How to Organize Your Life at Home

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Do you often feel that your home is messy? (I know- if you’re a mom this might feel like a trick question- ha.)

Are toys laying around everywhere in the house? Are you late every time you leave the house because you can’t find something? (Shoes, keys, etc.)

If your answers to these questions are YES, then you may have a little problem with organization. Maybe you were organized before kids, or may having kids simply just magnified the issue… But don’t fret, you are SO not alone. It can happen to any of us- we are moms and not robots after all!

While there it is important to let go of perfection on many levels as a mom, I also think we can all greatly appreciate some simple tips for keeping the house organized. For me, I notice that when my home is better organized, I feel SO much better and can think more clearly. Can anyone else relate? 🙂

Here’s the truth of the matter- becoming a more organized mom can help you take charge of everything, including your home and your family life as well. (Before you start feeling overwhelmed though- remember that keeping the house organized shouldn’t be a one woman job!) Here are a few useful tips on how to organize your life.

Organize your home

If you would like to be more organized, the best way to do that is by starting with your home (I know- duh). When your house is mess-free and you know where things are, everything becomes easier.

You can save a lot of time as you don’t have to spend hours looking for your kid’s favorite stuffed toy or your most comfortable yoga pants. Also, an organized house will relax your mind and boost your self-confidence. And the best thing is that you don’t have to panic and hide your clutter when one of your friends comes over for dinner. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Then let’s see what you can do to make your home look and feel more organized.

Bedroom

Your bedroom is the first room you see each morning, and the last one each night. Therefore, it is important that you feel relaxed in your own bedroom. As someone that lived in their own filth for decades (before marriage and kids), I can attest to the fact that a clean room is SO much better! Bottom line- you don’t need chaos and unnecessary stuff there.

Try to transform your bedroom into a cozy, welcoming place. Get rid of the clutter (things that you don’t use anymore, you don’t like, etc.). Organize the rest of the items that you would like to keep in a way that makes things easy to find.
Don’t forget about your closet, you need to declutter it as well. Go through all your clothes, sort them, and create a pile from your clothes that you could donate to someone. Then, before you place your clothes back into the closet, organize them. Separate your clothes by season or type (it’s up to you which one), accessories, and shoes.
Use the extra space under your bed. It is perfect for storing some items that you don’t use very often. For example, your seasonal clothing, extra bed sheets, or sports equipment in under-bed storage boxes.
If you need more storage space, consider adding a trunk/storage bench to the bedroom. You can place it right at the foot of your bed.
Organize your jewelry by using a traditional jewelry box or hanging wall organizer.
Make your bed every morning right after you wake up. If you have a messy bed, it doesn’t matter how organized your room is, it will still look messy. (I was always resistant to this one- but not that I’m in the habit, it feels amazing to get in an organized bed each night!)

To browse, bedroom storage options for your home- look here.

Kids’ bedroom

Unfortunately, our little ones are not famous for being neat freaks. So the organization of the kid’s bedrooms is also something that we moms should do (hopefully they will learn the importance from you; and you can- and should- encourage them to help you of course). Here are some useful tips for kids’ bedroom organization for moms:

Make the bed.
Collect the dirty clothes in the room (check under the bed too), and put them into the hamper.
Sort the children’s toys into 3 categories: toys that are good and still get used, toys that nobody plays with anymore and you can donate, and finally toys that should be thrown away because they are broken or pieces are missing from them, etc. Organize those toys that you want to keep, you can put them in special storage boxes.
If you feel your kids have WAY too many toys (a common problem), you may also consider putting some toys in storage (aka the garage). You can then circulate toys as needed to keep your kids engaged. This can help children feel more focused in their play and less overwhelmed. (I learned this from one of my favorite books- Simplicity Parenting.)
Go through your kids’ closet, and sort out their clothes. Check which clothes they are still using, and which are those that are already small or worn out. Organize and fold those clothes that you want to keep before putting them back in the closet.
Put every item that doesn’t belong to the kids’ room into a basket or bin. (You will take care of them later when you finish organizing the room.)
If you have a baby, check out all our tips for organizing baby items.

Kitchen

It’s kind of a challenge to keep the kitchen organized as there is a lot of action going on in the kitchen every day. After breakfast, you can find bread crumbs, food stains, and clutter everywhere. And of course it’s normal to a certain degree. But you should do your best to transform your kitchen into a functional, clean, and organized space where you feel comfortable. Let’s see how to organize your life in the kitchen!

