Want an Organized Home? Focus on These 3 Areas

When you consider renovating your home, you think about the areas that will increase the value of your property. This means the unused guest room is likely just fine as is! Just like home renovations, there are areas in your home that once organized, create value (and sanity) for your family.

It’s also ok to come to terms with the fact you’ll likely never have a fully organized home 100% of the time – and if you do, you should call Netflix and pitch them ASAP! So, recognize baby steps are actually massive steps when it comes to organization.

Here are my top 3 areas to focus on:

Kitchen Pantry

Aesthetics aside, a well-organized and functional pantry is a must! I recommend grouping like items and if possible, storing them in bins. Yes, bins are beautiful, but more importantly they help save you money! How many times have you grabbed a couple of bags of pasta as you weren’t quite sure what was in your pantry? Having a bin system allows you to visualize your pantry and what is needed vs. not.

Additionally, organizing a pantry allows you to discard expired items or donate unused items. A good refresh every 6-months keeps you in check. Take it from someone who has used expired baking products and then served her in-laws a rancid cake….pantry organization is important!

Kids’ Rooms

While thinking about organizing your kid’s rooms may send you back to the pantry looking for comfort food, it’s another primary space to tackle. There are the obvious reasons – broken or unused toys, outgrown clothes and shoes, the science experiment under the bed – but my main reason is to teach.

This organization project is a team effort with your kid. Even though I would be giddy about throwing away party favor crap without my child pontificating on why it is critical to keep the plastic lizard, having her participate ensures engagement in the process. It also means pride in the finished product. Teaming allows you to teach the proper way to put up clothes, toys and together evaluate what is no longer used. These are life-skills, so start early!

Closets

Notice I didn’t say Master Closet. I know some of you use multiple closets as well as hide stuff outside the Master! While most closets have doors to block out any visual disorganization, having a functional closet will also save you money. Do you have too many black shirts/pants? Are there items with tags still on them? While I’ll never put a limit on anyone’s shoe collection…I do know someone who bought the same pair of shoes she already had in her closet in a box. So, yeah. An organized closet helps you be more fiscally responsible.

Clutter-free closets also create efficiency. Not only does it make getting dressed fun (think “shopping in your own closet”), but it also makes you faster. Additionally, you know when it’s time to do laundry or hit the dry cleaner vs. feeling panic when your go-to outfit is missing a piece.

Remember – baby steps towards an organized home. Even those of us who are professional organizers don’t have perfectly organized homes. I’ll show you everything but the garage and my husband’s office. And yes, when you finally see the “before and after” pics you’ll know he went out of town!