Simple Living

It has always been my opinion that the clutter around us reflects how our mind works. Living in a country where a househelp is almost always readily available, organizing my household is not much of a daunting task. The problem crops up when my househelp goes on vacation or leaves for good, then, I will have to find a replacement.

Being a working mom, and having three kids have always been a challenge when it comes to trying to accomplish these tasks. It's a good thing that my two eldest kids can already do basic chores, like washing the dishes, or cleaning the dining table, or fixing their beds, although during school days, I don't normally require them to do these chores because I want them to concentrate on their studies. But their Dad keeps on telling me that they should have a regular schedule wherein they can do their share of the household chores, even as simple as fixing their beds. So, we made a compromise, I gave the kids their fixed duties every Saturday.

During the times when I am in-between househelp, or when she is on day-off, or on-vacation, I always look at my household in a fresh mode. I rearrange things, dispose worn-out toys, try to find long-lost keys or small knick-knacks. But believe me, I am a sentimental freak, I keep in a box my kids' first shoes, a set of baby dress, a set of preschool uniform, school costumes. I find it comforting to look into this box and see that they were once little people, and be amazed at how they've grown! As with my experience in throwing out worn out toys, or giving them away, I always do these when my kids are not around, because doing it otherwise would start a pointless argument on what they can keep and what they can give away. I've learned through the years that if I let them do that, I end up with not giving away anything at all!

I believe that we can make our lives easier by eliminating or minimizing some of the tasks that contribute to the clutter in our household. And this is over and beyond whether we have available househelp or none. Some of these might be:

Organizer

There are lots of free printable household checklists and organizer in the internet. You can develop your own by making your own checklists or getting them from the Net. You can put this in a three-ring binder, so that you can easily add/remove pages as you go along. The basic contents of an organizer will be: calendar, to-do list, weekly menu, medical records, bills, school records, school activities, holiday plans, vacation plans. The possibilities are endless, but you wouldn't want to make it very complicated that maintaining it will be a big chore in itself. Just start on the basic, and when you get the hang of it, just add more pages according to your own family's need. Just be sure that all the members of your family are aware of this, because this is a living organizer, meaning, this wouldn't work if you will be the only one to use it. Teach your husband to add his personal activities or personal schedule in the family calendar, the same way with each of your kids. This way, when you have to plan for a vacation or a dinner out, or anything, you will have something to refer to, and would know that this day or that date is not free because you already have a set activity for that.

Throw it Away

Instead of trying to find items on your desk, which are "supposed to be there", why not spend your time and energy in organizing your desk, so that later, you wouldn't have to worry about being late for your work just because you couldn't find the “field trip reply slip” that your child gave you the previous day? Set aside at least 3 hours of your time, depending on the clutter on your desk, and vow to throw in the trash the files that you haven't even looked at for the past 3 months.

For the longest time, I had a cabinet full of my kids' school test papers, quizzes, projects, old notebooks, old books, and then, I suddenly realized I've run out of space! That was when I made a serious effort of throwing away most of their school papers. I said most, because, I still couldn't bring myself to throw everything! But at least, I've started it!

Give it Away

If you are like me, you would also have a cabinet full of your kids' old clothes, old shoes, old toys. But now, I've learned to sort out everything and identify those that I can give to my cousins with little kids, and those that I can give to the church or to charitable institutions. Aside from freeing your cabinet, you will also have a nice feeling of being able to give something to others.

Put out 3 boxes and label them as: For Keeping, For Giving Away, For Trash. Go through your cabinets and identify those that can be categorized to each of these boxes.

File Away

You should be able to find the files that you need within 60 seconds, otherwise, consider your current filing system as inefficient! Label your folders correctly and organize them in a filing cabinet.

At the end of the day

Spend the last 15 minutes of your day getting organized. It will help you keep your commitment to a clutter-free life. File away what's on your desk that you wouldn't need for the next day. Put everything back to where they belong. And don't forget to make a "To Do" list for your tasks for the following day.