As a Residential Organizing Specialist at Simply Placed, I have told my clients many times that “Organizing is a process, not an event.”  It wasn’t until I was a busy mom of two little ones ages 3 and under, that I understood just how true that statement really was. I am sure we would all agree, that it would be amazing if we could snap our fingers and have an organized house?  Unfortunately, we all know that is not the case.  So for all of us that struggle with keeping our homes or work spaces as organized as we would like, I thought I would share 5 simple things that I do in my house that has helped me:

1) Create homes for toys and other items.  With small kids, we have toys all over our house.  With baskets and containers already organized and labeled, it is so much easier at clean up time to put toys where they belong.  As kids grow and toys change, I spend time every few months, regrouping like items together and relabeling containers.  I try to include my kids in the clean up process as much as possible.

2) Take time at the end of each activity to clean up and put things back in their “homes” before starting another task.  I have found this to be very helpful!  If my daughter and I have been playing with dolls and she wants to start coloring, we take the time to put away all of her dolls and accessories before we take out the coloring books and crayons.  I also have found it helpful to tidy up during nap time and before bedtime.  Before bedtime is the perfect time for a “family tidy time” where we all work together to get our house back to an organized space.

3) Take time to purge on a regular basis.  With growing children, we are constantly outgrowing clothes and toys.  I like to keep a “Donation” bin in my garage where I can take outgrown clothes or toys.  Once the bin is full, it goes away.  This way, we aren’t keeping clothes that no longer fit in our closets and toys that never get played with in our toy basket.

4) After birthdays and holidays, take time to purge to make room for the new items that just came into your home. By taking the time to include my 3 year old in this process, I have been able to teach her the importance of passing items on that are no longer loved or used.  I sit with her and hold up toys and she says “donate” or “keep.”  Surprising she is very willing to let things go.  The other day I went into her room and I asked what she was doing and she said she was making a pile of toys to donate.  Love her and love that she is learning a very valuable life long skill.  Remember, you can always sell, give away to someone you know, or consign items you are ready to let go of instead of donating or tossing them.  These options may make it easier for you to let things go.

5) Have a staging area in your home.  As I go about my day, there are constantly items that make their way into our family room and kitchen that belong in other rooms of the home.  I have found it helpful to have a staging area where I make piles of items to bring back to other rooms in the home.  When I have to go to one of these other rooms throughout my day, I will grab my pile of things that go back.  This saves me time so I am not running single items to rooms all day long.

I am sure there are many more things I could share, but for now, I hope these 5 simple tips will help you and your family on your journey to creating a more organized space!  Remember, organizing is a process, not an event.   Having organizing systems in place will make the process much easier and quicker though :-).