whats your best organizing tip

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what is your best organizing tip its january and time to remove clutter because very quickly we will be into the busy time of the year. please share all ideas brilliant or otherwise. my best this week is hanging strings of christmas lights individually in plastic grocery bags from a rafter in my attic. Also notebooks with plastic sleeve pages are great for organizing things I have one for warranty and user instructions for appliances and hubbys tools and one for travel with maps suggestions about places to go and things to do, menues, anything to do with getting in the car and going. what about you. ronda

-- ronda (thejohnsons@localaccess.com), January 06, 2002

Answers

Keeping a list for items you need when you go to town. You think your going to remember, we see the bright lights of town and forget why we came. LOL.... Saves a trip back to town.

-- Jo (farmerjo@kvalley.com), January 07, 2002.

My first tip is DO IT NOW. Whether it is replacing a burned out light bulb, or rolling up the garden hose. If you start a habit of "I'll do it later" the 'laters' will gang up on you like a flock of hungry pigeons and poop on your head.

Second tip --> Get a plastic file box (they are about 12 x 10 x 8) at Wal Mart. Put folders in it for receipts, insurance forms, medical stuff, bank statements, etc. Label this one 2002. Get a new one each year. I have done this for about five years, and it has eliminates TONS of stress when it is time to search for that elusive piece of paper.

-- Rose (open_rose@hotmail.com), January 07, 2002.


I always sort the mail over the recycling bin. Junk goes directly in there without ever coming into the house. We have slots for bills to be paid, outgoing and personal mail.

I really like the "do it now" method also. It eliminates the need to constantly be stepping around stuff.

Now that we're "empty-nesters" I keep out-of-season clothes neatly folded in dresser drawers in the other bedrooms. It's simple to transfer the in-season clothes when needed and I'm not searching for misplaced clothes.

Wishing you enough.

-- Trevilians (aka Dianne in Mass) (Trevilians@mediaone.net), January 07, 2002.


Well you probably already know my favorite is to never go to bed with anything out of place. I have a place for everything and I try to keep it there. Works for everything except scissors! Whenever I need a pair I always have to look in the kids rooms!

On MOnday's when I do my major cleaning, I never quit on a room until it is pretty close to perfect.

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 07, 2002.


I keep a piece of folded scap paper and a pen in my pocket (either in my jeans or in my flannel shirt)for writing down things I think of that we need at the store, or things to remember to do, or to tell someone.

Im terrible at receipts (that ought to get you, Melissa!)but found that if I keep a gallon sized zip-lock bag near the mail, I can dump receipts into it. I file the receipts every so often (trying to get it to monthly--spose I need to write THAT down in my little scrap paper!). Then I go through these looking for the business expenses that go in another envelope for taxes.

Kid's sharing bathrooms: everyone has a plastic cup that their own toothbrush goes in (wash cups and toothbrushes often). Every kid has their own color or pattern for towel and washcloth so it's evident who left their's on the floor.

Kids chores are posted for the week in case they want to work ahead and do some extra money chores afterwards.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), January 07, 2002.



At the moment my best tip is keep several baskets by the door. I put gloves in one, hats in the other and so on. I also have a crate under the cabnet by the back door for anything that needs to go to shed. That way it is not laying around. I also have put everything in the shed and garden/chicken shed in rubbermaid or boxes. Such things as garage sale items, things to keep, my canning jars are now in nice rubbermaid containers with liners between. Cake pans etc. Everything is put neatly into boxes and on the outside of the box I tape one of those plastic sleeves for notebook paper and write a list of what is in the box. I do this with any box-on the clothes I alway put summer/winter and the size and how many, say, shoes or jeans are there. That way if I am on my way to a auction or sale I can see what I need for the next season.

-- Micheale from SE Kansas (mbfrye@totelcsi.net), January 07, 2002.

Melissa--I'm thinking of tying a string around my main kitchen scissors and attaching to the inside of the drawer. That way I can at least locate ONE pair of scissors.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), January 07, 2002.

Ann, I am going to put them on a chain and hang them around my neck!!!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 07, 2002.

Scissors and scotch tape! Even without any kids, they can disappear. I went to the dollar store and bought several pair of scissors, only 99cents each, not the greatest, but for that quick cut, it will be fine. I've got a pair in each bathroom, in the car, in the laundry room, and most importantly, I labeled my GOOD Fiskars "DO NOT USE FOR PAPER'!!!! Gave hubby his own pair of scissors too. That helped.

-- Charleen in WNY (harperhill@eznet.net), January 07, 2002.

