15th
I need some ideas for organizing my house….?
Posted by How To Get Organized, in How To Get OrganizedWe have 5 kids and a lot of clutter in every single room..I was planning on going shopping for things to help declutter the house…any ideas of what I could pick up or any ideas on what I could do? Ideas that maybe you have done would be helpful also. THanks
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March 15th, 2010 at 10:11 am
It sounds like no matter what else is going on with you, in a household that big, space is priceless, even if you have a huge house. And I am also assuming that when this is all over, you want the house to be easier to live in. Which is why you should be thinking about decluttering. By that I mean, getting rid of stuff period. When there is chronic clutter, it is almost always the reason the mess keeps coming back. What you can think about is…don’t you have enough stuff to keep track of with five kids in the house?
So what I would do before buying any containers is get it sorted out and find what you can let go of for good. Then you won’t need a container to store it at all, and the space will be freed up to make everything else easier.
Try to scale back on things all the way around. Simplify your decorations, your kitchen, your wardrobes, your linens. Set a limit on how big collections are allowed to get. Ask yourself some questions:
Is this item absolutely necessary to the function of my home? Can I satisfy the needs some other way? For example cookbooks may go if you can compile a recipe folder or get recipes online. Newspapers and magazines can be cancelled if you can watch TV news or get fashion info. If you are hanging onto items that are indeed useful and used, can you get rid of mulitples of those things?
Is the memorabilia getting out of hand? Can I scrapbook or photo some items and get rid of the item itself? Can I keep a couple things that represent a time instead of keeping everything from that event or stage of childhood?
Once you have that stage completed, look at what is left and try to get some things out of circulation so clutter is minimized even more. One big thing for you is that I’m sure that handmedowns are the way to go and sometimes things are between kids, needed later but not now.
What you can do is get some Rough Totes or similar bins, or space bags (vacuum seal and compress items) for clothing items and linens. Gather up those items, label what they are, the next kid that will need them, and approx when you will need them again. Your label might say: Girls clothes size 4T. For Sara. Try on in Sept 2007.
An important thing is that if you are done with babies, you can start getting rid of baby gear as the last child outgrows that item. OF COURSE keep a couple small mementos. And as the last child passes through the stages, get rid of the youngest stuff. You will need to because it will undoubtedly be replaced with other hobbies and toys.
OK so rotations. You can simplify any clutter without giving away everything you have by dividing total amounts of things into smaller collections. Try splitting things in half or thirds, or with adults clothes, fourths (one per season of the year). This works really well with things like linens, toys, music, video, books, decor.
You might start by getting rid of anything that is in ratty condition, pieces are missing, or hard to maintain. Another donation or trash.
Then gather all that stuff together and start getting like with like. If you have a collection of 200 books in various genres, start making piles that have a little of every genre in them until you are only displaying 100 or 50 at a time. The other mini-libraries get stored separately and you swap out. And what about the books that come in? Well, if you have space, you can grow the collection, or you can limit yourself by removing one old item for every new item that you get.
Laundry is probably a concern at your house so I would highly recommend rotation of your own clothes (if you store kids clothes this way you lose the maximum time the item can be used because they grow…). Wardrobe, if you think about it, is just another word for laundry. If you have fewer clothes out, then you have fewer clothes to wash. PERIOD. Same applies to linens. If you dispense with tablecloths and go to placemats or a naked table, there is less laundry. In the bathroom, you can switch to plastic poofs instead of washcloths, dip them in a vinegar solution once a week to clean them. You can choose two towels for each person, label with names, and expect them to hang up between uses. Keep a few extra in YOUR closet for guests, then wash towels once or twice a week. For bedding, each bed can have one set of linens, all the others can rotate with the seasons or go. For emergency flu or bedwetting accidents, keep extras…one idea is that if you only keep sheets for the largest size bed in the house, they can wrap around any size mattress to get you through a tough night.
All this will tame the laundry problem after you have organized.
