Help Letter:
I’m just feeling at such a loss! We’re in the middle of a year-and-a-half-long remodel (and it’s a ways away from being done!) that’s driven me to living in 6 rooms (LR, DR, tiny kitchen, bath, 2 br’s) with a dh, a toddler, three dogs and their crates, and two cats. We have two closets and four kitchen cabinets. Trying to keep this house clean is next to impossible! I have storage containers in every room, but the stuff just keeps piling up. I’m not a very good housekeeper to begin with, and this is stressing me out!! I want to get rid of things, but I don’t know where to start. I’m hoping to find some help somewhere!
Thanks again for the tips!
-JJ
Response:
Okay, my suggestion is to start with the kitchen. Much of our time is spent there. So you need to either find something for the toddler and the animals to do or get a sitter or relative to take at least the toddler. Find some boxes for things you don’t want anymore. Get some Tupperware or Sterilite. I say this because we just had an episode of moths on the attack! It’s where one tiny moth lays thousands of eggs in one food source in the cupboard and viola, within weeks, you’re invaded and have to throw away all food in that cupboard. Tupperware (and I’m not a sales rep.) has ways to organize. If you get a local woman who sells, she’ll actually come in and set you up! Otherwise, just get the inexpensive containers at your local K-Mart. Then start separating foods that you get and use all of the time.
You should have a few piles:
* Items used all of the time
* cereal
* crackers
* chips
* and whatever else you use often and have to replenish
* Items used once and a while (you should keep these in some container that is secure so it will still be fresh when you need it.)
* flour
* sugar
* salt
* spices
* Items RARELY used (you’ll need to keep these in a Tupperware container so that they are air tight.)
* baking soda (unless you cook often)
* baking powder
* food coloring
* spices
You won’t believe how much you’ve accumulated that you don’t use anymore. If you don’t think you’ll have enough time to do all of the cupboards, pick the one that bothers you most or is most cluttered.
You’ll need containers for all of the rooms. So if you can afford it, start looking for sales (I get most of mine at K-Mart) and stocking up for when you’re ready to purge.
My advice for you having a toddler is to limit toys altogether. I wish I could tell the world how we are struggling with college funds. If we had set up the fund that was offered when our children were born, we’d be better off now. So instead of a large purchase for those big occasions, I highly recommend doing something like prime America’s education fund, or some sort of account that gains interest and the interest that you gain can be left in the account to gain more interest.
I have an article at my site for cleaning and organizing kids rooms and it will work fine with a toddler. The only thing is that when he gets bored, you might have to plug in a movie to keep him busy while you finish. And contrary to popular belief, it’s okay to get help from videos when they’re little. You have control of what they are watching.
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