Sisterly Savings

It can be so easy to let disorganization and clutter take control of your house.  But where do we start?? It literally can be overwhelming and frustrating to the point of just giving up altogether trying to get organized! In between everyday household chores,grocery shopping, taking care of the kids and getting dinner ready, where can you find the time? There never seems to be enough time in the day to get everything done, let alone a few hours just to reorganize that junk pile drawer (we all have one) that has been collecting junk for almost 5 years now.

Relax and breathe: it didn’t get chaotic in one day and it’s not going to  get cleaned up in one day!  It needs to be done on a step by step basis! So join me as I get my home organized this January!!!

It all starts with a plan: You need to start by making a plan on how to get your house neat and organized:

•  Walk through the house and take notes of what needs to be done in each room. 
•  Once you have a list, make it a goal to complete at least one thing off the list each day. 
•  Keep the list where you can see it, a good starting point I found was to make a list for each room and tape the list in a spot where I can see it and mark off what I have accomplished for that day.

To keep from feeling overwhelmed, start with small projects, things you can get done quickly.  Try organizing a closet.  Sort through it and get rid of things you don’t need anymore.  You can donate them, get them ready for a yard sale or just throw them away.  As you make more room in your closet, think about ways to maximize your storage space.  You can add shelves and other closet organizers. A neat trick I learned was to time myself on small tasks with a timer. I set it for 15 minutes, started the job and when the bell rang, that was it! You cannot imagine how much you can get done in 15 minutes! Make it a 15 minute Rule and you’ll see all your “tasks” getting done quickly!

Of course,as you move through the list, some projects may take more than 15 minutes to complete.  That’s ok.  You just have to make sure you keep working on it till it is done.  Take about thirty minutes in the morning and thirty minutes in the afternoon working on your list.  Before you know it, you’ve gone through the entire house and organized it!

The trick now is  keeping it organized!

Each day, you’ll need to keep up on maintaining your newly organized home.  The key is to not get into the “I’ll do it later” mindset.  If you have something that is in the wrong place, take the time to either put it away right away, or keep a designated box, to put things that need to go to another floor.  Then at the end of the day, everything in the box should get put away. This is an easy way to get your kids involved in the helping of the household chores while teaching them responsibility.

Another good idea is to establish a weekly schedule where each room of the house gets a thorough cleaning one day each week.  It may take awhile to get into the new routine, but if you get everyone in the house involved, it will be much easier and quicker.  Make it a rule to have everyone remember to put their own things away which will make keeping things organized easier down the road:) 

Even better: why not assign each member of the household an area of the house to help keep organized with a family chore chart. Each nite all they have to do is simply go through the room and make sure that everything is in its place! This works well for smaller children who want to help mommy clean:)

  While it does takes time and effort, it will be worth it once the house is clean, neat and organized. Just remember to pace yourself and don’t get frustrated and remember Rome wasn’t built in a day, so the house will not get organized in a day either! We’ll take it one step at a time together!

Readers Homework:

1. Set up a To Do List for all the rooms in your home you want to organize and place each list where you can see it everyday. 
2. Get your kitchen timer ready cause your gonna need it!

Extra Credit:

If you can, get your hands on a copy of  Get Your Act Together: A 7-Day Get-Organized Program For The Overworked, Overbooked, and Overwhelmed by Pam Young and Peggy Jones. It’s a great book I am currently reading it and its helping me to make up a household index card organization system which I am truly finding enlightening!!!

Next Post in our Monthlong Household Organization  Series: Organize your Kitchen so its Functional for You.

What ideas/tips do you have to help start organizing your home that you have found to work for you?

Tonight (this morning really as it’s almost 3am) I sit here and wonder if I’m taking an effective approach to organizing my coupons. Why am I pondering this at 3am on a Friday night? Isn’t it obvious? We have Kmart Super Doubles & Triples starting this Sunday in my area.

When I first started to coupon in December of 2007 I used an accordion style coupon holder. Quickly I outgrew that but I held on to it and left my grocery coupons in it and moved the rest to a binder. Being able to flip through my binder and see the coupons works well for me however I don’t put enough time into clipping, sorting and filing my coupons as I should.

In addition to not taking time to clip multiple inserts I dumpster dive for coupons when I have time. While it is a great way to get extra inserts many times they come torn, tattered and incomplete. Unfortunately I don’t have the time (or try to make time) to cut all the inserts I acquire. So not too long ago I picked up three file folder envelopes with seven dividers in each to put whole inserts in. Adding this system and filing the inserts by the date has worked great as I can just file the whole inserts and cut out the incomplete ones.

There is a downfall to the ease of the filing system. Too often when I am shopping I find items that are not on my list that I know I have coupons for but I do not have them with me. This leads to missing out on a great deal or making a return trip after I clip the necessary coupons.

