Category Archives: House & physical organization

My Simple Organizing Philosophy

When it comes to my organization style, I have a pretty simple philosophy: reduce, arrange, maintain. The first step is to reduce the amount of stuff you have. Start by taking everything out of the area that you are working on.

Every. Single. Thing.

(I like to take this opportunity to clean off the surface since it’s one of the few occasions that everything is off there!)

Grouping things is a great way to see what you have. If you’re doing a kitchen, group by type of dish. If you’re doing a linen closet, group by use of item (shaving, hair, hand towels, etc) Take a look at each item and determine its fate:

Do I really need or want it?
Do I even like it?
Have I used this in the last year?
Would I buy it today? If it broke, would I immediately replace it?
Is this a quality item?
Would I keep it if it were originally free?
What is the worst thing that could happen if I got rid of it?
Am I only keeping it “in case” I need it someday? (Think about if you can borrow one or buy a new one in 20 minutes for under $20)
Is it a duplicate?
Is this the best place for it?
When will I use it again? And will I remember I have it?

Next, you need to arrange how everything is going to go back into the space. I group everything by putting like with like. In my kitchen, my most often used utensils are grouped together in a drawer. In the playroom, the kid’s favorite books are grouped in the bookcase. In my linen closet, all of our teeth stuff is in one bin.

This makes it easy to see what you have, what you’re low on, and what you don’t use!

The last step is sometimes the hardest one and that is the maintain part. You need to have a system in place in order to keep the organization. Labels are obviously a great way to ensure that everyone in your home knows exactly where things need to go.

When I first bought our three hampers for our ‘new’ laundry system of sorting while putting dirty clothes away, I put 3×5 index cards on each one so everyone knew which was for towels, darks, and whites. It looked silly and completely unprofessional, but guess what?

It worked.

When the cat destroyed two of the cards about a month in, I didn’t even need to replace them because everyone had a routine and habit of knowing which item when into which basket.

This simple organizing method for busy moms works because sometimes you don’t need to do all three of them at the same time.

You can do it piecemeal. If you have recently gone through all of your under-sink items, think about whether you could group them better for easier access. If you just redid your pantry, think about why it constantly falls to chaos and what type of maintenance it might take to keep it looking the way you want.

Look around your home today and identify one space to reduce, arrange, and maintain. Small, consistent steps build lasting organizing habits and bring calm to your home — you’ve got this!

Want to hear more? My very first episode of the Organizing Confidence Unlimited podcast covered this topic.

I’m Maggie, owner of Organizing CU and a busy working mom who understands the struggle of trying to juggle all of it. Using my Reduce, Arrange, Maintain philosophy, I can help you get and stay organized!

The Best Way to Declutter Kitchens

6 Replies

When I explain what a professional organizer does, the top three places I get asked about are always toys, closets, and the kitchen.

Kitchens can be one of the toughest place to organize. You’re likely in there all the time, whether you’re a cook or not. It’s the place that people tend to gravitate towards, during a normal week or a party. It’s the drop zone for basically everything in your home: mail, paperwork, toys, dishes, bags. Though it’s certainly fine for a short-term storage, you need to have a permanent home for everything in there.

The best way to declutter kitchens.

Kitchens can be one of the toughest place to organize. You’re likely in there all the time, whether you’re a cook or not.

It’s the drop zone for basically everything in your home: mail, paperwork, toys, dishes, bags.

Organizing CU. Helping busy moms get organized.

I like to keep my counters clear of everything but snacks and toaster oven. That means everything else needs to have a space in my cabinets or drawers.

My husband and I combined our households when we got married so we had too much stuff. Though we had space for all of it, the kitchen felt crowded. We used to have about 10 larger dinner plates that we didn’t use; I kept them “just in case.” I finally realized that I’m not going to suddenly host a dinner party with seating for 10.

I hosted Christmas at our house for about 15 people last year and guess what I used? Paper plates. (Sorry environment!) I’ve now had them out of our kitchen for about 3 months and I have not missed them a single day.

When working on kitchen organization tips for busy families, I like to start by pulling everything out and then dividing everything into several categories: stuff you use all the time (your “A” group), stuff you barely use (your “B” group), and the stuff you could donate (your “C” group). Of course, I recommend a donate pile for all those things you forgot you had and no longer need!

The A group should be pretty obvious to you: dishes, cups, specific pots and pans. While you’re working on this, keep in mind that a type of item may have some A and some B or C. If you have fancy china, that may fall under C, while your everyday dishware is going to be A. Cups may be A and champagne glasses may be in B.

Next, you need to determine what areas of your kitchen are for A, which are for B and which are C spaces. The A spaces should be readily accessible. For us, that’s the bottom shelves in the upper cabinets, where we store plates and glasses.

The B space is the higher shelves in the upper cabinets, which require some stretch to reach. We keep things like extra travel mugs up there.

The C group gets put somewhere that we don’t go to often. In our house, it’s the bottom of our pantry and the shelves in our dining room. The bottom pantry has pull out drawers and I keep a popcorn machine, crock pots, immersion blender, etc. in those. The dining room shelves get the prettier items: trifle dish, cake stand, and the Dutch oven.

