Mothers Of Twins Learn De-Cluttering Tips

The Mother of Twins Association - Founding Chapter asked Mitzi Weinman, President of TimeFinder, a management training, coaching and professional speaking company to talk to their association about de-cluttering,
because their members were feeling overwhelmed with the accumulation of stuff in their homes. Her talk
focused on throwing things away, putting things away, starting the process and staying organized.

According to Weinman, "When you are overwhelmed with so many things around you, on countertops, in closets and drawers, and on the floor, it can drain
the energy right out of you and it becomes daunting to begin uncluttering."

At their meeting, Weinman armed them with simple ideas and many tips to get them started on their quest to get their homes organized and put new
"systems" in place.

Getting Started

How do you start to throw things away? Weinman suggest developing some criteria of what to keep and what to toss. For example, if you haven't read a magazine by the time the new issue arrives, throw the old one away. If you find the same magazine never seems to get read, cancel the subscription.

Don't leave unused toys or old clothes or clothes that don't fit in the drawers or closets or toy chests. Have bags or boxes set up and ready for
unused and old clothes. When you see something doesn't fit anymore, put it right in the box. When you fill the bag or box, contact a charity that picks up at your home.

Weinman asked the group why things don't get put away. The answers: too tired and not having homes for them. Weinman suggests: Make it easy to put things away. The homes that you create for your things must be convenient or else the liklihood of an easy clean up is doomed. For example, don't keep a pan that you use often in the farthest corner of you cabinet.

It's helpful, according to Weinman, to identify what's not working and why. Weinman also adds, "The clutter doesn't have to control you and your
house. Set aside a small amount of time. You can get a lot done in 10 or 15 minutes. Start small, for example the floor of a closet. Getting one small
area done, is better than putting off touching the closet because you don't have the time to clean the whole closet."

Clean up first before you start buying "organizing products". Figure out what you really need before bringing more into your house. Buckets are great but too many without purpose is just more clutter.

Staying organized can be tougher than getting organized. Weinman believes that having routines for both children and parents to put things away works. Part the daily routine for children, besides washing up, etc. should include putting toys and clothes where they belong.

Other examples of good routines: having a specific place the mail goes when it comes in (after you've thrown the junk
mail away by heading directly to the waste basket), or for the schoolwork when the kids come home from school, including, what you may need to sign and
return to school and a place for homework, once it's completed.

Weinman concluded her talk suggesting that the family work together to come up with ideas on how to make clean ups work. Buy-in from all family members who
are old enough to contribute and are part of the process adds more certainty that systems will be maintained.