Did you ever meet someone that is “naturally” organized?? I haven’t. Staying organized is not easy, but it defiantly makes life easier in every aspect – that’s the reason I’ve come up with these organization hacks. These hacks are super easy and simple, but they make a world of difference!
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Don’t Put It Down, Put It Away!
Defiantly my weakness! I’m like a freaking tornado when I arrive home, throwing everything everywhere and won’t deal with putting things in place.
This is the type of tip that will cut your daily organizing from 30 minutes to 15 minutes. If you just put things in their place in the first place (no pun intended) then life will be much easier, I promise!
Having a permanent place for all of your items is easy, now you just need to actually put your things in their proper place. Have a place to put your jewelry back (Not on the kitchen counter like me…), hang your clothes back, put laundry in the bin and not on the bed, etc.
Use Trays
One of my favorite minimalist tips is to keep the counters clear – but that’s not always the most convenient option. For the things I can’t keep inside hidden spaces all the time, I have trays! I use trays on the coffee table, on the nightstands, on the bathroom counter and other spaces.
Trays help in centering all of the things you have outside.
For example: use a tray on the coffee table in the living room for coasters, remote controls, and other small items you have out at the moment.
Usually, I prefer to have these things inside the drawers I have on my coffee table, and only take it out when needed. But if you don’t have storage as a part of your table, a tray can be a great addition!
You can also use a tray on the bathroom counter for items you use daily, another tray near the entrance for keys and mail, etc.
My favorite affordable options from Nordstrom & Target:
Use Timers
Organizing and cleaning can be overwhelming! Don’t I know it… I love organizing but sometimes life is quicker than you and by the time you get around to your tasks you’ve accumulated too much to do! A simple solution is to simply set a timer for a short amount of time and try to accomplish as much as you can in that time frame. I recommend 15-30 minutes daily, depends on how much you have to do.
15 minutes daily should be more than enough if you actually organize every day and use the rest of my organization hacks. Hint: wait for my favorite hack at the end of the post – Clutter Bins!
Make Lists
I know you want to be like “Duhhhh…” right now, but listen to me! We overlook this simple thing, not understanding the meaning behind it, the benefits it holds and the difference it can make. Research has shown again and again that our brains love to check-off lists! Even when accomplishing the smallest of tasks, we feel success and are way more motivated to continue.
I love adding small tasks to my to-do list and checking them off, it gives me the feeling of accomplishment and makes me a lot more motivated to continue.
Make it fun
Sometimes just the thought of getting up after a long day to organize seems ridicules, but there’s a way to make everything more fun. You can listen to music, watch youtube videos, TV shows, and a lot more to make mundane tasks more enjoyable. To learn more about what you can do to have fun while organizing click here.
When you do something you love, like listening to good music while you organize, you don’t feel the time passing by.
First Organize, Than Reward
When coming back home from work, school, errands or whatever, Don’t sit down! Don’t tell yourself “Just one episode” “just a quick nap” – You will never get up! Oh, it’s just me? Lol. never mind then.
Joking aside, once we’re in “rest mode” it’s so much harder to go back to “active mode”. When you get home, put all your things back in their place, time yourself for 15 minutes, organize what you can and then rest. the reward would be soooo amazing! Sitting and resting would feel so right. Watching your favorite TV show would feel like a prize and not like slacking off or being lazy.
When I had a very difficult period of time in my life, every night I would cook, clean and organize like crazy. Instead of wallowing and watching TV I did things that made me feel like I’m accomplishing something and that I have control over my life. I didn’t go to sleep before I had my entire home spotless. Being in control made it much better than “rewarding” myself with fun like watching TV.
Even if these things aren’t really significant, it will make a change in how you feel, not just how your house looks.
Declutter, Declutter, Declutter!
There’s nothing easier to organize than nothing at all! Did you get that or am I just super confusing?
I truly believe that the key to being organized is to take the minimalist approach and have less. That’s why I created a free online course for you! 7 days of decluttering your home will make everything much better. Each day declutter a section of your home, and quickly you’ll see a difference in your organization routine. You won’t need much more than my organization hacks to stay on top of things after you declutter all the unnecessary from your life.
