It is the start of a brand new Friday. With Friday also comes Fun Fabulous Friday here on The Thrifty Couple.
For those of you that have not yet participated – how does Fun Fabulous Friday work? Well, at the end of today one of our readers will win a $10 Amazon gift card. You will need to enter to have a chance to win! You can get two possible entries each today.
Each week, we have had a fun topic for everyone to leave their quick comment/insight on. It has been so much fun to read the awesome tips and comments that you all have.
This week is going to be called – Let’s Get Organized. This is in lieu of us working on and completing the big organizational project over here at our house to get ready for a neighborhood garage sale. We literally went through the whole basement tonight and collected quite a bit of junk treasures to sell. With us preparing for this garage sale, we have also committed ourselves to being more organized and simple. So, we want to hear any tip that you have on how you get, become and/or stay organized. As our family grows and time is of the essence even more, this is one place that we are trying to learn more and more!
You all are so brilliant and we love these Friday tips each week!
Here are the two ways to enter. Make sure to leave a comment for each one as each one is a separate entry.
- This is the “mandatory” entry. We love hearing from each of you and your tips. So, this week we want to know your tips on how you get, become and/or stay organized.
- For your next entry, leave a second comment if you are a “liker” of The Thrifty Couple on Facebook. Its not too late if you’re not a liker yet, just go to our page and click ‘Like’. We also post extra deals and information on Facebook for our readers that you will not find on the site here.
We will share some of our tips when we make the announcement of the winner tomorrow!
This giveaway is for TODAY – Friday, September 10th ONLY! It ends at 11:59 MDT tonight! The winner will be announced on Saturday…. afternoon (garage sale ends at lunch!)!
Michelle
I’m very big on lists. I like to see what I need to do (and prioritize). It makes me feel so good when I can cross things off my list!
Alena W.
One thing I do to keep organized is I use plastic totes of different sizes and I label them so that I can tell what’s on the inside. That way if I need something, I know I can easily find it. It works great to save space (and my sanity). I have a very small closet in there and then I started couponing and getting awesome deals at Rite Aid etc. before I started organizing everything in their own little tote, I would get showered with toothpaste and body wash every time I tried to grab a new roll of toilet paper. Haha! 🙂
Alena W.
I like you on Facebook 🙂
Ashley R
I try to STAY organized by cleaning as I go throughout my day, and not waiting until the evening when I get tired, and am likely to just go to bed!
Rachel R.
When my girls were very small, I was given 3 zippered mesh laundry bags with velcro loops on them. For 5 years, I had my girls trained to put white socks in one bag, colored socks in the second bag, and red / black socks in the 3rd bag. It worked great. Carefully align the velcro before washing. And I never ever lost as single sock.
Unfortunately, the bags eventually wore out. I’ve never found another system that worked nearly as well.
We velcroed the bags along the bunk bed rails, easy to reach for the girls and always in plain sight.
Noelle
I had a lot of little freezer bags floating around in my freezer, I finally but a cardboard box in there to hold them. It works. I also couldn’t live with out totes and shapies!
Ashley R
“Like” you on FB! (Ashley Reynolds)
Shirlene Davenport
I have a three compartment clothes hamper (whites, light colored & darks) near my washer. When one gets full I just throw it in the washer, when washed pop in dryer, when dry fold and put away. I also have a towel rack over the hamper for wet towels. Aways have clean clothes and don’t have to take the time seperating them.
Katie L
To stay organized I label my storage containers so I can easily locate items when I am looking for them.
Lora
With 3 kids in school, I have to stay organized with packed lunches. I have a milk crate that I put all their lunch boxes,containers,and such in. I also make several sandwiches and put them in the freezer. When we open a can of fruit I stick any leftovers in an individual container and stick in freezer. I can just grab them and put it in their lunches.
Jenni F
I like to use lots of baskets, boxes, and other containers to organize all of our littler things. similar group things go together in the same basket/container. it makes it easy to clean up, just throw things in their basket.
Jenni F
i am also a liker on facebook.
Kimberlee
With a new Baby in the home, organizing has become more important. One of my handiest tricks was to buy several totes and mark on the outside 0-3 3-6 6-9 etc for clothing and smaller totes for socks, bibs, etc.
Rosanne
I’m very challenged when it comes to neatness & organization. So, Fly Lady has been a big help for me!
Rosanne
I’m a FB “liker” too!
Michele Rezewski
I stay organized by using lots of totes and baskets, and I label EVERYTHING!! My husband thinks i’m OCD:-).
Michele Rezewski
I’m a FB liker!!
