Organizing

I have been very spoiled the last couple of months, to have 2 wonderful ladies come and clean my home, once a week.  This has been a priceless gift from my in-laws.  It has allowed me to put my energy into this cancer fight, instead of into scrubbing my floors.

I really wanted to make it as easy and simple as possible for them, so I have been going through my home with a different point of view than I normally would have, sort of an “editing eye” and I have found it has helped tremendously with minimizing our home.

I know when I need to dust, sweep, vacuum or mop, that it is so much easier when there is less stuff in the way!  I found myself going through each room with a “cleaning ladies” point of view, picturing what would be in the way of my dust rag or my broom.  If I found that there was anything in the way and I didn’t love it, or that was not useful, I got rid of it.  If I did love it, it got a new home up off the floor, in the most practical place I could find for that particular item.

Examples:
Items in windowsills
Windows are so much easier to wipe clean and the window sills are so much easier to dust and clean when there is not a bunch of chotskies in the way.

A clear floor, as much as possible
This one has been the most helpful as far as getting rid of things or finding a home for things.  It is such a pain to move smaller items out of the way, in order to sweep or vacuum.  My goal has been to go through each room and get as many things off the floor as possible, permanently, to make cleaning the floors as easy as possible.

 ~A basket full of books or magazines.
 I had 3 of these in my living room.  Now I only have 1.  It holds magazines.  It has a purpose and is used often.  The books went on the bookshelf where they belong.
~A floor vase 
It was pretty, but a pain to clean around.  It was given to me, so I felt I needed to keep it out.  Even though I liked it, I didn’t love it– and I don’t miss it.  The area that it was sitting in is now open and clear, and gives the eye a rest when scanning the room.  One less thing to move before cleaning the floors.
~My bedroom 
I had a basket to hold books on the floor, and a molded art piece that was made of my pregnant belly. 🙂  I cleaned out our armoire that has shelves, to put the books on, and the art piece is now up on top of the armoire, off the floor and protected from little hands!
~Curtains
As much as I LOVE the look of the type of curtains that lavishly pool on the floor because of their length, they really are not practical.  The bottom gets dirty very easily, and one would have to move each curtain out of the way to clean the floor underneath.  I do still have these type of curtains in my bedroom, but they are a crinkly, light, white sheer that I’m able to move with just a swipe of the broom.  They are just too breezy and romantic to get rid of!!:)
~Rugs
The more rugs you have, the more you have to move them out of the way, shake them out, and clean them.  I find clean, clear wood floors are just as warm and cozy as wood floors with an area rug in every hallway, in front of every sink or doorway.
~Piles of “stuff”
I didn’t have many of these as I follow the Flylady system, and she helps keep what she calls “hot spots” to a minimum.  The piles I did have, I went through and either got rid of stuff or found a new home for them. It is great to have piles up off the floor!
~Kids rooms
This one made a huge difference.  I took each one of my girls and talked to them about how I’d like them to use shelves, as much as possible, to keep the floor clean for the cleaning ladies.  We went around their rooms with an editing eye, and at least 2 of my girls gave up things they really didn’t love but was taking up floor space in their rooms (a swing for dolls, a stroller for dolls, baskets that could be on a shelf, etc.)  It was fun to see such giving little hearts, we were able to bless others with the things they didn’t want.  My oldest is a collector and had a harder time with this one.  She now knows the floor needs to be clear, but boy those shelves of hers are FULL!  We did buy some organizing baskets for her shelves which helped!  It also really helped to have a plan for things that often end up on the floor, like a bin for dirty clothes in each room, a place in their closet for shoes, an area for stuffed animals (they didn’t get to keep many of these!)

Items On Shelves
Again, I went through each room and if I didn’t love it or it was not useful or practical, I got rid of it.  I know soon enough it will be me cleaning this house again, and I don’t want to have to dust a bunch of stuff on shelves!  I’ve experienced the beauty of having the house cleaned once a week, all at once, and I want to keep it up when I am healthy.  I want to set myself up for success, not failure, so minimizing whatever I can will help me succeed!

~One home for things
 I have a craft area that has a drawer full of ribbons.  It is labeled so my girls know where to put ribbons.  When going through the girls rooms, I found they, too, had a basket of ribbons.  What?!?  It just added one more thing to put on their shelves.  I made them go dump their baskets into the ribbon drawer, now they are all together and we all know where to go to get a ribbon.  This is one example of what happened with many different items.

