Whether you have one child or ten, family life can get hectic. Even though it can be a struggle to keep organized, you can improve your organizational situation with a little analysis and commitment.
StepsPart 1Part 1 of 3:Organizing your Family’s Things
1Sort and purge. Then sort and purge some more. There are very few organized hoarders in the world, and there’s a reason for that: organized people know what they have, so they don’t buy duplicate items and they don’t lose items to waste. Remember: the “stuff” doesn’t do the organizing for you. Don’t run out and buy 70 storage bins tomorrow. An organized person knows how to use the stuff to improve their organization.XTry to set up criteria to help you get rid of things you aren’t using regularly. For example, you may set a rule for yourself that if you haven’t used something for at least 6 months, it goes. Use criteria and timeframes that fit your regular life.First classify, then say goodbye. Then buy.
2Reduce physical media. Media is a major source of clutter that uses a lot of space. Slim down your books, CDs, DVDs and (for heaven’s sake) VHS tapes.XThese days there’s almost no reason to have physical reference books. Fiction and nonfiction books might be a different story, but unless the topic is very obscure, there is hardly any reason to keep a physical book. Dictionaries, encyclopedias, non-historical atlases, almanacs, gazetteers and desk references have all been rendered obsolete by the internet. Say goodbye.It might be hard, but your CDs (and DVDs to a lesser extent) are very quickly going to go the way of the World Book Encyclopedia. There’s virtually no music on CD that isn’t in digital format now. Vinyl records might be a different story, because a lot of vinyl is out of print, but see if you can get rid of the CD player and the CDs.If you have home movies on VHS or other tape media, many photo centers can convert these to a digital format for a set fee. If you still have a VHS player, you can buy a converter online and convert the media yourself.X
3De-clutter the kitchen. There are so many utensils, appliances, and accessories in the kitchen that they become a major source of clutter. Since families spend so much time in the kitchen, an organized kitchen can set the tone for the entire house.Nail some peg boards to the wall so that you can hang pots, spoons, ladles, whisks, and the like. It gets them off your counter, out of the cabinets, and out of the drawers!XBuy a few chalkboard labels to put in your kitchen cabinets. That way you can keep similar items together, but you have the freedom to change what goes where when new needs arise.Invest in glass tupperware-style containers. For whatever reason, people can keep up with the lids to these containers far better than they can the cheap plastic kind. It will eliminate the orphan tupperware cluttering your cabinets.XStore baby bottles and sippy cups in a container all their own–kids use so many that you’ll run yourself ragged trying to keep every lid with every bottle.X
4Keep your cleaning supplies organized. If you’re going to make an honest effort at staying organized and tidy, don’t neglect the tools of the trade. Put a tension rod in the cabinet under your kitchen sink to keep the spray bottles above the bottom level–leaving your cabinets uncluttered. Store a full set of bathroom cleaning supplies in each bathroom to make sure you always have what you need ready when you clean.Store new scrubbers, steel wool, and scouring pads in jar. That way they aren’t just hanging around the cabinets in random places.
5Use drawer dividers. Every disorganized home has disorganized drawers, overflowing with miscellaneous objects. Invest in drawer dividers. Not only do drawer dividers help you find what you’re looking for, they save space.XDrawer dividers are great because you can use them in practically every room in your house.
6Reorganize your bathroom one step at a time. The number of bathroom products that people accumulate can really sneak up on them. That’s why it’s important to look at each of the spaces individually to see where you can make improvements.XStore personal grooming items, and not medicines, in the medicine cabinet. Grooming items are used more often and more often clutter the bathroom countertop.Buy or build over-the-toilet shelving. You can store items here that aren’t used on every trip, like backup soap, toilet paper, razor blades, washcloths, and towels.It’s easy to accumulate shampoos and conditioners in the shower. If you don’t use it at least once a week, rotate it to a cabinet, closet, or trashcan.
7Streamline the living room. The biggest source of clutter in most people’s living room are the stacks of magazines, newspapers, and coffee table books on the flat surfaces. Make sure you utilize the space under the coffee table for storage. Wooden boxes, metal crates, or plastic bins can all be used. Get something that fits your furniture and decor. You can even consider getting furniture such as chairs or ottomans that have storage built-in.Instead of letting everything pile up on the flat surfaces, get a few vertical files or magazine racks and place them strategically around the couches and chairs.Put all of the mail in one place, and have different containers for each person in the house. Some people will have an office where they can store the mail, and a lot of people will use the living room. Regardless, there’ll be no more stacks of junk mail piling up everywhere. Try to stick to a policy of “Only Handle It Once” (OHIO).