A quick note for parents: we keep all of our kid stuff in a big bin on a shelf within her reach: bowls, sippy cups, plates, etc. She knows where to get a plate to tell us when she’s hungry and she knows where it goes after it’s been washed. It’s never too early to start organizing!

Start today by tackling one cabinet, drawer, or pantry section — small wins add up quickly and create a calmer, more functional kitchen for your family.

Looking for even more kitchen organizing tips? Listen to episode 21 of the Organizing Confidence Unlimited podcast!

Toy clutter

2 Replies

You are probably living with toys all over your house: in the family room, on the kitchen floor, in every bedroom. When you’re on top of it and you get the entire house picked up, BOOM! Everything manages to come back out before you can make yourself a cup of tea (or pour a glass of wine) to celebrate. Every birthday and holiday brings more and more gifts and toys into your house with no hope of ever keeping up.

Toy clutter.

You are probably living with toys all over your house: in the family room, on the kitchen floor, in every bedroom.

Every birthday and holiday brings more and more gifts and toys into your house with no hope of ever keeping up.

Organizing CU. Helping busy moms get organized.

Imagine this instead: the kids are in their playroom, taking out blocks from their designated container, building towers together for 20 minutes by themselves before cleaning them up and putting everything back on the shelf.

Short of getting rid of most of the toys when the kids aren’t looking (which certainly has some advantages!), you’ve got to come up with a plan to deal with the incredible amount of stuff that kids have.

Creating a family-friendly organization system for toys can save time and reduce stress for everyone.

My two part technique is to do toy rotations for babies and toddlers and organizing toys by type for older kids. Toys are easier to locate when kids want to play and easier to pick up when they’re done. When they have less choice and less stress, everyone is happier.

(Want to hear more? Listen to episode 12 of the Organizing Confidence Unlimited podcast!)

For younger kids, especially the immobile ones, I recommend a toy rotation. You put one type of toy in each box (one touch and feel book, one board book, one car, one rattle, one teether, one stuffed animal). You rotate through 4-5 boxes, swapping the bin out for a new one every day, week, or whenever you remember.

As your kid gets older, you can switch what’s in the bins so they can make new combinations of toys: balls in the stacking cups, then next week, stuffed animals on top of the stacking cups.

While you can try the toy rotation if you have older kids, but they tend to notice (and comment!) if something specific is gone. I recommend keeping their absolute favorites always out and then separating other toys by category.

To do this, take out all the toys and separate them into groups that your kids understand. Maybe you’ll do balls in one, cars in another, art supplies in a third, and dress up in a fourth. The kids can pick and choose which specific bin they want to play with at the moment.

The key to both toy rotation and toy compartmentalization is that they must pick up each bin before getting out a new one! If your kids are struggling with the idea, read about toy time-outs and how you can make kids more accountable. Every small organizing habit for busy moms can make toy cleanup manageable and keep your home calmer.

Start with one rotation or one organized bin today — tiny changes like this add up to big wins and a happier home for the whole family!

Should I get rid of that?

3 Replies

When you look around your house as you begin to declutter, you will see something that you initially refuse to part with because either you or someone else spent a lot of money on it.

Should I get rid of that?

When you look around your house as you begin to declutter, you will see something that you initially refuse to part with because either you or someone else spent a lot of money on it.

Organizing CU. Helping busy moms get organized. — Please feel free to donate any tiaras you have around your house that you no longer wear (Full disclosure: I have one in my house that I refuse to donate.*)

“It’s too nice to donate” you think. Spoiler: nothing is too nice or expensive to donate. If it has run its course in your house and your life, you are free to let it go. You don’t need to hold onto something because it was expensive.

When you come across this situation, ask yourself these questions: would I keep it if it were originally free? And would I bring it to my house today, even if it were free?

You should not hold onto something that is taking space in your house simply because of its price tag. Period.

The other common excuse I hear is “Someone gave that to me, so I need to keep it.” Unless it’s a family heirloom, don’t think twice. (Please ask your family before donating any heirlooms!)

Would you expect someone to keep a book you gave them three years ago if they were done reading it? Realistically, how many of the gifts you’ve given do you keep tabs on?

If you’re really not sure about something, put a box or designate an area in your house as a donation spot. My closet has a corner on a shelf that allows me to keep a pile of things that need to go to Goodwill. When it gets full, everything goes.

Personally, I know that once something is in the pile, it’s on its way out the door. Some people may be more likely to remove stuff after it’s been put there. Having a system is a great first step! Using a simple organizing system for donation items is a great first step.

Using the questions above, take another look at your home and the stuff that is filling it up. Once you stop attaching monetary value to donation items, it gets much easier to let them go.

Every small decluttering task for busy moms can create big shifts in how your home feels.

Start today by choosing one item you’ve been holding onto and set it on its way out. Tiny wins like this lead to a calmer, more organized home.

*I was not joking. It says ‘Mother to be’ and was given to me at my baby shower, which I later took to the hospital and wore during labor.

