How Do You Stay Organized

Suz, you crack me up!

I'm kinda anal, so I need stuff put away. In the house, I usually try to stay on top of it daily. I also have a shed and a garage that are kind of full. One of these days....

i wallow wringing my hands and wailing.
i have occasional bursts of enthusiasm where i get a lot done, and fondly (and fruitlessly) imagine that NOW i get it and i'm going to get on top of everything and stay there.
but my best coping strategy is to get out a book and ignore it all.
khairete
S.

I have organizers and bins everywhere. The kids have a bin for socks/undies, pajamas, pants, swim suits...they hang up dresses and shirts. My closet is similar. I realized ages ago that it keeps it neater if I put things in things, and don't just stack. I'm not a folder, I'm a shover, so we shove. We have great closet systems, and then I just added bins to the shelves. I did all our closets and they look great.

My bathroom similarly has organizers for different things, one for cold medicine, one for band aids/first aid, one for tampoons.

Our garage has lots of those big plastic milk cartons with different things in them.

Every week I straighten my kids closet, since things end up on the floor. I do mine when it's needed, though today I am going to clean out cloths I'm not wearing. I try to clean out 2 times a year when I rearrange for our two seasons. I then do big straightenings in the pantry, toy closet, etc. about once a month or if it really needs it.

I don't have any organizers in my laundry. We have front loaders with stands, so all of my laundry stuff is stored away in the stands, and then I have one drying rack. I wash everyday, so clothes are either away, in a hamper, or in the washer or dryer. When clean, I put stacks of clothes on my bed and the kids have to collect and put them away. We have three "clean-up," quick chore check points a day- after breakfast, lunch and before dinner. They put them away at first check-point. There are 5 of us in a small house, and I don't do clutter, so I run a tight ship. But buying organizers for all the closets-including nice containers for the pantry-has really helped in keeping things neat.

But what really helped was removing 30% of everything , including furniture, from the house. It's easier to take care of less, so create less.

Here are two ideas that work really well in my house:

For my 3 youngest kids (3, 5, & 7) - I created a "mudroom" space along a wall in our kitchen. It has hooks for coats, hooks for backpacks and a bench with 3 cubbies underneath. Right now it's "boot season" so there is a mat near the cubbies for boots. This helps my little ones know where to put their stuff when they get home and helps them get dressed in the morning.

Second idea: Our school requires uniforms. I use a hanging clothes rack/cart for all school uniform items. It has two poles to hang clothes, shelves on top and bottom and is on wheels. I love this thing! I bought it from Walmart for about $44. When I do laundry - all school uniforms go on hangars on the rack. Extra gym sweatshirts, tights, leggings etc are in plastic crates on the bottom shelf of the cart. Out of season items (uniform shorts for spring) are on the top shelf of the cart. Since the cart is on wheels, I roll it to wherever I am folding clean laundry.

At a glance I can see if everyone has what they need to wear for the next school day. Each kid can find their own school clothes in the morning.
It is the best system I have ever used. Makes mornings peaceful!

Best,
T. Y

I got many of my organisation ideas from Pinterest. I echo Julie's ideas...I have lots of bins and baskets everywhere! My kids...1,3 and 5 all have a pajama basket, and a sock/underwear basket. They have their own hampers, and hooks for their backpacks and coats. I also have really become a minimalist over the last couple of years. I downsized my children's wardrobes...and mine...and find life is a lot MORE organised when there is a lot LESS stuff around. :)

For me it comes pretty naturally. I'm organized by nature, as clutter and chaos actually stress me out. I wish I could say the same for my kids and husband <sigh>
I have baskets and bins everywhere, closets, shelves, family room, by the front door, etc. I purge stuff constantly. When I bring home new things (clothing, toys, household items, whatever) I bag up older items for donation (or trash.) I clean out my refrigerator every Sunday morning after breakfast.
I really believe the key to having a tidy and organized home simply comes from having LESS. Less to store, less to clean, less to worry about :-)

I never pass up an opportunity to donate stuff. Big Brothers/BIg Sisters comes to our house about every 6-8 weeks. It's great. Less stuff cluttering my house means less stuff to clean up.

I also have a "home" for everything in my home. If everything has a place it belongs it makes straightening up so much easier.

I usually purge the house twice a year, but since we have moved three times in 4 years I had an easier time cleaning stuff out.

