Keep going when you feel like giving up

Probably one of the most hard things to do when you feel like giving up is to keep going but I swear, if you keep going you’ll achieve amazing results especially as it relates to homemaking and organising. Here’s how.

Create a plan

I love a good plan and I love writing these things down. There is scientific proof that hand writing or journaling your thoughts engages your brain and calms your body and nerves. It’s easy to see at a glance what your plan involves instead of having 100 hundred thoughts racing around your head, all needing to be done at once.

Break it down

If your plan is to declutter your whole home, break it down. Break it down room by room and then break it down even further. One shelf, one drawer, under the bed, hanging clothes, accessories etc if you were to start in your bedroom.

Write it down in your plan. This also gives you a good measure of how well you’re doing in achieving your goals and you can see how far you’ve got to go.

Set yourself a small goal

If you’ve been wanting to declutter and get your home organised, it’s so hard to make a start. If you set yourself a smaller goal instead of saying “I want my whole house decluttered”, you are more likely to see results immediately and keep going.

The first step is the hardest to make.

The smaller the goal, the easier it is to get it done and see a result. I find setting a timer for 15 to 30 minutes at a time is a great way to achieve a lot in a short amount of time.

Often our minds stop us from achieving our goals because of the time we think it’s going to take to achieve them. In reality, it doesn’t take that long, especially when your goals are broken down into smaller, more achievable tasks.

There will be setbacks

If I had a dollar for every time I said I was going to wake early and go for a walk first thing in the morning and by the time morning came around, I would be struck down with a cold overnight and not feel like going.

That’s okay. A cold only takes a week at most then you can start again. Don’t ever give up just because of a small setback.

I know what it’s like with children too. You can have all the expectations in the world to start your housework or decluttering and the kids will be sick or be temperamental on that day. Spend the time with the children. They’re small for only a short time. A few things on the floor will never replace that time you get to spend with your children.

Be grateful and remain positive

Something that I’ve noticed for many years and that is the more that I can be grateful for the small things in my life, the more good comes my way.

” Many more studies have examined possible connections between gratitude and various elements of psychological well-being. In general, more grateful people are happier, more satisfied with their lives, less materialistic, and less likely to suffer from burnout. Additionally, some studies have found that gratitude practices, like keeping a “gratitude journal” or writing a letter of gratitude, can increase people’s happiness and overall positive mood. “

Source

Just when you feel like giving up, be grateful. Show gratitude for what you do have. If you’re feeling down about the clutter in your home and you can’t find the motivation to start addressing it, express gratitude for what you can.

That could be a roof over your head, food on your table and family to love. If you continue to express gratitude daily, you will rewire your thought processes to be more positive and it will be easier to make a start and to keep going on your goals.

” When you run a marathon, you run against the distance, not against the other runners and not against the time.” What might seem like an distant goal, remember that it will take as long as it takes but by breaking it down into small manageable tasks is going to help you get over the finish line.

Keep going

Finishing the race will always give you a better result than if you didn’t make a start at all.

8 steps to take when life is crazy at home

You don’t need to tell me you that at any time in your day, all those well laid plans get can thrown out the window and life can get a bit crazy. We’re all so busy these days and it seems to happen more often than not. Here are 8 steps to take when life is crazy at home.

Go with the flow

The best thing to do is forget about what else you’ve got to do and just go with the flow.

Imagine you’re in a boat on wild seas. Know that it will end. Just ride it out.

There is always an end. Just know that it will pass and you’ll have time to refocus on what needs doing. Focus on the most important and urgent thing at hand. The biggest priority is of course the health and safety of yourself or your family members. Focus on that first.

Delegate

If you’re lucky enough to have a partner or older family members at home, delegate other things that need doing.

If you’ve got to run to the hospital or go to an appointment, ask your partner to start dinner, pick up the children from school or their dance class.

Have a village of people around you to call on when you need to. I was lucky when I was a single parent that I had a lot of other women in my circle of friends who would take one child while the other was sick or pick them up from school, which I’m eternally grateful. Don’t be too proud to ask for help. You know you can always offer to return the favour.

Stop and breathe

Realise that this is just a moment and it will end. You’re going to get through this so stop and breathe.

Deep breathing helps you to relax nearly instantly. Even if takes 3 to 5 deep breaths, just stop for that minute or so and you’ll be able to focus more on what needs to be done. Don’t panic.

Practice regular deep breathing techniques and other exercises that will help you be more calm and at ease when these moments do arise.

Once the dust settles

Once it’s all over, take the time to journal about what happened. Write down every detail of what happened. Not only to diarise the event but reaffirm that you can get through anything. That there is always and end to the chaos.

