Maintaining your organized home

Getting your home organized in only half of the battle – maintaining your organized space is another challenge altogether. Following organizing methods like the KonMari method require a change of your daily habits in order for them to work long-term. However, life can get busy, plans change, new opportunities arise, and you and your family can return to your previous routine. To maintain your organized space, it’s important to take the process seriously and find key methods that work best with your lifestyle.

Following an organization method closely will not work for everyone long term. Many of the suggestions work great to help people eliminate a large amount of clutter, but some steps, like treasuring every item, might not be realistic for each member of your family. Instead, identify the important lessons and find a way to make them work with your life. For example, the method for folding clothes might work best to keep your clothing organized in your wardrobe and suitcases, but your children have difficulty keeping their clothes folded that way. While the folding method may not work for them, the idea of only keeping items that are important to them and being able to let old clothing and toys go might work better.

In order to maintain organization, you and your family need to be able to make organizing a part of your routine. Depending on your schedule, it may make more sense to do quick decluttering sessions on a regular basis by sorting through items by type instead of by room. However, you may instead prefer to do larger organizing projects on a less frequent basis. By encouraging your whole family to get involved with the process and adopt these life changes, you will have an easier time maintaining organization throughout your home.  

To make organization a regular part of your routine, you need to follow methods that you and your family can easily pick up. For example, getting in the habit of putting things away once you’re finished with them, instead of leaving them to put away later, is a simple action that can have a significant impact on the organization of your home.

Staying organized and changing your usual habits takes time and commitment, but it can be accomplished. Make sure you implement organizational methods that are practical and work with your family’s lifestyle. If you’ve gotten your house organized following a specific organizing method, it may be unrealistic to maintain all of the strategies you used going forward. However, you shouldn’t feel the need to follow the guidelines closely. Instead, find out what works best for you and your family, and use those key strategies to maintain your organized state in the future.

Organizing clothing with the KonMari method

The KonMari organizing method has been around for a couple of years, but some of its ideas and methods can still be confusing for some people looking to live a more organized life. Here is how the KonMari method can help you get organized, starting with your clothing:

What is it?

According to the KonMari method, organizing should not happen room by room, but item by item. In this way, people are able to properly organize and find a home for one specific item, which may be scattered throughout a home. Clothes are recommended as the first item to start organizing. Organizing begins by collecting all of the like items together and laying them on the ground so you can get a good look at what you have. Then, you go through each item to determine whether or not it makes you happy or “sparks joy.”

Karen, at Calm Order recommends to start with areas with the least amount of attachment. Clothing may not necessarily be easy for some. Sometimes it is going through the pantry or kitchen which may just be an easier place to start.

Often, we hold on to items for sentimental or practical purposes. Maybe the item of clothing was on sale, or a gift. Regardless of how or why you got it, if it doesn’t make you happy or you never wear it, you should simply donate it. The KonMari is based on only owning items in your home that have meaning and bring you joy.

Items should be organized and put in a place that is easy to find and access. Fancy storage solutions aren’t always the answer, and extra drawers and cupboards may encourage more clutter instead of stopping it. The KonMari method encourages people to focus on the folding and storage of items to prevent clutter. If items are special to you, you should treat them well. For example, your cloths should be folded and stored in a way that prevents them from getting wrecked or wrinkled and is easy for you to find and wear.

How is it done?

The unique KonMari method has attracted a lot of popularity for its complex steps and ability to significantly increase storage. Whether it is a t-shirt, pair of pants, or socks, any article of clothing you own can be folded using the KonMari method. This guide provides step by step illustrations of how you can fold your clothes using the KonMari way.

Once your clothes are folded properly, they need to be properly placed in your closet or wardrobe. Instead of organizing by colour, the KonMari method organizes clothing by light and dark clothing. For example, keep heavier winter sweaters separated from light summer blouses. This will also help you find clothes and pick out your outfit easier because similar items will all be placed together.

