Organizing Your Home
/Building a system that stays tidy and organized
The kids are back to school and you’ve decided to tackle your house, declutter, and organize. What’s the best way to attack this process and how do you help the organization “stick”?
Empty out the space
Anytime you are organizing a space, start with emptying it. As you do this, group like things together. As you move items out and find a random pair of scissors in the pantry or a toy in the closet, put those items where they belong. Declutter along the way as well. Make your donation piles and have a trash can handy for things that are no longer in good condition.
Categorize like items
You have your piles of similar items. What are you going to call these piles? You need a name so that you know what to add to the category. When you’re doing a pantry, you might have “oils and vinegars” as a category. If you’re doing a closet, you could put together a “gift wrap” category that includes tissue paper and bags. As you are putting these items together, you get another chance to delete down and get rid of things you don’t need.
Create storage bins
Now that you know how many items are in a category, get appropriately sized storage bins. You may think this is silly but creating a home for items to go will make it easier for you and the other people in your family to put things back correctly. Label these containers and arrange them inside the space. Programs like silhouette, canva, and cricut are helpful in making labels.
Keeping your space organized
Now that you have created your storage system, you need to build a healthy system to keep your house tidy and organized throughout the week. Here are some good exercises to integrate into your daily routine. Involve your whole family and set expectations for how each person can pick up after themselves.
Start a load of laundry before work. Let the washer do your work for you and help you stay ahead of a pile of laundry at the end of the week. Each day when you get home, empty the washer and move it to the dryer or the hanging rack.
Do small tasks immediately. Don’t set your dirty dishes in the sink, immediately rinse them and place them in the dishwasher. This takes seconds but a sink full of dishes can really pile up and take a chunk of your time later in the day. When you bring in the mail, immediately sort through it and recycle any junk mail. Place bills in your area to be paid.
Clean for 20 minutes in the evening. Every evening ask your children to put up anything they’ve gotten out that day. Take 20 minutes and pick up anything that has been left out. If your family has tracked in some dirt, run the vacuum really quick.
Take advantage of your trips from room to room. If you are walking through the house or to another room, never do this empty handed. Take advantage of those steps and return something to its home.
Make bed first thing in the morning. As soon as you get out of bed in the morning, make your bed. Building this into your routine as a made bed helps a room to feel more tidy. Making your bed daily also helps the sheets and comforters to stay in place better between washes.
Tidy up while waiting. Are you waiting on your coffee pot to brew, your toaster to make your breakfast, or just have five minutes until a meeting? Use this time to tidy up a few things. Doing a little bit at a time helps the cleaning process to not feel overwhelming.
Wipe down the kitchen nightly. Going to bed with an empty sink, sparkling counters, and wiped down sink will allow you to wake up to a clean space. Start your dishwasher before turning in for the night.
Clean out the fridge weekly. Get rid of leftovers that are past their prime. Wipe down surfaces. Be sure to move anything that needs to be eaten quickly to the front of the refrigerator.
Empty the dishwasher in the morning. You clean your kitchen at night. Empty the dishwasher in the morning so that you have somewhere to put your dirty breakfast dishes.
Create a collection space at the door. Ensure that shoes have proper storage near the door and create a space to put keys and empty pockets. This will help you avoid finding sunglasses scattered around the house.
Build a routine to empty backpacks. Have your kids immediately empty their backpacks after school. Lunch boxes go in the sink to be washed or in the dishwasher if appropriate. Review school work and sign any slips that are needed at this time. Any school work that won’t be kept gets disposed of at that time. For special pieces, create an organization system so that kids know where to put them.
The key to any organization is making it user friendly and labeled for everyone in the household. You want to build this system so that a single person isn’t constantly picking up after everyone else.
As you are implementing new storage systems, consider if you need to update any painting, install new shelving, or any other updates. The team at Hardwood Specialties is here to help update your home to meet your needs. Reach out to us to discuss your space.