Story telling

Well, having a son, I like the idea of telling him different stories, some real and others made up. But just with playing around with this I find it a bit more difficult then expected. I lack a natural flow. My stories are full of pauses. But I have learned a few things from going through the Christy Miller books with Julie. She really likes the books and they are well written and actually pretty fun.

Each main character needs some defining descriptions. Usually there are a few short phrases that help to quickly describe and identify a character. These are memory tools. It may be hard to remember someone's name, but if the name is coupled with a short key attribute then it becomes easier. For example there is a character in the books named Katie. The main description associated with her is her copper hair. But it isn't only a physical description each time, there is also a bit of personality that is sometimes mentioned. Katie is known for her adventurous spirit too. She is commonly associated with failure to plan along with an excitement about things.

So if you think about it, those short descriptions add a lot to the character but don't take much to think up. I just thought this was a fun point to share

Get Organized Part 5: Common Areas

This refers to areas like the living room, kitchen, and dining room.

In my house the common areas seem to be prone to clutter. I think it is related to the fact that we don't use most of the space very much. There are only two of us that sit at the kitchen table, so that allows a good portion of the table to accumulate clutter. Same with our couches. We rarely use the love seat, so it gets to hold stuff for us. Basically this is simply caused by laziness and isn't hard to clean. Using the space is fine, it just needs to be temporary and cleaned up afterwords.

Decorations become somewhat of a conflict for me and Julie. She really likes them, but there comes a point when there are too many and they take up too much space. These decorations typically take up some useful shelf space or something. In my opinion the best decorations are pictures that you can simply hang on the wall.

Well, that is it for my Get Organized series. What have we learned? I know nothing about cleaning and organizing? Probably. That would explain why I have to clean the house before guests arrive.

Get organized Part 4: Dependent's Stuff

I made this section because of my baby boy. He can really make a mess, and he has a lot of stuff. Being so little he lacks the ability to truly organize. At this stage all he can do is put stuff in a bin. The problem with this is he thinks putting anything in the bin is good even if it doesn't belong in the bin.

How do you decide if an item is a keep or discard. I usually can't make this decision, but Julie can since she deals with him all day long each day. With a child you have an extra option. You can discard, keep, or hide it for later. The hide it for later typically takes care of itself in our house. David will run around and put things where they don't belong. Then when we get around to really cleaning the house we will find these toys just scattered here and there.

I don't have a whole lot to say on this subject since I lack experience in the area. Maybe my parents can post some tips or something. At this age David doesn't really have just a favorite toy, so anything is up for grabs with him.

Ah, so I thought of something worth mentioning. I like how many of his toys are kept in his room, but we also have this ottoman that can store things. This is great for the living room. We can store several toys for him to play with. And the thing with his toys right now is that it doesn't have to be very organized, the bin works great because he enjoys digging through it and seeing all the toys.

Now I want to talk about his room. This area is more difficult because he likes to make a mess. Julie had the wonderful insight of putting things in small bins on the shelves to help keep it organized, and this helps David just from seeing it all on the shelf and throwing it on the floor. He typically will leave these bins alone. The closet is a wonderful thing because the door allows you to block access to those things, but at the same time it is also harder access for us to use.

Well, I can hear my baby boy even though it is way too early for him to be up. So i guess it is time for me to go.

Get organized Part 3: Other's Stuff

Now things get complicated. You may have a say in the matter, and it could even be the final say, but someone else is involved in this. You can easily make someone frustrated by simply moving there stuff or they could become angry when you discard something of great sentimental value.

In my opinion it is best to handle this with the "other" helping. Ask their opinion or what they want done with it, and offer suggestions with respect. You don't want to be responsible for them having regrets, so unlike your stuff it is better to lean towards keep than discard. Another thing to keep in mind when helping to organize someone's stuff is that it can be a bit overwhelming. They are doing their best to clean up, and all you are doing is adding to the difficulty by continuously asking them what they want done with this or that.

For me this is the hardest part to do. It requires patience and also endurance. So just remember to show respect and be patient and things should move along nicely and you can end up making great improvements to getting organized.

Get Organized Part 2: Your Stuff

The best place to start when getting organized is with your own stuff. These are the things that you get to decide what to do with it. The choices are numerous, but I can list a few choices you have. The first choice is weather to keep it or not.

I definitely want to keep it
If you decide to keep it then you must make another choice of "where" to keep it. Where to keep something is a personal decision. But this can be broken down into several easier questions. Storage or easily accessible? If storage then it should probably go in a box with similar items. If easily accessible then you must decide what room. To make this decision even easier you can start by asking if it belongs in the room currently being organized. If not then put it in a pile of things that needs to be moved and deal with it later. If it belongs in this room then you need to find a home for it and then you are done with that item.

I think I want to keep it
Are you sure? When was the last time it was used? If it hasn't been used for a couple years you probably want to get rid of it. If it is just rarely used then it probably belongs in storage.

I guess I can part with this treasure
Great, quickly put it in in a pile/bag/box that will be sorted through later of things to get rid of, and try to do it before you change your mind. Also, this isn't the final good by, so if you have a little doubt go ahead and still get rid of it at this point, it can be rescued later when it is evaluated.

I definitely don't want it
Place in the pile/bag/box of things you are getting rid of.

This is trash
Trash it, simple enough.

So, you have finally cleaned up a room and are left with a few piles of stuff which doesn't seem like an improvement, but it is. For the keep pile you need to start finding a home for each item, weather in storage or just a different room. For the discard pile you must evaluate how to handle each object. Do you know someone that could use this item, or would like to have it. Then make a new pile/box/bag of give away items. If the item has some value then put it in the sell pile/box/bag. If the item doesn't fit in any other categories, then trash/recycle it.

This is basically a compilation of tips I have read from other places. I usually don't break it down into piles to be reevaluated later, I like to have the room getting clean. So if you think you are up for it then make the decision what to do with each item and handle it immediately. If it belongs somewhere else, put it there. If it is a give away we have a collection of stuff for that. If it is sell we have a pile in our home for those items too.