 Toys somehow keep sneaking into your home. The piles keep growing and growing with each passing holiday and birthday party goodie bag! Sometimes, the toys strut right in and demand to live rent-free in your precious little storage space. Your playroom is bursting with toys, yet your kids look disengaged and bored. How is that even possible? Did you know that studies show that too many toys can make kids feel overwhelmed and bored? Fewer toys actually mean more creativity and play. "Enough is enough," you think! But where would you even start creating a simplified and organized playroom? Read ahead for our expert tips on organizing your playroom to enhance fun and creativity. Tip 1: Keep Toys That Spark Creativity The most important step we take as professional organizers in organizing playrooms is decluttering! We work with clients to let go of toys that are broken, outgrown, or that aren't favorites or played with often. You’ll end up with the highest quality toys and items that can spark creativity. Remember, too many toys can be overwhelming. Many toys "entertain" kids with flashing lights and music. While having a couple of these can be useful, they don't allow kids to be independently imaginative. Items like books, art supplies, and toys that enable them to create the narrative are best. A dancing scarf can become a dragon flying through the sky or a blanket to swaddle a baby doll. When decluttering toys, parents often worry their kids will get upset and want something back. A good safety net for this can be to keep items in the garage in bags for a month before donating (without your kids knowing they're there!). That way, if your child gets upset that something is missing, you can get it back from the garage. Although we don't usually encourage holding onto donations (we typically take them to donate for you on the day of your session), we like to make this exception with toys.  Tip 2: Let Your Kids View Their Options We want to keep similar items together when sorting items in a playroom. For example, all stuffed animals, art supplies, puzzles, kitchen play food, and legos are together. Then, keep them visible by storing them in clear bins, open baskets, or displayed on shelves. Seeing items encourages kids to play with the toys, and since we've already decluttered and sorted like items together, there will be minimal toys out to create visual clutter. We love using baskets to store books since they're easier to sort through. You can choose a book, put it away, and grab one book without the whole bookshelf falling off or over.  Tip 3: Rotate Toys to Keep Things Exciting Along with decluttering, consider rotating toys to limit what your kids can access at once. This can be helpful if you have too many favorite toys but don't want them all out simultaneously. Involve your kids when it's time to rotate by letting them know you will have some "new" toys to play with from storage. For example, tell them they can pick out five new toys to play with this week, and the other current toys can have a rest. Store unused toys in the rotation in bins somewhere, like a closet or attic. Set a reminder on your phone to rotate new toys after a couple of weeks so you remember. An even easier solution than having a rotation system: storing toys you don't care to be played with often in cube shelf bins or other closed storage will naturally encourage less play. Then, you can pull out the bins when you'd like them to be played with. This is an easy way to "rotate" toys without much added effort of remembering to actually rotate!  Tip 4: Encourage Your Littles to Get Involved & Help Clean Up
Broad categories with large baskets or toy chests allow quick and easy clean-up. For example, you can use a large toy chest for stuffed animals, a few book baskets, and a smaller basket for all those small toys. This corrals the mess and reduces visual clutter. It also makes it super easy for kids to help clean up. Getting the kids involved can help maintain the organization. Do they have a special spot they want to line up their stuffed animals? Pretend the playroom is a neighborhood, and each toy needs its own special "home" to live in and go back to at the end of each day. Making a little "parking garage" on the floor with painter's tape can be fun so your children can park their mini cars and ride horsies. Increase their motivation by making it a competition with siblings to see who can put their toys away the fastest. Making the process fun will increase the likelihood you're not the only one stuck keeping things in order. Organizing your playroom and dealing with the constant barrage of toys can be overwhelming. We get it! No playroom is going to be perfect. If anything, take this as permission to let go of many of their toys. Remember, it will help their creativity to have less, not hurt it. A simple, easy-to-maintain system will encourage order, creative play, and learning all at once! Your kids can get messy and have a blast and then be able to get things quickly back to square one. We've got your back if you're ready for an expert to create playroom organization systems that simplify your life! Contact us today. See you soon, Sandi
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 Do you find yourself buying items at the grocery store just to come home and be frustrated when you realize you have one, two, or multiple of the same item already shoved in your kitchen pantry? Food is getting PRICEY as it is, so it's annoying to make this common mistake. Pantries can be black holes of duplicate items and items that are expired. When your pantry is organized and labeled, it's much easier to see what you already have. We're sharing 4 tips we use in our clients' homes as professional organizers to help you transform your pantry from a chaotic, cluttered stressor to pristine and clean, and how to keep it that way with maintainable systems. Tip #1: Remove All Items & Review Expiration Dates The first step we take is to empty out your entire pantry. Yes, all of it. We create a staging zone on your dining room table and kitchen counters to lay everything out. Once it's all removed, we give the shelves a good wipe down and vacuum the floor, if necessary, to have a fresh start. We then look at all the expiration and best-by dates and toss what's past its prime. You'd be surprised how many items have gone bad; we've found items that are even 10+ years expired. Like we said, pantries can be a black hole! We'll also check with you and toss anything stale, like chip bags left open by the kiddos or items you bought but aren't ever going to use (if you prefer, you can always donate unexpired items to a food pantry or post them on a buy nothing group on Facebook).  