LITTLE things that help keep you organised?

[starrychime]

There's a lot of threads about cleaning routines, 15 min sessions etc which I love to read but never get round to following (one day, one day I will!)
Wondered if anyone has some little hints and tips that make things just a little bit easier about the house?
I use paper plates for morning toast, lunchtime sandwiches etc as I HATE washing up (no washer) - and it keeps it down a little bit.
Also keeping a small Ikea drawer sorter in the bathroom with DD's bobbles and clasps so they're to hand in the morning helps a bit.
Anyone else have any little tips?

Keep an extension lead with your vacuum cleaner, plug it in somewhere central and vacuum a far greater area and more than one room at a time.

My utility room is too small for an ironing board to be kept assembled so I keep it ready to go in the spare room and iron up there.

Hooks on the back of every bedroom and bathroom door.

I need to find a place for cleaning hings upstairs where DD can't reach it! Maybe the top shelf of the airing cupboard (must clear out airing cupboard - again!).

I set the alarm on my iphone to remind me at 9pm every Tuesday night to put out the rubbish.

I can cope with the non collection of recycling, but when the "real" rubbish collection gets missed, its a pants job to get it to the nearest tip.

Flylady evolved her system from the Sidetracked Home Executives stuff I believe.
Whilst reading updates to this thread since lunch, I've put half a dozen photos of the DDs into the frames which have been hanging about for a lot of years while and displayed them on the now-cleared top of the bookshelves. Plus I've sorted out another handful of paperwork in the box next to my desk which wasn't obvious need-to-file-cos-it's-bill stuff, but still needed going through to see what it actually was.

I'll be back tomorrow for another boot up the arse, so I'll need some updates from you all

i've decided that tonight i'm going to shine my sink and set out tomorrows clothes.

also, does anyone have any advice for this situation. at the weekends we dont have school to get up for and my dcs sleep on a bit longer, usually. so i do too. i have a stairgate on their bedroom dooe but ds1 is 6 and can open it and they sneak down to the kitchen to watch dvds whilst i am still sleeping, only sometimes they get into the food cupboard and they wreak havoc. it doesn't happen every weekend but when it does it really upsets me and i end up shouting and making them clean it but of course they can't clean it right so i have to do it again and i get in really bad form resenting having to do this. it's things like cereal, washing up liquid, laundry powder, flour etc all over the floor and they seem to use loads of dishes and mix lots of stuff up too. i've stopped buying flour and snack foods so they can't waste those and make a mess but there is still teh rest. this morning it was branflakes. they promise me everytime not to come down again. they know to stay in tehir room untik i come and get them (and it's never a big lie in maybe only til 9am or 9.30) and ds1 promises not to open the stairgate of tehir room but it keeps happening. i dont want to put locks on the kitchen and bathroom doors incase we need to get out in an emrgency and we are also moving in a couple of months so dont want to put cupboard locks on. any suggestions? i have my food cupboard down to teh bare essentials so there isn't as much to mess with but obviously i need to keep cereals in there.

I never JUST watch the Telly, but do the ironing, sort paperwork, do my nails, do routine preparation for work, dust, etc etc. I feel guilty if I JUST sit down to do nothing at all

Helenagrace, I've been inspired by your receipts in envelopes ideas and have dealt with a backlog of unsorted receipts by stuffing them all into an envelope. :) One quick question - do you have an industrial strength shredder? Our shredder can only take a max of 5 sheets at a time, and I don't think it's going to be able to cope with the envelope and a whole month worth's of receipts inside.

booyhoo the problem is not what you keep in your cupboards, but your kids messing around..

IF your ds is able to open the gate & does so, is there much point in it being there? I think you need to work out what will stop your children from acting like this. Are they going through the cupboards for something to eat, or as a game? If it's a game, find some other source of entertainment that they are allowed to play with, and have it out ready, OR there will be dire consequences.

If they are looking for food, then leave out something they are allowed to help themselves to, with dire consequences if they touch the cupboards.

you could also put those child proof catches on the cupboard itself.

fwiw, don't know how old your younger ds is, but 9 sounds quite late - I rarely get that long & dd is now 8.

ds2 is 2 (3 in may). during the week they wake at 8am so 9 or 9.30 isn't that much later for them at the weekends.

i will try leaving food out for them that they are allowed to eat. i dont think the childproof catches would work as ds1 knows how to open them.

