20 organizing hacks for every parent

We all know kids tend to make a mess within five minutes from stepping into a room. There is no need to worry too much about it; a warm and inviting home doesn’t have to be perfect, but using some simple organizing and time saving tricks will give you some extra peace of mind.

1. Keep pacifiers clean in your bag with sauce-to-go containers. Every time you order food delivery, save the small containers to use as a pacifier protection.
2. Cut a sticker in half and place the two halves on the insides of your kids’ shoes. That way, it will be easier to put the right shoe on the right foot.
3. Add a few drops of coloured paint into a ziplock bag. Your baby can create art with his or her fingers without any mess.
4. Add a lint roller to your craft room. Glitter, small paper leftovers and just about anything can easily be cleaned up with a few rolls.
5. Use chalkboard paint basically everywhere. Paint it on drawers, boxes, toy storage, hangers and more so you can easily label everything with name and content.
6. Use the dishwasher to clean toys, shoes and more. Yes, it actually works! Just make sure the temperature isn’t too high.
7. Freeze baby food in ice trays. When making home made baby food, separate them into tiny portions and freeze. That way, you will always have a stock in the freezer.
8. Mount an extra shower rod right next to the bathtub. Hang plastic baskets using s-hooks to organize bath toys and more.
9. Give every kid a “crap bucket”. For a quick cleanup, just put stuff that are lying around in the buckets and tell each kid to pick it up and assign every item to its designated area.
10. Ask your child to pick out their outfits for the week every Sunday. Arrange for a shelf or drawer for each day or label hangers with the names of the weekdays.
11. Organize dolls and action figures in an over-the-door shoe caddy. Get the see-through plastic kind so that all of them are easy to find.
12. Use curtain rods for extra storage. Install them so that your child can reach and use clip shower rings to hang clothes, costumes and toys.
13. Use old planter baskets for outside toy storage. On the side of the sandbox, on the balcony or just about anywhere else, repurposed planter baskets will make great organizing units.
14. Label everything. Go to an office supply store and buy a ton of sticker labels. Use it to label boxes with toys, hangers, food and whatever else you want to keep track of.
15. Buy lots of boxes. Everything is easier to find and put back in its place if it is separated into different sized boxes that serves the purpose of each item. Use clear boxes or labels. Mason jars, flower pots and more can also be used as decorative storage.
16. Add visual aides to help pre-readers stay organized. Print out or draw images on stickers for kids that haven’t learned how to read yet.
17. Create stations for every child. When you enter through the front door, make sure to have an area of the wall with your child’s name, hangers for backpacks and jackets, shoe rack and whatever else you need. In the bathroom, do the same with hangers for towels and cups for toothbrush and toothpaste, hair accessories etc. It will be easier for your child to remember what to do and where to put things if everything is concentrated to one spot.
18. Make a toy car garage out of toilet paper tubes. Who hasn’t stepped on toy cars in the kids’ play area? Make it fun to pick up the cars with a home made toy car garage made out of old toilet paper tubes placed in a box.
19. Turn a bar cart into a craft station. IKEA for example has cheap and useful carts that can easily be rolled out when your kid gets crafty.
20. Display art easily and quickly with clipboards. It’s not always easy to keep up with your kids’ artistic ambitions. Hang clipboards on the wall and attach every new artwork in the front to avoid cluttering the house with papers.