You’ll also be able to look back at these moments and have a little chuckle to yourself about just how chaotic life can be sometimes but you’ll always know that you can get through it. Use the time to enjoy a cup of tea and take out a couple minutes for yourself.

Plan, plan, plan

It’s good to have plans in place but we know that children are so unpredictable. The best way to plan is to have simple, nonrestrictive plans in place so you feel like you’re on top of most of what needs to be done in your day.

Have a simple morning routine of your most basic household chores that take no longer than 15 to 30 minutes.

Clean as you go (CAYG). Put things back after you’ve used them. Declutter and organise as you go.

Live in the moment

Be like a dog and live in the moment. My family are huge dog lovers and when we watch our pet dog Willy, we often laugh at how he has such a wonderful life. He never wants for anything, never plans anything too far in advance (except dinner time) and goes with the flow.

Don’t look too far into the future. Sure, have your appointments and routines. Catch up with friends and visit playgroups and take your kids to after school activities but live more in the moment.

There’s always room for improvement

After one of these moments of chaos occur in your home, besides journalling, it’s always good to review how you might’ve been able to handle it differently.

Look at what worked like older children helping with dinner prep, calling on a friend to help with after school pickup or deciding to have a really easy meal for dinner instead of what was planned. (No one ever died from having a sandwich for dinner.)

Make a mental note or journal about it so you’re better prepared next time.

Take regular time out for self care

And this is the biggest takeaway from this post! Always, always, always take regular time out for self care. You could be in the middle of a crisis and you could be reminding yourself that tomorrow is your day and you’ll have plenty of time for rest and relaxation.

Even if you don’t have enough time or resources with young children at home to take a whole day out, take out 15 minutes or half an hour here and there to put your feet up and do what you want to do. Even if it’s something as simple as having a hot cup of tea and reading a magazine.

This helps you recover and be ready to tackle anything life throws at your in the future.

Always remember that these things happen to anyone. You’re not alone. You’ve shown that you’ve got through it in the past. You can do it again.

8 steps to take when life is crazy at home

7 Benefits of Gratitude for an Organised Home Life

So you want to become more organised in your life, both your personal and home life. How can showing gratitude help you become more organised in your home? Let me explain these 7 benefits of gratitude for an organised home life can transform your home from a clutter mess to a more peaceful, organised, calm home.

There is scientific evidence that showing gratitude daily has such a profound effect on all areas of your life. One benefit, in particular, I want to share with you is how it can help you become more organised in your home.

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Rewires the brain

Showing gratitude on a daily basis rewires the brain and changes your thoughts from being negative to more positive. It helps you to relax, become more resilient, less envious and creates happier memories.

Studies show that expressing gratitude consistently, over an extended period of time, will start to change your thought process to automatically look for the good in every situation instead of looking at the negative.

Increases productivity

I know what it’s like to lose all motivation. This was evident to me when I my mother passed away back in 2012, just after my marriage ended and I suffered depression. I lacked all motivation to keep my home tidy and organised.

I didn’t know where to start to get my home into order again. I was overwhelmed.

After seeking professional help, I soon started a gratitude journal and, nearly instantaneously, I became motivated to get my house into order. My productivity increased naturally and I was motivated to do more.

Improves relationships

One of the greatest things I’ve found that helps me to become more organised by keeping a gratitude journal is the effect it has had on the relationships in my family.

As any parent would know, dealing with babies, toddlers, school aged children or teenagers can be challenging. Let alone any flow on effect that might have with your partner.

Focusing on what you’re grateful for in your life, will create a calmer home environment. Setting a good example will show your children that you can remain calm when there are times of conflict. They will want to contribute to doing their part to maintain that sense of calmness and help with chores and keeping your home organised.

Increases self esteem

By writing in a gratitude journal daily your self esteem will increase. You will feel better about yourself and the home you live in. You will want to create a peaceful and calm home environment and make changes to keeping it tidy.

You will discover that you’re worth it. That you’re worth having a nice, tidy home. One that you can find things easily. One that is orderly and everything is in it’s place.

It doesn’t have to be a show home but a home you can be proud of. You will also find that you’ll want to take better care of your health, your finances and so many other areas of your life.

You’ll have more energy

Expressing gratitude will give you more energy. You’ll have the energy to want to clean your home. You’ll want to keep on top of things. You’ll pack things away before they become a cluttered mess.

You’ll have more energy to spend time playing with your children. You’ll have more energy to want to cook a wholesome healthy meal for your family instead of buying take out.

It will increase your energy on so many levels. You’ll have a new lease on life.

You’ll be less envious

One of the worst things about social media and the internet today is that it creates envy in people. That your life, in comparison to what you see on the internet, is somehow less perfect or not the kind of life you want to live at all.

