Last night John found two boy scout manuals that have been lost in the basement since January. Eight months. The last two weeks we have started praying as a family to find them. Seriously, in family prayer, "Heavenly Father please help us find the scout manuals..." or help us know where to look. They were at the bottom of a box with computer stuff on top.
I didn't put them there.
I really try and group my piles and keep important ones close to me so I can find them again!
I spent $25 once to attend an amazing workshop in Pittsburgh by a professional organizer. I learned that I do not have an organized lifestyle, that I have problems making choices about things, and that I craft/fabric hoard. AND that I need to see things or I forget about them. Clear boxes, vertical storage, clips, magnet boards are all good solutions for me.
So is less stuff.
I knew a lady in SLC who said one of the best things that happened to her family was a home fire-everything destroyed. They had to start over, all the clutter gone...
Moving doesn't solve that clutter problem if you have no time and dump things into boxes, bury them in your memory.
My mothering wish for the day: instant retrieval system. Everyone in the family could put things down anywhere in the house and then the next day or after 3 months they could type in what they are looking for and it would INSTANTLY appear in a basket, TA-DA! Magic, science, miracle, whatever.
Moving around basement this summer to get ready for daily seminary created chaos. I admit that. I couldn't paint through the computer wires and boxes as they were.
Sixteen year old Max is looking for a composition book with a summer AP assignment he said he completed. He does not want to redo it. I don't blame him, for the hours he says he invested.
But I do not feel responsible for his school work if he places it in a public space. We have looked. I know I didn't recycle or throw away any composition books (I save them, and reuse them, tape/glue magazine rips to the pages by theme, and I have not done that this summer, didn't cache away any books, showed him the drawer that has the old ones I know about...) Painful, horrible family moments. Who is responsible?
Am I really the keeper of the house items? I know I don't know about everything that comes through the door.
Check-in at the door, and you receive a ticket item, like a coat-check system?
I have seen beautiful mud-rooms with a locker for each child. Baskets with their name. Magazine ideals, sigh, with a price tag.
My cheap organizing solution is office clipboards hung by a nail with every one's name corresponding above their paperwork. It has helped keep track of loose papers.
But the chunky stuff, the books, the heavy textbooks need shelves or something sturdier.
WHAT ARE YOUR HOME ORGANIZING SOLUTIONS?
6 comments:
I am VERY good at coming up with organization solutions but getting everything to STAY organized I'm NOT very good at! No one seems to be able to read all the cute labels when they are putting things away, only when they can't find it. "MOM it's not in the (fill in the blank) drawer"
I have a husband who likes clean surfaces but doesn't care so much about what cupboards or drawers look like - he just wants it to look nice on the surface. I like it clean all the way down but don't take the time to follow through.
One of my "solutions" of late has been a couple of wicker baskets (found on sale of course) that are on the counter by the back door. When it comes time to clear the table for dinner things that don't have an immediate home are placed in these baskets. Then when a child is looking for an important paper or book later on the first suggestion is "Look in the basket." It's not perfect but it works for now. :)
I like organizing, but agree that staying organized is the problem. Things have to be stored very near where they are used. A tool drawer in the livingroom has helped immensely. I need to set aside a regular organizing time and keep on it. Less stuff would probably help. I need to be more willing to get rid of things.
Moving from a 3000+ square foot house with 6 bedrooms down to a 1800 square foot townhouse will help one out immensely. Seeing as how that's not an option for you now, I will move on to my second thought for you. :)
If you don't look at it, use it or even remember that you have it in over 6 months, get rid of it. (There are exceptions to this rule though. ie: seasonal items that are only used once a year. Don't throw out Santa. Unless you feel like making a Christmas in July display...)
Accio homework! *wand flourish*
You could pray for the AP assignment too...
I tell you, I'm NOT there. I want to be, but I'm not. In fact, I'm so sick of my house and my projects right now, I'd be glad to go somewhere. Any suggestions?
I have no good advice, just a hug and an "I understand!" We, I, lost our city taxes bill. Can't find it anywhere. Had to get another one. Not an easy thing. It is probably here somewhere....will find it next year, I bet!
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