This organizer has a confession to make. I don’t like lists! (Gasp) You now, checklists. Now don’t get me wrong lists are good, I actually make a to do list every day. But it’s those chore lists and cleaning lists that I dislike so much. I have seen it time and time again with my clients and myself actually. Some of us and perhaps you too are perfectionists. There are others that use checklists religiously and I commend you for keeping up with it.

You would think that being a perfectionist means we get stuff done with ease but sometimes it is the complete opposite. See, every time I try to use a list, I focus more on the list itself. It has to be just right or the “system” has to be just right before I can get started. A client showed me the elaborate systems she had tried one day and I told her she was spending more time fussing over the lists than actually cleaning.

For us simplicity was key. I told her to stop with the lists and just make cleaning a habit. For instance, I bought a set of cleaning supplies for each bathroom. When I help kids get ready for bed my habit is now to do a quick clean up (because the supplies are right there) and I don’t have to do a deep clean nearly as often! These spaces almost maintain themselves. The laundry gets done because it is a habit wrapped in with our morning routine.

The kids have certain things they have to help out with each day, not as a chore to earn a reward, but as being part of this team. They have a list of things they can do for money, but they rarely opt to do that.

How about you? Are you a lover of checklists? Or not so much?

One of my least favorite things to do is shop for greeting cards. Birthday, anniversary, baby showers, oh my! I try to buy them in a timely manner but always seem to put it off until the last minute. Last minute usually means that I am buying a card while I have a kid in tow.  There is nothing worse than buying a greeting card with a 4 year old! Unless of course it is for another 4 year old. Kids see the greeting card isle and their “no attention span signal” lights up and immediately the fidgeting begins. You know you have enough time to browse maybe two or three cards until you have to decide and get out of there. This is how I learned that batching tasks is better for all of us!

1. Make an intentional trip to the store without kids to stock up on meaningful greeting cards.
2. While you are at it pick up a few gifts for the birthday parties you will surely be asked to attend during the year.

And here are some other times you may want to batch tasks:

3. Schedule doctor’s appointments for the same day.
4. Save errands for one day a week instead of scattered throughout.
5. Prepare snacks for the week ahead on Sunday.
6. Double up the size of a meal you make and freeze half for another night.

Any of these task will save you time and quite possibly a little sanity along the way!

What type of tasks do you batch together in order to save time?

All right my faithful Mabelhood neighbors, I have to admit that I am not Spring Cleaning this year. Anyone else with me?

I figure if you clean regularly the rest of the year why break your back during a “spring clean week”. Besides attacking the outside of the house with a pressure washer and cleaning the oven I can’t think of anything that I need to take care of for spring. Am I the only one?

When I clean a room I usually clean it all. If you do it regularly it doesn’t take that long. Then there is no need for a deep clean once a year. Trust me I try to avoid cleaning as much as possible so I stick to doing the bigger stuff on a regular basis with the smaller stuff.

So, I want to know… are you Spring Cleaning this year? What are you cleaning that you normally don’t?

A few weeks ago Carrie was nice enough to show us her clutter under the bathroom sink. I don’t know about you but the bathroom counter is a place that always likes to collect clutter for me as well!

I keep most of my makeup and small items in the drawer. Then, I have larger things like lotion, contact solution, hairbrush and medicines that I like having right on hand sitting on the counter. It tends to look junkie and just sits around however it’s just easier to leave them there.

I found this great utensil caddy basket that fits all of my counter clutter perfectly. The best thing is that I can easily put the caddy under the sink if I need to or leave it out because it looks nice enough to do so!

Do you have any favorite organizing products you have found an alternate use for?

If you were to look into our cabinet of spices it looks half organized, half in disarray. We have a spice rack on the door with the most common used spices and the others are in the cabinet with no particular order.

See, if it were left up to me I would have all the spices in matching containers with labels all nice and neat and in order. I like the visual appeal of an orderly space. I read the labels and find it easier if they were perhaps alphabetized.

Since my husband is the cook of the family I leave this are to him to organize the way he wants. See, he knows the spices by their containers and lid colors. He can reach in and grab what he wants with little effort and while it isn’t the prettiest option this space is quite functional for him.

My husband wouldn’t like the spices all nice and neat, it would totally throw him off. While having things hidden behind others and not in order makes me take longer to find what I need.

So what kind of organizer are you? Do you like things nice and neat or a little messier yet, functional?