‍1. Set a timer

The cure for most procrastination is a clock. Give each task a 'minute amount'. Your laundry mountain seems unsurmountable, but the minute you reframe it with a number, it's somehow no longer as daunting.

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2. Take 10 before bed

Pick the surface in your house that drives you crazy when you walk into it in the morning, and spend 10 minutes clearing it before bed. For most of us that’s the kitchen counter, and waking up to a clean counter shifts the whole feel of the day.

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3. The everyday caddy

Put every morning essential (toothbrush, comb, lipstick, concealer, deodorant) into one small caddy. You stop opening four drawers because everything lives together. You can even double it as a travel essentials bag.

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4. Think like an organized person

Houses stay tidy (ok, tidier) when people put things away the first time. The skirts get hung the momen tthey come off, the mail gets sorted at the door, the plate goes into the sink or garbage (even better if you can wash it, dry it, and put it away, but we know our limits).

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5. The one-in, one-out rule

Every time something new comes into the house, something old leaves. Bought new slippers? An old pair in the garbage. New makeup palette? An old tube into the trash. It puts a small toll on every purchase without asking you to stop buying altogether, and even when you do, you know you have the space for it.

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6. Label things

A label takes you from “organized in your head” to “organized in a way the household can follow,” which is the only version of organized that survives a regular week.You know which bin holds the spices and which holds the salt, but no one else does. Use a proper label maker, print on labels, or even just identify with a sharpie.

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7. The go-back box

While you’re cleaning or decluttering one room, anything that belongs in a different room goes into a single box. You finish the room you’re in before you walk that box around. Sounds small, but it prevents the side-quest spiral that ends every decluttering attempt with you eating a snack on the couch wondering what happened to the afternoon.

Let's be honest...

None of this stays organized for long. Things drift back, Yom Tov happens, kids undo most of what you did. So pick the 2 or 3 rules above that feel manageable for your life, and run them on repeat.

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What are your go to organizing hacks?

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