Please share your organization secrets!

[firstbaby]

This weekend I took a good look around the house and have to admit the clutter monster has permanently moved in. x( I've read that the key to staying organized / decluttered is to have a space for everything. Once I sweep through the house this week and empty closets, cabinets, clean off counter tops, what are some organization secrets that can help? Are there any containers or gadgets that have really helped you keep it together? Other than getting fed up every year or so, I don't really have a system in place and I know we have some pros on this board :) TIA!

[The Review Mommy]

Hi there Erica!

I'm not a pro per say, but I would consider myself to be of the less is more crowd...quite seriously. I wouldn't totally agree with "a space for everything" until there has been purging...major purging! To me there is a difference, some things do not deserve or earn a special place to be kept, so you purge it. KWIM? ;) It was hard and scary at first, but I totally get it now and I'm much happier! I think differently now... it's the little things. And although most people ease themselves into the process I certainly didn't-The urge came on suddenly and I new I needed to take *FULL* advantage of the moment. I opened our closets and garage and without looking inside some of the boxes they were dumped in one fell swoop. It was all junk, I can assure you. ;) What I use on a day to day basis did not reflect that in my storage amount. It's all so personal, but this is the quote from a book I read that started it for me by Alton Browns called Gear for your kitchen.

"Any decent mechanic will tell you that a few highly functional, top-notch hand tools beats the pants off a garageful of gear that’s either badly designed, cheaply made, or so rarely used that it does little more than take up space. This philosophy holds true for the culinary tool box despite the fact that most Americans pack their cabinets, drawers, pantries, closets, racks, and bins with strata of gadgetry so dense that even if quality tools were present, a team of archeologists would be required to extract them. This kind of contraptional constipation can produce but one end: a bulky, inefficient, fat kitchen. The good news is that this condition is treatable. The bad news is that surgery is required. The stricken cook must submit his or her kitchen to a thorough and disciplined debulking, removing without fear or remorse all items that don’t pass muster.�

He must have been talking about my apartment! ;) I purged most things and sold some others (ebay, craigslist, and garage sale) to put money towards replacing crapy housekeeping items. I hated my old lousy vacuum but love my new Dyson. :D I stopped buying so many different cleaning products and now have just a few tried and true staples. (Do a search on these boards) But I buy a better dishwashing cleaner now with out the lemon to keep my flatware, crystal, and dishes in proper care. I completely stopped scrapbooking and bought those boring albums to keep all my pics in. I had to be honest with myself, to realize that I’d never catch up-I just don’t have the time, and discipline-I’m much easier on my self now and that box of loose pics is now organized and retrievable in simple albums. Clothes in my closet were tossed and now I have the room for nice wooden hangers to properly hang my garments-no more wire messes! There are so many other changes I’ve made but hopefully the things I’ve listed will be a good jumping off point. For housekeeping ideas I stick with the Martha Stewart mentality (which really is simple and easy, I’ve come to realize) and read her wonderful website or refer to one of her books-but that's just me. ;)

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=learn-cat&id=cat246&navLevel=2&rsc=mslnav

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0609805940/qid=1142282829/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/103-7028113-2079031?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

I also got some great ideas from this site too:

http://kitchendesign.hgtv.com/sub_topic_02.aspx?t=1&st=5

http://kitchendesign.hgtv.com/sub_topic_03.aspx?t=3&st=15

HTH
-Rebekah

[mamalia]

I'm not a pro but I have found these container/gadgets helpful:
Sterilite Mini Container for DDs ribbons, rubberbands, & shoes
Sterilite Small Container for DDs feeding supplies
Hanging Jewelry Container (it looks like a suit holder but has lots of little pockets) - one side for jewelry and the other for makeup
Leather Box & Basket - one for toys the other for magazines
Ikea's drawer dividers - plastic one for junk drawer, cloth ones for clothes drawers

HTH!
Malia

[jerseygirl07067]

I'm definitely part of the less is more crowd too. It's a necessity as I refuse to ever "need a bigger house" just because I have too much stuff. That goes for the kids' stuff too. All my friends that have bigger houses than us seem to accumulate more stuff. :)

Anyway, a great one for managing incoming paper, mail, bills, stuff to read is the R-A-F-T method. I saw it recently on an organizational home makeover show called "Neat".

