The UnCluttered Mother's Blog

Get Organized By Recycling

Recycling is an ongoing project that everyone can get involved in right away. Again, as you’re organizing, make sure you watch for items that can be recycled. At my house, it’s more newspapers and water bottles that I’ve been guilty of tossing in the trash.

Don’t feel a need to purchase anything special because a simple box or plastic storage bin will do.  I use a simple cardboard box for newspapers but a plastic one for water bottles so if there’s any spillage, it won’t leak through.

Get your kiddos involved because they will be sure to keep you diligent about recycling. Look for ways to help your local schools out by placing your recyclable items in their bins. Make sure to include the plastic shopping bags in your recycling program because most stores have started their own recycling programs for these and will accept bags from all stores, not just their own.

Donate 101!

Donations are good for the soul. So don’t hold back when you find good items during your organization/cleaning program that could be contributed.  Besides the obvious tax breaks, donating to your local charities is a wonderful way to teach our kiddos the joy of giving.  In fact, they love to be involved and I’ve found are more than happy to search their rooms for giveaways. 

As for the adults, the key to our donating success is to be honest about what needs to go.  The skinny skirt hidden in our closet from 10 years and 6 sizes ago, gone! The suit pants that not even a belt could love, out! Dusty tools that are in good shape but our fingerprints are nowhere to be found on them, donate! Spread the love you experienced with these products by donating them to a worthy organization for someone else to use in the present. 

I urge you to find a box worthy of your gifts and let’s get these things donated! I am wishing you the best with letting go and trust that I know how hard it can be.

Drop me a line and let me know how it’s going for you.

Tackling Your Junk Drawer

Let’s stop kidding around with this drawer of terror! If you can get your junk drawer to open, tackle it immediately.  Try these two suggestions for a better psychological approach to your junk drawer:

• Rename The Drawer. Junk implies unwanted and unloved objects that no one wants. In reality, what you will find in this drawer are rogue shirt buttons, missing pens, recipes cards, paper clips, post-it notes, loose change, etc.  Things in this drawer are not unwanted but misplaced and are often there because we could not figure out where to put them at that moment. So let’s rename the drawer, “Relocation Services” because everything in it is just waiting to be relocated to a new home.


• Pre-Organize Your Drawer. Part of the problem with tackling this drawer is that when it’s opened, everything rolls astray all over the place.  Avoid this problem in advance by placing a small silverware tray, small box lids, or an office drawer organizer inside the drawer so when you place objects in there, you can go ahead and organize them. Tackling the drawer will be less daunting when everything already seems somewhat organized.

Now let’s get started on that junk drawer.  Approach, Open, Experience the Horror, Attack!

Drop me a line and let me know how it’s going for you.

#6 Let's Get Busy!

Family Meeting - Check! 
Timeline - Check!
Home stations - Check!
Rewards System - Check!
Cleaning Caddy - Check!

The project day has finally arrived! So let's get busy. Wait - do not start anything without a timer! It doesn't have to be anything fancy, you can use a digital watch, the timer on your stove, or the alarm clock on your cell phone. I don't recommend simply watching the time on the clock because I honestly think you'll fare better if you have that timer working it's "psychological tricks" on your mind. Somehow knowing that timer will sound off at any minute just puts more urgency in your step. 

Since it's your first time out on this huge project, start out with say 15 minutes and go from there. The most I would recommend you set the timer is only for 30 minutes. After that, it just seems too long and I've found that I'll drag my feet a bit because I think I have plenty of time to get a certain room done. However, if a longer time works for you, have at it!

So......Set the timer, get ready, set, now go!   

Next: We'll talk junk drawers, donations, recycling, storing items, etc.   Stay tuned.

#5 Stock Your Cleaning Caddy

I know what you're thinking: why didn't we make this cleaning caddy after suggestion #3, where we broke our home into stations? Well, I'll tell you.  After you completed the exercise of breaking down every room into individual stations, I thought it best to start thinking about rewards rather than barrel forward with this task - just in case the thought of cleaning each small area seemed overwhelming or caused you to want to throw in the towel.

The Cleaning Caddy - The caddy is for storing and carrying all of your cleaning supplies so make sure whatever container you use has a handle for easy carrying.  Each room will have unique needs so the cleaning supplies may be different. I'm not so firm on having a different caddy for each room because most of the cleaning supplies will be the same. However, I do think certain items in your caddy should remain separate such as any cleaning cloths or sponges. The bathroom, kitchen, and dusting cloths should not be used interchangebly - and you know why! Check your local dollar store for a cheap pack of multi-purpose wipes and you're all set!

