Does anyone have any good organization tips for around the home?

Question

My house never seems to be finished, i am forever clearing up; clearing away, putting things here, putting things there. I am in need of some great tips and pointers for getting organised around the house.

I have children if that helps!

Answer 1

Go to the FLYLADY site - fantastic!!

Answer 2

I think the key to good organising around the house are plenty of containers and storage. Do one room at a time, otherwise it's too overwhelming.

First assess what you have, then assess what you need. If you haven't used it in the last year, then it goes into a box and is stored in the garage. If after another year, it's still in the box in the garage, get rid of it. Don't even open the box, just drive straight to the "Goodwill".

The stuff that's left over gets separated into piles of "like with like" so things that seem to belong together, get stored together. For example, paper scissors, sellotape and stapler would be grouped together. Cleaning products, cleaning cloths, scrubbing brushes, etc. would also be grouped.

When you've got stuff in piles, you can allocate logical places where they're going to live. The cleaning stuff could "live" in the laundry, or under the kitchen sink. The paper, scissors, stapler etc. could be in a desk drawer or kitchen drawer or in an attractive basket in a cupboard. Once you've found homes for everything, it always stays there.

Having children does complicate matters, but it's just a matter of spelling out the rules to them and staying on their backs until they "get it". Don't go picking up after them. When they use something and don't put it back, tell them firmly to immediately retrieve the item and return it to it's "home".

Answer 3

Over the door hanging shoe bags, the kind with pockets. If you get the ones made of clear plastic your kids can see their treasured stuff! Get one for each child.

When you leave a room, never go empty handed! (Love this one I learned from my granny many decades ago!) Just about where ever you are going, there is something that needs to go that way! You could even have small baskets that you toss stuff in and then carry them to the appropriate rooms. At least it's not cluttering up the flat surfaces then!