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Keep Going! January 18, 2010

Filed under: Organized Mom Training — Sarah @ 5:40 am

You Are NOT Done!!
While you will no longer be recieving weekly training posts from me anymore, your organization project is never done.  You will need to work at it every single day.  You can’t just throw your clothes on the floor, or stuff things in a drawer anymore.  You are now an ORGANIZED Mom!  You will be the envy of anyone who comes over to visit.  Continue to organize areas that attract clutter.  I like to eliminate clutter magnets.  If you find a place that continues to attract clutter, find a way to repurpose or eliminate that area.  Keep motivated, and continue to work at it.  It’s not a job that is done once it’s done.  Make a daily commitment to yourself that you will be organized that day.  Keep going!

 
 

Organize Your Garage January 11, 2010

Filed under: Organized Mom Training — Sarah @ 5:38 am
The Garage!!
Can you believe it?!! You have reached the last official room in the Organized Mom Training Program!! Next week will be your last email, and then you will be able to choose from a stylish apron or a shirt that claims that you are an Organized Mom! More details about that will be in next weeks email. This week you are going to tackle the garage! I know it’s likely a daunting task, but it is very necessary that no room be left unturned in your organization project. Since this is the last room, you may even want to break it up into several weeks. Organizing a few shelves at a time. By now you are a pro at putting yourself on a schedule and breaking up large projects into smaller ones, so I’m sure you will have no problems with this!

Weekly Motivation
The ability to park your car in the garage is such a nice feeling. The car won’t be blazing hot, or freezing cold when you go to get in it. It is SAFER for your car. It will protect it from break-ins and gasoline theft! Also, if you correctly utilize the space in your garage you will be amazed at how much you can actually store in there (like some food storage!)

 
 

Organize Your Closet January 4, 2010

Filed under: Organized Mom Training — Sarah @ 5:36 am
Closets
So far we’ve sort of avoided discussing the closets as we’ve moved from room to room.  This week I want you to focus on the closets in your house.  If you’ve done them as a part of each room throughout this organizing adventure, then you are one step ahead of the game this week.  There are a few closets that you probably haven’t touched though, such as the linen closet or the coat closet.  Closets are definitely the clutter traps of our homes.  It’s so easy to just shove stuff in a closet when company is coming over, and then just forget about it.  Then one day you become a sitcom when they open the closet and it all comes spilling out!  Even Monica, Miss Neat Freak from Friends had a messy closet that she kept locked!  As you go through your closets you will probably find a lot of things you can get rid of, because typically it’s stashed away in a closet for a reason. 

Weekly Motivation
The storage area in your home should serve as storage, and not a breeding ground for clutter.  When you can easily access the things in your home you become so much more efficient.  Actually know where your wrapping paper is, and reclaim your ability to hang coats in your closet!

 
 

Organize Your Home Office December 28, 2009

Filed under: Organized Mom Training — Sarah @ 5:35 am
The Office
Wow!  You are getting so close to having a completely organized house!  Hopefully none of the other areas have accumulated clutter that has previously been clutter free!  We are moving on to the office in your home.  If you do not have a set room to use as your “office” I recommend at least setting aside a place in your home to use as your office.  Get a filing cabinet for any paperwork you decide to keep (I hate keeping paper though).  Make sure you have all the supplies you need to “work”.  Work can entail paying your bills, writing your blog, etc.  A place for everything and everything in it’s place – You NEED to have a place to put anything and everything that goes in the office (and actually every other room in your house too).  So designate a spot for your bills to be paid, get an “inbox” so that you can process all the paperwork that comes across your desk. Set up and organize your office this week, and become more productive.

Weekly Motivation
Make your office work better for you by getting rid of the clutter!  Whether it’s a counter in your kitchen dedicated to the computer or a room solely dedicated to be the “office,”  you can make the space efficient and then you can get more done!

 
 

Organize Your Other Bathrooms December 21, 2009

Filed under: Organized Mom Training — Sarah @ 5:33 am
The Kids’/Guest Bathrooms
The bathrooms are all about storage, and the RIGHT solutions for your storage needs.  Go through all the drawers, cabinets, and shower and start tossing old things.  Just as you did with the Master Bathroom.  Be sure to check out this post and this one for some great tips!  Another good tip here though is make it easy to clean.  Don’t add a bunch of things to the countertops that you would have to remove in order to get the counter clean.  Don’t place things on the top of the toilet if it is going to be a pain to move so you can clean.  The point is don’t create more work for yourself!  Make it easy and simple!

Weekly Motivation
Nothing says to guests how clean you are quite like a spotless, well organized bathroom.  If the bathroom is dirty or messy when I’m trying to use it, I will feel dirty and messy.  It’s the same reason everyone hates gas station bathrooms.  They are disgusting, and no one wants to use them.  Don’t let that happen to your house!  Make it so when a guest comes to visit and has to search the cupboards for a tampon, that it is easy to find, and they don’t feel like an intruder doing so!

