Top Ten Tuesday: Organizational Tips

Want to get organized? Want a quick resource to help you do that without wading through too much information? There's a new little book with 101 tips and tricks to help you-- yes you!-- become an organization junkie! (That's what the sub-title promises at least.) Written by Laura Wittman, creator of the site http://www.orgjunkie.com/ which hosts the Menu Plan Monday roundup I've linked to in the past, the book is highly visual, easy to get through in small doses and... well... organized! Since it's top ten Tuesday around these here parts, I decided I'd run a top ten list of some randomly selected tips out of the 101 that Laura offers. Want to know more? You'll have to buy the book... 1. Have a daily walkabout. Laura describes this as a time you announce which triggers kids to walk about the house looking for items out of place and return them to their rightful place. 2. Create a backpack station. A photo is included of this idea which of course I can't duplicate here but basically it's a row of hooks or pegs that kids can use to hang their bags, bookpacks, school or activity gear. With summer and swim season approaching I can say this would work in our house for towels, beach bags, etc. 3. Attach hooks on the backs of doors for extra storage. I really like this idea. We can make use of that dead space in our homes that otherwise doesn't get used for anything. 4. Start every week with a menu plan. You knew she had to have that one in there, didn't you? I will testify that the weeks I have a menu plan are much smoother and we spend less money eating out than the weeks I don't. It is a little effort with a big payoff. 5. Color code the kids. Each kid gets a different color assigned to them that is used for their toothbrush, towel, cups, school supplies, etc. When you find something out of place you know whose it is! 6. Keep flat surfaces clear. This is one I learned a long time ago and have tried to stick to. I find that people will often remark over how clean my house is when actually it's not all that clean (just ask my husband!), it's just not cluttered. It feels clean. 7. Toss junk mail right away. I sort mail the minute it comes in the house. Curt has a mail slot where his stuff goes, I toss the stuff we don't need and I put my stuff in a certain spot in my room. I've said before that "sort papers" is often an item on my to-do list, which means it's time to go through that pile. 8. Do not keep more than three months' backlog of magazines. Conviction time! I am bad for saving my back issues of Writer's Digest, Southern Living and Taste of Home. Time well spent is making myself sit down and clip the recipes I want to save and tossing the rest. I've written before about my recipe binder where I put the clipped recipes on a piece of cardstock, slide it into a page protector and file it in the binder under "meals" or "desserts" or whatever section the recipe belongs in. 9. Cut the clutter in your bedroom and create the sanctuary you deserve. I try to do this. One thing I often do is get the kids to get their stuff out of our bathroom and bedroom. At least that way our bedroom-- if cluttered-- is at least cluttered with our stuff and not a bunch of kid stuff. 10. Invite company over as motivation. I love this one and it's so true!