Daily Preparedness

After organizing your laundry system, it is important to organize the way you store and retrieve clothing. Depending on your lifestyle, organizational personality, number of children and storage options, you may need to be creative in approaching this topic! Finding what suits you and then making it work is key to being able to quickly put away and then locate what you need.

The first step is to analyze your organizational personality. Regardless of what many closet organizers will tell you, there is no one system that works for everyone. In order to figure out where you are on the spectrum of organizational personality, ask yourself a few questions:

1. Are you someone that folds things with military precision, stacking items neatly and using every inch of space?
2. Are you more free spirited, preferring to simply group items by category?
3. Do you like to organize by outfits? (this works particularly well for children)
4. Do you prefer to separate by color? Function? Type?
5. Do you tend to leave clothing lying around?
6. Do you change your clothes when you come home from work?
7. Are you short on space?

Honestly answering these sorts of questions, and taking a hard look at how you function best, will help you determine the best method of organizing your clothing in the space you have available. Regardless of which system works best, the first step is to:

1. Sort through the clothing you have. Discard what you will never wear again. Be brutally honest about this, but also don’t be so over-zealous that you discard items you may indeed use. If there are items that might be out of fashion but serviceable, think first of your ‘Bug Out’ Bag.
2. Separate clothing that needs repair. As you organize look for items that need repair, cleaning, etc.
3. Look hard at the space you have available. Look up, look down and be creative in expanding the space.
4. Separate out-of-season clothing and store separately. Again, be creative. Decorative trunks, hat boxes, higher-than-you-can-reach-easily shelves and cabinets, under the bed, at the back of shelves, etc. are spaces that might hold out-of-season clothing.
5. Separate clothing that you rarely use, but should keep such as formal wear, ‘funeral clothes’, etc. If you have an extra closet, move those items there.
6. If you can’t find a mate for the sock, take the loners out of your sock drawer! If nothing else, they will become great dust rags.
7. Donate what is still good but you know you won’t wear. Keep a receipt for tax day!

Now that you have the clothes separated, think about the space you have available and what will work best for you. Here are some options for different personalities:

• Military Precision Personality. You are the perfect personality for drawers, either a free standing dresser in the bedroom or smaller drawers in the closet. Each drawer should hold one type of item, such as socks, underclothes, t-shirts, etc. Your closet will most likely make you happiest if your clothing is separated by type, color and season. Hanging as many clothes as possible will make your job easier and you might consider putting together a week’s worth of wardrobe at a time. You do not need a lot of extra ‘closet organizing’ paraphernalia as you are naturally precise. Extend your storage capability by utilizing multi-hangers for slacks, belts, ties and other accessories. Give yourself places to put small items such as jewelry, change, watches, etc. A cutlery tray in a drawer is a great way to organize those small items. Your biggest weakness may be that you think any item neatly folded is worth keeping, such as neatly fold odd socks, worn clothing, undies better off in the trash and even dirty clothes. Be certain that you analyze what you are saving and why. Likewise, you may find yourself stagnated in your methods. You are the type that will find it hard to change to a better solution!
• Middle Of The Road. You aren’t determinedly precise nor a complete free spirit. You lapse between organized and not-so-organized depending on life’s happenings. You may find yourself behind the power curve! For you, hang up as many clothes as possible. Utilize the multi-hangers for anything you can and group them by categories, such as casual wear, business wear, dress clothes, etc. Hang your clothing by types and pull out empty hangers whenever you can. Give yourself as many over-the-door hooks as you have places for. Utilize them for items you don’t have time to hang up or items you use frequently, such as robes and night clothes. Hanging shoe bags are another great option not only for shoes but for small ’stuff’ such as ties, scarves, socks, hair accessories, belts and other small items. Wall-mounted hooks can help to organize jewelry. Don’t be limited in options for storing folded clothes. Shelves may work well for you. Cubicles and open storage, such as toy bins placed in closets are great for frequently used items. If your closet is big enough, don’t store out-of-season clothing elsewhere. Simply group clothing by season and purpose. Always select your clothing, including accessories & shoes, for the next day before going to bed. For special occasions, set aside the complete outfit and store together. When traveling, take a tip from stylists and snap a photo of the outfits you will wear.
• Free Spirit. (Or you are a parent with too much to do!) You are the highly creative type whose mind jumps from topic to topic or you simply can’t be bothered with the mundane of life. However, all of that creativity and ‘chilling’ can be disrupted by spending too much time trying to find something to wear. Don’t waste precious time trying to find your sock or trying to be Military Precision, simply adapt your storage systems to you! Be certain to first organize your laundry process and then follow through with how you store your clothing.  You need a lot of divided, small containers with easy to read labels. You might try baskets on shelves, shoe bags, cubbies, tubs and, my personal favorite, the small shelf units with tubs designed to hold toys. Place any and all of these in your closet. FORGET BUYING DRESSERS as you will probably never be able to close the drawers. OR limit the drawers to holding one type of item with plenty of room to spare. If you are okay with it, some items really don’t need to be folded. Undies, slips, stockings and other small items can simply be divided by type and then placed in their ‘container’. You needs LOTS of over-the-door hooks, shoe bags, and shelving. If you can’t be bothered placing an item back on the hanger, just toss it on the hook! Set aside one time during the week to clear off those hooks. Organize clothing within your closet by type. Make certain that any sort of organizing device you buy is really easy to use. For instance, if you are buying multi-hangers for slacks, buy the kind with clips, not the kind that require you to carefully drape the slacks over a small rod. Try to buy non-wrinkling clothes that require minimal care.