By showing gratitude daily for what you do have instead of what you don’t you’ll be happy with your own life and what you have. You won’t want to seek external, material possessions to make you feel better. You’ll naturally feel good about your own circumstances.

Helps you become optimistic

If you focus on the negatives in your life, it doesn’t give you much hope for the future. Practicing gratitude will help you believe that you do in fact have a wonderful life. That your future is bright and there is so much to look forward to.

It will naturally bring more wonder, more enjoyment, more peace and calm and more hope into your life.

Because you’ll have more energy, better health, improved relationships, better financial management and ultimately a more organised home, you’ll be looking forward to more of the same.

Your outlook on life will improve immensely and you’ll be living your dream life.

5 ways to be more organised in the kitchen for dinner time

They don’t call it the ‘witching hour’ for nothing. That time from when the sun goes down to when food is placed on the table. It can be a nightmare for anyone. There are no hard or fast rules for how you get dinner on the table. You want less stress and fuss. There are some ways to be more organised in the kitchen for dinner time. Here’s how.

Now, don’t worry. I’m not going to suggest you spend the whole weekend cooking up a storm. Putting all that delicious food into a plastic container so that it can be warmed in the microwave. I’m not about that at all but if it works for you, that’s great.

I’d much rather you spend as little time in the preparation of your meal so that when it does come time for dinner, all you have to do is serve it. The more time you spend preparing it earlier in the day, the better and the less cooking processes involved.

1. Prepare it in the morning

I’m a big lover of the slow cooker. I don’t use it for every meal but I try to create meals that do use it. The slow cooker is great in the warmer months too because you’re not heating up your kitchen.

It doesn’t even really have to be done first thing in the morning. Most dishes will cook on high for 4 hours or less. If you’ve got the opportunity to put it on when you’re preparing your lunch, great. If you do leave the house every day, putting on in low for 8 hours is a better bet for you.

If you’re not using the slow cooker, what components of your evening meal could you prepare in the morning? So it’s ready for dinner?

• Chop vegetables ready for a stir fry
• Boil eggs, vegetables for a salad (eg potato salad), bake jacket potatoes for a stuffed potato meal or bake pumpkin or sweet potato for a warm salad
• Cook rice or pasta, or soak noodles
• Marinate meat for the barbecue
• Cook the roast so it only needs to be warmed up at dinner time
• Make dips or sauces to accompany the meal
• Make the stock for a soup that only needs vegetables and/or meat added at the last minute and warmed up.

2. Find meals that need little preparation

One of the best ways I’ve found is to discover meals, that your family loves, that need little preparation at all.

A big platter of salad vegetables and barbecued meat served with a variety of condiments is as easy as it can get. Everyone can help themselves to what they like. All you need to do is add meat. A barbecue is great in the warmer months. Tinned fish, eg tuna, is perfect for sprinkling over the top.

One of my favourite easy meals is Salade Nicoise. This French classic is so easy and so tasty to prepare in little time.

Ingredients like vermicelli noodles or couscous only need to be soaked in hot water before serving. (I add a little orange juice and/or zest to my couscous for a great flavour.)

3. Stock your pantry well

What I mean by this is if you have a well stocked pantry, you won’t be running to the store for that one ingredient you need to finish your meal. When you have the basics, you can make anything.

For example, I was going to have aCaesar Saladfor dinner one night. I didn’t have any ready made Caesar dressing (not that I have a lot of ready made ingredients).

I had all of the ingredients to make it from scratch. I did this in the morning and just cook the bacon before serving. Then I boiled the eggs during the day. The croutons as well so it was just a matter of tossing it all together. (Having anchovies in the fridge, that keep for ages, made it really authentic.)

Think about the meals you and your family like to eat and keep those basic ingredients on hand all the time. If you’d like to know more about how I do that, check out my Shop Smart, Eat Well Program and how I only spend $150 per fortnight on all groceries.

It also pays to have a good variety of dried herbs and spices in your pantry to add instant flavour without a lot of effort. A dry rub of say paprika, oregano, cumin, dried coriander, salt and pepper spread onto fish before frying takes a simple piece of fish, or chicken, to a whole new level.

4. Be prepared for an emergency to avoid buying takeaway

I’m don’t usually buy ready made sauces or packet meal mixes but sometimes, especially with young children or if you’re working full time, it doesn’t hurt to have a few emergency pantry items on hand.

I sometimes have a good quality pasta sauce in the cupboard that can be warmed up and served with pasta than waste my money on takeaway. Another one of my favourite meals is Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. It’s just plain pasta served with fried garlic in olive oil, optional red chilli flakes and parmesan cheese and it’s delicious!

