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I am not super organized, I'm a recovering slob. Some things I've found (and these are my experiences and may or may not be applicable to anyone else):

 

~Habit. This is probably the biggest. It's not that I have ADD or Mommy-brain or am lazy or stupid; it's that I haven't formed all the habits that organized people have. (If I do have ADD, it's only mild. I do understand that more severe cases would make it harder.) There are so many good habits that organized people have spent time forming, it seems completely overwhelming to me as an unorganized person to try and get to that level. Sooooo.....

 

~Baby steps. Going along with the habits, I realized I could only handle one habit at a time. For now it's keeping the kitchen table cleared. DH (an organized person) would always wonder why I could never keep the kitchen table clear. To him it was obvious-Eat a meal, clean the table afterward. But that wasn't my habit. My mind would wander, the kids wouldn't finish there food, but ask for it 30 min. later, I'd have to go take care of a baby, etc. I promised him I'd try to keep the table clean for one week. It's been two and I'm doing pretty well. It's not perfect, but it's so much better than it was before. I'm still not in a habit of cleaning the table after a meal, but I do clear it about three times a day whenever I notice it.

 

~Bribery. I hate dishes above all else. I'm bribing myself with a nail polish when I 1) Get completely caught up on them and 2) keep them that way for a week. The thought of two nail polishes makes me excited :D

 

~Make it fun. I listen to audio books on my mp3 player while I wash dishes. I listen to Dave Ramsey while I clean my room. If I had a good stereo system, I would put music on while we clean the living room. Those are things I enjoy, that I never seem to have time for, but I can use as mini-rewards to motivate me. Dishes are more appealing when I know Jim Dale will be reading Harry Potter to me. :tongue_smilie:

 

~Focus on the reward, not the work. I also hate laundry, but I love having all the clothes clean and folded and put away. So I focus on the rewards instead of how much I hate folding and putting away. Same goes with the dishes; I hate washing them, but I love having them all clean when I need them.

 

This post gave me an epiphany when I read it. (feel free to skip the scriptures if that's not your taste, the rest of the post still has lots of good info). Since then, I've identified so many of my bad habits. Just doing that has given me the ability to start replacing them with better habits.

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See, I find it SO hard to keep the house hygienic because of the mess! I can't get to the floor to vacuum it unless the mess is picked up (which it never is, thanks to DD6 :glare:). I run out of time to actually clean the bathroom by the time I clear up all the junk laying around in it. Even if I get time for a deep cleaning, by the time I clear the clutter to get to all the surfaces, I've run out of time for the actual cleaning. Drives me INSANE.

 

I get what you want to say. That's here too like that, but one way or another I manage to keep it hygienic. Or hygienic enough. It will never be extremely clean in here, but it's good the way it is. This is who we are. And it's not a piggery too... it's just not ĂƒÂ¼ber cluttered up. I rather live a little...

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If you're super organized, and you feel like your days run more smoothly and less stressfully BECAUSE of your organization...

 

What would you say you DON'T do, that less organized people DO do...that equates to more time for you to be organized??!! :) (Clarification: maybe more time for you to "work your systems", maintain organization, plan ahead, cook freezer meals, etc!)

 

Clear as mud?

 

Example: you don't plop down at the computer 5 times a day (you limit computer time to once or twice a day, etc.),

 

Thought this might be a helpful thread!

 

Most people view me as very organized. I don't normally think of my organization in the negative, but I can frame it that way since you asked. Here are the big ones:

 

1. I don't stay up late at night

2. I don't stay in bed late the next morning (obviously, these are related).

3. I don't wait to take care of something that I will have to do anyway. (Ex. When the laundry finishes washing, I switch it to dry and throw a new load in. When a load is dry, I fold it and put it in baskets. I do this continuously until all the laundry is done.)

4. I don't stop into the grocery or other stores to pick up one or two things.

5. I don't wait until staples run out to replenish them. I always try to have at least one back-up of goods we continually use.

6. I almost never leave the house for the morning without having made my bed and straightened up my bedroom and bathroom.

7. I don't wait until the dish washer is full to wash dishes; I wash them on a routine.

8. I don't wait until the car is almost out of gas to fill it; I plan ahead.

 

I would sum up my entire organizing and cleaning philosophy with the Seven P's:

"Proper Prior Planning Prevents P***-Poor Performance"

(I did not invent that saying, but it is a great one!)

 

Thinking ahead, planning ahead, looking to what will be needed soon and then setting routine habits to take care of most things is the cornerstone of my organization and cleaning approach.

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I am organized in some areas of my life, and I would prefer to be organized, but my house is DEFINITELY NOT. In reading this thread, I think my #1 issue is that I don't have a home for everything. Or I can't remember what home was designated for any particuar thing (WHERE do the coffee filters go, again?). My #2 issue is that I don't put everything in it's home. :glare: Usually when I try to declutter, pick up and get organized, I try to do a lot of #2 and not enough of #1...

 

So I've been running around my house labeling ALL the "stuff homes". I think it will greatly improve my odds of getting things BACK WHERE THEY GO. :D

 

And if one more person tells me that it's ok that I'm disorganized because I have three little kids running around and I don't have time to organize, I'm going to chase them down the street screaming. I have three little kids running around, I do not have time to be so disorganized!!!

