My Mom, the CEO of a family of nine, ran a tight ship that was a remarkably well-oiled machine. It was a wonderful learning experience for me, and afer all, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. In celebration of her birthday today, I am sharing, with love:
The 5 Best Organizing Tips I Learned From My Mom
1. Lazy susan’s are an excellent space extender. Not just for kitchens, Anna (my mom) had one in just about every utility cabinet. The spinning allows you to see every item, whether its spices in the kitchen or cleaning products in the laundry or linen closet.
2. Behind the door is a great place store essentials. A tie rack in the bedroom, hooks for robes, an iron board, and more. My mother even took advantage of using the door hinge, like the rack pictured here. Luckily, us girls got a full length mirror behind our door. Righteous!
3. Be committed to a family calendar and hang it in a central location. Keep schedules and other like detail in that same area. My Mom used a bulletin board. Regardless of the size of your family, it’s great for everyone to know what’s going on. If we weren’t sure what day our swim lessons are or when mass is on Sunday, we knew where to look instead of bothering Mom. Well, most of the time. Sometimes we might have bothered her instead. 🙂
4. Have a place for everything and label when necessary. One thing about our household was that you just knew that everything had its place and it was everyone’s responsibility to put things away where they belong. There was a place for flashlights, a place for medicines and first aid, a place for our shoes, a place for games, and on. This is the number one rule of organizing and a challenge to do in any household. But the more every member learns this, the better your home “machine” will run.
5. The Chore Jar. This one is my favorite. I asked but Anna can’t remember where she learned this tip or whether she just made it up. I’m content to believe the later. I remember this mostly in the summer, when all you wanted to do was play play play all day. But not before you do your chores was the rule in the Castelli family. To make it fun, she had a jar filled with chores like “dust the living room”, “vacuum the family room” or “sweep the porch” written on little slips of paper. But amongst them you could also pick from “make yourself an ice cream cone” or “call your father at work to say hello”. It was a game and chores! So clever the way she got her little slaves working for her!
There are so many more, but this is a good start. I hope you find some great ideas to run your household, small or large, from the wisdom of my Mom.
Please feel free to share your best Mom advice.
Happy Birthday Mom.
I love you so much.
xo