But, I also knew I needed this topic after I took this picture just last week. 
I thought the title: I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE: one sleeping baby admist the chaos of Christmas clutter, would be very fitting.
I thought the title: I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE: one sleeping baby admist the chaos of Christmas clutter, would be very fitting. Seriously, I know what I need to do, but my 5 littles don't always play by the rules of: clean up after yourself!
After years of the constant battle of keeping kids and our house organized I think there are 3 key principles to organization.
1. Limit
When we were living in Louisville, we didn't have any extra space. There was no basement, no pantry, no storage room and certainly no way I could keep it all clean if I left it all out. My one solution was to limit the amount of toys the kids had access too. If they could get their hands on it, it would soon be cast left and right over the entire basement and I would be leaping over towers, cars and dinosaurs and getting scolding by Matt when something would get knocked over. I took off all of out closet locks and flipped them around making it impossible for the kids to get the toys out without asking me to pick the lock. They had one basket of toys and if they wanted more, we would do a trade. It really helped, especially when I was pregnant with the girls.
Since we moved to Lexington and do have a bit more room, I still had to set rules. I do not allow any toys on the main floor or upstairs. There are no toys in the bedroom, only stuffed animals. If I contain it downstairs, at least I can close the door when someone just happens to drop by. That doesn't always stop Matt from bring up 20 different weapons and dumping them on the kitchen table or in the entryway when he comes inside and I still find actions figures in his bed each morning, but I just keep hauling it downstairs and remind him to keep it in the basement. I do have a basket of board books for the girls and a bin of girl toys in the computer room on the main floor, but it is small enough to keep Brynn and Kaitlyn entertained by me while I cook or type and I can still pick it up in a flash.
I think this could work on any level of organizing. Limit the clothes in your closet to your winter wardrobe and store the short sleeve shirts and shorts. It will be easier to see what options you have to wear.
2. Everything has its place
When there is a proper place for something, it is so much easier to put away and to also find later. Our storage room does NOT look like a page from a Real Simple magazine, but there are specific containers for items. We have a weapon bin, 2 Imaginext bins, a wooden train basket, Star Wars box, an army men tote, remote control cars bin, Match Box bin, etc. Matt has no excuse about why the floor is messy, because he knows where they all should be stored.
This also works for seasonal items like Christmas decorations, wrapping paper, food storage and any thing you don't want in a cupboard or closet you use everyday. It takes away a guess work and makes things much simpler when looking for a specific thing.
Also, I have too many shoes (can a girl really have too many?), but I separated them into boxes keeping Sunday shoes together, flip flops and flats together and regular everyday shoes together. Now I am not dumping out everything on Sunday morning praying to just find one matching pair!
3. Don't ever give up!
I think this is the real key. The messes will never go away, you will never be 100% organized and you probably will never fall in love with the chore of putting things away. I just know that if I try to keep up, even if it's a quick run through the house before bed, it will make it easier on me later. Hopefully the kids will become more responsible with age, and some of these problems will simple remedy themselves, but for now I just know that I do the best I can and have the kids help out so one day, maybe just for a few hours we can get to the top of the mountain and enjoy what it feels like for a brief moment or two!
Happy Organizing!
11 comments:
You, in so many ways, are my hero. I think you have summed up "Organization With Little Kids" perfectly.
I've meant to do the "lock up some toys and swap" thing for years and never really done it. I need to. However, Hayden and Davis can pick a lock with the most ingenious items lately. I've noticed Matchbox jet wings seem to be the most efficient.
Great ideas Cheryl, I didn't do this one thinking that I don't do anything really that special, it's just a constant battle of circular work. I guess just the routine of keeping at it is what works for me. I, too, am trying to figure out a way for the kids to grasp the concept of picking up their stuff when they are done. Brynn's answer is always, "Well, when we are done with this....we are going to come BACK to play with that!" How do you argue with that, she does have a point, even I hate to put things away I know I will be using in a minute or two. :)
We are in more space now than we have ever been, but it's one level, most homes in CA don't have basements. It's quite the task (even though we are in more than double the space of our last apartment) to keep everything out of sight.
Thanks for the inspiration and your perspective! I love reading your posts.
I am glad to see that someone else's family room looks like mine does (especially during CHristmas break!)
Loved your thoughts on organization, and have to agree. Keep up the good work--and as my mom reminds me, they will be gone before you know it and then when you miss the messes, you can invite your grandkids over!
Love your keys! I honestly don't know how you do it with five kids and so happily too! I need to remember the swap thing! Thats such a good idea.
SO I really needed this post. We just got back from Utah and the house was disaster.So I have been tyring to clean and sort while Mac undoes everything I've done.
So my project tomorrow is, put half of his toys in a closet and put locks on his closets. I think it's going to work nicely. THanks for the tips.
Thanks for this great post and most of all for posting the picture. It was funny when you mentioned the "I spy" because I didn't notice your little girl sleeping until I read that. Why can a mess like that happen in a blink of an eye? I swear I went to the potty with a clean kitchen today and when I went back to the kitchen, I had flour and Nestle quick dumped all over my kitchen table and some mixture of some kind in a pot. My boys said, "We make food for you." Ryan was complaining about how messy our kids are and I explained that all kids were as messy. He didn't believe me. I hope your o.k. with me showing him this post. Thanks for all the great tips I love them all and need to put them into action around my house. It's true when they say... cleaning while the kids are still growing is like shoveling snow while it's still snowing.
Sue-
I loved that you showed Ryan. It proves that we all are fighting an up hill battle and only winning a few rooms at a time. And just so you know, I didn't notice Kaitlyn asleep on the floor at first when I went into the basement. It was that bad!
Loved the snow quote. I'm sure I'll use it in the future!
Cheryl
The eye spy with my little eye made me chuckle. I bed you could probably spy a child in most places in your house!
I LOVED the basement picture because mine often looks the same way! You really do a great job of handling your 5 "littles". I agree with your tips -- my problem though is that I don't have room for everything to have a place! Perhaps that means I need to get rid of stuff -- but very soon I will have room so I don't want to get rid of stuff.
Also, I'm needing some organizing tips for the "get your house ready to show and sell" mode that I know you've been through.
I just finished reading about your whirlwind trip to Utah and I'm exhausted for you -- but I know that you were living on adrenaline and I'm so glad you loved every minute of it.
I still can't believe this was the first year you experienced a Nativity with the kids acting out. We've done that for as long as I can remember.
It sounds like it was a perfect holiday for you. And I wish I could have celebrated New Year's with you! What fun!
Great tips, thank you! I too have done the toy thing. I mix up the toys into four boxes. A few weapons, a few musical toys, a few animals, etc. in each box. Then we rotate the boxes every couple of weeks. It's actually really nice. By the time we open a new box, the boys have completely forgotten that we had those toys. It's like Christmas every couple of weeks. I haven't been as good about it since we've been here, because we left most of our toys in Utah, but I plan to do it again when we get back.
Having a place for everything really will make a difference. Our basement (unfinished) is just full of stuff that we need to go through. That's my goal as we move back to Utah.
I loved your picture. I too didn't notice your little one in the midst of all the clutter. That's hilarious. Thanks for sharing. It's good to remember that nobody has a clean has all of the time. We all have our messes to clean up. We're all going through the same things. Life's a little easier knowing that we're not alone. Love you tons!
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