Try to maximize the space on the counter by removing some items (for example those kitchen appliances that you don’t use often).
Declutter the cabinets and organize them into a system that works for you. First, take out everything from the cabinets, and decide on which items shouldn’t be stored there. Then, place those items that you use daily (glasses, plates, bowls) on easy-to-reach shelves. Those items that you don’t use very often can be placed on higher shelves, or you can put them behind the items you use daily. Rarely used items can go in a china cabinet, or cupboards that are not so easy to reach. Store pots and pans near the stove, and heavier items on the shelves close to the floor.
Reorganize the pantry in a way that it is more functional for preparing food. Canned and dry food can be stored in the pantry, but spices are usually better to be placed near the stove. Experiment with organizing your foods in a way that makes them easy to find and sort as needed with pantry organization items like can racks, plastic drawers, and more.
Store toxic substances somewhere where it is hard-to-reach, so your kids won’t find them. (Or even better- swap them for gentler eco-friendly substances!)

Living room

We spend a lot of our time in the living room, therefore it is not surprising that sometimes things can get messy there. Just think about the last time when you spent 10 minutes looking for the remote control… So if you would like to bring a little organization into your living room, check out the following tips:

Go through the whole room and get rid of the junk.
Take your kids’ toys to their room and place them in the storage boxes. If you want, you can also set up a small playing area for them in the living room. But keep a toy box there and ask your children to arrange their toys before going to sleep every day.
Tidy up the electronic devices, and untangle their cables.

Bathroom

Bathrooms can get cluttered very easily. But if you have children, the situation can be even worse. You may find dirty clothes, towels, and various toiletries all over the place. For a well-organized bathroom and hopefully stress-free mornings, follow these steps:

Declutter your bathroom. Take out every item (toiletries, towels, etc.) from the bathroom and sort them.
Decide on what you need, and get rid of the rest. It’s also a great occasion to go through your makeup and personal hygiene products and check the expiration date of these items.
When you put back the things you would like to keep, try to organize the items by function.

Laundry room

A laundry area is a typical place where we can lose the battle against clutter. The bad thing is that if your laundry room is overrun with clutter, you will need more time to do the laundry chores. You can avoid this by decluttering your laundry room with these simple steps:

Look around in the whole room and collect everything that should be thrown away (empty containers, expired products, dryer lint, etc.). Then, take out the trash.
Remove those items that don’t belong to the laundry area (for example, kids’ toys, things you found in the pockets of dirty pants, etc.).
Sort out your laundry products, and check if you should reduce them. Do you really need 5 different kinds of detergent? Probably not hah. (Molly’s Suds is all we use at our house!)
If there’s always a growing pile of laundry on the floor- get a few extra bins that stay in the laundry room. You can even get a storage system with 3-4 boxes so that you can keep your laundry sorted (maybe you can teach the kids?)
Create a folding space.

Home office

Taking care of the children is a big challenge, but being a mompreneur and working from home can make everything more complicated. You may also have some difficulties with figuring out how to organize your office life, especially at home.

If you would like to know how to stay organized for work, here are some special tips on home office:

Collect all the clutter in the room (documents, file folders, bills, etc.), and try to set up a file storage system that works for you. Check which documents you would like to keep, and which ones you can throw away.
Organize electronics, and untangle the cables.

Need some inspiration? Check out Korean Style Organization (it’s so clean and refreshing)

Organize your time

When we talk about how to organize your life at home, it doesn’t only mean creating a tidy and organized home. There is another important aspect that we need to take a look at- organizing your time.

Time management is crucial for moms because we often feel that we can’t get anything done during the day. Luckily, it is possible to have a productive day as a mom. And it all starts with paying attention to and building some awareness around your current daily routine.

Try to create a new schedule (and flexible) that works in your favor. Try to schedule the housekeeping tasks in a way that you could save some time so that you have more time for more important things. Who knows, maybe you can also find your “me time” to relax a little. And don’t forget to write it all down or throw it in a google calendar.

If you want more tips on staying organized without all the overwhelm and mom guilt, I highly encourage you to check out The Possibility Mom platform. Lisa Canning, an author and mom coach (basically personal development for mamas!), is a fulfilled mother of 8 with tons of tips and tricks for living the live of your dreams, even as a busy mom. And it all starts with establishing boundaries and finding your way to better productivity.

Another highly recommended option that gives you a crash course in home organization is the Organized Home Program by Hilary Erickson with Pulling Curls. She is a mom of three, a labor and delivery nurse, and passionate about organization hacks.

Organization for moms is not easy… but not impossible!

The key to staying organized is simple- you need a great plan. Hopefully, this guide has given you some food for thought and a great place to start on how to organize your life at home, and stick to it. Declutter and create a system that works for you and your family, then try to maintain it.

Start small with your cleaning goals and make keeping the home organized a habit over time. If you change too much at once it can feel like too much. You’ve got this mama! While it won’t be perfect- it will totally be worth it when it makes life easier 😉

Will this post help you get your life organized? What are your best tips for home organization?

How to Organize Your Life at Home