I am going to Get Organised. Top tips please!

[fucksticks]

Am sending DH out for whole day tomorrow with childrenso I can de clutter and get house organised.
Need ideas on things I can do/set up to make it easier to keep on top of things going forward.

Ideas I have so far -
put up hook on kitchen wall to hang clip on so I can keep all un-opened mail and things 'to action' in one place and REMIND me to do it!

Re-organise kitchen cupboards and drawers so everything is not just thrown in any cupboard in great big jumble

Any other ideas?

Get a giant size roll of black plastic bags and use them all. In fact if it isn't too late to hire a skip I would highly recommend that too! (You can probably tell my house needs a de-clutter too!)

One room at a time starting with the smallest...mine would be porch. Be ruthless and ditch any stuff thats not used.

starting with smallest is a good idea.
I was planning on starting with kitchen as its the worst cluttered but its also biggest so would prob take ages and i would get fed up!
at least if i get one room totally done it would motivate me!

Lots of storage. I find that having designated boxes/baskets for each child as well as you and Dh helps when your sorting and decluttering. Anything you find belonging to that family member goes into their basket to be put in their room etc later.

Also find put a basket at the bottom of the stairs and anything you find to go upstairs goes in the basket to go upstairs and you carry up when full. Saves lots of trips up and down.

Throw out things you, DH /children no longer use/play with.

I also find whe I have load of jobs to do including decluttering I write a short list of about 5 things. Several list may be needed but I tell myself its doesnt all need to get done in a day!

First and last one being something easy and quick..it helps m feel like Im acheiving my list...
eg.

Laundry...collect it all up, load machine, and get it on.

Tox box..get rid of outgrown toys and missing parts.broken ones

Kitchen

Wardrobes..Includes putting stuff away from airing cupboard, pairing socks etc,

Hoovering through..

Fucksticks always makes me smile, too.

The key to organisation is what Apartment Therapy calls the "landing strip". I always thought that was a term for a pubic wax but apparently in America it's the place just inside your front door where you dump keys/change/phone/post/shoes/hats/sunglasses.

Doesn't have to be very sophisticated - I noticed that my DH tended to drop his keys and watch on the first surface he came to while wandering around so put a bowl by the front door that holds his crap necessities. I sort the post over the bin - junk mail goes straight in the recycling, bills go on my desk where there is a cheque book, stamps, pens and envelopes all together in a bundle waiting for me.

Constant weeding is the other important thing - I always have a box on the go for the charity shop, and if I see something that needs to be Freecycled or binned I do it immediately. Off-season clothes and bedding go in trunks under the bed.

go into each room today with a notebook and look round, write down anything in that room that needs attention/sorting. then as you are doing the room chech the notebook and tick off the list as you do it.

I like the idea of the check list, i will have to try that one out.

does anyone know how to make lots of storege space in a small room.

Do one cupboard at a time...1hr a day...sometimes the big clear out creates more mess if you havent thought through where stuff will go...or if you have not built in time to bring it to the charity shop...ie finish the job.

Where I go wrong sometimes is just moving stuff out of one room into another til "later"...need to just handle something once and decide on its final destination there and then.

In my kitchen I keep a really streamlined admin zone. I have an intray, which houses phone numbers etc, stamps cheque book, envelopes and incoming mail for action ...anything that needs to be filed or binned goes there direct. I also have an oout tray...so when forms are signed etc they sit here until posted or put in school bags. Think the clip thing would be a bit fiddly.

Also I am a real planner...do the big tasks...but forget to keep to a routine so am forever having "blitzes"...would like to get sorted and then just keep on top of it!...should do the fly lady decluttering hotspots etc. But it really has taken me years to make progess and I still feel like I am never on top of it all. I have 4 children and since I had my first I have been trying to get organised...wrt laundry, toy storage, shoes!, meal planning, admin, cleaning&tidying schedule....most of the time I feel like I am fighting a loosing battle and I dont think I have ever reached the spot where I am on top of it all...feels like I am spinning plates ...so one week the house will be tidy, meals all sorted etc but admin oput of control...then I will get that sorted and turn around and realise that the laundry basket is overflowing. Does anyone else feel they have "cracked it" and the house runs smoothly?