Organize + Energize: 6 Ways to Maintain an Organized Home With Kids (and Spouses)

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Kristin MacRae, GoLocalPDX Organizing Expert

Not too long ago, an attendee at one of my presentations had a great question. Many people were interested in the answer. Her question was, “I’m pretty organized and have an organized home, but my family doesn’t follow through with the systems. I’m constantly picking up after everybody and it’s exhausting. How do I get everybody on board with these systems?” One woman in the group said it’s impossible to have an organized home with her family. I’m here to tell you it’s not impossible and it can be done.

Here are 6 ways to get your family on board:

Have a family meeting. It’s time to get serious and get everybody in the household involved. If you want to maintain an organized home, everybody has to be ready and know what’s involved. Talk about committing to this and how it’s going to save everybody time, money, and they’ll be a little less stressed and have more energy. Explain these benefits and how important it is that the home stay organized.

Communicate. Ask your family why they can’t maintain these systems. What are their answers? Are they valid? Is it laziness? Have the systems failed? Do they even know about the systems? Jot down all the reasons they are giving you and develop a plan to move forward.

Everybody responsible for their space. Everybody has their spaces where they live in the home. If they are functioning in that space, they should be responsible for keeping that space organized. If there are great systems in place, this should be easy.

Simple systems. If the systems are difficult, nobody will bother to maintain them, and they will fail. If spaces have to be labeled, then label them until everybody is functioning with them. Walk everybody around the home and take them through the systems.

Stop being lazy. It’s going to be as easy as taking something out and putting it back where it belongs. Don’t use the excuse that you don’t have time. It’s going to take you one minute to put something back. Piles will form if you don’t put items away in the moment. A month later, you’ll be spending hours on putting things back where they belong. Take a minute to tackle it and save time down the road.

Don’t leave it for somebody else. Don’t assume that somebody else is going to pick up your stuff. If it’s your stuff, take responsibility for it. Put your clothes in the hamper, hang up your clothes, put things back in a drawer where you found them, etc.

I’m not saying this is going to be easy, especially if you have big family. It’s going to take work to get where you need to be. It’s a daily commitment, but once you’ve mastered it, it becomes an everyday way of life and it’s really easy. Use the above as a checklist and run through it with your family. Talk it through and tell them about the benefits and how this will make everybody’s life easier. You’ll be able to enjoy your free time instead of being stuck inside straightening the house.

Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, is an organizing & efficiency expert and owner of Organizing in RI. Kristin teaches her clients that living an organized lifestyle will save them time and money, decrease their stress levels and help them become more efficient and productive. Her articles have been published in local and national magazines. Kristin's CD, Organizing Basics, is a 1-hour guide for the person who wants to get organized but doesn't know where to begin. She is also available for organizing workshops.