Organising your home

Creating some sort of organisation from the chaos can prove problematic for many mothers, especially with a large family. With all that is going on in our lives, who wants to spend hours a day on housework, in fact who has the time to? If you feel yourself drowning in an ocean of un-ironed clothes and lego, there are a few things you can do to help make your lives that little bit easier inshaAllah.

My top ten tips don't involve pre-planning or making lists everysingle night, rather it is just a few simple changes you could make to making your home run that little bit smoother and clutter free.

My General Handy Tips

1. Observe where different  things accumulate within the home and design your home around that rather than trying to fit your family and their habits into your vision of the perfect home. For example if you notice the kids leave things on the floor after their bath, the why not leave a smal laundry or wicker basket for them to throw things into. Or if your young ones always use the dining table for their arts and crafts and you find yourself always clearign away paper and pens before dinner, why not find a corner to store some art supplies, maybe a small box or a kitchen cupboard.
2. Have a place for your house keys. (Not viewable from outside!). always place your keys here when you return home and this wil soon become habit.
3. Keep a bottle of cleaner and a cloth in your bathroom, and everyday have a quick wipe-round of the sink. This would only take a couple of minutes and would ensure your bathroom is never in 'that' state. I would suggest using an eco cleaner or home made one to minimise the exposure to dangerous toxins found in commercial cleaners.
4. Keep a wicker basket in every room (or the rooms the family soends the majority of time). Use it as a place to throw in toys and any other bits collected throughout the day. Every so often you can collect it and return it to it's rightful place. Thusi really helps if you have children who are 'never finished' playing with their toys, even though their attention may be elsewhere.
5. Keep in mind that a load of washing needs to be done everyday if you want to stay on top of it all. Miss a day and you have extra washing to do the following. Maybe oick a time most convenient to throw a load in, maybe before breakfast when everyone else is either still sleeping / reading Quran or washing up for the day.
6. Don't iron unless it is a must. Many items don't need ironing such as bedsheets, some children clothing, pj's or knitwear.#
7. Odd socks is forever a problem in many homes (especially mine). Train everyone to fold their socks into the pair as soon as it is removed and before it is put into the dirty laundry basket.

Another area we could all feel frustrated is tackling that dreaded paperwork. Click HERE for some tips on organising household paperwork.