How to Organize and Declutter Your Entire Home
Hey, y'all! Pre-mama life, I was very organized. From nail polish to high heels, everything was color coordinated and organized to a T. Then I had a baby, built a house, and then another baby. I was able to keep my kids organized, but everything else was organized to the bare minimum. Finally, a year after being in our house, I have been able to go through my house and organize almost everything I want to. I feel so much better. That's backed by science! Stay tuned for my number 1 essential for an organized house! First, there are so many benefits of staying organized let’s look at 4!
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4 benefits of an organized home
Saves you time - Getting organized can take time, but it is a huge time saver once you are! If everything has a place, you don't have to waste your time looking for what you need when you swear it was "in that drawer." Who knows how much time I have wasted searching my house for something I know I just had but got thrown somewhere it wasn't supposed to be.
2. Saves you money - If you can't find what you have inevitably, you will rebuy it. As soon as you make your new purchase surprise, you will find it. Being organized will help you save money because you will see what you have.
3. Save your sanity - It's 2 am and guess what?! Your smoke detector starts beeping. Now it's time to find the 9V batteries you KNOW you have. You can't find them. You barely sleep and wake up madder than a wet hen. Organize the batteries!
4. You feel more in control and at ease - Getting organized helps you purge unwanted items or things you have been holding on to for too long. Once you get rid of those things, you can feel less stressed and more at ease.
You understand the benefits. Now what? Decluttering and getting our house organized can seem overwhelming. Follow these steps to get you started:
Make a list
Start by room, then break it down from there. Example: Kitchen - Pantry, Cabinets, Refrigerator, etc.
Write down the tools you want to use to organize each area. Example: Bins, baskets, pull-out drawer? Write out what you need to purchase or what you can reuse already in your house.
Set yourself a date to get it done! Pick a day, weekend; maybe you need a week. How much time will you need to finish your project? Give yourself a time limit to get it done!
Start small. Don’t try to organize your entire house at once. It will be overwhelming, and you will get burned out. Be realistic about what needs to get done, how long it will take, and when you will have the time to do it.
Get all your supplies ready! Pens, Markers, Labels, Label makers, Trash bags, choice of organizers, good music or a TV series queued and ready to go, and possibly a sweet treat to keep you motivated!
Make sure you pick the right time of day. Are you going to organize your kitchen after a long day of work successfully? Pick a time you have the energy to push through the “ Why am I doing this?” phase.
Pace yourself! Suppose you get burned out while mid-organization; take a break! Have lunch, sit down and give your body/ mind a break. Give yourself a time limit, so you don’t completely get unmotivated. Less than 30 minutes always works for me.
Enlist some help! Find someone to help you! I see people are usually willing to help you organize if it’s not their stuff! My mom has always been ready to help me with everything, especially when it comes to getting things organized!
Below are my absolute favorite organizing supplies + tips I have used for my house!
Click on Photos to make a quick and easy purchase
Drumroll Please….
Yes! Baskets! I have baskets in every room in my house! Why baskets? Kids toys everywhere? A hundred things on your nightstand? Bathroom madness? Drop-zone chaos? Baskets! They make your space look clean and streamlined. A lot of little things everywhere? Even if they are "organized," the area can still look cluttered and visually cause stress. Another reason I love baskets: easy clean-up! Having a basket for all your kids' toys, shoes in the drop-zone, or leggings makes cleaning up easy and quick! They are a lifesaver! You can also easily find baskets that can be an excellent design element for your space. I use baskets in every room of my house!
Here is an extra essential for yall. Command strips! I use the Command brand all over my house! Hooks for bibs, hooks for jewelry, strips to hang photos. I probably have about 10 different varieties ready to go now for whatever may come up! I use these all the time!
Food Storage/Pantry
This was the biggest project for my kitchen, and I slowly purchased all the bins I needed. They tend to go on sale so keep an eye out as you are planning.
The Bino bins I used for most things in the pantry and refrigerator. Granola bars, snacks, chip bags, onions, potatoes, almost everything in the pantry I organized in these. These are great, especially for higher shelves where things may get stuffed in the back and lost forever. I used a skinnier version to organize the food pouch in my refrigerator for the kids. You can quickly grab a bin and get whatever you need.
The airtight food storage containers are great for sugar, flour, cornstarch, pastas, etc. These come with labels that make everything easier to find and look great!
Lazy Susans I used for all of my bottles of oils, spray, etc.
