Decluttering Tips for Busy Moms
Importance of decluttering for busy moms
Being a mom is hard work, and that's an understatement to say the least. You're up at all hours of the day and night, tending to the needs of your family, while at the same time neglecting your own.
How can the situation be remedied so that everyone is being taken care of, including you? One area that lends itself to the solution is by creating and maintaining an organized home.
Benefits of an organized home for moms and their families
Seeing the benefits. It can be hard to appreciate something you don't see or understand. Thankfully there's Google to give us some insight into the inner workings of home organizing benefits.
If you've ever had your house cleaned to near perfection, you know the feeling it can bring. Calm, quiet, relaxation, joy, happiness, and even glee when you see, and are able to sit in such a place.
You're almost afraid to touch anything because you don't want it to vanish before your eyes. The benefits of organization aren't just the reality and facts of clean counters, no dirt on the floors, and clothes put away folded and hung.
The real benefits come down to the way that it makes you feel, and the impact it has on your overall well being and emotional state. Not to mention the effect it has on your daily routine - no mess to worry about, and more time for what matters most.
Setting Goals for Decluttering
Goal setting is so important because it gives us something to strive towards, something to aspire to while we're plugging away at our hard work to get there.
How can you set goals that will help you achieve an organized house?
Identifying problem areas in your home
With your end goal in mind, first you'll need to identify where the problem areas are in your home. Is it the kitchen, the kids rooms, the laundry or some other area?
Every home has at least one room that tends to get out of hand, due to the daily usage and congregating that occurs in them. Write them down.
Establishing specific decluttering goals
Now that you've identified the rooms in your home that are a challenge to keep clean and organized, write down your goals for each of those rooms.
A living room with a clean carpet and no toys at the end of the day. Clear countertops that you can actually eat on and that aren't covered in school papers and mail. A closet that isn't covered with shoes on the floor, or a laundry basket full of dirty clothes with nothing on the hangers. A play room that has a place for all the toys - and a means of order that helps your kids to put things way - on their own. Whatever your goals, write all of them down.
Prioritizing tasks based on urgency and importance
There's a well known quadrant of time management, it has four distinct categories that can help you to determine where your tasks fall within the realm of prioritization. They are:
Urgent & Important
Important & Not Urgent
Not Important & Urgent
Not Important & Not Urgent
When it comes to decluttering the home and organizing, begin to list each task that's needed into each of these quadrants. This won't be perfect in the beginning, but do your best to get started.
This will help you to compartmentalize each of these tasks so that it's not so overwhelming throughout the process.
Decluttering Strategies for Busy Moms
Start small: Tackling one area at a time
Now that you've set some goals and have sorted the tasks involved into categories, it's time to start implementing them into place. It's important though, to start small - sometimes really small.
Your goal here is sustainability, so don't overdo it in the beginning. You can start with a drawer, a shelf, a cupboard or a small closet - whatever you choose, just make sure it's not too much.
Utilize the "one-in, one-out" rule to maintain order
When working with clients I love to mention the laws of physics. This is because, you simply can't add more to a space than that space will actually allow, no matter how organized you are.
When adding things to a room or space in the home, make sure to take something out as well in order to balance out the new stuff. If you buy a new chair, remove the old one.
If you buy a new set of candles, remove the old ones. This doesn't necessarily mean throwing things away, but you'll need to remove them from the space so that it's not overcrowding the area.
Organizing tips for common clutter hotspots:
1. Kitchen and pantry organization hacks
Check your refrigerator each week for old food. Check the pantry each month for expired food. Toss out what's no longer fresh or edible. Make a home for all the dishes and put them in their proper place once they're cleaned.
2. Closet and clothing management techniques
Practice putting your dirty clothes in the laundry basket, this includes doing a daily sweep of clothes that are on the floor and around the house. Immediately fold and put away clean clothes that are fresh out the dryer.
Have a designated drawer placement for your socks, underwear, shorts, shirts and so forth. Put them away in the same place each time, even if you're feeling lazy.
