Hello Ladies, I feel kind of silly asking this but I am in major need of getting orginized and have not a clue of how to do it. I am a single mother so I can not afford for a professional to come into my home and help me. I have tried before but my system does not work. I am trying to simplify and make my home more welcome to others as I help teach my son and watch him grow. I also need this for me because I am a full time mom, full timne student and work full time. I am already press fro time to spend with my son and I feel if I was better organized I would have that much more time to spend with him and enjoy him while I watch him grow. Here is the hard part when I say I am a full time mom I really mean it. My son is almost 3 1/2 and his father still to this day has not seen him because of his own choice I also do not have family around to help take him here or there. We have never been away from each other for more then 12 hours or so, so as you can see anything I can do to help improve my home to simplify it and get it organized will help me tremendously. Thank you all for reading.
T.
I do a lot of cooking cassaroles ahead of time to freeze and but them in the oven with a start timer and the meal is ready when I get home. It has helped a lot. Let me know if you want the recipes.
I'm not naturally organized, but I'm married to the world's most organized man, so I've learned a lot. Here are a few things I've learned:
*get rid of stuff. After you go through your entire home and trash or give away as much as possible, have a designated box or tub for things you don't need. I have a tub in the basement for stuff to give to ARC, and things go in there at least once a week. Every few months, I bag it up and give it away.
*put things away! My husband actually walks room to room to find things that need to be put away, or that can be given away. We don't go to bed at night until one of us has walked through the whole house, locking up, turning out lights, and putting things away. We come down each morning to a tidy house and a clean kitchen.
*find a place for everything. When you do your big, room-by-room organizing, find a place for everything that you are keeping. My sister's kitchen table was never usable because that was where she kept the papers, her purse, her mail, her keys, her diaper bag, etc. -- because there was no other place for all those things. Find a spot for everything, down to the last rubber band. YOU CAN'T PUT THINGS AWAY IF THERE IS NOWHERE TO PUT THEM.
If you keep those three principles in mind, you'll do well. Good luck!!
Hi T.,
My mom is a professional organizer and at this time is offering FREE tele-classes (classes over the phone - like a conference call). You can also check out her website and sign up for her free newsletter. She has also raised 5 kids as a single mother working full time and going to school full time, so she knows a thing or two about your situation! She is awesome and full of information, she loves to help people, especially those in your situation. I feel the dame way you do, I need to organize more so I feel like I can totally give myself to my children without worrying about the organizing that I should be doing. My mom is helping me now and she loves it. We both believe that raising kids is the best job of all! Good luck!!
www.projectpartnerservices.com
Free Teleclass, Back by popular demand - Paper Piles and Useless Files, Create a Filing System if you are a Creative, Busy Person.
Thursday, June 11, 2009 @ 7:00pm
You can get more info from her website or send me a message if you have any questions.
J.
you can do it, but you need to just take on one project at a time. Start with the room that will make the biggest impact, where you spend the most time. And just do one area at a time. Get three boxes one for keep pile one for donation and one for garbage and just start by separating things into the boxes. Then obviously empty the garbage one when full, take the donation one straight to good will as soon as it is full and decide where you want the keep stuff and put it away. I usually start with clothes cause my kids out grow stuff fast and we have to constantly take out the small stuff anyway.
I agree with all the suggestions and am a HUGE Flylady fan. One thing that helped me was to get my kids' stuff "organized" first. Your son is old enough to know how to put things away so make a game of it with him. I got the nine-cube storage thing from Target (on sale at 29.99) and some of the canvas boxes that go into it for their rooms. Have him choose what toys will go in which bin and he'll be more likely to put them away. Play the game of "which of these things is not like the others" (yes, I watched Sesame Street growing up (LOL)). It's great quality time with him, teaches him to group "like" things together, and the bonus is it gets him organized and toys where they belong.
Then, it's time for you. Using the Flylady mantra, take a timer and do 15 minutes of decluttering, filing, or cleaning, but only 15 minutes! You can have your son do a 27 fling boogie with you by racing to see who can find 27 (or any multiple of 3) pieces of garbage, broken toys, stuff you don't want, need, or love, things that belong in a different room, etc. (My boys love the scavenger hunt!)
