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the best advice you've received - Page 2

post #21 of 40
1/1/08 at 2:50pm
The two I've been trying to implement and am actually beginning to succeed at:

Don't put it down, put it away.

A place for everything and everything in its place.


The second one was a huge realization for me after hubby, girls and I spent a week really working on the house and realized there isn't a place for everything & that is why our house is always a mess.
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post #22 of 40
1/1/08 at 4:19pm
i read a book called "clear your clutter with feng shui" or some title similar to that. the author made a good point by telling a story. she had a crappy boyfriend. she had a small boombox. one day she and the guy were having an argument and the guy kicked her boombox. they broke up at some point after that, and the boombox still worked, it just had a small knob or something broken when the guy kicked it. but it still played music w no problem. but she reallized, quite a while after that, that every time she looked at the boombox, she saw the damage, felt irritated and sometimes even only subconsciously, she was reminded of the fight, the guy, the bad relationship, etc. She made this breakthrough and realized that looking at that boombox made her feel stuff she was sick of feeling. so she decided to give it away to her friend...it was only minor damage and the friend was thrilled to have something to play music on. and the author felt better b/c she could stop feeling the reminders of the stupid guy!~
there is another one that she tells and i can't quite recall it but it basically is a guy saying well, if someone steals my stereo, then i guess the universe needed it back-i'm not relaying it right, but i guess the whole point is that we only own things temporarily anyways, and we won't be taking it with us when we die, so we could get all freaked out about somebody stealing something (or if we got rid of stuff, etc) or we can go with the flow of the universe and say well, it was on loan, i guess the repo man came to get it!
post #23 of 40
1/1/08 at 4:41pm
yeah, that Dollyx!

:
post #24 of 40
1/1/08 at 4:46pm
For organizing:
"Make your systems work for you."
post #25 of 40
1/1/08 at 6:51pm
My 2 favorite pieces of advice:

If you haven't used it in the last 2 weeks it needs to go into storage, or it needs to be donated.

If you dont wear it (ie, you move it around to get to OTHER clothes) or if you cannot fit it RIGHT NOW, it needs to go. No more sitting around with depressing hopes of fitting my size 8 jeans anymore!
post #26 of 40
1/1/08 at 7:19pm
never go up or down the stairs empty handed -- my toddler LOVES to move stuff upstairs, downstairs, etc. and so everything is in different places by the end of the day. its much easier for me to restore things to their rightful places, or do laundry, etc. if i just bring a bit at a time.
post #27 of 40
1/2/08 at 1:11pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maddy123 View Post
From her I learned to say "It's so EASY to ______."

Like, "It's so easy to take a few minutes to clear off the counter."
"It's so easy to wash the dishes right now."
"It's so easy to take 15 minutes to sort this bookshelf."
my new mantra! thank you, i really needed this. i felt so discouraged last night because i didn't accomplish the things i meant to yesterday. i was feeling defeated, but really, it is easy to do the work that needs to be done . . . and if i don't get it done during the day, i have plenty of time after the kids go to bed! that is, if i don't sulk on the couch at night because i'm so grumpy about how my day went.

thanks for the attitude adjustment!
post #28 of 40
1/2/08 at 4:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sapphire_chan View Post
For organizing:
"Make your systems work for you."
Mine is a version of this, too.

Figure out your habits and build the system around it.

So, if I always want to put the dirty clothes in a pile in X corner, put a hamper there to catch them instead of leaving the hamper in the bathroom empty! This has revolutionized our house and how we work. I have been able to analyze every hot spot and figure out a system to work with it.
post #29 of 40
1/2/08 at 11:33pm
Don't buy storage containers etc.--instead, get rid of the stuff you were planning to put in them!
post #30 of 40
1/3/08 at 12:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fuller2 View Post
Don't buy storage containers etc.--instead, get rid of the stuff you were planning to put in them!
That's a good one!

Also, I've been struggling with the "make your routine work for you". I think it would be lovely to go to bed each night with a clean house. But, I realize I just do better doing the pick up stuff in the morning. So instead of fighting myself, I need to find a way to make it work.

Thanks!
post #31 of 40
1/3/08 at 5:13am
wow, i love this thread.
post #32 of 40
1/3/08 at 5:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by doubledutch View Post
ooh, i love the idea of obsessively trying to acquire more open space.
Oh man, this is me...except that what leaves the newly opened space seems to congregate by the front door in the hopes that someone will pick it up as they leave...
post #33 of 40
1/3/08 at 3:09pm
My grandma always tells me to get good quality furniture that will last a lifetime.
post #34 of 40
1/3/08 at 3:44pm
Close to sophiekat's, I tell myself:

"Never leave a room empty-handed."

Also, I try to always ask, when implementing a new system or re-thinking how we live:

"Will this make my life simpler?" If not, forget about it.

