“How to Add a 'Spoonful of Sugar' to Get the Daily Tasks Done"

Do you have dishes to do?  Laundry to fold?  Toys to pick up?   So do I!  I have learned that I can't do it all!  There is no way that I can keep my house clean without help from my family.  On the Power of Mom's website today is one of my favorite articles that I have written about how to get your kids to help with daily cleaning tasks.

While we are talking about houses I wanted to mention that I am so excited with some of the current projects happening at our house!  Before Christmas we always have a "Pre- Christmas Clean Out."  It is a major deep clean where we try to get rid of as many things as we can to make room for all the new toys that we will get.  I wrote our clean out plan on our chalkboard (all the ideas are from "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.")

Chalkboard

 Our oldest girls got new beds and bedding for Christmas!  We are having fun re-decorating!  

For Christmas I got a new shower curtain and rugs for the upstairs bathroom!

 We are enjoying our cleaned out rooms!  

My girls are organization experts :)  

Featured

I was excited to have one of my articles featured in the Deseret News:

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up- Book Review

I recently finished reading this book.  

I am glad that I read it.  I have given away many garbage bags full of stuff to Goodwill,  I have thrown out garbage bags full of papers, my drawers have never looked better!  This book really motivated me to look at what I own in a new way.    

The most valuable lesson I learned from Marie Kondo is: 

Only Keep What Brings You Joy  

I would recommend this book, but I would first warn you that she is is an organizing expert from Japan and not all of her practices will apply to American families (especially big American families).  

I would also like you to know that I don't talk to my belongings :)  You will understand if you read the book!  

Overall, I am glad that I read about her method of decluttering and organizing!  

Loads of Laundry

This post is dedicated to my 

friend Natalie who asked me 

to post about laundry a long time ago!   

Laundry, laundry… it never ends.  May I confess that I don't love laundry?  We have a lot of it and we stay pretty well on top of it because I have a secret weapon… my husband.  Years ago when all of our kids were too tiny to help he offered to take over the laundry for a few months each time we had a new baby. (It was a great deal!)  He is super organized and thinks of great processes of how to work efficiently, thus, our laundry system was born.   Here is how we handle all the dirty clothes:


All dirty laundry that is removed is placed in one of three bins:

Always Sorted!

White, light, or dark.  There are only 3 dirty laundry bins in the entire house and they are all lined up, it has been that way for years (many years, like 10+).   When kids get out of the bath or shower upstairs or down they come and drop dirty clothes in the bins.  The little kids of course need reminding or help.  This helps so much, because I never have to collect or sort clothes! 

(*note: at our house this works because it is a habit.  If your family is currently in the habit of throwing dirty laundry on the floor or in the closet it will take time to break that habit! Be patient and persistent.)


Load a Day

I try to do about one load per day.  (The exception is when we have a potty training child, and then the laundry never ends!).  I fold clothes and leave them in piles on my bed and have the kids take their piles after school to their own rooms to be put away. If I fold laundry after they are in bed I leave their pile by the door so that they can put it away the next morning.  Doing one load a day ensures that we all have clean underwear and socks, but we have a lot more laundry than one load a day.  The fact is that somedays are busy and slide by without a load of laundry getting done.  

Plan to Have a Catch Up Day

In the past:  Saturday has been a big laundry day at our house.  I usually would direct the kids in Saturday work while my husband collects all the towels that need to be washed.  Saturday is the day that we make sure our laundry bins are empty and that all our towels are clean.  Part of the kids Saturday work is to help with laundry, so we all help fold or hang.  

This systems has worked quite well, but my husband continues to get busier and busier at work and church so I have had to adjust to getting more done durning the week.  I now have Thursday as my big laundry day to make sure bins are empty and all towels are clean.  The kids come home from school and help fold their own clothes and put them away.  

I usually do bedding on a Tuesday or Thursday during the week.  Most of our kids take a bath or shower every night before bed, so I don't feel it is necessary to wash their sheets every week since they always get in bed clean.  I usually wash one room's sheets each week.  

Our laundry room is small, but it works. I think the key is to stay on top of the clean clothes and make sure that they are folded shortly after they are finished in the dryer.  

  
Everyone happily helps with laundry :)  

Favorite Products

If I am going to all the work to have clean clothes I want them to smell clean.  I prefer Gain.  There are two different scents at Sam's Club.  I like to switch it up occasionally so that we notice the fresh smell!  Bounce works for a fabric softener.  

Oxi Clean Max Force Gel Stick is a product that we love!  I can't tell you how many white and light pink shirts this stuff has saved.  When the kids have had an extra messy day with spaghetti sauce, ketchup, or watermelon we stain stick their clothes before we throw them in the hamper and this stuff works!   

