If you’ve ever tripped over a pile of shoes the minute you walk in the door, stared down Mount Laundrymore, or spent five minutes digging behind a cereal box to find one granola bar—you know the importance of finding simple ways to organize your home.
Our home is full of life, energy, and let’s be honest—stuff. With kids constantly moving between school, sports, snacks, and spills, staying organized and having an organized home feels like trying to shovel snow in a blizzard. But over time (and with lots of trial and error), we’ve found simple, real-life systems that actually work. No color-coded Pinterest fantasies here—just what helps us stay a little more sane.
I’ll be hones, our family of 5 has always struggled with home organization and keeping it cleaned up. We tend to let the laundry pile up, and our kids had a nasty habbit of eating anywhere and everywhere but the table. We have tried a lot of different routines and strategies to try and get our chaos under control but it seemed like nothing fit for our busy lifestyle.
Since we are trying to sell our home, we have learned that keeping our home organized and clean daily is the key. We have started a quick morning pickup where each child cleans up their toys, stuffies, legos. Garbage and dishes are handled and we sweep. Even that little bit has helped us get into a better routine.
The Entryway from Shoe Graveyard to Organized Chaos
The front door might as well be the dumping ground for all things chaos—backpacks, jackets, sports gear, and yes, shoes… so many shoes. Here’s how we stopped the madness:
Quick Home Organization Fixes:
- Cubbies or bins labeled with each kid’s name for shoes (no more “Where’s my cleat?!” at 7:58 AM).
- A bench with hidden storage for backpacks and sports bags.
- Command hooks low enough for little ones to hang up their own jackets (because asking them every day doesn’t work).
- Closet Clean Out. If you’re like us, you have a closet somewhere near your entryway, we cleaned out this closet and made room for shoes at the bottom. So simple, doesn’t take up more space in your entryway. For us this worked wonders for our children’s sport of the season gear that needed prepped or used daily. We had everything set in the closet so our kids could grab and go without searching through their rooms.
Bonus Tip: Keep a “last minute basket” with things like socks, hair ties, sunscreen, and deodorant—because someone always forgets, this also goes in our mini closet by the entryway to help organize our home and keep those handy items close at hand. Something else we did was hand decretive baskets that hide your keys, hair ties, and all the extras that get dumped.
Laundry: The Beast that Never Sleeps
Laundry day? Try laundry life. Between school uniforms, sports gear, and mystery stains, the piles never end. We stopped pretending we’d “catch up” and built routines instead. There are proably a lot of blogs out there that cover laundry and give you all the answers but I am a true believer that it only works if its easy for your family to follow. If you have a family like ours we are busy, like work, workouts, play, sports, travel. All of these activities add up to laundry and lots of changes in clothes. Home organization starts with a routine, think about your current routine and add to it, what would automate your system and make it easier for you? Build from there.
Our System:
- One basket per person — everyone gets their own, and it goes straight from the dryer to their room.
- Theme days (e.g., Towels Tuesday, Uniforms Thursday) make it manageable.
- A laundry shelf or rolling cart with stain remover, dryer sheets, and lost socks makes everything easier to access.
Involve the Kids: Even toddlers can sort socks. And older kids? Folding their own clothes = life skill and one less thing on your plate. We taught our 9 year old how to make pancakes a couple weeks ago and its his new favorite skill to show off and cook for his siblings.
The Pantry: Snack Control Area
Our pantry used to look like a tornado tore through a Costco. Now? It’s a semi-functional home organization system that keeps things visible, grab-and-go, and not completely snack-sabotaged.
Pantry Hacks That Help:
- Clear bins labeled “Lunch,” “After School,” and “Mom’s (Do Not Touch)” keep things in check.
- Use tiered shelves for cans and jars so nothing hides and expires.
- Lazy Susans for oils, sauces, and spices = game changer.
Pro Tip: Take snacks out of boxes right away and store them in bins—saves space and gives a cleaner look.
The Weekly Reset
We’ve started doing a 15-minute “Sunday Reset” as a family: tidy up entryway, prep school clothes, clear counters, and do a quick fridge clean-out. It’s not perfect—but it helps start the week with less chaos. With our house up for sale, we started doing this home organization in the morning. We are a little lucky right now because my husband and I are both on Summer break (Thank you career in education) so our 15 minute daily cleanup is easy to fit in. During the school year this will need to adjust to the evening before we all settle into our bedtime routine.
Grace Over Perfection
Lastly—and most importantly—remember: organized does not mean perfect.
Some weeks the shoes still pile up. The laundry wins. The pantry gets overrun with empty granola bar wrappers. And that’s okay. Just organize your home knowing that the mess will still happen and the mess shows that you have a home and a family that enjoys life.
The goal isn’t a magazine-perfect home. It’s a space that works for your family, your routines, and your real life.
Final Thoughts:
If you’re in the thick of it with kids, clutter, and chaos, just know you’re not alone. These home organization systems don’t fix everything—but they do make the everyday feel a little more manageable. And when your home feels a little more under control, your brain does too.
Shop Our Favorite Organization Essentials:
(Affiliate links to things we actually use and love in our home)
🛒 Entryway Shoe Organizer (Amazon)
🛒 My Entryway Sidetable (Currently in my cart)
🛒 Rolling Laundry Cart (Amazon )
🛒 Water Bottle Space Saver(Amazon)
Affiliate Disclaimer:
This post includes affiliate links to products we’ve purchased, used, have in our cart, and genuinely recommend. If you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission—at no cost to you. that helps keep our blog going.