Minor changes you've made in your home mgmt that has made a huge difference

[mykdsmomy]

There are so many great ideas in this thread. Thank you to everyone who responded! I wasn't able to get back until just now and am so excited to read so many wonderful suggestions!

 

A huge part of my problem is that I've been to lax with my kids and my expectations of them (as far as cleaning).

 

They are ALL guilty of leaving their shoes/papers/toys/dishes/etc out. They are also guilty of not getting the dishes done when it's their turn....:glare: I hate waking up to a dirty kitchen and that's just what I did this morning because dd17 didn't do the dishes last night and when I asked her about it at 11pm, she said "it's late now...I'm going to bed"....I take responsibility for not MAKING her do them...I need to get tougher on all of them.

[warneral]

This week has gone so much better with me doing little random jobs throughout the days. Throw in a load of laundry, do this do tha. Less procrastination and more proactive

[TammyS]

There are so many great ideas in this thread. Thank you to everyone who responded! I wasn't able to get back until just now and am so excited to read so many wonderful suggestions!

 

A huge part of my problem is that I've been to lax with my kids and my expectations of them (as far as cleaning).

 

They are ALL guilty of leaving their shoes/papers/toys/dishes/etc out. They are also guilty of not getting the dishes done when it's their turn....:glare: I hate waking up to a dirty kitchen and that's just what I did this morning because dd17 didn't do the dishes last night and when I asked her about it at 11pm, she said "it's late now...I'm going to bed"....I take responsibility for not MAKING her do them...I need to get tougher on all of them.

 

In this case, I would just pick the ONE thing that bothers you the most and focus on that. Once that behavior is under control, then work on the next one.

[momacacia]

In this case, I would just pick the ONE thing that bothers you the most and focus on that. Once that behavior is under control, then work on the next one.

 

Ooh, I like this. For us, it's going to be "scheduled" 15 minute pick up times. Yes, I'll have to ride herd and train, but then it will become a habit when the timer starts, and Lord willing, will start controlling that irritating clutter. Thanks!!

[myfatherslily]

The Toy Box. One day I got fed up with, again, trying to sort through ALLLL the toys thrown allllll over the bedroom floor. I drove to the store and bought a long, deep plastic storage box. Cars, trucks, action figures, potato head, toy dishes, and almost everything else goes in that bin. The kids DO have to dig through it to find what they want. But you know what happened with the old system? They dumped everything everywhere and no one cleaned it and their bedroom floor was ALWAYS completely covered with toys (like for weeks before it was cleaned up, only to be trashed again two days later).

 

Now, every night we throw all the dress-ups in the dress-up box. We put all the Lego in the Lego box. And every single other toy goes in the toy box. BEST DECISION EVER. The rest of my house is still a mess, but THIS ROOM gets cleaned at night! It's so stinking easy.

[Baseball mom]

I've recently institute a "Sock Sack". It's a lingerie laundry bag. Each child has their own hanging on a hook in their rooms. When the kids take off their socks and undies, they put them into their sock sacks. On laundry day, I throw the entire bag into the wash. No more sorting out socks! Each child gets their own bag back and puts away their own socks and undies. I got the idea from here.

 

I started this several years ago. Such a time saver :thumbup:

 

That doesn't bother me too much, but if you leave them in front a door, there is 100% chance that I will throw them out of the door, in two different directions.

 

:lol::lol::lol::lol: Love it!!!!!!!

 

 

I am currently in the "I want to throw everything out stage" UGH!

 

:iagree:

[FeFe]

Doing a 5 minute clean of the bathrooms every morning has made my life so much easier. I keep cleaning wipes and a toilet brush in each bathroom and quickly clean the sink and toilet every morning. I also keep a dish wand with tub cleaner in it in each shower. After showers/baths we scrub the walls and tub with that. It takes less than a minute to do the tub and I can do both bathrooms in the morning in about 5 minutes. Best part? I NEVER have to spend 30+ minutes "cleaning" the bathroom. It stays clean! (I do have to do the floors occasionally)

 

 

The shower thing is brilliant! Thanks for the idea!

[Mom2Es]

I only buy striped sheets. No more fumbling around trying to figure out which is the short side. Only saves a minute or two, but saves lots of mental hassle.

[mommylawyer]

* I don't hang any children's clothes, except for my girls' church dresses.

 

* On Monday morning, I put 3 collapsible laundry baskets in the hallway - one for darks, one for lights, and one for whites - and the kids sort. I wash and dry, then they fold and put away.

 

* I have a chore chart on the fridge. The kids check it every day and do their chores, usually while I cook dinner. They also have to clean their rooms each day.