Keep bread rolls in the freezer for burgers, pita, tortilla or Lebanese bread for wraps, ready crumbed chicken or fish, pizza bases, or whatever else your family loves to eat in an easy to heat and serve form so you can avoid takeaway and save money and still enjoy a good, home cooked meal.

4. Keep it simple

Meals don’t have to be complex or gourmet to be filling and tasty. In fact, the more simple you can keep the ingredients and the preparation the more nutritious and tasty they will be. You’ll rely on the actual flavour of the ingredients to make the meal tasty.

Limit your ingredients to as few as possible. Search for new recipes by adding the words easy or simple to your Google or Pinterest search. Speaking of Pinterest. Do you follow me on Pinterest? I have many food boards that cover just about every food group possible. Most of the recipes are simple and I don’t usually pin them unless I’m going to try them.

Baked vegetables drizzled with olive oil and served with crusty bread make a delicious meal. Soups, where you throw everything in the pot (especially vegetables that are looking a bit sad) are perfect for an easy meal. I get my family involved in the prep and make their own pizzas, for example. Make a bit of fun out of the whole meal experience. My kids love burger night at my place because I put the word McMurphy in front of the name of the burger. They love it!

5. When all else fails

Not that I’m hoping it does. That’s the least of what I want for you when it comes to meal prep and eating your meal. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, things just don’t work out as planned. I know first hand what it’s like. Babies, toddlers, illness, trips to the hospital or you’re not well yourself can all contribute to how your evening meal pans out.

In times like these there’s no harm whatsoever in toasted sandwiches, baked beans on toast, brinner (breakfast for dinner) or a bowl of cereal. It’s all still food at the end of the day. Don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t get that meal out as planned. I’ve given my children a toasted sandwich and ice cream with fruit for dinner. It was one of their favourite things when they were little if I was either really sick with the flu or a single mother just trying to cope with the every day.

It’s only food at the end of the day and don’t be stressed at this important part of the day. Meal times should be a great time of the day to all come together, talk about your day and eating food should be an enjoyable part of the whole process.

5 ways how learning can help you organise your life

We have no time anymore. Our homes are a mess. We’re working full time and we rely on takeaway to feed our families. There is always another way. It’s not by copying what other people are doing on social media. It’s about ‘learning what works for you. Here are 5 ways how learning can help you organise your life.

You may not remember how you learnt to walk, use the toilet properly or even eat but it takes a bit of practice and learning to accomplish those skills. New brain cells are growing every day and they don’t ever stop. Studies show that creative and innovative thinking processes in our brains are built on the foundation of knowledge.

You’ve heard the saying “familiarity breeds contempt”? If you’ve done something the same way for a long time with no results, isn’t it in your best interest to learn a new way of doing something? Where do you learn it? How do you know what you need to learn? Here’s how.

Learning can come in the form of online or face to face courses, books, ebooks, live demonstrations, Youtube videos, and other social media channels.

Fine tune the problem

What’s the problem you’re having? Messy house? Can’t cook? No time?

Identifying the problem will help isolate what you need to do to learn how to solve that problem. Breaking it down even further will really help you fine tune the solution.

For example, if you can’t cook your solution might be to search for a basic cooking course or no cook meals. Messy house? You might like to search for something like how to keep a clean house with a new baby. What about too much clutter and you don’t know where to start? How about working on your mindset first before you even think about decluttering.

Practice mindfulness

Practicing mindfulness is so beneficial for so many areas of your life. How to get fit, how to improve your health, how to relieve stress.

If you don’t know how to change bad habits, form new ones and create an organised life, practicing mindfuless and allowing yourself time to breathe and focus will help you see more clearly what you need to learn.

At each stage of my children’s lives, I’ve always encountered issues. Whether that’s fussy eating, toilet training, starting school, being bullied or teenage mood swings. Instead of feeling down about my life and wondering how I’ll get through this stage, I’ve practiced mindfulness and a clearer picture of what I’ve needed to learn has presented. Getting books from the library, doing online courses, speaking to other parents going through the same things. Whatever it is, take time out to being more mindful and the solutions or ways to find out solutions will present themselves.

Love what you do and have

Nothing, and I mean nothing can improve your life more than loving your life and what you do. Do you love your home or are you constantly being negative about how it’s not big enough or stylish enough. It doesn’t look like the magazines or other people’s homes. That is what other people are doing. It’s not your life. Learn to love what you have and what you do by being grateful.

Think of how fortunate you are to have what you do. Many people have a lot less than what you do. Be proud of the fact you have a roof over your head and food on the table. Stop worrying about what other people are doing and do what you love and what works for you.

Be grateful

There has been so much proof that being grateful creates more positivity and a willingness to do more and do better, just naturally. It’s like you’re automatically rewiring your brain to seek a better way of life and your brain points you in the right direction on how to do that.