So here I still sit pondering (this is the beginning of day 3 of pondering) how on Earth I will get my coupons in order in time for Kmart Super Doubles & Triples on Sunday. Anyone have any suggestions shy of a major coupon cutting/sorting/filing party?

How do you keep your coupons organized? Am I missing out on a well known secret that could keep me organized? I did try; one of my New Years Resolutions was to keep my coupons organized. I feel like I’ve failed because my continued efforts to stay organized and reduce my coupon clutter are not working as I had hoped.

The bathroom is usually one of the smallest, busiest rooms in the house, and more often than not- the most cluttered.  It can be quite a challenge to find any extra space in the bathroom, which calls for creative improvising or to think outside the box.  There are a few ideas that can help squeeze more things into a small space. 

Start by evaluating the amount of storage space that you have:

•   Do you have a cabinet?
• Countertop? 
• A closet? 
•  Just the area under the sink? 

You’ll find there are many options for maximizing these above mentioned here.

Start by going through all the medicine cabinets and drawers and throw away anything that is out of date, including old makeup.  This frees up some space to reorganize your things, as well as getting rid of things that are no longer safe to use.

When you reorganize your drawers, add organizer trays.  These will keep keep things easy to locate in the drawer and from looking messy.  Place the items that you use most often at the front, and the lesser used items in the. 

Adding shelves can also provide more storage. There are shelving units that are specially made to go above the toilet.  These are perfect for soaps, shampoos and other bath supplies.  Nice baskets can help keep things more organized and look better on the shelf as well as provide a warm feeling.  Keep the baskets filled with the extra toiletries that were taking up space elsewhere! You can also stack extra towels and washcloths on the shelf.

Cleaning supplies generally get  stored under the sink.  This area easily gets cluttered and forgotten about as the door gets shut. Fess up, I hardly ever clean this closet but I do keep adding to it!!! Instead, try getting a cleaning caddy ( which you can purchase at a dollar store) to keep everything on.  They have places for spray bottles, sponges, rags and other supplies.  You could even store the supplies with the other household cleaning supplies, leaving more space under the sink for other things, like extra towels and paper products.

Adding hooks to either the back of the door or the wall will help keep towels, robes and clothes up off the floor.  It also helps prevent towels from piling up on the floor which seems to happen a lot at my house!

Countertops too are often cluttered.  The key is to only have the minimum of things on the counters.  If there is something your family doesn’t use all the time on the counter, find a new home for it. Try organizing the counter top by using decorative containers.  Small plastic trays or even wicker baskets can become when they hold brushes and combs.   If you are lucky enough  to have drawers, give each family member their own drawer to put their things in, instead of leaving them on the counter.

I know it can be more difficult to keep the bathroom organized than some other rooms, since everyone uses it.  However, if everyone helps keep their own things in order, it will make it that much easier.

Next Post in our Monthlong Household Organization  Series: Tips for the Master Bedroom!

In what ways do you keep your bathroom clutter free & organized?

This is part of our monthlong HouseHold Organization Series. To see the 1st segment, you can read it here.

The kitchen is often the main focal point in the home , where family gatherings occur in addition to cooking and eating. And if we keep the kitchen well organized, the more inviting it becomes. 

Let’s take a  quick inventory of all your kitchen supplies. Are there items that you have unnecessary duplicates of that you don’t really need? I myself have 2 different types of food processors in my kitchen right now. A large one and a smaller one but all they do is take up much needed space so I’ll have to get rid of one and I suggest you do the same. Maybe you could give one away to a family member or offer it up for sale on Craigslist or you can  save them for a garage sale.  Then sort your kitchen items by use you use most and by size.

You can make a few simple changes in your kitchen to help with storage and organization needs.  Many items don’t fit well in the cupboards, like pots and pans for example, but by hanging them from a frame with hooks, attached to the ceiling, it can not only save precious shelf space but also makes the pots and pans more accessible. And there are many nice designs you can purchase that will fit with most any décor like  cast iron or a stainless look. 

 Of course the way your kitchen is situated out will have an impact in how you organize your tools and cooking supplies.  An island offers a wonderful workspace that also provides a good deal of storage ( I sure wish I had one!!). But if you don’t have one, an inexpensive alternative can be a small island on wheels that can be kept in a cupboard or pantry and only brought out when needed.  These can be a great addition to a smaller kitchen.

Storing your bakewear near the oven is an added convenience.  Sometimes the stove itself will have a storage drawer in the base where you can keep cookie sheets and such. I myself keep all of my bakeware in the bottom cabinet of the stove.  Other baking supplies like spatulas, wooden spoons, and sprinkles, can be best stored in drawers near the oven, too making it easier to find your utensils as needed.

It’s also a good idea to keep dishes, glassware and silverware near the dishwasher or sink.  This will cut down on the amount of time it takes to put things away after washing.  There are also plenty of cabinet organizers that can help maximize your space for storing your dishes and plasticware  as well.  By using mug trees and hooks , it can help  organize all the mugs and coffee cups that we’ve collected over the years,lol!

