Need Help Getting Organized - Pontiac,MI

Hi A. - you aren't alone!! I am pretty organized now, I have a 4 & 5 year old. The advise I can give you, is dejunk! Take it one room at a time. Get rid of the stuff you don't need & don't use. I always find the best time for dejunking is if I am in a bad mood, sounds strange, but it works. You will be pitching stuff and organized before you no it. Tackle one room, or even one area at a time. Then only the right things go in that space. Get the kids bins for their games, puzzles, all those little toys. Then have them put their toys away and move the bins out of the family room. I keep theirs either in the basement or the garage. That way they are only playing with certain toys at a time, and not a whole load of stuff that needs to be organized before putting it away. I keep all the cars and wheeled toys in one bin, all the art supplies in another, all the dolls/clothes in another and so on. If I run across a stray piece I put in a bag and have a place to go to - instead of it sitting on the counter and getting lost.
I say everything in its place, and everyone needs to pick up after themselves. It took a little time for us, but it is working!! The kids have seperate shelves on the bookcases for their own stuff, DVD's etc. When its time to clean up, they know what to do. I hope I have helped in some way! Let me know if you need some help!!!

Fly Lady has changed my life!! Not only is her system doable but she is also very encouraging!
Check it out flylady.net
Oh and did I mention that it is free!
Blessings, K.

A.,

You didn't mention how old your children are, but most children are able to help put away toys, pick up the living room with you, and help set the table and clear dinner dishes.

Check out www.flylady.net Marla's homepage has a link to Flying with Children, a great resource for those with kids. Lots of tips and tricks, suggestions by other members, and games you can play to organize the house together.

Marla always says "You can't organize clutter!" and she's right, but you need to tackle the clutter in baby steps so the routines you set up can be maintained by everyone in the family.

Check out her page titled Flying Lessons and Flylady's 11 Commandments. They are great suggestions to encourage the whole family to fly!

Good luck!

-C..

My neighbor just introduced me to flylady.com
I checked it out and she takes you step by step (in baby steps) through your home to clean and declutter. I found it quite interesting. You start by only shining your kitchen sink! That is it! My dear neighbor said that one day can be 15 min going under the kitchen sink and cleaning, but only for 15 min. But the flylady gives details on how to do it. Check it out. It isn't a "get rich quick" type claning, it is slow and progressive. Have fun!

Go FlyLady.com This is a great website and help too for busy homemakers, whether or not you work. It takes a little to get going but the encouragement is there and the step by step guides are there to keep it from being overwhelming, even if you don't do every little thing.

The 2 biggest things for me to tackle are toys and mail. You don't say how old your children are, but make sure you have storage that they can use so they can put their toys in there and find them when they want to. Which is why I"m not a big fan of bins, they're like a black hole. Smaller organzied bins are good though. The mail has to be gone through right away, and the junk thrown out, recycled in the bin, and everything else in cubbies, letter holders, or whatever system works for your space. So if you have a half an hour to pay bills, you can just go to the bill cubbie and start, instead of having to go through the pile of mail to pull them out. And if you children are old enough to do chores, make that part of your household routine.

This is the book that the Duggars(the family with 18 or 19 kids)uses:
http://tinyurl.com/r254tx
I figure if it worked for her I am trying it out! I have it on hold right now at the library so don't know personally. I have used flylady and that is good, too.

Make a chart- with all the rooms and the cleaning tasks for each room (i.e. vacuum, dust, mop, etc). You can do one or two rooms a days... and keep track.

I start a load of laundry and/or fold a load in the morning while the coffee is brewing (get the coffee ready the night before while you are making dinner).

After the kids go to bed, or while you are making dinner and your husband is watching the kids, prep the next nights dinner, and lunch...straighten up and throw another load of laundry in if you need to.

If your kids are in daycare while you work...consider picking them up an hour later a couple times of week. It's amazing what you can do in one hour without them!

Have your husband watch them for a few hours Friday night or Saturday morning while you clean bathrooms or mop floors. (and then check the items off your list).

As far as clutter...I keep very litte. It will take some time, but you need to go through each room, each drawer and throw away everything you don't need/use and put everything else away. Once put away, it doesn't take that long to put it back instead of throwing it in a drawer/closet the next time you use it.

Good luck! (I work full time and have a 5 year old and 22 mos old...)

Great suggestions. If you still find that you are struggling -- especially with paper and other clutter, it might be worthwhile to bring in a professional organizer. I have used Theresa Brune of Simplifyit llc. http://www.simplifyitllc.com/ or ###-###-####. Her filing suggestions have helped me a lot. One of her best ideas is to color code everything that you can. Plus, if you bring in an outsider, sometimes the family will respond better if you tell them "Miss Theresa said we have to do it this way." Good luck.

Hi A.,

I am a professional organizer in Tampa and a Mom of course! The best suggestion I can offer you is: get rid of anything you do not USE, NEED, or LOVE. It will change your life. Please contact me if you are still looking for a system to help you run a successful household. I am here and ready to help you! ###-###-#### - www.clutterfreebug.com

Hi A.,
My name is K. and I own /operate Finally Organized, LLC. One of my "Most Favorite" rules to organizing is:
"Whatever you get out -- you gotta put away". (This goes for all members of the family....not just you and the kids ;-) I would be happy to share some ideas with you which will assist you in keeping a smooth running family /home. I love young moms /families and my goal is to encourage & assist you!
The first thing I would suggest is to set down and list out your personal & family priorities and then evaluate the most important to least and start there. I have many....many additional ideas -- however it is always much easier to share with you over the phone. Feel free to contact me anytime at ____@____.com or ###-###-####.
Thanks so much....looking forward to chatting with you!
~K. T~
ps....Finally Organized is listed on MamaSource ;-)