Over the past few months {years?} I’ve heard myself barking the same reminders to my boys, “hang your bookbag up, don’t pour too much cereal, you can’t use 18 different cups before lunch…”. My husband and I made a few simple changes in our home and now I can save my words for better things like “can I have a hug? would you like some more cereal? flush the toilet…”
For example, we have always kept our dishes, you know, the plates and bowls, up in the high cabinets. Our boys are in the stage where they are old enough to not break real dishes but not tall enough to reach all the higher cabinets without a stool. We like for them to help set the table and put the dishes away so an easy solution for our family was to relocate the dishes to the lower cabinets where they can easily reach a bowl. One of my best accomplishments as a mother. I think simple mom would be proud.
Another issue was the poring of 8 servings of cereal into a bowl every morning. Our solution: much smaller bowls. I know, it’s not rocket surgery but this simple change is going to really impact how often I have to buy cereal. I found the bowls for $1 each at Big Lots.
Cup over usage was running rampant in our house. Now each boy has his own style of clear plastic, unbreakable cup. They each have 3 cups and those are the only ones they can use. They use it, rinse it out and then set it on the dish rack until they need it later. I throw them in the dishwasher at night. If I see a cup laying around the house, I don’t grab it. I leave it. Right now one of the boys has unknowingly left two of his cups in the playroom and one half full of juice in the fridge. I can’t wait until he figures it out and has to go searching for his cups and then wash them out because he missed the nightly dishwasher run. If I really ran a tight ship I’d probably lower the cups down to one each but, I’m new at this.
Now you will roll your eyes at how I am so slow to miss the obvious. We had book bags on the floor that seemed to multiply. It finally hit me that I had not provided a designated spot for the book bags. Problem solved. Duh.
There is just not a good place near the boys room for any kind of clothes basket or hamper. The problem is, it doesn’t matter if I choose to provide a hamper or not, dirty clothes will come off and need to be put some place–I don’t walk down stairs naked just to put my clothes in the laundry room before I take a shower and I can’t expect my boys to either. So, I went ahead and accepted the fact that I needed to put a bulky, in-the-way basket in our skinny hall. It’s still better than a pile of clothes strewn around.
Lastly, every night we somehow had like 5 wet towels on the bathroom floor. Even though we only have 3 boys. And of course, none of them left THEIR towel on the floor. So my husband bought 3 different color towels {2 of each} and assigned a color to each boy. Now, if they step out of the shower and their two towels are somehow dripping wet from the night before, they’ll have to reach into that in-the-way clothes basket and dry off with their dirty clothes or figure something out. I have a feeling after experiencing a dripping wet towel once, they will naturally remember to hang up their towel.
None of these solutions were new, life changing or even things I hadn’t heard of before. Just things that we failed to implement. Now I’m on the lookout for other ways to help our house run more smoothly so I can focus more on fun things and help our boys become more responsible.
What about you? What issues have you resolved with no duh, simple solutions?
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My sister and I had our own color of towels growing up too. It wasn’t easy to play the blame game when it was obvious who’s towel was laying wet on the floor! Great sanity tips, Nester.
Good tips! I like putting the responsibility and consequences really on the boys. I am forever telling the kids the same things over and over and over again – close your closet doors (older house and no insulation), clothes in the hamper, flush toilet.
Let me know if you have ideas on those!
We have a small table by the front door,,, our ‘launch pad’ that has hooks beside it for hanging keys, and drawers for holding items like the garage remote, a comb for final hair adjustments. This is where stuff that ‘I need to take that with me tomorrow’ gets parked so they aren’t forgotten.
Too funny! I have a 1/2 written post in my drafts about smacking myself upside the head when i finally realized that I needed to hang some hooks at kid-height in the entry way to deal with bookbags, coats and scarfs.
The stuff on the floor was making me crazy but I kept waiting until we could execute my plan of these beautiful lockers and shelves in the mudroom. That’s not going to happen for a while and, in the meantime, the clutter made me nuts! DUH! Hang up some hooks!
Guess I’ll save that post for a while. ;)
Moving the dishes? Cups and towels for each kid? Sheer brilliance! Love it!
Those are some great tips! A couple things we’ve done (or should I say ‘duh’ne )–We cleared out a drawer below the oven as a designated ’snack’ drawer. We put the items in there that they can eat, in addition to fruits in the fridge. It’s cut down on the constant opening and closing of the pantry. We put plastic bowls in there too so that they can fill them with snacks.
In the spirit of your door placed at shoe kicking level at the counter in the kitchen, we’ve recently installed moulding going up our stairs. This allows me to paint periodically without the problem of painting the entire two story wall in the process. I’m posting some pics later today on the blog…
brilliant–put the bowls WiTH the snacks!!!
Just put up my solution to the handprinted walls going up our stairs. It solved the problem!
http://www.monarch-creations.com/blog/?p=639
Genius… move the dishes to a lower cabinet… each person gets their own style glass… and their own color of towel! WOWZA!!!! :) Wish I had thought of these ideas!! THANK YOU for sharing!!!
Oh, now that is a great idea, baskets by their doors for dirty clothes and towels. There is always a stream of clothes from their rooms down the hall each morning and night. This just may help! Janell
Oh I love those tips!! Especially the one about the cups — my pet peeve.
I have a hamper in each kids room. Still clothes just get thrown about most of the time.
I have a quilt rack in my bathroom. Perfect height for little ones to hang up their own towels. I don’t pick up wet towels….much anyway…
And we have a wooden “cubbie” on wheels in the mudroom for each of them. Backpacks, coats, assorted other “stuff” goes in the cubbie. Just have to remind them to clean out the cubbie on occasion.
This post reminds me of a woman I went to church with who had 8 kids. Before each kid was born, she “assigned” them a favorite color. It would be in the Christmas newsletter and everything: “Emily is due in March and her favorite color will be silver!” Their folders, pencil boxes, backpacks – everything was in their color. At the time I thought she was a little crazy, but as a mom myself now, I see the plan as genius. :)
Thanks for sharing your great ideas – I’m filing them away in my mind for when my son (and any other kids) are older.
My kids (*only* 4 of them) all have “unofficial” colors :) Not on purpose, it just happened! Not for everything, but it IS helpful telling what belongs to whom. That is hilarious about announcing their color in advance!! :)
We do the color thing too. I gave each one their color when they were very little. Everything is in their own color. It works great!
Growing up, my brothers and I had our own colors. I was red, and my brothers were blue and green. This matched our toothbrushes and towels (and other bathroom stuff).
I remember one time my mom threw out all of our socks, and bought us each a bunch of new pairs. She used a permanent marker to mark our colors on the bottoms of the socks. This way, when my little brother got his all dirty running around outside without shoes on, my older brother didn’t have to wear them and whine about it.
I know, my mom’s a genius!
I love these solutions! Sometimes we have to let go of the picture perfect house and accept that a real home has laundry baskets on the landing, etc. Teaching our kids responsibility is so much more important. You’re doing a great job.
This stuff all makes perfect sense…and yet I have a feeling I wouldn’t have come up with it myself! Great idea with the drinking glasses, especially!
Good stuff! I love the lower cabinet pull outs beside the dw. Such a cool idea. We don’t have any kids, but most of these scenarios apply to our house anyway. And it’s not me that leaves clothes in a puddle on the floor… I’m just sayin… :)
Nester, I love this post!! Simple solutions are about the only ones I can handle at my house! :)
my favorite no duh thing:
i was oh so sick of little miniature (well, adult sized, too for that matter) daily use hats & gloves all over the entry way when they were in season. but, we didn’t have a good place for them. so, i bought a shoe holder and hung it on the inside of our coat closet. now we have 12 (16? 20?) slots for the hats/gloves/mittens/scarves/snow gloves for our family of 5. The kids can put their own in & get them out, too! Love it! :)
Also, my little people (5,2,1) never understood “go put your shoes by the door”. they either a)didn’t do it at all or 2)did it literally and shoes were always in the way of the front door. so, i bought a black beverage bin (you know the cute ones they sell at target in metal or plastic?) and now that’s the shoe bucket right by the front door. Best $2.99 i ever spent (it’s plastic).
i LOVE the color coded towel thing. I’m so doing that. :)
Hate me for just getting rid of one of those!!!! Now I want it back!
We do the shoe holder on the coat closet door, too. Not only does it hold scarfs, hats and gloves, but it’s also home to a travel umbrella, sunscreen, bug spray, an emergency flashlight, and a couple of reusable shopping bags.
I did this a couple of months ago. Never thought about sunscreen, bug spray, etc. Each kid has a row. I also recently saw someone put one in their pantry with snacks low and foil, baggies, etc. higher. I’m getting another this week to do that. Our rental is lacking in storage space.
I keep melamine plates and bowls at kid level. In the pantry, all snacks are low and treats are high. We also only eat and drink in the kitchen. (I got tired of throwing away sippy cups I found all over the house because I was too afraid to open them.) It’s a big giant treat to have a ‘picnic’ in the living room on movie nights.