Less is More!

Most people can reduce most of their laundry problems by reducing the amount of clothes you own.  You don't believe me?  Try it!  Here are some of the benefits to having less clothes:

-It is easier to put your clothes in your drawer or hang in your closet because it isn't over stuffed.  

-If you only have what you like in your closet you spend less time trying on multiple outfits (I have kids that will try on an outfit and throw it in the hamper so that they don't have to put it away!).  

For little kids our rule is 10 outfits.  (if they have 11 shirts that is close enough :)  

Here are pictures of our 4 year old's 10 outfits.  I roll her outfits together so that she can get dressed herself in the morning.  

My general rule for little kids is:
-10 outfits
-3 pairs of pajamas
-1 coat
-a few cardigans or sweaters for girls
-a sweat shirt
-swimming suit

(I am not a total stickler, if they get a new shirt for their birthday they can have more than 10 :)

Bigger kids:
-At least 5 pairs of pants or shorts (depends on the season)
-Around 10 shirts
-3 pairs of pajamas
-1 coat
-a few cardigans or sweaters for girls
-a sweat shirt
-swimming suit
(of course older girls have vests, scarves, cardigans. . . )       

Church clothes for everyone: Girls at least 4 dresses, boys have a suit and khaki pants with a sweater vest so that they can switch off each week.  The boys usually have a long sleeve and short sleeve white shirt. 

FYI:  for kids over the age of 6 we fold pants but hang all their shirts.  

I cleaned out my closet this week and only kept things that I love.  (I thought my closet was pretty clean and organized, but I filled two and a half garbage bags of clothes for Goodwill.) The best part is that I feel like I have more to wear!  I don't have to sort through the stuff that I don't really like!  

Chores!

Chores Part 1 from Tasha Bradshaw on Vimeo.




Chores Part 2 from Tasha Bradshaw on Vimeo.

*I said in the video that the first chore we give our kids is to unload the dishwasher, I meant to say help with the unloading the silverware!  :)

A friend of mine asked me what we do about chores.  We have done a variety of different ideas over the years and ages.  Overall the ideas that really work are:

Daily Chores

1.  Be Consistent!

2.  Make sure they know what you expect and how you want it done!

3.  Start Young.  Our kids officially get chores when they are 3.  They help pick up their toys and rooms before that.  Their first chore is usually to help unload the silverware.

I have a list of what needs to be done each day at home.  (It is taken from Daryl Hoole's book, "The Art of Homemaking Today") It is my favorite book.

Daily
make beds
prepare and serve meals
clean up and sweep kitchen
spot-clean bath fixtures, mirrors, and floors
pick up throughout house
empty wastebaskets
wash and fold clothes
remove snow in season

I look at the list and ask myself what the kids are capable of helping with on the list and what would help us to get a great start on the day.  

Here are some of the chores at our house:

Unload the dishwasher (I start it every night so that it is ready in the morning)
Unload the silverware
Get snacks and water bottles (the school kids have to take a snack everyday)
Empty trash cans from bathrooms and office into the large kitchen trash
Bathroom wipe down (using clorox cleaning wipes clean bathrooms sinks and toilets)
Help the 4 year old make her bed 

We don't rotate chores, because I assign chores based on ability.  Every several months we  re-evaluate and change things up.  (in the summer we don't need a daily snack person, so we think of a new needed chore)

The rule at our house is that you have to do chores and make your bed before school or you  get 3 extra chores after school.  They are usually really good at getting it done in the morning!  

Saturday Work

I again use the weekly list from Daryl Hoole's book to evaluate what the kids can help with on Saturday jobs:

Weekly
clean bathrooms
change bed and bath linens
remove fingerprints
damp-mop hard floors
dust furniture
vacuum floors
carry out trash
iron and mend
plan weekly menu and grocery shop
water indoor plants
mow and edge lawn in season
tend garden in season
rake leaves in season
sweep porches and steps

I will send a link with examples of our Saturday work. http://www.organizeddinner.blogspot.com/2012/06/saturday-work.html

 It talks about "treasure boxes" on the Saturday work list.  Treasure boxes are rubbermaid containers that each child has for their personal treasures (i.e. junk mom would probably throw away!)  That is their special place for anything they want.  Some kids keep McDonald's toys and tons of art projects that they have made.  The only rule is that the lid must fit on!  It is a great solution to giving them space to do what they want and keeping their rooms uncluttered and organized like I want!  