I would suggest not buying anything for storage until you know what you are keeping, what needs to be stored, and where it needs to fit (space, style) so you don’t purchase the wrong thing. You can simulate a storage system using garbage bags and cardboard boxes until you know it is functional. You can also consider that with a large scale declutter, if you do it right, there will be more closet space, more room in furniture pieces and on existing shelves.
A great storage piece for things in use is to outfit a simple bookshelf with dishpans or baskets. Then it becomes a drawer system of sorts where everything is portable, contained, organized.
But for the majority of the stuff in storage, I would go with RoughTotes or similar plastic bins. Clear is great so you can see contents but also label.
In the kitchen, get rid of any gadgetry you are not using. These are such space hogs. Then start putting things together where they are used. Honor the work triangle and its traffic patterns. Store self serve items OUT of the work triangle so when you are cooking, people can come and go without disturbing you. Store pans between the stove and the sink. Store dishes and serving pieces between the sink and the dining table. Store tupperware between the sink and the fridge. Store food in between the stove and the fridge. Store daily used things where they are most easily reached. This means counter tops, fronts of cabinets, at eye level, top of the pile. Store frequently but not daily things a little more out of reach but still accessible. Store seasonally used things in the highest or deepest places.
You might make little project kits around your kitchen for the most common tasks. Can you have a cookie making cabinet where there is a cookie sheet, a mixing bowl, a wooden spoon, a set of measuring cups, and cookie ingredients like vanilla, choc chips, and sprinkles. Put the bowl on the pan (which becomes a tray) and then put all your stuff in the bowl. Then when you want to bake, slide out the pan and get to work. And don’t forget to double or triple the recipe while you are preparing the cookie dough. You can make your own tubes, wrap them in saran and then foil, label with content and baking instructions, then bake off a pan or two and freeze the rest.
You want to think forward in the kitchen as much as possible. You can do many things ahead of time, stealing only a few seconds while you are already cooking that night’s meal. By stacking tasks you make ONE mess and get more out of it. Each meal, try to do three extra tasks: one for way in the future, one for the next meal, and one for later in the week. If you do this consistently, you can shave HOURS off your kitchen time.
Here is one example.
Say for tonight’s dinner you want to make meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and salad.
Way later tasks:
Make two or three meatloaves, freeze what you will not serve and have them for later when you are in a hurry.
Make extra meatloaf mixture and have some meatballs going on the skillet while the loaves bake. Freeze for another time.
After thawing extra hamburger, make some into meatloaf and some into patties. Stack with wax paper in between and then freeze for a quick burger some other time.
Chop extra onions and peppers and freeze what doesn’t go into the mixture. Chopped raw onions freeze JUST FINE and can be used in cooking.
Make a huge quantity of mashed potatoes and freeze, or make some into potato patties and fry up and freeze, or assemble a shepherd’s pie with some ground hamburger from the same meal.
Make extra cracker crumbs for cutlets some other time.
Some next meal and through the week ideas:
While you are cracking eggs for the meatloaf, mix up the next morning’s scrambled eggs.
Prepare extra salad for lunches, or keep working with salad ingredients. You can use cucumber slices for a spa treatment, lunches or snacks. You can make tomato slices for sandwiches. You can make carrot and celery sticks for snacks and lunches.
While you are working, keep a sink of hot soapy water. If you have pared down your kitchen, you may need to handwash things to keep moving through, and it helps minimize messes in the kitchen, gets things soaking until you can load the dishwasher.
These are way more ideas than you asked for, I know. I hope it helps.
March 15th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Walmart has great storage boxes. I got some that roll right under my bed for extra clothes. I got some with lids for all the kids’ blocks and some for extra toys. I got shoe racks for under $10 to organize all the shoes they fit right in the closet. I also got a clothes rack from there for all the extra clothes that need to hang but not enough room.
March 15th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Get the little plastic drawers from walmart (in the aisle with plastic bins) and organize all you bathroom stuff (one drawer for lotions, 1 for perfumes, etc). I have about 5 different sizes of these in my bathroom and where my shelves were once overflowing, I now have lots of extra room for towels and such.
