Week 10: Maintenance & Routines

We come to the end of our 2021 Home Organizing Challenge. It has been a wonderful 10 weeks and I hope you have all made progress in your spaces.

This week we won’t be focusing on a specific area in our home, but I want to talk about Maintenance and Routines.

Being organized is not a one-size-fits-all. If you’ve set up a new organization system in your home, give it a few weeks to get used to. After, take a step back and assess. What is working, what isn’t? If it didn’t work for you, try something new. Think of spaces in your home that are working and try to recreate that in your other space.

Maintenance is the key to keeping things organized. To set yourself up for success, properly label your newly organized spaces. This will not only help you remember, but it can help the rest of the household stay on track as well.

Start your day with Intention:

Pick 2-3 top priorities for the day by urgency, and start with the task you’re dreading the most.

Further break down the tasks into manageable steps. Set up short uninterrupted time blocks to complete those tasks. During this time switch off all distractions and focus on the task at hand.

If anytime you are starting to feel overwhelmed, take a break. Walk around, get a glass of water and take a deep breath to clear your mind. When you’re feeling better, come back to it and continue on.

Before you start preparing for bed, take 10 minutes to do a final tidy. Put anything out of place, back to its home. 

Week 9: Playroom Organization

Spring break just ended here in Montreal and I spent the weekend doing a reset of the house. So what perfect time than to discuss kids toys organization!

Kids have a lot of ‘stuff’ and it’s always all over the place unless you have a proper organizing system but let’s face it, it might still be all over the place!

Years ago, I set up the playroom in our basement because it has the most open space. I did not realize that their idea of a playroom is being in the room that I am in, and not where the toys are! They started dragging their toys to the living room because it’s right next to the kitchen and that’s where they were happy playing. This made me rethink my space, and create a corner in the living room to hold some of their toys (without it being an eye sore)

Organizing kids toys can be tricky.

It has to be easy for them to access.
Easy for them to tidy up afterwards.
Have clearly labeled bins for the different categories (pictograms work great for those non readers!)
Whether you are a fan or not but ROYGBIV (rainbow) organization just works so well in a playroom.

Within a playroom, I like setting up zones.

• A space for creative play

• Imaginative play

• Educational toys

• Reading nook

Kids often don’t need as many toys as we think. In fact studies have shown that Fewer toys at once may help toddlers to focus better and play more creatively. I remember when my kids were younger, I would rotate the toys so they didn’t get overwhelmed by all their choices.

To start decluttering kids’ toys, start by removing everything and grouping into similar categories, All the barbie dolls separate, their accessories together, lego sets together, playmobil together etc. Find appropriate containers to hold the items together.

Evaluate their toys, in fact, get the kids involved. Ask them if they still enjoy playing with them. Every few months we do a walkthrough of our playroom and the kids pick out the toys that are no longer bringing them joy but might make another child happy. We go through those toys and keep aside for donation. Not only does this teach kids to be considerate, but it teaches them to be mindful of their belongings.

Here are some of my go to playroom organization items:

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Labels for Toy Storage

The ever versatile Kallax from ikea is my go to unit for organizing a playroom. a kallax on its side allows kids to still access the top surface. Use it for toys and books!

Ikea Trofast is great for some of the bulkier items.

Week 7: Bedroom Organization

This week we focus on a space where we spend almost half our lifetime. Our bedrooms.

The bedroom should be a space where we go to relax and unwind. Having a cluttered bedroom does nothing to help with those feelings. Outer order brings inner calm. So if your bedroom is out of order, how can you expect inner calm?

Let’s break our bedrooms up into zones, just like we did with the kitchen (insert link here).

• Nightstand for personal items.

• Clothing (closets/drawers)

• Memorabilia and Sentimental items typically also go in the bedroom.

Before starting, look around and focus on the area which is giving you that heavy feeling. Are there piles of clutter anywhere? Is a zone being used for something that shouldn’t really be there?

If that heavy area is not really obvious to you, let’s start with the nightstand. It’s small, easy to accomplish, and will help motivate you to tackle the other areas.

Empty out your night table and keep only the items you would need while you’re in bed or preparing to go to bed.

Phone charger, tissues, hand lotion, lip balm, a book/journal, pens/pencils for taking notes, cream etc. Avoid keeping odds and ends in this drawer, or it will soon turn into a junk drawer.

Drawer dividers are great for keeping the categories separate.

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Moving on to the next category: The closet. Yes, technically the closet is still a bigger space than your sentimental items: But that can be a little tricky. We might get caught in a rabbit hole and start reminiscing, and the task will just take longer than we thought. So lets’ knock out the closet first.

Organizing your clothes can be tricky. Let’s break down the steps. Create mini zones within our closet. (Again, this depends on the size of your closet, but still achievable)

Here are some of the different categories:

• Workout clothes

• Work clothes

• Pj’s/Lounge wear

• Undergarments

• Formal wear

• Seasonal clothes

• Everyday clothes

Now working with what you already have, figure out the best space for these zones.

In my closets, I like to group by category, and then within the category group by colour.

Now for the sentimental items. I don’t actually have physical steps on how to store your sentimental items. Everyone’s situation and items will be different. So I will only offer you this piece of advice: our memories are within us, not within our things. Now, repeat that. You don’t need to keep the physical item to keep those memories. If you do feel the need to keep the object to remember the moment, how about taking a picture of it? It will take up less space and the memories will always be there!

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I get a small percentage of the product price (with no extra cost to you!), so thank you for buying through me and supporting my business.

Now let’s move on to some of my favourite items for organizing the bedroom.

These fabric bins are pretty sturdy and can keep things contained in your closet.

No closet organizing job is complete without matching velvet hangers. Keeps things from falling off and gives a more streamlined look.

Drawer dividers for the win! These keep your categories separate and help keep your drawers from getting messy.

Week 3: Bathroom Organization 2021 Home Organizing Challenge

Ah, the bathrooms. Let’s be honest, when is the last time you pulled out everything from your bathroom and did a good purge?

Bathroom drawers or cabinets are not really high traffic zones so often times we forget what’s even in there.

How to Organize the Bathroom: The Process

• Empty out the products from your bathroom.

• Just like we did with the junk drawer last week, sort the products by category. Start by tossing the products you’ve had for a while and hardly use. Don’t forget the samples, testers, and the almost empty bottles.

• Containerize them by whichever category makes the most sense to you (by type, frequency of use, what body part that item is for teeth, hair care etc).

• Place them back.

Some Useful Bathroom Organization Tips:

• Don’t forget the inside of your cabinet doors. There are a variety of hanging organizers that fit right over your cabinet door that will help maximize the space.

• Shelf risers are not just for the kitchen. Use that vertical space inside your cabinets.

• Drawer dividers. You know I love them. We used them last week in our junk drawers, we use them in our kitchen, why not use them in our bathroom drawers to help contain items.

• Keep those counters clutter free.

Here are some of my favourite bathroom organizing products.Click on image to view more details.

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Makeup Expiration Dates

Mascara: 4-6 months
Lipstick: 12-18 months
Pencil Eyeliner: 1 year
Liquid eyeliner: 3-6 months
Foundation: 12-18 months
Concealer: 12-18 months
Eyeshadow/blush: 1-2 years

It’s hard to remember when the items were purchased, but even a general idea should be good enough as a starting point.

I hope you’re feeling accomplished after organizing your bathroom. Til next week!

Here Is a link to our facebook group if you’d like some extra support and speak to others also participating in the challenge.

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