Chore Motivation and Charts

Right now we are in a pretty good grove and the kids are all quick to get done what they need to.  In the past we have used fake dollar bills and they get "paid" for doing their chores.  They used their fake money to buy screen time or special dates with mom and dad. We have used charts to mark.  We have also used the online App called  My Job Chart to mark of their responsibilities.  

Cut the Clutter

I originally wrote this on February 20, 2008 on my personal blog, it is a cute story that illustrates that we hang onto items that we think should be valuable and we sacrafice time and space to keep these useless items :)  

One of my favorite topics to discuss is home organization. This week I went to the website of a woman who is a professional organizer. The title on the top of her website read, “Get Organized Once and For All.” I couldn’t help but laugh! “Once and for all,” if only it were that easy—do it once and you are done! This woman obviously doesn’t have elementary age children that come home from school with a back pack full of papers every afternoon. What about the preschooler who colors hundreds pictures and insists on keeping each “work of art.” I won’t even mention the things that we accumulate on Birthdays and Holidays! Needless to say organization for me is a daily battle. Perhaps that is why I enjoy learning and talking about it because it is something I focus on every day.

My years of marriage and motherhood have taught me the need to be organized and I believe organization starts by cutting out the clutter.  I must say that Justin has been very patient in my process of learning! Perhaps a story will illustrate his patients.

The Saga of the Blue Dishes

When we were married I accumulated a set of blue and white dishes that my mom, and sisters and I had found while living in Richmond, VA. There was a complete 12 place setting including everything from cups, saucers to matching serving bowls. With all the dishes wrapped and packed into boxes it took up a lot of space! Nevertheless, I love formal dinners and knew that I should haul the many boxes of blue dishes all the way to Ohio to keep in our first apartment. (I really should mention that I don’t like blue, I am a green person. I had the dishes because they were a great opportunity and not because I was in love with them. They were sentimental because they were from Virginia.) Imagine our tiny little two bedroom apartment cramped for space and I have Justin moving box after box of blue dishes into the only large closet in the house. . . .and then they sat. We didn’t even use them one time in that house, or the next, or the next, or the next, or the next. Yes, it took 5 moves and 5 years of marriage for me to come to my senses! I finally gave them to my mom who has 12 people to serve and enough room to keep them. The moral of the story is that those blue dishes took our time and space. The result of less stuff is freed-up space, less stress, and more energy for living a happier, richer life every day.

Oh, so many lesson can be learned from that one simple story about storing too much.  

Emotionally I think we save so many things because they "should be valuable" or "have so many memories" or "we love the person that gave it."  At some point we need to realize we can still keep our memories and loose the junk!  

I believe that this lesson also applies to many objects that take our time and space.  I am an art person, I spent hours drawing and coloring as a child.  Now I love to see what our kids create, but I have also learned that most of the value is in the learning and doing.  Throwing a picture away doesn't mean that it isn't amazing, we get to keep to knowledge we learned from creating the picture and the joy from accomplishing it.  I love to take pictures of my kids artwork.  Each child has a file on our computer of pictures and projects that they have done.  I also keep the very best works of art.  With less stuff there is more room to create.  

I think we all need to look through our houses and find our own, "blue dishes!"

Keeping Life Organized and Staying on top of Paperwork

from Tasha Bradshaw on Vimeo.


If you have ever felt completely overwhelmed and buried in paperwork this video shows what I do to stay on top of papers at our house.  


P.S. I learned so much from the "Mind Organization for Moms" program from Power of Moms, the video has several references to what they teach in that program.

Building a Wardrobe that Works

At one point after having four children, I had so many clothes that they couldn't fit in my half of the closet so they overflowed into the babies room closet.  Ironically, even with all of the clothes I owned there were several items that I wore just because I owned them, not because I liked them.  I had several random styles of shoes and several things in my closet they were a little small or big, but I was sure that I would need them in the future.  With the abundance of clothes I felt like I had nothing to wear and nothing that I really liked to wear!  

I decided to build a wardrobe that works.  In the book, "It's All Too Much,"  oranizational expert Peter Walsh says,

"We wear 20 percent of our clothes 80 percent of the time.  Shocking but true!  Many of the clothes in your closets are either never worn or worn so seldom that you would barely notice if they disappeared.  In my experience, there is no such thing as a closet without some clothing that was bought on an impulse, hardly worn (if at all!), and which now has a fine coating of dust.  True?  If you recognize yourself here, then you really don't need me to tell you what needs to be done."  

I wanted clothes that cordinate and acessories that really make the oufit look great.  I didn't want to keep wearing plain colored shirts and jeans; because I didnt have thousands of dollars to redo my wardrobe it has been a process over a few years.   I have determined a few keys that make my wardrobe work for me: colors I like, styles that I prefer, key pieces that I need for a great foundation.  

