6 Questions About Organizing Your Mom Life
By Jill Caryl Weiner
For best-selling author and professional organizer Regina Leeds, being organized isn’t just a great way to keep track of baby booties, it’s also a path to greater peace and happiness. For the disorganized, life is a swirling minefield of lost keys, misplaced diaper cream, unnecessary stress and self-blame. Some time ago, Regina realized that her own mother’s obsession with organization could help a lot of people. Four how-to-stay-organized books later, she’s teamed up with mom of five and blogger Meagan Francis to write “One Year to an Organized Life with Baby.” Here’s a peek at Regina’s philosophy and some of her tips for minimizing chaos and staying calm and happy while that cute little tornado blows through your life.
What's your Zen approach to keeping a household with
a baby organized?
A baby adds an avalanche of stuff and tasks to your life, but you’ll have a greater sense of control if you have a place for everything and everything has its place, so that you’re not constantly searching for things. You know how difficult it can be to get a baby out the door: Finally, you’re ready, but you can’t find your keys. This is stressful for you both: Your baby knows instantly if you’re upset - and you don’t need that extra stress. Lost keys are one of the biggest soap operas around - and misplaced glasses are another one. To eliminate that drama, always keep your keys and glasses in the exact same spot.
Figure out where it makes sense to keep the things you need to get out of the door with the baby. Where are you most comfortable packing her up, slathering her with sunscreen (when she’s old enough), getting her shoes on, putting her in the baby carrier? Is it near the door - with a strategically placed chair? Or is it in the bedroom, where you can zip him into his snowsuit on the changing table? Create a designated place for out-the-door items, like a little basket for baby shoes, outerwear, sunscreen, the baby carrier. If there’s something else that you’re always hunting down, find a place for that, too.
The most important thing is to realize that being organized will make you calmer, more functional and more in control - and at the same time you’ll be teaching your baby a skill that he will have for the rest of his life. Just think about what you are giving your child! It will become part of their DNA from early on.