Psst! I’m here to let you in on a little secret. It’s the dirty little secret of a professional home organizer. Are you ready for it? Organizing is simply knowing where to put something and consistently putting it back in that same place. Boom, I said it. Sightly underwhelmed? Yeah me too, but in a good way! Let me unpack it for you…

Just like a lot of things in life, we tend to make tasks at hand WAY more complicated than they need to be. (Yours truly guilty as charged!) Staying organized is no different. We think we need to buy all the baskets and bins and label every canister in our pantry to achieve The Home Edit status. But in reality, we don’t need to buy a single item to get or stay organized. Being organized really comes down to how disciplined you are with your daily habits.

If you can master these two organizational practices, your life is going to get a whole lot easier. And bonus, not cost you a dime. 

Rule #1: Establish a “home” for everything 
Just like you have a home to return to, all your belongings should have a home too. This includes everything from your birth certificate to your toothbrush. The kicker is to establish the right home. Where’s the right home? In an intuitive spot. 

Imagine you were renting your home on Airbnb and a guest was staying the night. Could he or she find the oven mitt in the drawer next to the oven? Or is it shoved in a back cabinet likely never to be found? I’ve been in a lot of homes and you’d be surprised how many people store items in places that make zero sense, so it’s no wonder they can’t find the roll of stamps when it’s time to mail grandma a birthday card. Don’t overthink, just think intuitively. And brownie points for grouping similar items together – office supplies in one drawer, kids’ art supplies in another. You get the idea. 

Rule #2: Return items to their “home” after each use
The key to getting organized is establishing a home for everything, but the key to staying organized is consistently putting items back in their home when not in use. Get in the habit of not putting something down but instead putting it away. The next time you walk in the door instead of throwing your coat on the back of the kitchen chair and telling yourself you’ll hang it up later, walk directly to your coat closet and hang it up. It sounds very elementary because, well, it is, but if kindergartners can hang up their coats when they come in from recess, you can too! The same goes for your keys. Put them in their home every single time whether that be your purse, basket in your entryway, etc. and you will never, I repeat, never, lose your keys again. Plus you’ll save yourself $20 from buying one of those trackers for your keychain. 

Small habits repeated day in and day out eventually transition into subconscious tasks that you no longer have to think about, like buckling your seatbelt. The key is consistency. 

I know, I know, it almost seems too simple to be true, but if you haven’t picked up by now, I like things simple. These two simple rules of thumb are the secret sauce of a home organizer and are achievable in your own home with a little effort. For those of you go-getters ready to jump the gun, I highly recommend starting small for a quick and easy win. Your junk drawer would be a great place. Chances are there’s a handful of items whose “home” is elsewhere. And when in doubt just think “Where would my Airbnb guest look for this?” Likely the item’s home should live there, not the junk drawer. 

Now go show your old habits who’s boss and the next time your husband asks where the extra batteries are, you’ll know the exact spot. 

xx