Well, I'm anxious to read everybody's TTA because I don't feel I'm the most organized and need some new ideas. A couple years ago, I felt so unorganized. The kids would get home from school and it was total choas. Trying to clean up, play with Zack and Ashlyn and get all the homework done was a nightmare. I decided something needed to change. So about an hour before the girls get home from school, I make sure everything is picked up and if I'm workin on a project I put it away. I tell Ashlyn and Zack that when the girls get home, it is my time with them. I do a fun activity with Zack and Ashlyn during the day, so they know I've already spend my time with them. Now, when the girls get home, I'm PREPARED!
I am great friends with storage boxes and labels. I have storage boxes EVERYWHERE! when I'm done with something, I put it away in the box. This helps a great deal. I had to learn on my own to not be a hoarder. My parents kept EVERYTHING! I have learned over the years, that I don't need to keep all the pamplets that I get when I go places or all the coupons I get in the mail for "we might go there someday". To get ride of it first hand helps a lot too. About every month, me and my girls go through the closets and under their bed and see what's come up. If they don't need it, it goes in the trash. This helps keep their rooms organized and clean too.
I started finding coins everywhere. Not sure where they are coming from. I'm trying to make a bottle that whenever we find or have change to put it in the bottle. We are going to San Diego this summer and we'll see how much change we can accumulate.
Being on a schedule has helped drastically too. When the kids are on a schedule, they know what to excpect and when to expect it. Over Christmas break my kids were on no schedule and I felt so disorganized! You have to come up with a schedule that works for you and your kids. Now, help me and journal what you do to keep organized. I need the help!
4 comments:
Getting rid of papers right away helps. I wish I'd learned it sooner. I have boxes of papers to go through!
I have a love affair with storage bins, too. I like your concept of the "after school shift;" putting everything away and focusing on the older two. That can be difficult!
Pre-prepping my dinners helps me beyond measure. I shop on Thursdays and prep everything for the coming week on Saturday into a "meal kit." So if i'm making fajitas on tuesday, I chop all the veggies & grate cheese, etc the Thurs before. It's a huge timesaver during the dinner crunch!
I agree with the schedule. What kind of a schedule do you do? We call it "routines." They have to do a certain after-school routine as soon as they walk in the door.
This sounds silly, but running my dishwasher every night before bed--no matter how full or how empty--helps me so much! I run it at night & empty it in the morning right after the kids get off to school. Then I always have an empty dishwasher to load dishes in & they never pile up in the sink! I hate that.
I keep a file folder in my kitchen desk for each child. All their info for that week goes in their folder & I never have to hunt for papers or panic. Dance newsletters, field trip slips, spelling words, whatever. It took me a while to get in the habit of checking it, though! Now I have a nighttime routine for myself which includes checking my own calendar for the next day and checking each kid's file for any papers that might be relevant for tomorrow.
You seem like a super organized person, so don't try to fool me & ask for suggestions!
Wow. My comment was REALLY long! Sheesh!
The best advice I've ever heard was to never walk through the house empty handed. If I'm going to my room, grab a toy to drop off in the playroom on my way. That helps, but I think you hit it with throwing stuff away immediately. I'm amazed when I go get the mail and it's ALL garbage. I naturally tend to organize in piles, but then it gets to messy and I just want to hide it (which defeats the purpose of organizing!), so I'm trying to take care of things right away instead of making a pile to do later. I agree w/ Crystal about having an empty sink in the morning. There's something about waking up to an empty sink that just starts out the day better. It's helpful to share ideas, so thanks for sharing yours!
Post a Comment