Tea organizer! This I use every day, multiple times a day. It makes me happy to see everything organized and ready for use! You may not drink tea as much as I do; however, make sure you take the time to organize the most used areas for you. That way, get the benefit of your effort daily!
Drawer Organizer
These trays are excellent for organizing your drawers so many different sizes to work any configuration. These are my favorite because they are silicone, and they are easier to fit the way you need them to instead of hard plastic. I have used these in my bathroom, kitchen, office area and even the "junk drawer" got some love too.
Charging area
Once again, organize the things that matter to you! I could not stand all the mess of cords everywhere when we were charging our devices, and this makes everything so much nicer. I love the mix-use cords, so everything can have a spot to go!
Bathroom Organization Tips
Grab your trash bag. I needed 2. haha. Chances are you haven't sat down and pulled everything out of your bathroom cabinets and drawers in a while. This means you will have plenty of products that are either expired or never used. After a good clean-out, it will be much easier to keep up with what you have and remain organized.
Wipe down your drawers/ cabinets
Place liners. Chances are you have liquids, powders, and plenty of other things that will make a massive mess if spilled or broken. Save yourself the headache and place the liners down now, so your cabinets don't get ruined. Be sure to measure your drawers!
Place your most used products in easy to reach places! It seems like common sense; however, sometimes that means moving things around to get something to fit correctly. Make sure you stick with it!
These are my favorite supplies for bathroom organization:
Medicine Cabinet/ Toliet Area
Okay, I had to add photos here. This was a huge task! It was semi-organized when we moved in, but over time I got lazy, and it was a disaster. I kept the same stuff we had to hold everything in from our last house. The cabinet dimensions were different, so it never fit correctly. Which meant nothing got put back where it was supposed to be. I measured everything and got to organizing! The clear drawer bins are phenomenal! Nice and sturdy, stackable and you can fit more than you would think! Not that I enjoy needing medical supplies, but when my son needs a band-aid, I know exactly where to find his Mickey Mouse bandaids in no time! Don’t forget a label maker - I promise you will use this way more than you expect. A handy stand next to my toilet is perfect for toilet paper, sprays and, feminine products.
Mom Hack: If you have makeup in a drawer use these clear drawers if you have little ones in your house! You can see what’s in there but you can avoid having broken eyeshadow palettes everywhere!
Closet
I am the youngest of three girls. Once I finally had a closet all my own, my favorite thing to do was organize it to the T! Hats, scarves, socks, shoes; you name it, if it were in the closet, it would be getting organized. And I would show it off to my mom! Once I finally had my dream closet, I was seven months pregnant with a toddler in the middle of a southern summer. My mom was, of course, helping me, and all I could do was sit on a chair and say, just put it anywhere. I don't care. She didn't know what was going on. Haha. Finally, I organized it a year later and put in the love I had no energy for before!
Top Tips For An EPIC Organized Closet:
Get your boxes and trash bags ready! I have a pile for trash, donations, sell, mend, and save! Be realistic. When was the last time you wore it? It doesn't matter how gorgeous it is or how it was the best deal ever if it is itchy or hasn't fit in 5 years; it doesn't matter if you only got it for $10. Let it go. It's just clutter. Only put things in your "mend" bag that you will fix for something you really wear! Once organized, get bags out of your closet!
Figure out how you want to organize your clothes: Clothes types (shirts, pants, dresses, etc.) Clothes Style ( Sleeveless, Short sleeved, Long sleeved, Sweaters, etc.)
I highly suggest having all the same hangers. The slim, velvet hangers have been a longtime favorite of mine. You can get clips for skirts, pants or even boots!
These are my favorite supplies for a closet:
Extra places to show some organizing love
Craft areas: You can use many of the ideas already mentioned. Some more that I have used were skirt hangers for ribbon storage. Organize all your different paper to see what you have! Once again, color code anything you can for easy reference also sort by themes.
Attic: This was a HUGE undertaking for me. Once again, my mom was an incredible help! Get a few large plastic storage bins! I recommend using clear ones so you can see what is in them. Label them!!!! Make sure everything has a place and make it as visible as possible. Remember Trash. Donate. Sell. Save.
Dressers:
For most of my kids' things, I follow the same steps as noted above. However, I love these for their dressers. Kids have so many little things it's easier to see what you have when using these! I also use these for my nightstand!
Kids Toys: I use these with the cube organizers to organize my kids toys in their playroom. I also use these cube storage for their play bakery and market! I lay them down horizontally so my kids can easily access everything! I have also used these in my sons closet in our last house!
