Operation Organize: Getting Your Family Involved

by Sarah Buckwalter

in General

23 Jan 2018

Operation Organize: Getting Your Family Involved

The way you start your day sets the tone for the remainder of your day. But, it doesn’t have to. With so much clutter around you and so little time, it’s inevitable that you’ll feel stressed and stress is hard thing to hide sometimes. While you’re searching for your keys in the morning, you’re asking yourself “has anyone taken the dog out yet?”, and in the back of your mind your to-do list when you get home from work is already a mile long. Disorganization happens – it just does and everyone gets disorganized from time to time. That’s where getting your family involved and on the same page can do wonders for you and your home. This is “Operation Organize” – the key to whipping your disorganized life into shape with a little help from your family!

Here are some helpful tips from Organizing Boston’s professional organizers on how to get your family involved to maintain a happy and organized home:

Be Positive: Your home environment is a reflection of your mood and outlook on life. Being upbeat, positive and energetic in your home will help your family members feel the same way. Be the “light” in your family – you’ll notice a change and it’s also food for your home’s soul.
Daily Routines: Everyone in your home should know where everything goes. Establishing daily routines throughout the week will help make those weekend chores a whole lot easier and give you time back to enjoy your time off work. Simple steps, like placing dirty laundry in the hamper, clearing the dinner table, putting away homework assignments, hanging up coats, making their beds, and the list goes on and on. Even one daily routine for each member in your family can help keep your home organized.

Create a List: If you find some members in your family need helpful reminders, write a list for them in the morning and set it on the bathroom vanity, hang it on the fridge (somewhere visible) or stick it in their backpack. You’re all on the same side here, so taking one minute in your morning to jot down some reminders could equate to them actually doing a task which means you don’t have to!
Give and Take: Everyone knows that hard work pays off. Sometimes with hard work there’s compromise and that can either be a good thing or a bad thing. If you come across a “well what do I get if I do this?” response just stop, think for a second, then speak. Your response should be of good-nature, show reciprocity and maybe even offer a small reward. The goal is to create a win-win situation which shouldn’t necessarily make one person feel “in control”, but rather feel educated about what “give and take” truly means in the first place.
Be Inspired: Breathe. You’re doing a great job. Let your family know how much their help means to you and let them inspire you too. After all, you’re a family and families are teams and teammates support one another.
Don’t Procrastinate: “Just Do It” (thank you, Nike!)….no seriously, why put off something to tomorrow when you can do it today? The moment you show signs of laziness your family will too. Show them that “setting your mind to do something” and “having the motivation to get things done” isn’t easier said than done….it’s actually just, well, pretty easy!
Have Fun: Doing something fun and rewarding with your family at the end of the week will show them how much you appreciate their help and caring about maintaining an organized home!

Remember: it’s much easier to find a few minutes each day than to find several hours at the end of each month!

As Boston’s premium professional organizing company, we like to say “Your Organized Home = A Happy Life!”.