What is the best way to stay organized in a small space with 3 kids ages 3,2,and 1?
Q. They all have different personalities and all make messes. I feel like all I do is clean and it gets trashed five minutes later. Im a stay at home mom and my husband thinks I stick to schedules too much and I am always cleaning but it doesnt seem to help. Any ideas how to keep everything tidy.
A. Three under three is certainly going to put you in the position of cleaning all the time. While organization is a good goal, applying it will be very different at home than in an office -- or a home without children.
Keeping everything tidy is not a reasonable goal and you'd do well not to put that kind of pressure on yourself. With three toddlers, you'll maintain more of your sanity if your goal is to keep up with them.
I had three under three. Now I have three in college. The "mess" doesn't go away, it just changes shape.
Keeping a schedule (this happens at this time, that happens at that time) can be daunting with three little ones. A routine (this happens after this -- regardless of the time -- and then we do that) might be more accomodating for everyone, especially you.
Mornings can start when everyone wakes, not necessarily at 8AM. We eat, we clean up, we watch a program, we play outside, we snack, we play outside some more, we eat luch. This doesn't have to happen by the clock to go smoothly and successfully.
Do remember, "Stay at home Mom" doesn't mean you have to stay at home. Check into your local resources for playgroups and parks. Network with other moms about scheduling playgroups and exchanging babysitting.
Children cannot mess up what they can't reach, see, or know is there.
Keep breakables and other valuables up and away. If necessary, put them out of sight completely. While it may seem like you'll never see your things again, the reality is that the days are long and the years are short. This means you'll be bringing your things down and back into view before you know it.
Safety devices work in theory. In practice, small children are geniuses. Block outlets, unused radiators and cords with furniture. All lower kitchen cabinets should be child proofed with one exception. Here you would keep plastics the children can play with. Cooking around kids is dangerous. Cook in advance (when they're sleeping) and reheat later; tell your husband to keep the kids occupied; create meals out of raw fruit, raw vegetables and sandwiches. Puddings are great -- and much fun in the tub (see below).
Keep a minimum of toys available. A child with too many choices (more than 5 toys) can be become an overwhelmed child. A child with a toy that contains more than 5 pieces can also become overwhelmed. Simple blocks go a lot further than a box of action figures.
My rule of thumb was that if a toy couldn't go in the dishwasher or clothes washer, it wasn't a toy for my kids. This helped immensely on many levels, the least of which was cleanup.
If your kids have more than 5 toys each, stick the rest in storage. When you bring out all those "new" toys, put the other toys in storage. Change them out about every three months.
Messes will be made no matter what. To consolidate messes, never dismiss the wonders of the bathroom.
If you have a hand-held shower nozzle, explore the possibilities. During the colder months and during rainy days, I fed my baby during the day by putting her in her high chair and the high chair in the bathroom while the two older enjoyed their lunch on the tray that fit between the sides of the empty tub. When my baby was done eating I washed the older two and let them dress themselves. I then put the baby (still in the high chair) in the tub and washed her up along with the high chair. I'd take her out and let the high chair dry.
On warm days I used an empty inflatable kids' pool instead of the tub. After eating, I'd fill the pool with water and bath bubble mixture. If you have a sprayer on the end of the hose, you can get some rockin' bubble mountains going.
The beauty of inflatable pools and pool toys is that they can go inside in a bedroom (without water, of course). The inflatable toys that have slides and palm trees are great, but if all you can afford is a moderately sized inflatable pool, this can double as a napping place (with pillows, blankets, stuffed animals) and as a place to play or look at books. Very small pools can hold books or toys and make it easier for small children to learn organizational skills (books go in the pink pool and toys go in the blue pool).
The important thing is your peace of mind. Three small children are exhausting no matter what you do. Don't put extra (and unnecessary) pressure on yourself to do more, more, more. Keep it simple. The simpler things are for all of you, the more fondly you'll remember them at the end of the day, the more accomplished you'll feel, and trust me -- they'll remember the time you spent with them, not how tidy everything was.
Keeping everything tidy is not a reasonable goal and you'd do well not to put that kind of pressure on yourself. With three toddlers, you'll maintain more of your sanity if your goal is to keep up with them.
I had three under three. Now I have three in college. The "mess" doesn't go away, it just changes shape.
Keeping a schedule (this happens at this time, that happens at that time) can be daunting with three little ones. A routine (this happens after this -- regardless of the time -- and then we do that) might be more accomodating for everyone, especially you.
Mornings can start when everyone wakes, not necessarily at 8AM. We eat, we clean up, we watch a program, we play outside, we snack, we play outside some more, we eat luch. This doesn't have to happen by the clock to go smoothly and successfully.
Do remember, "Stay at home Mom" doesn't mean you have to stay at home. Check into your local resources for playgroups and parks. Network with other moms about scheduling playgroups and exchanging babysitting.
