Home organization made simple!
Organizing your home once and for all!
Benefits of Home Organization:
Huge time saver
Saves money
Do-able!
Stress reducer
Peace of mind
Home organization & keeping a clean house are kindred spirits --
one is never without the other.
And as a big fan of living simply, I don't buy into the whole color-coding of chores or intricate methods of managing a household - it's too complicated and bogs down the process.
I prefer a few empty templates, a little planning ahead, and a notepad by my bed to jog my memory -- okay, it's probably a little more complicated than that, but not much!
The keys to home organization are easily understood, and if you can master some very basic "guidelines" for organizing your home and how to clean, you can reduce your stress greatly :)
With that said, while these serve as "guidelines," they are just that;
not the law. As an advocate for living with grace; You are the boss of this system!
You will be the judge of what can and can not be done.
If you determine after dinner your energy will last long enough to stack the dishes in the sink; then, so be it.
The world will not fall to pieces.
And by all means, don't sacrifice time with your kids for cleaning or home organization.
Okay, so we're clear on that -- let's get started :)
Arrange a "swap play day" for your kids with a nearby friend or family member, so you have some uninterrupted time to really concentrate on organizing your home and to clean the house.
Then, return the favor -- a win, win!
Hands down the best home organization tip I can give:
Pick up as you go and clean as you go.
This will save you hours!
In short, that means:
1. Make your bed before you leave the bedroom.
2. Hang up your clothes each day or put in the laundry basket.
3. Try to pick up the kitchen before you leave the house or go to bed -- you will feel so much better when you get up or return home to a clean kitchen.
I promise! Give yourself 10 minutes extra to make this happen :)
4. When the refrigerator starts to empty out before grocery shopping day; wipe the shelves off and when anything spills.
5. After dinner, everyone helps to clear the table and put food in storage or the refrigerator.
6. Load the dishwasher as you go, so the dishes don't pile up in the sink -- bit by bit, and small steps makes the task so simple.
7. Wipe the kitchen counter and spills as they happen.
See Kitchen Organization
for additional tips to keep your kitchen in top shape.
8. Do a load of laundry everyday or as close to everyday as you can, so it doesn't pile up. This saves
so much time and you will never face that mountain of laundry again!
Keep home organization simple!
9. Clean up the bathroom counter before leaving the bathroom.
Put supplies back in the cupboard or in a basket,
Clothes in the laundry,
Hang up the towels,
Wipe up any toothpaste or hair in the sink,
Restock the toilet paper.
These small steps will work wonders at keeping your home organized.
10. If you have several spots on your bathroom mirror, grab the glass cleaner and paper towel stored under the sink and clean it off right then. Be sure to have a child's safety lock on it.
11. The microwave!! Oh boy, don't get me started on the microwave! One of my biggest bug-a-boo's is a dirty microwave. It never has to get or stay dirty -- really!
I don't know how many times I've walked up to a microwave to zap something, and it looked like a cesspool.
Oh my goodness! Thinking of all the caked food bits that may fall into my food or coffee cup makes me shiver, AND walk away with cold coffee :(
Wipe it clean anytime anything spills in it immediately; then, it won't cake on, and make it harder to clean later -- really very simple and easy!
And now I can visit you & use your microwave :)
Periodically, you will need to include the turntable into your dishwasher or hand wash it.
12. Tidy the TV area and family room each day/night -- general home organization mantra: Don't leave any room like a cyclone hit it :)
13. Kids toys can go easily into a cute basket or bin. Newspapers in a pile or better yet, the recycling bin. Make use of baskets and bins -- they work wonders for containing clutter, and they look great!
14. Put the TV remote back in its designated place. If you don't have a designated place -- establish one.
Everyone will be happier when you practice this home organization tip!
15. That goes for the car & house keys -- establish a place and return them every time you come into the house.
Huge time saver!
16. Spot clean the carpet as soon as you notice a spot or spill something. Keep your favorite carpet cleaner on each level of your home, so that going up or down the stairs does not deter you.
Seriously, this can make your house look so much better so easily, by not having random stains all over your carpeting.
Picking up as you go and cleaning as you go is my all-time best home organization tip and will save oodles of time in the end, and is completely do-able.
Award-winning 2nd best home organization tip:
Get the kids involved!
Ultimately, you are training them to run a household of their own, so this is outstanding practice, and it teaches the principle of the family working together. Everyone plays a very important role in the family dynamics, and kids need to know their part.
Chores for kids
teach responsibility and keep them connected to the family versus "living under one roof but separate" -- "co-existing."
