I have a problem

[ktgrok]

I NEED to organize and declutter. i can't handle constantly picking up the same stuff over and over, tripping over things, etc. 

And yet, we also NEED to stock up on things, and keep the house full of fun stuff for the kids, etc because my area may very well be shutting down again in the not distant future. (not just me saying this...state political figures, etc are bringing it up). 

How on earth do I do both?

Oh, and i'd like things tucked away so not visually cluttered but also open and in full view for the kids because out of sight/out of mind, lol. 

And I'm tired of doing dishes for 6 people for 3 meals plus snacks, but also tired of the trash needing to go out constantly due to paper plates/disposable stuff. 

Whine!

[MercyA]

[73349]

Maybe workboxes would work for your school-age kids: science discovery stuff in one box, art kit in another, etc.  I have opaque boxes in different colors, with lids, from a school supply store. They come in a couple of sizes, one like a shoe box and one larger (8.5x11" things can lie flat). I put pocket labels on some of them to show which one held what. This is the brand: https://romanoffproducts.com/collections/storage-and-organization/products/5-stowaway-letter-box

Is a dishwasher a possible investment? Or composting? Plain white, uncoated paper plates and napkins are compostable.

Edited October 2, 2020 by Carolina Wren

[EmilyGF]

14 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

I NEED to organize and declutter. i can't handle constantly picking up the same stuff over and over, tripping over things, etc. 

And yet, we also NEED to stock up on things, and keep the house full of fun stuff for the kids, etc because my area may very well be shutting down again in the not distant future. (not just me saying this...state political figures, etc are bringing it up). 

How on earth do I do both?

Oh, and i'd like things tucked away so not visually cluttered but also open and in full view for the kids because out of sight/out of mind, lol. 

And I'm tired of doing dishes for 6 people for 3 meals plus snacks, but also tired of the trash needing to go out constantly due to paper plates/disposable stuff. 

Whine!

I was able to cut down on dishwashing due to carpal tunnel. Basically, I said, "I can't do this." I cannot because it kills my arms to the point that I need advil to sleep. So the kids load their own things, or even wash them if the dishwasher is broken.

Can you skip dishes for snacks? Or use sharpie to mark glasses by person and day? It washes off pretty well and cuts down on the number of dirty cups.

I told myself that any games we didn't play during the pandemic got donated. Because if we can't play them in a shelter-in-place time, will we ever play them? For us, certain games are played a lot (Settlers of Catan, Rivals of Catan, Wingspan, Bohnanza), but most get ignored and can get donated or trashed.

Keep the special toys for when a shut down happens again. We bought a $90 game that should be coming this week, but I'm hiding it in my closet until things get bad again. I also packed up train tracks and Legos for a while. Sometimes I find kids to be more creative when they have fewer choices. And they can get out the legos again in a month or two.

[prairiewindmomma]

We have fewer things.  It means that we need to maintain more frequently, but we've adjusted just fine.

We don't do paper plates, at all.  I have a small stash in a tub in the garage with our storm/earthquake prep stuff, but our trash can fills up too quickly if we use paper plates.  We run our dishwasher 2-3 times a day.  We have a stack of white plates, bowls, and cups, and they just get washed constantly.  Our youngest still has a stainless steel set of tableware, but she has nearly outgrown that at 7. (We got it when she was 2 and we moved into a house with tile everywhere.)  We simply clean up after every meal.  Everyone plays a part in that--wiping the table, sweeping the floor, and loading or unloading the dishwasher.  Cleaning up is every part of mealtime as putting food in your mouth is.  It takes an extra 10 minutes total, and is no big deal anymore.  

Everyone has one water bottle, and we have two spares so if something is temporarily misplaced, we have a backup.  The kids really mind their stuff, though, because they know that is what they have.  They were a lot less careful when we had lots of bottles.  Likewise, when Youngest still had sippy cups, she had two. One was in use, and the other was in the dishwasher. Duplication of stuff isn't always a blessing.

