Organize Like a Crazy Person

Those who visit my house, know I'm a person that loves to label things. My fridge, my pantry, our toys, my crafts, our clothes...I buy labels and baskets like they're going out of style. And why not? It adds a little order to our chaos. For help in getting ready for spring cleaning, here are a few tips that help me:

CLEANING OUT CLOSETS, GARAGE, KID ROOMS...

Set out three tubs and sort your junk.

1. DONATE

2. TRASH

3. KEEP

Then IMMEDIATELY bring the trash pile to the curb, load up your car with the donations, and then sort the rest of the KEEP pile.

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For the KITCHEN, I love this spice rack and can sorter I found on Amazon. I also added a few labels in the pantry and refrigerator so the kids could get their own snacks.

For the KIDS' ROOMS, buy small tubs from the Dollar Tree or somewhere cheap and sort Lego sets, train tracks, dolls, etc into their own bucket. Then put most on shelves in the closet and set out 5-10 things your child can play with. Then you can either change them out every few weeks or use the buckets in the closet as "filler" activities when you need your kids to be entertained while you cook dinner or work in the office. We actually have a great storage closet in the laundry room we use for all the kids' activities and crafts I've collected from teaching, donations, thrift stores, and presents.

For my CRAFT ROOM/OFFICE, I used various clear tubs and had my husband hang some shelves. For more closet space, I hung a shoe rack for smaller items. I also doubled my craft room/office as a guest room, and we bought a trundle bed, perfect for sleepovers or out of town visitors.

For WEIRD SPACES, get creative! We measured this awkward space and used it for extra shelving and blanket storage! Make sure your space is functional as well as pretty. We used the corner of our breakfast room to create a coffee bar to save on counter space, and added more shelves in the laundry room to store family games and holiday crafts.

For QUICK CLEANUP, I labeled a basket for everyone in our family and use them as a way to straighten up--from everything to sorting laundry, to giving them to the kids to cleanup toys, to loading up on miscellaneous junk that needs to be put back in its room. These are great to have on hand and fun for little kids to see who can collect the most in their basket!

Make your house COZY for kids and guests by setting out baskets filled with comic books and magazines or buckets of toys. I love adding a few battery operated string lights on the mantel or on my son's teepee for a cozy feeling year round. Keep blankets and hot chocolate out in the winter months and popsicles and bubbles stocked for the summer months. And of course, fill your walls with old family photos, vintage items in shadow boxes, souvenirs from family vacations or children's artwork.

Happy Organizing!