Homework. Our kids have it and so should we. Like I said in the last blog “we never stop learning.” And apparently some of you want to learn about organization. So, I went back to the learning board myself – or rather our Pinterest board, and added some ideas for you!
I have to laugh at a post someone sent me that said “stop pinning and make things.” How often do you do that? I have so many ideas – but not the time or the money to do it all. I try and keep our home clean and organized – but I also let my kids (and husband) live there – so at times there are tents set up in our living room, or playdoh stuck to dining room table. My boys are 4&6 years old now, so we are starting to have lil’ helpers around – but sometimes their help seems to only add to the mess! And even with little helpers I find that the old way I organized the house doesn’t always work for todays needs. Because the needs for each space seem to often change I re-visited every corner in the house to see where to start. To do lists change even more so I re-visited my planner as well.
I’ve been asked to help with organization, but now I have to ask you – in what way? Here’s another homework assignment for you: Do as I did. Re-visit how you clean, how spaces are used, how you schedule your appointments, how you plan meals… What areas do you need to re-design? What specific areas of organization do you want info on? While I await such answers I’ll move forward on where I need to re-structure, and I thought I’d restructure where the house starts. When people enter the house I don’t want them to see this:
dump corner
But if you visit us at the end of a week – after running in and out for work, school, doctor appointments, therapies, sports, etc… – This is how it sometimes looked. Like many Northern Michigan homes our front door is not really what’s used. Many local entrances are “mud rooms” in a garage or basement…but it doesn’t haveta look like the reason it’s called a “mud room.” So after a bit of cleaning (and bench building) – it now looks like:
organized dump w/ boot bench &box
kid corner with reachable coat hooks,
mitten baskets & boot bench
No, it’s not Pinterest worthy…yet…but it’s a start. It’s a place to start and end the day. It was a quick and cheap fix that solves the problem of everything needing a place to go and everyone (even preschoolers) being able to take care of their own belongings. Now, let’s see if the boys (and their dad) follow this plan. Don’tcha hate when you put all the effort into a plan and the rest of the family doesn’t follow it? Well to encourage less clean up of shoes and such for me I developed the star chart (laminate a print off & use a dry erase marker to color in):
easy chore chart
Get your own stuff ready each morning = star, Put your stuff away when you get home = star, Help with another chore = star, 3 stars = 30 mins free time (to play with video games or other demanded activities, such as stay up late) … each missing star = an extra chore or 10 mins less time/early bed… How do you encourage your family members to help out with the chores? Share your ideas with us on keeping things clean and tidy and remember to let us know what other areas of organization you want ideas for! Challenge us to find ways to create simple – yet effective – solutions and resources for you.
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