Children’s clothing is often best sorted into small, easily accessible containers. Again, a traditional dresser may be nothing more than a catch-all for the riff raff of life. Little hands may have trouble opening and closing drawers without pinching their fingers. Instead, think creatively and try to analyze your little one’s organizational personality.

• Plastic tubs labeled with contents that sit on shelves work well for most children. If the child cannot read, draw a simple picture that shows the clothing inside each tub.
• If the child is old enough to take clothing off hangers, hang a secondary lower rod that they can reach. Save the upper rod for less-often clothing.
• Be certain that hangers fit the child’s clothing.
• Consider assembling a week’s worth of outfits at one time. When my daughter started school, we organized everything down to hair accessories and placed on hangers with simple wooden tags that displayed the day of the week the outfit was going to be worn. This system allowed us to avoid the early morning scramble to find the right scrunchy or hair bow! She was free to scramble the days within the week if her mood changed, but the outfits stayed relatively intact.
• The same separation technique works well for Sunday or special occasion clothes. Laundry them early in the week and reassemble, including necessary accessories.
• Provide children with places for accessories, shoes, etc. Hanging shoe bags are great for everything from barrettes to socks to shoes. Use the ones at child’s level for items they can use independently.
• Provide low hanging hooks or bins for frequently worn clothing, such as pjs, coats, etc.
• Store out of season or clothes in larger sizes out of child’s reach. Clearly label containers with contents and sizes.
• Teach children early how to use a laundry hamper. Place a hamper where they actually undress!
• Your laundry will go easier if you keep socks and undies in the same color range.
• If you have multiple children, initial their hard-to-tell-apart clothing. A permanent marker on a tag will save time when sorting undies, socks, etc.
• For babies, keep the items you use frequently close at hand and easily accessible.
• Restock diaper bags with clean clothing when you come home.

Whatever system works best for you, just remember to use it! Keeping your clothing organized, accessible and ready-to-wear will smooth over many of life’s frustrations. Treating your clothing properly will extend their lifetime and your budget.

Happy sorting!

Whether you cook everyday or infrequently, the kitchen is one of the most important areas of your home to organize. Being able to locate what you need quickly is essential to efficient food production. Keeping the kitchen clean is essential to food safety. The two definitely go hand-in-hand, as an organized kitchen is one that is easier to keep clean.

With any large project, it is wise to pace yourself. Unless your kitchen is small and nearly empty, this will be a project that will take several days. Do not attempt to do every cupboard in a day. To do so is likely to result in a catastrophic mess that will accomplish little. Instead, break the kitchen into components and work on each one individually. Following that sage advice, this will be a three part series on kitchen organization. As always, share you tips and tricks!

As you work at organizing your kitchen, keep notes as to what you think you might need in the way of organizational aids. Don’t begin your project with a trip to the ‘organizing store’. Instead, begin at home and analyze as you go.