Nester, I am new to your site and oh so very inspired. You wouldn’t believe all the projects I have done since after Christmas because of YOU!! I hung some curtains in the living room this morning with upholstery tacks and rings. This weekend I did a lot in one of my girl’s room. As we were hanging the mistreatment, I found myself telling her it didn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful (we were using glittered tacks to hang a zebra shower cutain and tied it up with some polka dotted ribbon.) It wasn’t perfect. I would have preferred it to be an inch or two wider on each side, but I was using what I had. (Yes, I know I could sew or glue a coordinating band around, but that just won’t happen. If I wait to hang it for that, it would never happen.) I have an overwhelming sense of accomplishment each time I walk by. Not everything I have done has turned out like I envisioned, and I am still struggling a little with that being okay, but each time gets a little better. I want to be perfect at all of it, without giving myself a learning curve. That’s what I am learning to allow myself.
Sorry this is so long. I like to remind people every once in awhile that what they are doing is fruitful. All this may not seem like a big deal, but if I have things that I really, really want to do, and I’m not because I’m too afraid of anything short of perection, I’m not being the best I can be. Allowing myself to try, and be creative, has really, truthfully made me a better mom to my four littles.
What you are doing is very fruitful, and my family appreciates it. Although my husband did tell me not to paint any of his stuff! (I’ve been on a mission!)
Thanks again!
We use the shoe holder too, I love the idea for putting it in the coat closet! I had one in each of my boys nurseries for holding all the burp cloths, bibs, baby hats and rolled up receiving blankets:) I will have to put one of them in our coat closet now!
We have shoe holders in our 1/2 bath and master bathroom (it’s a stretch to call it a master – so little storage!). In the 1/2 bath, we store hair things, suncreen and lotions, bandaids and first aid stuff, plastic bags, etc. In our bath, it’s a handy spot for hair brushes, dryer, lotions and stuff, daily use kinds of things. The 1/2 bath organizer is clear for the kids, and ours is fabric.
ahhh! GREAT tips/ideas! i can’t wait to incorporate them into our home! thanks for sharing!
We have one of those shoe organizers on the pantry door for plastic spoons, Boxtops for Education, small bags, etc. I also keep one inside my closet for socks, rolled-up belts and small accessories. I don’t like the over-the-door hooks they come with (looks ugly when the door’s closed), so I use those 3M hooks that don’t leave any marks when they are removed.
These are some awesome solutions, Thanks!!! I hope to implement some of them soon.
Love these hints for boys! Mine is only 2 so we have yet to hit stride with “stuff” mainly because I am hauling his stuff. Now the real question is what to do with my husband’s book bag. He LOVES to plop everything on the counter when he comes home. I have yet to coax him into finding a permanent home for it for the night.
Cheers~
e
I laughed when I read your comment about your husband’s bookbag… my hsuband always seems to “catch up” to my new organizing strategies just as I change it again. Never fails. Just a thought to help “coax” him to find a new spot… try putting something on the counter (for a little while, at least, until he finds a new spot) so that he can’t put his bookbag there. A glass of wine, perhaps? :-)
Thank you for the lovely idea. Forget the glass though..I will place a bottle there. :)
Cheers~
e
We have a mudroom-style cabinet in our kitchen, but it doesn’t have hooks for jackets … just baskets for junk and a big drawer for shoes. It occurred to me recently that I need to hang some hooks adjacent to it for jackets and backpacks … I love the look of yours and hope to replicate it!
The cup idea— BRILLIANT! How did I not think of this?! I struggle with my kids and the cup invasion every single day… now the problem is solved. THANK YOU!
Love the ideas…Thanks so much for sharing!!
I’m going to put into to play the dishes, and towel idea.
Blessings, Fine Linen
We are slowly finding ways to simplify systems, but the one that needs the most work is DH having a place for all his paperwork. Since he works from home, there are stacks of papers everywhere. He needs his own space. Good thing I just cleared off that table and moved all my stuff to the new “craft room” at my house. Yep, my old table will become his new space – now I just gotta get it together for him.
i love your simple solutions! funny how when we start to think common sense kicks in! i need some of that right now! perhaps seeing your solutions will lead me to my own… thanks :)
I have implemented some similar ideas, and I think, “Why didn’t I come up with that years ago?” Great suggestions!
SMART SMART SMART. :) a couple of months ago i ripped the doors off our entry way closet. it was just being used to HIDE things like out of season coats, etc. like you, i was frustrated we had no where to land with our coats, purse, book bags. i ripped the doors off the closet, installed iron hooks all across the wood trim that holds up a wooden shelf, bought a storage bench … and voila. cute little alcove. we use it ALL DAY, EVERYDAY. and the out of season coats were moved into everyone’s own closet! it now looks like a custom built-in job, but it’s been there 57 years [just covered with closet doors]!
it feels so good to gain USABLE SPACE! and like you said, it’s one less thing to pick up, one less thing to remind the kids of. that kind of stuff gets me giddy. loved seeing your life-changing improvements! i’m excited FOR YOU! :)
We have been in a war with our laundry sorter for about a year. We finally realized the problem – we were trying to shove all of the laundry in a sorter that was too small. Two weeks ago we wised up and bought a larger sorter plus a hamper for the bathroom to hold towels since they take up a lot of space. I can’t believe it took us so long to figure that out! Doing the laundry is actually mildly enjoyable again. :)
I love the solutions you have come up with. The lowering the bowls so the boys can reach them is great. It actually encourages them to be self sufficient. Which is good because one day the will be at the age to help out a great deal. Them knowing that it is ok and expected of them to contribute to the family as a whole will make you guys all happier as a whole.
Your husband is a genius as well too. Different colored towels, so simple.
These are great ideas. I just blogged about a laundry solution that may help with your bulky-hamper-in-the-hallway dilemma for your boys’ laundry. Here’s the link:
http://theredchairblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/great-diy-laundry-system-for-small.html
This post is of great comfort to me. I also have 3 boys. 4 if you count my husband. :) the very same requests fall of my tongue every single day! i have designated places for all these things and for some reason it is still hard for them to get said item to it’s home. :) maybe i need to rethink. . .
Brilliant!, Why didn’t I think of that?, and DUH! are all going through my mind right now. I will give myself a pat on the back….with three kids I did start doing the different color towel thing years ago, and I keep plastic dishes in a lower cabinet. But the cup issue has been eating at me the last few weeks and now I know how to solve it, thanks!
I have 5 children so organizng is a must. What has worked for us is all the kids rooms have a laundry basket in their bedroom closet floor. So when I am ready to do laundry I have them carry their basket to the laundry area for me. Then when I have finished I put the basket back in their rooms with the clean clothes for them to put away. Then their basket is ready to filled with the dirty again and again and…..
But how can you be sure you don’t end up washing their clean clothes again because they never put them away???
Awesome post! I love putting the dishes down lower and the different cups!
Just last week, I found a spot for some kid-height hooks for coats. Because the hooks we had were up so high, only *I* could reach them. Now everyone hangs their OWN coat up. (Or it gets tossed out the back door. Oops.) It only took me 12 years of parenting to come up with that!
My kids have towels with their names monogrammed on them – that has worked well!
Also, I just set up a basket of healthy snacks in a lower cabinet that they can grab from after school.
I can’t wait to read the comments. Little things like this can CHANGE YOUR LIFE! You know?
I recently moved the kids dishes to the lower cabinets so they could help set the table and get a cup when needed. I constantly get upset about the towel thing, I should switch to the assigned colors. That sounds very smart. I have been meaning to get a rack for bags/backpacks…I’m putting it on my shopping list pronto. Thanks.
oh I meant to say–target had some towels on sale for under $3!
Brilliant! With the cups and towels…. just brilliant!
I will need to remember those time and sanity saving tips. I only like mess if its mine (I’m so hypocritical that way) so I suppose not only will I need to clean up after myself, but use some good tips like these to help all of us be more tidy.
Ahh a girl after my own heart. I am a HUGE believe in not setting our kids up for failure. Small solutions like these contribute to their success. It empowers them and allows them some control in their environment as contributing members of the household. I think these are awesome solutions. Way to go!!
amen oj!
Nester! This is such a great post. I love all your ideas. You are a great mom and example-maker :)
well now those are some great tips! I think I may have to snag the towel idea and maybe even the cup idea. With four kids in our house we run into similar issues and of course NO ONE made the mess!
great ideas…especially with the towels and the cups! Love them.
Here’s a quick tip: You can have the kids open the dishwasher door, set their cereal bowl down on the door and pour their milk there. That way if they spill, there is no clean-up. I can’t help you get the bowl to the table though! LOL
Our dishwasher door would be broken after they sat down and ate on it, too! :) I have my oldest pour. I can’t get upset over spills, because I am so thankful he’s doing it so I can feed the baby. He’s getting good though!
I learned my favorite tip from my mother-in-love. It helps mothers more than children, though. Everyone gets their own brand of socks and undies. It makes it so much easier to sort when child A gets Adidas socks and Hanes undies, child B gets Nike socks and Fruit of the Loom undies, etc. As for the socks, I buy about 20 pairs at a time. No worries about missing mates; they all match!
