January is “Get Organized” month

Actually, anytime is a great time for becoming organized and it fits really well with your spring and fall house cleaning.

There are many benefits to becoming organized.

Make or get a Family Planner and start to use it. You will be surprised at how much better you and your family are prepared for coming events and how few, if any, appointments and birthday cards are missed. Tip: Schedule your daily chores as well to let everyone help.

To make a family Planner go to Microsoft Outlook or OpenSource.com and print out their full size calendar pages

Place a piece of furniture or shelving right by the door that is used most often for the family coming and going.

Drop your car and house key in a basket there when arriving so that when you leave again, these items are readily available. It is also a great place for the new cloth shopping bags so you will not forget them when leaving for shopping. A Bulletin Board fits in here nicely if it works in with your space and ambience. School lunches placed there in the morning, brief cases, library books that are due to be returned, outgoing mail and so on, will remind ALL the family of little chores which are waiting to be done.

Keep an inventory of what is in your freezer.

Whether you follow the Specials, do regular weekly shopping or buy in bulk your freezer can quickly become a quiz of "What is in there?". Containers for freezers can also help you keep the contents sorted, to avoid uncomfortable shifting of goods.

This is a perfect time to discuss "left-overs". Use sandwich plastic bags and make one-serving portions. Then rebag these one-serving portions, of like kind, into a freezer bag. Label and date the freezer bags. Now you can take Friday Nights off from cooking. Use the microwave oven to reheat. Everyone can mix and match what they would like to eat from the left-overs. What does not get used within 2 months turn into soup. Use your fridge freezer for left-overs and the regular freezer for the rest of your goods. You will save a whack of money doing this.

Organize your children’s rooms by:

1. Have the child in question take part in the organization.
2. Consult with your child to determine what they think could be improved.
3. Take into account their height. Adjust yourself to approximately their height and take a look around. From where you are in your adjusted position, can you reach the hanger bar? Can you close the sliding closet door without pinching your fingers? Can you reach the top of a dresser without aid?
4. Consider the size of the room. If it is small is there enough room for what is considered necessary for their room? Are their drawers crammed full as well as their closets?
5. Do they have room for out–of–season sports gear?
6. Review their clothing with the child. Sort out what fits. Do an inventory to determine if they have too much or what needs replacement.
7. Use a container for their toys with small containers holding the little parts. If a child can read they can label each container. This makes them take possession of the activity and will encourage them to maintain the tidiness.
8. Add some shelves so they will have a place to put their books, homework and prize possessions.
9. Praise them for trying to keep their rooms tidy.

If you don't wait for January, rather do a major clean up at least monthly, you will find your home generally very organized generating less stress on you and your family. It makes for a happy home.