 
 

Organize Your Kids’ Bedroom December 14, 2009

Filed under: Organized Mom Training — Sarah @ 5:30 am
The Kids’ Bedrooms
This week we will move onto the kids’ bedroom.  I’ve said before that a child’s bedroom is all about organizing the toys and clothes.  Once you have a good system for that, the room is much easier to deal with.  The key here is you need to make it easier to put things away, then to get them out.  This also goes for the tween and teenager’s room.  They are much more likely to keep their room clean if you make it easy to do so.  For example, a stack of books on a shelf is easier to put a book on top of, but harder to pull the book you want out.  So for toys, bins that have labels of what is in them are harder to get out to play with, but easy to just throw everything back into the bin and put the lid on.  Make sure you also go through their clothes and get rid of anything that either doesn’t fit or is worn out. 

Weekly Motivation
When you make things easy for your children to put away, you are helping them learn to clean up after themselves.  One of the greatest things you can teach your children is the ability to clean up their own messes (whether that is righting a wrong or picking up their toys).  Once they learn this important skill, it will eventually give you less to do! 

 
 

Organize Your Master Bathroom December 7, 2009

Filed under: Organized Mom Training — Sarah @ 5:28 am
The Bathroom: Master
Whether you have a large, grand master bath, or a teeny tiny one…the clutter challenges remain the same.  The counter will always be a “collection” area for the things you use every day.  The drawers and cabinets seem to attract clutter, and you can never find your eyeliner.  The first thing is to start tossing!  Are you really going to use that bright red lipstick that you were saving for something special?  Is that mascara older than 6 months?  Are you still holding on to nail polish from High School (even though it was 10 years ago!)  Ask yourself these questions as you clean out the master bathroom.  I’m a big fan of baskets for under the sink, and adjustable drawer organizers to get the master bathroom super functional.

Weekly Motivation
Old makeup and tolietries can be dangerous to you and your skin!  Make sure that you keep close tabs on what is expiring so you don’t learn the hard way!  Here is a good article about the shelf life of different makeup.

 
 

Organize Your Master Bedroom November 30, 2009

Filed under: Organized Mom Training — Sarah @ 5:26 am
The Bedroom: Master
The biggest issue (at least for us) in the master bedroom is clothes.  If we don’t put our clothes in the laundry basket as soon as we take them off, our room can go from zero to cluttered in the matter of minutes.  Make sure you have a place to put your dirty clothes and you will be halfway there.  The key to getting the master bedroom organized is to eliminate the clutter “zones”.  So as you start your project this week, take one day and empty under your bed, the next empty your dresser, then tackle the closet.  These are the main places clutter can accumulate.  Make sure set these spaces up as organized as possible, so in the future you won’t want to store any clutter there.  A place for everything!

Weekly Motivation
Our bedrooms can be more than just a place to rest our heads.  They can be a sanctuary from the rest of the house and the chaos that can occur there with kids, housework, etc.  Make your sanctuary a place you can come to relax, and not some place that continues to stress you out because of the mess that is there too.  You may just find that long lost skirt you’ve been looking for!

 
 

Organize Your Fridge November 23, 2009

Filed under: Organized Mom Training — Sarah @ 5:24 am
The Kitchen: Refridgerator
Go through your fridge this week and toss anything that has expired.  Then remove everything and soap down all the shelves and walls.  Definitely check out this post on my blog to see where things should go in the fridge.  Now every time you open your fridge you will be able to find anything you need in a jiffy!

Weekly Motivation
I wanted a new fridge when we moved from California to Utah.  Then I just really cleaned out our fridge (scrubbed every inch of it) and it was like I had a new fridge!   I would just keep opening it up to see how sparkling and new it was!  It’s such a GREAT feeling!

 
 

Organize Your Kitchen Pantry November 16, 2009

Filed under: Organized Mom Training — Sarah @ 5:23 am
The Kitchen: Pantry
The pantry can be tricky (especially if you don’t have a specific pantry and you have to store all of your food in cupboards).  This week lets get the pantry organized!  The way that I do it is to put “like” things together.  For example, all of my baking supplies go on the same shelf in the same area (flour, sugar, chocolate chips, etc).  Canned goods are all grouped together, snacks go together, marinades and sauces, pasta, spices, the list can go on and on.  Figure out what you think goes together and create a system for the space.  Throw out anything that is expired, or even things you bought that you thought you would use one day, and haven’t and probably won’t.  Those should be tossed too.  As always, if you are having difficulty figuring out where everything should go in a limited space, please let me know so we can work it out together!

Weekly Motivation
Knowing exactly what is in your pantry (because you can see it all) will save you money!  You can stop buying duplicates of things you already own by just having some organization in the space!