Yes, so smart. We use only black short ankle footies. I cannot STAND dirty looking clean white socks.
Great ideas! We just recently bought a set with a cup, plate and bowl for each kid and we keep them all in that little drawer under our oven. They take turns putting the dishes away and we’re working on them with keeping them clean, etc. They’re young yet, so this is a long process! I do like the basket in the hallway idea though!
I love the idea of putting the dishware down at their level. I end up having to put all the dishes on the table for my youngest to set. This would give him more ownership of his chore. I have hooks at my boys’ level for backpacks and jackets, but I’ve really got to work on the # of jackets they have out at one time. They just have too many and then get knocked on the ground.
Thanks for simple yet VERY effective tips!
My kids are grown and I used all of these tricks with them as they grew. Except I am much lazier than you and I wanted my children’s clothes not only put into a basket but separated into loads. So I gave each child 3 plastic laundry baskets. One white, for white clothes. one blue for colored clothes, and one black for black and sturdy clothes (jeans). Yes it took up some floor space, but the ease to me was what I was all about. You could always figure out some way to hide the baskets. I did not want them in their closets because with active children the smell affected their clean clothes.
We were having the same towel on floor issue. I realized one day that there weren’t enough places to hang everyone’s towels. I’ve always hated those shiny silve towel racks. We found a cute 4 hook coat rack (similar to your backpack rack) and hung that in it’s place. We love it and every towel has a home.
You are so smart. I am doing that bowls down low thing. TODAY.
I’m gonna be a Rocket Surgeon when I grow up.
And I totally saw those bowls at your house and have been searching for them for TWO years! Remember, you found 3 of them for me last year. Attention everyone, Emily was the person I stole the small bowl idea from.
I’m not a mom yet – but I am a girlfriend who lives with her boyfriend and often times there has to be compromise and yes even training on both our parts to come to a compromise. He’s learned to pick up his underwear out of the bathroom after his shower and I’ve learned how to do different things as well. Right now we’re learning to re-use glasses so we don’t have to wash a million glasses between the two of us! This is a great post!!! Thank you for all the tips! ox
I use white washclothes at my kitchen sink that I hang on a standing two ring bathroom hand towel rack so I can switch them out Flylady style. Problem was at the end of the night I would toss these soaking wet rags in a plastic laundry basket in laundry room because I dont need to do a load of whites everyday. Then… they stink. My no-duh solution that took me a year to figure out: I fill a deep plastic bowl with lid with water and a splash of laundry soap. Now I just throw them in the bowl and dump the bowl of water and towels in with the whites. No more moldy stink!
SImple and practical ideas. We have been practicing the “different” cup idea for a while and it works wonders.
I am thinking about applying the same strategy to socks – different brands for different boys. I won’t have to wonder when I am folding laundry whose socks belong to whom.
My mom always (and now I do too) put a small colored dot with a sharpie on the toe of each sock. Each kid gets their own color. My very young kids can still match their own socks and find their own quickly. It has saved me so much hassle (although I was scared to draw on brand new socks). It was totally worth it.
Mine is girl related…HAIR STUFF.
I have two girls, and the pony tail holders, ribbons, headbands, etc drive me insane.
I took a three drawer, small, plastic organizer thingie and placed in our hall closet across from the hall bath. The hall bath is where we all get ready, but its SMALL and tight on space. One drawer is for large pony tail holders, one is for small ponytail holders, and one is for hair clips/barettes. Next to the drawers is a bin with headbands. Inside the bath is several clothes hangers, with all the hair ribbons threaded on them. One clothes hanger has polka dot ribbons, one has solids, etc. The clothes hangers hang on one of the towel racks so you can see the colors quickly
Its not pretty, but it works. Now if I could just come up with a system to keep up with brushes…they have a tendancy to “walk” off and disappear!!
Oh my, I have literally HIDDEN my hairbrush to keep my girls from losing it! Love all these ideas; the over the door organizer is calling my name for the girls’ bath.
GET SOME CHEAP CARBERINER CLIPS ASAP (you know those fake rock climbing clips for keys). They are the best things to keep little girl ponytail holders on. Just rope them all through and the girls can sort until they find the one they want to wear and unclip it. We’ve been using them for about a year now and it has made mornings much easier.
My SIL uses those plastic embroidery floss organizers for my nieces hair things. They have lots of little compartments and can be sorted by clips, etc and color. It has a lid and it’s portable too. I think it works great.
Your cup idea is amazing! I love it. I have three boys and I can’t tell you how often I find cups full of water scattered around the house! Drives me nuts! I think I may go straight for the one cup a day rule…love this idea :)
We had many glove/hat issues in our home. I bought a plastic container with 3 bins in it – one for each kid. Now, if they don’t put their hats/gloves back…they don’t have gloves and I don’t help them find it. At first, there were a couple of meltdowns as they were rushing to go to a friends house, but, now, they put their stuff back. It’s hard not helping them, but I think it is a good lesson to learn: put your stuff back where it belongs!
nester i must know where you got the cupboard slider things?! they will be such a help! did you put them in yourself? will the glue gun work?
it is hard on mom’s to let the kidlets deal with consequences but when you start with the little ones (like cups or soggy towels)then the lessons about the bigger ones are easier for everyone. good for you! jkj
They just came that way–part of the cabinet.
Added a small shelving unit (wicker, with iron trim) to catch all the stuff in my husband’s pockets. It’s stylish, functional and was free–I simply shopped thehouse. Still wondering why it took so long to figure that out. We don’t lose keys anymore!
Great ideas! Way to get the boys to tow the line! :)
I am going to buy some different colored towels today! you are a goddess!
I love SIMPLE! Great post! I have the shoe organizer in my back closet, the kid level hooks, and a shoe basket (see post @ http://kljswilson.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/closet-organization/); the kids are pretty well trained — but at 3 and 5 yrs old they still need a reminder — as does the hubby!
I also have cups, bowls, etc at kid height along with snacks in the pantry.
For the bathroom, I LOVE THE TOWEL idea! And since we are starting to grow out of the infant/toddler towels and wash cloths, I feel justified in going to buy some! SCORE!
I think I am also going to hang the hooks in the bathroom at kid level for towels and robes since our towel rods are 5′5″ off the ground!
I have 4 boys, so I feel your pain. I like that you have specific cups for each kid and the color coded towels. I gave each boy a designated hook in their bathroom for their towel. I also have them hang their sports uniforms on a hanger to keep things together. And I mean the ENTIRE uniform: jersey, shorts/pants, socks, belt, hat, everything is on one hanger. None of them ever spaz out 5 minutes before we need to be out the door to a game. That was a big stress saver for all of us.
I’m going to remember the uniform tip when my son starts t-ball this year! thanks!
I love this tip…along with all the others…but this one hits home. I plan on doing this for my daughters basketball uniform this year. I wil also be hanging her hair band and hair scrunchie on the rack and I may even include the water bottle she fills for the game in a bag with her shoes…thanks!
I love practical mom/household tips like these! I have a low hanging coat rack and a wicker basket for kid shoes underneath that works well with my three year old. I also have low hanging hooks in his room to hang up his clothes that can be worn again and I keep his hamper in his closet because it clutters up his bedroom floor too much.
My practical solution to a problem that irked me: my husband leaves his dirty socks on the floor by his bed and a glass of water on his nightstand. Every morning I used to pick these things up and it got mildly annoying. I found that if I just left them where they were, he picked them up after two or three days. So my solution was to switch sides of the bed. I don’t see the socks except for when I’m making the bed in the morning (and he usually makes his side anyway) and I just accept the water glasses, which are less noticeable off in the far corner of the room.
I’m also a big believer in putting a basket or bin wherever any type of clutter naturally accumulates. Yes, you occasionally have to clean out the container, but a basket of newspapers and magazines or stray toys is much nicer to look at than a pile!
That’s a solution we can all learn from; sometimes it’s more important to be at peace with the family than to have everything perfect all the time. THANK YOU for that little reminder!
It’s posts like this that remind me why I love blogging with this network of amazing moms!
I have those sliding shelves in my cupboards too, but never thought of putting the bowls, plates, etc. down there, closer to the dishwasher. Too cool!
Having a child drop the milk jug {and then me having to clean up milk off the floor, and from the inside of the fridge} led to me lowering the shelf in the fridge. Now the milk & water jugs are at kid-height. Leftovers are on the now-higher top shelf. We have had color-coded cups by the fridge for years… sometimes company thinks we set them out for their kids, though!!! I usually am able to catch them before they drink out of one of my children’s water cups. I’m having a giveaway on my blog this week! Blessings!!!
I love these ideas–now I need suggestions on how to keep my kids from throwing the clean, folded laundry into the hamper rather than putting it away…the best was when they actually vacuumed it up with the shop vac rather than open a drawer and putting it away!!!!
Is it really that hard?!?
