In My Home Reveal : Organization

I get organized pretty well. It’s a cycle and I have had more and more success in staying organized at home by using the following:

Lists – I used Microsoft Excel’s “one month calendar” template and made lists for each day for Cameron. He needs a list, his determination and ask, and I made a recurring list with “Laundry: fold what’s in the dryer, switch the laundry over, and start a new load” two days in a row every five-ish days (much more frequently right now since we’re behind), “clean the litter box” every four to five days, and “tidy bedroom” or “tidy first floor” or “tidy desk” (his desk, not mine to organize my way or to decide what’s important) or “tidy basement” every few days as well. Nothing major, nothing that should take more than five to fifteen minutes per task with a maximum of four tasks; they’re the things I need help with or are his domain that I don’t like having to nag about. I do my fair share and it simply isn’t enough to cover the amount of chaos that we both create. I also know in a perfect world we would be less like tornados and that this is not the perfect world and it may never be our reality.
Lists are also for me. I like to pretend I can just get a million things done in a day even though I know I can’t so lists help me prioritize what needs to come first. I can make the list of fifteen things and if I only get the first five things done I’m kicking myself for not being faster or for taking that break and the next day I’ll know, and notice, that the most important five things, the most impactful five things, have been done.

Command Strips/Hooks Small – I use these to hang my necklaces in a four foot wall space between my dresser and the perpendicular wall. They hold a few and I have my longer ones hanging in my top row and my shorter necklaces in my bottom row.

Command Strips/Hooks Medium – This helps me stay organized in many ways. I have four hooks by the front door for (left to right) guest keys and borrowed keys, my keys and wallet, Cameron’s VW, the red car. I also have one of these to the right of my necklaces on the wall with a “magic hanger” that I use to lay out my clothes the night before.

Large Sterilite Drawers – You can find other brands at Target, Walmart, and many other deal stocking stores. I use these for under-bed storage that I don’t need to lid (without the frame) and well as general storage around the house including notebooks, wires, and other office supplies under my desk and to keep pet toys and food in. They’re also great when it comes to moving because the drawers can be moved individually and then slid back into their frame.

Small Sterilite Drawers – I use these on my dresser to hold and organize my earrings, bracelets, watches, and rings. I keep my septum rings and cartilage rings in the top drawer, small silver studs in the second, small gold studs in the third, neutral in the fourth, and repeat for larger earrings (with 2 drawers for gold because I have a lot of gold-colored larger earrings). You can combine smaller towers by removing the lid-top to make a taller tower.

Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – I know, you think this is trite and you’ve seen all the memes and shows making fun of the process; “None of these kitchen utensils bring me joy, toss them all”. Reading it gives me a different perspective on the things I own and makes me want to reevaluate my closet and other things that I own. If her method of feeling the love isn’t for you, there are a dozen “Should I keep It Chart“(s) out there to help you go through your clothes. I encourage you to go through your closet as well as the rest of your house and clean out what you don’t need and want. The less you have, the easier it is to manage. The more you love and appreciate the things you have, the more likely you are to treat those items with respect.

Garbage Bags & Cardboard Boxes – When the urge to clean hits be ready to embrace it! Sometimes the purge bug hits and I just grab a bag and start throwing things away. Sometimes it’s just trash that’s been strewn about the house, sometimes it’s random things I know we don’t need, and few months I go through my closet. After a shopping trip, Cameron tends to go through his closet on his own and it helps to know we’ve got bags available for whatever he’s like to donate or toss. We also use any oversize shopping bags and larger box deliveries from Amazon to collect our recyclables in.

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