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Health & Fitness

Who is In Control: You or Your House?

How to Manage the Fall Clutter Keeping your family and your house in order for the start of the school season and beyond!

Who is In Control: You or Your House?

 

What happens when your house has suddenly taken control of you? You cannot seem to keep drawers and closets organized. Your husband, your kids do not buy-in to putting sports equipment, laundry, paperwork or clean dishes away in designated areas? You are busy with your job, your volunteer work, and the kids’ school schedules! Time to take back your house!

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 I.              The “Drop-Down” Space

It is usually a kitchen counter or table where dumping goes on. Place an In- basket located near the table for household bills, flyers or invites that can be sorted immediately into a “To File” or “RSVP” file or bin. You can recycle the rest immediately. Some people have an office nook near the kitchen, which is perfect for In baskets, stacking trays or hanging folders. To save even more time, create an In basket or bin for each family member in a convenient spot. A cubby is great if you have space in a mud or laundry room near the kitchen. That is in a perfect world of course! (For more paper organization tips see my first article on “Tips to Manage Your Paper”).

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II.            Kitchen Overload

Assign “Odd” or “Even” days or specific weeks each month to kids or spouses where each is responsible for kitchen clean-up including loading or unloading dirty dishes. Post the schedule where everyone can see it. For dinner preparation, perhaps the same person can be assigned that day to prepare the meal if possible. That way, even if you are a Superhero it will take some of the pressure off the evening “jobs” and give everyone else a sense of responsibility for running the household.

III.         Laundry Jujitsu

Most people hate laundry. Although I have heard “outliers” say that the ordinariness of it all is relaxing!!! Our house has a chute that 4 people use to create one grand smelly mass dropped from upstairs.  It is a nightmare! So I put the kibosh on that and reverted back to the tried and true “Basket” method where each person brings down his/her own laundry.  They place it in the washer and then fold and take it back upstairs when done. Show the younger kids how to fold the laundry and tell them to remove it immediately from dryer before the dastardly wrinkles set in! Just for the record, this is not running like clockwork (yet!), as I find myself occasionally playing the Laundry Martyr.

 

 IV.           Bedroom Imbroglios

Designate a weekend day for clean-up (that can coincide with the laundry day for each person). Again post the chore list where everyone can see the chore list including laundry, kitchen and bedroom clean-up days. For bedrooms and bathrooms, duties can include:

1.     Make beds

2.     Put away clothes in drawers/closets

3.     Bring laundry basket down and start washer

4.     Dry, fold and put away clean laundry in drawers

5.     Clean and organize desk or bureaus (including dusting)

6.     Vacuum carpet or sweep floors of bedroom

7.     Bathroom: clean toilet and tub as needed with products

8.     Bathroom: sweep/clean floors 

9.     Place dirty towels, rugs from all rooms to in laundry bin

10.  Smile!

 

The bedrooms and bathrooms can be a trouble spot especially with teens or spouses with different “cleanliness” standards. Stick to your guns and your schedules. Create rewards for kids when work is done.  Some people use a jar that gets filled with marbles or tokens as each weekly task is completed. When the jar is full, the family is rewarded with a special treat or adventure to keep it interesting.

This seems like a long list. And, it is!  But soon it will become habitual, and good habits lead to good character, which is a reward in itself.

Regarding Basements and Garages…. I am in the midst of tackling these in my own home now, and I will report back with more specifics for organizing these spaces in the next posting. Stay tuned.

The goal is always the same—Simblissity! 

 

Donelle Duvall

Mary Beth Wright

Simblissity Personal Organizers

www.simblissity.org

630.248.6024

630.400.4779

 

 

 

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