| Author | |
CrunchyMom
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 03 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6385
|
| Posted: Sept 24 2012 at 9:48am | IP Logged
|
 |
|
These are topics that come up ALL THE TIME aren't they?
It seems we love to, and NEED to, discuss these things often, doesn't it?
So, here we are, and I'm bringing it up again. I'm planning to tackle the clothing change over today, and it has me thinking. I really sought to limit and simplify our clothing last time, and I think it helped SO much.
I pretty much followed the system laid out here. I think. It was six months ago, and I'm sure I didn't do it exactly as she described.
But, argh, its winter. And winter clothing is just more, well MORE, than summer clothes however you slice it, so I'm not really looking forward to it. But I think Fall is officially here and the baby officially looks like he's popping out of all his clothes, so its time. 
I'd really like to simplify in other ways, too. I KNOW we're happier with less stuff. Before we moved when so much of our stuff was in storage, things were really nice in a lot of ways. It was also hard in a lot of ways, and I know we don't have to pare down quite so much, but I miss the simplicity. It was a sort of false simplicity since we had just crammed a bunch of furniture, boxes, and junk thoughtlessly in a storage unit so our house would look better and be easily cleaned for showings, but now I want it FOR REAL . Yk, the kind of simplicity where we can still use our stockings and Christmas tree in December.
I am rereading Jen's Summary of how to approach organizing. It is classic Jen is its perfect mix of clarity and inspiration. 
I was also inspired by Bridget's post in this thread
Quote:
We choose to live pretty minimal, so choosing clothes, shoes, etc are very easy and there are less choices to worry about. Our hair styles are simple, bedrooms are simple, closets really pared down, etc. We have their books only in the school room, and I really try to keep on paring down. It just makes for easy cleaning, easy decision making, and less time looking for things. We do not shop recreationally, which helps a lot to cut down on the time and the "wants". Then, we carry that over to simple activities too.
It has benefitted to simplify SO much in all areas of our lives. We find we have more time for prayer, Mass during the week, quieter home, and more time for converstion, hence more time for discussing their literature! I don't know if that helps, but it has helped us so much in our educational and spiritual lives, and even my marriage!
God bless you as you consider what is best for YOUR family. There are some good suggestions here. High school is tough...hang in there, and you will see the fruits!! Bridget |
|
|
Yes, I cheat and sometimes read posts from the high school forum AND the over 40 forum. I'm a rebel that way. 
Does anyone have any other insights to offer? I know that there have been some other big organization projects tackled this summer. How are they coming along? Does anyone have recent successes to share?
__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mimip
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 17 2009
Location: Florida
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1526
|
| Posted: Sept 24 2012 at 10:26am | IP Logged
|
|
|
SO timely for us as we are trying desperately to do all of these things but it takes SO. MUCH. TIME. I find it so very hard to simplify when my children are around because suddenly something they have not seen for months they want to keep!
We did clean the girls room. Let me explain how that went:
1. Clean out their closet and dressers: This took a whole 8 hours on Labor Day.  They have a pretty decent sized closet but with my younger daughter's hoarding tendency it was so incredibly frustrating for my older daughter. Younger's bed was covered with a pile over 3 feet tall with things she simply could not get rid of.  I have in the past been very brutal, if it did not fit in one space it was out but this time she just sat and cried that we wanted to get rid of all "her" stuff. It was true, her sister's stuff was all in her under bed storage bin and in her side table. The rest of the closet and room was all "her" stuff!
In the end we gave away 4 bags of clothes, threw away 1 bag (holes and stains and worn shoes) and and other 2 bags of trash!!!! These were not small 13 gallon bags but huge contractor bags!
My husband could not believe that it took us the WHOLE day to do one closet/ and dresser!!!!
2. We are going to paint the girls room now. This past weekend, the girls and I cleaned their room. Under beds, benches and in nooks and crannies and it took us another 4 hours!!!! WHAT THE HECK? Is this normal? ALL of their stuff, with the exception of books, is in their room. I do a weekly cleaning in their rooms where we dust, clean windows, change sheets, sweep and mop floors (we have tile. How often do you all clean under beds and through closets and such?
So now I am looking at the rest of my house and it is a disaster!!!! While we prepped and cleaned the girls room for painting the boys DESTROYED their room. IT is now a hodgepodge of every toy in bins and baskets! Dress up is taking over and their Legos are ALL OVER my dining room table. Plus, every single toy is precious! Both boys birthdays are coming and Christmas and this little boy in utero is coming in December too! NO MORE STUFF!!!!!!!!