Sometimes I get all anal retentive about something silly, like having a drawer of perfectly-folded diapers. For pete's sake, they'll just get taken out and pooped on again, so no need to make them so pretty. If it's not making life simpler or more enjoyable, I need to relax!
post #35 of 40
1/3/08 at 9:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MonP'titBoudain View Post
Mine is a version of this, too.

Figure out your habits and build the system around it.

So, if I always want to put the dirty clothes in a pile in X corner, put a hamper there to catch them instead of leaving the hamper in the bathroom empty! This has revolutionized our house and how we work. I have been able to analyze every hot spot and figure out a system to work with it.
Amanda (AmyAmanda) on the largish families thread wrote:
Quote:
designate approved "drop spots" for things in the places where they usually get dropped


All similar ideas. And reading that post has revolutionalized my thought process in organizing. And what I've done is working. I'm so excited!
I'm making things just as easy to put away as they were to put wherever...not pretty all the time but boy does it make sense! Follow through has always been our downfall here.
post #36 of 40
1/4/08 at 9:35pm
Subbing, because I've read some really great ideas here (that I've never seen elsewhere)! My favorites are below

Quote:
Originally Posted by minta View Post
If you're addicted to accumulation, think
of space as a possession and work at getting more of it every day by eliminating everything else.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maddy123 View Post
One of my friends argues that it's all about convincing the mind and actions will follow. I used to kid her about her New-Agey ways, but over the years she has convinced me that some of her little tricks are very useful!

From her I learned to say "It's so EASY to ______."

Like, "It's so easy to take a few minutes to clear off the counter."
"It's so easy to wash the dishes right now."
"It's so easy to take 15 minutes to sort this bookshelf."

Try it...it helps! Wow! Life is so EASY!

Another of her favs was, "I have *plenty of time* to do the things I want to do." (Used that one a lot at work when I was super busy and had a lot to get done and was feeling stressed...)
post #37 of 40
1/5/08 at 1:17am
The "It's so easy" thing reminds me of something else I was reading where you make an effort to replace "I have to..." with "I get to..." The key example was with going to work and talked about how people psych themselves up for a bad day before they even get started by feeling obligated, rather than privileged. So that's something I try to keep in mind when I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by my house and children ie. "I getto spend all day with my children..." and "I getto tidy my house now..." Mind you, it doesn't always work but I find most days it helps me keep things in perspective and serves as a reminder that I'm lucky to have children and a home to be stressed out about in the first place!

The "space as possession" thing works reaaaaallly well for me because I am a collector -- OK, hoarder! -- by nature and the thought of living minimally kind of scares me. I guess I don't do "emptiness" well, even though I can see the value in it, or at least in simplicity. But it is my natural instinct to gather and store and if I just look at a big empty space as a void, it makes me nervous, but if I look at it as an aquisition and a valuable entity unto itself, then I can appreciate it. I guess it's like asking if you look at an empty vase and see the shape of the vase or just the emptiness IYKWIM? I need to work at not just filling things for the sake of filling them, but I'm getting there!
post #38 of 40
1/5/08 at 2:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MonkeyPrincess View Post
That's a good one!

Also, I've been struggling with the "make your routine work for you". I think it would be lovely to go to bed each night with a clean house. But, I realize I just do better doing the pick up stuff in the morning. So instead of fighting myself, I need to find a way to make it work.

Thanks!
I've realized this recently too. I am a total morning person, awake and ready to go by 6:30 am, ready to crash by 9:00 pm. As much as I too would love to wake up to a clean house, it works much better to clean first thing in the morning when I am full of energy, than in the evening when I'm tired. Not only do I have a better attitude, I'm way more efficient. My DH is a night person and he will stay up late doing work/chores and then sleep in ~ that seems to work better for him. So I guess honoring your body's natural clock is an important thing to do.
post #39 of 40
1/5/08 at 2:40am

Robotic Help

A year ago I was given a Roomba Vacuum for my Anniversary and a Scooba Floor Washer for Christmas.

These 2 little Robots are the best appliances I have ever owned. I have now invested in a 2nd Rooba Vacuum.

We have a 3 level home and every morning I put one on each floor before I go out. I come home to 2 floors vacuumed and 1 floor washed. I alternate the floor washer to a different floor each morning.

I have alergies and its completely elimates the dust - goes under furniture and beds ..its wonderful and I feel so much cleaner.

If you can afford to purchase one of these items -- its better than a maid and worth every cent!
post #40 of 40
1/5/08 at 3:38pm
Through my teenage years I didn't really have my mom around, but visited a family friend occassionally for a week at a time. She had a big bustling family and she'd always walk around with a laundry basket picking up. From her, I learned to do that. I walk around a room picking up everything out of place, then go from room to room putting each thing back. The one rule is that you must ALWAYS leave the baskets empty! I get a great sense of satifaction from all my laundry baskets sitting empty in a pile.