By Sinea Pies
Welcome to the busiest season of the year, autumn! Yes, as the kids go back to school, things ramp up for you at work and, in many locations, summer clothes must go away while the fall/winter wardrobe moves back into the closet. Even cars may need winterized at this time of year. There is much, so much, to do!
The Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season are zooming toward you, and you do want to be “more-ready” than the year before, don’t you? (Flashback: “Note to self, be more ready!”)
You may have resolved to take on this fall season with gusto but, in all practicality, how do you get it all done? First, you need to believe in the value of a clutter-free home. Let’s take a moment to discuss the “whys”.
Why declutter?
1. You’ll be able to find your stuff! How many times have you had to go out and buy an item that you know you already own? You can’t lay your hands on it, though, so to save time you buy another one! “Someday it’ll turn up!” you say.
2. Keeping the house clean is easier. You can dust, mop and vacuum with ease when there aren’t piles of things to clean around. Putting possessions away is quicker, now, as well. No more struggling with overstuffed drawers and unmanageable closets!
3. It looks, and feels, so nice! Whether it is for your own pleasure, or the joy of being ready for drop-in-company at a moment’s notice, it is great to live in neat, beautiful surroundings. Everything is in its place. You can even do some decorating, if you want to, or take up that hobby you never had time for.
But we just said that we’ve now entered a very busy season. How do you declutter when you don’t have time? Answer: you do a little bit each day. That’s the key. Don’t write a day off just because you can’t devote hours to the task. You can do something today. Five minutes invested on a daily basis can accomplish much. Fifteen minutes daily can move mountains!
First, identify the area of your house or apartment that magnetically draws clutter. It may be a particular table, the kitchen counter, even the kitchen sink! Whatever it is, make it your #1 project. And don’t simply clear the clutter, make it shine!
Let’s say the hot spot is your dining room table. Assess the situation. Take an overall look at what’s there. My guess is that you can say “doesn’t belong here” to most, if not all, of it.
Use an empty laundry basket or box. Put everything that belongs in the same area of the house, like the bedroom, in the basket. Now, go to where the items belong. If you have time, actually put it all away but don’t be obsessed with it. You are on a time schedule. Decluttering the table is your objective. Especially if this is an emergency cleanup operation, leave it in a nice pile for each of the owners to take care of themselves. (This may require a friendly note on top of the pile to let your family know why it’s there. They need to know that you’re not angry with them, you’re just cleaning up.)
Go right back to the dining room table. Don’t get sidetracked.
Did you know that most of us let clutter climb because we are perfectionists at heart? At first glance, the job looks overwhelming because we want everything to be perfect. Just the visual of all that has to be done can stop a perfectionist right in her (or his) tracks! The first thing to do is to accept the fact that it is NOT going to be perfect. This is a limited, strategic attack on a bigger problem that you will conquer with time.
So, get back to that table ASAP. Scoop up the next group of items and take them where they belong. Now you should be able to see the surface of the table! Do a quick dusting and shine it up so that it looks pretty!
Finally, put a beautiful centerpiece or a vase with flowers in the middle of the table. That speaks volumes to you and the rest of your family that says that the table is now off-limits for clutter! It looks too nice to mess up! This technique really works! No one wants to be the first one to put their stuff there so it really will stay clean for a while. Make it your mindset that you will not be the one to let it go back to the way it was. If you leave something on the table that doesn’t belong there, everyone else will do the same thing.
All of this decluttering project can be done in 10-20 minutes, not a whole day. Stand back and take a look. It looks great, doesn’t it? Doesn’t that feel good? Tomorrow, you’ll move on to the next stage of decluttering. Do a little bit every day, and soon your home will be neat, orderly and beautiful--ready for anything!
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Photo Credit: VIP Room by Rosen Georgiev on Free Digital Photos
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Guest Post By Nicole Dean
Of course we all love our children dearly, but who knew they’d be so messy? When you have children, you can never count on how long your house will actually stay clean after you’ve cleaned it. A day? An hour? Less? Cleaning up after your kids does not have to take on a life of its own. By making a clean and organized home a priority for the entire family and by setting and sticking to household standards, you can avoid feeling more like Maid than Mom.
Ages of Your Children
Household chores are not just for older children. Children as young as two can learn to be organized. Toddlers can learn to put away their toys, brush the dog, put their dirty clothes in the hamper and help to unload groceries.
Older children need regular household chores. Studies have shown that children who have chores at home get better grades, are more social and more confident than children who do not have chores. Children need a certain amount of responsibility and need to learn to be accountable for their actions. Requiring your children to do household chores will help them to be more well rounded (and organized!) as they grow. Older children can make their beds, keep their room organized and clean, dust and vacuum, wash dishes, feed pets, and water plants.
Rewarding Efforts
Always thank your children when they’ve completed a chore and praise them for doing it and doing it well (when deserved).
The traditional chore chart on the fridge is a great parenting tool for positive reinforcement.
Reward your children with stickers on the chore chart next to the chore they’ve completed. When they get X number of stickers, they get a reward – a new book or toy, their favorite dinner, a trip to the movies, etc. The chore chart system can be tweaked and customized for your family to suit each child in the house.
Your older children may be more apt to take their chores seriously if there are dollar signs involved. Base your children’s allowance on what you can afford, how many chores your children do and how well they do them. For instance, you can pay according to age (so an 8 year old would receive $8 per week). Or come up with a pricing system that works for you. Luckily, my 3 year old is quite happy with stickers, and my 8 year old is thrilled with Yu-Gi-Oh cards.
Flexibility – Make it Fun!
When it’s possible, allow your child to choose chores that they like to do. Their response will be better because they will enjoy what they’re doing. My three-year old loves to dust. I let her turn her music up a bit, hand her a damp rag and she goes to town. It’s a different story when it comes time for her to clear the table after dinner though. That’s like pulling teeth – without pain killers!
Do your children fight over who does which chores?
Rotate chores from week to week so that your child isn’t stuck doing something he/she hates every week. (This week Susie dusts and Johnny takes out the trash. Next week it’s Susie’s turn to take out the trash and Johnny’s turn to dust.)
Try not to base household chores on gender. There’s nothing wrong with your son having to wash dishes or do laundry and there’s nothing wrong with your daughter taking out the trash or washing the car. No housework is strictly for girls or strictly for boys. Send your son off to college with the ability to do his own laundry, and your daughter with the confidence that she can haul out a ladder to change a light bulb.
If rotating chores doesn’t work to stop bickering, try writing the chores down on little pieces of paper and having your children pick their chores from a hat each week.
If your children don’t have chores, it’s not too late to start. Hold a family meeting and explain that you need help to maintain the house and that effective immediately everyone is going to start pitching in. Introduce chore charts and allowance/reward systems and explain to each child which chores they’ll be responsible for, when each chore needs to be completed and if necessary, how to do it.
Be sure to have consequences ready for chores that aren’t done and explain them in advance. In our house, if one chore is neglected or refused, it’s a done deal – no allowance, no negotiations. It may take a few weeks to get your family in full swing, but it will come together – I promise.
You are Mom, not Maid. You can ask for help and get it! Your children may not thank you for it now, but later on it will pay off for them – and for you! Make housework a part of your children’s routine and make yourself less stressed. Sit down and supervise for awhile …you knew you had kids for a reason.
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Nicole Dean welcomes you to visit http://www.homeorganizationhelp.com/ [1] to help battle clutter and disorganization and http://www.showkidsthefun.com/ [2] to make memories that last a lifetime. Copyright 2005 – Nicole Dean
