Soccer season is upon us, and that means cleats, soccer socks, shin guards and soccer balls EVERYWHERE!  I have two kids who play plus my husband coaches, so he has a huge bag of practice gear to add to the collection of soccer equipment.   In past seasons, we've tried to contain all of these supplies in our mudroom, but it seemed like we were constantly tripping over equipment but yet the kids could never find a clean pair of socks or a matching set of shin guards!

Over the past few years, I've tried to figure out how to keep sports equipment organized and accessible while not overwhelming my entire mudroom., but it just wasn't working.  I had shoes in one spot, socks and shin guards in another and soccer balls in yet another.  Because I had created 'homes' for items all over the place, no one ever put them away.  I realized last season that I needed a system not individual solutions for my sports equipment problems!  I think I finally got it figured out with the sports zone that I created just outside the door to my attached garage.  Here's how I created it:

Identify the Problem(s)
I needed to determine everything I wanted to accomplish so I could create ONE solution to solve all the problems at once.  The problems were:

1. Equipment taking up too much space in my mudroom.
2. Kids had trouble finding equipment when they needed it.
3. Equipment couldn't all fit in same area in the room I was trying to store it.
4. Items weren't getting put away!

Visualize the Ideal Scenario and Find the Right Space
Think about what the ideal solution to the problems you identified would be.  Look at magazines, browse Pinterest and look at how friends and family have organized similar items.  Don't be afraid to "steal" ideas from others.  

Measure and Install the "Bones"
Measure, measure, measure -  the most important aspect of your sports zone is making sure the items you need to store fit!  Purchase or re-purpose items that are specific to what you want to store.  It was important to me to have drawers because I'd be storing clothing (uniforms and socks) in the garage, and I wanted them free from dirt or dust.   I reused some plastic drawers I already had, and we purchased three shelf boards and six brackets from the hardware store.  Consider the height and the space between shelves so that the items you store there are easily accessible.  The shelves we installed are sometimes accessed from the garage, but other times from the steps, which means that we were able to put shelves up higher and maximize that vertical space. 

Edit, Edit, Edit!
My space is a sports station, but I focus on the current sports season and don't try to keep all equipment for all sports in this area all the time.  Right now I have one tote in the basement for off-season sports stuff - all sizes of baseball pants are in a vacuum bag to save space, and cleats that are too big (we get our cleats at garage sales and save them for little brother!)  are in a trash bag.  I put socks and hats each in gallon size zippered bags.  I don't separate by size or kid because they grow so much from season to season, everything has to be tried on anyway!  We keep bats, mits, balls in the garage year round because there's a chance those will get played with in the backyard during the off-season. ​

​​Load and Label
Now you have a blank slate, fill it up!  Be sure to add labels so that it's easy for your family to put things back where they belong!  I have a set of three drawers and labelled the top two with each kid's name where we keep their socks, favorite shin guards, and uniforms.  The bottom drawer is for things like a blanket that we may use to sit on at a soccer game.  I keep two plastic shoe boxes (no lids) on top of the drawers labelled with a kid's name for their cleats.  I have LOVED this because no more clumps of dirt from cleats all over my floor - they go in from the garage, deposit their cleats in the shoe box before they come inside.  There is a bin for soccer balls, and a shelf for my husband's coach gear.  I have a shelf helper hanging underneath the bottom shelf where I have a plastic shoe box filled with extra shin guards (just in case we lose the favorites!)  Because there's actually EXTRA space now, I have a shelf where I'm keeping my Cargo Carry All bag that I can throw everything I need for a day at the field!  Because it has a lid, I'm storing a small soft-sided cooler inside that I may take to save on concessions!   A bin of baseballs and mits fit nicely on that shelf as well.  The very top shelf houses baseball bags filled with bats and helmets.  We even have room on the floor for the chairs we take to sit on as we cheer on our kiddos.

​Maintain
To make this work and and assure that your kids aren't running around in a panic before their games looking for their uniform and cleats, you have to train them to maintain this system.  When they get home from practice or a game, send them straight to the sports zone to unload.  When laundry is done, have your kids take their sports accessories straight to their labelled bin or drawer.   

I hope that creating a sports zone will help you feel a little more 'in order' during the busy sports seasons ahead!  I'd love to see pictures of how you organize your kids (or your own) sports equipment!  

A few months ago, I wrote a post about my struggle with laundry (A Laundry Experiment: Part 1).  You can go back and read it, but the basics are this:  There was too much laundry and we never had the right things clean when we needed them or they were clean, but were buried in a giant pile of clean clothes on the couch, coined "laundry couch."  I tried to figure out how to overcome my laundry woes, and vowed to try the following:

• Get the whole family involved in bring laundry from all rooms in the house to the laundry room and sorting it nightly before bed.
• Wash loads of laundry as my laundry sorter got full rather than waiting to do it all on the weekends
• Create some sort of visual reminder so I would remember to start a load or switch clothes from washer to dryer.
• Fold and hang clothes IN the laundry room to avoid laundry couch!  This also means I wouldn't empty another load from the dryer until the previous one was put away.  