Searching high and low

7 Replies

Growing up, everyone in my family knew dad’s keys and money clip were kept on top of the refrigerator. I remember looking up to see if his keys were up there before looking around the house. If he was home, they were up there; no keys, no dad.

At the same time, no one ever knew where mom’s keys and purse were: in her pocket of yesterday’s coat, near the door, on the kitchen counter, on the dining room table…somewhere in the house was usually a good bet. You always had to shout to find out if mom was home!

Nowadays, my family has a landing zone in our mud room where my purse, husband’s wallet, and our keys stay.

For us, we have a getting home routine: come in, shoes come off, purse and wallet go on the table, and keys get hung on hooks. I go through my bag(s) and take everything into the kitchen that I need to go through tonight, such as mail, notes from school, or papers from work.

Creating a family-friendly organization system like this makes life so much simpler.

This routine helps keep our entire family organized. Our mornings are much smoother because the same landing zone also acts as a departure area. If I need to take some papers to work, they go on the mudroom table. Books need to go back to the library? Same place.

Throughout the day and night, items get placed there for the next time we leave the house. It take a lot more brain space to have to remember: “what do I need to take to school and work?” versus “Pack up what’s on the table.” Every small organizing habit for busy moms can save time and reduce stress.

Having a set departure area makes it much easier to ensure we have everything we need when we leave the house. There is never a “where are my keys” moment in the morning because they are always right where they belong.

Start today by creating one simple landing zone in your home — a small habit can make mornings and evenings flow so much more smoothly!

Looking for more than a landing zone and instead a full-on command center? Listen to episode 26 of the Organizing Confidence Unlimited podcast!

Permanent Clutter

5 Replies

Temporary items become permanent clutter when you neglect regularly sorting an active space.

-Marcia Ramsland, Simplify Your Space

Permanent clutter.

I recently tried to look around my house with fresh eyes and see if there was anything that I had grown blind to.

Sure enough, it took three seconds to find something.

Organizing CU. Helping busy moms get organized.

I read this quote recently and tried to look around my house with fresh eyes and see if there was anything that I had grown blind to. Sure enough, it took three seconds to find something: on the bookshelf, four feet from my spot on the couch, sat two old laptops. I had previously messaged one of my brothers about how to wipe them two months ago.

I’m not much of a procrastinator and my house is pretty well kept, so that is huge to me! When I first put them there, I thought it was a great place because it would serve as constant reminder to me that I need to do this right away. Clearly, that plan did not work because I began to ignore them very soon after that.

TWO MONTHS of clutter in the middle of our living room. A temporary item becoming permanent clutter.

I tried to look at the root of the problem as to why I didn’t just wipe them both clean that day and Google a spot to drop off old electronics*.

First, it was the instructions I was given: erase it, then overwrite it with the same thing over and over. I had already done the first part; I just wasn’t sure how to overwrite it. But I didn’t ask the very simple follow up question right then. Or anytime I thought of it. My brother works from home, is very available at any time, and we have messaged 100 times since then. (Full disclosure: it wasn’t until I got to this sentence in this post did I think “why not do it now?” It took him less than 5 minutes to respond to me and clarify in very simple terms what he meant.)

My goal is to get them wiped this week and have it in my donation pile for Goodwill by the weekend.

Everyone has areas or things in their house that they’ve just been neglecting or ignoring for a while. It might be two days, two months, two years, or twenty years. But it’s never too late to take a look around and see what permanent clutter you can cut out.

Even small decluttering tasks for busy moms can create a big shift in how a home feels.

Take a look around with a fresh set of eyes and see if you can find anything quick that you could donate or throw out today. You will be amazing at how much easier it is to relax in an emptier space. Why not do start now? These tiny wins add up quickly and can help you build simple organizing habits that last.

You’ve got this — one small declutter today brings you one step closer to the calm you deserve.

Looking for even more tips? I go in depth on permanent clutter during episode 22 of the Organizing Confidence Unlimited podcast.

*I’ve done that hard work for you if you’re in the Champaign-Urbana area: https://www.urbanaillinois.us/residents/recycling-program-u-cycle/where-do-i-take-it.

Change the Habitat

I read this great article back in August and I can’t stop thinking about it:

Stop Trying to Change Your Habits: Change Your Habitat Instead

My favorite thing is that this idea came from one person’s comment on another post. You never know where inspiration will come from! Listen, you know yourself. If you or your family always take your shoes off in the living room, then put a basket there to toss them into.

Creating a family-friendly organization system like this can save you time and frustration.

If worn, but not yet dirty, clothes are always left on the floor in one area of the bedroom, then put a laundry basket in that area of the room to keep everything corralled (this one comes from experience – there is a basket in my bedroom!). If mail always ends up on the kitchen counter, put an inbox at the end to keep it in one place.

How to organize your home with kids around can be challenging, but these simple solutions help keep things manageable.

Give it a try and see if you notice a difference! Small tweaks create big wins — start with one space today and enjoy the calm you’re building.

Make sure you check out episode 17 of the Organizing Confidence Unlimited podcast, where I spent an entire episode on just this topic.