Learning to Organize

When I was a kid I was the one with the messy room.  I even had a friend who couldn't take it anymore and cleaned up my space for me...at least once.  I thought it was cool to live in a mess, to not listen to my sweet mom's pleadings to at least leave a path so she could look out my window which faced the street.  *sigh*  Now I am a mom myself and I can see in my toddler the seeds of messyness that plagued my childhood.  Time to nip it in the bud quick if I can!  Time for me to get organized!

My husband is so great at coming up with ideas to fix up our little house.  Now might be a good time to mention that we live in a single-wide on my parents' property, in a home that once belonged to my grandmother.  When we moved in it wasn't just "Where should we put stuff?" it was "How can we respectfully handle Grandma's things, move them out, and make this our space?"  There were a lot of emotions involved and it has often been my husband's job to remind me how little space we have and that the falling-apart-microwave-stand is not really as important as I think it is.

While I'm getting better at mommy things like writing grocery lists and making dinner every night I still need some help keeping clutter down.  I'm so easily overwhelmed by it.  Recently I read the book Organizing Plain & Simple by Donna Smallin and jotted down some notes.  (I am great at planning!)  A few of the points she makes throughout the book that have helped me so much are:
    1) Start on something small - don't tackle the whole house at once.
    2) Write down why you want to get organized so you stay motivated.
    2) Make a place for everything so you know where it goes.
Wow!  That doesn't sound so hard!  I want to stay organized to provide a good example to my son, to allow my husband and I more time to relax in the evenings when he gets home, and so I can put more time toward things I love like knitting and painting.  Now as I clean house I write down items that don't yet have a home.  After all, who really feels good about cleaning the house when all it means is you stuffed all the clutter into a drawer or cupboard?  And I've started organizing a few little things.

In a few weeks the Home Organization 101 14-Week Challenge begins and I will be taking part!  My husband is thrilled and I am excited to feel like a better stay at home mom.  Let the clean home come forth!