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We don't have a lot of stuff. That's my biggest tip. I just don't have a lot of things to continually put away, organize, clean, sort, etc.

 

My children have a few play items (legos, race cars, a play kitchen) that they are responsible for cleaning up. Since it's just three different types of toys even my 3 yo is capable of cleaning any messes that they make.

 

My children, especially, have limited wardrobes. Four each pants and shorts, seven each short and long sleeves, socks, and underwear, two pajamas, one hoodie, one heavy coat, one each winter and summer hat, one swimsuit, one each sandal and sneaker. That's it. The laundry really can't get too out of control this way.

 

We have switched to reusable napkins, kleenex, diapers, wipes, feminine hygeine items, etc. I don't buy paper towels, ziploc bags, plastic utensils...

 

I plan a weekly menu and shop for that amount of food each week. I don't go to the store in between. I don't have cupboards full of packaged foods or a freezer stuffed so full that I can't see what I've got. I know exactly what food is in my house, down to how many cans of tomatoes I have in the cupboard.

 

I don't buy tons of cleaning supplies. I buy borax, washing soda, baking soda, white vinegar, and salt. I make laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and surface spray.

 

I don't buy lots of lotions and potions for our bathrooms. We all use the same kind of soap now (castille bars) and shampoo/conditioner bars. My dh has shaving bars. There is a bar of castille soap at each sink for handwashing, so no need for liquid hand soap. I have just a few make-up items. I don't buy Qtips or cotton balls (I replaced the cotton balls with white cotton breast pads of all things). I have a simple, metal manicure kit. I ditched all the nail polish and remover (I always used just a clear coat on my toes anyway, because I'm messy with the polish).

 

We keep a plastic bin next to the front door for donation items and fill it up every week it seems. We don't keep things that we don't use.

 

I have 8 glass place settings and sets of flatware. I don't have plastic for the kids. I have three pans -- a 12 inch skillet, a 3 qt pot, and a 10 qt pot, with lids. I have one muffin pan and one cookie sheet. I have one set of bamboo cooking utensils and a plastic ladle. I have two glass mixing bowls, two glass 9x13s, a glass brownie pan, 2 glass pie pans, 2 glass measuring cups. What I'm getting at is that I only have items in my kitchen that I use on a regular basis. If I need a bundt pan once per year I just borrow one from a friend or neighbor. I don't have multiple knife sets or kitchen shears or measuring spoons, etc.

 

I have one set of white sheets per bed, no extras. All of my towels are the same color -- hand towels, kitchen towels, bath towels -- and I have one for each towel bar in the house (and half a dozen for the kitchen) plus one extra for the baby. That's it. When they're all dirty I wash them; since I have so few and they all match I just wash one load and I'm done.

 

We own one comforter or quilt per bed and one spare for guests.

 

I don't have ten throw pillows in my living room, I have three. There are no decorative pillows on the beds.

 

The art we have in our home is mostly our children's art. We don't have knick knacks, statues, 400 framed photos on the mantle, throw rugs all over the house, placemats on the table, artificial greenery. We have just a few carefully chosen decorative items and a few live plants.

 

Once your purge what you already own you begin to limit what comes into your home. We say no to freebies and sort paper immediately.

 

Go to sleep at a decent hour and don't oversleep.

 

Fold and put away laundry immediately when the dryer is done.

 

I don't save my children's school papers. They take great pleasure in recycling them at the end of the day! I found that notebooking took an incredible amount of effort and we *never*, not once, looked back on the old work. We aren't required to submit a portfolio so I don't *have* to hold onto stuff. So I don't.

 

We don't have a ton of stuff in the yard, so it's easy to mow and care for. We have tidy flower beds. The kids have a few yard toys and that's it. We don't have a huge patio set to clean up and around. We have an old-fashioned mower. It takes just an hour to do our yard work during the summer if we all work together.

 

I don't buy things I don't have a place for. Don't shop sales or Target endcaps! Don't browse online stores because I'm bored (this is a hard one for me...I love to shop online). I no longer own or buy plug-ins, candles, Scentsy, air freshener, fabric freshener, or other fragranced items. They are expensive and I was always running out of stuff and needing to replace it! My house smells fine -- it might smell like dinner sometimes, but that's okay with me.

 

The last area of my home that needs to be tackled is our collection of books. We have far too many and, again, we aren't using them. My kids still borrow 50+ books per week from the library. I just need to make the time to do something with them.

 

ETA: Oh, one more thing. Everyone helps clean around here every single day. Cleaning is not my job or the job of adults or whatever. We all clean when it's time to clean up. My kids know how to run a vacuum, scrub a toilet, load the dishwasher, put away laundry, and they do so [mostly] without complaint.

Edited by Pretty in Pink
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I am not super organized, I'm a recovering slob. Some things I've found (and these are my experiences and may or may not be applicable to anyone else):

 

~Habit. This is probably the biggest. It's not that I have ADD or Mommy-brain or am lazy or stupid; it's that I haven't formed all the habits that organized people have. (If I do have ADD, it's only mild. I do understand that more severe cases would make it harder.) There are so many good habits that organized people have spent time forming, it seems completely overwhelming to me as an unorganized person to try and get to that level. Sooooo.....