Though this experiment wasn't very scientific, I did have a hypothesis and have reached a conclusion (that are one in the same) - I HATE LAUNDRY!!!!  I've failed pretty miserably at most of the points above, but I did learn from my experience. Since I have accepted the fact that laundry will never end, I have some new ideas to try as a result of my failures.

Sorting
The daily sorting is the ONE part of my experiment that really worked.  We don't do it at night, but rather the kids do it every morning.  One kid empties and sorts the laundry from the first floor and the other kid takes care of the upstairs.  We have a two sided laundry sorter for lights and dark as well as a hard plastic hamper where we put the "hots" (things that should be washed in hot water.)  I really like this new habit.  It keeps hampers in the bedrooms and bathrooms from overflowing and makes it visibly obvious when we need to do a load!  We will definitely keep this one!

Washing on Demand
I have been doing laundry during the week much more than I did before, so I'll continue putting a load in the washer when I notice the sorter is full.  The problem has been that I sometimes forget to move it to the dryer and then it gets stinky and has to be rewashed.  The next point about the reminder is what I was really missing!

Reminders
I originally thought I'd make some cute sign that I'd hang near the laundry room to let me know when there was laundry in the washer, but instead I thought I'd go the technology route and set a recurring reminder on my iPhone.   Spoiler alert - - it didn't work.  I quickly became immune to the reminder and just swiped left to dismiss it every day, twice a day.  

Instead of this type of reminder, I'm going to try pairing, when you connect two activities or make one dependent on the completion of the other.  I first heard about the strategy of pairing from author and podcaster, Gretchen Rubin.  I'm thinking that I will pair TV with laundry.  Before I will allow myself to watch TV, I'll have to check the status of the laundry and do the next step - starting a load, switching a load to the dryer and/or folding a load. ​

Use the Laundry Room
I was naive to think that folding laundry in my un-air conditioned laundry room would work in the summer  - it was just too HOT!  In addition, my laundry room is the landing zone for things that have to go to the basement.  I keep clothes that are too small for my oldest son, but still too big for my youngest son in the basement, and with the way my 11-year-old has been growing, each week there have been new things to retire from his wardrobe.  I almost constantly have a bag or just a pile of clothes on top of the dryer poised to go to the basement, which doesn't allow me any room to fold even if the temperature were comfortable.

Since I'm planning to use TV watching to remind me to do the next step in my laundry,  I'm going to go back to folding while I watch.  I used to do this after it got really piled up, but if I fold this each time I watch TV (which is most days) I should be able to avoid laundry couch!  

I'm also going to use pairing to get items down to the basement.  I have one solid nighttime routine, and that is tucking my kids into bed (I've told them this will continue until they go to college!)  Since the only time I don't do this is when I'm not home or I am sick, I can count on this nearly every night.  As the kids start brushing their teeth in preparation for going to their bedrooms, I'm going to take one load to the basement.  If I do this nightly, the laundry room should stay manageable.

New Problems
I did notice a couple of new problems while being  more aware of my laundry process these past few months.  One was that my youngest son has TOO MANY CLOTHES!  This is not because we buy him stuff, but because he gets hand-me-downs from a few different sources.  It makes it difficult for him to put his clothes away because his drawers are stuffed!  Many times clean clothes end up on the floor and it's difficult to tell the difference between then and the dirty ones, so clean clothes are getting washed again!  It's time to purge again!  ​

Weekends are usually jam packed with family events, regular housework, yard work, sporting events, going out with friends, and maybe even a date night, but every once in a while you get that unicorn of a weekend with no plans - what do you do then?  How about a Weekend Warrior Organization project?  Here are 2 projects in areas of the home that, in my opinion, are the best areas to start with when getting organized.  These can each be realistically completed in one weekend (of course, only 1 per weekend - let's not get crazy!)

Paper Organization
I've written about paper organization before, and though it is an intense one, it's one that will leave you feeling the best when it's complete.  You could easily spend weeks on paper organizing if you spent only small chunks of time on it, but if you really commit your weekend to paper organizing, you'll see some amazing results!  