March 15th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Baskets. I have baskets in every room. Kitchen counter for pens, scissors, mail…… In the living room for dog toys….one for magazines and books…..another in the living room for my son’s toys…..one in my son’s room for his toys….in the bathroom for my make-up, cotton balls, razors……there’s all kinds of uses for baskets.
March 15th, 2010 at 10:11 am
if you have slightly small clostes have bin organizer for the shows on the floor, or a shoes holder for the doors. I have bins in the drawers to keep their small items together. drawer ogranizers. If you need counter space for jewelry but can’t find it, there are jewelry organizers that go in drawers. Buy those bag that vaccum out the air to make things fit. I know my closets are small so I have a underwear/socks/undershirt organizer in my closet for help me. If you don’t have closet don’t buy an ugly clothes rack, but you can buy a armore. Buy a untensil organizer. mail holder/ trash bin and bills to pay bin.
March 15th, 2010 at 10:11 am
The "Fly Lady" has a lot of helpful hints. Not all of her scenarios apply to everyone, and most don’t need to follow all of the steps, but there are a bunch of really useful tips and tricks.
Best of Luck!!
…5 kids? You’ve got your hands full girl!
http://www.flylady.com/
March 15th, 2010 at 10:11 am
I got the idea to put shoes in an old laundry basket by the door from Y! Answers featured question. It works awesome. Longaberger makes beautiful baskets.
Store clothes in space bags (the kind that vaccume down) and store them under beds. This keeps toys from getting lost underthere and having to fish them out!
Minimize. Buy a foot locker for each child. Tell them that what doesn’t fit in the box, needs to go. It looks neat and it’s completely practical- and they can even LOCK it (kids love to think they have privacy! We moms know better!)
I love the fact that each of my children have captain’s beds. Half of the bed has drawers, and the other half is for clothing storage! They can keep books near by, and even a nice night light.
March 15th, 2010 at 10:11 am
5 Kids and probably inadequate closet space – that sounds familiar to me. I only had three boys, but space limitations are always a problem in housing and what the family budget will allow. What I have done to store toys, games, etc.. are the plastic storage containers with lids (get the stackable ones). By separating different childs containers, you can give them a sense of ownership in protecting their toys or things and expecting them to keep things picked up. I even put some of their clothing in them. In your available closet spaces, they make some vinyl covered shelving units that are available to help store shoes, clothes, games, or other items. They are not that difficult to install with hand tools, and they can buy you a lot of space. The multi-level hangers for clothing work pretty to aid in economizing space for several children. Going through clothing and getting rid of unused clothing is a continual process, so that will need to be done. I have also found it helpful to have the kids go through their stuff at least once a year to see what they are willing to get rid of (otherwise you have an endless stream of stuff coming into your house). Garage sales and Good Will are good outlets for this stuff. Good luck on organizing everything.
March 15th, 2010 at 10:11 am
With 5 kids, you have your hands full and I don’t know how you’re going to avoid zero clutter, however, you can make it manageable. In fact, clutter will make you mentally stressed out!First I suggest that you go through all of your stuff room by room and sort it all out. If you haven’t used it in a year, donate the item to the thrift store. Kids who can make decisions should go through their toys and weed them out. What do they play with? What is broken? What needs to go? Clothes….same thing. Furniture that’s seen better days, out! Just do a real gut-wrenching toss all over the house! Get regular cheap laundry baskets color-coded for each kid. They can learn to put dirty clothes in each one, and you can sort clothes per basket. If the kids are old enough, teach them to do their own laundry. Towels, same thing. One hanger for each kid. Use the underbed storage for out of season clothing to free up closet space. Put in shelves for shoes. Have them get their clothing ready for school the night before; that goes for lunches too. Have a rule: no toys in the living room or your bedroom! In your working space; have a basket for bills, one for readable mail and a big trashcan for junk so you can sort immediately. If you can find a place for everything and remember that everything goes back in it’s place, you’ll conquer your clutter and the kids will learn by watching you. Godblessya! (check out HGTV.com)