How to i get organised???

[CRAZYCREW]

Well I am so unorganised at the moment and need any help to try and get organised and sorted as possible please. I ahve five children and need to get in a routine... any help appreciated.

[moocowme]

you need good easy storage for your things. if everything has a proper home you can be a lot neater and tidy up quicker. different things need different types of storage solutions.

oh an its loads easier to clean if you have things stored away properly.

[aSilverLining]

How old are your dcs? Can they help in any way?

When in the past I have been struggling to get on top of things I have had a chart of each day of the week wit daily jobs on such as washing pots, load of washing washed, dried and away, etc. As well as a weekly job to do on each day of the week eg Monday clean bathroom, tuesday hoovering, etc. It saved me stressing about doing everything all at once.

I also made a list of areas to tackle and would spend 20 mins a day on one thing off the list like clearing out spare room, sorting though toy boxes, tidying shoe cupboard, etc. Set a timer and get down to it.

[aSilverLining]

Yes good storage is a must.

[nancy75]

get up 30mins earlier (easier said than done with 5 children i would imagine!)
this has been my new years resoloution and so far i am amazed at what a change it has made to how much i get done during the day. the extra 30 mins means i have time to wash up breakfast stuff before the school run, all the nightclothes go in the washing basket rather than on the bathroom floor and i generally feel much calmer! when i get home from school run i can get on with things that need doing, rather than walking into a bomb site and having to sort that out before i do anything else.

[CRAZYCREW]

oh they are mixes and start at 18 and she is the hardest- doing her levels and soes 3 nights at tesco so says she has no time, tehn another 16 year old, then 9, then 9 months and then 12 weeks that belongs to my daughter. The last little one is poorly and on diuretics for his poorly wrong way round heart.

I am down also at the momnet with a relationship break up and not having anybody. I do really need to try my utter most to be organised though i really must. what sort of storage things do you have?

[CRAZYCREW]

OH TELL ME MORE.. WHAT IS FLY LADY?

THankd for replying

[clemette]

flylady

[WhereChaosTheoryRules]

fly lady babysteps but you need to look past the pick fluffiness. Its small steps that i attempt and have made a small dent in the chaos of my life. doesnt suit all

[allthatglisters]

Crazycrew - sounds like you have a lot on your plate - go easy on yourself. I should imagine the essentials are:

making sure your older children have the right stuff for school and homework - revision guides, any additional books and try to make some time to support them.

put ALL paperwork (hospital appointments, school letters etc) into ONE file/box in date order and deal with the urgent stuff as soon as possible.

Wash clothes for school and essentials as needed. Older children often like the job of using the washing machine if you dry and put away - the 9, 16, and 18 year old should then take responsibility for their own clothes but will need reminding. If they put hardly worn clothes in the wash, take them out, fold up nicely and put back in their drawers!

Another tip - get everyone in the habit of putting their own plate in the dishwasher/sink after meals - it's not much for them to do but I find it a real help.

Keep meals simple.

You might find you have enough storage already if you just 'prune' your possessions a bit - e.g. if you have say 15 mugs, chuck out 5 etc. This way you don't have to have a major sort out.

Don't do jobs too often e.g. it won't kill anyone if the bath only gets cleaned once every 2 weeks.

[moocowme]

we have lots of plastic tubs and those cheap zipper bags for the loft. otherwise for bathroom etc i always have a look for cheap storage stuff at car boot/wilkos etc.

i do think some of your children are old enough to help realy. especially with a baby.

[LoveBeingAMummy]

Agree with the kids needing to help a bit, just see it as getting them ready for their own houses. Afterall you wouldn't want your daughters to have to do everything hen they have settled down do you

A washing up rota for example won't take up too much time will it?

Make sure they are making their own beds, putting dirty clothes away, keeping their rooms tidy. They can also hoover their own rooms once a week.

I have found that making a plan helps. Monday this gets done, tues that gets done, etc. Write it down and when you've done theose jobs you can always do something if you ahve the time.

Using the stop watch idea from flylady is very good, set the egg timer to 10 mins and do as much as possible in one room.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[nomorecake]

maybe a few laundry baskets, one for whites, lights, darks, baby things. (outside the bathroom, maybe?)
so the three eldest have to put there dirty laundry in the right basket.
and when the clothes are dried and folded they put them away themselves.
the two eldest can iron their own things. and only iron school uniform for the 9year old.

they can also change their own bedsheets and keep their rooms tidy. (their room = their responsibility)

try to throw out junk mail and envelopes and leaflets that arent needed straight away. only leaving you with the important bit of paper, i.e. bill/letter (i had masses of paperwork everywhere and 90% off it ended up in recycling bin).

couple of big tubs/boxes for chucking in babies toys at the end of the day.

for everyone, no eating upstairs, and put dishes in sink/dishwasher themselves after using. (saves finding rogue moldy cups and crumbs under beds!)

box at the bottom of the stairs for bits and bobs that need to go upstairs, and then every time you go up take something with you.

hope you find some of the above useful.

oh and cut yourself some slack! you have enough on your plate.
goodluck

[LuckyMummyofsix]

Hi
I have six children and people are amazed when they visit my home, I presume they think it will be a tip. I have a really minimilist decor and therefore there's no nick nacks to clean and dust I can run round with a damp cloth most times. Like everyone else says on here you have to have a place for everything and everything in it's place and the children need to know these places - not just you. Try Flylady on the internet, this is great for showing you how little and often eg between tv programmes in evening or while on phone you can get loads done without noticing it too much.

Good luck, but remember the dust will still be there when they are all grown up.

Have fun!