The other half of my dining room table is all of my sewing that has to get done before this baby comes but with so many other projects and cleaning that needs to get done, I NEVER get to the sewing!
AUGHHHHH I need TIME!!!!!!!! I need 4 more hours in my day!!!! How do you all do the DEEP cleaning while all the other things take up time? I get the weekly cleaning and I am great at making all of that happen. The laundry is always caught up, the dishes are clean the floors and bathrooms get cleaned but what about all the time it takes to do other projects? How do you find the time?????
Ok, that was a really long rant, sorry
You just hit a huge chord, Lindsay, since my husband who never complains of worries about the state of our house, questioned how exactly we were planning on repainting the whole interior of the house before this baby comes in December? He is incredibly concerned about the maintaining of the house while we take on that huge project.
I'm going to read through some of the old threads and see if there are any ideas that might work in our house.
__________________
In Christ,
Mimi
Wife of 16 years to Tom, Mom of DD'00, DD'02, '04(in heaven) DS'05, DS'08 and DS '12
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JodieLyn
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006
Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 12234
|
| Posted: Sept 24 2012 at 11:16am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I just finished last night 
Except it's not near as little as I would like. I don't know how to reduce things a lot more without having to shift clothes out more frequently. It get COLD here but that inbetween time is really hard.. so we need regular short sleeve tees into November.. but need heavier things through January and then need those short sleeve tees again before we're ready for full blown summer clothes. So while I limited things.. there's still short sleeve tees and long sleeve tees and sweaters and 12 people in a small house Plus I just can't be sure of being able to do laundry much more than once a week.. because of our schedule Sunday-Tuesday can be nuts and so if we do something over the weekend..
And I know I switched over early here.. but I'm joining my mom and sister in a yard sale and I wanted to heavily clear out the clothing stuff.. and I have.. I'm not ready to get rid of all the baby stuff or anything but I reduced.. especially in the girls clothes.. I have a pile of black trash bags of stuff LEAVING.
And I was just looking over my clothes. i'm going to pack up the maternity things and then have another box of things that are mine and might not fit just yet or off season things.. and I was looking at my clothes and thinking.. I just wish I knew exactly what I wanted.. I know I have things that are nice enough and I wear them but I keep feeling like I'm looking for something else and just settling for what I have. But I'm not sure just what I want. Mostly tops. I added a couple of sweater vests to the get rid of bags and my oldest says "you're getting rid of those? but they're so cute!" hmmm I like the idea of them but I'm not sure how it's working out for me.. I wasn't sure if I wanted to get rid of them or not.. figure I have one more chance to save them when I set stuff out but I can't decide. I'm thinking partly that maybe I want more buttton up type tops rather than knit pull over type tops. and maybe I'll like those with a button up top.. hmmm.. I just don't know what I want. Well yes I do.. I wish I was about 40 lbs lighter and then clothes would fit better I've usually lost weight after pregnancy and I'm not this time.. and I haven't quite gotten to the point of doing anything "drastic" 
But I'm close enough to caught up on laundry now that things don't feel so chaotic.. so I think if I can just get a routine going on that things will stay reasonable. It's funny sometimes I've had a great routine and then we add a baby and the whole system falls apart.. you wouldn't think that someone who's total wardrobe is less than a load of laundry could cause so much chaos to the system but it does.. and probably coincides with everyone else getting bigger and their clothes taking more loads to get done etc.
__________________
Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
mommy4ever
Forum All-Star
Joined: April 08 2011
Location: Canada
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 596
|
| Posted: Sept 24 2012 at 11:52am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Lindsay! What good timing! I have started as well.
I don't have a small home but it's by no means a large home. We use every area.
I was looking at some pictures of a few years ago within the first 3 years of being here. We had SO MUCH LESS in our space.
Now I'm thinking I really need to purge.
We started on Friday. I did it 'Clean Sweep' Peter Walsh style. I did this last year with dd8 room. And we did it again. We have 2 large bags for a rummage sale at the parish and another 1/2 bag of garbage, and 1/2 bag of recycling. I haven't done her clothes yet, it was a busy busy busy weekend for us. But Friday, I took out everything but the clothes and furniture from dd8's room. She then went bin by bin and purged. She let go over 1/2 of her stuffies. Many dolls. Lots of 1/2 used craft supplies and coloring books. Now everything fits in her room. She gave up some types of toys altogether. So this was wonderful.
