Mommies…i Need Your Advice On Getting Rid Of Clutter And Getting Organized?

http://www.flylady.net
This website is a godsend!
I promise! It seems cheesy at first, but just follow the assignments and you’ll be amazed.
Plus it’s free!!!

I hate clutter, so I really try to keep it down. The secret? you got to get rid of stuff. It is hard to keep a tidy house if it’s too full. Go around each room and seriously throw (or give) alot out. If you haven’t used it in a year or more, you probably don’t need it. If you’re not planning on any more children get rid of all the stuff your daughter has grown out of. Second thing, buy lots of totes, baskets, and if you’re handy put up shelving. I have 2 big totes downstairs in the playroom full of toys. So easy to tidy up at the end of the day. I have baskets everywhere, in bathroom cupboards, under the sink…etc. Shelves are great too, you can stack lots of stuff on them which keeps them off the floor.

I have a cupboard for my kids books, a chest for toys (that they do not go into) and a basket and a laundry basket. Most of the toys go into the chest, and a few go into the baskets. One is for lego, the rest go into the other basket. I rotate them around to keep it fresh, and because most toys aren’t out, clean up is easier. Zoning can help too. Office and work stuff belong only in the desk area (a 5′ x 5′ area of my living room) and a basket for hats and mitts. I have big tupperware containers for sewing and scrap booking stuff, and a big tool box that is only for my woodworking tools. A separate bag is for flooring tools. Some things are harder to define.
Baskets are your friend though, and label each basket.

I Know it’s hard, I don’t work and it seems like I work more at home then when I use to work and it’s only my husband and my 16month daughter. What I do is clean and dust 1 room each day and rotate I do feel like am always cleaning and then always when we are done eating I quickly get up and wash the dishes for the not to pale up.

I second the flylady suggestion. That website has amazing tips, even if you don’t stick to the program. They aren’t kidding when they say shining your sink makes a world of difference.
I live in a one bedroom apartment with a sloppy husband and an even sloppier 6 yr old. The best way I keep clutter at bay, and I HATE clutter, is to get rid of something everytime something new comes in. This christmas, I threw away all the toys she had for two years, therefore no buildup. I use lots of basket cases and shelves, wall shelves (they don’t take up any space). Other than that, I throw away tons of crap. If its been in the same place for over a week, trash it.
My life got cluttered because I found a sentimental attachment to everything to one reason or another. Once I started trashing **** without looking, my house was clutter free and I couldn’t tell you for the life of me what was in those bags, but I don’t miss it!

Honestly, by putting things like No Gifts on birthday invites, by not be going crazy with favor bags, by relatives not getting every trinket they see for your kid, and by not getting happy meals with cheap little toys. Kind of by going back to the basics, crayons, dolls, blocks, etc. And by people not taking advantage of these damm sales, although Im so tempted when they say 70% off.

baskets work wonders in my house, they hide the toys & can be tucked away, & they look nice 2!

Stop buying stuff and get rid of things that you don’t really need.

well if i were u wat i do iswrite a routine out and try and get into it like wake up hover then feed ur daughter then just do whateva needs t be do hop u find a way

I’ve adopted the “Clean Sweep” (TLC show…I never see it on anymore, but it was good) method of de-cluttering. We choose a room (usually my daughter’s room or our bedroom) and basically empty it out into the living room, but it gets organized into 3 different piles: Keep, Throw, Sell (or sometimes Donate). Keep items will go back into the room in an organized fashion. I love those clear plastic shoebox size totes, we use them for all kinds of things. Clothes get purged seasonally so we normally don’t have to worry about that. Anything that gets thrown out goes directly to the trash bin, no more discussions. Everything to be sold or donated gets boxed up & (this is the important part) CLEARLY LABELED before being put in the garage so that come yard sale or donation time there is no confusion about what’s going.
In addition, when it comes to decorations & even seasonal items like toys & books, those get put away in color coded plastic tubs.
Pink or all red = Valentine’s Day
Light green = St. Patrick’s Day
Purple = Easter
Blue = Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day
Orange w/ black lids = Halloween/Fall
Brown = Thanksgiving
Dark green w/ red lids = Christmas
Seasonal clothing is also stored in plastic tubs, but we prefer to use clear tubs so that you can see what’s in them.
All of these tubs are stored in the basement, lined up against the wall. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, you could easily build a set of shelves deep enough to fit the tubs (fun weekend project for you and your daughter if you feel up to it or have a handy friend).
The other trick is when cleaning a room, stay concentrated on that one room by having boxes or baskets handy to put stuff in that should go into another room. This way you stay in the same room until your done cleaning and you don’t feel like your cleaning the living room, only to take something to the laundry room or your bedroom and start cleaning in there. Trust me, I used to wonder why it took me all weekend to clean the house. Then I realized that it took that long because I’d get distracted mid-project and start something else. Now I just grab a stack of boxes & a trash can I keep in the closet specifically for this and toss stuff in, even if its dirty dishes, they have their own box. Now I can clean the whole house, including dusting & vacuuming in about 4 hours. Oh and speaking of dusting, your daughter is old enough now, you can put a pair of old socks on her hands and have her dust all the stuff on the lower shelves and she’ll still think its a fun game.