 

* Because we have limited closet space, I have cubbies by the front door. In the cold months, each kid has their own cubbie for coats, hats, and gloves. In warm weather, I put sunscreen and bug repellant in one cubbie, light jackets in another, sunglasses and outdoor blankets in one, and chalk and bubbles in another.

 

* I have a large basket for library books. Unless they're being read, library books stay in the basket.

 

* I wipe off my shower walls and the tub with an old washcloth after I shower. Cuts down on the cleaning time later.

 

* Each of my children has their own special color of bath towel. Once I started that, my husband could tell which kid was leaving their towel in the bathroom floor.

[A.Balaban]

Some great ideas here!

 

We keep a white board on the front of our refrigerator - important notes to DH go here, along with an outline of what's expected that day, appts, etc. I can fit four days on the front of the white board, with space at the bottom for notes. As I erase one day, I add the next until I get to Saturday. Sunday evening I rewrite for Mon-Thurs. On the side of our refridgerator I keep a white board calendar, that keeps everything for one month. DH work schedule, appts, etc. Below that are two white-board lists that I keep "To-Do" lists on. One for me and projects I am working on (I also will write down like tests and things I need to do for school here) and then one list for DH, any projects he needs to work on. the white board has really been the life saver - we keep everything here. I wish DH looked at it more often, but I know it helps me.

 

We are still working on our laundry "system" - we go to a laundromat so the tendency is to let it slide until we are out of clothes. I am purging clothes (I got rid of a full 13-gal bag of clothes last time we did laundry) and I have a pile "too small" clothes. My goal is to get our clothes down to a manageble level so I can walk to laundromat while kids are sleeping (laundromat is like 1 block away....closer than I had to walk at my old apartment to move my car) to do a couple loads.

 

Our big problem is coming up with a schedule. DH's schedule is crazy so we are always re-adjusting. I would love to get some stability.... but I don't know how! I mean, DH can work any day from Su-Sa, and any hours from 7a-11p (not the entire time), plus with my school responsibilities (Class Sat AM and Mon night, but normally doing HW 3-4 nights a week after kids are in bed) I am certainly looking for a "magic pill" so to speak. Any suggestions on how to create a routine admist chaos?

[mommylawyer]

If the kids are always home, give them age appropriate tasks to do at set times on set days. Mine are 10, 8, and 6 (the ones that are old enough to help). They sort and fold laundry, do dishes, clean bathrooms, dust, vacuum, sweep, and clean mirrors. They know what they need to do on any given day (not all chores are done each day). Maybe while the parent on duty is preparing a meal, they can do their jobs!

[birchbark]

- cleaning wipes for the bathrooms

- don't let laundry pile up; do it frequently. Kids put away their own.

- kids do a clean sweep of the house every night before bed. I always get the kitchen clean and set the dishwasher at night as well.

- delegate those chores! Check Montessori and Waldorf catalogs for child-size cleaning tools.

- keep wardrobes basic and ironing-free

- kids have terry robes on hooks for after showers/baths instead of towels. They can run to their rooms to dress or in winter they like to do it by the pellet stove.

- we switched to microfiber cleaning recently and love it! No cleaners needed, you just use water. I especially love my mf mop. My 5yo runs it damp over the kitchen floor every morning (no bucket!) and the floor has never been cleaner. Check out ecloth for good quality products that are cheaper than Norwex.

- toys go on shelves (or bins on the shelves) rather than a toybox, a la a church nursery. We have lots of hooks in the house; very easy for kiddos to hang things up.

[Beth in OH]

Throw away unnecessary mail and papers instantaneously.

I have some strange going-through-catalogs addiction.

 

Me, too. It's a mindless (and time sucking) diversion ! The Anthropologie catalog is almost like looking at art, though. :-)

[speedmom4]

Many years ago, when my children were younger, I was fed up with their clothing always ending up on the floor, dirty clothes stuffed in a drawer, or clean clothes at the bottom of the closet. :glare: I was fortunate enough that my washer and dryer are in the basement and in a decent sized room so we turned it into the kids' closet. I bought laundry organizers and brought their dressers down there. It has been one of the best ideas ever. I am able to get laundry done much easier and I don't have to lug it up two flights of stairs to the bedrooms.

 

I have also discovered the importance of meal planning. Every week (whether I want to or not) I make a meal plan. Then I write out my grocery list and then shop. I also use my cock pot A LOT. I don't particularly enjoy cooking and especially at around 5 o'clock so now I just start dinner in the morning and then add sides later.

 

God Bless,

Elise in NC