Organization Part 1

I love to organize! Since having my third and fourth child I feel like I've really slacked on keeping up with my house and general organization. I'm trying to get back on track a little at a time. Organization does take time, but it is well worth it!! I have friends ask, "How do I do it all and get things accomplished with four kids?" And the answer is I don't get to do it all. Many things that I'd like to do like keeping my closet completely clean & organized or having my garden free of weeds just can't happen all the time. I'm going to give you some tips that I've learned from others or from my own experiences on ways that my family tries to stay organized. Here are a few tips with photos to go along with it.

1.  Start them young! Teach them how to clean and organize.
I was just reading a book about how we have to show our kids how to do things the right way over and over and over and over again. They need lots of practice and we need to be patience when teaching them. If they are having trouble doing a chore like putting the dishes away, we need to physically help them, show them, and model for them how to do it. If they leave the back door open, call them over and have them practice closing the door several times. I get lots of whining about chores, but I remind myself that one day they'll thank me.



2. Use disposable plates
I read in a book about a women who
uses paper plates so they have less
dishes to clean. Since my kids are home
all day it was worth spending the extra
money on paper goods, so I'd spend less
time washing dishes. I know there is
the recycling issue, but our family is
really good about recycling everything.
We don't use paper plates for all meals.
Pictured above are thin paper plates
that we bought from Costco and then
we insert them into plastic plate holders
to make them sturdy. Those don't have to
washed as often.



3.  Use different colored cups for each
family member. Our family can go through
so many cups in one day, so we try to stick
with one cup per day. They each know their
color, so they can remember which cup to
drink out of and refill.

4. Have some type of shoe organization.
We have three shoebaskets. This is Lizzie's basket pictured
 here. She is 2 1/2 and knows exactly where to put her shoes
away and where to get them to put them on. We have
another by the front door and one by the back door.

This is our shoe basket by the back door. I keep
my own shoes in my bedroom. We mainly keep the
kids shoes in the baskets. Allan shoes tend to end up in
the baskets as well. These are shoes that they wear
most often like flip flops, sandals or athletic shoes.

Shoes that are worn less often or that are dressier
are kept in their rooms hanging on the inside of
closet doors in the organization pockets. I put
Victoria's boots in a large plastic bin in her closet.

5. Separate underwear & socks in containers in drawers.
All of the kids have a drawer with 2-4 containers. I buy the containers
at Target or Walmart for about $1. One is for underwear, one for socks,
one for tank tops (boys), and one for other accessories like belts.
This makes it really easy for the kids to put away their own clothes
and I don't have to fold their underwear.

6. Have a bag for almost every activity.
I store our most used bags in this basket next to our piano.
We have Lizzie's backpack, a piano bag, Ben's backpack,
 Nicholas' backpack and Victoria overnight bag since she is
always spending the night somewhere. We have other bags
that are used less frequently stored in our closets. 

Well I hope that I inspired some of you to go and clean out a drawer, a basket, or a closet. These are all examples of what works for our family. You may have a different idea that would work better for your space and your family. I just hope that I got you thinking and organizing.