 

~Baby steps. Going along with the habits, I realized I could only handle one habit at a time. For now it's keeping the kitchen table cleared. DH (an organized person) would always wonder why I could never keep the kitchen table clear. To him it was obvious-Eat a meal, clean the table afterward. But that wasn't my habit. My mind would wander, the kids wouldn't finish there food, but ask for it 30 min. later, I'd have to go take care of a baby, etc. I promised him I'd try to keep the table clean for one week. It's been two and I'm doing pretty well. It's not perfect, but it's so much better than it was before. I'm still not in a habit of cleaning the table after a meal, but I do clear it about three times a day whenever I notice it.

 

~Bribery. I hate dishes above all else. I'm bribing myself with a nail polish when I 1) Get completely caught up on them and 2) keep them that way for a week. The thought of two nail polishes makes me excited :D

 

~Make it fun. I listen to audio books on my mp3 player while I wash dishes. I listen to Dave Ramsey while I clean my room. If I had a good stereo system, I would put music on while we clean the living room. Those are things I enjoy, that I never seem to have time for, but I can use as mini-rewards to motivate me. Dishes are more appealing when I know Jim Dale will be reading Harry Potter to me. :tongue_smilie:

 

~Focus on the reward, not the work. I also hate laundry, but I love having all the clothes clean and folded and put away. So I focus on the rewards instead of how much I hate folding and putting away. Same goes with the dishes; I hate washing them, but I love having them all clean when I need them.

 

 

:iagree: all of this.....:iagree:

 

for me, i needed to make it a priority, and one habit at a time was what did it for me.

 

eg. laundry. after many different attempts, following flylady's suggestion of putting a load of laundry in first thing each morning is what did it for me. i wash on cold, i put all colors in together, i do one jeans load a week, and two towels and sheets loads (one master + extras, one children's load)

 

one thing my mom does and which finally i do, too, is to not walk from one room to another empty handed. there will inevitably be something that needs to leave that room.

 

knowing myself helps a lot, too. if i only do one thing until i finish it, it will never, ever happen. but if i cycle between three things, odds are all three will get done. so this afternoon, i am picking up the nook five things at a time, and then taking things to where they belong, and returning with whatever i find in that location. simultaneously, i am doing laundry and dishes. my reward is welltrainedmind time after i've cycled thru everything once.

 

rinse, repeat.

 

so i'd say the trick is to find what works for you by making it a priority.

 

good luck!

ann

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I do find it takes less time when you are organized, as evidenced by my time spent online. ;)

 

Less is so much more. We still have stuff in storage from a move (grumble, moan, complain). I'm highly concerned when the stuff comes that I'll be unable to downsize and just have more stuff to clean and organize. I downsized a lot before it went in storage.

 

I enjoy decorating, I love having stuff out to look at, but I've invoked some rules:

 

- not every flat surface needs to be decorated. A bare table top is acceptable and easier to dust. Better yet, get rid of the table unless it serves a purpose.

 

- basket make a great way to haul stuff, organize stuff, help kids pick up toys.

 

- Make your useful things decorative. My paper towel holder hangs right above my sink. It's brushed nickel. It wasn't cheap, but it's pretty and useful. My salt and pepper shakers are silver (bought from an auction). My towel hooks were made from vintage looking doorknobs from HObby Lobby.

 

- I have clear plastic shoes box type containers in the closet to hold toiletries, one for medicines, one for pet care stuff.

 

- It's a continual process. Something always needs to be organized, but once it's done there isn't an urgency.

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We don't have a lot of stuff. That's my biggest tip. I just don't have a lot of things to continually put away, organize, clean, sort, etc.

 

My children have a few play items (legos, race cars, a play kitchen) that they are responsible for cleaning up. Since it's just three different types of toys even my 3 yo is capable of cleaning any messes that they make.

 

My children, especially, have limited wardrobes. Four each pants and shorts, seven each short and long sleeves, socks, and underwear, two pajamas, one hoodie, one heavy coat, one each winter and summer hat, one swimsuit, one each sandal and sneaker. That's it. The laundry really can't get too out of control this way.

 

We have switched to reusable napkins, kleenex, diapers, wipes, feminine hygeine items, etc. I don't buy paper towels, ziploc bags, plastic utensils...

 

I plan a weekly menu and shop for that amount of food each week. I don't go to the store in between. I don't have cupboards full of packaged foods or a freezer stuffed so full that I can't see what I've got. I know exactly what food is in my house, down to how many cans of tomatoes I have in the cupboard.

 

I don't buy tons of cleaning supplies. I buy borax, washing soda, baking soda, white vinegar, and salt. I make laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and surface spray.

 

I don't buy lots of lotions and potions for our bathrooms. We all use the same kind of soap now (castille bars) and shampoo/conditioner bars. My dh has shaving bars. There is a bar of castille soap at each sink for handwashing, so no need for liquid hand soap. I have just a few make-up items. I don't buy Qtips or cotton balls (I replaced the cotton balls with white cotton breast pads of all things). I have a simple, metal manicure kit. I ditched all the nail polish and remover (I always used just a clear coat on my toes anyway, because I'm messy with the polish).

 

We keep a plastic bin next to the front door for donation items and fill it up every week it seems. We don't keep things that we don't use.