3. Toy and play area organization ideas
Make compartments that can hold each category of your children's toys. Even more important, is making sure that the storage systems being used are at a height and place that your kids can grab and put away on their own.
This will help train them to take responsibility for cleaning up their messes and knowing where to grab things that they use.
Toy cubbies, baskets on shelves and under the bed pull out drawers are great places to put your kids toys and stuffed animals.
4. Home office and paperwork organization solutions
Create a drop zone for the mail and paper that comes in the house on a regular basis. Each week, sort through these items into groups of shred, recycle, trash, bills to pay, documents to file away (or scan) and action items for the week.
Make sure to do this each week so that things don't pile up and get out of control.
Time Management Tips for Decluttering
Scheduling dedicated decluttering sessions
This doesn't have to be hours each week or every night, but make sure to schedule regular decluttering sessions in the home.
Set a timer for as little as 15 minutes and go through each of the trouble areas in the home. You'll be surprised how much you can get done and you may even be motivated to push it farther to accomplish more at the same time.
You can also do this at whatever time works best with your schedule, morning, evening or even late at night, as long as it's consistent.
Incorporating daily habits to maintain cleanliness
Do a little bit each and every day to maintain the cleanliness in the home. This can be as simple as clearing off the counters in the bathroom and wiping it down, to putting all the dishes in the dishwasher and taking the trash out at the end of the day.
Involving family members and delegating tasks
This is SO important! Do not attempt to do this work alone if there are other able bodied persons living in the house, and this includes young children.
Train your family members to help out around the house, and give them specific tasks to do each day and week.
It doesn't have to be a lot, but in order to raise a family that respects and helps to maintain the home, you need to be the example and teach them to do so.
People do not incorporate habits by sheer chance, they do it by being taught and through repetition and discipline.
You will get out of this what you put into it, otherwise you will end up doing all the work yourself, becoming resentful and overworked in the process.
Creative Storage Solutions
Maximizing space with storage bins, baskets, and shelves
If you have empty space either on a shelf, or in the space above it, chances are you can maximize the storage in that area with the right containers and products.
Take advantage of shelf risers, stackable storage bins and baskets to maximize the space on your shelves. You don't have to settle for the two or three shelves that come in the cabinet when you can create five or six of them with the right containers.
Utilizing vertical storage options
Take advantage of wall space and behind the doors with wall mounted organizers or attachments that will allow you to store items in these under utilized areas.
Implementing color-coding systems for easy identification
Color can be a great way to keep track of things. Sometimes it's easier for our brain to process information in color vs words.
You can use color coded drawers, labels, containers or otherwise to help you identify what goes where, easily and simply.
Maintaining a Clutter-Free Home
Regular decluttering routines and periodic check-ins
The real organization isn't in the systems itself, but rather the regular maintenance and upkeep to sustain it. Start with small, regular decluttering routines, either daily, weekly or monthly.
Bonus points if you can do all three! Regularly check in on areas that are doing well, and see if there's ways to improve the existing setup.
Developing sustainable organizing habits
Sustainable is the key word here. Make sure that the new habits and routine that you're incorporating are actually doable for you, considering your time constraints and responsibilities for each day.
If you set the bar too high, it'll only lead to failure. If you set realistic goals, this will help you to keep it up, and feel accomplished when you're able to meet these goals on a regular basis.
Seeking support from online communities or local groups
Keeping an organized and clean home can feel hard and get discouraging at times.
Do yourself a favor and get support via online communities and groups of other women who are in similar situations, and who have been successful at what you're trying to achieve.
Being encourage by such ones will help you to have the fortitude you'll need to progress in your work.
Conclusion
So sit down, write your goals onto paper, prioritize each task, start small, give yourself a set amount of time each day to devote to the process, maintain consistency, and get support from those who have been successful in what you're trying to accomplish.
Before you know it, you'll be well on your way to maintaining a clutter free, and organized home.
