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Articles | Organization for Moms
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Why It's Hard to Feel Like a Good Parent When You Can't Find Your Child's Left Sneaker
by Jamie Novak
We’ve all been there; you’re on the way out the door and you your child says, “Mom, I can’t find my sneakers.” You’re already late, having spent ten minutes searching for your keys and finding them in yesterday’s jacket pocket, when you launch into yet another game of twenty questions:
“Well, where did you leave them?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you check by your bed?”
“Yes.”
“Did you really look?”
“Yes.”
“Are they by the door?”
“No.”
“When’s the last time you had them?”
“I don’t know.”
“We have to go, just wear your brothers.”
“But Mom.”
“But Mom nothing, if you’d put them back where they belong you’d always know where they are.”
So as your child begrudgingly slips on the sneakers that are a size too big so you rush out the door, the guilt hits:
- You don’t want your child running around town in shoes one size too big.
- And you don’t want to have to play twenty questions every time you are ready to leave.
- And you don’t want your child to have memories of Mom blowing her stack every day because they misplaced something.
-
And you don’t want to have them grow up never learning how to be organized.
So you’d fix it…if only you knew how.
I’m here to show you how and the good news is it’s actually very simple. Remember when you said, “If you’d put them back where they belong you’d always know where they are.” Well herein lays the problem, if you have not designated a home for items and made it a consistent habit to put them there when you are finished, then the stuff ends up all over the place. Makes sense right? Here is a simple three-step plan to ensure you can find what you need when you need it.
Step one: Oh give me a home
It is important that stuff have a place to live when it is not in use. By giving each item a home you’ll be sure to find it there when you need it. Here are some things to consider when choosing the home:
Store it where you use it
If you don’t wear shoes in the house, thereby eliminating up to 87% of the dirt that is tracked in on shoe bottoms, then place a basket by the door to collect shoes. That way when you are leaving the shoes you need are already at the door.
If you exit the house through a side door then store the backpacks and umbrellas near that door. That way you won’t need to trek back through the house to grab them.
If the children like to play trucks while watching the television show about trucks then store the trucks by the television. That way the odds are in your favor that they won’t be left out to trip over once the show is over.
If the children like to listen to a music CD when falling asleep store a few CD’s in the bedroom. That way you won’t have to run to the family room to find one.
You get the picture. Make room for the item as close as possible to where you use it the most. It makes for less running around and that’s a good thing.
Make it easy to get to and hard to forget
When choosing where to store the items make them easy to get to. No sense placing kid safe dishes on the top shelf in the kitchen cabinet. In fact if you use a low drawer they can retrieve the dishes themselves.
Consider the weight of an item as well. If you’ve ever tried to move a bin of wooden blocks you probably got quite a workout. Now imagine asking your child to move that bin and put it away, not going to happen. So make sure it is easy, the easier it is the more likely it is to get done.
Also make it the storage area obvious. No one will know if you choose to store the pantry overflow items, like forty five rolls of paper towels from the bulk warehouse store, in the shed outback. That means not only will you have to remember where they are, but also you will be asked where they are by every member of the family who needs them and most likely you’ll be the one to go get them. Versus storing them on a low shelf of a shelving unit by the washing machine, everyone can see them and even little ones can grab them.
Step two: Label it
I cannot stress this step enough. Without a label to indicate what belongs there, the space can quickly become a catchall. Label every bin and box, basket and tub, even shelves, drawers and cabinets. Use fun pictures from the computer, use a photo of the person whose stuff it is, take a picture of the contents and paste it on, or write on it. Don’t get caught up in creating the perfect label and if you don’t own a label maker don’t wait until you buy one to label things, you’ll have to buy one, locate working batteries and read the manual printed in type two font, so you’ll need to find your glasses, before you can make a single label. And since you didn’t label where you put your glasses because your waiting to use the label maker they may be hard to find. Just get started today, you can even make it a craft projects and involve the children.
Sanity Savers
Here is a list of things to consider finding a home for first:
- Library books
- Backpacks
- School papers
- Keys
- Cell phone
- Letters to be mailed
- Bills to be paid
- Shoes
- Play date contact list
- Grocery shopping list
- Gifts to give
- Items to be returned
- Favorite toys
- Pens that have ink in them
- Scotch tape and glue sticks
- And anything else that drives you crazy
Step three: Make it work
Since putting an item in it’s home as soon as you are doe with it may be a new habit in your household you’ll need to give it a few weeks to take effect. But it will, so be patient. In the meantime there are two things you can do to ensure success.
One: Be consistent. Take the few extra moments to put the item away. Remind your children and be sure you tidy up every evening before bed. Make this a priority every day for a few days and soon it will just be a habit.
Two: Spell out the consequences. What is going to be the downside when the new household rule is not followed? When there is a negative consequences, or a positive one when things are done correctly then there is more incentive to make it happen.
You might consider bonus television time when everything is back in it’s home without constant reminders. Alternately you might create a clutter jail. Designate a box for items left out and to retrieve an item an extra chore needs to be competed first.
When you can find what you need, when you need it, you’ll feel successful! And when others in the house can find what they need without your help you feel outrageously successful! And when you’re children grow up knowing how to be organized you feel like the great parent you already are. And when you can save the twenty questions to play on game night you know your effort was well worth it!
About the Author: Jamie Novak is a Professional Organizer for HGTV's "Mission Organization" and the author of the forthcoming book "1,000 Best Quick and Easy Organizing Secrets." She promises to only share practical tips, see more "Real Tips for Real Moms" at www.JamieNovak.com.
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