 

I have 8 glass place settings and sets of flatware. I don't have plastic for the kids. I have three pans -- a 12 inch skillet, a 3 qt pot, and a 10 qt pot, with lids. I have one muffin pan and one cookie sheet. I have one set of bamboo cooking utensils and a plastic ladle. I have two glass mixing bowls, two glass 9x13s, a glass brownie pan, 2 glass pie pans, 2 glass measuring cups. What I'm getting at is that I only have items in my kitchen that I use on a regular basis. If I need a bundt pan once per year I just borrow one from a friend or neighbor. I don't have multiple knife sets or kitchen shears or measuring spoons, etc.

 

I have one set of white sheets per bed, no extras. All of my towels are the same color -- hand towels, kitchen towels, bath towels -- and I have one for each towel bar in the house (and half a dozen for the kitchen) plus one extra for the baby. That's it. When they're all dirty I wash them; since I have so few and they all match I just wash one load and I'm done.

 

We own one comforter or quilt per bed and one spare for guests.

 

I don't have ten throw pillows in my living room, I have three. There are no decorative pillows on the beds.

 

The art we have in our home is mostly our children's art. We don't have knick knacks, statues, 400 framed photos on the mantle, throw rugs all over the house, placemats on the table, artificial greenery. We have just a few carefully chosen decorative items and a few live plants.

 

Once your purge what you already own you begin to limit what comes into your home. We say no to freebies and sort paper immediately.

 

Go to sleep at a decent hour and don't oversleep.

 

Fold and put away laundry immediately when the dryer is done.

 

I don't save my children's school papers. They take great pleasure in recycling them at the end of the day! I found that notebooking took an incredible amount of effort and we *never*, not once, looked back on the old work. We aren't required to submit a portfolio so I don't *have* to hold onto stuff. So I don't.

 

We don't have a ton of stuff in the yard, so it's easy to mow and care for. We have tidy flower beds. The kids have a few yard toys and that's it. We don't have a huge patio set to clean up and around. We have an old-fashioned mower. It takes just an hour to do our yard work during the summer if we all work together.

 

I don't buy things I don't have a place for. Don't shop sales or Target endcaps! Don't browse online stores because I'm bored (this is a hard one for me...I love to shop online). I no longer own or buy plug-ins, candles, Scentsy, air freshener, fabric freshener, or other fragranced items. They are expensive and I was always running out of stuff and needing to replace it! My house smells fine -- it might smell like dinner sometimes, but that's okay with me.

 

The last area of my home that needs to be tackled is our collection of books. We have far too many and, again, we aren't using them. My kids still borrow 50+ books per week from the library. I just need to make the time to do something with them.

 

ETA: Oh, one more thing. Everyone helps clean around here every single day. Cleaning is not my job or the job of adults or whatever. We all clean when it's time to clean up. My kids know how to run a vacuum, scrub a toilet, load the dishwasher, put away laundry, and they do so [mostly] without complaint.

 

When I grow up, I want to be like you :blushing::blushing: Do you have any pics of your house to share? :)

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Interesting....it SOUNDS so easy. It SEEMS so easy. Implementing for those of us who struggle in this area is VERY hard. Harder than it seems like it should be.

 

I think a lot of it is building up from a particular base. That's why I like some of what Flylady says (although I don't agree with every single thing). If you start planning ahead on just one thing, that one thing will stop being a problem. Then, you can add something else and that will stop being a problem. And so on.

 

If you make it a habit to go to bed at a decent hour (for example), it is not as hard to get up earlier. (For me "earlier" has always meant before the kids.) If I get up late, I'm in crisis mode all day, or at least, all morning.

 

You have to train yourself to do things before they have blown into a crisis. I always run the dishwasher at night. I empty the clean dishes in the morning, before the kids start making more dishes. I empty the trash before it reaches the top of the can (or I tell a kid to). This is my M.O. for practically everything. I know I have an ace in the hole because I am a born-organized type of person, but I have heard one can train themselves even if they are not naturally like that.

 

I think being organized is a tremendous, enormous time-saver. I spend a very small amount of time actually cleaning and putting things away in my house.

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It's also easier, for us, now that ds is older. He doesn't need toys in the living room, we don't need special plates or cups for him, no step stool in the bathroom. I remember being aghast at how much stuff little kids can "need", babies especially. As a teen everything but his school stuff is in his room. He has the biggest room in the house (dormer room) and he's neat, but I rarely need to go up there either, but he has room to spread out.

 

So if you feel your not organized and you have little kids, it's okay. It could be a season, but be willing to let go as your kids outgrow those toys. We've saved a few things for grandkids and ds has some things he wants to keep, but no more ride on toys, no more plastic kitchen, no more sippy cups.

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I do. Um...I'll try to link a FB album to this page.

 

https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10150252722380897.318105.620905896&type=3

 

I am speechless! It's just beautiful, but I truly can't see how to get from "here" to your house (probably because there's so much junk in my way :rolleyes:)! What do your kids do all day? I truly can't imagine having so few toys/books/school-related items for the kids. Actually, I can imagine it, and it's heavenly, but...what do they do all day?! And where are all the books you mentioned?

 

I'm seriously in awe.