Do you have any friends who would be willing to help you, or any that are in the same boat? You could trade time with them...help her for an hour or two or a day and then she could help you... The key is to make it fun and work for YOU...using and taking into consideration the habits you already have.
If you have any questions or just need support, let me know.
T.,
What a great post, I can't wait to see what ideas you get for this as I am in the same need of organization...... Recently I went to the Flylady.net website and have started doing the steps that they have on there. I think it is starting to help. I feel more in controll of my mess any way lol!!! Good luck and happy organizing.
L.
Hi T.,
Here is a great website that is FREE... it has helped me.
http://www.goalforit.com/landing/goals.html?gclid=CMfeqoW...
This may or may not be what you are looking for but check it out. Here are some other websites that might help. Remember that because it worked for one person it does not mean it will work for you. So do not get discourage if something does not work for you, instead keep trying till you find a system that works for you.
http://smead.com/Director.asp?NodeID=1108
http://www.discoverorganization.com/freeminicourse_c.htm
http://www.lifeorganizers.com/
It also takes time to get organized and then it takes more time to learn how to keep it organized/decluttered (that is my problem, I can not seem to keep the clutter out but I am working on it). What I also find very helpful if I can get a friend or relative I trust to watch my daughter for 4 hrs on the weekend so I can focus just on organizing/decluttering a room. If your child(ren) is old enough have them help, they can do their room or help in a shared room (Personal I find it easier to do it then tell whomever I live with where things are to go and how they can help keep it organized and decluttered).
Go to FlyLady: http://www.flylady.net/
Her system is simple - work on something for 15 minutes a day! Yes, just 15 minutes a day. I tried this and it really works. Your house and mind will be transformed in about a month!
Good luck,
W.
Take a look at flylady.com I haven't been great about following the program but its pretty easy and it gave me the boost I needed to start getting my house organized. It works for pretty much any schedule and situation, you just adapt it to your lifestyle. Its pretty motivating. I signed up for the mailing list that comes to my email. I ignore the emails that don't seem pertinent, and only read the "flightplan" ones or ones whose title intrigues me. LOL I have been able to make a huge difference in my house in the last couple weeks.
Hi T.
I would suggest you start with the room you spend the most time in. Make three areas One is keep one is toss and one is donate or sell. and then go through your room and put everything in one of those catgories. when you are finished and only have the stuff you want to keep I like to use the rubbermaid containers and label each one so you know what it is. I hope this helps Good luck in your efforts to become orginizied.
I think Kirsten said it best! Easy rules to follow that will help get your home in order.
hope that helps. i signed up for their newsletter
Hi T.,
IKEA has shelving units for low prices that are arranged in a cube pattern. You can buy baskets or plastic bins that fit into those cubes. It's a very attractive piece to have in any living room, bedroom, or dining room, and it can hold/organize so much stuff. Even though my husband and I live in a small house with a two year old, we're able to keep our living room "free" of toys by hiding the toys in the baskets in our IKEA shelf. It keeps all of our son's toys organized, while providing a nice piece of furniture to look at. We have a similar shelf in his room that does the same thing. This type of shelf could be used for organizing virtually anything, and you'll be able to keep things in separate bins to help you stay organized. We also have a leather storage ottoman from Target (prices at $80 but you can find it on sale often) that holds all of his stuffed animals, but could hold a lot of other stuff as well. My advice is to find attractive and inexpensive ways to hide the clutter while also making organization easy!
Best of luck,
Amy K
T.,
I would recommend the book "Sidetracked Home Executives." You can get it on eBay or Amazon.com. Another option is a website called www.flylady.net . To be honest, her website is very disorganized and hard to navagate, but the tips are great for finding time to clean and organize. She also has sections specifically for working moms.
Good luck,
S.
I agree with the advice of having a designated place for everything. It's the only way I can get some semblance of order in my crazy house with 3 small boys. All toys have a labeled clear plastic bucket that each kind can be sorted into (Legos, blocks, balls, cars, etc.) and so do all art supplies and activities (markers, crayons, coloring books, play-doh, paints, etc,). Books have enough shelves, and we have laundry hampers in almost every room so clothes don't have to be on the floor.
I'm not saying my house is super organized (far from it, actually) but when I do have a few minutes to put stuff away, I know where it goes. And so do my kids!
