Organizing Tips for Busy Moms
It is amazing how fast the hours in a day fly by. Many times, at the end of my day, I am falling in bed from sheer exhaustion–only to wake up to disorder and chaos. Thankfully, I think I have finally freed myself from this dilemma. I recently had a complete clutter melt down and the “you know what” hit the fan, and I made changes. I just completed 2 months straight cleaning, organizing and making sense of the clutter in my life.
Here are some things I learned during the two months of hell I spent organizing…
5 Tips to Organize the Clutter
1.Throw it Away! Being realistic, if you know deep down that you will not use the item (or wear it) in the next 6-8 months, toss it. I had a garbage pile, consignment shop pile, and a yard sale pile. What I thought really could make a buck went in the yard sale or consignment shop pile, and what I knew was just my insane nostalgia went in the trash. At the end of this tedious…seemingly never ending…room by room sweep, I found space I never knew existed in my home! I also made several hundred dollars at my yard sale! Tip: give away what is left over from your sale. DO NOT KEEP IT. You can take it to goodwill, put a sign on it in front of your house that says free, whatever…just get rid of it!
2. Drawers, Cabinets and Closets…Oh My! Utilizing all of your space with what you have is very important. I encourage you to use what you have to help you organize and buy what you need–cheap. I used the many containers that I found while getting rid of junk. I also tried to be creative and hung hooks in the closet to hang things, got a few closet organizers to save space and even used an old lanyard to hand my cute little change purses on. Think outside the box and you are sure to find ways to make the most of your space with the budget you have.
3. Label. I never thought I could be that woman who labels everything, and honestly, I have not yet become the label queen. However, I like having my art drawers and office area labeled–it makes me feel like everything is in order. It also makes it easier to find what I need–rather than bringing myself to the point of tears because I am unable to find anything in the chaos of clutter that used to surround me. Think order and neatness when labeling.
4. Mount-Wash-Me. Laundry is my nemesis. It is never ending and when I let it go–yikes! I used to get to the point of being in my last pair of panties (you know, the “emergency” pair) before I finally began the horrid task of washing. Then, it never quite got completely done–just enough to get us by. It was horrible. I hate laundry. I have discovered…like it or not, there are only two choices with laundry: 1. do it regularly. 2. let it build up until it has become its own entity that should be paying rent. Honestly, I found I prefer doing a couple loads every other day v/s a mountainous horror.
5. Schedule. After I completed the time consuming task of getting everything cleaned and organized, I needed to make sure it STAYED that way. So, I implemented a schedule for everything! I have daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly and quarterly cleaning tasks. I adjust them as I see the need. I mean this may sound nutty and overzealous, but, I really want to stay organized. If you really want something, you will do whatever it takes to get it. I really want a clean and orderly home, and I will do what it takes to have it! My advice: stop complaining and talking about getting your life in order and DO IT!
If you are a neat person, hooray for you! Sadly, it is not my strong point and this experience really opened my eyes to how messy I was. Now, I have a new philosophy: everything needs a home–including my stuff. So, when I take off a hair tie, it needs to go home, not tossed on the nearest empty space. When I am done using anything, I make myself get up off of my rump and put it in its home. My children are now required to do the same, and I am sure the fruit of teaching them order will pay off when they live orderly lives.
Everything has a home and needs to be put there. After all, who wants to be homeless?? Certainly not my precious stuff! LOL!
For He is not a God of confusion and disorder but of peace and order. – 1 Corinthians 14:33a
Copyright © Lara Velez, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved
This is good stuff! I used to have a schedule where every day, one room in the house got a deep cleaning. Also, dishes and laundry were done on alternating days. Life was wonderful, and housework was FINISHED by noon! It doesn’t work as well in the place we are in now. I have a rule that the house is clean before we go on a trip. That way, when we get home, I can relax instead of being aggrevated at the mess we left behind ;) hubby used to get annoyed cause he just wanted to leave. He now admits it’s nice to come home to a clean house.
I’m spontaneously OCD. That can be a great thing…or a difficult one. :) As for laundry…I enjoy doing it all in one night…from like 7pm to 2am…then distributing in the morning. Once every 1.5 weeks or so. Makes for a fun movie/s night! But it’s easy to deal with Mount Wash-Me when it’s being built in the basement. (laundry chute)
Great to find your blog here. I too blog for Christian moms. I love to organize but things can get a bit messy as life takes over. I love your steps – especially the one about being willing to throw away! Containers are GREAT too. blessings, Amy