I am going to do her clothes this afternoon. it's hard to transition right now, as it can be 2ºC or 27ºC. So we are dressing for 2 seasons. Means more. But I am going to be setting it up, no more than 9 of anything. 9-t shirts, 9 sweaters(and hoodies), 9 pants(jeans, sweats, yoga). etc. I would limit it 7, but she plays hard and gets dirty. This is easier to keep tidy, and less to wash over all.
Next is my school area! I meant to get to it this summer, but we were again, too busy. I have started in 10 minute spurts. Grabbing a pile and sorting, lots of recycling.
I want to get rid of 1/3 of the items in the house. I want less. Less means less maintenance. If i could dare do 1/2 I would, but I think the troupes would revolt. But 1/3 doesn't seem as drastic. Then next fall another 1/3. Let them get used to less.
__________________
Mom to 4,
1 graduated June 2012
1 in Catholic school
2 homeschooled(one considering art school!)
ardently praying for a new addition to our family.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
AmandaV
Forum All-Star
Joined: Aug 27 2009
Location: Texas
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 707
|
| Posted: Sept 24 2012 at 3:12pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Well, we recently began to implement a Family Closet. I read about it on Milehimama while looking up Frugal meals ( we have decided to actually make and follow a budget after many failed attempts). Raising Olives had a page on it too, I think, with several links I found helpful. Here it is :)
Our house is a oversized newer home with the giant master bedroom closet (about 15x8). The kids closets were big too but have been fairly difficult to keep organized - hanging things falling down, clothes stuffed in drawers, etc. I had our out of season/ too small clothes stored in the guest bedroom closet but the distance between that, the bedrooms, and where we were folding (our bed? The gameroom couch? Downstairs?) meant I often had stacks of "doesn't fit anyone" clothes not in their proper bin because that was one more step.
What we did:
_Moved my husbands clothes to the dressers we were splitting along one wall of the closet ( he gets up first and wants to dress in there)
-Moved my clothes to one hanging side, some shelving along one wall, as well as the dressers in our room.
-Moved my "sewing table" (which was covered in boxes that needed to be sorted, and I've had since elementary school- an ikea plain desk/table) into the closet to be the folding table.
-Moved all clean laundry in there in baskets. To fold. :)
-Made a shelf for each child (prev. owners had added some cheap shelving from lowe's) and made stacks for each of undies, socks, shirts, shorts, pajamas
-all dresses and church clothes hung by size. dd's are only current size, boys are all from size 8-10 down to 2T, as we are constantly in those ranges these days- my 4 year olds are basically in 5-6 and 8 yr old just got out of 7s, so its a short gap.
-all the bins are in there for all the out of season/too small including TOO MANY baby clothes. I'm working on that. Its a result of not finding out twins were boys until after I'd been gifted girl layette hand me downs plus my dd's stuff. I lend but everyone gives it back. So that's a project for very soon. But at least its in one place and I can find the right bin and put things out of commission quickly.
All folding, sorting, putting away is in one place! We are going to have them start picking out week's outfits and putting only those in their drawers. The boys were sharing 2 dressers and that just wasn't enough. Next step is paring down to the most appropriate outfits that everyone likes and are right for our activities. Our cooler weather is so short so change of seasons is something I haven't yet figured out here in south Texas. As a child there were two of us and we each had our own room and storage so it wasn't much of a big thing. I think. I should ask my mom, who was also working full time. Sometimes I feel like such a wimp that this is all so hard for me!
Hope that helps someone! I'm very excited about the family closet for our family, at least while our kids are younger. Oh, and I've had to push that we don't change in there, as its too small for that.
It looks like some people use a small room instead if they don't have a large closet.
__________________
Amanda
wife since 6/03, Mom to son 7/04, daughter 2/06, twin sons 6/08 and son 7/11, son 1/2014
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
CrunchyMom
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 03 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6385
|
| Posted: Sept 24 2012 at 3:37pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
We did the family closet at our old home, and it was really great. We bought wardrobes from Ikea along with dressers for the boys that doubled as counter space for the laundry, and we had all the clothes except for some basics like underwear and pajamas in the family closet. We liked it a lot.
