Organization Tips for the Busy Family

Spring is here, which has many people thinking of Spring Cleaning and Organizing.  Here are some simple tips that help keep our busy family organized.  

A Designated Place for Backpacks - This saves so much time in the morning, no searching for backpacks.  We have hooks near our front door and backpacks and jackets hang there.  When we first started it took some reminding, the boys love to hang their backpacks on the staircase railing, now they have it down and appreciate it as well. 

Shoes - We purchased metal cubby like squares that stack and each of our children have their own cubby.  Their shoes, soccer shoes, shin guards, stay in their cubby.  With multiple children, this is a necessity to keep shoes organized, so they are not all piled on each other or thrown in a basket.  

Homework Station - This is one of my favorite organizing tips.  Each child has a small crate that has all the tools to accomplish homework in one crate.  This saves my sanity during homework time, no one is searching for a ruler, or a pencil and eraser.  You can customize these to each child's needs.  Your kindergartner may need crayons and markers.  Your second-grader may need multiplication cards to practice, your fifth-grader may need flashcards of the States and Capitals.  

Prepack Lunches the Night Before - We don't always do this, mostly if we know if the next day is extra busy or if a field trip is planned.  We pack as much as possible, for example, ziplock of pretzels, a tangerine, bag of cookies, things like that.  This way in the morning you just have to add a drink and sandwich or main dish.
With Spring Soccer in season, we have also started pre-packing dinner before practices.  This will save you money on your budget so you are not going through the drive-through as well as helping us eat healthier.  

Spring is a great time to organize your pantry and set up bins for 'mom approved' after-school snacks as well.  

Shoe Box for Socks and Undergarments - Using a shoe box or container to separate socks and undergarments in my children's dresser drawer, helps keep organizations.  It is so easy for that drawer to become a chaotic mess and no one can find socks.  I love to use containers to keep these items separate from just being thrown in the drawer. 

Bins in Refrigerator - Use clear bins to help organize your refrigerator.  Great way to keep Caprisuns or Juice Boxes in one place, string cheese that are easily spread around, small items all in the same place help meal prep stay organized.

Running Grocery List on the Refrigerator - So many times you are cooking and you notice you are running low on a spice or a grocery item.  If I don't write it down immediately many times I forget.  Keeping a running grocery list on your refrigerator is a great way to help you stay organized.  You won't have sticky notes everywhere or search for a text you send yourself.  I know in this technological world we live in many people keep a running shopping list on your phone.  

Family Wall Calendar - We depend on our family wall calendar.  Again with the tech-savvy world we live in, I understand many people use electronic calendars and appointment reminders which are great.  For a busy family with multiple people's schedules, I find a visual calendar that is a central spot for everyone to see at a glance, everyone's travel calendar, sports practice schedule, and the many other things busy families have going on is sure to help everyone stay on the same page.

Mail /Bill Spot - Having a central location for mail and bills will help you stay organized.  Did you know we receive approximately 15,000 pieces of junk mail every year?  Make sure as soon as junk mail arrives you discard it.  I make an effort to not even bring it into the house.  On my walk back from the mailbox I decide what pieces are going directly in the trash.  

Key Holder Hook - Have you ever had to search for your keys?  We purchased a key holder with hooks and we have it in our kitchen.  No more frantically searching for keys when you need to leave the house.  

Game Closet - We have a cupboard upstairs where we place all of our board games, card games and such.  I find if you don't have a designated place, games will be in different closets, in the garage, under beds and many more questionable places.  Having games all in one spot can help your busy family stay organized, and make family game night fun, not a search party for that one game.

No Junk Drawer - This is something I still have to work on.  No matter how many times I clean out our junk drawer and vow not to have it, somehow that one drawer manages to fill up with all that miscellaneous stuff.  This Spring, once again, I will be purging that dreaded junk drawer and hopefully designating that drawer for something important so it does not fill back up again.  Well here is to hope! 

Two Diaper Bags - If you have younger kids having a diaper bag packed and ready to go in the car and one in the house is a huge help.  This also applies if you are potty training or have a little one that needs an extra change of clothes.  Keep a change of clothes in the car, just remember to replenish it if it is used.  

Use a Timer - Set a timer as a way to motivate everyone to help do a quick clean up as a family.  We have done this many times and it is so helpful.  Set a twenty-minute timer and have everyone spruce up their bedroom or tackle that one location that needs much-needed attention.  This makes cleaning/organizing more like a game and then everyone knows when there is an end to it.  

Whenever you find yourself stressed searching for an item work on a new system to implement for that.  Remember when it comes to organizing you do not have to spend a ton of money on new containers, visit your local Dollar Store they have great containers, bins, and baskets to help.  You can also repurpose and use containers that you are no longer using.  For example, those clear bins of pretzels or cheese balls, wash and use those for Legos, Army Guys, Nerf Gun Bullets, can you tell I am a boy mom.  

Need some more inspiration or a little help motivating you to get organized or tackle that Spring Cleaning, visit Pinterest, whenever I need a little help finding an idea that work, Pinterest always helps.  I read an article that said when you organize your workspace 71% of people feel more accomplished, 68% feel more in control and 58% feel more confident.  44% of people say having their home organized helps improve their healthy food choices.  

I am sure you have heard how a decluttered space helps declutter your mind, I know that is definitely true for me.  Clutter causes our brain to not be at rest, hinders our creativity, and keeps us from being productive.  Clutter also takes time out of our day, have you ever said "I wish I had one more hour in the day," you can easily find that hour by becoming more organized and spending less time searching for those keys, running to the store for a Lunchable because lunches are not preplanned.  

These tips help our busy family stay organized I hope they will help you.  Thank you for reading if you’ve enjoyed the content you’ve read above please share with your friends. 

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