Radical Life Organizing

Organizing has become the new chic cause of late. Everywhere you look, there are cute little boxes meant for papers, lovely fabric covered files to store magazines, high tech looking wire baskets for mittens.

Isn't this missing the true reason to organize?  

Isn't all of this causing more clutter in your home?

When did organizing simply for the sake of organizing become in?

10 Best Organizing Tips for Toys

The toys. The playroom. The bane of our existence. On one hand you want it to be neat & orderly, on the other hand you want the kids to be free to "express" themselves in there. What to do?

Don't worry - with just a bit of planning both can happen. 

So - without fanfare - here's my list of the

10 BEST ORGANIZING TIPS FOR TOYS
 taa daa ( well, maybe a little bit of fanfare!)

1. Install an entire wall of cubbies. Shelves will work, but cubbies work better. Easy & cheap wire cubbies, the kind you can get at Costco or any big box store. They come in flat square grids, you bang them together with a rubber mallet. And you can do it yourself without any help. Buy as many as you think you will need, then buy more. The goal is to get an entire wall covered, floor to ceiling. The beauty of these is that they are easy to move around - and collect NO DUST! 
2. Big toys - put one in each cubbie. If you want to really go all out, take a photo of the toy, punch holes in the photo & use paperclips to hang the picture on the cubbie. This way your kids and any guests know where everything goes.
3. As the kids get older, swap out the photos with names of the toys. Helps foster reading skills.
4. Small toys - put like with like. A plastic bin of blocks, a plastic bin of people. Put one bin per cubbie, and be sure the bin fills up the entire cubbie. Ikea makes some good sized  ones.
5. Get a large wood box for big, awkward things, like Nerf guns. Then put wheels on the bottom of the box so it can be easily rolled out of the way. Ikea again for this one. 



See the wheels on the bottom?

6. If you have a closet, install laundry baskets in there like this for large sets like trains, race cars, etc. (Can you tell I have all boys?)  



There are 4 baskets in the closet.

7. If you have too many toys and not enough cubbies - rotate the toys. Pack up whatever doesn't fit, put into deep storage, and 6 months from now bring them out. It will be like Christmas all over again for your kids. Put the previously stored toys out, pack the old ones up into deep storage. There's no reason that all the toys need to be out at the same time.
8. Get a drop leaf table for when you need table space for puzzles, etc. Fold it up when you need it, fold it down when you don't.
9. Get a tall laundry basket, box, something that you can put stick type toys into - hobby horses, extra long Nerf guns, swords etc. into. Put this in a corner so it's easily accessible, but out of the way.
10. Decorate with your kids art work. Paint funky frames directly on the walls at all different angles, and tape your kids art work inside. Looks great, easy to swap in new pieces, cheap, easy to paint over once the playroom morphs into something else.  click here for more info



The red jagged line & black dashes are painted on the wall. The green & red & white strips are the artwork. It says Tommy in some funky way.

Make it easy for the kids to use, and easy to put things away and you all win!

And if you want to see some of my book now - get a free sample here.......no obligation, just click, enter your email, hit send and voila - free tips for your kitchen. And I won't bug you. I promise. freesample@organizingwithevelyn.com

 be organized.....evelyn

The Single Best Way To Recharge Your Batteries Before the Holidays Hit!

It is an absolutely GORGEOUS day outside today. The sun is peeking through the clouds, and the leaves are spiraling down from the trees.

The view out my front door!

School has been is session for awhile now, time to get back on track with having your needs fulfilled. 

You Need A Nest

The weather is turning brisker, the days are getting shorter - time to nest.

No - not the type of nesting you feel compelled to do right before you have a baby. In my world, those days are long gone. This is nesting for you.

Why When Your Child Says No, It's A Good Thing

This isn't covered in parenting books. Moms don't talk about it at play dates.

You need to teach your child to say no.

No, they don't want to sign up for yet another after school activity.
No they don't want to go to a friend's house after school.
No they don't want to drink/do drugs/hang out at the playground at night.

It all starts when they are young.

The One Sure Fire Way To Drive Yourself Crazy!

I have had it. I'm done with doing everything at the same time and expected to do all of it well. I am not Wonder Woman. I am not Super Girl. I am mortal. And mortals were designed to do one thing at a time.

And that's why I refuse to multi task anymore. And so should you.

Doing too much all at the same time is turning my brain to mush.  And robbing me of the joy of completion. And making me feel like I'm getting nothing done. And making me tired. And you?

I'm pretty sure I do accomplish something, but since I'm always doing other things AT THE SAME TIME I feel like I'm always behind. And that gets old fast. How about you?

When was the last time you felt the gratification of a job well done?

When was the last time you felt in control?

Time to take back your life.

For now on, if I'm making dinner, I'm only making dinner.

If I'm helping with homework, I'm only helping with homework.

If I'm reading, I'm only reading.

Studies show that multi-tasking is bad for your memory too. (Click here to read the article.)

So - make your life simple. Do only one thing at a time. The world will not spin off its axis. Your family will not move out. Life will continue.

Try it just for one day. See how you feel. You can thank me later.....

 be organized.....evelyn

Sometimes You Just Have To Break The Mom Rules....

It was that kind of morning in my house. no one wanted to rise & shine, but life said we had to. I was up a bit late reading, so when my alarm went off, I snuggled down deeper into the covers.

http://www.hersheys.com/pure-recipes/184/HERSHEY'S

And it was a brisk morning.

And the heat's not on yet.

And it was still dark outside.

Hence, it was hard to get up.

And I've yet to figure out why when I'm the one who works from home (http://www.artadventuresartstudio.com,) I'm the first one up.

And if I'm not up, I'm pretty sure no one would be up.

Is it like that in your house? Why is the mom

The 4 Reasons You Should Leave Your Cell Phone at Home

Remember a time when cell phones didn't exist?

It was a quieter time, a gentler time.

A time when you could be unreachable.

friend or foe?

It's time to return to that time. For your own sanity. At least a little bit.

Now I'm not suggesting that cell phones don't have their place. They are a very useful organizing tool. But that's all they are. A tool. They are not your new best friend. So people,