 26, 2008
I call this method the “Quick Tidy,” because I usually spend only about 5-10 minutes maybe 3-4 times a day tidying up around the house. The key to this is for everything in your house to have a specific and logical place. Then, it is extremely easy to see what is out of place in a room and to quickly put it where it belongs. I travel from room to room, quickly putting things back and gathering things that don’t belong. If the items need to go upstairs and Chloe is napping, I set them on the stairs until she wakes up, and then I carry everything that needs to go upstairs with me when I go to get her. This minimizes the need to go up and down the stairs multiple times.
You would be surprised how easy it is to find 5-10 minutes in your day. For example, while I am waiting for my lunch to cook in the microwave, I tidy up the kitchen. When I am talking on the phone, I tidy up Chloe’s playroom. When I have to go to the bathroom, I grab everything that needs to go into Chloe’s playroom along the way, put it away, and then take care of business. Then I move things out of Chloe’s playroom on the way back. I also make sure everything is where it should be right after Chloe goes to bed at night, that way John and I can enjoy the rest of the evening without having to worry about cleaning up.
I find that this way, I never feel overwhelmed by the task of cleaning. When it is time to do a “deep clean” (Which I will cover in a later post) its easier because everything is already where it belongs, and I don’t have to waste any time tidying up.
Posted on March 18, 2008
I highly recommend paying bills online through your bank, many companies have the option for electronic bills which means you don’t get a paper copy and often they email you when when the bill comes due which keeps those late payment fees down. Some companies (like American Express) even have an option for the bill to be paid in full automatically. John is a stickler for not paying interest on credit cards, so this option works great for us. Our bank allows you to choose what date bills should be paid, and if you have a reoccurring bill that is always the same amount, like a mortgage, you can set it up to pay automatically every month. This option also saves money in stamps, envelopes and purchasing checks.
When you receive a paper copy of a bill, immediately discard the envelopes, including the return envelope if you pay your bills online. (For some reason that I will never understand, John keeps all the envelopes. Envelopes just add to paper clutter and are completely unnecessary.) Pay the bill as soon as you receive it, write the date that it was paid on the bill, and file it. I know that some choose to sit down and pay their bills all at once, and that’s fine as well, I just found that I was misplacing bills and then those bills weren’t getting paid. Or they would all end up in an unattractive stack on my desk (that dreaded paper clutter issue again!) If this is the case, I would suggest having an active bill folder where you keep a check book, stamps, a pen and any unpaid bills all in one spot. I also suggest checklist for all of your bills so as you pay it you can check it off. That way if you did misplace one, you know to go looking for it. Just make sure that after the bills are paid, they get filed and don’t start stacking up.
I use an accordion file and file my bills monthly instead of by type, I just find it a lot easier and faster to throw all bills in the “March” section then “gas,” “electric,” “water,” etc. This also makes it easier to track when its time to start shredding. When my yearly file is full, I pull everything out, and shred anything we don’t need to keep. Anything we do need, gets filed in our filing cabinet under “financial documents.” We so rarely have to look for anything, and it takes less time to file everything together than it does to separate it out. And if you’re anything like me, if it takes less time it is more likely to get done.
Posted on March 13, 2008
Okay, I give. I had several people complain about the complexity of my organization posts. I have been asked, in my friend Sara’s words, to do “organization for beginners.” So, I will try to just focus on one thing at a time. This week, John suggested I talk about mail, as it becomes a huge clutter issue if you don’t have a system.
The first thing to do when you get the mail is head straight for the recycling or trash bin. All junk mail should immediately be put in the bin, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars. Have a designated spot for any coupons you think you might use, and a convenient bill filer. (I will cover coupons and bills in later posts.) I also suggest establishing a place for an “action file.” This is where you put anything that has a date on it, like invitations or reminders for doctor appointments. Ours is our refrigerator, but a magnetic chalkboard or cork board would work as well. I wouldn’t suggest a flat paper file because it’s not out as a constant reminder, and I tend to forget dates easily (as mentioned in previous posts.) Take out menus should be put in their own folder in a convenient drawer.
Posted on February 26, 2008
Step 4: Repurpose and purchase organization tools.
Many people try to do this step first. The problem with that is you don’t know what you have, and you don’t have a good idea of how much you have (since you haven’t purged.) I have fallen into this trap, I would get the “organizing bug,” run out and buy all kinds of tools, then come back, only to discover I wasted a lot of money on stuff that I can’t use. As far as tools go:
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Be creative: Cutlery trays can organize forks and spoons, but they can also organize batteries and items in a junk drawer.
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Some of my favorite organizing tools are tool boxes, plastic drawers of all sizes, and plastic baskets of all sizes. I like them because of their flexibility. I reused all the baskets I had for my school store in my cutlery drawers; my tool boxes hold tools, but also paints and painting materials; and the large plastic drawers I bought from Big Lots 8 years ago for $5.00 have held at least 10 different things over the years, right now it houses my scrap booking supplies and gift wrapping materials.
