A little organization goes a long way
By By Michelle Blaylock, Mom’s Corner
I hope everyone has had a great week! It’s been crazy here. (Of course, with six kids what else is it going to be?) We made it through Halloween and have enough candy to easily give my kids a sugar high for six months! With the holidays coming up, I started thinking about getting the house ready and that train of thought led me to organization.
Organization! I love it! We seem to have a problem with this in our family. In our home, we have two people who frequently undermine my organization. They are named Somebody and Nobody. You see, Somebody did it, but Nobody takes the blame! I feel very sorry for Nobody, because he’s in trouble all the time! However, things are getting better especially since whenever Nobody leaves things laying around those things tend to end up in “time out” or thrown away! I do give warnings, but I’m also not above just pitching it if it is something that I’ve asked to be put away a couple of times and I’m still finding it on the counter, the floor, my desk, etc.
Nevertheless, children tend to want to collect things and save things. I do know parents who simply don’t allow their children to have their little “collections.” I believe children need to be allowed to “collect” things within reason. Since I tend to be a packrat myself, I do try to help my children avoid my own pitfalls.
I read one time that people who have a tendency to hoard need to give themselves limited room in which to collect things. Therefore, although I do have trouble with it myself sometimes, I try to give my children limited room in which to collect things. Each child has a “special spot” for their keepsakes. This is an especially good idea if you have children sharing a room.
For example, one of my daughters has the top shelf of the bookcase in her and her sibling’s bedroom for her softball trophies and memorabilia. They are off limits for touching and playing. There are no excuses for anyone, but my daughter, my husband, or myself to touch them.
For children sharing rooms I also try to give each child their own special box, drawer, or in general “place” to collect things. If they can’t fit their “collections” in the space given then they need to reconsider the amount of their collection. Of course, I will always consider exceptions to the rule, trophies, for example, are an exception to the rule.
Even though I try to keep the children’s and my own collections at a minimum, there are eight people who bring lots things other than collectables into this house. It never ceases to amaze me what accumulates and how quickly it accumulates. For example, we have school papers, books, mail, cool looking rocks, great looking leaves, sea shells, sports equipment, pencils, pens, clothes, tools, jewelry and so much other “stuff” that I feel dizzy sometimes with the magnitude of it. One thing is sure, we use a lot of trash bags. (No, that’s not a joke.)
I find that most of the stuff can be trashed. I’m truly beginning to believe that if it doesn’t have a “home” throw it away! My children protest this philosophy. (Go figure!)
Unfortunately, there are some things that must be stored and not thrown out. This is where investigation in storage solutions begins. There are many different types of storage solutions on the market today. Three internet sites that have terrific ideas for organizing are onlineorganizing.com, organize-everything.com and organizedhome.com. I don’t usually buy things from these sites, but I do put their ideas into practice. If they do have a product I like, I try to find it else where first; most of the time you can find similar products at discount stores or your local hardware store. If you or your hubby is handy with woodworking you might be able to build what you need and it make it fit your situation better. There are many cute decorative boxes, bins and baskets to organize or hide things in depending on your level of organization or level of panic.
My hubby loves to say, “The right tool for the right job.” That’s an engineer for you. I’m the one that uses the butter knife for a screw driver. Anyway, how does this connect with organization? Well, sometimes there are things out there that you need the right container for. Take my scrap booking things for instance, I tried different ways to keep all the papers, pens, scissors, etc. together. I ended up buying a scrapbook organizer and it has been a lifesaver. It makes it so much easier to use and enjoy the scrap booking materials. In the end it comes down to what works well for you and your family.
However, occasionally unusual solutions will work better for your storage problem. For example, I had a real problem storing all my sewing supplies. I looked at all the traditional sewing boxes, but none of them worked for me.
One day as my hubby was getting ready to go fishing I had a brain storm — a tackle box!
I used one of the very small ones for things like snaps, hooks and eyes. A little larger one worked great for organizing buttons.
I also have to organize our time. This is where my “life in a book” comes in, better known as a planner. The children and my husband know that if it is not written in mom’s planner, don’t plan on it happening. My planner keeps my life and the children’s lives organized.
I hope these tips help you. If you have one you would like to share please send it to me at moms-corner@juno.com.
