Organization Tips for Busy Families

Is your life in chaos? These organization tips are just for you!

We just finished a fun week with family for Christmas. Since we live near my parents, we stayed at home while the rest of the clan bunked with my parents. We had a great time, but our house is upside-down from running back and forth without paying attention to keeping anything clean. I'm afraid that's a bit how my life felt all year long--kind of chaotic and out of control. It's time to get things back in order for the new year. If you're ready to get things in order as well, here are some ideas to get you and your kids on track for a more organized home. Let's get organized!

Organizing Tips for Kids Stuff

If your children have trouble keeping things clean, maybe they have too much stuff. This idea really helped us a few years ago, and it's time to do it again: How Getting Rid of Toys Made Us a Happier Family.

Because sometimes having too much really is the cause of the problem, I think we need to go through and do this every year. And guess what? I think the grown ups need to go through their "toys," too!

What about your kids' bedrooms? Do you have a bunch of pack rats, like I do? Help your kiddos understand how to manage the clutter with these great tips: Organization Tips for Kids.  Once they know how to declutter, help them keep things clean with part two of my decluttering tips: Keep Kids From Becoming Pack Rats!

If you are lucky enough that your kids rooms don't get out of control, all you need is this simple three-step room cleaning plan. I hope to get to this point again very, very soon: How to Teach Kids to Clean Their Rooms.

We use these fun tips to keep the kids' drawers organized: Organizing Kids Dressers with Drawer Dividers, and The Best Trick to Keep Kids Drawers Neat!

If your kids are Lego fans, I feel your pain. Legos everywhere, right? This year we tamed our Lego disaster with these two hacks that I wish I had thought of years ago! Check out our DIY Lego Tray, and How to Turn Any Surface Into a Lego Table in Minutes!

To add to the theme of taming the toys, check out how we store our puzzles. Easy Puzzle Storage (You won't believe how many puzzles I fit into one small space.) Here's how I tamed the dress-up corner.

You've heard the saying, "A place for everything, and everything in it's place," right? These diy storage lockers give the kids a perfect place to dump their school stuff.

If small space living is your problem, try making kids' rooms multifunctional. When I was tired of my daughters fighting over their shared room, I threw up my hands and dragged a bed into the playroom. With a little organization, it became a really cool space.

Organizing Tips for Adults

You know what? I think a lot of the same organization tips that apply to the kids apply to adults as well. As I type this, I'm looking at my computer desk, which is totally out of control! We have this great family computer station, but I can't even see the top of the desk. It's time to prioritize and put a little more focus into cleaning the house!

These 10-minute Tidy Lists were originally created for my kids. Maybe I need to adapt one for myself. My printable is editable, so I think I'll create a "Mom" quick list to make sure that I keep up with my own daily tasks. You can make one for yourself, too!

My laundry room was always a mess until I made this cool ladder launry drying rack. No more mess!

Are you great at keeping track of your grocery list? I used to be, but now my list is just as crazy as my life. Sometimes I remember to write things down, but often, I forget. I'm going back to my favorite printable grocery list!

Be Happy and Adapt

In addition to implementing organization tips, the other big change I'll be making this year has to do with One Creative Mommy. I've realized that a lot of the craziness in my life stems from my priorities being way out of balance. My blog is really fun, and I love it, but I have put way too much time into the virtual world and not enough time into the real one.

This year, I'll be spending a lot less time blogging about making my home and family great and lot more time actually making my home and family great. I'll quit talking about it and spend more time doing it!

My hubby and I thought about moving to a bigger home, but we've decided to embrace our smaller home and make it work better for us. I hope to share some great ideas, but I'll be focusing more on creating great spaces than creating great pictures. Life will be about life--not about the blog.

As you think about what's been making your life crazy this year, I hope you'll take the time to step back and think about refocusing your priorities as well. Here's to a fantastic new year!

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you'll stick around and check out some more great ideas. Visit the posts below by clicking on the images.