Organizing tips and thoughts...

[ree-Xi]

I was going to recommend the Fly Lady.

For de-cluttering and heavy cleaning, the only thing that has worked for me is to do one room/thing at a time. For example, do your pile of bills until it's done. Then move onto the closet with the door that won't shut. And so on and so on. Starting and finishing one thing can be so liberating, especially if you've been staring at messes all over the place. Plus, you get a great sense of accomplishment and motivation to move on to the next "thing".

[LouisaMay]

Thanks for all the great ideas. I'm not giving up on the Fly Lady, but I do need to put in some other tactics as well. Right now, the biggest problem is laundry, but dishes and paper are major challenges for me as well.

[33girl]

I'll come and take care of the laundry. In all seriousness, it's the household chore I actually like doing. You do it and then have a clean stack of clothes to show you accomplished something, and it's done for a while. As opposed to dusting which you could do every day and still never be done.

[FleurGirl]

Originally Posted by LouisaMay

Thanks for all the great ideas. I'm not giving up on the Fly Lady, but I do need to put in some other tactics as well. Right now, the biggest problem is laundry, but dishes and paper are major challenges for me as well.

I've found it helpful to declare a weekly laundry day. I suppose with a family it would need to be twice a week, but it's still the same principle. Then you just have to make yourself do it. Even if it's the middle of the night. I usually wash it and then let it go in the dryer and go to bed, then I put it away the next morning while I'm getting ready.

[RaggedyAnn]

Originally Posted by LouisaMay

Thanks for all the great ideas. I'm not giving up on the Fly Lady, but I do need to put in some other tactics as well. Right now, the biggest problem is laundry, but dishes and paper are major challenges for me as well.

If you haven't got a laundry organizer, I highly recommend one or two with the size of the family. You can get them at places like Walmart for around $15/$20. I recommend one that looks like this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Whitmor-PV...heels/10574535. Yes, it's not as pretty as the others, but one mesh bag=one load of laundry. It's all sorted and easy to bring to wherever your machine is (mine is in the basement) and you don't have to bend over to retrieve the clothes. Just pull out the bag and dump! Believe it or not, Andy was the one who introduced this to me 12 years ago.

I also recommend the one day dedicated to laundry. I set the stove timer for an hour every time I come upstairs to remind myself to get the next load in and take care of other chores along the way. Now, I don't know how that will work when the little one arrives, however. I am still green in that department.