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I am speechless! It's just beautiful, but I truly can't see how to get from "here" to your house (probably because there's so much junk in my way :rolleyes:)! What do your kids do all day? I truly can't imagine having so few toys/books/school-related items for the kids. Actually, I can imagine it, and it's heavenly, but...what do they do all day?! And where are all the books you mentioned?

 

I'm seriously in awe.

 

Seriously in awe and so pretty!!!

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The very most important thing that I do to maintain a neat and organized home and life is to train my children early and often how to clean up after themselves and do chores well. This is so crucial. I have 5 children and two dogs and we really enjoy our lives. (This is a misconception that I have read in this thread a couple of times: that those of us who are organized don't live. Not so!) We read/craft/build with Legos and blocks/paint/re-arrange furniture/dress up/make movies/write and act out plays/etc. BUT- we start and end every day with a picked up house. The children do morning chores right after breakfast. These include basic personal hygiene, making beds, dusting, feeding & walking the dogs, and loading the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. They have been trained at a young age to do these things well and know that it will have to be redone if I am not satisfied. While they are doing their chores I do mine: start a load of laundry, clean out the coffee maker, and plan lunch. It takes 15-20 minutes.

 

Also, my kids understand that before they take out another toy/book/game, they put the previous one away. Simple.

 

In the afternoon while I am making dinner the kids do another 15-20 minutes worth of chores. They vacuum, pick up all the bedrooms, put away their laundry, water flowers, empty the dishwasher, set the dinner table, pour milks, feed the dogs, shake out rugs, sweep, etc. Not everything gets done every day, but we have a schedule and stick to it.

 

I cannot stress chores enough. It's sort of my mantra :001_smile:

 

Rest assured, our days are filled with fun. This is part of our routine and makes the home run smoothly and efficiently.

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I can't say that I limit my computer time, but I am fairly organized.

I do not need more time to be organized - if anything, being organized saves me a lot of time.

 

Things I don't do:

- put things in temporary locations. Everything gets put into its permanent home. This means that no time is lost looking for stuff.

- buy things that I do not need. Even if they are on sale. Less stuff is easier to organize.

- collect. Anything.

- hang on to unused items in hopes of having the mother of all garage sales some day. This day won't come.

- write important things on little pieces of paper that get lost. If it is important (dates, addresses, etc), I write it into my agenda. Right away.

- have a TV. Computer with internet is bad enough already. TV is the black hole for time.

- sleep late. Having to be at work at 8am is a great way to be up and running early. I find days that start promptly to be more productive.

 

 

I like this. I should start doing things like you .

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I am not naturally organized, but have become more so over the last few years. Many of the ideas already mentioned are great ones.

 

Some that have been especially great for me/us:

 

- We seriously culled our clothes. When the closets & drawers aren't stuffed, it is so much easier to put clean laundry away. I know that seems elementary, but it made a huge difference for me. Laundry used to be such a pain to put away that it often didn't get done. Once we culled clothes, we got rid of the dressers. Pretty much most of our clothing items hang (except sweaters, pjs, undies, & socks -- we have bins in each closet for those items). To me, hanging items is faster than folding; just another way to simplify the whole laundry routine overall.

 

- We try to keep the kitchen continually picked up. Sink is usually empty, diswasher is usually unloaded (so dirty dishes can go directly in), kitchen table is empty most of the time. Dh does a lot of the cooking. About 1/2 of the time, he's pretty neat about cleaning up as he goes; I try to do that too. It makes after dinner clean-up so much easier & faster. As w/ the previous item (culling clothing), emptying our cabinets (somewhat) makes it so much easier to put things away. I cleaned out the cabinets enough that I can put lesser used appliances in the cabinets. Less stuff out on countertops reduces visual clutter, plus means there's less in the way & less to clean &/or clean around.

 

- Because we live in a relatively mild climate, in winter, we keep our coats in the car. (We park in our garage, so we don't need them on going from the house to the car.) That way, we don't haul the coats in & out, have to hang them up, remember to take them, etc.... If the kids need them for playing outside here at home, they just grab them out of the car. (My dc are older; I wouldn't want young kids climbing in & out of a car unsupervised.)

 

- We do 'European style' bedding -- each bed has a fitted sheet & a duvet (no top sheet used). And, on the master bed (which is a king-size), we use 2 single size duvets. To make the beds, fold the duvet in half & lay on top of the bed. (No decorative pillows or anything like that, other than the kids sometimes having stuffed animals in the bed.)

 

- Someone mentioned books. My dc have tons of books. I'm ok w/ that, esp. because they re-read their books all the time. However, I seriously culled my own book collection a few years ago. I realized that I rarely re-read books, so why buy it if I can get it from the library or borrow it from a friend? (I do pay to belong to an additional library system that has much more selection than our county library. The annual fee is what I consider my book $.) I decided that if I read a book that I just absolutely loved & really wanted a copy, then I could buy it. You know what? I've hardly bought any books. When I culled my books, I donated tons the library, gave some to friends who wanted them, & posted a few on PaperbackSwap.

 

- I have a small calendar I keep in my purse. I write all appts. & events in immediately. So, even for dentist & hair appts., I tell them not to give me a reminder card (just something to 'process' later) & write it directly in my calendar instead.

