What are your best organizational hacks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have one style/color of socks for ages 3-5 (white), and the same exact socks but in light grey for ages 5-7. I buy them in bulk, and nobody has any others. They all match, losing them is NBD and laundry is 1000x easier.

Same with gloves. I buy these little simple gloves that fit from about age 2-5 in bulk, and all kids in that age range wear ‘em. Losing them doesn’t matter, they’re like $10 for a dozen pairs on Amazon.

How many kids do you have?

[Anonymous]

Hiring two part time housekeepers who organize everything for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a short term vacation rental. All bedding can be interchanged as it all matches. So when my husband cleans the property he can't screw it up.

We visit our children often. I have toiletry bags and a weighted blanket at each home so I don't have to carry all that stuff with me.

I'm in two bookclubs. I always host both the same month, one evening after the other, so I only have to clean and prepare once a year.

My husband and I share an app called my groceries so we can both add to it when we notice we're out of something. Either of us can go to the store and get what's on the list.

That's just a start, I guess.

Our hack for our rental is that they are all different. King bed has white sheets. Queen has pin stripe sheets. Twin beds have gray sheets. The towels are all white, and at this point probably from different brands/sets but they all “match”

[Anonymous]

Everyone rinses their dish and puts it in the dishwasher. At night there is at most 2-3 cups or spoons in the sink. I load them, run the dishwasher and unload it in the morning. (Actually DH unloads after his 5am work out; because he needs his protein blender container, which he rinses and places in the dishwasher shen he’s done)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do your items belong with their cousins or their coworkers?

Example > melatonin go with other vitamins, meds, etc (cousins) or coworkers (in nightlife table with sleepmask)?

We have a zip lock bag for each family member with their ss card, birth certificate, and passport. We used to store all cards together and all passports together, etc but found that if I needed items for one person I’d have to touch and go through everyone else’s docs.Because we don’t use it often, I need to feel confident that it’s all in there. My 16yo needed her docs to sign up for a part time job this summer and afterwards I verified that their bag was put back in the safe.

[Anonymous]

We keep a pretty basket by the front door. The kids put their dirty socks in there, along with other dirty laundry that doesn’t make it up to their rooms (prior to that I was finding dirty socks all over the first floor).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We keep a pretty basket by the front door. The kids put their dirty socks in there, along with other dirty laundry that doesn’t make it up to their rooms (prior to that I was finding dirty socks all over the first floor).

I need to figure this out. I will still be the one picking up the socks, but at least I’ll have somewhere to put them quickly on the first floor.

My other solution to this is we got a puppy, and he is always chewing socks that my family leaves everywhere. Secretly, I cheer him on. It won’t work on my kids but I feel like it might finally train my husband.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We use printed copies of a custom grocery list of things we buy, organized by grocery section, so it’s easy to circle what is needed and then shop for it all.

We use OurGroceries app. I'm sure I learned about it here.

[Anonymous]

Always park near the cart return not near the store door. Started this when DD was a baby and it stuck.
I get everything out the night before, started with work days but now I do it on weekends too. I double check my keys are where they’re supposed to be etc before I go to bed. My teen gets her clothes out the night before too, and makes sure backpack is ready to go.

I do the same as a PP with sports. She has a backpack for each one, separate from school. So everything stays in its own bag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do your items belong with their cousins or their coworkers?

Example > melatonin go with other vitamins, meds, etc (cousins) or coworkers (in nightlife table with sleepmask)?

We have a zip lock bag for each family member with their ss card, birth certificate, and passport. We used to store all cards together and all passports together, etc but found that if I needed items for one person I’d have to touch and go through everyone else’s docs.Because we don’t use it often, I need to feel confident that it’s all in there. My 16yo needed her docs to sign up for a part time job this summer and afterwards I verified that their bag was put back in the safe.

This is great and I’m going to steal it, bc you’re right - we typically need several docs for a single person, and they’re in different folders, all of which i then leave out on the counter in an effort to remember to put the correct docs back in the correct folders.

The hack i will contribute is - in every bathroom i keep a toilet bowl brush, plunger, and every cleaning supply necessary incl rags. So we have multiples of shower cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, etc - but i never have to wonder where the toilet brush is, or think “oh I’d like to clean this mirror so i need to remember to bring the windex upstairs.” Everything is RIGHT THERE. This was especially helpful when the kids were d super young and needed supervised bath time - I always cleaned their bathroom, everything but the tub, while they were in the tub! Never had to step out of the room!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do things for Future Lauren. (I'm Lauren.)

So for example, today I was going to the office and needed to bring a few extra things. I pulled them together, put them all in a bag, and put the bag right in front of my front door so I couldn't possibly forget it.

I have a Note in my phone called Social, and I quickly jot things in there so I don't forget to reach out to someone. Today was:
1. call Dad
2. Ask Kevin how his DD's Nutcracker experience is going
3. Ask Thalia if she wants one of the green TJ's canvas bags and how her cold is
4. Do weekly check in on Eliza (on maternity leave)

At night, I write out what I'll eat the next day so I don't lose time during the day figuring it out, or make bad decisions.

I always say that “future me will thank today me.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do things for Future Lauren. (I'm Lauren.)

So for example, today I was going to the office and needed to bring a few extra things. I pulled them together, put them all in a bag, and put the bag right in front of my front door so I couldn't possibly forget it.

I have a Note in my phone called Social, and I quickly jot things in there so I don't forget to reach out to someone. Today was:
1. call Dad
2. Ask Kevin how his DD's Nutcracker experience is going
3. Ask Thalia if she wants one of the green TJ's canvas bags and how her cold is
4. Do weekly check in on Eliza (on maternity leave)

At night, I write out what I'll eat the next day so I don't lose time during the day figuring it out, or make bad decisions.

I always say that “future me will thank today me.”

You are a thoughtful friend !

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have one style/color of socks for ages 3-5 (white), and the same exact socks but in light grey for ages 5-7. I buy them in bulk, and nobody has any others. They all match, losing them is NBD and laundry is 1000x easier.

Same with gloves. I buy these little simple gloves that fit from about age 2-5 in bulk, and all kids in that age range wear ‘em. Losing them doesn’t matter, they’re like $10 for a dozen pairs on Amazon.

How many kids do you have?

PP here. 3 all smushed together. The youngest two are in the gloves, oldest in the grey socks, younger two in the white socks. But I think this would be helpful even with one kid. All matching, all interchangeable.

[Anonymous]

Bag with toiletries already packed for work travel.
Shares grocery list app with spouse so anyone can add/shop.
Kid’s sports stuff is always in the sports backpack so no last minute hunting for stuff.
On weekends, wear work out clothes to start day so don’t lose momentum to work out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I store sheets by folding up the flat sheet and fitted sheet and putting them inside of the pillowcase. Then the whole bundle gets stored in the linen closet. It’s impossible to pull out a mismatched set.

I love this idea and am going to try it. Right now I have 3 piles on a shelf in the closet. Pillow cases, fitted sheets and flat sheets and my daughters always just throw there clean sheets In there and never put them in the proper pile.

Next time they do laundry im going to tell them to do this.