I was SO excited to have a laundry room at this house, and it *is* nice in some ways (basements in old houses are yucky and gloomy), but there is no real option for a family closet/laundry room in this house short of giving up a bedroom or family room.
I worked on the clothes all. day. I'm still not done. Sigh. I'm sure that my compromise on fitting the clothes and their boxes into the space I had was brilliant at the time, but I didn't label (head into desk), so I'm not exactly sure what stuff is.
And yes, Mimi, the rest of the house is a DISASTER!!!
__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JodieLyn
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006
Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 12234
|
| Posted: Sept 24 2012 at 4:13pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Just think LIndsay, you're only a day into this.. I was THRILLED to be done in less than a WEEK (I think it was 6 days).  But I have 10 kids four of which are GIRLS..
THREE OF THE GIRLS are in 14+ sizes
Boys clothes clear into men's clothes are much more uniform in size than women's clothes. Girls clothes are ok until about size 14.. but then the mix of girls and juniors and women's sizes and NONE of them necessarily coorespond (the size changes from store to store, brand to brand and item to item) I have one daughter who has girls 16, juniors 0, 1 and 3s. As well as women's smalls and the occational medium.
So while the little guys I can just say.. oops you need the next size and put away all the 3's and get out the 4's.. the girls have to try EVERY SINGLE ITEM on to find what fits and what doesn't.
__________________
Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
pumpkinmom
Forum All-Star
Joined: March 28 2012
Location: Missouri
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1028
|
| Posted: Sept 24 2012 at 4:14pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Mimip wrote:
| I'm going to read through some of the old threads and see if there are any ideas that might work in our house. |
|
|
I posted about how I hated cleaning Ds's room and I got some good replies.
__________________
Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
Tending the Pumpkin Patch
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JodieLyn
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006
Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 12234
|
| Posted: Sept 24 2012 at 4:16pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Oh and as far as talking about it. It's just so nice when you're working at something that sounds so easy and can get so complicated to be able to tell someone else who UNDERSTANDS that you're in the midst and to share any new ideas on streamlining the process.
I use rubbermaid totes and silver sharpy can write on them quite nicely. DH made me a shelf on one wall in the garage that I can stack 3 high under the shelf and 3 high on top of the shelf. More than 3 high and the totes start collapsing but this is really nice and I can see all the ends of the totes and run out and grab just what I need if I do have a need in between major change overs.
__________________
Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
pumpkinmom
Forum All-Star
Joined: March 28 2012
Location: Missouri
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1028
|
| Posted: Sept 24 2012 at 4:28pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I wrote this post back in June about dh and our basement mess. He admitted he struggles with cleaning up after he is done and is working to fix this problem. I see very little improvement. I guess it needs to be brought up again. Anyone have any advice on decluttering garage/basement/storage areas.
__________________
Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
Tending the Pumpkin Patch
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JodieLyn
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006
Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 12234
|
| Posted: Sept 24 2012 at 4:51pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Yep, suggest to your sons that cleaning up daddy's work area would be a BRILLIANT gift.. birthday, Christmas, Easter, Father's Day etc
__________________
Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
CrunchyMom
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 03 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6385
|
| Posted: Sept 24 2012 at 4:54pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
JodieLyn wrote:
| Yep, suggest to your sons that cleaning up daddy's work area would be a BRILLIANT gift.. birthday, Christmas, Easter, Father's Day etc |
|
|
Oh my goodness. Boys in the messy garage would NOT result in anything resembling a clean work area around here TOO MUCH TEMPTATION!!!
__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JodieLyn
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006
Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 12234
|
| Posted: Sept 24 2012 at 4:55pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
CrunchyMom wrote:
JodieLyn wrote:
| Yep, suggest to your sons that cleaning up daddy's work area would be a BRILLIANT gift.. birthday, Christmas, Easter, Father's Day etc |
|
|
Oh my goodness. Boys in the messy garage would NOT result in anything resembling a clean work area around here TOO MUCH TEMPTATION!!! |
|
|
Well it was my 14 yr old son that is tackling daddy's "closet" in the garage (closed shelf to keep littles out). And I was thinking perhaps her 11 yr old. Not the younger boys
__________________
Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
pumpkinmom
Forum All-Star
Joined: March 28 2012
Location: Missouri
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1028
|
| Posted: Sept 24 2012 at 5:02pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
JodieLyn wrote:
CrunchyMom wrote:
JodieLyn wrote:
| Yep, suggest to your sons that cleaning up daddy's work area would be a BRILLIANT gift.. birthday, Christmas, Easter, Father's Day etc |
|
|
Oh my goodness. Boys in the messy garage would NOT result in anything resembling a clean work area around here TOO MUCH TEMPTATION!!! |
|
|
Well it was my 14 yr old son that is tackling daddy's "closet" in the garage (closed shelf to keep littles out). And I was thinking perhaps her 11 yr old. Not the younger boys |
|
|
I think the 11 year old could handle it.