My newest “duh” also came in the form of bags and jackets all over the mudroom. I have 2 small boys – 3 and 5 – and they obviously can’t reach the coat rod or the hooks. I finally put up a large piece of peg board on the wall itself, with 2 dozen hooks in various places. Instead of hanging coats with hangers (that they couldn’t reach any way) they just throw their coats and bags on the hooks. There are small shoe racks below that. Perfect. Now I don’t trip on their stuff when I walk in the house. Also, I have small plastic cups I keep in the bottom of the pantry with straws so my eldest (and eventually my youngest) can get his own water.
With seven children, oldest now in the Army, our family has implemented the cup thing a while ago. Every child has a favorite color towel, cup, bowl, and plate. It’s easier to tell who hasn’t done up their own dishes. For the boys I use different brands for socks so we can tell them apart. Backpacks are also their favorite color (as bowls, cups, etc.) Each child sorts their own laundry and it’s washed as it goes in (so if socks are inside out or jeans have one leg inside out, that’s how it comes back to them, after being washed). Great tips!
Giggling about your laundry method. I HATE inside-out socks, but I may have to let go of that and just have my guys deal with it on their own. My griping at them about it doesn’t seem to have helped anyway.
Lol. I do the laundry that way too! It just takes too much time and sours my mood to turn out everyone’s clothes. That ans with three boys, socks are just downright gross. =)
My kids are smaller, but here’s a few that I’ve done for simplicity’s sake:
-Every kid has a camelbak of a different color. They are responsible for it. If they lose it, they go thirsty at a meal. I know that’s harsh, but I seriously can’t keep up with 5 people’s drinks. They’re also responsible for filling them before a meal. They don’t fill it, they can wait until they are excused.
-My boys actually do change clothes in the laundry room. I implemented a Kids’ Closet years ago and it was totally life and laundry altering. I’ve blogged about it, but it’s just a closet downstairs that has all their clothes in it. No drawers. Just bins. They put away their own laundry and I don’t care if it’s folded because even if they folded it, they’d just toss it around looking for their favorite shirt. Since we’ve added more kids, the older boy’s clothes got moved to the laundry room. They get naked right there next to the washing machine. Perfection.
-One more that’s for me: I tended to sit down to answer one email and look up 45 minutes later to naked kids and messy diapers. So I moved my laptop to the bar in the kitchen. We don’t have any stools there, so if I want to be on the computer, I have to stand. I like to think I’m burning calories AND saving time.
:-)
Oh, I forgot to add a couple things we do. I LOVE command adhesives!!! I have a post brewing about them, let me tell you! I put the big command adhesive towel hooks up in the bathroom for my kids, in two different houses. They stair-step up the wall so everyone can reach them at their level. I also have smaller command adhesive hooks installed inside our hall closet door for their coats. Everyone can reach their hook!
For laundry, I have kept a laundry basket in each child’s closet. I have several tall, skinny ones that take up very little space. In MY closet, I have my cadilac laundry sorter, which I love!! I actually have two, but the other won’t fit in my current laundry room, so it is in my teen’s closet. (Oh, my! He just became a teen a couple weeks ago… that’s the first time I’ve written that!!!) He has been trained to sort his laundry into lights & darks as it goes into the sorter. My husband and I do the same in our closet. The two younger children sort their laundry for me when they bring it downstairs for wash day. I actually do my husband and my laundry one day, the teen’s on another, and the two younger kids on another. Before the week is done I also do another load of our clothes, plus towels, sheets, etc. It works great for us! Blessings!
Ok, I put up my Command Adhesive post today! {And linked to you!} http://artfullyarrangeddisarray.blogspot.com/2010/01/one-of-my-simple-solutions.html
Blessings!
I love these ideas! I think I might implement the towel colors for me and my husband. He swears up and down that he never leaves his towel on the floor!
These are such good ideas! I haven’t heard them before. Thanks for posting! I will definitely remember them for when my husband and I start having kids.
Why does it take us so long sometimes? I’ve definatly had some of those moments in my home. For me, I put my bathroom cleaning supplies under the sink, a line up my 9 million drinking glasses into rows organized by specific cup type, and keep my broom and swiffer located in my kitchen – tucked into the tiny space between the wall and fridge. Also, because our bathroom has only one outlet that does not fit my blow dryer plug (it’s one of those located on the light itself – yeah, renovation is needed), I have to get ready in my living room – every.day. So I finally decided to put all of my hair supplies, sprays, straightener, brush, mirror and blow dryer in a cloth bag and tote it with me in the morning. Everything goes back into the bag and stored in the bathroom cupboard. Now I’m not juggeling everything and inevitably dropping something.
Love it! It is all in the implementing, isn’t it? The cup idea is not one I’d thought of. Very good! Thanks for sharing.
Great tips Nester, THANKS!!!
God’s blessings, Sarah :D
I love reading your tips and will certainly pass them along. When our sons (4) were young I bought plastic coasters and wrote the names on the side – we even had “friend 1″, “friend 2″, etc. Each son stuck to 1 glass per day, our initial goal was to avoid passing germs. Worked all the way through high school.
The boys had hampers (metal trash cans w/lids) in their rooms and received a “chore” when dirty clothes were found on the floor. It only took a time or two for them to catch on. We had similar arraignments for shoes at the back door.
Hubby and I aren’t obsessive, we did bedroom tidying only on weekends – the boys tended to keep up with putting things away to make Sat clean up go faster. The end result is 4 grown men that are relatively tidy in their own homes. Yes, proud mom here :-) The credit really goes to my husband – he was raised by a neat freak, I toned him down a bit.
My “why haven’t I thought of that before” moment happened a few days ago. I have constantly struggled with papers in my kitchen that needed to be filed away. The filing cabinet was in my upstairs study/sewing room. If you’re like me, junk accumulates in piles downstairs while it waits to be taken upstairs and put away.
It finally dawned on me that I needed to put the filing where the papers were! I headed to Target, bought two expanding files to keep in the under-stairs closet, and that big, nasty file cabinet will be leaving to clear up some space for my rolls of fabric. A win-win! Now, I have my usual mail-sorting routine next to the kitchen garbage can each night, and immediately afterward, I take a few steps and file away those insurance policy notices, tax records, and medical papers. :)
I just cleared out a huge piles of papers from my kitchen and made a new rule–no mail/papers whatever in the kitchen. The problem is that I haven’t created a new space for the papers yet. Yuck. Good for you and your new cab!
i love the ideas for the cups and the towels. brilliant! storing that one away right now… :)
A sock basket downstairs with the shoes. That way I’m not yelling about socks, and they’re not complaing about finding them. They’re with the shoes. How ‘duh’ is that?
We also have designated for each kid, But I like bowl idea.
amen. socks downstairs. amen.
THAT is an awesome idea. For some reason, socks are never put on with the rest of the outfit…when it’s time to leave, we always spend an extra few minutes running upstairs to get a pair of socks. Near the shoes. Duh!
Brilliant!!
Yep, that lightbulb didn’t go on for me until I read about it just now. Thank you. I am heading upstairs at this moment to yank sock baskets out of the dresser drawers and bring them downstairs.
I love your solutions and am pleased that it is working for you. I gave in and placed a laundry basket in the bathroom for towels and clothes – would you believe that dirty clothes always seem to stay in their rooms on the floor and not in the basket? They are beginning to catch on when they have no clean clothes. LOL Oh, and I have 2 teen girls. Oy.
Love the towel tip! We’ve got 3 boys too. Ours are still pretty young (1,3, and 5) but I’ll be using that one! Thanks!
I. heart. you.
“It’s not rocket surgery.” Oh, you are a girl after my own heart. Almost nothing is “rocket surgery,” but boy can it feel that way! These simple solutions are absolutely wonderful, and if you’re really implementing them with three boys, my hat is off to you.
Let me tell you, their college roommates (not to mention wives) will thank you some day. I have done a poor, poor job of training my oldest to do the simple things you describe here. Now he is in a triple room at Duke–TWO roommates who are enjoying his slovenly ways, I’m sure.
Why is it that the simple solutions are the best? And why is it that we complicate things? I don’t know the answer, but I do know that this post inspired me!
When my kids get a little older I want to have the dishes lower and do the 1-cup-a-day thing too, that is awesome. We currently have one color of towel for each boy as well and we I also put up a coat/book bag rack last weekend and it’s changed my disposition immensely! :D
Nester, THIS. IS. AWESOME.
And the comments rock, too! I will have to add the link to this post on my blog!
My idea to share was actually published in Family Fun last year. My twin boys share a bunk bed where they both love to read. Unfortunately, there was no good place to store the top bunk resident’s books. The books would slide off and either get lost behind the beds or would threaten injury to the bottom bunk resident. To solve this, my smart man picked up a window box from Home Depot and hung it from the railing at the foot of the top bunk. Now my son has a safe place to store his books and my other son can just read the books and not worry about dodging them!
I remember seeing that idea in Family Fun… brilliant!! :-) I had done something similar with my daughter’s crib when she was about 1-1/2… I had attached a small plastic tote basket to the outside of her crib with some plastic links. She could store a few little board books to look at in the morning when she woke up early (she was a very early riser back then!). To this stay, she still loves to read in bed!
Laura…great idea for those littler ones!
