When I decided to get my home organized, I was not a Professional Home Organizer at the time. I was a normal homeowner, just like you – who was tired of looking at clutter and feeling the stress it caused me.

I’m actually a pretty tidy person, but there are certain areas of my home that multiple people access daily. And those areas would get messy and really got on my nerves. Straighten up the areas only to get messy again – a never-ending cycle. Until I was at Costco (read more in the About Me section of my website) and there it was – a four-piece fridge organizing set, I never knew I needed. 

The fridge is one of those areas my family is constantly in. Things get moved and pushed around. You have to take out multiple things to get to the one thing you need in the very back. Or it falls off the back ledge to its death. It’s only found when you dedicate the time to pull out the bottom drawers and clean the fridge.

Knowing four fridge bins wasn’t going to be enough. I wondered, should I go back to Costco for another set or shop around? I ended up at my favorite store, HomeGoods. Which led to so many trips to HomeGoods, that I really don’t want to think about.

What I Learned During the Organizing Process

In the areas where my family accessed daily, clear bins were going to be the key in the fridge and pantry. No more digging around on shelves or forgetting we had something and overbuying. Pulling out a bin is less frustrating and time-consuming than digging on a shelf.

It made sense for me to group items in like order. So for the pantry – all the baking, dinner, breakfast, snacks, and wellness items got categorized and placed in bins. I bought separate containers for the flour, sugar, grains, and cereal.

The pantry was done or so I thought. I didn’t label the bins because in my mind it was self-explanatory. What went in them was based on what was already there. However, my family didn’t get my mental memo. 

To them, it was a bin to place anything in. So I spent time feeling frustrated because why could they not get this new system? After having multiple conversations and explaining “this is the breakfast bin, only put breakfast items in it” they still messed it up. So I called on the labeling forces and labeled all the bins. I did have to point out they were now labeled. After that – the system was and is a huge success.

Investing In The Right Organizing Bins

Remember when I said HomeGoods was my store? It still is for some things. But, during the time I was organizing my house, I saw the first season of Get Organized on Netflix. I learned about The Home Edit and their new bin line in that series.

It’s safe to say my life changed at that moment. It was exciting to watch and learn I had naturally organized my house by categorizing and containing like-items together that made sense for our family. However, I started feeling the need to redo my pantry with The Home Edit’s bins, but dare I step into The Container Store? Would I have to take out a loan?

What I learned is the right bins are an investment for your sanity. While The Home Edit bins are way more expensive than bins at HomeGoods, it made a huge difference in how items were stored in my pantry.

The Home Edit All-Purpose Divided Bins fit my pantry shelves so nicely. Their baby bins make life easier when containing bars, drink mixes, or wrapped candy. 

Organizing my fridge and pantry became so contagious that I couldn’t stop until my whole house was organized! The HomeGoods bins were repurposed for other areas in my home, so none were wasted. As each area of my home got organized, I felt the immediate relief of stress! My new organized spaces were so calming!

How I Stay Organized

Since I used bins from the very beginning and eventually labeled them – this alone cut down on the time it took to maintain these areas. But life does happen and can get crazy. Or maybe you go a little wild at the grocery store when things are on sale.

First, it’s important to understand your home is in need of regular maintenance. I love going into my pantry and evaluating each bin to see what needs a quick tidying up. It literally takes seconds.

Next, did my family overload the bins instead of utilizing the overflow or backstock bins? That’s a quick move too.

But even if life goes sideways and no maintenance happens for a while, the system is there and will be easy to get organized again.

Also, I found creating zones in your home IS A MUST. Every home has a drop zone for mail, keys, shoes, etc. So how can you make these zones not look cluttered?

For us, we have a hook for keys and a shoe rack by the door. Mail gets dealt with immediately when it comes through the door – bills go to my office in a contained space and the rest goes to recycling.

These are habits we have set as a family.  Creating better habits is the key to successfully maintaining your home.

Becoming a Professional Home Organizer

Like I have said before, getting my own home organized led to becoming a Professional Home Organizer in the Austin, TX area. Organizing brings me so much joy and I could not ignore my heart’s calling. Over the past year, I’ve helped so many clients get their homes organized and functional too. What a privilege it is to help others reduce daily stress and live better in their homes!