Next: Let's Get Busy!!!!!!

#2 - Choose A Timeline

We've decided we need a home organization strategy? Check. We've held a family discussion so all hands are on deck? Check.  Now comes the fun part! Where do I begin?

Items/Supplies needed:  Pen, Family Calendar, Quiet place, a comfortable chair/sofa, favorite drink and snack, patience and motivation

Don't start organizing anything until you know what your plan is.  Look at your family calendar and choose a start and end date for this project.  You will want an overall date and later as you complete the next exercise, you will want a start and end date for each room/project you are planning to tackle. 

Next:  Home Stations

#1 First Things First: Get Your Family Involved!

Let's face it - when attempting to organize your home you will be more successful if you have all household members involved.  Because this is such an important household project, they may need to be finessed a bit and you may have to muster up an extra dose of patience and understanding because they may not feel the urgency that you do about their home.

So how do we get them on board? Try these tips:

Family Meeting: Hold a family meeting so you can explain and answer questions about your upcoming project. You'll want to emphasize why you'll need all hands on deck to make your plan successful.  Avoid being guilty of starting a project and getting upset because of a lack of support from our families - our families can only help us if they know what we need. Skip the dictator approach and get their input and suggestions because they are more likely to help if they know their input has been taken seriously.

Emphasize Rewards: Everyone likes a reward so be sure to offer them to your family!  Rewards can be a favorite meal, a family outing, a pamper appointment for mom, fishing or golfing. The possibilities are endless but make sure they are appropriate to everyone's age group and the personality of your family unit. 

Please Keep It Fun: Organizing can be fun so make sure your family sees it that way.  I've heard about using timers and I'll be darn if they didn't work - on me! As soon as I knew that timer was running, I was suddenly motivated to finish quickly and experienced a huge burst of energy.

So try timers and see how fast and fun everyone makes it. I also think setting a timer breaks the projects into smaller chores in everyone's mind because we'll think in segments of 15 minutes or so rather than thinking a project has no end.  You will probably find that the younger members of your family will work best with a timer. 

Please Don't Over Organize! Just Have a Strategy.

Whenever I've talked to mothers about getting organized, most feel like organization is about every little screw and rubber band having a home. That sounds great but sometimes it won't happen that way. Actually, most of the time it won't happen that way, especially when there are tiny humans roaming around your home leaving stray crayons around, moving toys from room to room, dropping Cheerios as they go! Let's please not forget the rest of us who have our own issues about what should drop to the floor, what the backs of chairs are for, and the relationship of those kitchen drawers to the contents of our pockets!  

As you move past those horrible visions that arose after the last paragraph, I say that while organization is a must, be careful not to make your organization system so complicated that it is difficult to maintain while living a normal life. Stores offer a zillion items that look wonderful and are sometimes priced wonderful so you'll take them home. What happens? They organize alright - the clutter that was already there!

So let's talk over the next few posts about things we already have that can be used for better organizing our homes. Start thinking about the things you currently use to organize your home and feel free to post your comments on the blog.

Our Goal: We are going to use the space and items we have without adding anything but what's absolutely necessary. We'll talk about loose items, child friendly systems, purging, command centers, household management, organizing our office, paper piles, rewarding yourself, tossing responsibly, storing items, and much, much more.

Stay Tuned!

P.S. I am going to post my tips every few days because I want you to think and plan carefully about each step.

Neat Product Alert: List Plan It!

I was lost and now I've been found!

At long last, I have found a site dedicated to my especially insane organized side. No more creating numerous lists and no more rogue post it notes. Now all I have to do is print and list. Now there's a task I can get on board with!

Check it out. This woman actually has holiday planners, baby planners, menu planners, student planners, business planners, etc. that's she's created over the years as well. You can get a list for most everything you're thinking you need one for.  

I'm one giddy chick!  Check out her site and get Hundreds of Lists to Put Your World in Order.

I am,

Stephanie

 

5 Simple Tips To Help You Save Money

Who wouldn’t want to have more money? It is doubtful that there is anyone on the planet who would prefer to have less money. So, why do people always find themselves short on funds?

Often, this is the result of not having the proper focus. They will seek to earn more money when such earnings are not possible. After all, there are only so many hours per week a person can work. Having more money is not always a matter of earning more money. Instead you can have more money by cutting costs and saving money.

To help you get on track, read these tips from Finance Tips 101: