Simplify

A couple of weeks ago, I reached my breaking point in regards to the amount of dishes I currently have in circulation. It's way, way, way too many. The realization hit me when I ran an entire load in the dishwasher of just cups and glasses.

At that point, the gloves came off and I decided something HAD to be done. It's ridiculous to use that many cups. I am sure that my children take a few sips out of a glass and set it down, generally in a location that is not Mom-Approved (i.e. the living room end table or Gasp! the living room floor where it will be kicked over). I have also decided that water and milk are perfectly acceptable beverages and I will no longer purchase, with exception to special occasions, Crystal lite or other drink mixes. If you move my love seat, you will find a large blue stain that is a blinding reminder of why I will not ever, EVER buy grape drink mixes, no matter how tasty.

I have friends that have trained their 6 children to use only one cup. Each child has their own unique colored camping cup. I thought this was an absolutely brilliant idea. I just never went so far as to implement it. I did poke around at various stores looking for different colored tin cups. But after the Dishwasher Full Of Cups Incident, I got down to business. I found blue tin cups at a store and decided to also purchase paint markers and my kids could decorate their cup and make them unique. They liked the idea and then I also explained that this would be the only cup they were to use.

It's been a slow transition but they are getting used to it. When they ask for a cup, I tell them to look for theirs. It works for the most part but when they can't find it, they resort to pulling cups out of the cupboard. I knew I needed to do something about that temptation and I had plans but then I got hit Wham Bam with only a week between with both a stomach virus and then the entire family got the flu. This pretty much sapped all my energy and time for a solid month.

On the day I bought the tin cups, I also decided I would cut down on the number of dishes we use as well. So, I bought clear salad plates and had the kids decorate them from underneath. The paint doesn't last forever but I figure they may like being able to redecorate their plate again with something different or seasonally. I will admit that this idea is not unique. I read it in a magazine. I can't remember which one, in order to give credit where it is due.

This weekend I finally have energy back and an extra day off. So, I went on the attack. With 4 children in school, the amount of paper that comes home every week is substantial and even daunting. I don't know how many things I have lost because I didn't have a good system in place.

Again, my friend with the 6 children, now 7 children, came to my rescue with the idea of using file folders for each day of the week and then each month of the year. I added to it by creating a folder for each family member. I also took my cubbie station by my front door and moved it to my kitchen. I have always intended for the kids to put their backpacks and other items in their cubbies but since we always seem to come in through the garage, the backpacks keep landing in the kitchen. I can't believe it took so long for me to figure out that I should move the cubbies.

Since I was on a roll, I reorganized my kitchen cabinets and moved out the extra dishes and cups. Now there are only the 5 tin cups and then a set of 6 plastic cups, 5 plates and 5 bowls. Less to keep track of, less to clean. Simple. Organization in my kitchen that makes sense.

I have other areas in my home that need to be organized. I have decided that I will focus on one area per week and then continue to maintain the areas I have already done. I think this is the key to caring for a big family by myself.

One more thing I did that seems to work very well: instead of dragging all of the food to the table and trying to serve 4 children at the table, I decided to leave the food in the kitchen and serve from the stove. So, the children come to the kitchen, take their plate of dinner out to the table. It has cut down on a lot of back and forth traffic of pots and pans which always annoys me. Again, it is just one more thing that seems to make my life a little simpler and less stressful.