Clothes in drawers are not stacked on top of each other but stored vertically. This way, it is easier to see what clothes you have and prevents shirts or pants from getting lost at the bottom of your drawer. By folding items in the precise KonMari way, you’ll also cut down on wrinkles, so everything is ready to wear when you need it.

Where else can you use this method?

The KonMari folding method can be used to help you organize your clothing for a vacation or a home move. Use the folding method to save space in your suitcase when you travel and prevent your clothes from getting too wrinkled before you reach your destination. You can even store your folded items in storage cubes.

Clothes can also be folded using this method when you’re packing up your belongings before moving. You will be able to fit a lot more items of clothing in a box or plastic bin by stacking your shirts, pants, and other articles of clothing vertically instead of horizontally. You will also be able to easily see what items you have stored in what box, and quickly transfer the clothing after your move back to your wardrobe or closet.

The KonMari method can help with organizing more than just your clothes – its basic principles can be applied to any item in your home. However, in order to make sure your newly-organized items stay organized, you need to ensure that you continue to keep clutter down. Remember to only keep items that bring you joy and make sure that every item has a proper and easy to access home. The KonMari method is not meant to help with one-time organization, but help you stay organized for the long term.

Make school lunch and snack prep as easy as possible!

The first week of school is almost here, and in addition to getting backpacks, school supplies, and outfits put together, it’s time to start planning lunches and snacks. This year, get your children involved in putting their lunches and snacks together and make the process fun and organized with these helpful tips: 

Pre-make portions  

Vegetables, fruit, cheese, meat, crackers and pretzels make great additions to a school lunch or morning snack. They can also easily be put together in advance or the day of. Cut up and pre-wash a couple of varieties from each food group – before you stock up on groceries for the week, talk to your family and find out what food they want to take for their lunch or snack.  

Pre-wash and cut up the food before the school week begins. You can either store the food in large containers for your children to take from each day, or you can get your children to help you create pre-portion containers they can easily grab-and-go in the morning. The key to this tip is variety. No child wants to bring the same food every day for lunch, so make sure there are a couple of different options they can choose from. 

Use what you have

School lunch doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated – in this case, simple is always better. Use up the items you have around the house that are already prepared. For example, heat up leftovers and bring it to school in a thermos, or create an entirely new dish. Leftover meat can be used to make a salad, wrap or sandwich. Leftover vegetables can be added together to make a quick stir-fry or fajita filling. 

Vegetables and fruit don’t have to be cooked or prepared in a special way either – if you do want to add a fun element, get your children to pack a dip like hummus, ranch dressing or yogurt.  

Freeze food for busy times

It’s always a good idea to have a few back-up options, especially during busy weeks. Stock up your freezer with frozen food that can be left in the fridge over night to thaw or re-heated the morning of. For example, if you have leftover soup or chili, freeze some in individually-portioned containers. Leftover pizza can also be frozen and heated up for lunch. Muffins can be added as a snack or a lunch side, and taste just as good if frozen.  

If you have time before the start of the new school year, consider putting together some “emergency” meal options, and regularly check your deep freeze to make sure your stock is replenished.  

Make lunch prep a routine

The best way to make sure lunches are ready and organized is to make it part of your family’s weekly routine. One option is to set aside time before the school week (like Sunday evening) to prepare everything you and your family will need for the coming week, like cutting up fruit and vegetables, portioning meals, and determining snacks. This way, everything can stay in the fridge or an easily-accessible shelf in your pantry so everyone can take what they need each day.  

However, it can be hard to always find enough time every week to do this. If you’re having a busy week, or your schedule is too tight, another option could be to just take some time to plan out lunch options. You don’t have to necessarily put everything together, but go over what food you have available, what potential leftovers you will have from meals, and work with your family to create options for them to have during the week. This will allow everyone to have a good idea of what food they are going to need to take and on what day. Creating a plan will also ensure everyone can find a time that works to make their lunch, whether it’s after school one day or the morning before another day, depending on their schedules.