organization help!

daisy

Tue, Aug 16 2005, 12:05 pm

I'm still hoping in this lifetime to be organized!
(must be the nesting instinct...)

Anyway, I'm looking for any sort of good organization tips anyone has (you know, all you women with hot suppers every night and a perpetually spotless house - come out and share!)

How do you store your toys so they look neat? How do you set up your kitchens? organize laundry? anything?

One thing that I recently did was purchase large sterilite plastic containers and sorted all the outgrown clothing in there.

Last edited by daisy on Thu, Aug 18 2005, 5:21 pm; edited 2 times in total

adorable

Tue, Aug 16 2005, 12:38 pm

I have an accordion- file keeper that I label, utilities, airlines- car rentals, lease-rent, phone-cell, credit cards...and I file them al in there, as soon as I pay my bill

Yael

Tue, Aug 16 2005, 2:16 pm

I just organized all my toys so I'll share what I did.
very simple, I went to walmart and bought big containers with lids that latch on so a kid cant open them. then I sorted all the toys like legos and train tracks into their own box and I put them on the bottom shelf of every bookcase. it looks neat b/c the boxes fit pefectly, and I love the fact that my kids cant open them so they cant make a mess with all the toys at once. and they have to ask me to open it if they want to play. before we take out another box we put back the first one. and its easy to keep them neat.

lucky

Tue, Aug 16 2005, 8:59 pm

I bought underbed plastic storage boxes and divided the toys into it. yes under MY bed is the only place in my huge house that still had an available inch of space.

lucy

Tue, Aug 16 2005, 9:40 pm

I used a 3 or 4 drawers storage moveable sterilite container (walmart) that they can see the toys inside. Though it is tall, but it keeps eveything neat. So I have legos in one, puzzles, fake food, doll accesories ect.
You could also just wheel it anywhere. So if you usually have your toys in u're kids room & some1 is taking a nap there then you just wheel it out to somewhere else.

micki

Tue, Aug 16 2005, 11:04 pm

my cleaning lady does a great job of the laundry!
every day she collects the dirty clothes from all the hampers to the basement
she seperates it down there into the baskets, and that way there is never any heavy baskets to lug down!

I have all my toys locked in a closet.
I only keep out big things like cars and the little people- an all time favorite.

1stimer

Thu, Aug 18 2005, 2:05 pm

Quote:

How do you store your toys so they look neat?

Well, when we moved now, I had nowhere to store the toys and nowhere to store the baby bath (no longer in use) so I put all his toys in the bath, and he loves climbing in the bath and playing with his toys in it! Very Happy

613

Thu, Aug 18 2005, 2:11 pm

I "store" our baby bath tub in our bath tub - when we use the bath/shower, we just take the baby tub out, obviously this is a short-term situation.

mother48

Thu, Aug 18 2005, 2:48 pm

u can buy a laundry hamper with three compartments, and when ever you put s/t in, put it in the right section, saving you time sorting the laundry when you need to do a wash. (lights, darks, whites etc.)

also, my sister laughs at me, but I won't go to sleep if the downstairs of my house is a mess. I'll do the kitchen, and my husband picks up all the toys in the living room.

good luck!

amother

Thu, Aug 18 2005, 2:56 pm

we have a wooden chest that I bought from a discount furniture store. I think it was originally meant to be a dining room accessory, but I use it in the living room and I stick all of the baby toys in there. It looks very nice and is easy.

I wrote this anonymously because there are people who could figure out who I am based on the above information.

Aish

Sun, Aug 21 2005, 1:39 pm

yael, you had a great idea for storing the toys. thanks for sharing.
here are some more tips.
1. double all recipes, (or most), and freeze in disposable pans. things that are easier to freeze are kugels. especially if im lugging out the food procecor, I might as well triple the recipe and freeze them and I don't have to think about that for the next few shabbosim. you can also freeze dough for challah. as well ill freeze fruit that I put in the kids oatmeal for breakfast. strawberrys, blueberries bananas etc.... grated carrots that I put into the bread machine for my bread, and lots of other stuff Very Happy

2. write everything down. sometimes I think I live by the planner! I have a list on my fridge. all the stores I shop in, and their respective lists. all on 1 paper. don't shop when your hungry b/c you'll come home with a whole basket load of things you don't really need.
3. when you shop, try to do it all in 1 time and map out your shopping trip so it will be like your going in a circle, as far as all the stores are located, to not waste time.
4. if there are sales or if you have coupons, STOCK UP!
5. ideally, you clean up as you go, and that keep the house relatively neat. but we all know, those of us with large families k'ah, that that is not always the case. you want to clean up after ones mess and the other kid needs you NOW! and then you go back to clean and another kid just made a new mess shock

, and this can happen like 50 times a day. so many of us say, "oh forget it!, im EXAUSTED". but you try Very Happy

6. I can not stress this enough, GET HELP! if it means eating out less, or cutting back on whatever to make it possible, than do it. b/c your sanity means more than materialistic items. the mommy has to be functioning in order for the family to function.
dinner time should be pretty smooth if your able to take out a frozen item earlier, defrost then cook, and then all you have to do is cut up some veggies, and maybe if you want, another side dish, and thats it. I try to use plastic with the kids, so we throw it all out. barley any dishes. and if there are, I will be nice and save it for the help LOL

and a big part of orginization is a schedule. as a family grows, this element becomes crucial for the proper functioning of the household. and things go a lot smoother. obviously you cant live by the clock every single day. but for the most part.
hope I have helped some.

hisorerus

Sun, Aug 21 2005, 2:02 pm

This article from the Nechoma Greisman Anthology, and those following, have some amazing tips: Managing Your Mikdash Me'at (Read it, and the next few)

Motek

Sun, Mar 05 2006, 1:10 pm

excellent aish (and others too)

what else?

I have lists like:

who I gave mishloach manos to in previous years and who I got from

what I served each yr. at my Purim seuda and who came

who came to me for Pesach and where we went (gives ideas of who to invite)

erev Pesach "to do" list and erev Pesach "to buy" list

invaluable!

jewgal84

Sun, Mar 05 2006, 1:18 pm

I am a total believer in to do list!!!

That's the only way I find myself organized with everything, otherwise, I can forget little but important details

chocolate moose

Sun, Mar 05 2006, 2:22 pm

I do a lot of the above; I also keep books (pesach, yomtov) for budgeting and amounts bought and who I sent rosh hashana cards to, for example.

I also keep an everyday datebook.

hampers or boxes help a lot, accordian files are good for recipes, too.

ektsm

Sun, Mar 05 2006, 5:30 pm

Go to target and get their rubbermaid containers for storage. They are the bestand cheapest storage for organizing your house.