The philosophy is that when going through paper clutter you can only do 4 things with it...read it...act on it...file it....or toss it. We set up three stackable trays for each category right next to our computer. And then we set up a great filing system so there is always an appropriate place to file things. Makes retrieval of things so much easier too if you know where they are.

Good luck! I find decluttering extremely liberating.
Marcy

[Bearhut]

I so agree with less is more. Get rid of anything you don't/won't use (be realistic). Then get clear plastic storage bins to store things in closets (label them so you know what's in what). Especially with kids, then they can find what they want. We have seperate bins for paints, playdoh, crayons, ect.

For the toys that are out, we got baskets and wooden bins. The house still looks like children live in it, but there is a "place" for the toys in every room.

Good luck and have fun, you never know what you may find.

[brittone2]

Well, I'm certainly no organization guru, but I agree with the PPs on purge, purge, purge everything you possibly can. It really makes a huge difference. We purged a TON before our move, and some more afterward. It just doesn't make sense to have to organize, find space for, buy containers for, etc. things you don't truly love, don't flatter you, that are duplicates, or very rarely used.

A few random things I can think of that I've learned in recent times (I soooo wish I was one of those born-organized people but I'm not, so reading tips from other people online and in books is a huge help to me).

-Purge ruthlessly and then purge some more
-if purging is really scary for you, try boxing up some things you don't use often, label the contents, and stash in the garage or attic for 1-2 months. Mark a day to retrieve the box and make a decision about it on your calendar. If you don't miss the items in that period of time, chances are you will be okay without them (I've done this with lots of random kitchen gadgets as the PP talked about ;) )
-Don't buy storage containers until you've purged first. Then, sort things into piles/groups of similar items. Once you have an idea of how you want to break down what you have, THEN buy the storage container (I used to always do the reverse and found sorting and then buying appropriate storage containers is a huuuuge help).
-Store things near *where* you use them whenever possible and by HOW you use them. In my kitchen I now created a little baking center where I keep my baking spices, whisk, measuring cups, electric hand mixer, etc. all together contained in a dishpan (usually less than 1.50 to buy). That way all of the items I tend to use at the same time are grouped together. I got this idea from a book, either
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446677671/sr=8-1/qid=1142366966/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-1446898-6244631?%5Fencoding=UTF8

or

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1558703616/sr=8-1/qid=1142367042/ref=sr_1_1/103-1446898-6244631?%5Fencoding=UTF8

-I love the launchpad idea http://organizedhome.com/content-57.html
We had a good system at our old house. In our current house, we use the backdoor most of the time, and there is a small laundry room right at that entrance. We keep an over the door hanging shoe organizer on the back of the laundry room door, so our keys, cell phones, wallets, etc. are in there. I also use the hanging shoe organizers to store things in our pantry that I need to access quickly (we have a walk in pantry so having this on the door for things I access often is helpful to me)

-Also from organizedhome.com is the idea of the plastic dishpans. You can buy more elaborate/expensive containers, but the cost of these is so inexpensive and they really work well. I aso use them to hold stacks of sweaters in my closet so they don't come toppling down on top of each other. It makes things easier for me.

I definitely recommend www.organizedhome.com for inspiration. A lot of people like Flylady...I can't get that into it but she has some good ideas. I still totally struggle w/ organization and find I really have to work at it. Reading ideas in books and online is a huge help to me because I'm one of those people who has to work at it and try to learn what some people seem born knowing how to do ;)

[niccig]

I'm just going through this now. So far this is what I have:

Puge, puge, puge. My house has enough storage if we use it properly to house things we actually use. I'm still going through the house doing this. I can't do it all at once - too much and not enough time, so it's taking me a while, but the house already feels clamer.