My kids play better with fewer things. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but it's true.  They are just as visually overwhelmed as I am, and the smaller the house, the more relentless you have to be about decluttering.  They are also ADD enough that picking up is hard, and so it all needs to be able to be done in just a few minutes.If new things come in, they are often disposable.  This month's new things are scratch art sheets and modeling clay.  The scratch art sheets will get used, displayed for a week or two, and out it will go.  The FIMO modeling clay is mostly being used for making American Girl doll food and other accessories. It will be played with until it is broken or not picked up some day, and then out it will go too.  I am giving my kids experiences, not stuff, iykwim. We have dedicated toy space, and that's it.  It's full, and for something else to come in, something else must go out.  We have an IKEA Kallax system (4x4).  The bins have labels (photos), so that everyone knows what goes where, and it's obvious where to go to look for something.  

The kids should be responsible for maintaining their own play area. They are entirely capable of being trained to do so.  If they aren't keeping it maintained after training, then there needs to be less stuff until they are capable of maintaining.  Our kids are able to say what they think is worth picking up: legos, American Girl dolls, and one bin per person for their "own" stuff is pretty much all that has made it long term. 

If what you have is too much for you right now, have less and have your kids do more.  We do them no favors by not letting them have a lot of time to develop their EF skills by teaching them to manage their own stuff and personal care.  They REALLY need to have a grip on minding their own laundry and dishes and messes before we add on the layers of greater school and then work duties. 

[catz]

It seems like everyone held up in their house with kids of any age probably has this issue right now unless you've been super on top of decluttering with kids throughout.  I am the only person in our house that seems to care and we are ALL here ALL the time still.  We are just opening up, numbers are looking better but we also have had large protests so I'm watching and waiting. I have TONS of stuff to sell/giveaway right now with 2 teens.  I feel like this just isn't the season to try and get it done.  Though I may dig around and see if the vets have resumed pick ups at some point for some low hanging fruit.  I'm not super comfortable with our Goodwill's drop off protocols yet.  .   

Scary Mommy had an article about covid clutter that I found slightly reassuring.  Misery loves company.  😂  Waning - language.  

https://www.scarymommy.com/covid-clutter-getting-to-you/?utm_source=FB&fbclid=IwAR2vxXlH4RrOooyM52IEz3jw8s4LKN1pB7cehG

Train your kids to put their own dishes in the dishwasher.  I did this at a very early age.  Sometimes we are running ours 2-3X a day.  I am sticking stuff in there that maybe shouldn't go in there.  Oh well.  Kids can be trained to unload too.  We never use paper products. If you have a good system to crank through the dishwasher, I like that better.  We bought extra small plates when my kids were young and we still go through all those plates.  

Edited June 15, 2020 by FuzzyCatz

[ktgrok]

Ok, so this is going to sound really dumb, but I think I needed to hear that other people are running the dishwasher that often! I had in my head that you run the dishwasher once a day at night. Heck, half the cleaning blogs say "if it is full" or "even if it isn't full". Um...yeah....it's full, and dishes are everywhere!

I did go ahead and order more dishes, as I realized part of the issue was with everyone home all day, we were running out constantly. Um...yeah...we have 6 people. I had 3 big normal bowls, and 2small dessert bowls. I had 5 lunch plates (the ones we use most often). And no where near enough spoons.  That's not going to cut it! So I ordered those last week, that helped. But I was still resistant to running the dishwasher many times a day. Mental block?

So I think maybe for a week I'll try running it three times a day even....after each meal, then I can cut back if need be. We just all tend to think, "oh, I could fit another few cups in there" and not run it, and then the next thing you know there is a full meal's worth of dishes for 6 people, and only a few cups fit. The rest sit in the sink. 

Also, thanks to so many people suggesting having the kids help, I just moved everything around, and now the plates, bowls, and plastic tumblers are all at kid height!!! I did NOT like having the 7 year old climb on the counter with glass plates to put them away, so never had him do it. But now everything other than a few actual glass glasses that only DH uses are within reach without climbing. I think I will unload in the morning, and then they can take turns after lunch and dinner. Or I'll do after dinner and they can do after breakfast and lunch. That would work. DD 10 is a morning person who likes to be done with chores ASAP so she can do the morning unload. 

I'm also dropping the guilt and getting rid of some stuff in the kitchen. The breadmaker that I don't use since going gluten free, a big heavy enameled cast iron pot that DH got me for Christmas that I don't use because it is so heavy and I have a cheap metal one I like better, a big pampered chef stonewear casserole dish that is also super heavy and I never use. All expensive, but damn it, I don't have room for "cost a lot but I don't use it". I may also finally get rid of or at least box up my grandfather's tea set he gave me. It's on display on a shelf, very pretty , but I didn't like the man, and I don't have much room for "pretty" right now I'm afraid. 

