At professional organizing company Simplify Experts, we attract one type of client over all others – busy families. You know who you are. You and/or your spouse may be juggling long hours at work, volunteering at your child’s school, attending your children’s many weekday and weekend activities, managing home upkeep, and perhaps even handling elder care. You rarely have time for yourself. Over time, clutter in your home builds and builds. You can’t find things. Sometimes, things fall through the cracks – bills don’t get paid on time, tax returns are late, appointments are missed. Despite your best efforts you never seem to catch up. You can no longer host events at your house. The state of your home increases your level of anxiety.
If any of this resonates with you, you are definitely not alone. If only you had time or could snap your fingers and voila, it’s done! It doesn’t quite work that way, but don’t worry, with these ten organizing tips for busy families, IT IS POSSIBLE!
- The clutter took a long time to accumulate, but organizing, even a little at a time, will help you get to your vision of what you want your home to be. Visualize – honestly- what are the biggest problem areas? What areas just don’t work? What would be a realistic action plan to achieve your goals? For example, if the kitchen is the biggest problem area, make a plan to organize one drawer, or one cabinet per day. If the problem is your closet, maybe you can tackle one shelf at a time.
- Sort through and determine what items remain, and what items need to be purged. Assign a home to every remaining item. Contain each item appropriately and label each container. A good rule of thumb: 80% of capacity is full; drawers shouldn’t be overstuffed.
- Another Tip: create a family “landing zone”. For kids, it’s a place to hang up their jacket, backpack, and store their shoes. For adults, it can be a file box that houses all incoming mail, receipts, school forms, coupons and gift cards, take out menus and school directories. The landing zone is a central place that stores your most needed stuff. If all bills make it into the file box every day, missed payments will be a thing of the past. Using the landing zone will create a positive routine. Create as many routines as you can!! Create a regular pattern for everything your family does and stick to it.
- Even if you don’t have much time, do a little organizing every day. I’ve noticed that in the three minutes it takes for my breakfast oatmeal to cook in the microwave, I can empty the dishwasher. Set a timer for 5 minutes and see what you can accomplish: take out the trash, throw out expired food from your pantry, put in a load of laundry, throw out junk mail and old magazines. Every little bit of organizing helps busy families!
- Lots of maintenance is needed. Downsize frequently. Utilize the one-in-one-out rule. Hubby gets a new pair of jeans; an old pair goes to Goodwill. Your child begs for yet another stuffed animal, maybe you agree if your child promises to donate a no longer used old toy. Put a donations bag in your car and drop it off at your favorite charity or the nearest Goodwill location or truck.
- Teach your children how to do chores. You all share the house, you all share the benefits and therefore you all share the responsibilities. It may take a while, but hang in there, they need these skills to be independent, self-reliant adults.
- Your job is huge! Take good care of yourself, pay attention to your nutrition, exercise, and sleep habits. What gives you energy? Even a ten-minute walk in the neighborhood can help you clear your head and give you a much needed energy boost. Going to bed at the same as the kids can be a sanity saver!
- When busy families fill up their homes with lots of stuff, it doesn’t bring happiness, it just creates clutter. Experiences for your child or your whole family help you bond and create priceless memories. When thinking of gift ideas consider a gift of a family excursion or vacation, a summer camp, music lessons, tickets to a sporting event, or a concert.
- Get help! Outsource your least favorite work: Get a house cleaner or a gardener. If you need emotional support: Reach out to a therapist or a life coach. You are not alone. You deserve to get help when you need it.
- Last, but not least, give attention to your personal goals/needs. Schedule time to pursue what is important to you, even if just once a week or once a month. If you have always wanted to take a class, join a recreational sports team or join a knitting circle, make it a priority. It will help you recharge so that you can continue to take care of everyone else. You are worth it!