Here we go:

1. Counter tops. Begin by clearing them off as much as humanly possible. Counter tops are your primary work surface and, like most flat surfaces in a home, likely to become magnets to every stray object around. Attack the clutter with a few of these ideas:

• Cover and store appliances that you do not use on a daily basis. Store them in high cabinets, the garage, basement or attic. Consider designating one storage area for appliances so that you do not have to remember the location of each individual item.
• Get rid of what you don’t use. If it works, donate it. If it doesn’t work, toss it.
• Consider investing in under the cabinet devices to reduce the clutter. Toaster ovens, knife racks, paper towel holders, can openers and food processors are just a few of the items that can be installed under cabinets.
• Corral the paper. If the kitchen is the repository for school papers, bills, mails and memos, devise an alternative location OR create a home for the paper. A small kitchen office can be carved out of a little used counter area. Or simple provide an attractive basket for the paper to be housed in. Deal with it as soon as possible and get rid of it! Consider switching to paperless bank statements and bills. Get yourself off of junk mailing lists.
• Containers. Collect like objects, such as wooden spoons or whisks, in decorative containers. Re-purpose vases, pitchers, baskets or crockery. Store within easy reach, utilizing the space under the upper cabinets.
• If you have the floor space and need additional counter space, invest in a kitchen island, small cabinet or desk for the kitchen.
• Liquid soap is much cleaner than bar soap. Keep a dispenser near your sink to promote frequent hand washing.
• Be vigilant in cleaning counter tops! Use a disinfectant cleaner, clean dish cloth and clean frequently. Always be certain to clean thoroughly after having raw meats & eggs on your counter tops. Better yet, always use a non-wood cutting board for meats!

2. Junk Drawer. We all have one and we all fight with them. Every kitchen needs a place to stash       rubber bands, paper clips, twist ties, a pencil–all of that riff raff that we need access to. Keeping it manageable is an art form. No time like the present to attack it!

• Throw away everything you don’t really need!
• Clean out the drawer and line with an inexpensive plastic place mat. Plastic place mats can be cut to fit the drawer, can be removed for easy cleaning and are less expensive than sticky shelf lining paper that can leave a residue.
• Sort the junk drawer items by purpose. If you have another place to store a particular item, get it out of the junk drawer.
• Ask yourself if you really need all of these items in the kitchen!
• Utensil trays. Inexpensive to absurdly expensive, these little gems can help control the small stuff.
• Small zip-lock bags can corral items you don’t need on a daily basis. You can purchase really small zip-lock type bags in many craft stores.
• Office organizational items such as small boxes, trays and cubes can be fitted into the drawer to maximize divided storage. Check out the stationery department at discount stores for useful items.
• Utilize small plastic food containers, baby shoe boxes, check boxes, or plastic cups as organizational assistants.
• When you have a few extra minutes, maintain the junk drawer. Stuck on hold? Open the junk drawer and throw something away!

3. Utensil drawers. Now, go after the utensil drawers! You may need to attack several drawers at one time to maximize storage and organizational nirvana.

• Again, empty drawer, clean and line as above.
• Get rid of utensils and other gadgets you don’t use. If you think you might use it in the future, or use it a few times a year, store elsewhere. A suitably sized lidded plastic container may be perfect for storing that melon baller, meatball scoop or lemon zester. Label the box and store near your extra appliances.
• Sort items by size or function. You will need to determine what makes the most sense for you. You might divide items by broad categories such as stove top, preparation, carving, etc.
• Sort small items with utensil drawer trays or other sorting device.
• Remember that knives are dulled mostly by rubbing against other knives or utensils. Store them together appropriately and away from small fingers!
• Store items you use at the stove near the stove.
• Check any childproofing devices you may have installed. Replace if worn.
• Too many utensils? Store some as described in the counter top section. Utilize racks, containers and even the inside of cabinet doors. Julia Child hung many of her utensils, molds & pans on the walls of her kitchen. If you choose that route, remember to clean them before each use!
• Over-sized utensils, such as BBQ tools, should be stored in their own drawer or in a separate location.
• Store items children can safely use in a drawer or cabinet they can easily reach.
• Utensil trays are a must for table utensils! Many are available that can be cut to size.  Keep this drawer handy to the dishwasher and table. Regularly check it to be certain that it remains clean.