__________________
Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
Tending the Pumpkin Patch
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Chris V
Forum All-Star
Joined: Dec 03 2009
Location: Washington
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1598
|
| Posted: Sept 24 2012 at 10:47pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
You'd think that after our move in February my house would be clutter free and everything neatly put away and organized, but this is still a huge process for where I'm at in "the move". ... and it's not just the twins that I have to "blame", I'm just have a hard time coming up with good systems that will work for us and how we function each day. I've made some progress though and am taking it room by room.
I love reading and being inspired by other people have done in their home, but what inspires you can be hard to implement in your unique home, with your unique space, and your unique family needs - so often I just allow the advice and inspiration to internalize, then come up with something that works well for us - at least that's the goal, is to actually get to the point where I'm "implementing" and not just scheming.
So, for what it's worth, I'll share some of what I've come up with that's worked, so far. It has taken me many trials and tweeking to come up with a good method of organizing clothes for the three older girls. In our old home they each had their own bedrooms, but in our new home they are all in the same room (we planned it this way). As far as furniture goes, I'm not a dresser gal, you can't ever see what you've got in there, and my girls aren't really super at keeping the drawers looking nice - things just tend to get shoved in and the drawer closed with loose clothing hanging out. So in our new home we've really maximized closets and having a really good, well thought-out system of shelves mixed with hanging space. So in the bedroom that the girls share, the closet has two end-sides and one large section in the middle. Each one of them has their own section of closet that belongs only to them, and the middle section (where clothes can be hung) is neutral ground - it's the clothes that they can all share - or dresses that need to be hung, not folded on a shelf. The closet is for pants, shirts, light sweaters, dresses.
Within their bedroom itself we bought the cubie storage system, for which you can buy canvas bins that fit inside each cubie (the bins come in a variety of colors - very pretty!). The girls each have a row of three bins. Their first bin is for pajamas, their second bin is for panties, and their third bin is for socks. This has worked out really well for us.
For clutter, I've adopted a no-tolerance policies for random toys or other household items that seem to have no home or get little to no use. There is a Goodwill drop-off on the main road that leads us into town. Whenever I come across something that I don't want in our home, I immediately put it in the back of my car and leave it there; the next time I go anywhere I drive by the donation drop-off and unload whatever is in my car. ... what a great system that has been! Absolutely works for me in getting rid of items quickly without having to make a special trip out.
I know that clothes are always a huge organizational nightmare for so many, but what gets me is the paperwork that accumulates in the kitchen - mail, magazines, bills, paperwork from the girls, notes I've written, and on and on. It starts out as a little pile in the corner, and just grows from there. This, I believe, will be a constant struggle for me, with the key being a filing system that is easily accessible so that paperwork gets filed upon receipt (or within a reasonable time), rather than getting stockpiled because filing it is a hassle. Fortunately for me, knowing my struggles with this, I have devoted a section of our kitchen and made it more secretarial. I now file things in specific drawers and one section of lower cabinetry. Sometimes I still allow papers to pile up, but really, I have no excuses, and when that happens, it's out of laziness
Anyway, for me, decluttering, simplfying, and organizing is a circular process - with no end and no beginning. For a while things work, then without fail, once again there will come a time when the old system needs updating or a complete overhaul altogether.
__________________
Chris
Happy Wife with my Happy Life
Mama to My Five Girls ('04~'07~'09~'11~'11) 
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
CrunchyMom
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 03 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6385
|
| Posted: Sept 25 2012 at 7:49am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Chris V wrote:
| You'd think that after our move in February my house would be clutter free and everything neatly put away and organized, but this is still a huge process for where I'm at in "the move". |
|
|
I hear you. I had this idea that I would be able to methodically use the move as a means of decluttering, but it did not work that way for a HOST of reasons.
