Organization Tips for Your Home

Let me be really honest with all of you. If you see it in my photographs, or on my Instagram it is clean, neat, tidy. WELL, reality is, if you don’t see it, chances are, it is disorganized, messy and unstyled. YUP. That’s the truth but it is something I’m working on.

Take note of all the baskets with blankets.

We moved into our home TWO years ago in December, I cannot believe we have been here two years already. And I CANNOT believe I unpacked, jammed things into closets and cupboards and left it. That’s right I basically jammed things into every nook and cranny and hardly organized. Out of sight, out of mind. I definitely did not jump on the whole Marie Kondo craze.

Wicker basket is being used as storage and it looks cute.
Small wooden boxes that hold special items that look great styled on the built ins.

I’m going to do some serious purging and declutter of things and ORGANIZE. When we first moved in here, originally we thought we had lots of space, especially moving from a smaller 1800 square foot home. Now we have so much more kitchen storage, a pantry, more closets, even a storage closet and utility room. Somehow we managed to fill it up, I know by getting organized and decluttering it will free up a lot of space and make items easier to find when we need them.

As I begin to prepare myself for this big purge and organization of our home, it makes me realize how much stuff we own. And it makes me realize what we actually NEED. {I might be a bit of a hoarder} It’s a reminder to self to be intentional about what we are bringing into our home, from toys to clothing to just stuff that we collect over the years. I do not claim to be a minimalist, but I try to be conscious of our purchases. Sometimes I will put items in my cart, walk around the store then realize we don’t NEED this. I might WANT it, but I don’t NEED it. Recognizing the difference between WANT vs NEED has made me walk away from many things I don’t truly need in my life and in our home.

My accent table has a basket in the bottom and it is stylish + functional

Organizing your home is daunting. I’m over here talking about it (ahem procrastinating) before I really dive in, in hopes that I will be more accountable. Who’s with me?! I’m also getting a game plan together on where to start and what I need so I set myself up for success, not frustration. I also don’t want to allow myself to get side tracked because I don’t have proper storage bins, or time etc. This is definitely a step by step process and I’m hoping to tackle bit by bit and have realistic expectations BECAUSE this won’t happen overnight. By giving our home a real thorough organization / purge I will be more successful at keeping it this way. What a fun New Year’s and Winter project.

HAHA. I’m serious. Kinda.

Raise your hand if you’re excited to get organized!

6 Tips to Organize Your Home

1. Make the time to dive into this project and ask for help. If you have small kids, ask Grandma to come over to entertain them. Or if you have older kids, get them involved. My kids seem to enjoy giving away old “baby” toys or items they are done with so it is actually nice to have their help, then they learn a little about donating and decluttering their lives too.

2. Use storage containers. Here are some containers I love when it comes to cute storage that is functional and doubles as decor SOLID LA JOLLA BASKETS, Dot Baskets, Sycamore Baskets. I have lots of baskets kicking around our house for toys that are accessible in the kids room, or for blankets or pillows in our living room + bedroom. Here are some other great storage container options WHITE PLASTIC STORAGE BIN/BASKET great for closets, cupboards or pantries and Large clear plastic storage bins with lids. I use large ones to organize in our storage nook, and smaller ones for kids toys and other items like arts and crafts + lego. For bins that are in storage, like holiday stuff, be sure to label your containers. This is the label maker I have and it works great for pantry sized stuff. For larger bins I used old fashioned scrap paper and a sharpie so it is clearly legible. That way stuff is easier to see and pull out when you need it.

3. Start and stay in one area. If you’re anything like me this is HARD. Because I will start one thing and then I will have five things on the go and basically not accomplishing anything, just making more of a mess. By starting in ONE area, you will get into the groove, and see some success and have satisfaction by starting and completing one area. Take before / after photos so you will have an appreciation of how far you’ve come.

4. Separate items into categories. When I’m organizing and purging I separate things into what I’m keeping, tossing, recycling and what I’m donating. It feels so good to let go of things that are taking up valuable space and things you no longer need or use. We haven’t needed a baby gate in two years but yet I can’t seem to let it go so I’ll hang on to it a little longer. When it comes to my own belongings, like clothing for instance, I’m hoping to host a closet sale locally and donate other items that are not really worth selling.

5. Take inventory. I have things jammed into closets where things don’t belong. Have a look at how many you have, i.e. linens, do you have them all in the right place? Maybe you’ll see you’ve had some tucked in another room or closet and as a result bought more! So by moving them into the correct spot, you may learn you have multiples, or extra stuff you don’t need. As you find things and move them into the proper area, it will help with the reorganization of that area of your home too. Be careful to keep focus on the one area you are working on and not get side tracked like I tend to.

6. Ok this is a hard one for me but trust me. Remove everything from drawers and cabinets. Get everything out! Then you can really see what you’re working with. You will be able to reposition things into better placement for easier access. I like to put things at arms reach that are either heavy/awkward or items we use most frequently. And kid stuff always goes low so they can help themselves 🙂

It’s safe to say we have a basket in every room. This one collects random toys the boys leave and a blanket for Archer while he naps.

To do our entire home it would be quite time consuming so I’m committing to doing my mudroom and pantry to start and then I’ll tackle the boy’s closets… and then my closet (which will be a big undertaking). January is often a BLAH month for me so it’s nice to have a little project on the go now that our bathroom is complete. {I will be blogging all of that soon!}

Organization + purging has been on my mind ever since we moved in and I’m looking forward to diving in. Hoping that this blog post keeps me more accountable!