Organization

I've realized over the years some people have the "organization" gene and some people don't. God blessed me and my daughters with this gene - my mother and grandmother were not so blessed. They live in piles of clutter (paperwork and things) simply because they don't know what to do with them or how to organize them.


This is what has worked for me in organizing these 3 areas that tend to be "messy" areas:

In the Bathroom - I don't have shelves, only under the sink storage space so I have purchased 2 of those 3-drawer plastic rubbermaid type storage units to fit under there. In each drawer there is something different (soap, lotions, first aid stuff, makeup, hair supplies, etc). Between those units and a couple of baskets for cleaning supplies everything has its place and everyone knows where the stuff is.

In my son's room - He has 3 large under-the-bed storage containers with wheels that he keeps his bigger toys/systems in and he can just roll it in and out when he wants to get to them. He has plenty of shelves in his room and we have baskets to hold small toys/balls in or else I have some more of those plastic 3 & 4-drawer type storage units on his shelves. I let him choose what goes in which drawer and then we label the drawers with clear labels and Sharpie so he knows right where everything is supposed to go when it is clean-up time.

Paperwork/Office - If I didn't have a system set up for this it would get out of hand so quick! As soon as I get the mail in every single day (this is where I have noticed people have struggles) I open all the mail and go through it that day and sort it into its appropriate place. Junk mail/flyers go in the trash obviously; magazines go in the bathroom magazine rack (because that's where everybody reads the most around here!); bills go in a file folder I have set up next to my computer; if anything needs to be filed (insurance stuff, etc) it gets filed in the file cabinet immediately and if there is anything that needs to be handled and I can't deal with it at the moment I lay it on the desk next to my mousepad because that lets me know I'm going to have to take care of it pretty soon.

I keep up with all of our money/bills/receipts with a program on my computer - Microsoft Money - so every other day I enter in the previous day's receipts and then file those receipts in the file cabinet. By using this program and keeping up with where our money is being spent on a daily basis it has helped with our taxes and in other issues that have come up.

For more Works For Me Wednesday tips head on over to Rocks In My Dryer!