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I recommend that all items you buy coordinate in color, theme, or style. It helps to reduce visual clutter. For example, whenever we need storage boxes, we get them from either Sam’s club or Costco’s. They sell the same style and size of box, the only difference is the color of the lid. We can line them all up on any shelf (we use ones in the basement and attic) and they look great. I also recommend that if you get tools that are not see through, then buy a label maker so you don’t have to pull out every basket or drawer to figure out what is in it. Don’t rely on your memory!
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If you don’t want to buy things, get creative! Our grocery store sells pasta sauces in these awesome see through plastic containers which work great for holding Chloe’s art supplies. Organize small items like jewelry in egg crates. Obviously, shoe boxes are useful, but be careful, they don’t hold up to a lot of abuse. Jars are wonderful if you can get the same shape and size.
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If you are trying to stretch your budget, I recommend window shopping all of the fancy organization websites and stores, and then recreate their ideas using dollar store materials and items from Target/Walmart/Kmart.
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One major organizational dilemma we have is children’s toys. We never know what we are going to get for Christmas or birthdays (or grandma) so it is difficult to plan. I have bins and baskets in her playroom that we bought to fit the shelves, that way they will always look good, no matter what is inside them. We have also collected a lot of hidden storage spaces (an ottoman with storage, a desk with extra drawers). Toys are brightly colored and a variety of shapes and sizes, when left out they add to visual clutter.
- You would be amazed how versatile and cheap photoboxes can be. You can buy them at most craft stores and art supply stores for a dollar, and if you can find them in coordinating colors, they work great in any room. The nice thing about them is they’re sturdier and they look nicer than your average shoe box.
- Look for clearance items at your local home stores (we have a “Home Goods” store here.”) I have found a ton of cheap storage boxes that are on clearance that look REALLY nice when put on a shelf. The trick is to be patient. Know what you are looking for, and keep looking until you find it at a price you can live with. Remember the adage: Rome wasn’t built in a day. Your organization doesn’t have to happen all at once. Allow yourself the time to find what you want at a price you are willing to pay. Being organized doesn’t have to cost a fortune!
Posted on February 19, 2008
Step 3: Space Planning
I cannot stress enough how important it is to plan your space before you go shopping for organizational tools. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself spending more time and money reorganizing later when you discover that your systems is not as efficient as it could be.
- Make a list of all the categories in your house. Example: Bath, Kitchen, Chloe’s room, Master Bedroom. Then make a list of each of the sub categories for each of these areas. (I find the graphic organizer called a web the best way to organize this information.) This way, when you begin repurposing tools, or purchasing tools, you know exactly what you are looking for.
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Get out the graph paper. Take those all important measurements. And begin to think about where you want to put everything.
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Make a list of your daily routine, what will you need to make it more efficient? Example: I always put in my contacts, then brush my teeth. So, I have a cubby that holds my contact stuff and a cubby next to it that holds toothpaste and floss. They are all in the same drawer, so I only have to open the drawer once.
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What’s the easiest way for you to clean up? Is it all day long as you go, or is it at the end of the day?
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How do your kids learn? Are they visual learners, kinesthetic learners or auditory learners? You can design their organizational systems from this information. For visual learners you can label all baskets with either words or pictures of what is inside them, have a chore list that has visual reminders, make a map of the room and where everything belongs so they can see it when they need to clean up. Use colors as a cue for where items belong: blocks go in blue bin, markers in a red. For kinesthetic learners, use a magnetic white board with the chores listed where they can move a magnet into a different column when they have finished the chore. Use sticker charts as a motivational tool. Create clean up “games.” (beat the clock is a common one where the kids can either try to beat their previous time or compete against each other.) For auditory learners, create songs to use as reminders for routines and when it’s time to clean up. Chloe loves songs, so I end up making up a lot of songs as transitional cues when it is time to clean up one activity and move on to the next.
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How does your spouse organize? Can you learn from or improve their systems?
- What systems work and don’t work for you? I am constantly reevaluating what works, especially now that I have a toddler whose needs change almost on a daily basis. For example, for as long as we have been in our current house, I have kept all our cleaning products in a bucket in the shower, that way when I had a little extra time to shower, I would clean while I was in there. But now, Chloe can get into the shower and the other day she took everything out of the bucket. So, I purchased a set of shelves for the shower that attach to a pressure mounted bar, I placed these shelves higher in the shower so that Chloe can’t reach them. Now, I can still use a system that works for me (cleaning while I am in the shower) without endangering my child. And trust me, I realize that once she gets taller or starts taking showers herself, I will have to change this again.
Remember, for a house to stay organized, all members of the family have to “buy in” to your systems, so have a long “heart to heart.” Without judgment or punishment, talk to your kids and your spouse about what they think will and won’t work for them. If you try to force a system that seems to make sense to you on them, then it is likely to be doomed. My example for this is my husband’s tools. He has a work bench in the basement that has a peg board attached. I bought him several hooks and cubbies that attach to the board, thinking if he can just hang up his tools when he is done, then he will stay organized. He never “bought in” to this system and the tools are still all over his work bench, because it is still easier for him to leave them where they land. That was $20 wasted.
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