Journalling, that is writing in a simple notepad, just 3 to 5 things every day that you’re grateful will significantly improve the way you feel about your life and you’ll automatically want to improve it. Whether that’s being motivated to clean your home, learn new ways to improve your skills for a new career or just how to create exciting and simple meals.

Don’t be influenced by social media

There is a lot of great stuff on social media but only if it’s going to benefit you and not hinder your efforts for a more organised life. If you’re following someone on social media who has it all together. They share their beautifully styled homes and it’s leaving you feeling less satisfied about your life, unfollow. That’s not helping you. That’s only making you feel worse.

Your life is not their’s. They have completely different circumstances to you and could only be showing half the story. Sure, if it’s something that you can implement, you have the time, the energy and resources to organise your life that way, then sure, do it. That’s what I’m here for. Here at Domesblissity, I live a simple and well organised life that is full of abundance.

I have all the time I need to do all that I want. It’s not from copying what someone else has done. It’s what has felt right for me. That will fit in with my schedule and my family’s schedule. If anything, I get a real kick out of doing it my way.

Once you work out what areas of your life you need to improve on, take time out for yourself to work out what that is, show gratitude and not be influenced by other people, you’ll start to implement solutions that are tailor made for you and will work for you because you love what you do and what you have.

How to get organised in your home no matter what stage of life you're at

When I say who I mean whether you’re a mother, single, married no kids, married empty nesters, with babies or toddlers, with older children, working out of the home, female or male. There is a way to get things done in your home so you can enjoy more freedom doing what you love. Here’s how to get things done in your home no matter who you are.

As humans, we’re always evolving. From the moment we’re born and growing up in our parent’s home, to the time we move into our own place, our home life is always changing.

We study, we work, we move in with someone, we have children, the children grow through various stages, they leave home, etc, etc.

As does everything about who is living in our home changes, so should our expectations and standards of home organisation.

Establish a daily routine

Right from the start, you should establish a daily routine. This will set you up for a lifetime of success in staying on top of your home and keeping it tidy.

Just like brushing your teeth, having a shower or having breakfast, establishing a daily housework routine of no more than 5 chores that take no longer than 30 minutes will allow you to have a tidy home that you’re happy with.

These chores can be anything you find irritating or frustrated if they’re not done like making the bed, clearing the breakfast dishes, getting a load of laundry on or whatever. I call this the Roadmap to Routine.

First time living out of home

It’s our first time out of our parental home. We’ve got the opportunity to set up house exactly the way we want. We can choose to live in a mess or keep it tidy.

I know when I first left home, I had everything set up just the way I wanted it. I respected Mum’s and Dad’s home and kept things where they wanted it but once I got my own place, I had the opportunity to play house and kept things really neat and tidy.

Your first flat mate

This could be your first share accommodation or when you first move in with someone. it’s going to be a learning curve and you’re going to have to respect each other’s property and space.

One person might be really organised and the other may not. From the start is a great opportunity to set up ground rules on what each other’s expectations are.

When baby arrives

You may have already experienced living with your partner, getting married or just deciding to start a family. When baby comes along it’s time to lower all of your expectations.

Even before baby comes is a great time to really give your home a good declutter. Even if you don’t get rid of stuff but put it into storage it will mean that you won’t have as much dusting or tidying to do.

Keep your possessions to a minimum. From my first hand experience in raising 2 children, they are going to take up the majority of your time.

Even if you do have help from friends or family, getting into a regular routine right from the start with your baby will help you.

Establish regular nap and feeding times. When the baby sleeps, you sleep. While the baby is having some tummy time, grab a coffee and practice some deep breathing or other forms of self care. Get out of the house and go for a walk. Whatever it is, this is the time when your child needs you the most so concentrate on the essentials of homemaking like eating, doing the laundry and self care, along with caring for the baby of course.

The toddler years

You can’t wait for your baby to sit up, start solids, crawl, walk etc but once the toddler years start, you wonder what happened to that fully dependent little baby. A toddler has just found their independence and will be in to everything. You’ll be run off your feet.

Still keep everything to a minimum in your home. Don’t worry about buying too many toys. You’ll only have more to tidy up and to find storage for. A couple toys in a toy box, rotated regularly is more than enough.

Encourage your child to seek out nature, play in the mud, run barefoot on the grass and splash in the water. It will develop a sense of creativity in your child.

Again, keep to the bare minimum of housework. Worry only about food, laundry and self care. Fit self care in whenever you can.

The school years

You can’t wait for your child to start school because you’re going to get so much done. This might be the case but you’ll probably find you’ll be asked to volunteer for so many things at your child’s school, that free time is still elusive.

You will, however, have a bit more time on your hands during the day, depending on if you still have younger children at home and this is the time when you can take a bit of extra time around the home to factor in more chores into your day.

