Mark and I spent much of this past weekend cleaning out our attic. At one point Mark exclaimed…”Hey, where did you find my soldering iron?” I pointed to where I’d found it. He continued with, “I’ve looked and looked for that and I finally had to go buy another one.”
I responded with, “You know I once read in a book that disorganization costs money. Maybe we ought to go back and read that book again….I think it was called Living With Less So Your Family Has More.
We laughed…and continued cleaning, organizing, and tossing.
Disorganization costs both time and money. We duplicate purchases and we waste precious minutes looking for things that weren’t put back where they belong.
I’m a reformed messy. Organization is hard work for me and if I let down my guard, the piles can grow so quickly! Not only that, but managing the stuff of 7 people for over 20 years has been a challenge in and of itself.
Now we’re down to four people at home and I will say that it is much easier than it used to be. But I still have to be intentional about keeping things organized. I’ve found three strategies to be helpful:
1) Putting things away right away…not telling myself I’ll do it later.
2) Touching paper only once…look at it and then throw it away or put it away.
3) Asking everyone to do a 5 minute pickup every evening. When the kids were little we’d sing the Barney clean up song. Now that they’re older we sometimes turn on loud music for motivation!
What about you? What organizational strategies have you found to be helpful?
I'm a clutter bug for sure. Two main lessons I've learned. One, kids can pick up way younger than parents realize. I have a 3 and 5 year old and I honestly have no idea the last time I picked up toys. It was at least a year ago maybe two. You make it a non-option, time it for incentives (we eat dinner, get a treat, go out, etc after they clean), and do nothing else but wait for them to clean.
The second thing I'm learning is more global. If I'm happy with the furniture/storage situation, then I look for that to be IT. So instead of the "this is so important" factor to override my rational I-don't-need-this-stuff mindset, I say, "this is all I have for space, so what's gotta go?" It is much easier to get rid of things because I'm valuing the overall home layout and orderliness over any given item.
The best thing I ever heard was if it takes 30 seconds or less, go ahead and do it. That means load the dish in the dishwasher right after you finish with it, pay the bill when you get it, and put your dirty clothes in the hamper right when you take them off.
One word…FLYLady. I grew up with a mom who had OCD, literally, and so our house was always spotless. I was trained early to keep things neat and clean and it has carried over into my own household as a wife/mother. However, FLYLady provided a lot of strategies for me in terms of saving time with housework and organization. One of the biggest things I've found to help is cleaning up "hot spots" (clutter collection spots) at the end of every day. I also go through closets and drawers on a fairly regular basis (every few months) and trash or giveaway items we not longer need/use. I just love organization. I have to avoid the rubbermaid bin aisle at Target, because I can always think of something that could be organized a little bit better. Silly, I know!
Clutter is always a battle at our house. One tip that's worked for me over the years is to follow this motto, "Take it as you go". This means never walking through the house empty-handed. If there is clean laundry to take to someone's bedroom or a drinking glass left in the living room, take it with you as you go and put it away, throw it away or whatever the appropriate action is for the specific item(s).
Susan
Just like some of the other ladies, I "clutter" is my "growing edge"… And every day it gets better. I am learning a ton from this blog and from friends that are very skilled and have been able to show me what works for them.
One thing that has worked really well is enlisting the support of our 8yo.. and getting everyone to "pick up" after themselves.. It makes it a team effort and it teaches her discipline and responsibility!
Thanks for all your great insights.. I have enjoyed your site!
Sandra Huber-The Soulful Parent