Staying organized

[MizzCheryl]

How do you stay organized?

Does everything have a place?

Do you have meals prepared in advance?

How do you keep your home and daycare from becoming a cluttered mess??

Do you have cleaning routines?

any tips would be great. We all know there is so much to keeping up a home and a daycare and it seems there is never enough space. How do you manage?

[Lianne]

I'm fairly organized. Everything has it's place in my house. Granted, I live alone so I'm the only one who makes a mess, besides the daycare kids. Every night before I go to bed, I make sure the dishes are washed and the house is tidy. Anything out of place is put back where it belongs. I wake up in the morning earlier than I need to be so I have time to make my bed and do a chore (throw a load of laundry in, wipe down the washroom, sweep a floor), then I sit and have a cup of coffee and breakfast. I finish getting ready for the day's activity or do another chore while waiting for the kids to arrive. During the day, I tidy as we go as much as I can and I do housework while the kids are here, too. Once they leave, I sit in absolute silence for 30mins before I start my dinner and relax , again making sure dishes are washed and house is tidied before going to bed.

Because it's just me eating, I choose three meals each week that I feel like making. I don't decide which meal I'll make on which day until the day arrives then I choose based on my mood. If I'm not making a cooked meal then I have left overs from the night before or make something easy like grilled cheese and soup. The daycare kids get served what I've decided to make the night before or whatever I feel like making at the moment.

No cleaning routines although my laundry usually needs to be done on a Monday. Making my bed each morning really seems to motivate me to keep the rest of the house tidy/clean.

[MarinaVanessa]

How do you stay organized?
I use bins to keep all of my toys sorted and keep up with the house chores regularly. I also clean a lot during the day while the DCK's do free play.

Does everything have a place?
Yes, I have a small space so everything goes in a specific cabinet, drawer, closet, shelf etc. If it doesn't fit then it's time to clean out the storage and get rid of unused/rarely used items.

Do you have meals prepared in advance?
Most of the time. Usually whatever my family has for dinner is made in excess so that I can box it up and serve it for lunch to the DCK's the next day. Lunch is the meal that takes me the longest to make so it really cuts down on my cooking.preparing time.

How do you keep your home and daycare from becoming a cluttered mess??
By maintaining it throughout the day. I clean up messes throughout the day as they occur and the DC kids help me do it. If someone spills their milk for example they help wipe it up (and actually like it), they also help clean up their own plates and cups and set them on the counter as they finish up and I immediately wash the dishes. I also keep messes from happening at home before they become a problem ... for instance I know that my DD will make a huge mess upstairs in her room of she's left up there on her own so she's not allowed upstairs without an adult being up there with her. A lot of it is prevention.

Do you have cleaning routines?
Yes. I have a multi-page excel sheet that I made some time ago that helps me keep track of my daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, bi-yearly, yearly and seasonal household chores. I keep it on my fridge inside of plastic sheet protectors and use a wet-erase marker to mark them as I go.

any tips would be great.
I really recommend The Fly Lady http://flylady.net/. That's how I got my excel sheet started. Because of the Fly Lady my household cleaning only takes me an extra 15-30 minutes a day after DC (while maintaining the mess during the day).

We all know there is so much to keeping up a home and a daycare and it seems there is never enough space. How do you manage?
By maintaining the mess during the day and holding several clean-up times each day. I also get a lot of help from my DD and my DH. I take care of the DC chores but DD has her own chores (take out the trash, dust etc) and DH helps with laundry (I wash and fold, he puts away) and cooking. That saves me a lot of time that I can use doing other chores that when get done often don't become a big chore later (baseboards, fixtures, walls, oven etc)

[3girls]

I clean throughout the day and my own children help out.

I plan meals by the month and do prep them the night before. I teach the children to put their plate in the dishwasher right after meals and help with wiping the table and stuff in the kitchen.

Only daycare toys are allowed out during daycare time and my own children have to keep their toys in their own rooms.

I only have one shelf full of daycare toys and a dress up center, plus two bookshelves and a craft shelf. I store other supplies on shelves in the laundry room (clutter stresses me out ) and 9 times out of 10 if you walked in my house it would not look like daycare.

[MizzCheryl]

I am a flybaby too. but I am not a Born Organizer!!!!!!!!!!