Door Hanger

Great for kids’ rooms. Use it to store handheld electronics, shoes, brushes, scarfs, junky toys, and whatever else you can get off the floor and dresser.

$8.00 at Walmart or 15 Pocket over the door room / closet organizer is $9.99.

Tie holder

Not only is this great for neatly hanging ties in the closet, use it store belts, too.

Wall mounted tie rack is about $9.00 at Walmart

Coupon Organizer

Organize coupons by category with this handy little organizer. It is small enough to fit in your purse and take to the grocery store.

$3.00-$4.00 at Currentcatalog.com

Pocket Calendar

I can’t live without this pocket calendar. I love it because: (1) It has big squares to write in and (2) the pocket is great for holding birthday invitations, tickets, or anything else you need to hold onto for an event.

$9.99 at Currentcatalog.com

Auto Wallet

Insurance and registration information won’t get lost in the glove compartment when it is stored in an auto wallet.
$4.00 at Currentcatalog.com

Business Card Holder

I use this to hold business cards for doctors, dentists, home repair companies, etc. Organize the cards in sections such as adults’ medical, kids’ medical, home repair companies (A/C, plumber, etc.), and miscellaneous stuff (haircut places, spas, and consignment shops). It makes scheduling appointments quick and easy.

Around $10 at local office supply store, too.

Small Wicker Baskets

Use small baskets to hold bills or items such as scissors and tape for quick easy access. If you like to keep items handy on the counter, they look nicer stored in a little basket.

$10 at Pier 1 Imports

Sometimes you have to laugh so you don’t cry.

With my mouth hanging open in both shock and terror, I took it all in as I scanned the room. Every drawer, bookshelf, and container had been emptied into the middle of the floor. Her attention to detail was impressive, and nothing had been left untouched.

There, teetering atop the mountain she had so proudly built, was my two-year-old grinning from ear to ear at her accomplishment.

It is one of those moments as a parent that you simply must freeze with a photo so you don’t forget, or in case you need a favor when they are a teenager, you can whip out the picture as proof that they owe you one.

Four hours later the room was back to its original state, and only then could I see the humor in it.

Now do you feel better about what you are facing in your child’s room?

Kids are disorganized by nature.

Their rooms become a mess overnight leaving Moms throwing their hands up in the air in surrender to the floor covered with “stuff”. Despite what we Moms think, kids really don’t want to live in a messy room.

Ask yourself, “Why is the room messy?”

Does he/she have too much stuff? If there is more “stuff” than can reasonably fit in a room, it can be overwhelming or even impossible for a child to keep the room neat. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate the contents and “spring-clean” the room.

Clearing out the unused and outgrown

Start with the closet and work your way around the room. Closely examine the contents and determine what needs to stay and what can go. Have they outgrown this? Are they ever going to use this? Have your child participate since you may need their advice on items.

Make a pile of clothes, toys, and books that you need to:

• pass down to a younger child or neighbor
• toss (broken or missing pieces)
• donate to a charity or sell at a consignment store

Once you are done, you will find you have ample space available to organize what is left.

Everything needs a “place”

The key to keeping the room organized is everything having a “place”.

Have you noticed how the toys, puzzles, etc. at a preschool are arranged? How does it stay neat with 20 kids playing every day? The answer…everything has a place. When “clean up” time comes, even the smallest of toddlers knows where everything goes and can participate in tidying a room.

Now apply that philosophy to your child’s room. Assign a place for clothes, games, toys. Use baskets and plastic containers to store groups of small items. Use labels to mark the contents so your child will know where to put his toys when he is done. If your child didn’t participate in the organizing, give him a tour of the new room so he is familiar with the arrangement.

I recently organized my teenager’s room. Things he had outgrown long ago were taking up precious storage space. I was able to remove 4 lawn/leaf bags full of items from his room. His little sisters thought it was Christmas when they received a few lost treasures such as Lite-Bright. With more space now available in the closet, I was able to get items such as musical instruments off the floor and onto a shelf in the closet.

Identify the trouble spot and solve the problem

What is causing the most clutter?

