Bills, Bills, Bills!

We all have them and we all have to deal with them. In our home I'm in charge of the household finances. After nearly 12 years I finally have a system that works for me. When I get the mail I go through it one time and make a decision: recycle or keep. Everything I keep has a place, (surprised?) coupons, magazines, bills, all go in their own spot. On Mondays I look at what bills need to be paid that week, including the next Monday and if they need to be mailed I use a magnet and put them on the back door so I don't forget to take them with me. Is your garage door magnetic too? It was one of my greatest discoveries a couple of years ago when I discovered the door leading to the garage was magnetic! Weird I know, but true.
Back to bills:
I created a spreadsheet that has all my bills in monthly order. That way I know what is due when, it also has all the passwords, websites and account numbers associated with each account. All the information is in one place and I don't waste time searching. I prefer to set up automatic payments, or pay online and save a stamp if possible. To keep track of everything I use the program Microsoft Money. Then every month my husband balances Money with our bank account. I also like to plan it out months in advance so I can see when big expenses are coming up, like car registration, birthdays, holidays etc. so I can save.
Now, a clutter problem can occur if old bills are saved, and saved, and saved. I keep bills for two years, taxes forever, and shred everything else. So this January I went through all of our files and got rid of everything from 2008.
Figure out a system that works for you. Once a system is in place it will help to eliminate the pain-in-the-neck and stress of bill paying in your life!

Cupboards

Dishes should be stacked from big to little in like piles. Thankfully I don't have glass or open cupboards! It doesn't look perfect, but we can always find what we need which is the whole point!


When I cleaned out my kitchen the other week I thoroughly organized the spice/baking cupboard. I don't have a very big kitchen and a small pantry. But, by keeping like things together in an organized fashion I can always find what I need and it makes my kitchen feel a lot bigger. Small spaces will always seem bigger after a thorough purge and organization.

Bathroom cupboards seem too hold all different kinds of things, hair bows, combs, toothpaste, toilet paper, make-up, all kinds of things. I don't know about you, but my husband has one shelf and one drawer, whereas I have a drawer, a cupboard and three shelves. Now, I realize I sound like a broken record but the rules of organization are the same for every closet, cupboard, and drawer in your home. Keep like things together, throw out garbage and broken items, and maintain it! Whenever you put something away, put it where it goes! By maintaining all areas of your home you only have to do a major clean out twice a year.

Closets

1. Pick one and start there, don't try to do it all at once.

2. Purge, Purge , Purge! If you haven't worn it in a year it's gone! Unless you were pregnant! I have saved some special clothing, the sweaters we were wearing when we got engaged, my wedding dinner dress, my wedding dress, my favorite baby clothes from my kids, a dress I made in college and a few others. But the key is it I specifically chose to save each piece.

3. Make 4 piles: garbage, keep, donate, sell. Ebay is your friend!

4. Keep a box for clothes your kids have grown out of handy, in the closet if possible. When your child has grown out of an item of clothing, put it in the box, donate it to charity or a friend or family member who has children younger than you.

5. Have a place for everything, shoe racks, baskets for purses, tie racks, belt racks, hooks for hats. These can be found at any Target, IKEA, Wal-Mart, Bed Bath and Beyond, and for not much money.
6. Fold sweaters: it helps them maintain their shape and takes up less room.
7. Hang clothing by type, facing the same direction so you don't waste time searching for certain pieces. My closet goes like this: camisoles/tank tops, short sleeve under shirts (shade), short sleeve tees, nicer tees, short sleeve blouses, quarter length sleeves shirts, blouses, cardigans, long sleeve cottons, blouses, cardigans, jackets. Then there is a section for shorts, Capri's, and pants. Pants are hung from slacks to jeans. Skirts are hung by color and length.
It sounds like a lot of work but once it is done if you put back clothing where it belongs it is easy to maintain. I use the same method with all of my children's hang up clothing, they don't believe quite as strongly as I do about maintaining order, but what's a Mom to do!?! In my baby's closet I hang up clothes to grow into in the back up to one size, so I don't forget I have them. Put on some of your favorite music, get the kids involved, and remember to take it one at a time!

Levels of Organization

I googled home organization and there were over 23 million hits, crazy. I sorted through the first couple of pages and found some really great information on HGTV. These are my thoughts, the above picture is beautiful, stunning really. I love all the labeled, color coordinated storage items. If I lived all alone, or ran a military base for a home, my home office area would look just like that, but I don't live alone and I don't run a military base.
One of my ten year old son's chores is to unload the dishwasher. My kitchen has a total of five drawers, (five drawers, really, that's all) one is tiny, it's for oven mitts and bibs, one holds baggies, Ziploc's, tin foil, plastic wrap etc. One is strictly for silverware, and the other two are for cooking utensils, measuring cups, teaspoons, pizza cutters and so forth. Here is the problem, when I unload the dishwasher I'm quite particular about what cooking utensils go in what drawer and in what basket in each drawer. He however just wants the job done as quick as possible, all cooking gear goes in one drawer, whether it shuts or not. I've shown him where stuff should go, but he just doesn't care like I do. I had a choice to make, do I want those two drawers just the way I want it, or do I want to unload the dishwasher all the time again? I chose to rearrange the drawers whenever it drives me nutty and not unload the dishwasher two to three times a day.
This all brings me back to my original title, levels of organization. We need to decide how organized we want and/or need to be in all areas of our life. I really believe that. It's also a very personal decision, but I think the point is to make the decision. For example, my mother is the most organized person I know, her closets are color coordinated and all the clothes face the same direction. I'll take pictures for my closet post. However, there is one area of her life that is a total disaster; pictures, photo albums, slides, from at least two generations back to the present are in boxes in a closet. She just doesn't have the time for it right now, she'll do it when she isn't working anymore.
Now decide! How organized do you want to be? What area's are more important to you than others? As for me, I like everything pretty organized (surprised?) but currently my garage is a disaster and so is my food storage, but it's all on the list to do!
TIP: The easiest way for me to get organized is containers, I love them. Seriously I do. IKEA, Target, Wal-Mart all have great containers in all shapes, sizes and colors.

A Place For Everything and Everything in it's Place

I'm going to use my husband as an example, sorry Ryan! Ryan finished our basement which was fantastic, but when he was done he left his tools and supplies in three different places, half of two shelves in the garage, part of the food storage room and so much of the utility room it gives me a headache. This is what happens; I want to hang pictures, but where are the nails, the hammer, measuring tape and the level? That's right they could possibly be in three different places, nor are they ever in the same spot twice. It takes me forever to find them! I went and bought a picture hanging kit and use my scrap booking hammer, and sewing measuring tape because I know where they are at. Why don't I just organize this huge mess for him? Because he wants to do it himself, he's afraid he won't be able to find anything if I put it away - seriously.

To save yourself time, money, energy and frustration there must be a place for everything. I going to use toys as an example. Eight years ago my son was given the Fisher Price farm. I bought a container to put all the little pieces in and stored it with the farm. We still have all the original pieces, which has been a fun toy for all my kids. By keeping like things together the kids can play with what they want, when they want to and don't have to dig for lost pieces. I got labels from my friend at Studio JK to help the kids and their friends put away the toys in the right box. I also encourage kids to clean up one thing before getting out another, but sometimes the Polly Pockets play in the Barbie's house, or the dinosaurs play in the Radix castle, no big deal. But when it's time to clean up, everything should be put away correctly, hopefully :)