Love that Idea! I even have an old window box!!! i’ve used it before for towels in the bathroom but now it’s sitting empty–you’ve got me thinking, what can I use it for?…
Cups! Cups! Cups! I wash a dishwasher full of cups every night! I am so borrowing this idea!
:)Stacey
Love your ideas. We hung a really cute, black iron rack low on the wall and the boys put their coats and hats on it. It is just the cutest thing. It makes the wall look really cozy and cute hung low like it is. Great post today!
great ideas…once the girls are old enough, i will move the plates and bowls too in our kitchen…my biggest problem…no mudroom equals lots of wet shoes in my kitchen…and we are walking on top of each other when we come in the door…any ideas on that one?
Could you please run a cup-usage boot camp for husbands, please? Or write an E-book with lots of pictures? My husband is the worst offender when it comes to cups in our house. I don’t know how to train a 30 (almost 31!) year old man to rinse a cup out and reuse it. Your future daughter-in-laws are going to thank you. :)
I am going to have to come back later tonight to read all of these awesome tips!! I’ve read through about half of them here in the comments, but my girls are calling me to come watch Ariel with them. Who’d want to miss Ariel?!
No, I cannot. Because in our house, I am the worst offender!!!!!!! AHHHH!
I have this thing about seeing my own lip prints/finger prints on a glass, once they are there I want a new one. It’s a sickness, I’m a glass snob.
Do you leave them out on your nightstand for weeks at a time while the person you share a room with secretly lets them stay there hoping you’ll get sick of it and just put them in the dishwasher until it becomes unbearable and that person just goes ahead and takes them downstairs anyways, muttering under their breath?
If so, you might need an intervention and possibly you could join some sort of Glass Hoarders Anon group with my husband. If not, then you can just feel bad for me. ;)
I may have it worse. My husband and I live with my two brothers-in-law, thirty and twenty-something. Try having three grown men with this cup issue. Somehow, every day I’m washing an entire cupboard’s worth of cups. I usually only use one – and sometimes I just use a water bottle!
The worst of all is when I see this routine:
bring old cup out of the bedroom,
dump the “used” ice,
leave cup in sink (instead of empty dishwasher),
get a new cup,
fill with ice,
return to room,
crack open another soda.
Even if I put all the cups in the dishwasher before bed, at least three more magically appear in the sink or on the counter during the middle of the night. Then there’s the thing where they leave garbage on the kitchen counters instead of throwing it away . . . don’t get me started.
I agree with what someone else said, it’s not just for your sanity. Your well-trained boys are going to make for some very happy daughters-in-law.
Nope, I’m too lazy to take a glass upstairs, I just use 5 million during the day, I try to hide it from my family so no one knows my issues. Since I usually load the dishwasher, no one seems to care.
This whole thread is too funny.
Why don’t you just have one cup that you’re allowed to use and your husband isn’t (hide it if necessary). Then don’t wash ANY up apart from your own. He’ll soon run out and get the idea :)
Okay, was that “rocket surgery” thing a quote from Frank Caliendo? I must know.
Love the cups!
And the towels, also have heard of sewing a different color thread into the towels for each kiddo so they will know who’s is who.
Thanks for the great ideas! With 3 little ones of my own, this will help lots.
When I was little we lived next to my cousins which made it like we were a family with 5 children..we used the color system for all kinds of things ( toys: pails, shovels, beach rafts ( we went to the beach a lot) )..I’m now in my 50’s but I remember everyones color ( I always wanted red which was not my color, I was blue). I have 2 sons who were not great at hanging up towels. Their bathroom had a long wall that was perfect for a shaker style peg rack with about 10 pegs..Slinging the towel is all it takes and it stays ( they are now adults but I still have the peg rack).
Oh, I particularly love the cup idea and the low bowls and plates! My boys are too young to do much for themselves, but I’m totally filing this away until I need some tips!
Mine are kinda grown now at 21, 24 & 27, but still do this when we are home. Instead of assigning the dishes each night, we did something called the “5 minute drill.” All 5 of us got up from the table, someone cleared, someone else rinsed the dishes, someone else loaded the dishwasher, another swept the floor and we had one supervisor who was incharge of leftovers. Never a fight, never wondering whose turn it was, family working together and if someone was missing because of an activity, we just covered the extra. It was great family time, honestly without bitterness or anybody feeling put upon and it usually only took about 5 minutes or so. We always had one of those electric brooms and even the pre-schoolers could do a pretty great job of the floor. Ahhh, now I’m missing them, double dang!
Totally doing this: ok we’ve got a
clearer
rinser
loader
sweeper
supervisor
bless you woman
I have been bemoaning being alone in the kitchen at night, and was trying to think of a way to incorporate everyone into a quick clean-up. Definitely stealing this one! :)
MAJOR DUH TO ME!!!
i just read a great (life changing) book on this style of parenting. “loving our kids on purpose” by danny silk. great ideas & great post!
Kristen–we got that book this summer–ATTENTION EVERYONE–you MUST read this book!!!!
Yes, that book is totally the influence of the reaping their own consequences–wet towels and no cups!
I’ve moved my kids’ shoes and socks from their rooms (upstairs) to the linen closet (downstairs near the garage….our usual entrance/exit). This has saved soooo many trips upstairs in search of a missing sock and/or shoe. It’s all contained in an open-wire drawer unit….each kid has a drawer for their shoes and all the socks are in the top drawer. Love it!
I love the Pottery Barn Kids towels. Each of my children were gifted a different towel with their name. I always know whose towel needs to be hung up. We do the cup thing as well.
Great ideas! I have a toddler and a baby on the way right now, but I’ll keep those tips in mind for when we start dishing out more responsibility.
I commented already, but I thought of something we do! I have some pretty white canisters in our kitchen that never served any real purpose but to be pretty. Because we go through the kitchen any time we come and go keys and change used to get piled on my counters. Yuck! So I designated the smallest canister for keys and a bigger one for change. LOVE it! The keys are very convenient, but out of sight!
I have never commented on your blog, but I’ve been reading for about a year now. I LOVE reading the things you have to talk about! Today was one of my favorites! Getting down to the nitty gritty and hearing how people manage theirs homes in a more efficient way and keep order even with their children is…well, golden! Thank you for the ideas and basically the encouragement to stand back and take a look at what could be solved with a little system change. Thank you!
This reminds me of a friend I had growing up…. There were 7 kids in her family and each kid was assigned a color of cup that solely belonged to them. One cup only. Well, I went over to play one day and wanted a drink, but there were no extras! My friend had to share her color with me. Plan ahead for your boys’ friends.
Simple, yet genius!
Now I’m looking around here for ways to simplify. :)
Thanks,
Jill
I don’t even have kids, but I’m shuffling this tips to the back of my brain for when I do. I LOVE the separate cups and towels ideas! They seem really simple, but so simple I probably would have over-looked them. Thanks for sharing!
You are a genius! My son’s just now turning 4, but I’m totally going to implement these solutions in a few years.
as always, so smart. i had thought of the color-assigned towels, just haven’t bought them yet, and I assigned really small small ice cream bowls for my husband when we were first married or i might as well have handed him the whole carton and a ladle.
Love your ideas – great idea with the dishes at their level – love it! Mine littles are too little to do that, but they do get out their own silverware:)
I’m a former art teacher, so I’m always trying to squeeze an extra little spot for crayons and colored pencils – I use canning jars with handles (Target) on them for colored pencils and scissors and paint brushes. That way they can grab them and scoot them around the table at whim. (I incidently incorporated that into my blogpost for today.)
Becky – Clean Mama
I have the lower backpack rack, I have moved the kid snacks to the lower cupboards but I am still working on the towel thing. We need to replace our towels but I don’t want to get different colors, then they can’t be laundered together. I think that I am going to Cross stitch the first letter of the owners name on the corner of each.I would embroider them but don’t have the machine. I did get some Command removable hooks and put one on the back of each kids door at the appropriate height, so that there was a place to put their wet towel when the were done. One thing I have found with MY kids is that if there is a designated place to put something, then when I say, put it away, we all know exactly where it should be put.
As for the laundry, the kids each have a small laundry basket in their room. Every morning, they take their laundry to the laundry room.
Sorry for the novel. LOL
You CAN launder them together, who cares if they don’t look all that great–they are just for the kids and they’ll still be able to tell the colors apart!
:}
I have been doing this for a few years. I just bought four towels that are all muted, light colours (light pink, light brown, light green and light blue) and they all get washed together no problem.
I am organizing my laundry room/office/craft space. I just posted some pictures of my basic system. And I love the hook board. Thinking my girls’ bathroom needs one of those. Did you buy it somewhere or did you make it?
Anita
IT’s from Target–$13 on clearance!
My duh answer really is a “DUH”!
For most of my life, I lived in houses with small cramped kitchens and no dishwasher. My mother always commented that it never looked as though I cooked when I cooked, because I cleaned as I went along.
Well, somewhere between then and now, I managed to lose that habit. Once again I live in a small house, but we did purchase a portable dishwasher for it. Still, I was constantly fuming over having so much cleanup to do. It finally hit me the other day that if I would just go back to my old habit of cleaning as I go (only now I only have to load the dishwasher!), by the time I was done cooking the kitchen would be clean.
