Tips for Keeping it All Organized

I wanted to create a one-stop resource for some tips on keeping it all together at home. So, below you will find some tips for keeping it all organized along with useful links to keep specific areas of your home and life organized.

When I first started to homeschool, I just knew that I would have it all together. I mean, I was mom-warrior. I worked full-time for most of my adult life and went to college while having a family – and working.

There was a point in time where I felt the need to just be there for my kids more, and work from home.

My husband wouldn’t bite for many years.

When he finally gave the OK, I just knew I was prepared to be great at it. I would get my house cleaned up regularly, laundry done with no problem. Hopefully, I would be able to work from home seamlessly, and homeschool like nobody’s business.

Well, I was RIGHT, but that lasted only a few months. Then life happened.

An unexpected event throws life off course, and we often struggle to get back.

Kids start going to sleep later, and you are OK with it. You are OK because you are too stressed and need to pick your battles wisely before you lose your marbles.

Things start spiraling, either very quickly or slow enough that you don’t realize until it’s too far gone. Before you realize, you are right in the thick of it – in the thick of chaos.

(I surely, hope I am not the only one this happened too or I will feel reeeeeally silly right about now.) *Even if this applies to only one of you, I stand with you in compassion.

The only thing that I have learned to help me with a possible spiral of chaos is (besides the undeserving grace of God) being as organized as I can be in the midst of it. Notice I don’t say being organized will prevent the chaos. It will not.

I merely can state the fact that being organized really helps us when life pulls the rug from under our feet. The Lord says, in life, we “will” have struggles but to take heart HE has overcome the world.

So, the struggle is a-coming mom. We can’t control that, but we can control our preparedness for it and how we respond to it.

Being organized means different things to many of us. It can mean you have back-up methods of homeschool resources ready should a last-minute issue occur. Being organized can mean a peaceful home when everything else seems to be falling apart.

What I know is that when I am stressed, but my home is put together, things seem a little more manageable.

So, here are some tips for keeping it all organized even throughout the ups and downs of life and homeschool.

Check out these tips for keeping it all organized at home.

Get rid of the unnecessary.

Many times we think organization means we need more space, or that we need containers to put “stuff” in. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Put what you don’t need – instead of in another container – in the wastebasket and minimize.

Create a home “Drop Zone.”

Have you heard of these? Chances are you have a few in your home already without even knowing it. Drop Zones take a little training for your family but they catch on faster than you may think.

Drop Zones are places where your family will drop things are odds and ends, instead of just anywhere. Instead of keys laid around the house – eventually, the point of stress when we can’t find them, Drop Zones are a place where they can be dropped when in a rush.

Anything we can’t be put away right away can be placed there (usually a basket). You can assign it as a chore for one of the kids to return the items to their rightful place before bedtime, or you can put them away at the end of the day.

After morning prayer – make your bed.

I learned this when I was staying with a friend in her home for a few months. Her husband made a rule that any visitors needed to make their bed before leaving the house every day.

He was an avid believer that making one’s bed was a preparation for the day and just set the stage for the readiness of the day. It actually wasn’t without reason altogether.

According to Psychology Today, people who made their bed every morning were more likely to enjoy their jobs, own a home, feel rested, and altogether happier and more successful people.

Create daily/weekly routines.

Keeping a routine is a repellent to some when they hear it. However, keeping a routine is actually a sanity keeper and I speak out of the experience.

It could be the schoolteacher in me but keeping a routine has saved my sanity in more ways than one. I am NOT a morning person. So if there are things to do and my kids are sitting around lollygagging, I will not be a happy camper.

Throughout the week, my children know they need to stick to their routine and know what is expected of them before school, or if it is a Friday they know what they are to do in the mornings. *We do a 4-day school week with Fridays as a catch-up or free day if we are … caught up.

Get a planner or a visual plan.

Whether it be a hardcopy planner, an online planner, or a weekly plan on your refrigerator, it is needed. I need to have a pen-to-paper and check things off or visually know what goals I am trying to achieve.

I am just not good with the spur of the moment, but I allow my schedule to be flexible enough that I know nothing will fall through the cracks – because of my planner and lists.

Do a quick tidy-up before bed every night.

It is just nice to wake up and not have to see a messy home especially when you are super busy. If it makes you happy to have the pillows set up right on the couches, then make sure it’s done before going to bed.

If dishes in the sink drive you nuts, make sure you have a method to make sure they are done before bed every night.

Here is #1 – pray.

I will not be shy in telling you that prayer in the morning sets the stage for you to have the energy, the courage, the strength to start your day.

I truly believe what 1 Corinthians 14:33 says – “God is not a God of disorder but of peace.” God knows all about order, He is the creator of it.

We surely can come to Him during our hour of need and ask Him for help with organizing our lives in a manner that pleases Him and keeps your home flowing smoothly.

There is a slew of other tips that I can share with you, but these are the ones that keep my sanity throughout the week. Below I have listed some sources that are my go-to for tips.

I wanted to add another random tidbit for you. I have grown up with many insecurities. As I have grown older, things that weighed heavily on me I no longer give attention to.

I have learned to leave my insecurities and fear of failure at the feet of Jesus. This includes the feeling of failure when I just wasn’t able to keep up with my home.

If life takes our little family off course, I have found that it benefits us to allow it to bother us less. We are not failures if we are overwhelmed and can’t keep up.

We are not failures if things get a little un-organized. Do not put burdens on yourself that belong at the feet of our Savior. Let it go, trust the Lord and when you can, get back on course.

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Jeannette Tuionetoa

Jeannette is a wife, mother and homeschooling mom. She has been mightily, saved by grace and is grateful for God’s sovereignty throughout her life’s journey. She has a Bachelor in English Education and her MBA. Jeannette is bi-lingual and currently lives in the Tongan Islands of the South Pacific. She posts daily freebies for homeschoolers!

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