~Keep decor to a minimum
If you love it, great, just try not to love too many things!  Ha!  I’ve also have learned not to keep things out of guilt, just because they were a gift.  If I don’t love it, I don’t keep it.

~Not every shelf has to look like it came from a magazine
I have learned from friends who are really great moms, to use shelves in main living spaces as areas to keep things that enhance our experience as a family, even if it is not pretty!  Before, I was all about trying to make my shelves look like Martha Stewart had been here.  Not anymore.  Now my shelves contain art bags, library books that are being read with girls at the moment, family dinner conversation cards, etc.  These are things that are used, they enhance creativity, they enrich family life.  I’ll trade that for pretty figurines and vases, any day!  You can have these things available and still have a home that looks nice, as long as they are organized and have a specific place.

~Put “like” with “like”
This is kind of a “duh,” but I had to teach my girls this concept.  Keep all beauty items together on one shelf.  One daughters snow globe collection looks much better with them all together on their own shelf, instead of scattered all over the room on different shelves.  Small stack- able organizing bins are together on one shelf.  Even miscellaneous items can look orderly if they are kept to a minimum and lumped together according to color or type.  This was a big lesson for my girls, kind of an “ah-ha” moment for their little brains.

What types of things do you do to make cleaning easier?  Is a home with less stuff appealing to you?

**You may also like this post: Keeping Your House Picked Up

Routines and charts really do keep this family running smoothly, but lately I was noticing some bumps within the smooth.

For example:
~The girls water bottles were not filled, in the refrigerator, to easily grab when packing lunches
~Piano was not getting practiced on a daily basis
~Lunch bags were not hung up where they should be
~School papers were not getting signed
~a healthy snack turned into “mom, can I have some Halloween candy”

I started getting frustrated, then realized…I had let AFTERNOON ROUTINE slide!!  Duh.

 I think my energy level in the afternoon had much to do with it, especially on chemo weeks.  I was often laying down when they walked in from school.  We didn’t have it laminated like the other Routine charts, so somehow it made it less official, so they would still earn their “rocks” because the chart was not up or ready to be checked off.
Now that we are getting back on track, there will be no tv, computer, video games or play until Afternoon Routine is done!

I also noticed our “3 chores a day” was not happening, either, which is part of the Afternoon Routine, which meant:
~the shoe basket would overflow
~the stair basket would overflow
~laundry was not getting put away by anyone but me
~I was starting to get frustrated and naggy!

It really amazes me how much our routines keep us on track and makes our family life so much easier!

Examples:
 ~I am no longer a mom who follows the kids around picking up after them or naggin them to pick up after themselves, thanks to “pick up personals” on their Morning and Evening Routines.
~our home really keeps itself picked up, and looks company ready most of the time, because of “pick up personals” and the small things I do to keep it picked up.
~it is never more than “15 minutes of picking up” messy
~I know my girls get their vitamins every morning
~The girls are usually completely ready for school when I come downstairs in the morning.  The only thing left for me is help with their hair and pack their lunches.

Afternoon Routine
~Shoes In Basket
~Backpack Emptied, Papers For Mom On Table
~Backpack Hung Up
~Lunch Bag Emptied
~Lunch Bag Hung Up
~Water Bottle Filled & Put In Refrigerator
~Snack
~Snack Cleaned Up
~3 Chores A Day
~Practice Piano
~Homework

Shoes In Basket–we have a basket in our sunroom where they put their shoes when they take them off before coming into the house

Backpack Emptied, Papers On Table–this keeps me from missing out on work they have accomplished and also work that they need signed, teachers notes, etc.

Backpack Hung Up–they all 3 have designated areas where they keep their backpack hung up

Lunch Bag Emptied–it is a pet peeve of mine when packing lunches in the morning, to open one up and find a nasty banana peel or baggies of sandwich crust, yuck!

Lunch Bag Hung Up–another pet peeve of mine is when packing lunches, their lunch bags are not hanging on the hook in the pantry where they belong

Water Bottle Filled & Put In Refrigerator–this keeps us from using 10 billion cups.  It also keeps me from having to respond to “mom, I’m thirsty.”  The best perk of this one is my kids are water drinkers.  They do not get juice often, and really do not want it, because their water is always cold and ready for them to grab.

