Hope you’re week is off to a great start! I loved having an extra weekend day this week {I painted my daughter’s bed, pretty much all day Monday. Hopefully it will be finished to share with you before she’s 16} and having one less work/school day this week.
As I’ve been working on getting organized to get organized, one major need around here that I talked about in this post is actual, physical organization! This was number 2 on my list to work on this year and it’s super important to me and my family. Having an organized home is like a breath of fresh air. Not only for me {you can read below how that is so very true for me personally} but also for my family’s state of mind. The chaos and tension that comes from not being able to find something when we are already late and running out the door drives me UP.A.WALL. And that frustration and annoyance permeates through my family and it can be a bit toxic. Most of the time, even if my kids have misplaced their soccer shin guards or their tae-kwon-do pants, it’s not really their fault. I/we need to have things in order and teach them how to care for their belongings, their home and how to actually be organized.
This is what I wrote a few weeks ago…
- Home Organization Project List: Seriously, this has been on my goal list for the last 8 years or so. Every year I say, “This is the year I’m going to get us totally and completely organized!” HA! I am a pretty organized person, but I know living with more than two people in my home, things are bound to get messy and out of place. The thing is, when things are organized, in their place and we don’t have clutter out, my frame of mind and my mood are GREATLY improved. Like I can breathe. And take on the chaos around me. I’m nice, and calm and more patient. We have too much stuff and it’s effecting my patience, my mood, and my productivity, and as a consequence, my family. I even ordered this book {love A Bowl Full of Lemons blog} and it arrives today! So much for less coming into our house. But an organizing book isn’t “stuff,” right?!? I am committed to going through almost every nook and cranny in this house, purging and organizing in hopes the things we have loved but no longer need can better serve someone else now.
Now I have to say, I clearly don’t have this totally down. At all. I have spaces in my house that are super organized and I seriously love just opening the cabinet or drawer and seeing the order. But my home is far from the way I want it to be in terms of organization. And it’s hard to keep an organized home!!! Especially if you have kids. I was really quite organized before kiddos. But I could take everything out, leave it out for the day or two days {especially when my husband was underway for a couple of weeks at a time when he was in the Navy} and come back to it without little hands and curious minds ripping through my neatly organized “To Save,” “To Donate,” and “To Trash” piles!!!
So how am I going to get organized this year and stick to it? And actually get it completed this year and not just write out a list like I have the last few years? Well, I’m writing it here so hopefully that will be a start for accountability :)
Here’s my plan:
- Make a List: I have already gone through our house and made a fairly detailed list of all the spaces that need some organization. Kids’ closets are first on the list, but even small spots like my entry way chest and my dining room hutch drawers and baskets are on the list. Also, I can’t forget some of the neglected spots like the car and garage. Those spots get used daily and yet most of the time, at least at our house, things can be in major disarray.
- Decide how to Tackle This Project: I can’t really do the huge major overhauls that I used to. There is just too much going on at my house on a daily basis. But, I do have a few mornings a week when everyone is at school. That is my work time, but if I plan well enough, I can decide to tackle the messiest part of the job while kiddos are not around. I can then put things way in organized bins and containers while they are around if I need to. The key is going through their stuff {especially if they are little and you have more say over what they keep or don’t keep} while they are not around and put them in darker bags and get them into your car to take to donate!!! I had a ton of donation bags right after Christmas and my daughter kept taking out this puzzle we have had for YEARS. That no one played with. FOR YEARS! And all she wanted to do was play with that dang puzzle!!! If you’re kids are little and not in school or you work full time and it’s difficult to get a free block of time, a spouse, grandparent or friend could take the kids for a few hours and you could get serious and tackle that large space. I also always have a donation bag going so if I see something that isn’t getting the love it once did or really ever did, it gets tossed in the bag immediately, before I have a chance to talk myself out of it.
Recently, I have had the conversation of “How do you get your home organized in the middle of every day life?” with a few different friends recently, so I know I’m not the only one challenged by this. Like I have loads and loads of laundry to do and no one has clean chonies {that’s what we call underwear in our house :) } or the sink is loaded again with dishes and the house is a mess. How can I tackle these big organization projects when every day messes of life get in the way and I need to take care of those little fires?!?! My new approach is to follow my list and tackle one, even small, area at a time. I think it’s important to stick with one area and finish it, even if it takes awhile and it’s one drawer at a time. I’ve been working on our den area where my work desk and our little craft/technology storage is located, and I have just been going through it a drawer at a time. Much more manageable that way and although it feels like I’ll never get through our whole house, I am making progress.
- Take it all Out: You can read these tips all over the web or in books, but whether it’s a whole closet or just a drawer, everything needs to come out before you can thoroughly and properly organize it.
- Sort: Use bins, hampers or just piles for Trash, Donate, Belongs in a Different Spot, and Keep, and only put back what you love, need, or belongs in that spot.
- Contain: I find containers around my house first. If I don’t have what would work best, I make a list of what I need, with measurements, to make sure everything stays organized. Keep in mind how you and your family live, not just what typically goes in a specific space. About a year ago I was sick of kids forgetting socks from their dresser drawers in their rooms and having to go upstairs 3 different times. So now, all their socks live in a plastic bin right near their shoes in our “shoe room” or “command center.” It’s been a game changer! So think of how you will actually live before putting everything all back.
It’s hard to have a home, big or small, that you love if it’s filled with disarray and things that don’t make you happy or serve a purpose. Having a list as your guide and taking it one project at a time is the key. You may have just a few little spots to organize and it’s not as overwhelming, or some of you {like me!} need to get a handle on a lot of your home. It can be totally overwhelming. I know!!! But I’m right here with you! And I’ll be sharing my progress along the way. I will be working more on the actual physical organizing in February, starting with my kids’ closets! They don’t look like this right now, but they have and they will again!!!
Happy Organizing!
*Linking up with Up to Date Inteirors and Live Laugh Rowe and Blesser House
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