5 Habits We Use to Stay Organized at Home & a Helpful Resource

5 habits our family uses to stay organized, productive, and efficient in our home & a helpful resource to help you get organized when you dont have time.

I have vowed to make this THE year that we get the rest of our house finally organized once and for all (but then a tummy bug hit our entire family last week and then we had a three-day weekend with the kids home and you know the drill. Life happens.)

But Im back at it today! Come Hell or high water! And while the coat closet makeover was the perfect start last week, Im only just getting started over here with the rest of our organizing plans. Sometimes the challenge isnt always how to get organized; its how to stay organized.

Because if I open up a closet or a cabinet or a drawer and can find it completely in order with exactly what we need every day, I am a much nicer person to be around, I swear. The end result is WORTH IT!

This is happiness right here:

Total organized dork status.

If you havent been here very long, heres what it looked like awhile back

This linen closet got its makeover two years ago and it has stayed looking this organized ever since (besides the bathroom reno last spring). Because good habits mean less work!

Our family is by no means perfect with keeping things organized. We have our messes just like anyone, and were still a work in progress over here.

But over the years, these are the habits that have helped our family be much more functional, productive, and intentional in our home.

5 Good Habits for an Organized Home

1. Give Everything a Home

If all of our items have a specified place on a hook or in a labeled bin or on a shelf and everyone in our family is aware that place is that items home, then its more likely to stay that way.

Our kids backpacks go on hooks in our laundry room. Our toddlers toys go in her toy basket. Our toiletries go in their little compartments in our bathroom drawers.

And all of those homes make maintaining and cleaning up quick and without any guesswork.

2. Declutter Regularly

When we start noticing bins/baskets getting too full or items displaced more frequently, we start getting real about what we really need and donate/discard what were not actually using. I edit at least one small space every day whether thats the mail pile, the kids toys, my purse, etc.

3. Have Designated Pick-Up Times

There are specific times of the day when we take about 15 minutes to do a full sweep of areas in the house, and we get the kids involved (including the toddler).

Right before we leave the house, well all do a quick pick-up to put away toys, shoes, laundry, and whatever other displaced items. And right after dinner, well do a quick clean-up before our familys down time before bed to handle any chores we havent done yet.

4. Delegate

Were still working on the chores thing with Olivia, and since Regan is 15 months, were starting to teach her how to pick up her toys and throw away trash.

But usually, if we make a game out of it and have a race to clean up as quickly as we can, it works!

I will totally bribe my kid with a scoop of ice cream if it means the house gets picked up. Aint no shame.

5. Multitask As You Go

While Im brushing my teeth, Ill tidy up the bathroom.

If Robert walks to the fridge to get a snack, hell put any left out dirty dishes in the dishwasher.

As Olivia walks upstairs to go to bed, she has to carry up her folded laundry with her to put away.

You eat an elephant one bite at a time (I really hate that expressionblech).

Those are all total Captain Obvious tips probably, but theyre what work for us.

Were, by no means, neat freaks whose lives revolve around keeping a tidy house 24/7. Making messes means imaginations are at work, but cleaning up means learning responsibility. Its a fine line to walk, and thats okay.

If you want to get serious about organizing your home this year like we are, my sweet friend Abby Lawson from Just a Girl and Her Blog is the QUEEN of organizing.

Shes launching her course Impactful Habits, Organized Home starting today! And she currently has a free webinar with actionable advice for How to Get Organized When You Dont Have a Lot of Time.

The webinar is completely free and the paid course launch Impactful Habits, Organized Home ends January 30th.

If youve felt overwhelmed in your home but dont have the time to do it all, Abby has so many tips and tricks to make the process faster. I constantly learn from her to make my own familys life more productive and manageable.

I hope it helps!

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