As a stay at home mom, keeping up the house with young children has been one of the most challenging parts of any day. As soon as I put one toy away, another is taken out. One drawer of clothes is strewn over the floor and no sooner that I put it away, my children are rummaging through another drawer. It’s a constant battle or as I like to call it, “organized chaos.” I came up with 4 ways to organize my home to combat this battle. What makes it even more of a personal challenge for me is that I am the first to admit that I am not the cleanest housewife in the world. It’s hard for me and takes constant effort. I can happily walk by an overturned puzzle without batting an eye. Cups on the counter? I’ll put them away later. There is so much on my plate at all times that something has to get left on the back burner right?
After facing this battle day after day, I vowed after our kitchen renovation to keep a clean house everyday. Nowadays, there is a constant voice in my head telling me to pick up this and that. I knew in order to achieve this, I would need some helpful organizing tips and shortcuts. These 4 ways to organize my home have changed the way my house looks and the time it takes me each day to clean. I’d love to share them with you to help organize your home.
- Organize Your Kitchen Drawers
A love of cooking has led me to drawers of kitchen tools and do not get me started on the infamous kitchen “junk drawer.” Everyone has one. Don’t pretend you don’t! New kitchen meant new beginnings and organization. I bought these beautiful wood drawer organizers from Bed Bath and Beyond for my utensils along with some plastic ones for the junk drawer.
The Bamboo Expandable Cutlery Tray is the perfect choice for my long 30″ utensil drawer. It expands from 13″ to 22″ long making it super customizable. For extra storage, these Bamboo Drawer Organizers come in 6 sizes, letting me custom design my storage. I used the smallest for measuring spoons and the biggest for measuring cups. Now everything from a chip clip to wine opener has it’s place.
For the junk drawer, I chose both Madesmart Junk Drawer Organizer and Madesmart Multisized Drawer Organizers to help me achieve the impossible organization for my large drawer. Combining the different sizes let me find a place for my chargers, pens, notepads, labels, and everything else random in a junk drawer that needs a home.
2. Pretty Containers
My hall closet was half organized with board games and blankets and half unorganized with random boxes, stacks of photos, cards, kid’s art, and keepsakes. The solution: I bought these pretty square storage containers at Target to help me organize and hide the mess. I divided everything into 4 categories: Photos/Keepsakes, Decorations, Manuals/Important documents, and Housewares (light bulbs, extension cords, etc.). This has been extremely helpful now when I’m cleaning up or looking for that rarely used power strip. Plus, when anyone opens the closet, there are these lovely boxes staring back at them. No mess in sight.
3. Bathroom Basket
For anyone, the bathroom counter can become a cluttered mess. Get it out of sight with a cute basket. I found a perfect counter top sized lined basket at Target that currently holds toothpaste, contacts, hair ties, hair products, hair brush and any other small odds and ends that I need at my disposal.
4. Car Organization
There are some weeks where I feel like we’re spending the whole day in the car. Between school drops offs, mommy and me classes, and errands, the car can become quite a mess! Besides doing a weekly clean-out (how did 2 sets of clothes, 4 pairs of shoes, and 3 water bottles end up in there?), I have began implementing some organizing tips that help keep the mess at ease.
A small plastic cereal container instantly becomes the perfect on the go garbage can. Perfect for my many granola bar wrappers. I found mine in the kitchen section at Home Goods. Next, I keep a small basket from the Dollar Tree in the backseat with a few toys, books, stickers, and coloring book. Perfect if an unexpected wait occurs and my little ones get antsy. Lastly, the trunk of my car has a reusable bag containing extra clothes for my children, plus socks, and a garbage bag. Trust me, you never know when you’ll have a mess out and about. After my son getting sick in the car, I never leave without these items. With our lifestyles, I have come to embrace that it’s better to be over prepared than under prepared.