Maybe take up an old hobby or pursue a new one. Join the local gym or tennis club. Make some new friends with other school parents and catch up for regular coffees.

Working out of the home

When your children start school you might want to return to part time or full time work, if not before they start school. I’ve tried this a couple times and it’s just too hard. I did manage though but it’s a hard slog just to do the basics.

Try to get the whole household on board with taking part in the upkeep of the home. Try to get up early or stay up that bit later to do a few chores and make meal times easy with tray bakes, easy to throw together salads or other quick and easy meals.

Use the commute to and from work or your lunch break to practice self care.

When the children have gone

I can’t write this from a parent’s perspective but thinking about my own mother (my father passed away before he was of retirement age), she wanted to start enjoying life. She was passionate about her hobbies and travel so didn’t want to be tied to the house doing housework all the time.

Keep your possessions to a minimum, keep up your daily routine and enjoy plenty of time pursuing your dreams. It is definitely your time if you haven’t already made those previous years a priority for yourself.

Conclusion

I’m currently at the teenage years so still have a few more years to go until they leave home but the point is, no matter what stage you’re at in your personal life, you adapt your home life to suit.

What you used to do before baby arrived is hard to upkeep unless you pay for or get help from family and friends. Adjust your standards and level of expectations. The time will come again when you can have your home exactly the way you want. The house will be a lot quieter and you’ll wonder where the years went.

Remember, it’s not about what is in your home but who.

How to Organise your Laundry Space

Whether your laundry is confined to a small cupboard or you’re lucky enough to have a whole room devoted to cleaning clothes, the laundry space is a focal point to every home.

 

Although it’s not exactly a hub for social activity, it’s a super practical area vital to your everyday needs. No matter how difficult the task you’re tackling, whether it be washing all your clothes from a recent holiday or figuring out how to get tomato sauce out of clothes, having a well-designed laundry space makes everything easier. To help you make the most of your laundry space, I’ve put together some of my favourite tips for organizing this space.

Wash Baskets

If you find yourself spending too much time rifling through your washing to separate the colours, whites and delicates, there is a way you can save yourself a lot of time. Simply have a few smaller washing baskets, labelled with the type of clothing, and have everyone in your home pop their dirty clothes in the right basket. When it comes to washing, you just have to grab the basket, set the machine and you’re good to go.

Glass Jars

If you want to add a little bit of luxury to your laundry space, invest in some glass jar containers. You could pick some old-school mason-style jars for a vintage vibe or cute, decorated jars for something a little quirkier. Use these jars to store your washing detergent and capsules. It looks so much nicer than a load of plastic and cardboard lying around.

Drying Pole

Install a pole between two cupboards or suspend from the ceiling so that you can hang items up to air-dry neatly. I love the look of real wooden poles, especially when paired with wooden cupboards, though you can go for whatever material you prefer. Buy a selection of matching, quality hangers for a finishing touch.

Countertop

If you don’t have a counter over your washing and drying machines, you should definitely think about getting one. It’s a super simple way to make your laundry space look neater and well-designed, and it maximizes your storage potential. You can put little baskets on your countertop or a cute tray for your glass jars – maybe even a small plant to brighten the room. It’s also a great area to fold clothes and organise on, making doing the laundry much easier.

Labels, Labels, Labels

There’s nothing I love more in a laundry space than when everything is properly labelled. Whether it’s baskets, jars, tins or whatever storage you’re using, popping on some cute labels makes it so much easier and quicker to find what you’re looking for. Doing your laundry will be much simpler!

 

You’ll find you actually enjoy doing laundry when your laundry space is organised properly. Hopefully you can take inspiration from my little tips and tricks to create a space you love.

 

5 Golden Rules of Organising

When you hear the word “ORGANISING” does it make you feel, well, unorganised? Does it make you feel like you wish you were more organised and that you’re failing in your homemaking skills because your home doesn’t look like those ‘organised’ homes you see online? Well, don’t worry. It’s not that hard to be organised if you follow these 5 golden rules of organising.

EVERYTHING IN YOUR HOME HAS A HOME

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If you can find a place in your home to store everything and that becomes the place where it belongs, you’re well on your way to being more organised.

If you find you don’t have enough room for all of your things, it might be time to start thinking of decluttering. If you really want to get organised it’s time to get serious about all your stuff. Ask yourself these questions.

When’s the last time I used it, wore it or even looked at? If it’s longer than 12 months, it’s most likely you won’t in the next 12 months. Time to get rid of it. I know I’m so guilty of this when it comes to craft supplies. I use to save every bit of cardboard, string, paper or any pretty thing that I thought would ‘come in handy one day’. 

