When I think of my dream home it is perfectly organized from floor to ceiling, basement drain to roof vent. Real life organization is a bit different than my dream. I found this quote by Christina Scalise that sums up my goal for organization: “Organization isn’t about perfection; it’s about efficiency, reducing stress and clutter, saving time and money, and improving your overall quality of life.” Following are some articles with tips to help you with that type of home organization; just click the title of the one that you want to read more about.
Avoid The Just-Walked-In-The-House Clutter
How to avoid the buildup of shoes, coats, mail, etc. from when you walk in the door. I think most people struggle with this, since it’s really easy just to toss down your stuff and sack out in a chair the second you get home.
Cleaning Up With Preschoolers
I have a 3 year old girl who refuses to clean up her messes and because I don’t like to punish her too hard, I do it for her, but lately my house is so cluttered with dirty laundry, her toys, and most of my husbands clean jeans, that I feel like I’m going to scream because of the mess.
Customizing The Chore Routine
I love your site and I want to love this chore list, but I don’t know how to make it work for our family. We have a 6 month old, a toddler, and two hairy cats. I work part time and have two days during the week to do chores. Can you suggest a 4 day chore chart and/or how to get chores done with two young children.
Dealing With Too Much Stuff
Our home is full of stuff that needs to go. It is 25 years of what ever, it’s neatly stored and organized. The house is telling me do not bring anything else home. There isn’t any place to put it.
Determining Your Home Management Style
Within your own household, you and your significant other will have different management styles as well. Let’s look at a few types of management styles and what works best together.
Get Clothing Clutter Under Control
I find my bedroom becoming cluttered very quickly with clothes that are “too clean to wash” yet “not clean enough to put away”. I didn’t want to spend more time on laundry than I had to. I’d wear clothes until they were visibly dirty, overly wrinkled, or they became… umm… odiferous.
How to Curb Clutter
About as close to a magic pill as a person can find.
How to Divide Chores Evenly
My husband and I both grew up in homes where the father worked, and the mother largely stayed home and attended to all of the household duties. We both work, and sometimes have a hard time agreeing on who should be doing which chores, how often, and how well.
How To Reduce Paper Clutter
There are stacks of paper all over my house. Do you have any suggestions on how I can better organize this mess?
Keeping Up With Receipts: Keep Your Tax Accountant Happy
Many people throw their receipts in a shoebox and at the end of the year, they have a tangled mess to either hand to their tax accountant or go through themselves when they’re doing their own taxes. This method not only wastes time, but potentially can waste money OR get you in trouble with the IRS by either deducting too little or too much.
Organized, Clean, Sanitary, Sterile: Defining the Terms
It dawned on me last night that after nearly three years of posting I have never described the difference between: clean, organized, sanitary, and sterile. Well hang on because it isn’t that difficult.
Organization Is Fundamental
In which Ivy loses very important directions and has to wing it, and it all could have been avoided by keeping all her stuff in one neat place instead of keeping her stuff flung all over the house.
Review of Clutter Rehab by Laura Wittman
It’s a a very quick read, ringing in just over a hundred pages and seems like it would be a great thinking-of-you type gift.
The Secret To A Clean House
Dear Home Ec 101, How do you keep a clean house?
Signed, N00b in Newford
What Babies Don’t Need
All the baby books and sites have these huge lists of things it says we “need” but what do we realistically need? What are the must have items and what kind of quantities do we really need?
Yet Another Reason To Declutter
It’s strengthening my resolve to not just declutter the main house, but also my garage, attic, and all the hidden clutter I own.
Send your domestic questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.