 

- I am not the most organized shopper. I was never good at grocery shopping (I loathe it) & would end up w/ lots of impulse buys, etc.... Years ago, we decided for dh to do the grocery shopping. He doesn't mind it (esp. because he likes to cook) & he is able to run in & get the needed items/stick to a list (well, except for chocolate, which he always buys). Him doing the grocery shopping is faster (at least for me :lol:) & saves us $, plus it saves my sanity. :D

 

My biggest challenge these days (other than continuing to declutter) is to work on menu planning. Argh!!! :tongue_smilie:

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I do. Um...I'll try to link a FB album to this page.

 

https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10150252722380897.318105.620905896&type=3

 

Oh my heck. I want to be like you too. I am feeling a serious need to go and purge everything in my house. And clean everything I see. I might just look at pictures of your house every day for some motivation.

 

(Oh, also another tip for those with littles: don't get distracted when they are out and about. Don't be on the internet, don't read a book, don't talk on the phone. If you want to train them to clean after themselves you need to follow them around and teach them right away. I've noticed there's less fighting between siblings this way too. I also second the getting rid of clothes. They only had like 4 pairs of pants and 8 shirts plus socks and underwear. And even then there's a few shirts that hardly ever get worn)

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I am speechless! It's just beautiful, but I truly can't see how to get from "here" to your house (probably because there's so much junk in my way :rolleyes:)! What do your kids do all day? I truly can't imagine having so few toys/books/school-related items for the kids. Actually, I can imagine it, and it's heavenly, but...what do they do all day?! And where are all the books you mentioned?

 

I'm seriously in awe.

 

They draw, make books, make up board games, play cards or dice, play with the toys the do have, play outside, ride bikes and scooters, read, do schoolwork or chores...my 6yo spends an inordinate amount of time looking at cookbooks and planning meals. Ha ha!

 

The books are mostly in a huge closet in the long hallway (not pictured) that is floor to ceiling shelves. It's full of books. I bought four years of Tapestry of Grace, for example. We have all 13 levels of Saxon math. I have too much homeschooling stuff. There are three bookshelves in the house as well.

 

I am going to try to post a few pics in this thread for those who care to see but don't have FB. I can't seem to figure out the pic posting thing. :001_huh:

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Pretty in Pink, your house is lovely! I especially like the exterior and that blooming crepe myrtle!

 

As an aside, this is slightly OT, can you share your detergent recipes? I have wanted to make my own but my one attempt at dishwasher detergent was a flop--I think there was a bad salt ratio in there somewhere--it turned the dishes foggy and I've not had the nerve to try anything else (esp where my clothes are concerned) since! But if you've got tried and true recipes--let me know! (Or maybe you've put them somewhere here before--I'm pretty new. :))

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PrettyinPink,

 

Thank you so much for sharing your pics!! Your home is lovely and inspiring!

 

I need this thread right now as I'm drowning in constant mess and clutter! I want my house to be company ready at any given moment...and I don't want the excuse of having six kids and two dogs to get in the way of me keeping my house tidy! I also need to purge in a big way....The thing is, I don't have a ton of stuff....but it's the little stuff that gets left out....it's the hair bow that fell off the baby that I set on top of our kitchen bar. It's the cup that someone left on the coffee table in the family room. It's the pen that I found on the ground and set on the bar. It's the change that I found in the dryer that I set on top of the dryer. It's the hanger that dh left on the dining table because he didn't want to disturb us in the early morning by coming back into our room. I could go on and on and on.....but this is how it starts and then slowly it snowballs until there are small piles of carp everywhere!!!

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This is totally my experience. Having a good system is a huge timesaver. Putting away as I go through my day means I don't waste time looking for things or digging myself out of a cluttered pit. My sister is my polar opposite and her life is chaotic and she spends inordinate amounts of time just looking for the simplest things. And shuffling stuff instead of just filing immediately or tossing it, hanging it up or dropping in the hamper. It takes no more time to put something where it should go than it does to drop it and then shuffle it later!

 

I think this is where I struggle the most. If a good system is already in place, I can follow it easily and well--I'm a rule follower. But coming up with the systems/structure/places for some things just does NOT come naturally to me.

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Our clutter - which we don't have a lot of - comes from the sheer number of people in our family. We have one bedroom with a bunkbed and a twin bed, and it always looks cluttered because it is full of beds. We have seven pairs of boots by the doorway along with seven pairs of shoes. We have seven winter jackets and seven pairs of snowpants. Our garage has seven bikes in it. See the pattern? Does anyone have any idea to declutter your family?? :D

 

 

I do. Um...I'll try to link a FB album to this page.

 

https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10150252722380897.318105.620905896&type=3

 

 

Sigh. I want your furniture. Our house would look so much better with some grown-up furniture. Your house is lovely.

 

What I am really wondering, though, is where are all the chairs to sit on? You have a 7 person family like us, and I saw one table with four chairs and one breakfast bar with 2 stools. Do you eat together? If so, do some people stand?

 

I ask because I am drowning in chairs. We have a large table with six chairs and a high chair. Our breakfast bar has four stools, soon to be five once my littlest can sit safely on a stool. We eat breakfast and lunch at the breakfast bar with the kids sitting and dh & I standing, so I was serious about the standing question.