And, like you said, each home is different, and when you first move, you aren't sure how you are going to live in your space yet. There is a ton of trial and error in organizing and figuring out where and how you live and do specific activities. Add young kiddos to the mix, and it is pretty chaotic!
Plus, we DID need more things in the new house, and some of those things fill needs temporarily while you figure out your long term solutions, and if like us, you don't have a big garage or basement, it is hard to know if you want to get rid of things permanently while experimenting, and in the meantime, you aren't sure what to do with the stuff.
I do think I have a better sense for what we can use now, but the time to implement is hard to find!
Chris, that is a good idea with the drawers. I actually have an extra set of drawers (leftover after rejiggering the kitchen) in our foyer that has the mail sorter/junk catcher on top. There isn't anything in the drawers yet as they have found new homes, but using drawers instead of files is definitely my speed. Dh never files anything. And I needed some system for where to put important things, so I'm currently using 5 magazine files with very general titles: healthcare, insurance, utilities, financial, misc.
I like magazine files for hiding chaos. The new Ikea catalog has a picture with a room that has shelves near the ceiling, one completely full of magazine files the other two deep with matching photo boxes. It reminds me of something I saw in an old Miss Marple where the man had in his home an long stretch of wall that had fake book style boxes, one for every year. He was able to put his hands on a letter and photograph easily. I thought it was a neat idea having a place like that to keep the momentos from a given year since I learned LONG ago that I am not a scrapper! When I saw the Ikea picture, I thought it could apply. Of course, the man in Miss Marple was a bachelor (and a murderer  ) in a time where photos were rare and precious. Still. It is a neat concept to help keep the keepsakes from overrunning. I also have a banker's box in a cabinet so that when I'm decluttering and stressing about stacks of drawings and sentimental kid items, I can toss them in there. My plan is to stick it in the attic and grab another one for next year. Though, maybe I should do it by school year instead of calendar year??? Hmmm...
__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
CrunchyMom
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 03 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6385
|
| Posted: Sept 25 2012 at 7:52am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Its when I'm trying to do this sort of thing that I think, "Can't I just put the kids in school for like 2 weeks? I could get SO much done!!!"
I do like having time at home alone. Instead of a mom's retreat, I wonder if I could convince dh to take the kids somewhere for a long weekend and leave me to tackle some projects! 
__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mimip
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 17 2009
Location: Florida
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1526
|
| Posted: Sept 25 2012 at 11:07am | IP Logged
|
|
|
CrunchyMom wrote:
Its when I'm trying to do this sort of thing that I think, "Can't I just put the kids in school for like 2 weeks? I could get SO much done!!!"
I do like having time at home alone. Instead of a mom's retreat, I wonder if I could convince dh to take the kids somewhere for a long weekend and leave me to tackle some projects! |
|
|
YES!!!! SO TOTALLY AGREE!!!
__________________
In Christ,
Mimi
Wife of 16 years to Tom, Mom of DD'00, DD'02, '04(in heaven) DS'05, DS'08 and DS '12
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Barb.b
Forum All-Star
Joined: June 22 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 748
|
| Posted: Sept 25 2012 at 12:51pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Think - one drawer or shelf per day. If you do that - it will get done!
Set aside about 1 or 2 hours to "power purge" kids rooms. Take in 2 bags - one for trash, one for charity. If it hasn't been played with or used for 6 months - then out it goes. Realistically look at the "stuff" - have they out grown it? Is it a memory - keep some stuff, others I have been know to take a picture of before getting rid of it (like big projects they worked on).
As far as a system for clothes - we don't need one. Seems my kids have 1 drawer for underwear and socks, 1 for summer t shirts and shorts, one for long sleeve shirts. THen only hang up clothes are one church outfit, maybe 2 jackets and 3 pair jeans. I just don't have many more clothes around then that!
Barb
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
CrunchyMom
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 03 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6385
|
| Posted: Sept 25 2012 at 1:11pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Phew, I wish. If I want my kids to play outside in winter, they have to have layers to wear...and boots...and snowpants. And, once they've played outside once, they are encrusted in mud. Last winter wasn't so bad, but the winter before that was bad and this one is predicted to be as well. Climate must have a good bit to do with how much one can simplify wardrobe.
__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
Forum Locked) 
4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Simplifying, Organizing, Decluttering