Laundry they can't do, as they can't reach into the stupid topload washer. But I do make them fold their own clothes and put them away. I'm also at the point of having DH do his own laundry too. Going to maybe color code the laundry baskets  - one for each person. 

[prairiewindmomma]

If you are a 6+ on a 0-10 scale of disorganization, don’t color code laundry baskets. Keep two baskets (Upright hampers) for dirty clothes in the laundry room. One for lights and one for darks. Train everyone to put their dirty clothes there. As soon as laundry is dry and folded, it gets put into drawers. When you allow it to sit in baskets, the baskets gets rifled through, upset, and neglected.

When laundry is well under control for everyone, then expand the system....but it sounds like you are falling apart at the “just do the thing” phase, and the solution to that problem is not buying more temporary storage things.

Yay on buying more dishes! 
And yes on making the kitchen work for YOUR family. I also had to purge a lot of things that I didn’t use to make space for the things I DO use.

[LMD]

Paper plates, then bonfire. 😄

[Carol in Cal.]

People I know who do laundry for that many folks usually have a very uniform set of clothes.

For instance, white socks, many pairs each and nothing else.  Not so hard to match, just get the length right and roll together.  Ditto underpants.  

 

[wendyroo]

32 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

People I know who do laundry for that many folks usually have a very uniform set of clothes.

For instance, white socks, many pairs each and nothing else.  Not so hard to match, just get the length right and roll together.  Ditto underpants.  

I'm doing laundry for 6, and I go with the opposite system: everyone has to have their own recognizable socks and undies.  Otherwise I wash and pair and then don't know who to send them home with, and then boys are coming to me complaining that they are out of socks because one of their brothers has 40 bajillion pairs in his drawer.

[wendyroo]

41 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

My 9 and 11 yr olds can reach into our top loader, as long as the use the step stool.

We also have a step stool permanently in front of the washer.  We use this one.  My 11 year old doesn't need it anymore, but it allows my 6 and 9 year olds to reach clothes on the very bottom of the washer.  My 4 year old can use it to see into the washer to evenly distribute clothes when she is loading and to add the soap; she still needs to climb onto the washer to turn the knobs, but the stool allows her to do that safely and independently. 

[ktgrok]

46 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

People I know who do laundry for that many folks usually have a very uniform set of clothes.

For instance, white socks, many pairs each and nothing else.  Not so hard to match, just get the length right and roll together.  Ditto underpants.  

 

Oh, I don't roll socks, or anything. You get a pile of your socks. If you want them folded, fine, have at it. Otherwise, here is your pile, lol. 

[mom2scouts]

We just decluttered our school/game room today. There were ton of games and toys that my kids have outgrown or have no interest in ever using again, BUT we also discovered a lot of games, books, and movies that we'd forgotten about. I'm just telling you this because it is possible to reduce the clutter *and* find new things to do during a shutdown.

I can't help you with the dishes. We run our dishwasher every day and there's still always a pile on the counter.

[Shoeless]

I have 3 people here and do dishes 2-3 times a day. I'm over it. 

[Pen]

Different exact circumstances, but basically, I’m right with you! Similar problems!!! 

I don’t think our area is right about to shutdown  down again, but we still need to stay stocked up. 

I feel like I need to organize and de clutter too.  I already did pre CV19, and now it is worse!

 

Maybe make a box for my “if exposed or feeling symptoms” so it won’t be inability to think or find whatever in that event. 

 

And dishes!!! Maybe we need to be gatherers who eat hand to mouth or something...  

And now? gotta go put away dinner leftovers!!!

should at least make tomorrow a bit easier! 

[fairfarmhand]

My idea:

It's not unusual for my family to eat off of a paper napkin if it's a non messy food item.

Chips, sandwiches, grapes, crackers, cookies, etc, can all be eaten off a paper napkin. Sometimes lunch is eaten off of a napkin on the table. 

And I went to Dollar Tree and bought each family member their own glass.

My 18 yo has a cut crystal glass

My 15 yo has a purple mason jar

My 12 yo has a tall glass beer mug.

I use my own personal coffee cup for anything but water and my water bottle the rest of the day.

They are fanatics about using THEIR glass. IT's my dh who is the glass waster. And look out for the side eye glares if he accidentally gets one of the kids' glasses.