Along these lines, I pick up MANY pairs of scissors and tape when they are on sale before the school year begins and at Christmas. Then everyone gets scissors and tape for their birthday and christmas (because they lose them all year). I don't mind so much if they were cheap to begin with. And I don't mind using kid's scissors for cutting coupons, etc.. Now my expensive cutting shears are OFF LIMITS!!

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), January 07, 2002.


This is a cliche, but it works: A place for everything, and everything in its place. When you're finished with something, put it back. Usually, if you don't have enough places, you have too many things.

When the children get new stuff for Christmas or birthdays, have them go through their old stuff to see what they can get rid of. (Guess what's on the agenda for this week:o))

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), January 07, 2002.


Cathy I tell my kids the same thing, you really don't need any more t- shirts than will fit comfortably in a drawer! If it gets so packed that you can't open and shut it, then it is time to sort some of them out to donate to charity! We usually try to sort out things a few times a year, before Christmas and in early summer,and before school starts.

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 07, 2002.

thanks everyone forthe good ideas. I agree with the do it now its a big time waster to revisit tasks. Ronda

-- ronda (thejohnsons@localaccess.com), January 07, 2002.

Melissa, I hate to tell you this but it never gets any better. It is IMPOSSIBLE to train kids to put scissors and scotch tape back....dd is nearly 18 and still never puts them away. I bought a couple cheap pairs of scissors and a roll of tape and put them in the kitchen desk for dh and dd to use. I have my own pair I hid in the kitchen for my own use. I hid my good scissors and a new roll of tape years ago in my underwear drawer, LOL. They are still there and I can always find them. Not even dh knows where they are. Dd still loses the kitchen scissors but I just tell her to go find them or do without.

As for organizing, last year I sorted and culled all my Christmas stuff and put it all in a big old fashioned steamer trunk. If it didn't fit, I culled some more. This year I also bought some clear plastic boxes (shoe box and slightly larger sizes) to keep all the ornaments and smaller decorations in, which stack inside the trunk. I like having everything in one place and being able to quickly see what's in each box w/o having to open it. I realize not everyone has steamer trunks sitting around, but those huge plastic bins (some on wheels) that you can get at WalMart etc., should work as well or better.

To keep down clutter, periodically I go through each room in my house with 3 boxes marked PUT AWAY, THRIFT STORE, and DISCARD. I can't keep up with housework when I have too much junk to work around, and somehow it manages to accumulate. I take on a room at a time, or even a closet or dresser at a time till I've gone through the house. Use the old rule, if you haven't used it in a year or so, toss it (except for family heirlooms).

Due to my thrift store and stocking-up-on-sale buying, I've accumulated a fair amount of clothes for my granddaughter to grow into, and extra jeans, socks, gloves, etc. for dh and I. Recently dh disposed of years worth of business records, all stored in those nice heavy office type boxes that come with lids. I confiscated the boxes and sorted out all the clothing into them, labeled them and stacked them in my pantry room. Now I can tell at a glance what's in which box instead of digging through everything.

-- Lenette (kigervixen@webtv.net), January 07, 2002.


Melissa, recently we got a couple batches of hand-me-downs. Most of them went to Elijah, and he couldn't get his drawers closed. Tom suggested going through his clothes, so I thought I'd get him started by having him take out all the things he really didn't want to wear. He came downstairs with TWO shirts! Then he changed his mind and took one of them back! So, it's up to me to go and see what he needs, what looks the best, etc. The trouble is that the shabbiest and the most mended are his favourites. Oh, well, we don't go out in public much, so what's it matter, eh?

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), January 07, 2002.


Sounds like Kadia, she saves everything! One time Megan was busy reading a book, but I wanted her to sort out her drawers for things she no longer wanted. She laid the book down. Walked over to the drawer took everything out and said "I don't really want any of it." Then started reading her book again!!!! I had to convince her that she might want some of it, but she is the least "wanting" of any of the kids. If she has a few things she is more than happy!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 07, 2002.

What great answers! Here's a silly idea - permanently attach a "clapper" to the scissors - you could find it really fast that way. Also, I heard a tip once about putting the item into some foil and label it something like "liver" and put in the freezer - no one will ever touch it!

-- Katie (homesteader@accessnevada.com), January 09, 2002.

Ha, ha--Katie and Melissa those last ones really kill me!

Going to start another thread about Organizing boxes.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), January 09, 2002.


Here's a web site:

www.organizedhome.com

-- Jo (farmerjo@kvalley.com), January 10, 2002.


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