Mission Organization

Among my many lofty goals for 2012, organization ranks high on my list.  I want to have more time to devote to the things I want to do this year, instead of spending extra time running to the grocery store multiple times each week because I didn't make a dinner plan or spending time search for matching socks.  I want to spend that time blogging, scrapbooking, reading books, exercising and all the other things I want to fit into my life but can't find the time.

Organization is key to meeting my goal and it's not just organizing a dinner plan, a grocery list, it's organizing our house and maybe my biggest challenge of all, teaching the kids organization skills so they can fit more fun into their lives too.  No one likes sitting down to a good game of Hungry Hungry Hippo only to find that all the marbles are missing.  Life is a lot more enjoyable when you take good care of your things.

To kick off my organization plan, I have gone a bit old school and have busted out a clipboard to track some of the basics.  I have a monthly menu plan, a list to write down the meals we actually enjoyed and want to eat again, an exercise log and then the all important 2012 Declutter Your Home daily calendar which will help me slowly, methodically get the entire house in shape.  I also have been using ZipList on my iPhone and computer to help with the shopping list.  I love this app because I always have my phone with me and wherever I am if I think of something we need at the store I just add it onto my list. Then I can forget it until I'm at the store and pull up the list.  I can also add or search for recipes on my computer and add the entire recipe to the list with one click.  This is so much easier than writing out a list.  Also I can check off the items as I put them in the cart.

Keeping It Real

My ZipList list from my iPhone

As I am moving through my decluttering tasks I'm also looking for ways to use the space I have in my house more effectively.  I'm trying to think outside the box and find new ways to make my space more useful to our family and how we live our life.  I get a lot of ideas from Pinterest, there are so many DIY ideas on this site which really appeals to my creative side and makes the whole organization project more enjoyable.  One major change I made before Christmas was in my laundry room.  I had seen a picture on Pinterest of a laundry room with big shelves for laundry baskets and I decided I wanted to have that someday.  Then as I was sitting in my laundry room one night folding the mountain of laundry (get a view of it here) I keep in there.  Here's a great example from 2009 of my laundry situation...

December 2009

I looked at my laundry room and was really mad at myself for not thinking of having open shelves in there when we did the remodel in 2006.  How could I have known how out of control laundry can get when you have two kids?  I couldn't so I thought doors on the cupboards were just fine.  Then another though struck me, I could just take off the cupboard doors and have the open shelving I was dreaming of.  So I did it!

A simple screwdriver and five minutes later I was feeling renewed by my space.  Now I can fold the laundry on the counter and the move it into each family members basket to be stored neatly until we put it away in rooms.  Before when I would fold the laundry it would stay on the counter with people picking through it each day until it was all basically unfolded again.

With that major victory under my belt I decided to take it one step further and enlist the kids into part of the laundry organization chain.  I bought them each hanging cloths shelves for their closets - there are five slots and we work together to pick out their outfits and pajamas for the weekdays so they are ready each morning to get up and get dressed.  No more scrambling looking for this shirt or that other sock, now we have a plan and the kids love filling up each shelf.  McKenzie has even started back filling as soon as she has an empty shelf.

Here are their shelves in action - ignore the surrounding clutter, kids closets haven't come up on my declutter calendar but they are on there!

So moral of the story is look out 2012, I'm off to a good start and I hope to continue the progress I've made already this January.  I'll be posting more of the ways I find to use my space better and be more organized as the year goes on.