4. Linens. Every kitchen needs a place to store dish towels, dish cloths, aprons, etc. Be certain that used linens are not returned to the clean linen drawer until they are thoroughly laundered!

• Keep these where everyone can reach them.
• You may need to experiment with methods of folding to see what works best in the space you have.
• Sort and toss what is worn or no longer needed.
• If you have a spare shelf, store your linens as you would sheets and towels.
• Utilize shelf dividers if you have trouble keeping your folded linens tidy.

There you have it, the first step. An organized and sanitary kitchen is within your grasp!

After quite an absence to ’savor’ 10 weeks of IV antibiotics and then the crunch of Christmas, it is time once again to get organized! There is no better time than the beginning of a new year to re-evaluate, re-organize and re-do those areas of our lives that could use a bit of attention.

One of the rooms that is often most lacking in usable storage is the bathroom. We need to store necessities and frivolities while protecting them from the range of temperature and humidity that are common in bathrooms. It is also a room that needs to be cleaned frequently and well, which means that the little stuff needs to be put away! A bathroom that is orderly is a bathroom that is easier to clean.

AS YOU ORGANIZE, BE CERTAIN THAT YOU HAVE CHILDPROOFED YOUR BATHROOM!!! THE CLEANERS, MEDICATIONS, RAZORS, COSMETICS, PERFUMES & ASSORTED SMALL ITEMS OFTEN FOUND IN A BATHROOM ARE ALL POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS ITEMS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN OR PETS. IF ANYONE IN YOUR HOME IS EVEN SLIGHTLY MOBILITY IMPAIRED, HAVE GRAB BARS INSTALLED NEAR TUB.

Let’s first look at the necessities. Toilet paper needs to be accessible and readily restocked. A few ideas to consider: decorative baskets, bins in a cabinet (small inexpensive trash cans work well under sinks to hold ’stuff’), over the toilet cabinets, holders designed to sit on the floor and holders designed to hang from the tank are a few options. Extra toilet paper should ideally be stored nearby. Think about storing extra in an under-the-bed box, on the top shelf of a closet, on the floor of your linen closet or even in decorative hat boxes.

Sanitary supplies can become a jumbled up nightmare without some organization. Again, small, thin and inexpensive trash cans are great for sliding in cabinets. They will protect your products while organizing them. Their slender size allows several to stand side-by-side in a typical under the sink cabinet. If you store extra supplies, store them elsewhere but still accessible. The suggestions for toilet paper can apply to this category.

Have holders in your tub or shower for shampoos, conditioners, shower gels, etc. Holders can be found that hang from the shower head, the shower curtain rod, the wall or with tension rods. Whatever you choose, dispose of empty containers quickly and replace items as they are used.

If you have trouble keeping up with clean towels, install an extra towel bar. Doubling your in-the-bathroom storage capability will save those hysterical calls of “I need a towel!” Have a hamper to hold soiled towels and teach your family to use it.

Medications that will be stored for long periods of time should be stored outside of the bathroom. The heat and humidity of the bathroom will reduce the shelf life of most medications. Keep your current medications well labeled and safely stored. If you take more than one medication at the beginning or end of a day, invest in a plastic pill case that you can fill for weeks at a time.  Make it a point to regularly dispose of medications you no longer need. Store your current medications either in a medicine cabinet or a set of drawers (only if you do not have small children in your home). If you have trouble reading the small print on the medication label, write the medication name on the top of the lid or across the label with a permanent marker.

Emily T. suggested storing first aid supplies in a cabinet made up of small drawers, typically used for small hardware parts. She has the drawers clearly labeled as to their contents. In an emergency, she can quickly locate what she needs. Inventorying her supplies is easy.

Small drawers of all sorts are great ways to organize any number of items commonly found in a bathroom. We have more counter space than drawer space. We extended our storage capability by purchasing a small shelf ‘tower’ that sits on the counter. The tower holds several sets of small drawers that hold commonly worn jewelry, deodorant, dental floss and host of other items.  Each drawer has a ‘theme’ of the type of item it holds. One shelf has small trays on it to manage bottles of ’stuff’. Another has a set of very small drawers that hold cotton swabs, make-up sponges & other very small items.

