I love to organize. I know, I'm weird, but I've always enjoyed it. Not much thrills me more than clearing out a cabinet or closet and rearranging things. I was giddy when I bought shelving and bins from Target a few years ago for our playroom and sorted through toys and gave away what we no longer use. My kids have heard me instruct them numerous times to throw away what they don't want... don't keep every piece of paper and little doodad that you find. And please please do not offer your junk to your sibling who is inclined to keep her junk and yours!!!!
I'm no expert. I'm certainly not going to get a big sticker on the back of my car that says "Professional Organizer" but I can offer a few tips. Here goes:
Get a shoe rack or bin and place it by the backdoor. I found this shoe rack at Walmart for less than $20. It sits in the garage just outside the kitchen door. Before the kids walk in the house, their shoes go on the shelf. That way we never have to search for shoes when we're headed somewhere.
Hang 2 hooks for each child by your backdoor or in your laundry room. 1 hook for each child's backpack and 1 for a hoodie or coat. Train your children from an early age (my 3 year old does it) to bring their own stuff out of the car including coats, backpacks, snack baggies, and shoes. I'm responsible for my stuff and they are for theirs. And when you walk through the door, DO NOT dump your stuff right there. Everyone walks directly to the hooks and hungs up their packs and coats. Then after I've unpacked my stuff and settled myself, I take each pack off the wall and go through it. That way I am not as stressed out by the pile of stuff the kids have unloaded on the counter or by the back door.
Near your backpack hooks, hang another set of hooks. I like these wall mounted hooks from Walmart. Here I hang a couple of empty book bags for my trips to the library or church or another place where I'm going to have my hands full. I also hang an already packed back that is designated only for doctors' appointments. This back goes to all our appts with us. It contains 2 coloring books, a book of princess word searches, a baggie of markers, a pencil, a matchbox monster truck, the card game Concentration, and 3 mini boxes of raisins and 3 baggies of crackers. After each appt, I restock the snacks and take out the trash. I love that I can just grab the bag on my way out the door.
What about coloring books and children's craft supplies? On the lowest shelf of my pantry, I place coloring books and hold them in place with a metal bookend. I put glue, beads, sequence, stickers, pipe cleaners, pompoms, etc. in a clear plastic tub on the same shelf as the coloring books. I put sissors in an old formula container, crayons in an old wipes tub, and markers in another wipes tub. The sissors container is on that shelf too. I have 2 clear stacked drawers on my pantry floor that hold crayons, markers and drawing paper. The key is everything is accessible to the kids.
Happy Organizing!
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