My child’s collection of game systems, games, and accessories was the cause of a constant mess on the floor. Every time the cabinet door was opened to look for a cord or controller, out spilled the contents in a tangled ball of cords and accessories, and he wasn’t able to find what he needed. I realized this was the main source of the clutter in his room, and it needed to be fixed.

Solution:

Since three drawers in his dresser were now available from the cleanup, I took his game system controllers, cords, accessories, etc and created a drawer for each type of game system. This freed up space in the entertainment center to actually place the games neatly so you could see them all. Now when he needs a cord to a specific item, he knows exactly where it is without digging through a mess. Problem solved. Since reorganizing the room, he has kept it immaculate, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

As you make more space available, you are able to organize the room so it functions well. When toys are off the floor and in closets or drawers, the room immediately evolves into an inviting, relaxing atmosphere free of the chaos of clutter.

No longer will you have to brace yourself as you open the door, scared of what you will find.

Related Articles:

Clutter and the Avalanche Effect
7 Ways to Combat Clutter

There…I said it. I admit it!

When it comes to folding clothes, I am the world’s worst.

I just don’t have the time, patience, or talent to fold shirts.

With 2-3 loads to do per day, I don’t mess around when it comes to laundry.

For example, the other day my girls got a kick out of finding the four-year-old’s underwear in the stack of dishcloths in the pantry. O.K., even the best of organizers have an off day; however, it’s a good example of how I like to race through the folding process. By the way, I simply responded with, “Get a pair of underwear out of the pantry and get dressed.”

My solution? Hang all shirts in the closet.

In the time it would take me to fold one shirt (possibly because I am so bad at it), I can hang up five shirts on hangers AND take them to the appropriate closet.

Advantages of hanging shirts vs. putting them in a drawer folded:

• They don’t wrinkle
• They don’t end up in a wadded disorganized mess in the drawer. Let’s face it; kids dig through drawers of clothes, so shirts never stay in nice neat stacks.
• They don’t have that folded crease on them.
• It is easier to look through the shirts hanging in a closet. The indecisive teen can easily look through the choices without making a mess or driving her mother crazy.
• Shirts don’t get lost in the back of the drawer, never to be found again until they are too small.

Organize the clothes in the closet

Grouping like items together in the closet makes finding the shirt you are looking for easier. Tee shirts, jeans, jackets, sweatshirts, etc.

What do you do with all that extra drawer space now?

I am sure the kids will have no problem finding uses for the empty drawers. You’ve gained at least one drawer that can be used for things that might otherwise be cluttering up the top of the dresser. (Hair accessories, combs, brushes, etc.) For older kids, a drawer could store hand-held electronics, cords, chargers, etc. so they aren’t scattered around the room.

Any use of the drawer is fine by me, unless it is collecting trash. That will result in Mom’s lecture #233 “Learning to use the trashcan”, and my kids don’t want to hear that one again.

Got any laundry tips to share?

Still hanging on to that ten-year-old bathing suit you might one day fit into? Did you notice the elastic rotted about 3 years ago? Maybe it is time for a wardrobe review.

Simplify your wardrobe and free up some space by going through your clothes at the start of each season. Check through the closets and the drawers. Ask yourself…”When is the last time I wore this? Am I really going to ever wear it again?” Chances are the answer is “no” to many items, and you are just wasting valuable space hanging on to it.

Make piles for: throwing away, donating, and consigning. Keep in mind if it is over a few years old…i.e. out of style, consignment shops may not take it. Check out the consignment shops in your area and note their policies. Some pay up front for items they choose, and others consign them…i.e. you get paid when they are sold. Expensive items can be sold on-line if you prefer. You get more money selling the clothes yourself, but balance that with the time and effort involved when you make your decision.

Now that you have cleared out the closet and have more room, organize your hanging clothes. How you do this is what works best for you. If you like to hang outfits together so you can grab and go, then arrange it to your liking. I prefer all the shirts together from casual across to dressy. Then repeat the same with pants. Dress clothes and formal wear are all the way to the right. This idea is broken into two sections: Sping/Summer and Fall/Winter using the same pattern. Then finding that shirt you love and the pants that go with them has just become a bit easier, and you are only searching through the current season’s clothes.