Tricks of the Mama Trade

My kids have to put away their own laundry, but somehow the socks never got matched and put away. Add to that the fact they never seemed to have socks on when we needed to leave the house and I threw in the towel. I bought two small storage ottomans at Walmart and now I just toss their socks in there when I'm doing laundry. No more matching & putting away, and the socks are downstairs and handy when the kids need them. Best part is they double as extra seating in the living room when the kids have friends over.

Damn, I wish I'd tried that BEFORE I took the dog's Phenobarb thinking it was Motrin!

:)

Not too elaborate.......but I keep extra pairs of socks in our entry room. It would happen so often that we would finally be ready to get shoes on and run out the door and one of the kids wouldn't have socks on! So that meant that I (cause I'm faster) had to run upstairs to their room to get some socks before we could leave. Now I just keep an extra pair downstairs.

Oh, and also when my kids are really sick, I keep a notepad on all the meds they've took - I write down what I gave them and at what time......especially if I'm piggy backin Ibuprofen and Tylenol and giving an antibiotic. If we have to go back to the doc, I take it with me to show them.

If I pull a load out of the dryer, I never leave the laundry room until I fold it up or hang it on a rod in our laundry room, even if it means the pile sits on the dryer the whole week...at least everything is folded. I hate wrinkled clothes!

I put fabric softner & water in a bottle and use it to freshen clothes.

I did the same thing with all the kids meds too. I have 3 so it really saves time.

I keep a hairbrush in the organize thing on the wall by the door. I can always do a quick hairbrush on the kids as they are walking out the door.

I keep all the socks in a mesh high laundry basket. At night, after the kids are in bed I will sit a pair them for awhile when watching TV. I then have a 4 drawer little tower and each kid has a drawer with socks and undies. Saves us trips upstairs as it's right in the LR and matches the decor. You would never know it was filled with socks LOL If I can't get to the socks at least they are all in one place and easier to find.

Brilliant, J.!!!

I'm still learning - so I think I'll just read for now.

Good one!
I don't do ANY of the organizational tips I should. And I pay the price. But I know what I NEED to do:

Put well organized bins with coats and boots for each child in 3 PLACES (yes three sets of three!!!-and I do need to win the lottery to do this..), a) Their bedroom b) the main floor where they usually dress and c) the basement by the garage where we exit.

I know it seeeeems like having them all in ONE place (like we do now) would be the most organized, but God knows they all (ages 5, 4, and 3) tend to scatter when they dress and undress to leave, and I'm left sprinting up and down the stairs in search of one more boot....one more jacket....

move kids shoes out of the upstairs bedrooms and keep them downstairs.

Toy rotation (two lagre bins of toys go in the garage and I cycle then out)

Keep an easy access open bin for outgrown kids clothes. Instead of big closet clean outs, move articles of clothing into it daily and weekly, then bag it up for storage or donation when the bin is full.

Restock your diaper bag after each outing, replacing what you used so its ready to go the next time you are scrambling to get out of the house.

Put sippy cups a way assembled so you aren't searching for parts when you are in a rush, and so that dad and grandma get get baby a drink without having a masters degree in matching sippy cup parts.

I still keep the kids pj's (all of them) in the bathroom. Started when they were very young, to avoid having to go to 3 different rooms to get jammies ect. And it means no naked preteens streaking through my house now to go get dressed because they "forgot" pj's. lol.

with the baby and medications that he has to take on a schedule, I make a list and tape it to the bottle so we just cross it off after giving him the dose. That way if DH goes to work I don't have to wonder if he gave him his medicine.

Shoes and coats are kept by the front door, each kid has a bag to store hats and gloves