3 Best Organizing Tips

The next post in DOC was to be on systems, but I felt like the decluttering post last week wasn't enough, and I wanted to share some more specific tips with all of you- if they helped me just imagine what they could do for you!

1. Paperwork- it's called an action file, I think it came originally from one of those organizing TV shows. Get a standing file holder, or something that will fit 4-5 files about the same. (link to amazon, so you can see what I mean. and yes, it's an affiliate link.) Label files thusly: ASAP- immediate action required (bills, RSVP's, permission slips, etc.) To Be Filed- papers to keep that don't fit into above. I have others, these should be changed to subjects that suit your needs. Mine are return to office, for things that need to go away but not necessarily be filed (pictures, child artwork, etc.) and coupons/rebates (so the inserts have a place to live until I clip them!) Figure out where your paper clutter comes from.


2. Use drop areas. This is similar to the baskets I talked about last week. Others call them prep zones, drop zones. The basic idea- make a dedicated area for each family member. If needed, this could include basket/containers, a hook (for backpacks, purses) or it could be as simple as a shelf. Everything the person uses (phone, keys, homework, briefcase, you get the idea) goes in their area. This way everyone knows where their stuff is, and when its left laying around it has a place to go home to.
3. Can't get started with organizing and cleaning? Company coming over? (oh, no! I have been there.) Try this trick: pick the largest horizontal surface in the room, and put the things on it away, and dust it off. In the dining room, the table; the kitchen, the counters; you get it. The eye goes towards these surfaces automatically, and keeping them decluttered and clean*ish* can make the whole room look better.

I hope these ideas can get you started. Please comment or share your links if you have any tips of your own.

Decluttering, Organizing and Cleaning- Oh my!

Does the thought of housekeeping give you goosebumps? When people say they’ll stop in for a quick visit do you go into a panic? Well, I’ve been there- I spent pretty much my whole life as a non-domestic person (though others in my life used the term slob!) I wasn’t lazy (not much, anyway) it’s just that I really didn’t want to spend my whole day cleaning up. Sure, I wanted a clean house; a simpler, more organized life free of clutter. I just didn’t know how to get to that place from where I was. Everytime I tried, I sabotaged myself (I am a huge packrat- everything has sentimental value to me.) Finally one day, I broke.

I was pregnant with my second child, and just couldn’t take the mess anymore. Mr. Shelley and I were fighting about it, and our first boy, about 1 1/2 years at the time, couldn’t go anywhere in the house- it was a disaster. In last week’s DOC article I talked about finding your motivation- this was mine. I wanted a decluttered, clean house for my family. This is the first step, but a goal, no matter how strong, won’t empty the junk drawer out. So now it’s time to take action.

Decluttering is the best place to start because with less stuff, there won’t be as much to organize. The first step is to get an idea of what you have, and where you have it. I used the method of starting with one small area, but preferably in a widely used room- seeing it all decluttered will give you motivation to keep going. There are many systems for the process. Some of my favorites are on FlyLady. I incorporated many of her methods into one combined system that worked best for me. Here are some highlights of the method I put together:

1. Pick a number (Flylady uses 27; I prefer 10 to start, or 20 if you have lots of stuff!) and go through the house. Pick up that many things to throw away, and then go through a second time for things to give away. This is a brilliant, quick-paced fix.

2. Go through and clear out one place at a time- one drawer, one shelf, one cabinet. Limit yourself to only this one place, that way it won’t be overwhelming to start. Take a short break before resuming with another area.

3. Set up baskets, or containers in each main room (or area) of your house, including any outer room (mudroom, porch, etc.) While going through your house on a daily basis, pick up items that do not belong, and bring them to the container for the room they do belong in. Done regularly, this will return everything to its place. If things do not have a set place in your house, bring them to the room they seem most well-placed in. Used in combination with rule #2, there will be a place to put everything with time.

4. Don’t get stuck up on details- the most important thing is to find methods that work for you and take action!

These tips will set you on the way to a clutter-free home. Next in the series will be organizing: a multi-article section. The first post will be on systems management- stay sane with systems.

If this helped you, please share it and subscribe to MAHM for more tips and tricks on homemaking. See the newest article in the DOC series at 3 best organizing tips.

Leave me a note with any comments or questions, thanks for stopping in! I'm happy to post this at Works For Me Wednesday- visit for lots of great organizing tips!

decluttering, organizing and cleaning and - oh my!

DOC- Decluttering, Organizing and Cleaning- Tales from an (almost) reformed clutterbug and general slob

Homemaking is a topic that includes so many different things- cooking, housekeeping- that everyone will have natural strengths and weaknesses. Cooking has always been easy for me- my whole family cooked, and my mom is great at everything food related. Unfortunately, I didn't inherit her talent for housekeeping.

I'm a packrat by nature- saving everything I can stuff into every crevice things can be stuffed into. What's more, I always hated the basic housekeeping tasks of cleaning, like vacuuming, laudry, and dishes. Even after moving in with Mr. Shelley and having the baby, I could not muster up a desire to take care of the houe. Not until after I became pregnant the second time did I realize that I could keep house without being a neat freak, and that I could actually learn to enjoy having a clean house for me.

Deciding to teach myself how to keep up our home was for the best thing I could have done for my whole family. Over the next few weeks, I'll share how I got started, and how to make your own systems. A system is just a set way of doing things- and it's all about whatever works best for you and your family. Systems are there to make your life easier.

One of my first steps, and a good place to start, is to identify one or two main goals, and then figure out how housekeeping will work towards those goals. It can be that you just want a cleaned house, a simplified life, or (like for me) that you're family would be better off with a housekeeping system in place. (Especially if you're significant other is frustrated by your lack of cleaning!) Write down the goals and how they factor into housekeeping- this will keep you going in the days and weeks ahead when you feel like giving in.

Keep checking in next week for more in the DOC series. First up, decluttering...not as scary or hard as it sounds, I promise.