Children cannot mess up what they can't reach, see, or know is there.
Keep breakables and other valuables up and away. If necessary, put them out of sight completely. While it may seem like you'll never see your things again, the reality is that the days are long and the years are short. This means you'll be bringing your things down and back into view before you know it.
Safety devices work in theory. In practice, small children are geniuses. Block outlets, unused radiators and cords with furniture. All lower kitchen cabinets should be child proofed with one exception. Here you would keep plastics the children can play with. Cooking around kids is dangerous. Cook in advance (when they're sleeping) and reheat later; tell your husband to keep the kids occupied; create meals out of raw fruit, raw vegetables and sandwiches. Puddings are great -- and much fun in the tub (see below).
Keep a minimum of toys available. A child with too many choices (more than 5 toys) can be become an overwhelmed child. A child with a toy that contains more than 5 pieces can also become overwhelmed. Simple blocks go a lot further than a box of action figures.
My rule of thumb was that if a toy couldn't go in the dishwasher or clothes washer, it wasn't a toy for my kids. This helped immensely on many levels, the least of which was cleanup.
If your kids have more than 5 toys each, stick the rest in storage. When you bring out all those "new" toys, put the other toys in storage. Change them out about every three months.
Messes will be made no matter what. To consolidate messes, never dismiss the wonders of the bathroom.
If you have a hand-held shower nozzle, explore the possibilities. During the colder months and during rainy days, I fed my baby during the day by putting her in her high chair and the high chair in the bathroom while the two older enjoyed their lunch on the tray that fit between the sides of the empty tub. When my baby was done eating I washed the older two and let them dress themselves. I then put the baby (still in the high chair) in the tub and washed her up along with the high chair. I'd take her out and let the high chair dry.
On warm days I used an empty inflatable kids' pool instead of the tub. After eating, I'd fill the pool with water and bath bubble mixture. If you have a sprayer on the end of the hose, you can get some rockin' bubble mountains going.
The beauty of inflatable pools and pool toys is that they can go inside in a bedroom (without water, of course). The inflatable toys that have slides and palm trees are great, but if all you can afford is a moderately sized inflatable pool, this can double as a napping place (with pillows, blankets, stuffed animals) and as a place to play or look at books. Very small pools can hold books or toys and make it easier for small children to learn organizational skills (books go in the pink pool and toys go in the blue pool).
The important thing is your peace of mind. Three small children are exhausting no matter what you do. Don't put extra (and unnecessary) pressure on yourself to do more, more, more. Keep it simple. The simpler things are for all of you, the more fondly you'll remember them at the end of the day, the more accomplished you'll feel, and trust me -- they'll remember the time you spent with them, not how tidy everything was.
Where can adult toys be hidden in the bedroom where kids can't find them?
Q. Is there furniture or bedroom accessories out there that have hidden storage for valuables or adult toys?
A. You could go to a furniture store that sells chest. They have lots of room to stash all your magazines, videos, whips, & toys. Look for one that matches your decor style, but also has a good lock on the front. If the lock looks cheaply made, look up a lock smith. They may be able to upgrade or customize one on a chest for you aswell... just an idea
For small apartments, how can I maximize storage space without gaudiness?
Q. I have one closet in each bedroom and one closet in the kitchen--total of three. I have a horrible problem with storage because I have two sons and two room mates. What are some ways to maximize what storage I have until my lease goes up?
A. To add to what Rich said above, you can buy thin storage containers that will fit under most beds. I think that would be a great help.
You can also buy those storage containers that have drawers that can be placed in the closet to maximize the vertical space in your closet.
One more idea. If you have lots of stuffed animals or light weight toys, you can put them in one of those mesh like hammoc things that connects to the corner of a wall...it wouldn't be too bad in a kids room.
My final idea is to reduce your possessions. So often we hold onto things that we haven't used in years and that we won't use in years to come. Let Goodwill do some good with it.
You can also buy those storage containers that have drawers that can be placed in the closet to maximize the vertical space in your closet.
One more idea. If you have lots of stuffed animals or light weight toys, you can put them in one of those mesh like hammoc things that connects to the corner of a wall...it wouldn't be too bad in a kids room.
My final idea is to reduce your possessions. So often we hold onto things that we haven't used in years and that we won't use in years to come. Let Goodwill do some good with it.
At the max, how many people can live comfortably in a 4000 sq feet house?
Q. We are going to build a house and it is 4000 sq feet. There are already 6 people now- my husband's two grandmothers, parents-in-law, my husband and I. He wants to have only 4 bedrooms in the house, and I want 5, because in future, there has to be a provision for the kids and a guest bedroom also. What do you all think?
A. So that's one for you and your husband, one for your husband's parents, and one for his grandmothers. Wow, you're really going all out with the whole close-knit family thing. J/k. That's quite full house.