I got ruthless and threw it away, only keeping what I know I had enough storage space for. If I do need a particular item for a project, I can pick it up cheaply from the dollar store or use something else instead.

The same goes with my linen. I used to love collecting vintage linen like tablecloths, tea towels, napkins etc. I’ve only got one dining table and there’s not enough days in the week for me to use them all. As much as it hurt to declutter it all, I did it and now I only have a couple that I use all the time. It was hard but I have much more room in the linen closet to hold what I do use and need.

Find ‘homes’ for all the common things you use a lot. Things like fingernail scissors, sticky tape and scissors, phone chargers and/or charging station, kid’s toys, favourite pens and other stationery. As soon as you’re finished using it, it goes back in that place, every time.

FINISH ONE JOB AT A TIME

This is one area of organising that I still have a hard time with. I’m folding the laundry, for example, and am already thinking of the next thing that needs doing or I see something that needs cleaning and rush off and do it. Don’t! Fold the laundry and then pack it away.

Finish that thing you’re doing and don’t think of anything else. If you find your mind wandering, bring it back to the task at hand. If you do happen to think of something else that needs doing, write it down. Keep your diary, notebook or planner near you at all times during the day so you can quickly jot those things down and then forget about them.

I have a 3 level home and nothing irks me more than having to take what I find in the family room up to the bedroom, for example. If I had to keep on top of that, I’d soon be tired from walking from one room of the house to the other all day. I keep small baskets on each level and if I find something that belongs in another area of the home, I put it in the basket until I next go to that room.

This has saved me so much time and energy and it also helps the kids be organised teaching them that their personal items also need to have homes.

IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PRETTY TO BE ORGANISED

I would have to say my Nanna’s home was one of the most organised homes I’d ever been in. She had plenty of knick knacks spread out in her home but everything had a place and was in it’s place.

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The best part was, she didn’t have matching plasticware. She didn’t have woven cane baskets with matching tags. She didn’t have vinyl lettering on every glass jar telling her what the contents were. I still have one of her glass salad bowls and underneath is a bandaid (yes, a bandaid) with her family name on it so it would be returned to her after a function.

If you think copying a pretty picture on the internet will help you be more organised, remember, it’s a lot of work to maintain that.  I know when I get home with the groceries, I want it to be packed away in the fastest time possible so I can move onto the next thing.

I don’t have time to decant cocoa powder into a specially labelled jar that says “Cocoa Powder”. I put the box of cocoa powder in the area of my pantry where I store baking supplies and when I open that box, I secure the opened packet with a clothes peg. You can see quite clearly on the box what it is.

I’m not being cynical in that what you see on the internet isn’t possible. Sure, take some inspiration from it but keep in mind, if you already lead a busy life with full time work or being a full time parent, there’ll be plenty of time once the children have grown up to get it looking pretty. In the meantime, keep it manageable.

Remember, it has to function for you and make your life easier, not harder. I’ll always prefer function over how it looks any day.

STORE LIKE WITH LIKE

This rule is one of the best rules to get yourself more organised. You need to store similar items together so that it’s easy to find those items and return them.

Create zones in your home for certain things. Here’s a few ideas.

• Keep together all your TV remotes, gaming controllers and other devices that are relevant for the equipment that is on your TV cabinet. We often have a TV remote go missing with our kids but they are starting to learn that when the TV isn’t on, the remote goes back on the TV cabinet.
• Scissors, sticky tape, wrapping paper and ribbon should all go together for easy access when wrapping gifts. If your children get invited to birthday parties like mine do, having all these things in one spot makes it so much easier to find rather than scrambling around at the last minute looking for the sticky tape or having to rush to the store to buy more.
• Cookbooks with cookbooks, reference books with reference books, novels with novels, etc. Nothing worse than trying to find your favourite cookbook amongst the kid’s books. I know our homes aren’t libraries so we don’t need them that organised but having them grouped together on the bookshelf will help you know where they need to be returned to.
• Underpants, bras, socks, sleepwear, tshirts, shorts, skirts, swimming wear etc should all be stored in separate areas. This had made a huge difference to teaching my kids how to pack away their clean laundry. They know that if they need a pair of swimmers, it’s in that section of their wardrobe. Same as socks. If there aren’t any clean socks in their drawers it means they have either packed them in the wrong place or Mumma needs to do a wash! (The second one is a very rare occurrence like when Mumma gets sick.)
• Keep all your dairy products together in the fridge, your tinned vegetables together in the pantry, your sauces, seasonings, oils together, your frozen vegetables together in the freezer. This makes it easier at meal times just to go to that spot and grab what you need.