I don’t know if or when my husband and son will notice, but I am LOVING not having to stay in the kitchen all alone after dinner and deal with the mess while they go off and do other stuff!
you’re a genius!
I have to come clean and admit that I am the least organized and efficient of any of the people in my house-my son was what FLYlady would call “born organized”-there are no toys under his bed, there are no food wrappers or plates in his room, there are no broken toys, torn books, outgrown clothes, etc. Once it is no longer usable, he disposes of it. I never, EVER, have to go through his things and get rid of anything secretly-he does it on his own.
If he didn’t look so much like his dad I’d swear he was switched at the hospital.
My only stroke of genius was having my children (ages 8 & 6, but we’ve been doing this for a few years now) help me come up with a breakfast menu. We have the same breakfast every Monday, eggs and cereal on Tuesdays, oatmeal on Wednesdays, etc. That way I’m not a short order cook each morning and they know what to expect.
Boy, did this post bring back memories! I grew up with five brothers, and one of the many ways my mom kept order was to assign us each a color for our drinking cup (notice that was cup, as in singular!). My color was orange, yuck. But the funny thing is my mom still has a set of our cups and when we visit, my girls love to see who gets to drink out of the orange cup!
One way we have battled the whole laundry issue around here, which also aided in getting the kids to do the laundry, is to give each child his/her own basket in a color that matches the decor of his/her room. Each child is responsible for bringing said basket downstairs for the laundry master (the child assigned that chore). They then have to divide their own clothes into the two baskets in the laundry room (one dark, one light). Once the clothes are folded (by the whole family), they each take their own basket full of clean clothes to their respective rooms. Saves my back and trains them that clothes do not magically appear clean in their drawers!
We have “the basket.” (It’s a gathering basket that lives near the staircase on a stool.) Anything that doesn’t belong downstairs goes into “the basket.” Then in the evening at bath time the basket goes up with us. Items are placed into the room that they belong and then are put away (by mother or child, depending on their age). A quick check of each bedroom and things that go downstairs go back into the basket to be put away. Having the kids put things away in the basket, then away correctly once a day, goes over much better than nagging them throughout the day and it keeps the clutter in-check. It’s also easy to give it a quick look before each trip upstairs…
I love these ideas!
I am a definite color coder. It is a MUST for a big family when, “that’s mine” is the famous phrase. I still remember my color was red growing up. ;o) So when I found out I was pregnant with another boy (2 under 3), I started up. First boy, everything is blue. Cups, towels, plates, etc. And the second boy’s color is green. Yesterday I gave my 22 month old a cup with the wrong color lid and he brought it back to me to fix!
I also paid (too much) to have someone put my kids name on their bath towel. No arguing about who’s is who’s. I also bought collapsable laundry baskets at Target and put their names on them so as I sort laundry it is easy for me, and then I just put the clean clothes in each boys room and they put it away and return the basket to the laundry room.
I have a toddler and I feel the same way–I want so badly to not have to say no, no, no all the time every day!
Right now, my solutions are cabinet locks, keeping things out of the way I don’t want her to touch, and lots of hugs, and trying to be laid back. If it’s not THAT big of a deal, I try not to have a cow.
I wish I could make her not want to play with the computer, though. Any solutions for electronics?
Jessie
Just plain SMART – but definitely not obvious solutions. Thanks for the tidbits =)
♥ these! Simple. My most favorite word in the world! :)
You are the queen of practicality and simplicity. {This is why we love you and pay you the big bucks.} This post is COMPLETELY where I am right now: brainstorming for simple {obvious} solutions to make life with children run more smoothly and to shift some more of the responsibility to them. The dishes down low idea? Brilliant. Look forward to browsing through the comments…my house will practically run itself after this!
My sweeties were using bath towels as hand towels and once they fell on the floor they were thrown in the wash. Sheesh. They can eat dirt but can’t touch a towel that has dropped onto the floor? Whatever! So I bought 24 hand towels and 24 washcloths from Costco, dyed them a color that wouldn’t show dirt and replaced the bath towels with those. If they are going to make them one use items they may as well use the washcloths (the hand towels are really overkill). Perfect size, easy on the washer/dryer. I *love* using the washcloths as hand towels!
lovin the dishes lower….such a great idea! and thanks for the tip on the $1 bowls at Big Lots!! I’m there tomorrow….
I was looking at this again and want to know where you got that board with the hooks? I’ve been looking for a sturdy but affordable one for a while.
Reminds me of our Super Bowl Party last year. Forgot to erase the kids’ (teens) weekly chore checklist. Everyone was amazed at how organized we were. Little did they know, only half of those items were done WELL on a REGULAR basis. But, every little bit helps!!! Doesn’t have to be perfect, right?
“it’s not rocket surgery” made me laugh. I didn’t know if you meant that- or if you meant: it’s not rocket science OR it’s not brain surgery.
Your mixture of the two phrases accomplished killing 2 birds with 1 stone!! Loved it!!
Maybe it’s a southern thing. I’m in the NW so, you know, I guess we talk different!!
Great ideas! I put a chalkboard up right at my dishwasher that says “Please put your dishes in the dishwasher” as a reminder to people who like to leave their dishes in the sink.
Am I really the first guy to write here?! Anyways, I’m gonna let the side down a bit … If you’ve got more than one toilet, why not tell the kids that one toilet is a ’special’ one for guests when they come, and if the kids want to use it, they *have* to flush it. Any other toilets don’t matter so much (assuming they’ve just peed…), because you’re saving the environment by not flushing :) Save the planet, one pee at a time ;)
As for shoe storage, we just use an old bookcase. It’s only a little one, and takes up less room than a proper shoe rack would.
Look everyone, it’s a MAN!!!!
Nick, YES, thank you–if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down… at least in their bathroom!
Don’t worry, as a stay-at-home dad I think I qualify as an honorary woman :)
You’d certainly think so at toddler group anyway, when the leaders keep saying, ‘could all the mums please…’. I’ve been going for over a year, and dads still rarely get a mention! (And yes, I do mean mums, not moms – I’m British)
I’ve just started blogging about making stuff, and have titled it ‘manmade’, to attempt to balance out the millions of craft-related blogs by women (though I have to admit there are a lot of good ones!)
The stuff on my blog is probably a little ropey, but I enjoy blogging about it anyways!
(And as for the flushing rule – that’s the one we had a boarding school!)
OK – I didn’t read all the zillions of posts here so someone may have already said this one. I have 4 kids ranging from 4 to 11. Laundry used to be like a lead weight I was dragging around. Maybe it got done but so much clean stuff piled up before I folded it and rarely did it ever get put away. Everyone had to go to the basement to look for clean clothes every morning and even though it was not their fault, I would be angry because they didn’t realize which pile was dirty and which was clean! BUT, then I moved all their clothes storage to the basement! No one has clothes up in their bedrooms anymore. I bought some simple metalkitchen storage shelves and now everyone has their own 6 shelves and on the bottom shelf is a laundry basket each for socks and underwear. I tell you this changes my life! There is alwas laundry on in our house but it has been about 4 months and I have been happily caught up ever since! The kids are happy they always have easily accessible clothes – mornings are so much happier and easier!!!!
Love this post!
I am a huge clutter-phobe. My husband? Not so much. I figured out a long time ago that I needed to work WITH his habits, not against them. So, if he routinely left his keys and wallet sitting on the kitchen counter, I would put a basket there for him to use. I created a mudroom-type area by my back door with a small, narrow bookcase and a shelf with hooks. There are baskets on top of the bookcase for mail and miscellaneous stuff, coats go on the hooks, diaper bags and briefcases in a basket under the hooks… Sometimes it gets cluttered, but at least it is contained to a small area!
We have a place for book bags. We have a place for coats. We have a place for shoes and dishes are in a lower cabinet. We have a TEENY house so I have to be on top of these things. I only wish I had a regular refridgerator, i.e. fridge on the bottom. It thwarts all independence in acquiring drinks.
Wonderful ideas! My kids are a bit younger than yours, Nester, so we’ve got a drawer of small plastic plates, cups and utensils that they can get themselves. And a box tucker under a desk for shoes, jackets and hats. Except all this winter clothing (in Kansas) is still out of hand, but there won’t be snow forever! I like the towel and glass ideas – I wonder if they’d work for husbands too? *wink* Oh, and a coat/bag rack is in the works for the future!
New to your site, and I love it! Some simple solutions we have:
(1) everyone has their own Sigg bottle and the filtered water sits on a low shelf in the fridge with a spout so they can re-fill their bottles very easily. If we go out somewhere everyone is responsible for getting their own drink. When we eat they are responsible for getting their own drink. If they like their water cold, they have to put it in the fridge. It serves two purposes – Mommy doesn’t have all those cups to wash and keep up with, and they only drink water (the 2 year old does have 1 sippy cup a day of milk). To keep the bottles clean I throw in a denture tablet and let it sit for about 30 minutes.
