If there’s one thing I’ve learned moving from 1690 square feet to 4000 it’s this—all the space in the world won’t matter if you’re not organized. When we moved across town and realized that the biggest moving van we could get still wasn’t big enough I knew it was time to purge and organize. There was no way I was going to cram our new home full of superfluous things just because we had more space. I’m proud to say we actually have less now than we did a year ago before we moved. It’s an ongoing process and I’m not perfect by an means. However, I’ve picked up some simple organizational tips along the way that have really helped me. The best part? They’re all inexpensive and easy to implement. Some links contain affiliates, all opinions are my own.
simple organizational tips
purge, baby purge
It is so much easier to keep things clean and organized if you have less stuff to begin with. And if purging doesn’t come naturally to you don’t worry–you can start small. In fact, it’s been my experience that the more you purge, the more you’ll want to. It just feels so good to get rid of stuff and see empty space!
Evaluate how often you use items or when the last time you wore a certain article of clothing was. When we were trying to sell our house a lot of our things ended up being in boxes for almost a year. It was amazing to me how much stuff I could actually do without!
start a catch-all basket
Having a two-story house is a big change from living in a small single level. Even without a lot of things to begin with there’s a constant battle of items being where they shouldn’t be. Namely–things being on the wrong level of the house. Let me just say this–I’ve climbed a lot of stairs since moving in last April and it is a great workout.
One of my favorite organizational tips that has saved my sanity is having a catch-all basket in the hallway outside the bedrooms. Now I don’t stress about putting all the odds and ends away instantly. I’ll grab a handful of random items that don’t have a home and throw them in the big bin I have in the hallway. About once a week I have the kids go through it and put all the miscellaneous items away! It keeps the clutter contained to a reasonable amount and out of my sight so I don’t go crazy. My beautiful bin is from Rod Works Home Decor and I love the size and sturdiness of it.
contain the clutter
Other than having a catch-all basket I’m a fan of baskets in general. When you keep items in a container than you can clearly see when you have too much. Suzanne from The Glorious Mundane likes to say that if a space (like a bookshelf) is full then that’s all the space you can have. So baskets in the pantry or linen closet, if it doesn’t fit inside out it goes! Personally, our kitchen pantry is a constant battle with this currently, so don’t feel badly if it takes time for you to organize!
Recently I organized my linen closet and instead of having bed linens and towels stacked sky high in there I bought inexpensive bins from the store and made sure everything had a home. I actually ended up only getting rid of one holey duvet cover and a threadbare twin sheet set. Once everything was organized in bins I realized how little room it actually took up, and I could see everything I had easily! I was gifted these amazing labels from The Talented Kitchen and made some simple wooden labels for my linen baskets. I also added some to our medicine cabinet and laundry room. They are fantastic quality and I love how easy they make it to find everything!
k.i.s.s.—keep it simple, silly
Repeat after me–Keep. It. Simple. Do what works for you. It’s so easy with social media to see what someone else is doing and think we have to emulate that to be organized. Whether it’s a capsule wardrobe, a color-sorted fridge, or expensive farmhouse-style storage bins. Any and all of those things are great if they work for you and your budget. Also, make sure you’re doing what works for your kids. One of the best things I’ve done is keep my kid’s toys minimal and keep their storage system simple so it’s easy for my kids to pick up after themselves.
I always try to shop my house first and see what I already own that I can organize with. Since one of my downfalls over the years has been baskets, I actually have quite a few storage bins I can utilize already. Plus, I always look for things on clearance (Hobby Lobby is a great place to look!).