BREAK IT DOWN INTO SMALL CHUNKS

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I can remember, back in 2012, when my marriage broke down and my mother passed away that I had really let things go. I couldn’t cope with having to be organised as well as looking after my children AND myself. When I did get the psychological help I needed, I felt like I wanted to get back to my former ‘organised’ self but was so overwhelmed I just didn’t know where to begin.

I broke it down into smaller, manageable chunks. Instead of thinking I had to organise the whole linen closet, I organised one shelf. When I want to reorganise the cutlery and utensil drawers, I do one drawer at a time, still to this day. As soon as I tell myself that I need to reorganise something, instead of feeling overwhelmed with the task at hand, I tell myself that I need to organise one drawer, one cupboard or one shelf.

It gets done quicker, you don’t feel overwhelmed and the job gets done. It might not get all done in one day, but that’s okay. You’ll feel more organised because of it and you’ll be well on your way to having an organised home.

 

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a hard slog trying to keep the house organised, especially with children. While your children are young, a good way to stay organised is to lower your expectations. You don’t have to lower your standards. They will always be there. Deal with your children first. They will be grown up soon enough and for all those years you worried about having everything organised in your home and felt like a failure because you didn’t, could be time better spent on sitting on the floor and playing with your child or reading them a story. 

I was forced to let my organising expectations go once I had children. It was humanly and physically impossible to have a well organised home like I was used to and have well fed, clean, content children. Something had to give. Now that my children are older, things are starting to get back to what they were and I have the advantage of showing the children what it’s like to live in a well organised home at an age that they will understand.

I also have a FREE printable for you to print out and put in a frame so you can be reminded of these five golden rules of organising. You can download it here.

 

How to Organise Deep Drawers

When you start pricing them, drawer units of any kind are expensive. They are often narrow and the drawers aren’t deep. You can often find second hand filing cabinets being given away for free or for very little money but unless you have files to hang, they’re just a big deep drawer space, that is, unless you know how to organise deep drawers.

I recently made over my designated craft and office space and had a 2 drawer filing cabinet. I decided to remove the hanging files as I don’t receive much paperwork that needs filing anymore. Most of it is sent electronically and I file online. I didn’t want to go and spend the money on a new set of drawers so decided to make the most of this filing cabinet.

We were going for a grey colour scheme in my office/craft space so my husband gave the front of the filing cabinet drawers and cabinet itself a quick spray with grey spray paint.

As you can see, filing cabinet drawers are a little weird in their design. The front of the drawer is quite high but the sides aren’t. If you were to fill those drawers with loose items, they’d most likely get caught as the drawer closes and opens. The best thing to do is create compartments to fill the vertical space within the drawer.

Take the measurements of the drawer, that is, the width across, the length from front to back and the depth of the actual drawer from the bottom to just under the the lip of the front of the filing cabinet. Look for suitably sized containers with lids at your local dollar store to fill the space. You might find two long but not so deep containers or 4 smaller ones. Remember to take your drawer measurements with you and experiment with different sized containers.

I filled my large containers with fabric and I had enough space on top of those containers to store my button and beads containers. The drawer slides open and shut easily without losing any of the contents.

For the top drawer of the filing cabinet I wanted to keep all of the different crafting bits and pieces I use. Things like embroidery cotton, scissors, glues and tapes, sewing notions like interfacing, quilting rulers. A little bit of everything. I usually have a good stock of used boxes I keep for the children’s crafts and for general repurposing so I played around with the configuration of the boxes and trimmed the tops so they were all the same height.

I picked up a roll of pretty wrapping paper and wrapped all the boxes which doesn’t take very long at all.

It was just a matter of playing around with what fit best in each box. (It’s still a work in progress and as I use the materials in each box, I’ll find what works best.) Everything is in it’s spot and easily within reach. I know if I’m wanting to embroider, the embroidery threads and needles are all in one box, same as the lace trims, etc etc.

I had 3 smaller plastic containers destined for another job but they fit in the front area of the drawer to hold things I need to put my hands on fast and easily. Things like the glue, sticky tape, glue gun, drawing pins, tape measures, unpicker, pins, glasses etc. There are 2 containers on the right that are on top of each other. I just lift the top container off to get the contents in the box underneath.

To look at my ordinary filing cabinet you wouldn’t think that I have nearly my entire craft supplies in easy to see compartments within those two drawers.

I also have deep drawers in my kitchen and I used baby formula tins to keep baking and cooking supplies in plus two tiers of large plastic containers for my basic flour, sugar and icing sugar. The second drawer keeps all the boxes of breakfast cereal, kid’s plates and other tall containers.

Think of the humble filing cabinet as a purposeful storage option before you decide to get rid of it. Think of the ‘vertical’ space and how best to make the most of it. Reuse cereal and other small boxes to organise your different craft supplies plus other containers you might already have in your home.