Friday Night

• Designate command central for your weekend project.  This could be a part of your living room floor, a guest bed, your kitchen island or table, or a folding table.  Make sure to pick somewhere that you can leave a giant mess, so if you need your kitchen island or table for food prep or eating, don't pick that.  If your living room floor is the walkway to everywhere in your house, don't pick that.  I like the folding table idea because you could easily move it if needed (in front of the TV, to the bedroom in case of a surprise visitor, etc.) 
• Gather ALL your paper from your entire house, basement, attic, garage, car, etc. and put it in "command central."  If you have some items already fairly organized, you can leave them in their files or boxes, but still bring them to the work area.
• Determine your paper categories.  Once you see all the paper you have, it will be easier to decide how you want to categorize.  Most people have things like: finances, health, property, personal/mementos, current projects.  Will those categories work for you, or do you have others?  Maybe you love to cook and collect recipes - if you want to keep those in paper form, you may have a recipe category.  Maybe you are an artist, so you need a category for drawings.  Maybe you are a writer so you need a category for journals and manuscripts.  The system should work for you!
• Start thinking about what you could throw away.  Are there things you don't need anymore or things that are already available digitally or that you could scan and store digitally?  Don't make any decisions yet, just start pondering.  Your mind will do some of the processing for you as you sleep.

Saturday
After a good night's rest, roll your sleeves up and get started!  

• On a blank piece of paper, write each of the categories you decided on the night before in large letters with a sharpie marker.  Spread these out in your work area.
• Grab three boxes and mark them "Recycle," "Shred," and "Scan"
• Touch every piece of paper - I know this seems like overkill, but if you're going to do it - do it right!  Consider with each one - do I need to keep this for any reason?  If yes, put in one of the categories.  If no, put in one of your boxes - scan, recycle or shred (depending if there is confidential information included.)  I'm not gonna lie, this is going to take you most of the day!  Break it up with snacks, TV, some movement.  If you really start getting bored, use the Pomodoro technique - set the timer for 25 minutes and put your nose to the grindstone, and then set the timer for 5 minutes and do something physical to get your blood pumping.  Then get back to it!  
  • Read my previous post, The Paper Purge, for suggestions on how to decide what to keep.
• In the evening, put in a movie and get out your shredder and shred away!  This is so satisfying  and mindless.  If you don't have a shredder, just box those items up and put them in your vehicle.  You can take them to an office supply store or sometimes to your financial institution for shredding.  You may want to consider investing in a small shredder to keep the paper under control in the future.
• When you're done shredding, start scanning and saving!  If you don't have a scanner, you can simply take pictures with your phone.  You can then shred the physical copies.

Sunday
You should wake up to a few piles of paper in categories.  Now is time for the fun part!  

• Decide on a color for each category - I personally like green for finance, yellow for property, red for health, blue for personal, and I have a purple category for fun.
• Scope out your space.  Where will you store paper?  Think about how often you will need to access the items.  There may be some items in your finance category that you don't need to access very often at all (ex. tax returns) while other items in that category you will need much more often.  You may want to designate long term storage in the basement and short term storage in a desk or filing box.  Consider creating an inbox for all paper to live in until you have time to process it.
• Make a list.  What items do you need to purchase to store the paper?  Some of the usual suspects: Hanging files, file folders, an inbox, binders, file box, a hole punch, page protectors, dividers, label maker.
• Go shopping!  You can do this in person or online.  If you do it in person, you can actually complete your project in the weekend, but if online is preferable, check out Clever Container's office organization supplies.
• Store your paper.  Create your files (remember the color coding system you created this morning.)  Choose what works best for you - files, bins, binders - or some combination.  Read about my Binder System here.
• Commit to a system so your paper doesn't get out of control again!  Check out my system in my post, The First Big Win, Wrangling the Paper!

Friday Night

• Clean your kitchen.  Wash, dry, and put away all your dishes, clear your counters, and sweep your floors. 
• Get rid of expired or unwanted food.  Throw out past-their-prime leftovers and expired items from your pantry/cabinets and refrigerator and freezer.  Don't do any organizing, just throw out the old and unwanted stuff.

Saturday

• Set up your command central somewhere in your kitchen - table or island is best.  
• Get a couple of boxes and label "Donate" and "Relocate" and have a trash can handy.
• Go through each of these areas one at a time and separate items into either keep, donate, trash, or relocate (you're keeping it, but it doesn't need to live in your kitchen.)  Watch out for duplicates - how many ice cream scoops do you really need?  Keep a running list of the type of organizers you need to purchase.
  • Silverware, cooking and serving utensils, and kitchen gadgets
  • Dishes, containers, glasses, and plastic cups
  • Cookware and serving trays
  • Appliances
  • Food storage (cabinets/pantry and refrigerator)
  • Non food related items (junk drawer, pet supplies, paper)

Sunday
Today should be spent arranging your kitchen by zones.  Consider how you actually use your kitchen and group things for specific tasks together.  Example, create a baking area, a lunch making area, etc.  (If you signed up for the free video tutorial, this is the last video.  Make sure to sign up a week in advance, because you get one video emailed to you each day!)

