So often I hear from many women who write to me… “There’s just not enough time in my day!” Then there is… “I work all day (whether at home or away) and then I’m supposed to get dinner on the table, have the kids bathed etc…” There are SOME solutions, but it takes time to implement them and get the whole family in on the same page.

Practical Applications For Getting Organized

One of these solutions is to try getting the house and garage organized so that YOU understand where everything is. Then you can explain it to the rest of the family. GET SOME HELP! Have a friend or another mom/grandmom come over to help you and try to send the kids to their friends house. (I know this isn’t always possible.) I set the kids up to play in the sprinklers in the yard and when they are tired of that, I set up a new movie for them after they get themselves showered and dressed. Another time I hired two teenagers for 3 hours and paid them. They were thrilled because they really didn’t do much. They got to guide the children from here to there and occasionally take something from here to there for me. (Many young teens would love to be a mother’s helper now and again.)

Then, onto the rooms. Now some of the rooms I was able to organize while the kids were out playing. I assessed one room, found containers for it (I purchased a long time prior because I just HAD to have them when they were on sale), and started sorting. In a boys room full of Lego’s® and junk, I literally raked everything into a pile into the center of the room, sized up how large a container or two (or three) I would need for Lego’s®, then put those containers on one side of me and some small ones on the other. I called my son in to help decide what he was keeping or not and we went at it! I could see when he was getting tired and sent him off to take a break. When he got back I had a lot of it done and he felt at ease to start in again.

Take one room a week. This will cut down on the stress of doing such a large task. I started with the garage figuring that I had better have it organized before I started in the house. This way, if there were things that the kids wanted to keep, but didn’t use that often anymore, I could label it and find a place in the garage to put it.

There is only so much one can do when in a smaller home or office. So please try not to put too much pressure on yourself to make things perfect. The only time I can say that I had things as close to perfect as anyone with three children could get was when I lived in the same house for over 9 years and had the house remodeled to my specifications. Then there were special cabinets under this counter, a walk in closet in this room, a closet organizer in that room, etc… Even then it wasn’t near complete. BUT I did know where everything was. And the house WAS neat, clean and tidy.

With that I will leave you with these 10 Ways To The Simplify Life…

* Design a card for someone you love.
* Laugh. Often.
* Blow bubbles.
* Run through a sprinkler.
* Color in a coloring book.
* Visit a pet store and hold the puppies.
* Paint a picture of your family.
* Sign letters to your spouse and significant other with x’s and o’s.
* Pick dandelions.
* Go to the library and check out two books you’ve been wanting to read . . . and read them.

Copyright ©1999 – 2001 Susie Glennan
All Rights Reserved.