Organized A to Z Blog

Organizing Tips from Karen Fried

July 27, 2010

Children and toys:
When your kids are small so are the toys. And they are usually everywhere. Your house can be organized even when you have children. Start by getting some containers for the toys. Have one box for books, one box for dolls & accessories, one box for cars & trucks, one box for puzzles….and so on.

When the children are as young as two you can start by having them help you put away their toys at the end of the day (or at the end of a play period). No, they are not too young. Believe me, if you start them young it will become a habit and your house will be clutter free. Two year olds might take a bit longer to put away their toys so you need to allow enough time for them to do it.

If you are of the mindset that it takes too long or you don’t have time for them to do it…and you don’t do it for them….toys will take over your house. And your children will learn that clutter is “normal and acceptable”.

Help your children develop good habits at an early age.

Children and mornings:
It seems that mornings are always chaotic. The kids oversleep and they can’t find their homework. They are late for the bus and they don’t have time to make their lunch.

Sound typical?  Children do not understand (they choose not to) that if they go to bed at a decent hour they won’t be tired in the morning and they will wake up on time. They will have plenty of time for breakfast and time to make their lunch and time to find their homework. But that doesn’t always happen.

Figure out how long it takes your child to get up, dressed and ready for school and add 15 minutes to that time. Set their alarm (make sure it’s really loud!).

The night before have them make and pack their lunches. Don’t wait until morning.  That’s just added stress for you. Even if the children are too young to make their own lunches include them in the decisions and reinforce good nutritional choices. If you only offer them food that is nutritious they will eat it. They won’t let themselves starve.

After their homework is done at night have them immediately put it into their backpack. That way they will always know where it is. Make it a habit. Ask them if their homework is done and if it’s been put into their backpack. By reinforcing this over and over again it will become a habit for them.

Have them set the table for breakfast before they go to bed. That way it’s one less thing to do in the morning.

By getting as much done the night before as you can, your mornings will be a bit more calm.

Plan your meals:
Everyone knows that you never, ever go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. We’ve all done it. But what happens? We buy things we normally wouldn’t and don’t really need (both economically and on our waistline). By planning out your meals for the week ahead of time and having a list when you go to the grocery store you will save money. Make that list and stick to it.

Just fifteen (15) minutes a day:
Set aside just fifteen (15) minutes a day to clean / straighten up / organize one area in your home. It may not seem like a lot of time but if you do it every day you will see a dramatic change in your life.  Set a timer so that you don’t need to be checking your watch every few minutes. By setting aside just fifteen (15) minutes a day you will cut your cleaning / straightening up / organizing time significantly. Instead of dreading spending almost two (2) hours cleaning your house on a Saturday you might have more time to spend with your family doing something fun. Try mopping the floors on Monday, dusting on Tuesday, vacuuming on Wednesday…and so on….  Whatever works for you.

In your office you can spend Monday paying bills, Tuesday updating your spreadsheets, Wednesday filing……

There are a lot of uses for those fifteen (15) minutes…..and once you get in the habit of using your time efficiently you will have more time for the things you like to do.

Thanks to Organized A to Z.com partner Karin E. Fried, CPC, for contributing these tips. Karen is owner of Organizational Consulting Services. You can visit her Web site at www.organizationalconsultingservices.com.

Filed under: Organizing Tips