Listen below for the entire episode on The Systemize Your Life Podcast

How to Stay Organized – the 12 Essential Items to Have an Organized Home

Here’s the thing. Not only do I think you should implement these 12 items at your home, but I am also currently using them at my home to keep me super organized. There are a lot of things to juggle as a work from home mom. You need to spend time with your kids, support your spouse, cook and clean. You also need to maintain a great social life with your friends. And on top of it all, You might also be running a business. You need to be insanely organized to not chase my tails, putting out fire, and breaking down by the end of the day. By using these 12 essential items at your home, you can always keep yourself organized as a work from home mom.

The 12 Must-Have Items to Stay Organized

What’s best about these 12 items is that you can either buy them in store or DIY them depending on your budget. You can DIY most of these things. You can find the materials from a wide range of places, from the dollar store, Walmart, Target, to the container stores. No matter what your budget is or how much time you have, I promise there are a few things you can take away today. So what do you say? Scroll down to find them out!

Organization Item # 1 – Paper Planner 

First and foremost, you need to have a paper planner. The rest of the 12 items are not in any prioritized order, but this is number 1. Paper planner is the foundation of everything that I teach and everything I do in my all life to keep me organized. Obviously, I am a big fan of the Horacio planners. You can check them out on the official website of Horacio Printing. If you want to see examples of how to use the planner most efficiently, I invite you to check out my Facebook community. I encourage you to do yourself a favor and get a paper planner as your first step to becoming more organized as a work from home mom. 

How to Stay Organized Item # 2 – Under the Sink Pull-Out Drawers

Under the sink areas are always one of those underlooked regions. I’ve struggled for so many years to find out the best way to organize those areas. I’ve tried boxes, bins, all other containers and none of them really satisfied me until I discovered under the sink pull-out drawers. I became so obsessed with those and never went back.

There are many under the sink pull-out drawers on the market. You do not need something that’s super fancy or complicated. You can use the type that does not require a screwdriver. Those freestanding ones you can easily slide into any type of sink you have. And by sinks, I am referring to every single sink you have at your home (e.g., kitchen sink, bathroom sink, etc).

Organization Item # 3 – Drawer dividers

The third item to keep you organized as a work from home mom is drawer dividers. EVERY KIND OF THEM. Anywhere that you have a drawer, it should have a divider in it. For example, my girl’s dresser has dividers in it to keep their clothes up. So if she goes through all the pants, her t-shirts won’t start to fall over. This tip works even better if you have a massive closet. 

How to Stay Organized – DIY Your Own Drawer Dividers

One of the best parts about this item is that you can DIY your dividers. For the longest time, and even still, in my girl’s bedroom, I just used cardboard. But you can also use old cereal boxes or Amazon boxes to achieve the same effect. You can cut it to any size you want. I literally have one of these in one of my refrigerator drawers.

I cut in half so my refrigerated protein bars would stand up right without falling over. In order to hold them up, I use duct tape. Sometimes for aesthetic purposes, I use book tape or packing tape because they’re clear. You don’t see them at all and they works so well! You just tape both sides at both ends. And it just stays there, for eternity. It’s so magical. You should definitely start doing that!

Where Can I Buy Them?

You can buy them from many different places. Ikea is my favorite place to get them. They have dividers for pots and pants, and literally everything. It doesn’t matter what you need going on over there, you can find a drawer divider to fit. It can be like a puzzle when you have to get the dividers in your drawer. But I assure you, it will work. There are also individual ones on the market. It’s like a rectangle where you can just piece them together. Go have fun, it’s a blast! 

Organization Item # 4 – Labels

The fourth items you need to keep organzied as a work from home mom is to label things. I label a lot of my items. My kid’s clothing drawers are labeled. And literally everything else is labeled around my home. The labels don’t need to be in text, you can also use illustrations or pictures as the labels.

Labeling Helps to Implement New Systems in Your Life

I always use labeling as an aid to implement a new system until it becomes a second nature to me. Back when I started, masking tape was really cool. Because if I made a mistake or I changed my mind and wanted to tape somewhere else, I could just simply peel them off. Additionally, labeling helps other people know where the things should go, so they can have autonomy when putting things away.

How to Stay Organized Item # 5 – Risers in Your Pantry

Whenever you have a really deep shelf, You should definitely have risers in there to utilize all the space. Most of the time, I find attaching risers is most applicable inside your pantry. These risers are really great for your spices and cans. Sometimes, my pantry is too deep that I can fit four of my spices all the way to the back, and I need a riser to actually see it.

So anytime you are stacking things behind themselves or beside each other, you definitely want to have a riser for a better view. Since we are on the topic of risers, a neat thing I’ve seen people do is to have a lazy susan in the corner of your pantry. This works really great with super deep pantries but not so beneficial with shallow shelves. 