Put things away once you've finished with them. - simple, but so very hard for DH and I to do. Everything ended up on the kitchen counter or dining room table, I then had a huge mess to clean up. Now the dining room table HAS to stay bare.

Go through and pick up just before we go to bed, so the rooms are tidy for the next day.

Dishwasher is run at night, emptied first thing in the morning and dirty dishes go in it rather than in sink or on the counter

Expanding files - I've fallen in love with these for the home office. I got the idea from http://www.momready.com/articles/content.asp?ID=98 and http://www.momready.com/articles/content.asp?ID=100 I found all our product manuals/warranties and put them in expanding files in a filing cabinet drawer. I was lending a friend some baby equipment and it only took me 2 mins to locate the correct manuals. I'm using these for our computer program cds, bills, DH, DS and I both have an expanding file to keep our own paperwork eg. my class information, DH's photography hobby - it stops DH from giving me bits of paper to keep. I'm going to start one soon for renovation ideas.

Label machine - I like labels to be neat and tidy

Adhesive cork tiles on inside of pantry door. So far I've got a list of birthdays, a calendar, and a guide for the babysitter - phone numbere etc. I need to be careful with the tacks as DS is little, so I'm only using the upper tile. But as he get's older, I'll be able to pin up more things.

A diary for me that I actually carry and write things in, keep notes, to do lists, receipts etc.

I'm a sucker for organising books or magazines - I always find at least one idea I can use. The behaviour changes - purging, putting things away - make more of a difference than any gadget.

My problem is that I want it to be done now, but with DS it's taking me quite some time to get organized. Small steps.

[brittone2]

Thanks for the tip on the expanding files. Organized home's website had a suggestion for various binders, and we've done that and been really happy with it. It was really easy to do w/ our move. I compiled all of our manuals for our old house (for the appliances, whole house humidifier, warranties, etc. and put them into a binder for the people who bought our house. It purged my files and gave them some helpful info.

We have a notebook for our current appliance user manuals, a section on all of the baby gear manuals/model numbers, etc. (in case of a recall), etc.

When we moved we made a moving notebook with all of our home buying/selling info, contracts, info/phone numbers for setting up utilities, warranties, etc.

Once we were in our new house we set up a home notebook. It is a big zippered binder, and in it we have a typed list of phone numbers, a "yellow pages" section for our most often called numbers, etc. At our old house I had also typed up directions to DS's pediatrician, directions to the nearest hospital, and emergency phone numbers (hospital, poison control, dr's office, our cell numbers, etc.) in case someone who was babysitting, etc. needed it. I still need to do that for this house!
The home notebook we have also has a zippered pocket where we keep our checkbook, stamps, pen, etc. It has a section with takeout menus in page protectors so they are all in one place. It has a calendar section as well. I also want to add a page for the new house that has all of our acct. numbers for the utility companies and their phone numbers, etc.

It really wasn't hard to do and I was fortunate to have read about it right around the time of our move, so it was easy to purge the old stuff and just compile the new info we were getting into one place. It makes finding paperwork a lot easier for us...I so wish I had learned about doing something like this 10 years ago!!!

ETA: some people keep things like a price book (where you track various prices on your most often bought items at your local grocery stores) or coupon book inside their home notebook and just take it out before they go to the store. I also at one time had a master shopping list in my notebook, where I kept extra photocopies. It was arranged mostly by aisle at the store we shopped at the most. It made it easy to just look down the list and circle things we needed, and it helped me remember a lot of things I would have forgotten otherwise. I haven't done that in a while but should get back to doing that. They are all little projects you can do in 10 mins if you can find the time...but in the end they save you time. One extra trip to the store because you forgot something you needed takes longer than that, kwim?


This all makes me sound organized, but really, I'm so not ;) I would just be a total disorganized mess otherwise ;)

[niccig]

I need to spend more time looking at organized home website to get ideas. I ended up using expanding files as I had too many manuals for a binder. DH is a gadget man and we have more electronic goods than is necessary and he refuses to get rid of things. I also keep receipts for proof of purchase in the same section in the expanding file.

