02.24.09
Home Organization: 5 Ways to Get the Family Involved
Keeping your house orderly without family cooperation is a little like hanging wallpaper with only one arm. It can be done–but why?
If you’ve played janitor up to now but no longer want to or have the time to, you can put a stop to it. Your family will cooperate if handled with a little tact and TLC. (“Iron fist in a velvet glove,” comes to mind).
A family meeting yummy treats can be an effective starting point.
It’s important to remember that–at least in theory–this is a family problem, needing family solutions. This is no time for a hot harangue or “Oh, me, poor me, what a martyr I am” approach. Remember no one forced you to play janitor.
It’s altogether possible, however, that no matter how loving, tactful or gentle your approach, you may be met with blank stares and stony silence. It is best, therefore, to be prepared with a few ideas of your own to stimulate the creative juices. But your aim should be to get them to come up with ideas. We all tend to follow through with the things we ourselves have suggested.
Some Ideas to Get You Started
- Rule #1: “Don’t put it down, put it away.” (Wouldn’t it be great to have that message play every time a family member walks through the front door)?
- Schedule a different family member each night for pickup duty. Their things must be put away, the others may be put inside the owner’s bedroom door for them to put away.
- Insist that every family member over the age of 2 or 3 put their stuff away before dinner is served. Be sure to give everyone plenty of time. Be specific about what you mean by “put away”–out of sight or where it belongs? And by all means don’t serve dinner til it’s done.
- Create a “Saturday Box” where every child’s letter is deposited each day. Come Saturday, they may regain possession by doing a chore or paying for each item they take out or ???. Whatever isn’t claimed after a certain number of weeks is given to the needy.
- Set a goal of a certain number of clutter-free days. If that goal is rached the family earns a reward of some kind. This may be all it takes to break bad habits–at least for awhile!
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Home Organization: Preventing Clutter
It is said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Preventing future clutter buildup is pretty simple: just learn to say NO.
- Say NO to bargains. A bargain is only a bargain if you use it. Would you want the item at full price? If not chances are you won’t enjoy it much no matter how much money you “saved.”
- Say NO to duplications. Not long ago a woman phoned into one of those TV shopping stations to order a watch. “Oh, I’m so thrilled to get this one,” she gushed. “I don’t have any turquoise ones,” she continued. “Oh, and how many watches do you have?” asked the host. “Well,” she replied happily, “I had 95, this will make 96. Just four more and I’ll have an even 100,” said this math genius. As collections go, this one’s pretty harmless spacewise. But if we’re talking duplications, it’s ridiculous.
- Say NO to impulse buying. Consider each purchase carfully. Is this a “need” or just a momentary “want?” Check your clothes closet. How many impulse items are in the selfom-worn division?
- Say NO to excessive mail order items. Ditto on line shopping. How easy it is to get carried away. They all look so good on the model. How quickly we can suspend all judgment. And then the biggest question of all for some of us: if I don’t like what I order, will I really, truly spend the necessary time and money to return them?
- Say NO to specialized gadgets. We wonder how many yogurt makers, pasta machines and electric potatoe peelers, used once or twice, are now gathering dust in cupboards all across America. They look so enticing in the Sunday supplements or on TV, but are athey worth the shelf space they take?
- Say YES to a professional housekeeping service. You will be amazed at how much neater, how much tidier and less cluttered your house will stay if you have professional cleaning done every couple of weeks or so. Even once a month makes a huge difference.
If you missed our first three posts on this topic, read them now: Home Organization: Preparing to De-Clutter, part 1
and Home Organization: Preparting to De-Clutter, part 2, and 9 Ideas for Clutter Control
Okay, your turn. What else do we need to say NO to? How else can we prevent clutter?
Home Organization: 9 Ideas for Clutter Control
Now that you’re mentally prepared for the task (see previous two posts) it’s time to get to work.
- Get three boxes for sorting things: one for items you’ll sell or give away, another for things which should logically be located elsewhere (you can sort through these things at the end), plus a box for throw away items.