• Decide on your zones and their locations
• Add to your shopping list any additional organizers you need.
• Go shopping.  If you go in person, make good use of the dollar stores!  If you shop online, check out Clever Container's kitchen section!
• Put your kitchen back together.  You should have much more space now that you've done a purge.  By grouping like things together, you will be so much more efficient in the kitchen!

What other areas of your home would you like to see plans for an Weekend Warrior Organization Project?  Email me, fill out the contact page, or comment on this post and I'll be happy to do a future post on some other areas!

I’m so ready for back-to-school!  Not because I’m tired of my kids being home for the summer, but because I’m ready to get back into a routine.  I always loved the beginning of the school year as a kid – new clothes and shoes, freshly sharpened pencils, blank notebooks, locker organizers – kind of my dream come true!  I was thinking today about why the beginning of school still excited me as an adult.  Yes, I get to buy supplies for my kids, but there’s more to it than that.  There’s something about a fresh start that appeals to me, and I think we can all learn some lessons from school to help us live our best life this school year.
 
Refresh your wardrobe and get a haircut
Kids usually get a few new outfits and shoes because they’ve grown out of the clothes from the previous school year.  We go through their entire wardrobe and get rid of things that are too small or they won’t wear to avoid any fashion arguments!  This time of year is also a great time to refresh your own wardrobe.  Go through your closet and donate items you haven’t worn in the past several months, items that don’t fit, or ones you just don’t like.  Make a list of what items you need to “fill in the blanks” of your wardrobe.  Watch for sales and treat yourself!  We get our kids a haircut prior to the first day so they look fresh and clean.  Make an appointment for yourself, too.  This could be the one time per year that you spend a little extra or try a new style.  

Keep a regular sleep schedule
Just today, our family discussed what fair bedtimes are for the kids when school starts and what time they need to get up to have plenty of time in the mornings before school.  This will be a big change from our summer routine where the kids’ bedtimes go out the window – and so does mine.  I find myself staying up way too late on a regular basis, but still having to get up at the same time to go to work.  By the end of the summer I’m exhausted and sleeping in late on the weekends to try to catch up.  When school starts, the kids will each have a set bedtime and wakeup time.  I plan to create my own, reasonable bedtime as well as a wakeup time that doesn’t involve the snooze button!

Eat healthy breakfasts and pack a lunch
When school is in session, I make more of an effort to feed my kids a healthy breakfast to give them a good start to their day.  It’s so easy for us as busy adults to skip breakfast or scarf down something on the go.  When school starts, it’s a great opportunity to plan your morning to include a healthy breakfast at the table with your family.  Many days my kids pack their lunches, and we have various options that are easy to pack and are fairly healthy.  Packing a lunch for myself alongside the kids will help me not only to save money on eating out, but help to control my portion size and the nutritional value of what I eat for lunch.

Embrace a fresh start and the opportunity to learn new things
Kids literally start the school year with a blank slate, and they have the opportunity to take new classes from new teachers.  It’s a great time of year for us to forgive ourselves for failed attempts in the past and make new resolutions and plans for new habits.  Is it time for us to take a class, read a book, attend a webinar about something new?

Be active and enjoy recess
My kids have gym class at least once a week, and recess every day.  They also participate in sports during the school year.  I need to follow suit and be more active.  I can use the time they spend at sports practices to be active myself, and why not enjoy a “recess” during the day and take a quick walk?

Create systems to manage time
With all the commitments kids have these days, they have to learn to manage their time, plan ahead and just plain remember what all they need to do!  We are in the process of finalizing what the daily routine will be and then will create a checklist to keep track of it all.  I will print out a grid with the items that need completed down the left-hand side with the days of the week across the top.  The paper will go in a page protector and be displayed on the fridge with a magnetic clip.  The kids will use a dry erase marker to mark off their daily accomplishments.  This makes it reusable, but also easy to change if we add or take away a responsibility.  It’s great to pair one of your own responsibilities to your kids’ – for example, when they practice piano, you wash dishes or when they do homework, you read.  Consider planning your day the night before with specific timebound tasks.  Always overestimate how long it will take you to do things so that you don’t get frustrated!

Cut back on screen time
During the school year, our kids don’t have any screen time from Monday to Thursday (unless homework requires it.) We started this a couple of years ago, and it’s amazing – attitudes are much improved and since there is no expectation of screen time, we don’t hear whining or complaining.  This means my husband and I don’t turn on the TV until after the kids are in bed, and sometimes we don’t even turn it on at all.  It’s my goal to use the time I normally would watch TV to do other things – read, play board games, talk to my husband, take bubble baths, take a walk, etc.

Catch up with friends
One of the best parts of the first day of school for me was always seeing my friends that I hadn’t seen much over the summer.  We would catch up and tell each other what we did over the vacation.  We looked forward to eating lunch together and playing at recess together.  As adults, why don’t we designate the start of the school year as a time to plan some lunch dates and fun activities with old friends?