This week’s mission is to organize and simplify laundry duty in 5 simple steps: sort, wash, dry, fold, and put away.

1. Sort: Keep your 3-bin laundry sorter (or multiple laundry hampers) wherever you change into your “jammies” at bedtime. Drop your dirty clothes into their respective bins—darks, whites, and colors.
2. Wash: First thing in the morning, put a load of laundry into the washer—towels and/or sheets.
3. Dry: After you’ve gone through your morning routine, and before you head out the door for the day, transfer the load of laundry from the washer to the dryer.
4. Fold: When you arrive home in the late afternoon or early evening, unload the dryer. (You won’t have to fold this load…)
5. Put Away: Hang up your clean towels in the bathroom, and put the clean sheets on your bed. Done!

Additional Tips:

• For any laundry that you don’t want to leave sitting in the dryer all day long, set a timer when you load the washer. If you’re not certain how long your washer’s normal cycle lasts, start with 1 hour and adjust up or down as needed. When the timer goes off, put the clothes into the dryer, and add a new load to the washer. Reset the timer. When the timer goes off again, repeat the process.
• Keep a trash can nearby so you can easily throw away anything collected by your dryer’s lint trap. When you unload the dryer, fold everything immediately! Instant Bonuses: You’ll reduce (if not eliminate) the wrinkles. You won’t have as much ironing to do. You’ll feel great because you just plain got the job done!
• Little ones afoot? Get them involved! Get out a footstool so your child can reach to put dirty clothes into the washer. As you empty the washer, give your child one or two wet items to add to the dryer while you toss in a couple handfuls. Toddlers can also empty the dryer, match up socks, fold washcloths and towels, or even fold shirts and pants. Instant Bonuses: You’re spending quality time with your child. You’re teaching your child important life skills. You’re actually getting the laundry done!

So, what about you? What are your favorite laundry tips? How do you keep laundry duty organized? I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below to share your tried-and-true laundry strategies.

Currently, paper products are trying to devour my home; I have a problem throwing out and/or recycling paper. What do I do with all my husband’s CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes? What do I do with all my notebooks? My books? How do I store my enormous yarn stash? Material? Thread? These are the items I have little piles of all over the house!

Not to worry… You can definitely learn how to organize your paperwork, your husband’s CD, DVD, and VHS collections; your books and notebooks; and your yarn, material, and thread. Just follow these steps…

get prioritized.

What is bothering you the most? Your enormous yarn stash or your books? Jot down a list, in priority order, of what needs to be organized. Think small. For example, you should break down your husband’s “mess” into three different organizing tasks : [1] VHS, [2] CD, and [3] DVD.

get focused.

Now that you have all your ducks in a row, tackle the first item on your organizing priority list. In fact, pretend that you’re a squirrel (kids or grandkids could help with this one) and gather like items into a single area. So, if you decided that your enormous yarn collection was most bothersome, gather all of your yarn together in a plastic bin or a pile on the floor.

get real.

Time to make some tough decisions. Realistically, what do you need to keep and what can go?

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do I currently use it? If not, how long have I had it?
• Do I really need it? What’s the worst that’d happen if I got rid of it?
• Do I truly love it? Is it beautiful? Does it hold great sentimental value?

Remember : Anything that you decide to keep will cost you in space, time, or sanity. Make sure it’s worth it.

get neat.

Now that you’ve pared down your collection, find an appropriately-sized container in which to store the remaining items. This will define your limits. You may only keep what will comfortably fit into your chosen container.

So, if your husband comes home with a new DVD, only to discover that the DVD storage cabinet is completely full, he must get rid of an old DVD to make room for the new one. Or, he can return the new DVD if he really doesn’t want to part with any of the old ones.

As you can see, by limiting your stuff to a container, you have created an easy maintenance system that will ensure your control over your belongings and your space.

Finally, repeat this process for any area of your home that you need to organize, and you’ll soon find yourself reveling your new home oasis!

… my new favorite website!

If you’re anything like me (i.e., an avid reader who also favors organization and simplicity), you’ll quickly fall in love with this online book trading community!

~ get started ~

Scour your home, collect at least 10 books (i.e., paperback, hardcover, and even audio) that you no longer want or need, and enter their respective ISBN’s at PaperBackSwap.com. Then, browse or search the inventory of over 2 million books to find new-to-you reading materials, and order your first 2 books for free in a matter of minutes!

~ next steps ~

Then, you just send out any books that others request from your virtual bookshelf (via USPS media mail) to earn credits that you can then use to order gently used books for yourself. Not a bad deal! It’s like trading books with your neighbors… in your really big subdivision (i.e., United States)… who collectively read a lot of books (i.e., over 2 million)!

~ end result ~

So far, I’ve sent out 8 books in 8 days and received 5 of the 7 books that I’ve ordered. It’s been a really easy and inexpensive way to acquire like-new books that I’ve been wanting to read (and aren’t available at our local library)! Plus, of course, the bonus : I’m getting rid of my clutter at the same time!

[ Hey… What are you waiting for? An invitation!?! Go check it out! ]

I received my cheque from the GCC MOPS Consignment Sale today! My profit was just over $210.00… enough to cover what I spent on Amanda’s summer wardrobe, with about $50.00 left over to pamper myself!

I tell you… it still amazes me how much more space we have in our garage now that so many of the baby items and outgrown clothes are gone! I am DEFINITELY going to consign again in the fall! It’s such a great way to make some extra cash AND get rid of gently used children’s items! If you’ve never consigned before, you should definitely give it a try.

Join me for our fall sale in September… you won’t regret it!

Update: The MOPS Sale has adopted a new name… Lilybugs Children’s Consignment Sale! Visit www.lilybugskids.com for current sale information.

The Grace Christian Center Mothers of Preschoolers (GCC MOPS) Children’s Consignment Sale is right around the corner!

Stop by on Saturday, March 15th between 8:30am and 2:00pm to find some great deals on gently used children’s items including outdoor play equipment, cribs, strollers, toys, clothing, and more! For more details, visit www.gccmopsconsignment.com. Hope to see you there!

Update: The MOPS Sale has adopted a new name… Lilybugs! Visit www.lilybugskids.com for current sale information.