Organizing Tips and Resources

Thank you for attending my Live Talk at The Motherhood! What a great 30 minutes it was...I loved "hearing" your voices. (If you missed the talk, you can catch up by reading the talk summary.)

I've collected a few links and resources for you, and will add to this page based on our conversation. Feel free to leave comments with pointers to your favorite organizing resources...and let's keep talking on Twitter and Facebook! -- Asha

My wonderful co-hosts

Christine Koh of Boston Mamas

Twitter: @bostonmamas
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/bostonmamas

Meagan Francis of The Happiest Mom

Twitter: @meaganfrancis
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thehappiestmom

General organization

Don't try to keep everything in your head. Use a calendar and a to-do list to clear mental space.

Three essential tools for clearing mental clutter

Being organized during the holidays and beyond (at The Accidental Expert) 

Let your calendar remind you to try new seasonal activities

Use Google Calendar to remind yourself to get a life

Six things about which you may not realize you need reminders

Take notes during phone calls with friends and family

Home

Wherever you can: simplify, contain, routinize, and delegate. You can't (nor should you) do it all! Delegating is a lot easier when there's a specific place for every item in your house (labels are a great help) and kids can reach things they need to use and put away.

Uses for over-the-door pocket organizers

Teaching kids to declutter their own toys

Put your random bag collection to work by creating "activity totes" (tons of great ideas in the comments)

Keeping the toys from taking over the house

Streamlining paper flow

Organize crayons and markers by color family

Organize art supplies with dollar store bins + laminated labels

Laundry

Different routines work for different families. For my family, the crucial ingredients are:

• Delegating! My husband and I share the washing-drying folding jobs, and my kids empty their hampers and put away their folded clothes daily.
• Easy-care clothing. NO IRONING, dry cleaning or fussy washing instructions.
• Lots of socks of one brand and color
• Lots of underwear
• Folding in front of the TV or while on the phone (get a headset so you've got both hands free)
• Putting clothes away instead of letting them stay stacked in laundry baskets (another good task to delegate)

Parent Hacks has a bunch of great laundry tips.

Meals/Food

Feeding your family doesn't need to be a gourmet affair no matter what the food and lifestyle mags and blogs would have you think. If you love to cook, go for it. If you don't, or if you're just tired of all the mental work involved, it's absolutely fine to keep it simple! Much of the freshest, healthiest food is the quickest to prepare.

Simplifying food- and meal-prep comes down to this:

• Plan your weekly menu
• Cook simple weekday meals, doubling up and freezing when you can
• Keep a running grocery list
• Keep a well-stocked pantry
• Have 3-5 easy meals you can throw together using pantry ingredients

Tips for grocery shopping.

My favorite quick-and-easy cookbooks:

and a nod to Jamie Oliver because I admire his passionate desire to spread the word about easy, healthy cooking:

Helpful Websites

The Happiest Mom: Cleaning/Organizing

Minimalist Mama

FlyLady

Unclutterer

SimpleMom

Buttoned Up

The Clutter Diet blog

The Six O'Clock Scramble (meal planning help)

Helpful books

 

Helpful Apps and Services

Things (Mac, iPhone, iPad, $9.99 for iPhone)

Google Calendar (Web and mobile, free)

Remember The Milk (Web and mobile, free)

HomeRoutines (iPhone, iPad, $3.99)

Springpad (iPhone, iPad, Android, free)

TaskRabbit (Delegate to virtual assistants! Christine has used them and loves them; here's her writeup on Boston Mamas: Rabbits To The Rescue)

If you've got a website, book, product or app recommendation I haven't listed here, please let us know in the comments!

Thanks again for joining Christine, Meagan and me -- I hope you're inspired!

Parent Hacks has lots, lots more tips for getting organized.