If you have larger drawers, inexpensive plastic silverware trays will help organize items within the drawer. Cosmetics, razors, brushes, combs, etc, etc, etc. can be grouped together in one drawer and then kept manageable by the dividers. There are a variety of drawer organizing systems on the market, widely available at discount stores, hardware stores and online.

Install hooks on back of doors & walls to hold bathrobes, towels, etc.

Be sure to have a toilet bowl brush for every bathroom, as well as a supply of necessary cleaners.

A small, lined trash can is a necessity in every well organized bathroom. Line it with shopping bags or small trash bags to make clean up easier. Store extra bags in the bottom of the trash can.

Under sink cabinets can become orderly in minutes by utilizing small, thin trashcans, wire racks, pull out shelving, small drawer sets and stair-step type shelving. Add hooks to the inside of the cabinet doors to hang small items.

A divided laundry hamper with sections for each type of laundry will speed sorting and help keep dirty clothes off the floor.

Organizing your bathroom should take only a few hours. As you organize, check for expiration dates, products you no longer use, empty containers and duplicates. Make note of everything you need to store and then find the perfect solution for your organized bathroom!

In the midst of an ongoing year-long fight with Lyme Disease, the importance of streamlining, organizing and ‘making do’ have never been more important. Many days, I have two or three ‘usable’ hours, which is why I refer to Lyme Disease as my ‘full time job’. Whether you are facing chronic illness, a crowded schedule, working outside the home with a family to take care of or would prefer to spend your free time doing anything BUT housework, developing systems to deal with the realities of running a home can allow you to keep the Health Department at bay and reduce your stress.

How do you go about organizing and running a home so that the home isn’t running you? And how does that relate to provident living and preparedness? “Organize every needful thing,” is not only often quoted scripture, it is the backbone of living a productive, happy and provident life. What good is a 72-hour kit if you can’t find your car keys when it is time to evacuate? How can you deal with an emergency (or an ongoing problem), if all of your energy is consumed with finding the bare necessities? How can you thoughtfully prepare and plan if you live in the midst of chaos? How many accidents occur because family members are stressed out or tripping over items out of place?

Over the next few weeks, we will delve into ideas that may help you analyze and develop systems that will allow you the freedom to pursue your interests, reduce the clutter of life and prepare yourselves for whatever tomorrow brings. PLEASE, if you have ideas, share them!

“A place for everything and everything in it’s place.” No, you don’t need to go all OCD over this one, but at least have a reasonable, accessible place for the items in your home. Make it a place that suits the item.

For instance, the car keys. We have had as many as five drivers in the house with cars that were often on a variable schedule rotation. It quickly became obvious that car keys could not belong to one person and needed to be available at all times. A simple solution? Car keys no longer belonged to one person. Each car’s key was separate from the others and hung inside a kitchen cabinet. Duplicate keys were separated so that there was always a spare available. When someone comes home, they hang the keys in the cabinet—NOT stash them in their pocket, purse, backpack or thrown on the counter. If needed, label the keys to identify which car they belong to and add a house key. Problem solved!

The diaper bag or your purse? No, don’t just stuff it behind the recliner. Maybe you should put a hook in the front closet and hang it there. Find a logical place and stick to it!

This same method works for tools, office supplies, salt & pepper shakers–anything that you need to have on hand. Identify the most logical place (closest to where it will be used and preferably not sitting out) to store it and return it to that place as soon as you are done with it. Pegboard, drawer organizers, plastic containers, shelving, cubbies, decorative boxes, hooks in closets & cabinets, under beds….wherever you need to store something, simply be logical and consistent. If you need the same item in multiple places (like scissors, tape, pens, toilet paper, even cleaners), purchase multiple and store them where they are most commonly used. This approach minimizes having to make multiple trips to locate what you need.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff, containerize it.” Life is full of small items we need and yet seem to never have a place to ‘be’. Whether it is your sewing supplies or the countless remotes, controllers, etc. that have invaded our homes, corralling the small items yields big benefits. A simple basket in the family room that corrals the remotes, drawers in the bathroom that hold make-up (a silverware organizer will keep the drawer orderly), a basket for mail, a wall organizer for hair bows, toy bins, glass jars for screws, shoe boxes for greeting cards, a pencil case for stamps and address labels, a net for stuffed animals, a file box for family papers–whatever you need to find, sort it by like items and contain them! The containers should fit the item, be easy to identify and fit in a logical location.

