Successful Tips for Organizing Your Home & Keeping it That Way

1

Successful Tips for Organizing Your Home & Keeping it That Way | Columbia SC Moms BlogIn my first post about organization I shared how I keep all my children’s keepsakes organized. Today I’ll share how we organize our home and KEEP it organized. Let’s be honest, keeping things organized is really the struggle and some of my children have made it obvious that they didn’t inherit my organizational gene.

So I frequently ask myself, how do I strengthen their organizational abilities, aka help me to not go crazy over their stuff scattered everywhere, while making my home a comfortable, livable space?

Here are some tips and tricks I have found to be helpful:

Clothes

When seasons change, one of the first thoughts I have is “oh no, I have to change out all of their clothes!” The task of switching out clothes for each of my children is one of the most dreaded tasks for me. Naturally, I had to implement a plan to make this task a little less daunting.

We keep a basket in the top of their closets for clothes that become too small. Once the basket is full, I disperse the clothes to storage containers in the attic or we donate them.

When it is time to replace summer clothes with winter clothes or vice versa, I get the container out of the attic that is labeled with their gender and size on it. Then, my child goes through the bin with me to determine what they are REALLY going to wear. I have learned to respect their own personal preference because what one girl wore isn’t necessarily what the next girl will choose to wear.

Shoes

Shoes seem to multiply around our house, especially when we’re in the midst of sports. Again, we had to create a space dedicated solely for shoes. There are bins in the bottom of their closets for shoes they don’t wear often or shoes that are out of season. However, in our garage sits the best shoe shelf I became the lucky owner of. Our kids put their shoes in the cubby before they enter the house. (Of course, we always have those who can’t take the extra step to actually put the shoes in the cubby.)

shoe organizer | Columbia SC Moms Blog
Even with an amazing system in place, some shoes have a hard time making it into a cubby. Someone decided to leave their socks here too. This is definitely not where we put socks.

Events

While I had all of our activities recorded on my calendar, my family was unaware of when things were happening and what to expect. So, I purchased a framed dry erase board and hung it in our kitchen where we spend most of our time. Every weekend, I write the activities for the upcoming week on the board. With a quick glance, everyone knows what is occurring that week.

I also have a menu board hanging next to it so I don’t get the “what’s for dinner?” question ten times a day. The menu board also helps me plan meals and stick to a grocery list without purchasing items I don’t need.

schedule and menu board | Columbia SC Moms Blog
Our schedule and menu board for the week keep everyone stay on track and help me dodge a million questions.

Toys

Toys, toys, toys, everywhere there are toys. Like most people, we have baskets and bins strategically placed throughout the house with toys. One thing we have done in the past, that we need to revisit, is rotating toys. We ‘hold’ some toys in the attic for a few months and then rotate them in the toy bins while putting some other toys in the attic. It helps keep them from taking over my home and my kids feel like they get ‘new’ toys every few months.

Book Bags/Papers

I spent who knows how long searching for drop-off ideas on Pinterest. Then, I found a set of cubbies on a consignment website. It was pretty banged up, but with a little sandpaper and paint, it was ready to be used again. Now we put school papers in the smaller cubbies and book bags and coats for school in the longer cubbies. Each child has their own cubby, so this worked out perfectly.

cubbies | Columbia SC Moms Blog
Our cubbies for book bags and papers saves us from having school stuff scattered everywhere.

These are some of the most effective strategies we implemented to keep our house organized. When items have a specified place, we know exactly where to find them. One of the best things that has come from these systems is if something isn’t in its place, then the natural consequence of a child not having the item they’re seeking comes into play. The other bonus is we aren’t running around frantically searching for items … well most of the time.

How do you keep your family and all their stuff organized?

Previous articleWhat Disney Movies Are Really About
Next articleMilkshakes, Munchies & Mingle :: A New to Columbia Mom Event
Missey Calcutt
Missey Calcutt is a follower of Jesus and wife to her best friend for 16 years. Together they have five amazing kids who range in age from one to 13 years of age. Born and raised in Columbia, she earned a BA in Speech Language Pathology from Columbia College. She then attended USC where she earned a Master’s Degree in Speech Language Pathology. After working in a variety of settings for eleven years, she became a stay-at-home mom to her growing family. Now, she juggles hectic schedules, carpool lines and nonstop meal preparation. In addition to her love for writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, serving in her church, reading, and exercising. She hopes her posts bring encouragement to other women in the trenches of motherhood.

1 COMMENT

  1. I’m raising my both hands. I find it tough to keep organize. Cleaning in the morning but messy in the evening, that’s how I find my whole day. I really need your tips to make it through!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here