You will need to walk them through each task and train them in the "right" way to clean. This keeps them from feeling frustrated. Under your sound tutelage, they will be masters in cleaning and home organization and will learn great life skills :)
3rd best organizational tip:
Simple living: downsize & de-clutter
Any area in your home that you can downsize and de-clutter will have a marvelous affect on your peace of mind and the ability to keep your home clean and organized.
Stop acquiring and accumulating! We all have too much stuff.
It's an organizational nightmare.
Check out the products I've pulled together in my store to help you get organized.
Julie's Keep Your Home Cooking Store
We have downsized the contents of our 3600 sq. ft. home to fit into a
10 x 15 ft. room in our basement. We are missionaries living in the Philippines, and we rent our home, but keep that room for ourselves so we don't have to pay for storage. When we live stateside, that is enough stuff to fill our home reasonably and it's so much easier to keep clean!!
Living simply! I highly recommend it :)
Just a plug for garage sales -- you can make some nice money selling your items, and you can find some great stuff if you need to fill a house or cabin. Garage sale days are usually Thursday, Friday and Saturday -- start early in the morning and you can really find some reasonably priced treasures.
Also, shop at used furniture stores: We bought almost all our furniture from used furniture stores, and love it. We bought our king-size all-wood bed frame for $400. When it was purchased new, it came from Ethan Allen. You may need to Google "used furniture stores."
For safety, don't go alone to anyone's house to look at anything.
4th best home organization tip:
Plan ahead & stay ahead of the game
There is no easy way to say this, but organizing your home involves thinking ahead.
For instance, every night answer the question,
"What's for dinner?" and take the meat out for the next day;
place it in a bowl in the fridge to thaw overnight.
Or think about dinner at breakfast, and take the meat out to thaw. Set it in the sink and return it to the fridge when thaw.
Doing this will save time and money, so at the last minute you don't go out for dinner or order in.
Big savings!
Below are some easy & simple recipes, as well as, a link to the great recipe software I use. You may like it too. It organizes my recipes, creates menus & grocery shopping lists.
Big Oven Recipe Software
Easy Recipes
Simple Recipes
Consider your plans for the next day(s) and week and organize your time.
*Place the givens on your calendar and any variables you know.
*Walk through your week, and consider possible scenarios -- solve any problems ahead of time.
*Establish when you need to get up; write it down.
*Do you have clothes to get ready for a concert or a meeting later in the week? Will you need a babysitter? Write it down.
*Do you need to get money from the bank? Get the car serviced? Write it down.
You get the idea: Use a wall calendar or daily planner to help you remember. You can see home organization coming together, right? :)
The same goes for cleaning. You will need to break your house down into cleaning tasks for the week -- be specific: master bath, kid's bath, dusting, windows, baseboards, spots on walls, etc. Post cleaning schedule on your fridge for easy reference.
I recommend one week of cleaning broken down into do-able tasks each day, and the next week as maintenance; then, on again with a week of cleaning and one with maintenance. That way the house gets a good clean twice a month.
Depending on how much time you have each day during cleaning week will help you determine your cleaning schedule.
As you keep up, cleaning bi-monthly should be enough with the occasional do-over like the kid's toilet or most-used bathroom on maintenance week. As well, entertaining guests at any time requires only a little bit of effort.
Essentially, your house is always clean!
Cleaning Schedule
5th best home organization tip:
Use a wall calendar
I like to post one in the kitchen because that tends to be a hub for the whole family.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR WITH:
All family activities -- games, concerts, school conferences, meetings, mini to-do lists, retreats, etc.
Due dates for bills -- write the dates on the calendar as soon as you get bills in the mail, and also write it on the outside of the envelope before putting it into your special spot for bills. If you don't have a designated spot for bills -- make one right away -- use a cute basket. :)
This will help greatly in organizing your home and family and to keep your good credit rating.
See Simple Mail Management for details.
You should be able to stay on top of your activities with a simple calendar, and establish the habit of the family checking "the calendar."
Last, but definitely not the least of my general guidelines for home organization:
Keep a notepad by your bed.
I don't know about you, but my mind races as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep. I go over the day, and think about the next day's activities.
Use this time to start writing tomorrow's list of "things to do."
That way you can put your mind to rest knowing you didn't forget anything, and you get a jump start on having an organized tomorrow :)
To organizing your home!
Julie
A simple aside:
All the really good pictures on my site were taken by my 19 year old daughter and highlight the Philippine culture we live in.
This is a typical Filipino home for the "average" poor Filipino. Their homes can be made of discarded scrap metal and wood. You will see more pictures and hear stories of our life as missionaries serving the urban poor as you follow my site.
Blessings to you :)
Bookmark this site and come back often. See you soon! :)
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