(2) each kid has their own monogrammed towel and a place to hang it (even Mom and Dad). I do not fold towels – they go straight from the dryer to the rack in the bathroom. We do have a few extras in the closet for emergency things but 95% of the time this is what we do. Same thing with bed sheets – they go straight from the dryer to the bed, no folding.
(3) in the laundry room I have a narrow table set up and each kid (I have 4) has their own “bucket” (actually a plastic dish pan that I wrote their names on) I fold their laundry and put it in their “bucket” they carry the stuff to their rooms to put it up. The “buckets” make it much easier for them to carry the stuff and it makes it easier for me to corral the small stuff like socks and underwear.
(4) for soccer and ballet uniforms – every thing they need to get ready goes in a large ziplock bag after it comes out of the dryer – makes it really easy to get ready when it’s time to go because they know where everything is.
(5) I occasionally save the little plastic cups the kid’s yogurt comes in. They are the perfect size for them to fill up for a snack of grapes, raisins, goldfish, etc. They are kept on the bottom shelf so they can get them out easily.
Sorry this is so long, but we’re all about streamlining around here. Great post.
I agree with the towel & sheet anti-folding policy. I take our towels straight from the clothes-line back into the bathroom & the beds get re-made with the same sheets once they are dry. (It helps that my kids are older now & we don’t have those middle-of-the-night accidents). Sometimes the sheet thing comes back to bite me if they don’t dry early enough for me to remake the beds while I’m still enthused & then I realise it’s kids’ bedtime with bed not made. To reduce the irritation of these occasions I’ve made myself a rule that I only wash the sheets from 1 bed on any particular day. That way, if I’m sidetracked then there’s only one bed to hastily make at bed-time.
Okay, I don’t have any kids myself, but thank you for this post! Most of it is now filed away in my brain for “future mama days”…it’s always good to be prepared, right? ;)
Each of us has a clothes hamper in our bedrooms, but wet towels in a hamper can be stinky. I put another hamper for the kids in the hallway outside their bathroom/bedroom doors. All wet towels go into the basket. It’s so much easier to keep up with towel laundry that way!
Love these tips. I haven’t read through everyone’s, so I don’t know if my tips are already mentioned or not.
We have 3 girls, ages 3, 5 and 9. One of my most hated chores is sorting socks. I bought 3 large lingerie bags and took a black magic marker to each, labeling with an M, L and A. Now when each girl takes off her socks, she puts them in her own bag. When I go to wash whites, I just zip up the bag and toss it in the wash. It’s great at folding time to just hand the older two girls their bags (they can find pairs themselves) and only have to pair for my 3yo. And I know that only her socks are in there, so no determining who’s are who’s when there’s an inch difference in size.
I bought a $1 plastic silverware tray and use that to organize the pens, pencils, tape, batteries, etc in our “junk drawer” It really helps to keep everything more organized.
We have a large closet in our bathroom, so on the shelves I’ve got baskets lined up and labled with “First Aid” or “Teeth” or “Skin” and the basket is filled with everything needed (like the “Teeth” basket has extra toothbrushes, floss, new toothpaste, rinse, etc) Keeps everything alike together and my closet organized.
I also have a small plastic 5-drawer chest that sits on my closet shelf with all the girls’ hair things organized. Top to bottom is barrettes, small binders, fancy binders, headbands/straps, then big binders (like my size to fit on my wrist and hold my thick hair) Makes it all so easy!
We have three girls as well, and use the plastic drawer system for hair things. It has really kept things organized; we keep it in the bathroom under the sink, and one drawer is for brushes and combs. Any things that they feel are special and don’t want to share I make them keep in a drawer for treasures.
We moved kid-dishes to a lower shelf a few months ago when my 10-year-old complained about not being able to reach the shelf for the kid cups, and suggested we move them. Leave it to a 10-year-old to come up with an obvious solution! I also recently bought different color cups for each of my 3 girls. They have 3 cups a piece. Now when I see a cup sitting in the living room, I know who’s it is and I never hear, “that’s not mine.” My oldest has her own color towels, but the twins had matching towels. They’re getting their own colors today!
I’ve had two step sons living with me since they were both about 12. the oldest is 20 and has his own appt now. The youngest is still a minor in high school.
the oldest was much more neat and clean than the youngest. He did his own laundry, changed his own sheets, scrubbed the boys bathroom every week. (this was a hard habit for him at first, but he learned) And he always put his dishes in the dishwasher, took out the trash and usually found time over school break to clean out his closet of unwanted things.
the younger one, he sleeps on dirty sheets, uses the same towel for a month or more, wears dirty clothes and his socks do not match. I find molded over dishes hidden in his room, and thank goodness I have a regular insecticide service in our home. Need I mention the smell that emerges from his room?
I can only account for the differences in their personalities. I only hope he will spring from the nest at an early age also. then I plan to demo his room and bathroom. he’s already made a nice start on that for me, as every knob and handle is broken, mysterious holes are in the walls and in general, he has not had any respect for our home.
there I admitted it.
Fabulous ideas (as usual)! Wet towels are the bane of my existence. I’ve been committed to white towels for a while because I can bleach them. But, I think I will stitch a different color X per child.
We have a large, deep drawer that we put all of the kids’ plastic plates and cups into. We’ve done this since they were little (with sippy cups) because it gave them ownership (getting it out when they wanted a drink), was an easy place for them to put them away, and even though it was a jumble I didn’t mind because it was contained in one drawer. Now that they are older, I’m SO liking your 3 cup system!
A great post! Hugs!
We bought two large wardrobes from Home Depot with double doors. My husband took the hanging rod out, bought matching wood and split them down (lengthwise) the middle. Then he added an extra shelf across the bottom, added large double hooks on either side of rectangles, and now our four kids each have a “locker” with a top and bottom shelf. I’ve put a plastic tub on the top shelf with their name on it for hats, mitts, scarves and misc. things, and underneath the bottom shelf goes all their footwear. The things I love most is that the sides are large enough to hold their backpacks, all their winter gear, including snowpants, and I can close the doors on them, so the room looks very tidy. Whenever I find a book or toy or item that belongs to one of them on the main floor, it goes in their locker tub.
HELP! I need a lovely “duh” solution to my girls’ clothes issue! Reading all these ideas, surely there must be one, that I can’t just think of. My two girls (8 and 5) have a thing for “needing” to change their clothes a few times a day, in order to be dressed “just right” for various activities. But the clothes end up ALL OVER THE FLOOR daily. I have actually considered taking their dressers out of their room, and putting them in my eave-closet. Any ideas?
Someone mentioned the hook board and where did it come from-we have one that my DH made with a premade shelf from the hardware store and half a dozen hooks from another aisle of the hardware store. The hooks are all equally spaced and an equal distance from the top, and because it was a premade shelf all the edges are already finished. It’s worked great for us!
I use the GIGO (garbage in garbage out) method. If a new pair of shoes comes in, an old pair is donated to Goodwill. Ditto for school supplies, mass amounts of paper and junk mail (RECYCLE) artwork, those insane mass purchases from the Dollar Store….anything comes in, something is thrown away, given away or recycled. It keeps clutter a little more balanced.
thank you for sharing your simple solutions nester! i love them all and i’m working on ways to rearrange my kitchen cabinets to put our dishes down lower. i’m also working my way through the other comments to see what other changes i can make.
here’s one i did a few years ago. i remember reading this in a magazine or a blog a few years ago so i cannot take credit for it, but it has helped me with sorting clean laundry. i have 4 kids. in the label of their clothes: underwear, pjs, t-shirts, pants, shorts, jeans, jackets…i put a dot with a sharpie pen. 1 dot is for my oldest. 2 for the second born, 3 for the…well, you get the idea. all i have to do is look for the dot, then i know who it belongs to. when my oldest grows out of that item of clothing, if it survives him without too many holes, i put another dot in the tag so i know it belongs to kid #2. and so on. the older they get and they closer they get in size, this will be more useful, except i guess i will be able to tell which clothing belongs to the girl. but, if she’s anything like her mom, a little tomboy, maybe not. this system also helps anyone else who might do the laundry – husband, grandparents, kids – they know what belongs to whom based on the number of dots. i guess i could do this for socks, but i think i might take the nester idea and switch to black footie socks…
This is brilliant. Why didn’t I think of this? I’ve been wondering how to label clothes that will be handed down!
Yes…the drawer of dishes has been a lifesaver (for me) here, too. I moved them all so that my kids can get their dishes, and my 11-year-old is the dishwasher emptier around here. She can now reach just about everything and put it all away easier. If I could figure out how to get them all to do their own laundry and put it away, that would be amazing. Suggestions?
I totally know how you feel with these suggestions. I’m trying to get my house organized (and I actually mean it this time) and I keep having these “duh” moments. I guess “duh moments” are the new “a-ha moments.” I recently thought of placing a bin in my kitchen pantry for recyclables…you know instead of throwing them next to the trash can like we did before. http://www.diynewlyweds.com/2010/01/easy-kitchen-recycling-bins.html
A total “duh” moment with a simple solution, but it has made life much easier!