8Tackle kids’ playrooms and bedrooms. Toys and games are a major source of clutter and mess for every parent, so making sure that they have a home is key to making sure your home stays organized.Keep toys with a lot of separate pieces out of your children’s reach so they don’t get strewn about the house.Get rid of the toys that are broken, missing parts, too young for your children, or came from a cereal box or fast food chain.Pay attention to how your child’s classroom is organized and emulate it. A typical classroom will hold anywhere from 20-40 kids, so they need to be organized well. Your child is used to this system, so use the habits your child already has to make your life easier. Look for details like where toys are kept (usually down low), where coats are hung, where personal belongings are stored.XPart 2Part 2 of 3:Organizing your Family’s Time
1Set up an inbox and an outbox. Disorganization causes forgetfulness, which causes you to waste time. Set up an inbox and an outbox to minimize forgotten tasks.XWhen a piece of mail comes for someone, or a task arises that they need to do, put it in the inbox. Immediately.The same thing goes for the outbox. When something comes up that they will need to handle outside the home, like turning in an assignment or running an errand, put it in the outbox right away.
2Put the master list in the kitchen. Everybody has to eat, so everyone goes in the kitchen. Therefore, put the master list of things to do in the kitchen, where everyone will see it.XThe master list is best suited for regular tasks, like cleaning and yardwork. Putting a note to mow the grass in the outbox or every time a floor needs to be swept is going to cause you to micromanage too much.
3Use a calendar app. Leveraging technology is a great way to keep your family organized outside the home, and calendar apps provide the most bang for the buck.Cozi is a well-known app designed specifically with parents in mind. It allows you to create a shared calendar, sync everyone’s schedules, create to-do lists, grocery lists, and plan meals. It works on Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, and on PC. There are free and paid versions, with the paid version topping out at $19.99 per year.XGoogle calendar is another free option. Although Google calendar doesn’t have as many features as Cozi, you can sync schedules across platforms, create multiple calendars, and set alerts.X
4Keep track of finances. Being late on bills, overspending, and being blindsided by unexpected costs can create chaos for anyone, disorganizing all aspects of your life. Although you can make an attempt to log every purchase and deposit in a written ledger, it might help to leverage technology to help keep track of finances as well.Mint is a free app that helps you keep track of finances and spending. You can keep track of what you are spending and where you are spending it, unusual account activity, and Mint will send you an email if it notices something unusual. You can easily set budgets for different spending categories, which Mint will represent visually in the form of bar graphs and pie charts. It’s for use on Android, iPad, and iPhone. Best of all, setting up an account takes ten minutes.XX
5Maintain an ongoing grocery list. Returning to the grocery store over and over during the week takes extra time and costs more money. So use an ongoing grocery list to keep track of what you need.XXThe simplest way to do this is to use a dry erase board on the refrigerator. You write down what you need on the board, erase it when you buy it.However, there are more sophisticated ways to go about it. Grocery IQ is another great free tool to use. With Grocery IQ, you can make ongoing lists, but there are many more features. One great feature is the coupon alert. You scan or enter items that you frequently buy, and Grocery IQ sends you an alert right on your phone when there’s a sale or a coupon available.XPart 3Part 3 of 3:Keeping your Life Organized
1Hold a nightly check-in. A great way to stay efficient is by making sure everyone is on the same page. Each night, go over the status of the items on your shared calendar and the in and out boxes. Not only does this create efficiency, it also offers the family time to talk with one another about their days.XThink about this exercise as less a time when your family is going over accomplishments and failures, but as a time to listen to your family’s experiences and think privately (or with your partner) about what is working and what isn’t working.
2Allow for your systems to change and adapt. Analyze your family’s routines after you implement a new organization system. Pay attention to what works and doesn’t work.Think about times when you know things will change, such as during each new season, when school starts, when you are planning vacations, etc.X Ask yourself why your family is working with the system or against the system.X Common questions include:Do coats end up in a chair because the coat closet is on the other side of the room from the door?Are you all eating together and in the same spot? If not, could that be why you’re leaving dishes all over the place?Are toys all over your house because the children’s rooms are in different areas than their toys?
3Go with the flow. Now that you’ve analyzed your family’s patterns, identify passive ways to change them.XXIt’s easier to change a circumstance than it is to change a person. For example, if that coat closet is on the wrong side of the room, buy a coat rack and put it next to the door, then repurpose the coat closet. X Alternatively, create an obstacle, like a piece of furniture or a new lock, that causes them the use a different door.If you eat in different places at different times, eat in one place at the same time. It’s easier to overlook one dish in a room than it is to overlook a table full of dishes.
4Resolve to be disciplined. Getting organized is like getting in shape: at the end of the day, there are a lot of ways to make it happen, but none of them will be effective unless you’re willing to put in the work. It’s less about figuring out the best way, and more about figuring out the best way for you. Organization is a mental commitment. Eventually it will become second nature, but you’ll never get organized unless you create a plan and stick to it.X