The course is completely free, you just need to sign up! 🙂
Free Course! Declutter Your Entire Home In 7 Days! 🙂
Get this free 7 day e-course to make your life easier!
This is a step by step guide that goes through each room.
Morning Tasks
Adding one or two tasks to your morning routine will make you a lot more productive during the day. This is kind of a weird one since its sounds like more work instead of organization hacks, but it’s worth giving a try.
For example, making your bed, organizing the bathroom counter after preparing or wash your coffee mug right away, will all help you further in the rest of the day.
Accomplishing even the smallest of tasks makes us feel GREAT! and if you do a few small tasks, you’ll probably be more motivated to accomplish more during your day.
Weekly Pantry Check-ups.
Don’t be lazy and check your food supply every week! This way you won’t accumulate a ton of food that is expired or you don’t need 20 of.
Go through everything in your fridge and your pantry each week, I like doing this on Sundays before grocery shopping so I know exactly what I have. If you want to learn more about pantry organization hacks click here.
Use Clutter Bins
Probably one of my favorite organization hacks, clutter bins! You ask yourself “what is a clutter bin??” Oh it’s just a pretty bin or basket in each room that each day I collect the unnecessary clutter to and either leave it there or carry the bin with me around the apartment and organize the mess.
When you have a super busy life, it’s hard to find the time to organize clutter immediately. If you get a nice basket – it can perform as cute decor and also as a bin-home to all of your mess!
These are some of my favorite options of bins and baskets:
I hope you found my organization hacks useful and helpful! 🙂 It took me a few years of adulting to come up with these, and I think they’ve really improved my day to day life. I’m keeping my home organized most of the time with very little effort and I know you can do it too!
So many great tips here. I’m in the middle of spring cleaning now and totally agree that the more you declutter, the less you have to organize! I think if I can remember the idea of don’t put it down, put it away, that would be a game changer for me!
Hey Lois,
I know, it’s hard to remember to put things in their place when you come back home tired. I try to force it as a habit, eventually, it becomes a part of the routine.
I am such a lover of all things organization! I am digging out some trays ASAP!
Hey Dorothy,
Trays are my favorite way to organize things too.
I love being organized. I am probably close to someone who is “naturally organized” and I can’t focus when my house is a mess. I definitely follow the rule of no putting things down, but put them away the first time. I also love listening to upbeat music playlists while I am cleaning!
Hey Stephanie,
I can’t focus when things are a mess too! Listening to music definitely makes everything much more fun 🙂
Those are great ideas. I have been learning the benefit of decluttering and what a difference that makes in the house.
Hey Marjie,
I’m glad you like decluttering, it can be very difficult but rewarding.
These are some awesome tips. I really love the tray idea! I may need to use that.
Hey Michelle,
I love using trays wherever I can, it’s a game changer.
I never thought about using a timer to help with my organization skills. I think that can be useful for a time study to monitor how long I take on certain chores.
Hey Tiffany,
Setting a time daily to organize has helped me a lot. I don’t feel pressure to clean for an entire day, instead, I do small tasks each day and then my home is always organized.
The don’t put it down put it away method has been a huge life saver and once that was a daily habit the rest kinda just fell into place!
Hey Angela,
I agree, when you have specific places for each item, you don’t find yourself organizing all the time.
These are great tips! I need to get more organized. It is kind of hard when I have a nine-month-old that pulls everything out LOL!
Hey Kara,
It defiantly sounds hard haha, I know the bins method has helped my friends who have babies. At the end of the day, you just put everything in the bin and organize it from there.
I love the idea behind just putting it away right away!! I need to have my kids work on that because they are like a tornado!!
Hey Nikki,
I used to be a tornado as a kid as well lol, and I became very organized eventually! I think this tip is actually very good for kids.
Yes! I live by most of these as well! I am actually on the hunt for some new trays as well haha! Great decor btw
Hey Lisa,
Thank you, I’m happy you like the decor 🙂 Trays are an amazing way to keep organized.
I love these tips! Putting everything away as you use it makes such a difference. Now I just need to get my family onboard with this plan.
Hey Heather,
Try to make it a habit and eventually it will become the norm. I’m glad you liked these tips!