WIN a copy of the 2015-16 Balabusta’s Daily Organizer

33055

Sun, Jun 21 2015, 6:09 pm

I use color note to write down when I am getting low on groceries. I send it to my husband who goes food shopping and it comes out as a checklist.

Write what is being stored on six sides of the box. That way you can always see what is in there no matter how it is stacked.

November

Sun, Jun 21 2015, 6:15 pm

Aside from having a personal organizing calendar like the Balabusta one, I find that hanging a large-sized monthly calendar in some place central (like on the refrigerator) helps my family to stay organized. We use a different color highlighter for each person in the family, and highlight items such as appointments and school functions/tests. I also mark down dates of visiting family and friends, as well as guests who are coming for shabbat. All of the family members appreciate being able to see what's coming up that week or in the next few weeks.

sotired3

Sun, Jun 21 2015, 6:27 pm

When you go away for shabbos, bring along a laundry bag. It makes unpacking so simple, as you simply bring the bag of dirty clothes down to the laundry room as soon as you get home.

Riffy

Sun, Jun 21 2015, 7:27 pm

Keep garbage bags under the garbage so when the garbage gets taken out the bag can easily be replaced.

ROFL

Sun, Jun 21 2015, 7:36 pm

At night before I go to sleep I review what I did that day and what I need to do the next day. It settles my mind that I know what I have to do.

Reesa

Sun, Jun 21 2015, 7:38 pm

Make supper menus for the week with the family on Sunday. This way everyone knows what to expect and there is no complaining. It also keeps you organized with shopping and cooking.

forever21

Sun, Jun 21 2015, 8:14 pm

For storage, the best thing is to buy a piece of furniture that has cubbies. If boxes are piled up on top of each other you won't be able to get to the box on the bottom! Then you'll just keep buying stuff, not realizing that it's sitting in the box on the bottom! (Speaking from experience).

workaholicmama

Sun, Jun 21 2015, 8:17 pm

My sister uses colored nail polish to identify kids' clothes. She uses a different bright color(the cheap ones, not those you would actually use for your nails....) for each kid. As soon as it's unpacked from the original packaging, a small stripe goes on. That way even the younger kids can match up their socks and pack away their clothes.

mazelandbracha

Sun, Jun 21 2015, 8:37 pm

When cooking for Yom Tov, and everything is in a 9x13 foil pan, label the short side of the pan, the part that shows when they are all stacked up together.

birthday

Sun, Jun 21 2015, 9:05 pm

Before you go to work put chicken and potatoes and vegetables in a crockpot with spices and when u come home u have a nice delioushe meal wating for u.

seeker

Sun, Jun 21 2015, 9:10 pm

So a few of these are what I would have said, but most if them are just giving me an inferiority complex for not being nearly so together.

My tip: freeze things as flat as you can get them, makes them much quicker to defrost. This is more of a shortcut than an organization tip because of course if you are well organized you probably don't need to get your meat/chicken cutlets/soup/dough/whatever defrosted within 10 minutes. But for someone like me, that's called thinking ahead (doing it before putting things in freezer)

Mal 1

Sun, Jun 21 2015, 9:14 pm

Buy rectangle containers to freeze food in, it's neater than round containers and uses less space.

FranticFrummie

Sun, Jun 21 2015, 10:38 pm

I LOOOOOOOVE my organizer so much! I never would have survived Pesach without it. Now I'm using it for my Aliyah planner. Very Happy

When drying clothes, if you have things that need ironing, take them out when they are still a bit damp and hang them up to finish drying. 90% of the wrinkles should fall out on their own, and then you can use the iron to give the item a quick touch up for crispness.

It's so much easier than trying to iron out "tumbled in" wrinkles over the whole piece of clothing.

Ironing is boring. When your kids want to tell you all about their day, let them do it while you are ironing. It's a great time to talk, because you don't really need to focus on what you're doing.

mother of boyz

Sun, Jun 21 2015, 11:57 pm

Lists , lists and more lists!!!
Everything that needs to be taken care of gers written down
Shopping lists, daily to do lists, errands list, pesach lists......
As a side I love my balebusta planner!! I always used to work with planners but before this came out I used to sit for hours putting in yiddish dates (to remember birthdays ), yomim tovim, rosh chodesh etc. Now all I need to do is fill in the daily , weekly and I'm all set up! Thank you!

pumpernickle

Mon, Jun 22 2015, 12:31 am

I keep a tub of clorox wipes in my kitchen for quick spills, wiping down a counter or the highchair tray or anything else that needs to be sanitized or cleaned instantly.

coconutbutter

Mon, Jun 22 2015, 2:39 am

When making grocery list for the hubby, be as specific as possible to save time, aggravation, and money!

I try to go in order of isle, and am extremely specific about amount, size, firmness...etc.

DH appreciates it immensely and I don't need to spend all the time on the phone as he goes through each item.

I also go through the weekly advertisements and cut out the updated hours of stores and put it on my fridge, as no matter how many times I shop at the same store I never seem to get the right hours!

ice coffee

Mon, Jun 22 2015, 2:47 am

Whenever I feel overwhelmed with the mess, I tell my kids to pick up 30 things and put them away. It feels less stressful to them instead of saying " clean up this room". I love to think about how with four kids doing this, they have just organized 120 things in a matter of minutes!

sunny90

Mon, Jun 22 2015, 4:24 am

At some point in the afternoon I prepare all my kids pjs/diapers etc each in their own pile on my bed so that when it comes to bathtime I bathe them, send them straight to my bed to dress themselves/wait for me to dress them and I'm not running around looking for the PJs they dropped in various places in the house when they got dressed in the morning! (They bathe every night so they reuse PJs for 2-3 nights)