“Keep flat surfaces clear.” Any flat surface in a home seems to be a magnet for ’stuff’ to congregate. Instead of setting the mail on the counter, put it in that basket. Keep your kitchen counters cleared (they are easier to clean & more about this in a subsequent column), minimize items on your bathroom counter, If need be, have a container for each family member in the bathroom and near the door you most often use.

“Life is trashy.” Humans produce trash. To control the trash, place waste baskets in every room of your house. They can be small, large, plain or decorative, but keep them lined and have them handy. It is much easier to dispose of that tissue appropriately if you don’t have to interrupt your favorite show to carry it to the kitchen trash. Lining the trash cans keep them clean and easier to empty. Even a 3-year-old can empty a small wastebasket lined with an old shopping bag. For ‘cleaner’ trash, keep the spare bags in the bottom of the trash can. Make it a habit to empty the trash frequently BEFORE it smells! The day before trash pick-up is the ideal time to make a sweep of the trash cans.

“Perfect the 30 second clean up.” An amazing amount of cleaning, straightening and organizing can be done simply while you are walking through your house, stuck on hold or waiting for a website to load. As you walk from point A to point B, pick up items that need to be returned along your path. For instance, you are in the living room headed for the kitchen. Along the way, you see a piece of paper a child dropped–pick it up and toss it in the kitchen trash. Or you are taking the dish cloth to the washing machine—wash the off the refrigerator handle and then the trash can on your way. Stuck on hold? Declutter any surface near you, throw something away from the junk drawer, wipe off a table or fold some laundry. Straighten up your desk while that website loads. Wipe out the sink with the washcloth you just used on Junior’s face. Pick up trash in the car while you are at a red light. These little acts add up quickly and reduce the frustration of mess & ‘waiting’.

“Let cleaners work for you.” No, not the kind you hire (but that is nice if you can do it), the kind you buy in the store. Be sure you read the instructions before using–as in the bathroom cleaner that needs to sit for 3 minutes before scrubbing. If you are going to use the product, use it so that it works for you. Look for and consider products that make cleaning easier. Automatic shower cleaners can do a passable job if used regularly. Battery operated sweepers are lighter than vacuums, pick up small particles well & can be used by children. Vacuum any floor surface you have–it is usually faster than sweeping. Wool dusters are fast and effective on a wide variety of surfaces. Good old-fashioned powdered cleansers like Comet work incredibly well and are cheap. Keep duplicate cleaning supplies where you need them. No one wants to drag the toilet bowl brush from bathroom to bathroom.

“Child labor is a good thing.” Children of all ages learn valuable life skills, develop a work ethic and become more responsible when they are expected to help at home. Even the youngest children can learn to pick up their own toys, put their coat away, hang up their back pack, take small items to the trash and gradually learn all aspects of household maintenance. Begin early, set a good example and be consistent. Be certain that you teach the child how to do a job and provide them with child-appropriate tools & cleaners. Chore charts with clearly defined responsibilities are invaluable!

“Lists and calendars make the world go ’round.” Be certain that everyone uses them! Have a standard grocery list easily accessible and teach family members to mark down items that need to be purchased. Write down important tasks that need to be done. Leave notes for each other as reminders or just ‘I love yous’. Mark all events on the calendar and check it daily. Don’t forget to jot down birthdays, routine maintenance items, school programs, pharmacy refills, etc. Use post-it notes or whatever works for you to remember what you need to do, who you need to call, etc. Don’t run errands without a list. If your children are ‘forgetful’ when doing their chores, make a list of what is required to clean a room and place it in that room. Want to put something on the ‘frig? Purchase inexpensive strips of adhesive magnetic strips and any light weight item can be posted on a metal surface.