Love all your inventive solutions and have one more to add. I know this one costs money- and it really falls into the creature comforts BUT it really saves on washing towels and people love to hang their towels up is a Wall Mounted Towel Warmer. Well worth the money and can be found for 150 or even under 100 for standup ones.
Hey Nester and Peeps!
I just recently (fall) did the same thing with the cereal bowls….bought a smaller size, from the dollar store in fab shades of seaglass blues n greens and put them in a lower cabinet next to the pantry for the kids. AAAHHHH, now I can sleep in :)
This is such a great post! Thanks for sharing all of your tips.
We seem to have the same issues going on: laundry on the floor, cups everywhere, too big bowls, bookbags on the floor…Except you have fixed all your probs and mine are still occuring. You have inspired me. :-)
b.r.i.l.l.i.a.n.t.
I love all your ideas – BRAVO! As a mom and a mom who helps support other busy moms I often suggest similar ways to decrease the nagging, frustration and such. These are great ideas to help eliminate some areas that will provide relief for a mom who feels like she is at her wits end! Thanks for sharing these!
I have 6 children, all grown now-man I’m old! But when they were younger I ,too, made some changes to help be organized. One is that I color coordinated their bath towels, hand towels, wash cloths and cup. I think that I also did tooth brushes, combs and hair bushes. It made it easier for them and me, I suggest color codeing what ever you can!
Great tips! May I add one that works for us: no top sheets. Both my girls have a twin fitted sheet with a comforter (winter)/light throw (summer). When they get up in the morning, the comforter/throw is folded across the bottom of the bed. Two pluses: the bed looks made and I can see whether under the bed is clean….:)
Color code the towels!!!!!!!! what have I been thinking? I’ve color coded tooth brushes, duffel bags, back packs, but it never dawned on me to do the towels!!!! I am so excited. Darn it’s midnight and I’ll have to wait until Target opens in the morning. I’ll also be buying two glasses each when I go for the towels. I love this becaue my boys always say “it wasn’t me” when things are left everywhere and I’m trying to figure out which one has to pay me for picking up after them. Yes, if I have to do something I’ve already asked them to do, given them time to do it, and then I have to do it myself, I charge them for it. At 11 and 15 money is the only thing that carries any weight with them now.
When it comes to laundry, each boy has a tall skinny trash can in their closet with their name and a day of the week written on it. When they were younger I tried to do their laundry on their assigned day, along with any fill-in laundry to make a full load. When they got old enough, (the youngest may have been about 8) they had to start doing their own laundry on their assigned day. If they didn’t do it on that day then it was too bad, they had to wait until the next week (in theory). I don’t have to sort their laundry and if it doesn’t get done they know who to blame. I’m convinced my 15 year old doens’t wear underwear because I almost never see him do laundry. Now that they are older they don’t have to stick to the same day anymore and I never have to do their laundry. I just wash a ton of towels:) but not after tomorrow!!!!!! (hee hee) The oldest started R.O.T.C. this year and had to learn to iron and startch his uniform himself.
Before you think I have well trained young men on my hands, would someone tell me how to get them to hit the toilet when they’re peeing? I can’t figure out how they get pee pee all over the bathroom!!!! I’ve tried not cleaning their bathroom but it doesn’t bother them … they’re pigs. They’ll let it go on getting nasty for weeks until I can’t stand it any longer. Of course, they each say “it isn’t me!” If I could only COLOR CODE their pee pee!!
They used to fight over the front seat of the car, so I assigned odd days to the oldest and even days to the youngest. It’s hard to argue with a number:)
Sorry this was so long.
My 5 and 3 year old boys were really bad shots, but I put a ping pong ball in the loo and now they aim at that. DH laughed at me, but I have noticed since doing it that he rarely misses now too. Hehehe.
Left open doors drive me CRAZY. Hubby put a spring on the hinges of the pantry door so that it closes on its own now. Simply sanity saving.
Thanks for the post! I have five children so I need all the organizing help I can get. Along with thier own color of towel I bought them each a small, plastic basket (in the same color as their towel) at the dollar store. These go along the back of the bathroom counter and hold their tooth brush, a small cup, toothe paste and whatever other bathroom stuff they need. I buy them each a different color of tooth paste so I know who has made the mess in the sink;) I also got a comb and brush with holes in the end of the handle. I attached sturdy string to the top edge of the bathroom door with a flat thumb tack. (the top edge, not the top of the door where you can see it.) I made the string long, almost to the floor. I tied the comb and brush each onto their own string and they will never again be lost. They are always in the bathroom where they belong! It has saved my sanity. As for dirty clothes, my kids have a large plastic container that slides under their bed. They each keep their dirty clothes in it. I do a different color of laundry each day. On Monday morning they know they need to sort our white and put them in a laundrey basket in the hall. On Tuesday they sort darks, etc. Then, I carry the hall basket down to the laundry room. Any clothes that are turned inside out are rejected and not washed!!!
Laura
Wow, I have a full document created from the tips here! We are moving to a new house this year and we are completely overwhelmed with the amount of work/clutter we have to deal with. I will be putting some of these tips into play right now, but all of them when we move. I already have a mudroom locker designed with hooks for stuff…glad to see it “should” work :)
Because we live in an old house, it’s “normal” to have things oddly wired. For example, coming in the back door, you’d have to cross through the foyer to turn on a light. During winter, this isn’t too cool with tracking muddy boots — especially up here in Canada. Our simple solution? A sensor light left on automatic and faces the entry door — now we can take our boots right there and I have less muddy floors to mop!
Smart ideas. I hope I’m that smart when I am mom of kids your age. ;) Problem solving at its best.
It’s funny how often I try to brute force some kind of organizational solution into my life, only to find it doesn’t work for me. It’s only when I step back and start to organize organically that I find what works for me.
I realized about two years ago that I’m a “bin” person. I’m not very good at opening doors or drawers to put things away, but I WILL toss things into bins. So I have canvas bins on a shelf in my closet for work socks/sports socks/underwear/bras. On a shelf below that I have three bigger square containers: summer stuff (bathing suits, beach wraps), winter stuff (snuggly socks, mittens, hats, scarves) and other accessories (the buttons that come with clothes, hats, belts, scarves).
Downstairs we have two large rattan bins side-by-side under our sofa table which become a catch-all that gets emptied every couple of weeks.
I love these simple solutions, especially the relocation of the dishes. Sometimes it’s the simplest things that make such a huge difference. I learn that pretty regularly.
Great suggestions. When my kids are old enough to put the dishes away I am going to put them on a lower shelf. That is brilliant.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the cup idea. I have 5 kids and we tried the colors but it was getting expensive and the kids were all fighting about who got what color, etc…and it just never occurred to me to buy all the same color but different styles of cups! BRILLIANT!!!!
I also love the socks in the lingerie baggie idea that someone shared. Why, oh, why did I never think of that? My teenagers like the no-show socks and when they don’t have clean socks they sneak and wear the little kids socks and I never know until they are ruined! And I have two who fight over whose socks are whose. I keep saying that I am going to write their names on the toes of their socks. I think I will do that AND use the marked lingerie bags.
I don’t know why, but sometimes the “no-duh” solutions take the longest to think up! ;)
Thank for sharing these wonderful solutions. Over Christmas Break, I totally re-organized our craft room and now everything is labeled and easy to find. It wasn’t that hard to do, but it has improved our quality of life so much.
Love this post, and please don’t think I’ve copied you when I post one similar….it’s already started in my drafts. :) Love me, anyhow.
Using a lower cabinet to store all of our kid cups was the best tip that I received when we built our house 12 years ago….we also strategically placed it near the dishwasher so that at 3 years old, the toddlers “chore” was to empty all the plastic cups……now that that 3 year old is a teen, it was easier to get him to do it then. :)
Great tips–some things you mentioned we already do, but got some great ideas for how we can tweak our household for the better.
LOVE the idea about the cups! makes dh nuts how many cups we go thru a day so this will be a great one for our family.
and once the 3 yr old gets bigger, will do the cabinet switch. that’s a great way to move them to self-sufficiency.
for snacks, i have a basket in the pantry of allowed, pre-measured snacks and slips of paper for other items like pudding or cereal. there are a set amount of those slips for the week.
I love all of these ideas! When my kids were younger they loved the same crispy white socks, and they would always complain about one of them getting the other ones dirty so to make it easier on me and them I numbered them with their first initial and the number so K1 and K1, K2 and K2 and so forth then when I paired them I just put the initials and the number together and pairing socks was so much easier! I still to this day do my husband and my white socks this way, it is makes pairing socks less of a chore! I also have so many organization ideas, my friends always tell me to start a blog, but to tell you the truth I would not know how to start that! Have a great day and thank you all for the tips!
When my four children were little I colored coded as much as I could. They had assigned colors for glasses for milk, juice, etc., towels, laundry baskets, folder for school information. That helped me keep their papers, info organized. As they grew, they knew to look in their colored folder for phone #’s, etc. They also had an assigned laundry day that they were responsible to bring their laundry down.
I linked to this on my weekly roundup, post is under my name. It’s a great reminder to apply some common sense to problems! Thanks to you – and your great commenters!