Keeping Your Home Organized with Kids — Is It Possible?

I don’t know if I’m on a spring cleaning kick or what, but getting organized has been on my mind lately. Ever since I wrote some articles years ago on feng shui — the Chinese art of creating a harmonious environment — I’ve noticed that I feel happier and more peaceful in attractive, orderly surroundings.

Too bad my family could care less about being organized. I mean, what’s the point of having a coat rack, a shoe cubby, key hooks, and a change jar if everything gets dumped in a big pile the second everyone walks in the door? Work with me, people!

Everyone knows that once you have kids, you accumulate a lot of stuff. The baby gear, the diapers, the toys, the clothes… the list goes on and on. Then you’ve got to find places to store all that stuff. Somehow in my house, it seems to multiply overnight. I now have an entire kitchen drawer dedicated to cup and bottle parts. Matching them all up is another story.

I don’t need my home to be as Zen and minimalist as a magazine layout. As long as I have messy kids and a busy life, that will never happen. I’m fine with having a pile of mail on the counter, a stack of books on the table, and a basket of dirty clothes in the corner. And I do love those fabric bins. At one point I tried to keep my kids’ stuffed animals in one bin, toy cars in another, and blocks in another. But since no one will work with me, usually everything’s all jumbled up together. But I don’t care as long as it’s off the floor and out of sight.

The important thing is being able to find something when you need it, right? I may not be the neatest person in the world, I may not have clear systems for everything, but I can usually tell you where something is. The extension cords? They’re in the pantry next to the disposable placemats and flavored drink mix that no one likes. What? Makes sense to me.

I could probably come up with a better way to organize my home, but I’m too busy doing other things. Like putting everybody else’s stuff back where it belongs.

How do you stay organized with kids?