“Let someone else do the work.” Okay, most of us can’t get someone else to do all of our work, but whenever possible take advantage of programs and systems that take some of the work off of you. Some examples might be automatic prescription refill programs, automated reminder systems, pre-approved bill paying by credit card or through your checking account (be sure it is a reputable company), put yourself on lists for no junk mail & sales calls, subscription services for items you need on a regular basis (like water filters, items you mail order regularly, etc), and email reminder systems. Every item you can get ‘off your plate’ is one less item you need to deal with.

“Armies run on their stomachs — and so do families.” Keeping your family or yourself fed is a major user of time, energy and planning. One of the first priorities in organizing your home is to keep your kitchen clean and operational. Before cooking, have the dishwasher cleaned out so that you can put prep utensils in there as you cook. We’ll discuss the fine tuning of the kitchen in a later column, but keep in mind that if your kitchen and bathrooms are clean, you will find that the rest of your life runs smoother (and with less illness)!

“Get it off your plate–delegate.” Everyone should have responsibilities and you might need to let go of your own desire for perfection. No one member of the family should carry the whole burden. Break big jobs into small jobs and divide them up. Pitch in and don’t let yourselves get buried before you begin to dig out! If you really can’t keep up with the demands of your life/home/job, take a good hard look at all you are trying to accomplish. Maybe you need to streamline, pass on portions of the responsibility to others or re-order your priorities.

“Identify the problem, find the solution.” Look at where the ‘bottle necks’ and ‘break downs’ are in the functioning of your home. Think like an efficiency expert in a factory. Analyze each problem and see if you can come up with a system that automates what can be automated, organizes everything that can be organized and divides jobs up into ‘do-able’ portions. You may never have the time to deep clean the kitchen like a cleaning pro. But, you can empty the leftovers before trash day. Wipe down the door one day and the shelves another.

In the next few weeks, we will be examining each area of a typical home and discovering ways to make it run smoother. Excuses aside (we’re just too creative, too busy, too sick, too important, too whatever), it is possible for every family to have a home that is clean enough to be healthy, organized enough to be efficient and happy enough to be inviting. Sometimes, it just takes rethinking!

Most of us do not want to live in a museum-like home where everything is perfectly on display all of the time. We have families, demands, stresses and things we all love to do instead of constantly cleaning, straightening and organizing. We want to live in our homes! That is how it should be. However, there is a level of organization in your home that is necessary if you want to succeed at overcoming every level of the unexpected from the ‘speed bumps’ to the ‘Mount Everests’ of life. We all have them and by maintaining a home that fits the scriptural admonition “organize yourselves, prepare every needful thing,” we will find ourselves if not sailing past those challenges, at least not compounding them.

Give yourself the following quiz and see if there aren’t areas that you could improve on:

1. Can everyone in your home locate their shoes, basic clothing, coats, hats and     gloves within 60 seconds?

2. Does everyone except for the youngest children know where the 72 hour kits are?

3. Can you quickly locate important documents, phone numbers, financial information and your “What If” notebook?

4. Can you traverse your house in the dark without tripping over toys, shoes and assorted ‘stuff’ left in pathways?

5. Are your fire and carbon monoxide detectors working? Do you replace batteries when daylight savings time begins and ends? General Conference is also a good weekend to do this.

6. Can those with licenses old locate a spare set of keys for every car you own?

7. Can everyone above 5 locate a healthy snack or meal without cooking? Do you keep quick to prepare meals on hand?

8. Do you replace staples like milk, bread and eggs before you run out?

9. Do you know who your home teachers are? Your visiting teachers?

10. Are medications and other potentially hazardous items out of the reach of children?

11. Do you refill your prescriptions before they run out?

12. Do you have regular check ups? Do your children?

13. Do you have emergency numbers including poison control posted?

14. Do you maintain a first aid kid and basic over the counter remedies?

15. Do you keep the laundry caught up enough that everyone has at least 3 clean changes of clothing?

16. Do you perform regular maintenance on your home and car?

17. Are your stairways free from clutter?

18. Do you maintain supplies of paper goods, toilet paper, sanitary needs, diapers and other daily necessities?

There is much more that could be covered. The list is probably endless, but the goal is the same: Be Prepared!