- Start with either the closet which can be cleaned out the fastest and easiest (if you need immediate satisfaction) or the one which bothers you the most.
- Be absolutely merciless about what you discard. Be certain that every item on every shelf has earned its right to be there. Don’t be a victim of your own possessions.
- A fourth sorting box may be necesssary. This box is for all those things you know you should part with but can’t. When this box is filled, tape it securely, date it, store it in the garage or other out of the way spot. Six months later, give it away!
- Store your most frequently used items in the most accessible areas, closest to where you will be using them. Put short items at the front and the taller things at the back. Heavy or cumbersome things should go on lower shelves. Upper shelves are good for storing lightweight articles and those you can get down with one hand, such as trays placed vertically.
- Whenever possible do not store anything on the floor.
- Consider buying some matching clear plastic, medium sized boxes for storage. Label the contents clearly. You’ll be amazed at how much more orderly the space will look.
- If you have a lot of boxes, code each with a number or letter. List the contents on a separate card and put it nearby for quick refernce. This makes locating a particular item so much faster and easier.
- Facilitate order in bedroom closets by installing an extra shelf or hanging rod, put in hooks, hanging shoe bag and the like. You can spend hundreds, even thougsands of dollars on closet accessories, but there’s also a lot that can be done with only the most basic materials. Many hardware and container stores stock a wide variety of storage accessories that require little or no installation.
We haven’t even touched on visual clutter–the things on table tops, counters, shelves. We’ll address that–and ways to get the family involved–in the next post.
- Lastly, remember the KISS principle: Keep It Simple Stupid. This is not a place for fancy systems. The easier it is to maintain, the longer your storage areas will stay neat.
Of course, if you’re in the San Francisco Bay area you can always resort to our professional housekeeping service. We have people who specialize in this kind of organizing. They can work with you, or by themselves.
So, you Organized Ones, what can you add to these suggestions? Come on, I know you have some great ideas!!
Home Organization: Preparing to De-clutter, part I
In the next few posts we’d like to address a distinctly contemporary phenomenon. It’s clutter with a capital C. Clutter in closets, cupboards and drawers. Everyday stuff on tables, counters and floors.
You move it, shuffle, stack and remove it. You argue about it, curse it, cram it and search amongst it. If ever we are going to get control of this beast we call Housework, the clutter has got to go. But where to start?
Mental Preparation I
The first step is to prepare yourself mentally for disposing of the “excess baggage.” Most of us hang on to way too many T-H-I-N-G-S. Things that we might wear, sell, play with, look at, cook in or put things in…someday. Strange, how many of yesterday’s must- haves now clutter our closets. And to what end?
Now is the time to strengthen your resolve. Go through your entire house and ruthlessly appraise the value (to you and your family) of everything in each closet and drawer.
For instance, will you ever really feel good in that little floral frock that was such a steal at 75% off? (Remember, you never had the right shoes to go with it, and it’s still a bit tight around the waist). Why not donate it or sell it to someone who has the puce pumps to match?
Do you ever do fondue? If not, deep six the pot.
And books. Can we be honest here? How many will you ever read more than once? So keep the inspiarational and special books and reference books that are better than going on line. Then pack up the rest and donate them to the library. Think how good you’ll feel.
Probably the most difficult decisions you will have to make involves what to do with sentimental items like things that have been given to you. This is something you need to have a plan for beforehand. Box them all up together? Re-gift? What? Just know it’s hard to keep everything and have a lovely clutter-free environment. So what’s your answer?
So, forward, Ladies. Let your rallying cry be: “If in doubt, throw it out!” Give it away, trade it, burn it or put it out on the front lawn with a “Free to a Good Home” sign. But don’t hang on to all that stuff. Let it go. You can do it. You can!
Be sure you see Part 2 of this post
What experiences have you had getting rid of “excess baggage?” What was hardest to let go of? Do you have a funny story to share about the experience?
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