I have my daughter go through her toys twice a year, once before her birthday and just before Christmas. I tend to do the same with my closets. My husband on the other hand does not like getting rid of anything and I had to bring boxes to our current home that have not been opened since our daughter was born (she is 8). Those are neatly stacked in the garage since I don't want to look at them.

I do my best to keep things from getting out of hand, but I can be really picky about things getting messy in the first place. I think its because when I was single I always lived in tiny houses/apartments (before it was all the rage, lol).

First get rid of stuff that hasn't been used or touched for at least 6 months to a year. Start on one side of the house and work your way through.
Once you decide what you are keeping find places for it, closets, storage bins, etc..
Be sure to mark what is inside any bins. Holiday décor, winter clothes, summer clothes, etc..

I have shelves in my laundry room and keep the products on them. I also do not store dirty or clean clothes in there. I bring them in to wash and then put them away as they are done drying. I also do laundry throughout the week so I don't have an enormous pile (sometimes stuff will sit in the dryer, but I wont leave stuff in the washer. I don't want it to get moldy).

I find paperwork is more of a pain to keep organized. I have a very large file cabinet since I have multiple rentals and need to keep up with taxes, leases, insurance, etc.. Sometimes its hard to figure out what I can shred and what I should keep and for how long. I cant purge it like the other stuff and that drives me nuts.

I pick one project, depending on time available. 3 bins-trash, donate and keep. And get to it. I try to live lean. The trick is just to start.

I have a 5 foot folding table in my laundry room. Underneath that table I have 2 large Rubbermaid bins.

One is for clothes I'm going to give away. Everyone's stuff that is going and not just the kids clothes they've outgrown.

The other bin is for clothes that don't belong in the closet now. Like summer clothes in the middle of winter, garments that are too big, and stuff that isn't appropriate for the kids at this time, even if it fits it might be something that is for when they are older.

My sister gave my granddaughter a whole lot of her adult clothes that she was tired of. Some of them are perfectly fine for her to wear right now but there are others that are too adult styled for her. They have larger arm holes and maybe the darts cause it to have a lot of shape that she doesn't have yet. She'll be able to wear them when she gets boobies but for right now they need to stay in storage.

I have bins in my closet, where "I" am in control of them, and I have them marked like this.

Girls summer clothes 2015

Girls clothes winter 2015-16, these are clothes that have been given to her that are definitely winter clothes but too big for her as of now. When we pull that bin out next October or November we'll go through it then and mark the next sets of bins then store it for another 6 months or longer.

I also have boys bins and bins for my own clothes. I don't like my clothes being out in the air and dust year round. So I gather my off season clothes and store them too.

Micky-

We live in a NYC co-op, 900 sq feet. We have a communal laundry room in the basement, and a communal garage under the building (which we finally got access to (lengthy wait list)). We've got a total of 5 closets in our apartment, none bigger than a coat closet.

Our solution, we don't have/ buy/ keep a lot of stuff, because we don't have much room for it. Also, as best I can, I keep my husband from buying things which allow storage, because in the end, they only allow for more unused stuff to be kept around.

in terms of closet organization an easy solution is to turn all your hangers backwards now. As you do this, purge anything that is dated, ghastly, ill fitting, or in shabby shape. when you wear a garment, hang it back up with the hanger facing the other way. In 3 months time you will have a clear idea of those items that never see the light of day. Seriously consider getting rid of those too.

We do an extra cleaning job a day, or 15 minutes of cleaning, whichever takes longer. In that time, I can purge a utensil drawer, the shoe cubbies, old magazines, the bookshelves, a dresser drawer, my tupperware cupboard, the medicine cabinet, the canned goods etc.

Also, we keep better organized by buying things that are built to last, so we've got less to shift because it gets shabby.

Best,
F. B.

Are you on pintrest? If so, search, "living simple" and see what comes up. I'm fascinated by all of it and although I don't think I will ever be a minimalist, I am soooooo getting rid of stuff and downsizing. And I mean a LOT. We currently have a 6 bedroom house and by the time I'm done I will probably be able to live in Fanged Bunny's co-op. lol I am giving away EVERYTHING we don't NEED or LOVE. Seriously. And I believe everything will get easier. It will be easier to organize because you'll have less to organize, there will be less stuff to keep track of and put away, less laundry, etc. I can't wait. So that's my advice. Downsize everything and keep only what you need and love. Good luck.