AboutJan Hayner Expertise I can answer any questions on Home organizing, file and paper management, organizing for parents, kids, senior citizens and on housekeeping and cleaning solutions.
Experience I have been a Professional Organizer for 9 years, I am considered an expert in my field on the internet and have written several informational books on organizing.
Organizations I am an active member of Faithful Organizers (An International Association of Christian based Professional Organizers, a past member of NAPO (the National Association of Professional Organizers)a member of an association called Women in Management, a member of Money Smart Wisconsin-Sheboygan and was a business owner for over 25 years.
Education/Credentials A high school graduated a the rest of my learning capablilities came from making a lot of mistakes in my lifetime and learning from all of them.
Question Hello, I'm a working mom. I come from office at 6:00pm.I have a home that I always feel is not properly Organized. I want to have a regular schedule to keep up with all the chores and keep my home clean. When i see the rooms (when they are not organized) i get this rush inside me to fix all the rooms immediately. But unfortunately i will have other stuff to do like cooking etc for that day. I think of doing them in the weekends, but after a week of working in the office i feel like relaxing ( watch TV or movie ).My another problem is I keep on postponing things. I need a daily schedule and a weekend schedule to organize my home. I have a 4 bedroom house. Please help me to organize my house room by room. By the way did i tell i have a 4 year old son.
Answer Hi Kiran;
You sure do have a work load and I can see why you want to relax on the weekend. There are tons of sites on the Internet that will give you clues as to how to start organizing and how to organize specific rooms. However, before you start any of that, you have to organize your mind.
Sound kind of dumb, right? But it is true!
First of all, you have to decide to what extent, that you will be satisfied, with your organizing goal. Do you want to just have everything neat and tidy and easy to find? OR, do you want to have everything neat, tidy, easy to find and in fancy organizing containers? Do you want to repaint and give the room a 100% 'NEW' look or are you content with the room itself, just the clutter that it holds.
Then, you have to get used to the fact, that your time is minimal, if you still want to have time to relax, spend time with your four year old and unwind from a day of working. Therefore, you have to take things down to a simple and easy to handle goal. Which basically means, that you are only going to tackle one room at a time and one project at a time. Remember, it didn't get this way overnight and it isn't going to go away that fast either; at least not if you are going to do a good job and be able to keep it looking that way.
Next, pick the area that bothers you the most and make a list of all of the things that you would like to change about that room. List them one by one, such as: Bedroom 1, organize dresser drawers, clean and organize closet, take clutter out of the room, figure out how to organize my shoes etc.
Now, you have a starting point and a goal. You know what room you are going to tackle first, what areas need help and what you want to do about them. Now, figure out if you want to purchase organizing storage containers or if you want to start out using cardboard boxes.
I always opt for the cardboard boxes. It is hard to tell what amount of room that you are going to need to store specific items.
As you are organizing, you are also going through things and getting rid of what doesn't fit, what you don't really use, what is taking up excess space and how much you really plan on keeping. By using the cardboard box method, you can change the container according to the size you need, until you get to the end result, then purchase the fancy organizing container. You can decorate the cardboard boxes with Contac paper to match the room and then label it and it will look very nice.
Half of the job of 'organizing' is preparing how, what and where you are going to organize. It is like painting, if you clean and prepare the walls, your paint job will look more professional and is easier to maintain!
Use these keywords to look up organizing sites and you will have some of the best answers to your questions; home organizing, home organizing tips, organizing tips and hints and organizing my life.
You may even find my site filled with tips, hints and checklists at www.organizingyourlifetheeasyway.com. There are many of my fellow organizers that also have excellent tips for each room of your home.