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Wow!! Is your house always that clean?? I mean, do you vacuum and sweep/mop everyday or was it just cleaned before the pictures?? Your home looks lovely and so orderly. :) Love the crape myrtles. :)

 

It's not always *that* clean, but pretty close. I can clean the whole house, top to bottom, in two or three hours. Even if stuff is scattered everywhere it's just not that much stuff so it doesn't take that long to put it away. There are always Legos in the floor, though. :tongue_smilie:

 

I do sweep and vacuum every day (well, someone does, it's not always me). I rarely mop.

 

What I am really wondering, though, is where are all the chairs to sit on? You have a 7 person family like us, and I saw one table with four chairs and one breakfast bar with 2 stools. Do you eat together? If so, do some people stand?

 

2Squared, our seating situation isn't ideal. You can't tell from the photos I posted, but the dining table and the breakfast bar w/ 2 stools are sort of adjacent to one another. Two of the kids eat at the counter and four of us at the table. We always eat at the same time, yes, and we can converse easily, but we can't all see one another. It's not the best. We are moving in a few months and I'm hoping we'll have the space for a larger table so that we can all eat together again! Sometimes during the day my 3yo does stand at the round table so that we can all eat together (dh is gone during the day so it's just 5 of us at that time). The baby isn't even in a high chair yet.

 

Thanks for all of the nice things you gals said about my home! :001_smile:

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Laundry Detergent

 

1 bar soap, grated (I've used Fels Naptha, Dial, and castille bar soap with good results)

1 cup washing soda

1 cup borax

1/4 cup baking soda

 

Mix it up and use 2 Tbsp per load of laundry. You can run it through the food processor if you want the texture to be uniform, but it's not necessary.

 

Dishwasher Detergent

 

Equal parts salt, washing soda, and borax. Mix well. I use 2 Tbsp per load and vinegar as a rinse agent.

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Interesting....it SOUNDS so easy. It SEEMS so easy. Implementing for those of us who struggle in this area is VERY hard. Harder than it seems like it should be.

 

I'll strongly endorse the earlier recommendation to start with the hidden areas of your home first. Clear out and organized drawers and closets, basement or garage storage. Then you have a place to organize the visable house stuff INTO. Also, it is easier to block clean one small storage space at a time than to try and tackle a whole room.

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I'll strongly endorse the earlier recommendation to start with the hidden areas of your home first. Clear out and organized drawers and closets, basement or garage storage. Then you have a place to organize the visable house stuff INTO. Also, it is easier to block clean one small storage space at a time than to try and tackle a whole room.

 

I'm finding this to be SOOO true, the more I think about it. I'm realizing that I would probably have homes for things that I can't find homes for if my closets and storage spaces were cleaned out and more organized.

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Pretty in Pink -- showed my dc the pictures of your house last night. I kept saying "clean, neat, organized. So pretty" as I was showing them the pictures. They were like "uh yeah" until I got to the pictures of your yard. Ds pipes up and says "hey we keep our yard neat"

 

Yes they do a good job keeping the yard trimmed and neat.

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Well, Pretty in Pink, you're very inspiring. I truly can't imagine how I would make that would work here, but I'm definitely game to try! I'll be decluttering more later today, and DD9 will be tackling her bedroom :D Thank you for sharing your photos and your methods!

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There are forums at this website:

 

http://unclutterer.com/about/

 

One thing that helps me immensely is having a double wide two-drawer file cabinet. In it I have folders arranged alphabetically that cover almost everything in my life. There are folders for:

 

AAA

Band instruments

4-H

Camp grounds

Cholesterol lab results

Life insurance

Pay stubs

Tourist places

Waterparks in my area

 

and MANY more

 

When I need a piece of paper or a brochure about something, I just go to my file cabinet and look under that letter. This is such an easy way to organize the endless papers that enter our home.

 

So that there is not too much mixing up, I have another file cabinet for school related stuff. I also have another drawer for all the manuals that come with items which we buy. Every so often I go through those manuals and toss manuals to things we don't own anymore.

 

A simple way to keep receipts is to buy one of those accordion plastic file keepers at the dollar store. Label the pockets January -December. Have a basket somewhere in the house where you toss receipts. When the month is over, gather them up and put them in the appropriate pocket of the file keeper.

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There are forums at this website:

 

http://unclutterer.com/about/

 

One thing that helps me immensely is having a double wide two-drawer file cabinet. In it I have folders arranged alphabetically that cover almost everything in my life. There are folders for:

 

AAA

Band instruments

4-H

Camp grounds

Cholesterol lab results

Life insurance

Pay stubs

Tourist places

Waterparks in my area

 

and MANY more

 

When I need a piece of paper or a brochure about something, I just go to my file cabinet and look under that letter. This is such an easy way to organize the endless papers that enter our home.

 

So that there is not too much mixing up, I have another file cabinet for school related stuff. I also have another drawer for all the manuals that come with items which we buy. Every so often I go through those manuals and toss manuals to things we don't own anymore.

 

A simple way to keep receipts is to buy one of those accordion plastic file keepers at the dollar store. Label the pockets January -December. Have a basket somewhere in the house where you toss receipts. When the month is over, gather them up and put them in the appropriate pocket of the file keeper.

 

great ideas, thank you!

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I have a lot of pain in my legs and fatigue due to autoimmune disorders. I have found that using a rolling office chair instead of walking, bending, etc. really helps me to get things done.