Organization Item #6 – Clear Bins in Your Fridge

Essential item number 6 to keep you organized as a work from home mom are clear bins in your fridge. You can use bins in your fridge to organize all of your food and vegetables. I actually just used regular bins before. But once I started using those clear bins, I realized that it’s a life changer! Those clear bins will help you a lot with organization inside your fridge. You can see all the fruits, food, and veggies in your fridge very clearly. So, try putting clear bins in your fridge. You will love me and thank me for that!

Organization Item #7 – How to Stay Organized – A Dry Erase Board 

Say no more. You must have a dry erase board for effective communication with your family. I got mine a long time ago. It’s made of glass and has a map behind it, kind of like a picture frame. It’s not massive at all. In fact, you should start out with something small to get used to it. You don’t need something super fancy and complicated. It can be very plain. But you definitely want something like a dry erase board for all the communication happening at home.

Organization Item # 8 – A Small File Box

The eighth item to keep you organized as a stay at home mom is a small file box. You might wonder,“What exactly is a file box?”. It’s a file cabinet but in a box form. It has two holes on the sides and a lid that pops on and off. It also has a metal hanger for folders. Target has beautiful file boxes with the cutest hanging file folders I’ve ever seen. If you don’t need the whole box, you can just get the accordion folder that opens up. But I would suggest getting the whole box because it’s really not pricey.

Organization Item # 9 – Purse Dividers

This is one of my favorite items! It was a game changer after I started using this hack to organize my purse. In my life, I am constantly going to different events. I go on dates, work out, attend church, and go out and about. Consequently, I am going between my gym bags, work bags, and casual bags all the time. And this is when I started to use purse dividers. You can go on Amazon to find the super cool ones, but I will also teach you how to DIY your own.

How Do I DIY My Own Purse Dividers?

Instead of everything in my purse, I have three individual pockets made from zippered bags.

1. A big bag (i.e., a make up bag size)
2. A medium bag (i.e., a pencil bag size)
3. A small bag

I take out the three bags depending on what I am going to do. The big bag is usually for my work bag. It will include airpods, pins, screen cloth, chap sticks and everything else. The medium bag is for my kids. I usually put some snacks, tiny coloring pad, pencils and markers in them. And the small bag is just for my personal things.

Item # 10 to Stay Organized – A Simple Office Desk

As a work from home mom, I have to get super organized at home. The bigger and more compartments in my desk, the more overwhelming and less creative I get. So the tenth essential item I recommend you to have is a simple office desk. My desk is not a complicated one. It only has one small drawer that’s big enough to put my pens, notepads, highlighters in there. Except these stationary items, there’s literally nothing there and there isn’t a need for that. I can work so efficiently with my simple office desk and I encourage you to simplify your workspace as well. 

“A simplified workspace allows for efficiency and creativity to thrive.”

Item # 11 – A Cleaning Caddy

The eleventh item to keep you organized as a work from home mom is a cleaning caddy. I’m guessing there are lots of cleaning materials and supplies at your home just like me. I found that having a cleaning caddy that I can put all my supplies in it’s a game changer. I always know where my cleaning materials are whenever I want to use them. It’s definitely an item I cannot live without now.

Item # 12 – Bucket Bins and Baskets

Last but certainly not least, bucket bins and baskets. Walmart, Target and dollar store all have great ones that you can buy. Make sure you are buying the ones that you are really drawn to and really fun for you to use, because you are more likely to use them.

You will be more likely to put the blanket in it or put your children’s toys in, just to name a few scenarios. Pay attention to those details and inner emotions when buying those, ask yourself if this bin/basket brings you joy or not. Choosing a bin or basket you like also makes me really encouraged as I am picking up behind my children all day everyday. I know it’s just simply a basket. But it has helped me to feel very excited to help both myself and others organize when at times there are too many things to do and I feel like I am losing the battle.

An Organized Home is Possible

I understand as a work from home mom there are many things to tackle. You need to take care of your children, support your spouse, maintain a social life and sometimes run a business. I’ve been there and I know that you need to keep yourself organized so you don’t feel like you are losing the battle. As I was juggling through everything, I’ve learned that having these 12 things that I discussed today really helped me to be super efficient and organized as a work from home mom. What’s even better about these 12 items is that you can either buy them in store or DIY them. So, let me just summarize these 12 items one last time. 

1. A paper planner 
2. Under the sink pull-out drawers
3. Drawer dividers
4. Labels 
5. Risers in your pantry
6. Clear bins in your fridge 
7. A dry erase board
8. A small file box 
9. Purse dividers
10. A simple office desk
11. A Cleaning caddy
12. Bucket bins and baskets

I hope you find this list of 12 simple things you can use to tackle everything in your own home. I look forward to meeting you here real soon. You got this mama!

Looking for a Community to Learn More Tips For Work At Home Moms?

Are you looking for a community to learn more tips for work at home moms? Come join our FREE Facebook community. Want to systemize all aspects of your busy life? I invite you to join my Systemize Your Life Academy. You will learn how to live systematically in only four weeks. You can join as a DIY student or a VIP student, where you will also be part of the student community. I can’t wait to see you there!