There are many organization and storage options that can help increase the amount of space you have and its a good idea to look into all the options.  Even an extra set of shelves on top of the cabinet can increase your space.  Think outside the box too. Canisters can help keep your baking supplies not only look attractive, but stay fresh longer.  Open canisters also make a great place to store larger utensils that don’t always fit well in the drawers. You can also make use  some of your children’s crafts which work well too.

Yes, all kitchens are situated differently, so it will take some experimenting to see what sort of system works best for you. But once you establish a system, you’ll be surprised at how much more space you can find once its been organized and how much time you’ll save in preparing meals for your family!

Now I’m not saying to go out and buy all kinds of organizers right away, it will take time to get your kitchen fully organized, but make your list and keep track of it so that when your out and about, you may find something inexpensive that will work for you. Start with a small section of your kitchen and work your way around it one step at a time. For me, I’m starting off with cabinets. I am planning on clearing them all out and placing new shelf liners and I found a few extendable shelves at Target on clearance that I’ll be using to reorganize the cabinets (I will have to dispose of some mugs though!!)

And most of all don’t despair or overwhelmed, just try the 15 minute rule when you start and you’ll find in no time that your kitchen will become an organized haven!

What ideas do you have to keep your kitchen organized and neat?

Next up in our monthlong HouseHold Organizing: Bathroom Organization Tips

The Holiday Season is fast approaching and will soon be upon us. Now is the ideal time to start looking ahead and preparing for a stress free Season filled with Joy instead of Dread!

With a little extra planning, there is no need to worry about the hustle & bustle of a an already busy Holiday Season that rob you & your family of quality time together.

Whether you plan for the holidays year-round or begin Christmas planning at the last minute, these sites will help you get organized for a stress-free celebration. The goal is to help you get organized for Christmas and help you focus your attention on the aspects that are most important to you and your family during the Christmas season.

Here are a few of my favorite Holiday Planning Resources that are sure to make your Holiday Season less stressful!

100 Days to Christmas- Jennifer, who created ListPlanIt, is the author of this great Christmas Blog! As you already know from her extensive lists (if not, you can read more here) , she must be a truly Organizing Fanatic!! Its filled with helpful tips and articles anyone can use. She offers great content to get you in the Holiday Spirit while staying on track!

*Bonus*
100 days to Christmas Giveaway!
This week’s new Giveaway on 100 Days to Christmas is for the current best-selling 2009 humor calendar on Amazon.com: Cute Overload by Meg Frost. It is a Page-a-Day calendar with 365 days of Impossibly Cute Photos!

Organized Christmas- Helps you simplify the holiday season with useful info and planning. There’s checklists and planners, holiday gift ideas and recipes along with printable gift tags!

*Bonus*
Join the Countdown which is a free 6 week Christmas organizing plan. It breaks down Christmas preparations down into small ,easy to take steps.

Christmas Organizing- This site has over 300 + pages of free content, including games, coloring pages, message boards, tips, articles, etc to help you have a less stressful Christmas season.

*Bonus*
Christmas Stores by State:
A useful tool for everyone so you know when you go visiting other places where you can stop to get a dose of Christmas time all throughout the year!

For more Great Christmas Ideas, Vist Mommies with Cents and their Holiday Gift Giving Guide!

To view the full Christmas Countdown Series, click here.

A surefire way to help you save money is by making “to do” lists believe it or not. If you take the time to plan out your bills, shopping list, tasks, etc. you accomplish more things and become focused on what needs to get done effectively. There are different types of lists and each one can play a part in helping you to save.

Types of To Do Lists

The Shopping List:
Ultimately helps you save money by making out a list of what you need or on sale before going to the store to help you resist costly “impulse buys”.

The Budget:
When you have a list made out of all your bills/payment dates/amount due/debts,etc. this helps you to keep track of your finances and gives you many opportunities to see where you can potentially save money and in what categories.

The Daily Tasks:
We all have things that need to get done on a daily basis and sometimes this can seem overwhelming. However,if you break them up into small tasks thru out the day/week you feel a sense of accomplishment and self worth. Checking off each item that gets done on the list just feels good and helps to keep your busy life on track.

There are numerous free online “To Do” Lists that offer pre made lists for all occasions and some even have added benefits such as email or sending text to your cell phone. Here are few worth taking a look at:

Tadalist offers a nice selection of simple list with the ability to share your lists with anyone.

Remember the Milk offers many ways to access your lists, even through google and makes adding a task easy wherever you are

Toodledoo this site has a special tool for procastinators to help customize a schedule to make the most of your time

While these are just a few ways to help you organize your time it helps in the overall savings strategy by helping you stay on track of it all.

What ideas have you come up with to save money? I’d love to hear about!