Organizing your LIFE one Step at a Time.
Frequently Asked Questions
P.F. - Once I get it cleaned and organized, how do I keep it that way? It seems one busy day is enough to send everything into chaos again.
A - Right? Yes!! Part of it is cleaning as you go. The other part is stopping and giving yourself time to pick up before running to the next thing on the list! I am usually running from task to task or opportunity to opportunity. I get that! Slowing down has been key!
R.N. - How do I find a "home" for everything to be able to put it away in the first place?
A - What a great question! I struggle with this too! With children that span in age from baby to teenager, you are simply going to have a LOT of stuff! What I have personally found is that decluttering is an every day thing. You just have to get rid of the things you are no longer using! Clothes over 5 years old are now out of fashion and depending on the weather where you live, elastic in a hot shed or frozen for lengths of time just doesn't last that long. First, take a hard look at what you have. Evaluate as to whether you really will use it again or you just want to. If you can let it go, then do that. If you cannot let it go, box it to go into the garage or storage for a limited amount of time, about six months to one year. If you have not used it after that, send it on its' way.
G. F. - How do I deal with the clutter. I am genetically inclined to stack, pile, and keep unnecessary stuff.
A - Start by throwing away all the trash. By this I mean, envelopes, extra copies, the chip bag next to the chair that fell last night. (I just picked one up!) Evaluate what is truly needing to be thrown away! Are you really going to fix that button on that shirt? Or do you even like it? If yes, take the 5 min to fix it and put it away. If no, toss it. Noone else wants to fix those buttons either. I found that removing the unessential first, then putting large items away, allows for the brain to not be as overwhelmed as it is when the whole pile is still there. It allows for more difficult choices to be made because you are no longer battling the obvious and now just making more simple decisions. You might be surprised how just those two things can release your thought process!
N.M. - What about stuff that family gave me stuffed in boxes. Just can't throw away. I feel I have to many boxes.
A.R. - Do you have any suggestions for your soaps and shampoos in the bathtub for organizing when the walls can't use the rubber suction cups? We use command strips for the scrubbies but no place for our shampoo and soap bottles.
A - Oh my goodness! Right? Yes. So what I am realizing after bringing things home recently as well is that those things are going to need to be secured in airtight and watertight boxes and stored until time allows for decisions to be made, like the garage or a storage unit. But protected. As time allows, sort only one box at a time and only keep what you need the most. Sentimental items can be stored or pictures taken instead for memories sake. Our loved ones that have gone on ahead of us would never expect us to keep so many things if it meant we are to be miserable.
A - Yes! Living in a small place requires solutions for small spaces. There are mesh bags that can hang from the shower bar. That is what I have used in the past. I even made one at one time. I made it with long velcro straps to hang over the bar.
S.J. - I struggle with keeping things organized. Things don't always get put back and are put in the wrong areas.
C.M. - I struggle with finding the time to clean.
A - Personally I have two theories of thought on this. You can take one day a week to do most of your cleaning for the week, or you can do it incrementally over the week. As in 30-40 minutes a day and even 15 minutes at a time.
A - This is really hard to keep up with when we get so busy and are running everywhere. By taking 15 minutes before dinner or at the end of the day to pick up and put things away, you will find it easier to maintain.