Anyone else feel like they’re drowning in Christmas gifts? Just me?!
I’m trying to make my life easier by implementing some cleaning and organization to my entire house – keep reading for some easy tips, no shopping for bins needed.
Toys Stored Together
When I do a big clean up I bring all the toys back to their groups. All the trains go together. All the magna tiles go together. Everything has a place and I try to get it back there once a month.
I usually do this when my kids are at school so they don’t see all the toys and undo my progress as I’m working on it. Put in your headphones, play some music, set a timer for 30 minutes and you can get so much done.
Throw Used or Broken Toys
This might sound silly but I just threw out SO MANY used coloring books! Like why are these taking up space in my house? Most times I think I don’t even notice they are full (because they get colored without me noticing). So I just went through my house and threw out so many papers that are colored and need to go.
Also, if something is broken, or part of a set I can’t find, bye!
Designated Spots for *Everything*
This might sound obvious but everything in our home has a spot. My husband is always really diligent about this and it truly helps with cleaning. It’s easy to have catch-all areas but those can become disasters where you can’t find anything! So if you find yourself with closets, drawers, whatever that are just full of random stuff (and you don’t know what), take the time to take everything out, organize, and put it back where it makes the most sense for your family.
We do have one junk drawer, but that’s it – and I even know generally what goes in there. Everything else has a spot so cleaning means everything goes where it belongs.
Also I want to note that not every area in a home works the same for everyone. Our linen closet upstairs is more than just towels and extra sheets – it’s also where we store medicine, extra electronics, and toiletries. We actually store extra toys and our air mattresses in our guest bathroom because that closet is HUGE, but hard to access. So as you’re organizing think about where things could be to be the most valuable and easiest to access. Use something frequently? Make it easy to grab and in a highly visible place. Something used once a year? Put it in a closet where you don’t need to grab it quickly.
In no way is this a complete list – but I do think it’s a good start to getting your house back in order in this new year. Yes it’s the end of January but it’s still the beginning of the year! These three tips are super doable, require no boxes or bins, and can be done anytime.