Booyhoo, how old are the DC? My 6 yr old gets up and, on a weekend, he'll pop his head in to see if I'm asleep, kisses my head then goes back to his room to play or sneaks downstairs to watch cbeebies (he is allowed to). He never helps himself to food but on the odd occasion that I sleep in (til 8.30 - that's a lie-in in our house) and he's hungry, he comes back up to ask me for breakfast.

ds1 is 6 and ds2 is 3 next month. what you describe is what i have told ds1 to do and he promises to do it. some mornings he will come in and tell me he is awake and go back to his room but then sneak down. he is so quiet i dont hear him unless he makes a noise down in the kitchen or unless i get up and see he isn't in his room. sometimes i have caught them sneaking down and ds1 will be saying things like "shh, dont wake mummy" do he knows he isn't allowed to do it. i jsut dont know how to get him to stop. he has asked me for a tv and dvd player in his room and part of me thinks it might make them stay there in the mornings but i dont want to do that. i think they are too young for a tv in there. they have a cd player and loads of books and toys, dressing up clothes etc. maybe i should move the tv up there?

I wouldn't give a 6 yr old and Tv and DVD in their room. I think if you can't trust them to get up and play in their rooms & not raid the kitchen, they need to be supervised & you'll have to get up earlier. When DS was younger, he'd come into my room and we'd put the tv on so he could watch cartoons & I'd have an extra ten mins to snooze.

i've just asked ds1 why he comes down in the mornings and he said it is to get himself breakfast. i dont think it is jst taht though, i think he wants to watch dvds too. yes you are right i cant afford to have lie-ins if he's going to keep doing this.

He'll grow out of it! It's only temporary. Nightmare, I know. I am very grateful that I can now have a restful morning every now and then!

I must tackle my ironing pile!

whoknewthat If I haven't had time before, I put the DCs clothes away while they are asleep just before I go to bed. I can see enough by the landing light. But usually I do it when they are brushing their teeth. The house is small so I can hear if proper brushing is taking place as I put away the clothes!

angel I have a cheap shredder so I just open the envelope and shove the receipts through a few at a time. Sometimes the DCs do it for a bit of extra pocket money.

Thanks, Helena - that makes sense. My receipt-dumping hotspot looks much tidier now! :)

this website I have found invaluable www.organizedhome.com it has various printables such as meal planners, shopping lists, jobs to do etc.
Also freezer and store cupboard inventory lists which I bluetac to the inside of the cupboards for dried/tinned goods and pinned to each freezer. This makes it so much easier to meal plan therefore saving time and money

booyhoo could you appeal to his pride? Put him in charge of providing breakfast for himself and his younger brother because he is the older responsible one? Leave out two or so cereal boxes for them to choose from and put him in charge of getting bowls and milk from the fridge, then tidy up by putting bowl in sink or dishwasher when they are done? With some sort of reward system in place for good sensible behaviour?
No idea if this works but I am hoping to 'train' dd1 to do this for her sister in a year or so (they are nearly 5 and 2) so I can have a few more minutes in bed.

My DS does that occasionally - if I leave everything out, he can get his own breakfast & LOVES it. I feel like a lazy mother but he really looks forward to making his own breakfast.

I've trained my children to use checklists. Each child has a laminated evening checklist with everything they need to do before there is any TV time. Before they could read they had picture checklists. It makes it easier for babysitters and cuts down on arguments and interruptions because they can just refer to their chart.

My 10yo is dyspraxic and struggles with organising herself. The checklists have really helped her and she's just started using a weekly planner sheet too. we've written down when her swimming, dance, cello, recorder and athletics lessons are and she's put the relevant kit on the previous day's preparation column.

Chartjungle is good for printable charts.

We also have the 50p tidiest bedroom competition every morning. This and 10p a day for being ready by 7.15 in the morning is all the pocket money they get.

thats a great idea!! i think he would like to be rewarded for doing it. thinking about it now, i can see that the vast majority of my cleaning, is cleaning up after the dcs when it is things tehy could have done themselves in the first place. i'm going to work on getting them to take more responsibility in teh first place i think.

Iamboohyou, try setting out a little breakfast tray for your girls with some cartons of drink, croissants/pains au chocolat, and little yoghurts in tubes, things like that, plus a comic each, and say they can have that as long as they leave the rest of the kitchen alone.

Kickassangel - I have a similar partner, who comes home from a late shift and then decides to tell me that the canteen was shut or is there any food on the days that I've planned leftovers for me and the boy! I keep chilli con carne in the freezer and microwave packets of rice for those days. If he gives me a bit of notice (like a phone call on the way home!) I can chuck the bag of chilli in a bowl of water to help it defrost quicker. Otherwise it just goes in the saucepan on low until it defrosts and then I heat it up. And cook the packet of rice.