I've been meaning to do a home notebook. I have all that information, but it's in several places. When I get around to it, I'll come back to this post for ideas.

I'm interested in what others reply to this post. I've still got a long way until things are organized and I'm calmer about things.

Nicci

Nicci

[karolyp]

I agree with all the PP's that purging is the key to getting rid of the clutter. That said, here are some things I do to keep my house organized...

I have a small shoe size box that I keep all my receipts in. I do this because sales tax may be deductible and so having them all in one place makes it easy to add all the sales tax up at the end of the year.

I also have a folder for taxe info in my desk. I put tax deduction receipts in, like donation receipts, and such in it, again making it easier for you during tax time. I have another folder to keep that year's medical bills and EOB at my desk

Also, Home Depot sells some easy to install closet organizers that can give your closet shelves and space.

Now, IMHO being organized doesn't mean you have to buy those ugly clear plastic boxes. I have gotten some nice trunks from TJMaxx and Ross to keep items like photos and office supplies in. And some nice baskets to keep DD's toys in. So not only does it look nice, but it is also functional because it hides my junk! :)

Anyhow, I hope this helps. Good luck in your quest!

[brittone2]

There are a bunch of ideas on that site for all kinds of notebooks. Mine is really pretty simplistic so far but there are some great ideas on other things to include.

I've got a loooong way to go too ;)

[The Review Mommy]

A few things that have made a *HUGE* difference in our house:

DVD’s go into binders. DH is into home theater, and something had to be done about the space they were taking up. I chucked the cases and now we have 4 binders-one for my girly DVD’s, one for DH’s, one for DD, and the other for CD’s. This has worked *EXTEMELY* well. We got the binders at Target in the DVD storage area. They fit four side by side on each page, something like a 209 capacity, have a zippered close, and an adjustable handle to carry it messenger style. This takes up a lot less space and is so easy to transport etc.

The sink is clear all the time. Dishes go into the dishwasher immediately. I have a long handled brush that I love to use under running water to get the food off of plates etc. before being loaded. I don’t like using sponges unless there is something I need to scrub off. This way it is quick with the least bit of yucky contact. Mine is a Rubbermaid, I think from a grocery store.

Goals, Goals, Goals-Daily Goals! My goal in the morning is to have the house tidy before DH leaves for work at 7:30am. Clothes go into the hamper, random things get put away, and the dishwasher is unloaded. I’m too tired at night to do it and it kinda wakes me up in the morning, I feel like I’ve accomplished something, and I can relax while I’m getting dressed. My next goal is to have errands done in the morning before naptime around noon. DD usually falls asleep in the car on the way home and then I have time to start a load of laundry or a cleaning project like mopping the floor etc. I usually have one house keeping project a day. Then I have the rest of the day for something totally DD, like going to the community soccer field, park etc. I stopped doing my work out in the morning because I felt like it took too long to get ready for the day. I was walking in my neighborhood for 2 hours every morning at 8am with friends. I now do those Windsor Pilates at night when DH gets home and then take my shower. To me it’s kinda relaxing at night after a day with DD. ;)

HTH
Rebekah

[spu]

One of the things I'm learning from my DDs is that everything has a place - and it needs a container. Once I started buying storage racks/bins that they could access, it became so much more meaningful and EASY to put things away since they had a home... To this day, I can still remember exactly where I kept my superglue in my grad school apartment... !

though, I must say, it's much harder to stay organized when you're married... then you have 2x the stuff! (like old family tools, videos that we never watch... along with all my junk too!) : )

I call the Salvation Army about every two years to come do a pick-up at my house. They're coming next wednesday, in fact. They'll only come if you have a ton of stuff, so it makes me more motivated to find things that I no longer use. I found it's alot easier than having a yard sale too.


susan

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nursed for 3 years!
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charlotte + else

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