Pro Tips: Home and office organization for busy moms

I will never be the next Marie Kondo. There. I said it.

She’s as organized as they come – and it’s incredible to watch how she helps transform spaces. Between the amazing before and after images, the transformative way of thinking about clutter, and the storylines that impact outcomes, it’s easy to get lost – even obsessed – over how organization can affect how our homes look, how our office space serves us, and how our families function. Maintaining order within our homes and offices certainly has many benefits.

Unfortunately, it’s a skillset that doesn’t come naturally to some of us (ummm…hi, my name is Stephanie). In fact, shows like Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and Get Organized with The Home Edit command my attention – not because I’m obsessed by their processes or have any intention of incorporating their principles in my home, but because I’m fascinated that people like that exist! Everything is color coded, alphabetized, folded and sorted. I mean, they fold their underwear, y’all!

I’ve come to terms that my home will never look completely tidy. It’s the place where we experience life and raise a couple of feral kids who can’t figure out how to put items back where they belong. Our spaces are “lived in” – which means they’re more cozy than clean most days. Despite my own shortcomings, I believe there is true value in creating organizational systems that help busy moms relieve stress, increase productivity and develop peace of mind.

Since I myself have a lot to learn in that space, I asked local professional organizers for their best kept secrets when it comes to keeping house – and office – in order. Here’s what they had to say:

“Keep a donation basket or bin in your closet,” shares Lisa Menees, creator of SOS by Lisa. “When you try something on and don’t like the look of it, put it directly in the basket rather than hanging it back up. This way, you won’t waste valuable space on something you don’t like.”

Sarah Valeri, founder of Hello Clutter, believes everyone should start the organization process by decluttering. She suggests creating “keep,” “toss” and “donate” categories and encourages paper purging along the way.

“Gather papers and categorize them,” says Valeri. “Allow yourself throw away old receipts, and trash any junk mail. Important papers that need to be kept but have no current action item should be filed.”

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Amie Garcia, the owner of Sorted, had similar thoughts about paper and said paper should be filed upright, not stacked flat.

“Go through your mail immediately,” says Garcia. “Try to throw away and sort mail as you open it. Place anything of importance in an area where you will address it. For example, open the bill and set it by your computer, or tackle it immediately and move on. Dealing with the mail in the moment takes less than 10 minutes.”

When it comes to home offices, Garcia also shared these tips:

These are such actionable tips for someone like me, and I hope they are for you, too. While my unmentionables will absolutely remain jumbled, and my photos from 2007 are most definitely still crammed in a shoebox somewhere, I’m on a mission to implement at least a few of these tips in my own home. I’m also reminding myself that Marie Kondo has her skillset, I have mine, and we’re both doing the best we can with what we have.