Getting it together again – Sister M.

We had such a fun night as we learned some things to help keep ourselves and our families organized. We started off the night by hearing from Sister M. who talked about how to keep our families/homes organized. Here are a few ideas she mentioned on why we should be organized…

Find Stuff Faster

Sort it out and Group together

A place for everything and everything in its place.
example: store all your toilet paper in one place so you know when you really are on the last roll!
CORNER Pocket – a place you can put all the clutter to quickly clean-up. Once a week sort and put away everything in your corner pocket.

De-clutter

Designate the right amount of space for IT, but rid of excess

Be Prepared

Food storage – store what you use, use what you store. First in first out. Rotate your supplies 

More routine = fewer “battles”

Train the Troops
 
Routine (this way when your kids complain about a job, it’s not your fault it’s the routines!)
Example:
Monday – laundry
Tuesday – toilets
Wednesday – ______
Thursday – bedding
Friday – _________
Saturday – work as a family

More time to enjoy the moment

Traffic Patterns – less time backtracking, searching and looking
example: have your main garbage can in an easy to access place so it’s NOT hard to take the garbage out!

This is a list from a handout she gave on ways to stay organized:

Organizing Ideas

• Plan meals ahead of time
• Make a double batch of dinner and put the second one in the freezer for another night.
• Have things packed and ready to go the night before.
• Keep a basket or folder ready for outgoing mail.
• Keep the diaper bag and snack bags stocked.
• Write all of your appointments on one calendar. In fact, you may want to designate one color for each member of the family in order to easily see all of their activities at a glance.
• Keep flat surfaces clutter-free
• Create a play zone for children’s toys.
• Designate a game area where all games are stored
• Creatively display photos to eliminate clutter. Consider using collage frames and photo albums to store a lot of photos at once.
• Sort your movie collection – get rid of all the movies/CD’s you don’t plan to use again.
• Display your houseplants in a tiered plant stand.
• Avoid the tendency to display all of your special collectibles or mementos. Display half of what you own and store the rest.
• Put all of the plastic grocery bags in a bag holder and when it’s full recycle them. Or better yet, go green and use reusable grocery sacks.
• Compartmentalize your utensil drawer to eliminate the hassle of looking for the potato peeler.
• Set up a baking zone in the kitchen so you easily know what you have on hand and what you need to purchase.
• Clean out your pantry and get rid of those items you aren’t using
• Organize your recipes and get rid of those you won’t use. Put those on index cards in a recipe box, and full-sized recipes in a 3-ring binder.
• Donate! Donate! Donate! Here’s a good rule of thumb - if you have something that you have not used in 1 year and it's not holiday decorations or vital to your happiness GET RID OF IT!!!!
• Designate a place for everything. Remember the old adage a place for everything and everything in its place? It’s true time saver!
• Designate a place for things and label it to make it easy to remember.
• Put things back where they belong when you’re done using it and make sure the kids do too!
• Start small – organize one area at a time.
• Create routines for everything from errands to laundry to school work.
• Clean as you go and don’t save it for one day per week or once a year.
• Keep all info in one place.
• Put it away now.
• Use an inbox and empty it regularly at intervals that work for you.
• Keep a simple filing system.
• Have a simple system for pending items.
• Create a landing strip for keys, purse, and cell phones so that they can easily be accessed.
• Set an allotted time to organize so that it doesn’t become overwhelming.
• Open all mail immediately and dispose of the outer envelope with the junk mail. Have one spot for all bills.
• Keep your calendar close at hand when sorting papers. You can file or toss the paper if the event is recorded in your calendar.
• Combine similar activities. For example, make all your phone calls at one time, pay your bills at one time, run errands at one time.
• Write it down – a short pencil is better than a long memory! Carry a pen and notepad with you to capture information that is easily forgotten.
• If you forget the notepad, use your cell phone to capture that phone number or message.
• Delegate responsibilities and be sure the person responsible has all the tools and information to get the job done.
• Use Post-it notes! Stick a pad of post-its in your car to write down that important thought, message or phone number.
• When running errands map out the best path and don’t get sidetracked.
• Start your phone conversation with “I only have ____minutes to talk,” and then stick to it.
• Remember there are many valid ways to organize. Find ways that make sense to you.

Thank you Sister M. we all learned a lot!!