How to keep a home organized while raising a bunch of kids.

15 tips that helped me run our household with 5 teenage roommates, 2 part time elementary boys, dogs and a husband.

First of all, I am a slight neat freak. I have a semi-bad case of OCD and I like things just the way I like them. I have to have my towels folded perfectly, seam tucked on the inside. I have my closet organized by color, my fridge has to be organized and cleaned out, and my bed has to be made before I can get in it to go to sleep. I'm not quite one of the "home edit" mommas, but I think you get it. So ending up with 5 kids in my house, and 2 step kiddos every other weekend AND a husband, gets a little crazy at times. Here is a list of 15 tips I have learned over the years to help keep things organized.

1. Try to let some things go. Pick your battles, the few things that really matter the most to you. And try to let the other stuff go as much as you can. I had a nanny when my kids were really little. One of the hardest things I ever let go of was the laundry. It was a temporary release, because when I was able to I went right back to my old comfortable OCD ways. But for a few years, I had to accept that socks were thrown into drawers without a match, tshirts didn’t get layered every other direction to keep the stack tight, and often times the loads were over stuffed and left in the washer way too long. We all lived. Vinegar in the wash helps.

2. Pick a color for each kid. Seriously, you can kind of stick with it through the years and it helps to keep things straight. For example, Will was blue. I got his bathroom towels blue, a lot of his clothes were blue, his toothbrush was blue and so were backpacks, blankets and sheets. It just helped all of us to recognize when something was that specific kids. As they got older, they would pass things down to younger siblings and sometimes they used each others towels. But, generally speaking it helped.

3. Have sharpies handy at all times. Sharpies are miracle markers and they can label everything from bottles of water, half finished subway sandwiches, backpacks, toothbrushes, remotes and chargers. Have lot of sharpies.

4. Everyone is always hungry. This is a nightmare and I have no tips, other than invest in a giant deep freeze.

5. Toys. Learn to give or throw stuff away. First, try to limit the amount of toys the kids have. Seriously they don’t need all that stuff. Like Christmas or birthdays we think they need a certain amount of gifts and we literally buy stuff just to give them more to open. Then, we spend the next few days trying to figure out where to put all that junk. So try to limit them to just a few specific toys and consider storage when buying them. Once they have played with them a few times, often they forget about them and they never play with them again. So if you notice the toys are not being played with for while don’t be afraid to pass the things on. They deserve a new home, and you deserve a somewhat organized home.

6. Games. Find a cupboard, a shelf or a big basket to store board games and cards. Put them near a table, and you will be amazed how much more the kids will play with them. Even grown kids will play with cards or will pull out monopoly when their friends are over if they see the game right on the shelf and next to a table. Just make it easy for them.

7. Allow yourself a junk cupboard, armoire or closet. You need a place to jam junk and do not feel bad about it. It will be our secret.

8. Use Walmart online grocery. It's easy and you can order while siting in the pick up lines at school, while eating lunch at work or even early in the am before you get up. You can add to it as needed, and it is a lifesaver.

9. Use paper plates, plastic silverware and solo cups whenever and as often as you want and don’t feel bad one bit. You will find your after dinner chores are much quicker and you can get to bed faster. Nobody cares, so just do it and forget about it.

10. Buy rotisserie chicken. You can make tacos, pasta, chicken pizza, sandwiches, etc. Its cooked, yummy, cheap and healthy.

11. Use online banking, and set your bills up to all be due on the same approx date. You can pay your bills while eating your sandwich at your desk over lunch. I get my mail in my car and put all my bills throughout the month in my center console. Once a month, I pull them all out and pay everything. Its quick & easy.

12. Make friends with other working moms. You can carpool and help each other out as needed. Also do not feel bad for asking grandparents and friends to help if you need it. It takes a village to raise these people.

13. Download life360 on everyones phone. It helps to know when busses are close to town so you can get to the school for pickup after a game or field trip, it helps you to know if the kids are still at their friends houses, or when your husband is leaving work. It helps them know where you are as well. It cuts down on the where r u texts and makes life easier.

14. Get a roomba and a cleaning lady. Just do it. My kids get so mad because on Wednesday nights, I am yelling "clean your rooms, pick up your laundry, put your stuff away the cleaning lady comes tomorrow." In fact, one day my son yelled back at me and said "why do we even call her the cleaning lady? She should be called the vacuum lady. We are the cleaning ladies." I laughed because its true. But whatever, she cleans the toilets too so its totally worth it.

15. And finally, the best advice I ever received was from my dear friend Debra. She raised 5 boys, and is such an incredible Mom and Grandma. One day I was crying because I was so frustrated. I called her and I said "Debra these kids are so messy, they can’t put toilet paper rolls on the holder, they miss the toilets, they miss laundry basket, there’s food in their beds…help!!! What did you do?"

And she said the most profound piece of advice I have ever heard…she said, “you wait for them to move out.” I guess at the end of the day that’s it.