Snack–sometimes I have their snack waiting for them at the table when they come home.  If not, we have a snack bin in the pantry, they know they have to eat a healthy snack before they can ask for any type of sugar snack

Snack Cleaned Up–paper towel in trash, crumbs wiped up, chair pushed in.  I did not like finding crumbs and snack mess when I would go to set the table for dinner, so on the chart this went.

3 Chores A Day–I am in the process of making a Master Chore List to draw from when writing their 3 chores on the white board each day.  Usually this is easy, I know what needs done that day, and I just write it on the board before they come home from school.  I find when I skip a day or two because the house is in good shape, that they get out of the habit and then complain when they have to do chores again.  Because of this, I will have chores everyday, even if I have to refer to my Master Chore List to come up with them!!

Practice Piano–ugh, this one MUST go on a routine list.  I hate it when Saturday piano lessons comes and I know they have not practiced as often as they should!

Homework–this one is tough.  I don’t like making them do it right when they get home, but I also dislike it when we have activities in the evening homework is not done, and all the sudden it is bedtime!  I like doing it right after dinner, but that does not work on busy evenings.  My oldest LOVES doing her homework right before bed.  I really don’t have this one figured out, and I’m not sure if it should go on Afternoon Routine or Evening Routine.  What do you do with homework?  I’d love to know what works for everyone else!!


***I use this site to make our charts.  I choose the “no image” option to keep things clean and simple.
***I am happy to be linking up to these parties.

You know those small areas in your home that tend to attract clutter?  The ones that, if left unattended, go from a small smoldering fire to a huge inferno within days?? Why does this happen?  Well, according to Flylady, it is because “CLUTTER ATTRACTS CLUTTER!”

 I recently have been spending just 5 minutes a day, focusing my attention to one of those areas, and like magic, they are starting to disappear or at least become a bit more controlled! It is great.

I have many spots in my house that I would consider “Hot Spots.”  Places that just scream, “leave stuff here, you can get it later” at every member of the family.  One of them is our desktop.  I am sitting at the desk writing this and on top of it right now are:
~earrings
~a half eaten burrito  (my lunch:))
~a vitamin C pill
~ ipod & earphones
~an invoice
~my phone
~the camera bag
~ a gardening book
It was completely cleared off last night, but within minutes stuff just takes over. If I do not take a couple minutes and “rescue”my desk top, it will be a large magnet attracting more clutter, and by the end of the night it will be a hot mess!

“Hot Spots” that often need rescued around here are:
a couple of desk drawers
my dining room table
a chair in my bedroom
an area on my kitchen counter in the corner
my trunk
the stairs
the sunroom
my pantry

Back to the “5 minutes a day” part.  I have been taking 5 minutes each day to focus on a “Hot Spot”(I made it part of my morning routine) and I have been amazed at what can be transformed in such a short amount of time!  The KEY is STOPPING after the 5 minutes are up.  In the past, I would not want to stop once I started.  It would eat up my whole day and I never, ever would want to do a “5 Minute Hot Spot” check again, because I turned minutes into hours.  Not anymore! I have been setting my timer, and stopping right when it goes off, even if the area is not finished. (Duh, right?:)) I tell myself there is always the “5 Minute Hot Spot” check tomorrow, and then go on with my day.


Today my “5 Minute Hot Spot” was my sunroom.  It easily becomes a dumping ground for my family as they walk in the door.  My girls are getting much better at not doing this, due to “pick up personals” on their charts.  Recently, it became a mess and clutter attracted clutter.  Then, because there was stuff in the way, I didn’t sweep it like I normally would.  When my daughter said “Mom, the sunroom looks like a bug cemetery” I  knew it was time to rescue my poor sunroom!


I set my timer for 5 minutes and:
~gathered up all the plastic bags for recycling
~moved the big black ball bag to the trunk (Todd takes the girls to the park almost nightly and they love having the bag of balls with them)
~put the pool float in the trunk to return to a friend
~put the bag of goodwill donations in my front passenger seat so I will HAVE to drop it off today
~swept the “bug cemetery” out to the front yard