When January rolls around, I always get the urge to declutter and organize the house. Before Christmas, I always try to go through the kids’ toys and books because I know they will be receiving new things for Christmas. But no matter how hard I try to pare things down, I always end up feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the “stuff” after Christmas. It can be an especially overwhelming job if you don’t know where to start. Today, I’m sharing with you storage and organization ideas that will help get you started on this daunting task.
I am no organization expert, but I do enjoy organizing when I have a plan. If you randomly stop by our house on any given day you would probably find it to be a bit of a disaster zone. (I have 4 kids, that’s my excuse!) It’s a constant project, trying to keep things in order around here. I have found a few things have helped our family when it comes to keeping up on things. Here are my best tips for organizing:
Try to stay on top of the kids clothes.
Get rid of clothes that are stained, have holes, necks are stretched out, toes worn out, etc. These things can go—they don’t need to take up space in the kids drawers or closet. You may be storing hand-me-downs for younger siblings who aren’t ready to use them yet. Keep a labelled bin of clothes all of the same size together. Go through closets and drawers on a regular basis. Make sure the clothes in your child’s room are actually all ones they wear and that fit.
Make sure all the toys have a place.
Get rid of toys they don’t play with or books they don’t read. Have a specific place for the toys you are keeping and using and teach the kids what goes where. Have bins with lids for sets of blocks, cars, building toys, etc. that you want to keep together. My kids know to put their Magformers in the clear bin with a lid when they are done playing. Then we put the bin up high in the closet so they have to ask next time they want it out. Putting things up out of reach that you don’t want dumped out is another tip!
Figure out what storage and organization ideas work for you and your household.
I recently purchased a shallow bin that slides under my son’s bed to store all the random lego pieces. Our goal is to keep the Lego sets separate, but when pieces go astray (which is bound to happen), we have a plan! This bin is genius because the kids know where the lego goes if they find a random piece. They also know where to look for a missing piece. The best part is, they don’t have to dump out out the bin to find the piece they are looking for! Because the bin is large and shallow, they can rifle through the bin to find it.
Storage bins and baskets are your best friends.
Things don’t get put away if they don’t have a specific place to go. Find a storage solution that words for you and your home, and make sure everything has a place and a purpose. I have bins, containers, and baskets around the house for different purposes. For example, I have divided trays in the kitchen drawers for silverware and larger kitchen utensils. I have a bin for charging cords and electronic items. We use divider trays for makeup and toiletry storage. There are large baskets in the kids rooms and on the main floor for laundry.
Below I rounded up some organizational items that you may find useful. Thanks for stopping by the blog today, and have fun organizing!
Need more storage and organization ideas? Check out these posts:
Organizing the Closets (Marie Kondo Style)!
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