 

Other than that, I should be reading, because I need help. I am the most naturally unorganized person ever!

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... A Cleaning Cart- I also stole this from an organization book. I took one of those wheeled, folding grocery carts and repurposed it. I can make one pass around the room with that thing. I put a caddy with cleaning supplies in it. It has a trash bag and pillow case attached to it. When I get to a room, I take out the cleaning caddy and work around the room cleaning glass and furniture. Laundry goes in the main part of the cart. Trash goes in the trash bag. Anything that belongs in another room goes in the pillowcase. Vacuum the room then move to the next. Organized folks don't crisscross a room 5000 times or leave the room to return a single item to its home...

 

I REALLY like this idea! :D

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It's not always *that* clean, but pretty close. I can clean the whole house, top to bottom, in two or three hours. Even if stuff is scattered everywhere it's just not that much stuff so it doesn't take that long to put it away. There are always Legos in the floor, though. :tongue_smilie:

 

I do sweep and vacuum every day (well, someone does, it's not always me). I rarely mop.

 

:) That's amazing that you get your cleaning done so quickly. Your house has truly inspired me to try harder to get mine under control. :)

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How do you all who don't answer or chat on the phone have any friends?:confused:

 

I do more in-person talking, or chatting on the phone after my children are in bed or when they are occupied by something (that's kind of rare for 4 and 1, though, in our household). I also utilize email at my convenience to correspond with people.

 

In spite of my phone-eschewing ways, my social life is intact and flourishing!

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No t.v. watching. Sometimes I'll have on Me TV when we're eating lunch because we love the old shows.

 

No matter how tired I am, the kitchen is ALWAYS cleaned before bed. After dinner I immediately get up and start putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and wipe down all my countertops and stove. I don't want to wake up to a messy kitchen. EVERYTHING has a place and it goes where it belongs, which means I'm always taking something and putting it away, or just picking up most of the day. If I happen to be in the bathroom, I'll sometimes just do a quick wipe down or cleaning of the toilet. Doesn't take but a minute really. :)

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Pretty in Pink, your home is lovely. I wonder if growing up in a space that is so tidy and beautiful will lead your children to want to recreate that beauty in their own lives.

 

I was raised in chaotic clutter. I think that has made me into a person who naturally tolerates too much clutter and uncleanliness. :glare: It takes effort for me to keep my home tidy. All I've got going for me is a paranoia about my home looking like it could be on an episode of Hoarders.

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I'd like to echo the sentiment about everything having its place (including cabinets, drawers, and closets!)

 

Another thing that saves us is since we are military and move around so often, we MAKE ourselves purge every two years or so. We go through EVERYTHING and get rid of stuff we've accumulated. Plus, we try to keep all items to a minimum in the first place.

 

DD has a wonderful older friend that gives her garbage bags full of clothing almost every season (they are clothes shoppers - and we really aren't). She only has a small closet space and a small dresser, so she must get rid of things that she never wears, are torn/stained/too small before she brings those new clothes into her room. Goodwill must love us!

 

I also agree with those that said that things are clean and put away before bed. This makes my next day so much easier.

 

The kids must help/do chores! Ours help out quite a bit, but we try to make it fun with music or something. Plus, we are all working together, so they are not just doing it alone.

 

 

It is hard sometimes to keep the place up, winter especially, when the kids are inside so often. They have very few toys (they just don't play with them enough to be worth it). But they do have bins of legos, nerf guns, and cars. These get put away in a designated bin in their room when they are done playing. Otherwise they are reading and playing games (chess, board games - now on the IPad :) - - instead of millions of the boxed kind). Also, DVDs and video games are in CD binders - there are no DVD boxes laying around anywhere.

 

Dh has indulged my book hoard by building some very lovely bookshelves in strategic places throughout the house so that every book has a place, homeschooling stuff has a place, and it all stays clean and organized looking at all times.

 

*Thanks for all of the other ideas! I'm always looking for more ways to keep up with everything!

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How do you all who don't answer or chat on the phone have any friends?:confused:

 

We routinely get together with friends. On Thursday night we have a standing game night with friends. I have another friend that I go to aerobics class with a few times a week and we chat after that. Usually we have friends over for dinner at least once a week. The dinners are usually arranged through a quick email or text - "Dinner on Friday or Saturday night at 5?".

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Dh has indulged my book hoard by building some very lovely bookshelves in strategic places throughout the house so that every book has a place, homeschooling stuff has a place, and it all stays clean and organized looking at all times.

 

*Thanks for all of the other ideas! I'm always looking for more ways to keep up with everything!

 

Pictures please. My biggest clutter is my books.

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Don't have young children with no older children to help. hahahahaha

 

Um... yeah! I keep reading these and thinking, "But... but they have older kids who do chores!" (Please, if anyone knows another family who had 4 kids within a roughly 3-year span and keeps things sane, let me know.)

 

I don't want an excuse, though. I want my house clean, and I'll just have to find a way to do it. I make my bed every day, and I didn't used to do that. I keep toys in an off-limits room, and the kids have to put some away to pick out new ones. Things do get better, little by little. Next maybe I'll work on doing dishes every night, no matter how I feel. I think I'd feel more like getting out of bed earlier!

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