Color:

The first step that I took to build a wardrobe that works was to determine what colors I liked to wear.  I looked through my closet and realized my favorite things to wear were bright bold colors (or hues: see below).  Even though I thought my pastel pink shirt was beautiful, when I wore it I felt washed out and looked tired.  I also realized that I prefer to wear black and white as my neutral colors.  I also realized I didn't really like to wear cream colored shirts.  On the other hand, my oldest daughter feels like the colors that I like to wear are too bold for her.  She builds her wardrobe around the soft colors (tones: see below).  She looks great in cream and grey as well as other neutrals.  

Slowly I started to weed out clothes that I didn't enjoy wearing and I started to purchase clothes in colors that I felt happy in.

I like this color chart because it shows that if we build our wardrobe from either the Tint, Tone, Shade, or Hue we are able to have clothes that will mix and match together.  I think it is also important to determine what neutral colors to build our wardrobe around.  

Style:

There are so many styles of clothes.  I started to pay attention to what I prefer to wear.  I love classic tailored pieces that  are more structured.  On the other hand, my daughter prefers soft flowy pieces with scarves and soft details.  It has been fun to understand what we prefer.  As we see new trends it is easier to understand if it is a trend we would like to embrace or if it is something we can do without.  

I have learned a lot about different styles and colors from Dressing Your Truth.  She has a fabulous system.  The Cartigan Empire also breaks down different styles that help determine what style of clothes you prefer (see lower left side bar on this site).  

Building a Great Foundation:

Buiding a great foundation for your wardrobe.  

1.  Start with neutral shirts to layer with:  

My favorite neutral colors are black and white.

Select two basic colored shirts to layer with.  Mine are raspberry and navy.

If you have a great outfit with a dingy white shirt underneath it really ruins the look.  Black can easily fad and look old and worn.  I try to make sure my black and white shirts look nice so that all the outfits that I pair them with look their best.  

The colored shirts are perfect for layering with a cardigan or sweater.  

(my layering shirts are from Old Navy and Downeast)

2. Pants (5-6 pairs)  I believe having a nice pairs of pants is an essential part of any wardrobe.  I don't have a lot of pants, but I have tried to select a variety that works well.  I have some skinny jeans and some bootcut jeans to add variety.  Having pants that fit makes a huge difference in how we feel durning the day.  I don't store pants that don't fit.  I just have what works now, I enjoy these pants and wear them out!  

Workout clothes

3.  Create Outfits
By purchasing clothes in similar color tones, similar style, and having great basics, I am able to have a wardrobe that will mix and match well.  The outfit possibilities are endless.  I decided that I prefer to have about 21 outfits they all come from the same 6 pairs of pants.

I print a picture or these outfits and keep it on my closet shelf so that I can quickly get dressed each morning.  

4. Buy Items that Coordinate

I buy items that will cordinate with several different pieces of clothing.  I got this royal blue pencil skirt (picture below) for my birthday.  It is a great addition to my wardrobe because so many of the shirts that I already own will easily coordinate with it.

If you are looking to buy a new skirt and it will require you to buy new shoes, a new necklace, and a new shirt to go with it, it probably isn't right for your wardrobe!   Look for something that works well and offers a variety of possibilities.

Our appearance has a tremendous effect on how we feel and how productive we are.  

My daughter's softer style

My daughter and I have enjoyed organizing our wardrobes together.

The result of wardrobe organization is:

1.  Our closets look amazing and organized!

2.  Everything in our closets fits and works for us! 

3.  It is so much more fun to get ready when you know of several great outfits that work!

4.  You feel better and work better when you are comfortable in your clothes and with who you are!

1 Simple Rule to Keep Kids Clothes Organized

Clothes are a major part of our homes.  We have to launder, hang, fold, pick up, store, and wear clothes on a daily basis.  When you think about it,  clothes take up a lot of our time!  With many children in our home we also have a lot of clothes. To keep our drawers from looking like this:

We have a simple rule that works wonders

Have less clothes :)  

We have found that we need to limit the amount of clothes that we have by selecting our top 10.

This is what we do for our youngest kids.  We select our top (about) 10 outfits.  My third son always seems to have a lot of clothes.  He gets hand-me downs from his two brothers and new clothes from Grandmas so he helps me pick his favorite outfits (what he will really wear).  Having less is really a magical key to being able to enjoy what you have.  Why not have everything in your closet something that you enjoy wearing and look nice in? Don't hang onto worn out items and clothes you don't like.  Clean out your closets! 

It is also important to have clothes that mix and match.  When shirts can go with several pants or shorts you have a greater variety of outfits with less items!