talk to me about getting organized

tamarar5

I feel like my life and house are over run with clutter and crap. When I clean, shit gets moved from one room to another because I have NO WHERE to put it.

So. What are your decluttering tricks?
What are your favorite storage systems/tricks?
How do you get cooperation?

Key notes: I literally have one closet, and it is crammed with everyone hanging clothes, so any storage ideas that require closet systems are out. We are planning on putting shelves for totes out on our 3 season porch, but I've got to find someplace for all the junk out there first!

One of our biggest clutter issues is diapers. However, I've talked DH into building a diaper change pull down with diaper storage in our bathroom (think like the kiddie changers in public restrooms but nicer and better).

Somehow between now and August, I have to find room to put all of the baby's things and I don't know how or where!

ally2011

Get 3 plastic tubs and go room to room - donate, trash, keep. Be real with ourself about what you actually need to keep. Think about people who will get immediate use out of things you are just storing essentially. I would encourage you to get rid of as much as you can versus try to find new ways to store it. Toys are a good example - have a toy box or two and what can fit stays, what can't goes. Same for other areas. Purge, purge, purge. You will feel awesome once pared down. Good luck!

tamarar5

Birthdays are such buttholes...  I had just gotten finished purging the kids toys when both had birthdays in February! Even worse, my in-laws LOVE to give toys that are noisy, and flashy, and plastic.  With another on the way, I'm afraid to donate too many of the baby crap toys in fear of getting it again next year!

I love to purge.  My husband and daughter, not so much.  Since I've been wearing maternity clothes for 3 years, I didn't even open my pre-pregnancy bins.  I donated everything.  What sort of tips/tricks/ideas do you use to encourage older kids and spouses to join the purging trend? I can't just do it for either one.  DD is here all the time, and DH would notice things missing.  He gets upset when I toss his torn and stained tees! 

I live with packrats.  Ug!

Rosebean

With the older kids, have you tried doing a donate/ recycle/ system. Like, go through all toys and throw out anything that is broken, donate anything that never gets used, and pack away anything outgrown, but can be pulled out when the next LO is old enough. Then, my favourite part, divide the toys into three or four bins. Every month, the current bin gets packed away and the next in rotation comes out. Less toys about, they won't get as bored as fast and they feel like new again. And they aren't gone... Just missing for a bit. But still out of the way. This summer, I intend to invite my friends to my house with stuff and have a joint garage sale. I want to make some quick cash and get rid of a lot of junk (books, jewellery, shoes, clothes, hodge podge, etc.)

tamarar5

Teacher Clark said:

With AH I found he would go through his stuff if I took it out of the closet or dresser and layed it on the bed. Then he went through it as he put it back where it belonged. He however is fairly anal about stuff being clean and organized, so it wasn't a stretch for him to do it.

I would die if DH ever put crap away.  His idea of clearing the clothes off the bed is to push them onto my side, rather than put them IN the dresser that is 18 inches away! lol

Maybe I'm just screwed to live neck deep in crap for the rest of my life.  After all, he was like this before I married him and I did it anyway.  Maybe it's the hormones that are making the crap bother me right now anyway.

tamarar5

Teacher Clark said:

One of the things that attracted me to AH was that he actually kept his room clean he cared about how things looked. Perhaps that should have been a red flag.

I hope not! DH might be a pack rat and never throw away anything, but his shop is more organized than my entire house! Every tool has a place and he knows if I've been out there because some socket has shifted .05mm out of place.  lol

wifeofadam

I'm pulling up a chair and sitting next to Tamara, because I need organization help badly.  I purge at least once a month, hauling a bag or two to Goodwill, but I feel like there is a junk fairy in my house that makes things multiply.  We don't buy new stuff at all, but somehow the clutter keeps multiplying. 

tamarar5

+adamwife+ said:

I'm pulling up a chair and sitting next to Tamara, because I need organization help badly.  I purge at least once a month, hauling a bag or two to Goodwill, but I feel like there is a junk fairy in my house that makes things multiply.  We don't buy new stuff at all, but somehow the clutter keeps multiplying. 

I think the crap breeds like bunnies in the dark. I'm going to put up glow-in-the-dark stickers so its never dark enough for the crap to get it on!

SidraJedi

Storage tricks:

Shelving. One of these days I am going to recreate the Elfa system from scratch or just start buying into it. For now, we have a hodge-podge of pre-made and created L-bracket shelves. If something doesn't stack (like craft supplies) I get some baskets and put the baskets on the shelves.

Hooks/Hangers: DH is a musician and has a home recording studio. There are many light weight wires and head phones and such that are easier to organize with hooks rather than putting into baskets on shelves (though there is plenty of that going on too. His guitars and bass are also hanging on the wall from specially designed wall hangers

Baisically getting as much off of the floor as possible and putting it in the wall is a great organizational tool.

systems/tricks:

Chore List: Right now, I have a dry erase board where I have Four basic columns: Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Yearly. Chores are written in the columns and check boxes with room to mark and rub out often are next to the chores. Since using this system I have become better organized and get more done. DH likes marking thing off too and we both feel that it has made him more productive too. The real trick to this is flexability. Change up the chore list when you realize that it fits better in another column where it is done more or less often.

In my case, I like to reorganize each room once a month (i.e. restack reusable containers in cabinet, edit junk drawer, organize spice shelf, clean and reorganize top of fridge, etc. for "Kitchen Organization") That way I can do a little on each room every week or work on one or two rooms a week and not feel like I have to get the whole thing done in one day. Also, I don't feel guilty shoving things into their drawers or cabinets when I am in a hurry because I know I reorganize it regularly. When I was coming out from under the muck after DD's birth, I took it slowly and didn't put pressure on myself to have everything ship shape right away. so, starting out don't get discouraged because you didn't finish, just do what you can.

Cooperation:

That really depends on the personalities of your household. My DH is kind of a tornado but he is a minimalist at heart. He will edit whenever he has the time, but he is terrible about cleaning as he goes and not great at cleaning up after. Putting "road signs" out for him like the chore list have really helped him to be more involved in cleaning and organizing on the regular.

As far as your DD is concerned, I'm going to suggest a trick my mom used with me and my siblings. We had a wicker laundry basket for every room (living room, dining room, bedrooms) and she would either toss our toys in there herself as she found them or she would tell us to pick them up. When she wanted the basket cleaned she called us in to get our toys out of it and put them away. If we didn't, the contents of the basket went out of the house forever; goodwill, the garbage shoot, she didn't care. You bet they were gone though. So we put them away. It worked for as long as we played with toys.

I hope that even if you can't use any of my advice some of what I said may inspire you to something that will work for you personally.