Debbie P
One of my biggest ways of staying organized is to keep on top of all of my kids’ clothing. I have a bucket for every size they’ve grown out of, and ones that they will grow into as well. (I buy ahead when clothes go on clearance or ones I find at yard sales.) The buckets are color coded and labeled for what size it is. My son’s clothes go in the blue bins, and my daughter’s clothes go in the pink bins. I go through my kid’s clothes twice a year as the seasons change to get bigger weather appropriate clothes out, and put the clothes they’ve grown out of away. Staying on top of this keeps me much more organized.
Debbie P
I “like” you on facebook.
Jen S
I use storage bins of all sizes – always labeled. And lots of lists!
🙂
Nikki :-)
I am not ORGANIZED at all except for my coupons – I have a coupon box w/ envelopes & I have separated everything – Now I get the most for my $$ at the stores!! (I save over 60$ the other day at Wallmart – which paid for 3 cells phone for the month – we have Net10)
Jen S
I like you on Facebook :0)
Nikki :-)
I am DEFINITELY a liker on Facebook — That is how I found about this giveaway!!!!
Jennifer Phillips
I’m definitely big into lists!!! & I use all of those nifty lil’ storage things (small & large) that you can get at Walmart, Target, etc.!! 🙂 I’m VERY organized!
Jennifer Phillips
“Like” on Facebook!
Laura B
A calander in the kitchen helps us keep up with our appointments. There are 6 of us and it is hard to keep up with who has what appointment and when. Everyone knows where to look, too.
Laura B
I am a liker on facebook, too.
Becky
Best way to stay organized is to not let it get out of hand. Get off mailing lists to reduce junk mail or put a waste basket by the door for those things you don’t want. Don’t even open them.. dump!
A task isn’t finished until all the paperwork is done, filed and finished. Pending things stay in the pending file.
Today was my day to go through some of those things that had been pushed to the bottom of the list. Success! It felt good to get it done!
Becky
Facebook “liker”!
Jen
I have a basket right inside my garage door in my mud room. Each day when my girls get home from school, they empty out the papers from their backpacks, clean out their lunch boxes, and put them into the basket for tomorrow. Library books and anything else that needs to go to school goes in that basket so we can always remember to grab them on our way out the door!
Jen
I like you guys on facebook!
Rebecca R.
I am honestly not the best at STAYING organized! I like to organize a few times a year when I get up the motivation. most of the time I use the “random piles of papers” method. My husband is always amazed when I know exactly where everything is. It’s usually after I organize it all that I can’t find it anymore.
**please don’t take my advice! this is not a good plan!** haha
Rebecca R.
I’m definitely a “liker” of you on facebook!
lynn
I am organized in a few things…my coupons are organized in a file in my purse, kids outgrown and to-grow-into clothes are in labelled boxes in the basement.
lynn
FB Liker! 🙂
linden
I use a datebook with daily, weekly and monthly goals.
linden
Facebook liker!
Heather Hooper
I have 6 boys so I HAVE to be organized! I guess one of my tips is to put things in the car that will eventually need to end up there (stuff for DI, library books to be returned, things to be returned). Not only does it get it off the counter, but then I visually see it in the car and can deal with it.
Darlene
Closet organizers in every closet. When kids were little I bought large hamper size baskets at yard sales for several areas of the house. All the toys could easily be thrown in a basket with a lid on it and it looked nice in any room.
Darlene
I’m a liker of The Thrifty Couple on fb!
Kristalyn Ford
I got this trick from a friend. Each child has a basket with their name on it. Each night, I try to place all the things the child will need to get ready for the next day including socks, shoes, hair ties, etc., in the basket. It saves so much time trying to search for that last shoe or decide which headband matches. I do this for church and then if I know we are going to be pressed for time and going somewhere early in the morning. My kids aren’t in school yet, but I imagine it will be even more helpful then
Kristalyn Ford
I’m a liker! 🙂
Angie Redd
I use space bags, they are corny, but they work!
Megan
Hmm. Can I leave a comment if my husband says I am totally disorganized? With three little kiddos there are just SO MANY AREAS to get and stay organized with!!! Like the idea of using those plastic shoe things on the back of closet doors to organize homeschooling / office supplies and another in the girls room for ALL their girly things: hair ties, necklaces, etc… Right now been starting up with the Flylady- baby steps on getting our house in better order!!
Megan
I’m a liker too- thanks!
Melanie Fuller
I think the best way to stay organized is to NOT procrastinate…when you see something that is out of it’s proper “place”, then you should immediately put it back where it belongs! If you will do this everyday with every little thing, then most of your things will stay organized. Tasks that are done right away instead of being left for later truly help keep things organized. (Now if I could only teach my 4 sons to do this)
Elizabeth
I keep an agenda of what’s due or needs to be done. Life is hectic and I need to keep track somehow.
Calli
I stay organized by using a planner, anything that comes to mind, I write it down right away so I don’t have to worry about it. I freak out if I don’t have it because I rely on it so much!