I am not an organized person
 

l cannot stay organized. i need to go through toys and clothes and purge. right now my house has fallen apart. I have gone thro toys but my house is suffering for it....i cant clean without making a mess..
i just feel so overwhelmed by there stuff..
tips or suggestions...please

Re: I am not an organized person
 

What organization systems have you tried?
Different ones work better for different people. Some people find Flylady very helpful. Others use...Motivated Moms? I think it's called?

Re: I am not an organized person
 

i havent tried any... its like i can stay good for a little. it then i can barley clean up anything.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

Are you finding that you do a ton for a few days and then burn out and don't do anything?

If so, following some kind of plan might be really helpful for you.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

Do you have a friend who will help? I say this because I love to organize and help others do it- it's like fun for me, but I'm not local to you. So do you have a friend like that?

Re: I am not an organized person
 

I feel your pain. I am the same way. I can share two things that slightly helped:

1) When my kids were young (like under 4 years old) I decided that every toy that had more than a few pieces had to go. (I kept a few puzzles that had more). I just couldn't handle all the cleaning up.

2) Filing - I read somewhere that some people prefer to take the time putting away, others prefer spending alittle more time looking for something (but don't want to spend a huge amount of time putting away). I am the second type, so I make systems that are very easy to put away into -- even if that means I have to look a little bit when it is time to find something. E.G. receipts are filed by month. I can look in Quicken to see what month I bot something -- then just look in the file pocket by month. I have to look a little bit to find it, but I don't mind.

If I don't have an easy system for putting away, I procrastinate and things pile up.

What is the smallest area you have to organize that would have the biggest impact on your life? Perhaps start there with just 15 minutes a day, and then success there will help you move forward.

:hug

Re: I am not an organized person
 

My suggestion is to focus. Tell us what one or two areas bother you the most. Then we can brainstorm just those spots.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

When I help people organize, I find there are usually one of two problems and more often both:

1. Too much stuff. As Flylady says, "You can't organize clutter." No organization system in the world is good enough to make clutter not an issue.

2. Overcomplication. When you find yourself loathe to put things away because it is a PITA to get it where it is "supposed" to go, then your system is not working. Having no system is a form of a system - just a super frustrating one.

What is the most frustrating part of your day? That is usually a good place to start.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

:yes Specific goals are more likely to succeed than general ones. "I want to keep the house clean" can be overwhelming, whereas "I want to keep the living room floor clear" is much more manageable. Start small with a few key areas and as you focus on those you may find it gets easier to keep the whole house neater.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

right now its everything about house keeping. i am burnt out.
i do seem to over exert myself for a few days then not be able to do anything.
currently i have been too tired to do anything... but its not related to over doing it... i am just tired.
I am going through the toys right now... even though my kids are 4 ,6,9 the can seem to keep liitle parts together ..games are the worst. and puzzles.
i have no clear sysetem for clothes, and my girls do not have a dresser, and do not keep stuff hanging in thier closet. also i need to go through them and get out the stuff to small for anyone.
even things like pictures, or books, but i lack book shelves.
I look at the mess and feel overwhelmed before i even start on it.

---------- Post added at 06:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:34 PM ----------

oh and a system for getting the kids to help regulary, like just keeping rhier room clean or clani g up after themselves all thw time

Re: I am not an organized person
 

i think having your kids help is a great idea. maybe give them one new "job" each week? like making bed, putting dirty clothes in one place, picking up toys once a day, etc.

also, lets find places up HIGH to keep all those games, puzzles, etc. i even bought child safety locks (like for cabinets) to keep the books and toys behind (because i seem to have the same problems!)

we keep all games and puzzles on the high shelf in the coat closet.

for the clothes, where are the kids clothes supposed to go? (you mentioned no dresser and no hanging?) mine are 4 and 6 and I make them hang everything except undies, socks and jamies. i installed a low bar in their closets (not expensive at all, bought at a big box hardware store) and tons of plastic hangers. i showed them how to hang things up...and then (now!) made (make) them do it every .single .day. its hard for me to stay on it but they are getting better.

jamies, socks and undies are in a dresser now, but at our old house we didn't have dressers and used med size clear plastic boxes on the floor of the closet. i also let the keep shorts/pants in the dresser (or box). no rules about keeping things in there folded, just in the correct box. depending on how much/many of these types of clothes, you could even just give each dc 1 box and keep it on top of the dryer.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

i am hoping to get a new dresser with the comming months for the girls, i even wonder if they should have seperate ones...like those small 4 drawer ones.
they wont keek stuff up in the closet. they play in their closet it as it is a big closet. right now i keep clothes in bins but its not really working as it is not very organized.
I know in another thread it was mentioned i need new furniture but until i can do that i need to be able to take care of it now.
right now my biggest clutter is clothes and toys. clothes because 2/3 of it really has no proper place and i have also been slacking on the laundry.
i feel good that i have gotten rid of some toys today, but its just the begining.
my goal is to have things looking and running smoother by the begining of september..i know thats a couple of weeks , but i feel that amount of time is needed.