Yeah, you're going to have to have at least 5 minimum if you want visitors. I'd want at least 2 other rooms that could be made into a bedroom if needed.
There's your compromise right there.
The extra rooms don't have to be a bedroom, they can be anything except storage closets and when/if the time comes that they need to be made into a bedroom, they'll be there. But the rooms should exist for the potential need later on. Talk to your husband. Since you're making the house yourselves, perhaps he can extend the area a bit more, or you can discuss the potential of adding a second floor if the area is already been maxed out according to property laws and such.
At any rate, everyone needs their alone time, so there should be space enough to make that feasible. A couple hobby rooms that can be used as personal work shops would be nice, which I'm sure your husband must be thinking about that as knowing construction, he probably likes to work on things, so he's probably going to have an area for himself to work on things. Well, an extra room or 3 could be used for a variety of things that can also be quickly changed later into a bedroom for the odd case of company and/or friends, and/or even a renter if you so desire the extra income every month.
Some of those uses for extra rooms in the mean time while they're not needed as bedrooms could be a play area for the kids where they keep their toys and games, a quiet room to devote one's self to praying and reading the Bible, studying about God, a personal library with all the books your family has accumulated over the years that are sitting in boxes because you don't want to throw them away, and you don't know what else to do with them because they take up too much space, hobby rooms for you, your kids, your husband, your parents, his grandmothers, to use so that they don't have to feel like they're doing nothing in the house all day, an exercise room with weights and aerobic things, a company room for when your kids have sleep-overs and you don't want to hear them or when you have friends over for tea or a Bible study, although, the living room is usually reserved for that, having a separate room for that will help you to avoid disturbing the peace of the elderly who often enjoy periods of peaceful silence.
If someone is into film photography, you could use the room as a darkroom to develop pictures, although, if you're going to do that, you should probably discuss that before building the room as you will likely need running water, a drain, and well-placed switches for the different lights, and a way of cutting absolutely all light either from the entire room or from a section of it, such as a closet so that you can transfer the negative strip from the container to the bathing receptacle so that you can develop it.
Well, good luck. I totally agree with you, and it would be nice aesthetically, but if your husband's a practical-type, he may be more receptive to the idea of an extra room or two that can be used for other things, and later converted into a bedroom if the need arises. Just don't let it happen that they become storage closets because if that happens you'll never be able to let company use it as a bedroom.
Yeah, you're going to have to have at least 5 minimum if you want visitors. I'd want at least 2 other rooms that could be made into a bedroom if needed.
There's your compromise right there.
The extra rooms don't have to be a bedroom, they can be anything except storage closets and when/if the time comes that they need to be made into a bedroom, they'll be there. But the rooms should exist for the potential need later on. Talk to your husband. Since you're making the house yourselves, perhaps he can extend the area a bit more, or you can discuss the potential of adding a second floor if the area is already been maxed out according to property laws and such.
At any rate, everyone needs their alone time, so there should be space enough to make that feasible. A couple hobby rooms that can be used as personal work shops would be nice, which I'm sure your husband must be thinking about that as knowing construction, he probably likes to work on things, so he's probably going to have an area for himself to work on things. Well, an extra room or 3 could be used for a variety of things that can also be quickly changed later into a bedroom for the odd case of company and/or friends, and/or even a renter if you so desire the extra income every month.
Some of those uses for extra rooms in the mean time while they're not needed as bedrooms could be a play area for the kids where they keep their toys and games, a quiet room to devote one's self to praying and reading the Bible, studying about God, a personal library with all the books your family has accumulated over the years that are sitting in boxes because you don't want to throw them away, and you don't know what else to do with them because they take up too much space, hobby rooms for you, your kids, your husband, your parents, his grandmothers, to use so that they don't have to feel like they're doing nothing in the house all day, an exercise room with weights and aerobic things, a company room for when your kids have sleep-overs and you don't want to hear them or when you have friends over for tea or a Bible study, although, the living room is usually reserved for that, having a separate room for that will help you to avoid disturbing the peace of the elderly who often enjoy periods of peaceful silence.
If someone is into film photography, you could use the room as a darkroom to develop pictures, although, if you're going to do that, you should probably discuss that before building the room as you will likely need running water, a drain, and well-placed switches for the different lights, and a way of cutting absolutely all light either from the entire room or from a section of it, such as a closet so that you can transfer the negative strip from the container to the bathing receptacle so that you can develop it.
Well, good luck. I totally agree with you, and it would be nice aesthetically, but if your husband's a practical-type, he may be more receptive to the idea of an extra room or two that can be used for other things, and later converted into a bedroom if the need arises. Just don't let it happen that they become storage closets because if that happens you'll never be able to let company use it as a bedroom.
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Title Post: What is the best way to stay organized in a small space with 3 kids ages 3,2,and 1?
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Thanks For Coming To My Blog
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