Chaos Averted- Create Some Order

WELCOME 2016! Isn't it great to start the year with a clean slate?! (And rhyme at the same time!)
There's something about new beginnings that naturally makes me want to create order. Pretty sure I'm not alone in this. Ergo, New Year's Resolutions. This may seem contradictory at first, but I don't really put a lot of stock in New Year's Resolutions. Let's call them what they are- good intentions. And the road to you-know-where is paved with them, right?! In my experience resolutions never really pan out. They are just too vague and usually not so attainable because they are too 'big picture'.

Example resolution: I will be more organized.

Too vague! This is destined to crash and burn. We all know that chaos leads to frustration, and less frustration is always a good thing, but how will you feel the first time you realize you're unorganized AGAIN after "resolving" this year will be different? My self talk goes like this, " Oh, well. I guess I'll just try again next year." Meanwhile, I feel like a failure for the rest of this year!

It's in your power to end the resolution/failure cycle! It's all about setting an ACHIEVABLE goal with a CLEAR objective. (This has helped me so much!)

Example goal: I want the kids' backpacks, coats, and shoes to be stored in an organized fashion that THEY can put away and get out EASILY.


So, in this my first blog, I want to share a couple of ideas that have helped my family get the chaos out of the entryway (closet, bedrooms, hallway, etc....for we have tried moving it all around!) in a kid friendly way that I can live with.

This is not a new idea or original to myself, but creativity is not exclusive to original ideas. To me, it's taking an idea, developing a plan of action, and PUTTING YOUR OWN TWIST ON IT to make it work for you. I get so much joy in finding an inspiration and adapting it to fit my needs and preferences. At that moment it becomes MY CREATION and that is very empowering.

So, back to organizing with kids. I have four boys. FOUR. BOYS. Suffice it to say being organized is not a strength of my offspring. Plus, just having that many kids means there's more stuff...period.

We tried putting backpacks in a hall closet- not big enough. We tried coats in the closet- not wide enough for the hangers because it's actually a linen closet. We tried a coat tree- not enough room by the door and everyone's coats were too heavy and we still had the backpack problem. Coats on the floor make me cringe!

Everyone keeping coats and backpacks in their own bedrooms was not conducive to a quick exit on school mornings. (Let's just be honest here- it really is all about the quick exit Monday-Friday at 6:45 am.) Backpacks sitting by the door the night before just clogged up the entryway with no room to walk. I haven't even touched on shoes yet. Everyone wants to take off their shoes as soon as they walk in the door and there was just this pile. The internal angst was taking it's toll on me, for sure.

A confusing and unsightly mess if ever I saw one! We tried a shoe rack. Did you know that apparently is too much effort for little boys to put shoes on a shoe rack correctly?!?! So back to the drawing board because shoe/coat/backpack chaos is not my friend.

Introducing the shoe bench and coat/backpack rack. Lots of people have mudroom benches. I don't have a mudroom, so putting this just inside the front door of my living room had to work. My partner in chaos management, a.k.a. my husband Mike, built a simple three divider bench for the kids to sit on to remove their shoes and then stick them in bins underneath. (Because it doesn't get any easier than throwing shoes in a box, ya know!) The youngest two boys have smaller feet so they use the same bin. Mike screwed a board on the wall with heavy duty hooks and ta-da! coats and backpacks management in one easy step! We added initials above everyone's hook to keep them in their own spot and called it good.

AMAZING, actually!

As you might guess with a family of six, we try to be as frugal as possible. Hence, the DIY bench. But you could buy a cushioned bench from your favorite store and put bins or lidded baskets underneath if you don't want to build. Maybe your space isn't that big. You could just set a chair with a three drawer shelving unit beside it and label the drawers for each kid. It is YOUR CREATION after all!

BTW, get rid of the notion that everything has to be perfect or it's not worth doing. That is the death knell of reaching your goal. This has been a process for me, to be sure. But I have embraced the truth that the 'thing', whatever it is, DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PERFECT TO MAKE MY LIFE BETTER. Whew- that's a relief! That, my friends, is SUCCESS! There's freedom in letting go of perfection...otherwise I'd never get around to sharing pictures! I could have waited to post this until all of the pencil lines had been erased from the wall, but I didn't. My perfect plan included decoupaging a collage of meaningful pictures unique to each boy on their initial as a decorative touch. However, after gathering dust in the 'To Do' stack for several weeks, Mike asked, "Should I just paint them black?" and I obviously said, "Yes!" And guess what? Still functional. I wish that the bench would fit all on the entryway wood floor, but half of it has to set on the carpet and it's okay. Because ultimately, THE CHAOS HAS BEEN ORGANIZED. Check that box- goal achieved and objective met! Cue the Hallelujah Chorus!

So, why don't you pick that ONE thing driving you crazy and set a goal within your reach and go for it? You don't have to re-invent the wheel. Scour Pinterest, ask a friend, or Google it for some ideas. After you get your idea, it's time to adapt, execute, and enjoy! YOU CREATE THE JOY THAT MAKES YOUR LIFE BETTER. Happy New Year!