---------- Post added at 07:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:02 PM ----------

areas that bother me the most are my kitchen and dinning room. the dinning room is also the toy room , and the kitchen is also the laundry room... so tons of clothes in the kitchen which spill out to the laundry room, and well my dining room just has seen better days.
i am thinking i should go back to paper plates for a few weeks till o get a grasp on things agai .

Re: I am not an organized person
 

how about cutting back for a few weeks?

ie. paper plates are AWESOME, grab 1 box/basket per child and put it up on the washer or dryer...keep out 3 jamies, 10 undies and a few socks, all in the basket. everything else in some sort of box/bag (trash bag,e ven) and stash in the basement or garage or attic. then you can breathe...and slowly work through things. i'd do the same with toys and games and puzzles...keep out 1-2 of each and bag up the rest for a while. then you can have a clean, clear space about you in thehouse. its amazing how much this can give you a clear head and increased motivation. :)

for the closet...can they hang clothes up high and play underneath? or can you put up a tension shower curtain rod somewhere else and keep clothes there, so again, you can have clean and clear space to start with?

Re: I am not an organized person
 

I understand the clothes. Let's see...my son's dresser broke (not his fault, just old) so his clothes are all in one rubbermaid bin. I don't care if he folds it or not, just keep it off the floor. My two youngest daughters were playing dress up with the regular clothes to the point it was just clothes everywhere. I cut them back to the necessities (so easy in summer) and put their clothes in a laundry basket it my room. They have undies in their drawers, that's it. It's a pitb, but better than clothes everywhere. My oldest daughter is the only one with clothes in her dresser that she folds. It's not perfect, but it works.
Toys...large rubbermaid bins. Everything sorted out. They get one or two at a time, depending on which ones. Nothing else till they trade. I have a smaller bin that I use to store things that end up out of the proper sort. A few times a year I take them all out and put things away nicely again. 4:00 here is clean up time. All toys cleaned up by them. They can play again later, but with our evening of dinner, some tv, and bedtime, they usually don't make much of a mess. The toy bins are in my son's closet b/c he doesn't have any clothes to hand anyways. His clothes bin is just under his loft right now. But even if you keep some toy bins in the dining room, that will look much neater than toys scattered about. And hello, it's easy....lol. I need easy right now. So do you. Start simple. Don't get perfectionist. Bins don't need photos of contents with caligraphy labels. Pop the lid edge up, take a peek...now you know what's in there. Or....(like I've done for seasonal clothes storage) a post it note duct taped to one side.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

Got toys picked up from the dining room.. still a lot left to do.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

Good job! It's a step in the right direction.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

Was going to suggest working one thing at a time in a room rather than whole house

Re: I am not an organized person
 

I need to work on my living room but Ds is currently asleep on my belly... and I am feeling tired. I really wish I did not feel tired all the time. No energy no motivation... I hate it because stuff needs to get done button I'd rather sleep.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

Have you got a renewed spurt of energy this evening? Could you just set a timer and tidy for 5 minutes? :hug2

Re: I am not an organized person
 

I had no extra bought of energy. I feel a sleep shortly after my son did.
I have a few a ppts this afternoon. I hope to get the living room done when I get back. I hate being so tired.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

Out and a bout.. but hoping to have Some energy when I get home and at least get the living room done... at this point I think it just consit of sWeeping and throwing away everything on the floor.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

Got the living room done... now need to redo the dining room.. hopefully I can tackle on the dreaded kitchen to night.. but do feel like I'll be at least able to do the dining room.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

:cheer

Every little bit of work, every piece of trash thrown away, and every article of clutter brings you closer to your goal. Slow and steady wins this race. Sure, you'll have great days of purging accomplishment, but it is the small daily habits that keeps you sane. :heart :cheer YOU CAN DO THIS!

The clothing thing is hard with no storage space. Maybe keep an eye on Craigslist for a good dresser. I prefer long, shallow drawers because you can use old shoeboxes to make drawer dividers. In the meantime, what about using hooks to hang up outfits for the next day? That will at least make the morning a little smoother if that is figured out the evening before.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

So got the dinning room done, so that's a plus. I really need to catch up on laundry so I am going to store bags on the porch and hopefully do at least if not 2 a day til it's done my kitchen looks like a bomb exploded... so I at least have to attempt to do some a little later.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

Ok what worked for me to keep it clean was when we had our own house it went like this
6pm start dinner
6:30pm eat dinner
7pm showers
7:30 pick up
8pm bed
That seemed to keep the house 75% cleaner I still had to do a tiny bit of clean up during the day but it really helped SO much and I have NO organization skills either

Re: I am not an organized person
 

didnt get to my kirchen... im hoping to today..did manage to do a load of wash... hoping for the energy to do it today.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

I would suggest getting out 5-7 days worth of clothes for everyone, getting them washed and dried and put up, and bag/box up all other clothes for now. mark the bags as dirty or clean, and wash one bag per day, then put it back in a bag.

As for toys, keep out just 5-10 toys... or maybe one "set" of toys per child (Littlest Pet Shop, Legos, Little People, whatever) and one or two other toys.

THEN you can focus on getting the house clean, THEN you can bring things back or not.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

11 am..no motivation....goal.. dishes done and a load of wash...

Re: I am not an organized person
 

Do you have dishwasher? We dont and have tons of dishes.You can do those some at time too like if sitting both sides sink with gunky food can work from whichever side have dishdrainer on and ruinse and pre clean food off with scrubbie and stack on other side, then do sink on right hand side if have 2 same thing then clean countertops can take break fill one side warm soapy and washing is quick and set in other side waiting to be rinsed under running water do you have dc old enough to help rinse? Very littles can put silverware away

Re: I am not an organized person
 

i dont have a dishwasher , just a small sink like 4 inches deep maybe five or so... no divider.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

got alot of dishes done.. wish i had paper plates. will hopefully complete all dishes tonight or tomorrow morning.
cleared thwe bathroom....really need to give it a scrub down when i get a chance.
will try for 2 loads of laundry tomorrow.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

:cheer Way to go!
How are you doing at putting routines into place for maintenance? That's where I tend to stumble, I can get something clean but then *keeping* it clean...

Re: I am not an organized person
 

i have no routines put into place at all.. so bad with them.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

:hug2 Is that something you want to start?

Re: I am not an organized person
 

yes it is. i would like to get out of the panic cleaning cycle

Re: I am not an organized person
 

Cool! Where do you want to start?
Starting small probably works better than implementing one giant routine, because that can seem overwhelming at first. So what's your *biggest* frustration, usually? Kitchen? Kids' toys? Laundry? You might pick a couple of small things. For instance, all the kids doing a 5-minute cleanup of toys before bedtime, and making yourself do one load of laundry, start to finish (put away in drawers/closets or as close as you can manage with the furniture you have) every day.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

i dont know, laundry and dishes and keeping rhw dinning room and living room floora clear gor now.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

starting and maintaining a maintenance schdeule is so hard but it so SUPER rewarding. One thing I found to keep kitchen and dishes done, DO NOT have more than enough of anything than ONE day. When I had enough dishes to last us 3-4 days Iwas always putting it off but when i was forced to ONLY have enough for one day it got done and since it was such a small amount it was so much easier to get it done. I cut clothes down to 7 days worth of clothes that was about 1 load of laundry for each person and i ha set up days to do each person. I know it sounds hard and it was but once i had forced the issue (and i had to push myself so hard sometimes I wanted to cry) it got easier and easier. So maybe just start with cutting down to 3 bowls and 3 plates per person and 3 sets of silverware also. I truthfully did 2 each and was ok.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

That's really rough with the dishes/sink! I have heard that some people will get a cleaning bucket and put it under the sink. They rinse all the dishes as they get used and put them in the bucket until it's wash up time. I don't know if that would help you or not.

Re: I am not an organized person
 

my luck with chores id forget the bucket. i have had some company over today.. didnt finish the dishes..but did pick up some of the toys the kids were playing with... however i currently have a hose and a tripod on my living room floor.:scratch which i will be picking up tomorrow morning i am tired so i am laying down... i am really tryi g not to out do.myself and then not want to do a thing for a while... so tomorrow... laundry wash folded put away... rest of dishes... possible full scrubb down of bathroom...maintian picking up living room and dinning room.