Tip #2: Create Categories & Keep Like Items TogetherNow that we've widdled it down to fresh items you want to keep, we'll sort everything into broad categories that are easy to maintain. We don't need to get super specific and create categories for every little thing. A bin for kids' snacks will be much easier to maintain than separate bins for goldfish, gummies, or crackers. You don't always buy the same items and we want your pantry to stay flexible for your ever-changing family. We'll cater the categories to what works best for you and your family. Some common categories we use are snacks, kids' snacks, pasta, grains, nuts & seeds, baking supplies, breakfast, canned foods, and sauces. Commit to keeping like items together and your pantry is on its way to staying organized long-term.  Tip #3: Select Storage Solutions & Get Ready to Problem Solve We love large bins or baskets that can fit many items for our broad categories. We then label them with either chalkboard sticker labels for plastic bins or bin clips for hyacinth-type baskets. Large turntables work best for items such as sauces and oils and work especially well for pantry corners. Tiered expandable canned shelves are our go-to for canned goods. Using a door rack can create and utilize all space for smaller pantries. We love decanting baking supplies such as flour and sugar into clear containers. These containers can also work for clients who want a more uniform look and are willing to do the upkeep involved. We always like to discuss the decanted option with clients that ask about it since even though it looks great, it does take extra work to maintain and empty food into the containers after a grocery trip. This can be a beautiful option if you purchase similar foods consistently and are willing to put in a little more maintenance (or have us help!). When purchasing supplies, we always buy a good amount more than we will likely need since we do a lot of problem-solving in the moment. We could take exact measurements and make an elaborate plan of exactly what bins will go where, but it would be a waste of time and would end up changing a lot. You just don't know what will work until you're in the space. We overbuy, see what works best once items are decluttered and in the space, then return what we don't use.  Tip #4: Make a Plan to Maintain the Space & Get Your Family InvolvedGrouping and storing like items together makes it easy to put items away after grocery shopping, so the whole family can find what they need quickly and help put food back after they're done. It doesn't have to all land on you to maintain! Kids can get excited about the new system by having snacks where they can reach them. They love to be in control and big helpers. Make a game of helping you put groceries away after you shop and give them a choice from their bin at snack time. Let your spouse know how putting items back in the correctly labeled bin helps you save money by not buying duplicates and helps you know when snacks are getting low so your family always has their favorites on hand. Now that everything is labeled and grouped together, it's much easier to maintain order in your pantry. Keeping it tidy is key. Make sure to take the extra few seconds to put items in the correct spot. It also helps immensely to glance into your pantry when making the grocery list and before shopping to see what you already have. We encourage clients to have a shared groceries note on their phone where each spouse (and older kids) can add something to the list when it's getting low or is out. If you don't want to maintain it yourself or it's just gotten too out of hand, we offer maintenance sessions to bring your pantry back to square one.  Our lives can feel like they revolve around food. We have to eat! With an organized pantry that's easy to maintain, you can take some of that daily stress, buying duplicates, and searching for items away.
Dinners can be made faster, favorite snacks grabbed easier, and grocery lists made in a breeze. Our clients even love to show off their pantries to visitors! It will feel good to have a pantry you're proud of. If you dream of an organized pantry but all of this sounds daunting to do alone, please reach out! We're here, so you don't have to spend an entire weekend looking at expiration dates. No one has time for that (except us, we live for this)! Did you know we also set up pantries with organizing products from day 1 with our unpacking services? Start your new life in your new home with a gorgeous, eye-candy yet functional pantry. Do you want your pantry (and every other room of the home) to stay organized all year long? Sign up for our monthly newsletter and get inspired! Cheers, Sandi  This project was an unpacking and organizing job for a sweet mom and young daughter. They had moved about 1.5 months ago from a 2200 sq ft house to a 1200 sq ft apartment. It was a big change and a stressor for them. It was hard for the mom to focus on unpacking and organizing things, but she wanted it set up soon for her daughter to feel at home again. Plus, the mom needed an organized home to function well. The biggest goal was to get the daughter's bedroom and playroom unpacked. The daughter was sleeping in her mom's room and sharing her closet since there were too many boxes to walk around in her bedroom. The playroom was also packed full of boxes since they had more room in their old home, and it didn't all fit in their new playroom. Our Process & Project LaunchThis was a 6-day project with two organizers, 5 of the 6 days. The space that took the most attention was the playroom. The organizers also worked on the daughter's bedroom, closet, linen closet, mom's bedroom and closet, the garage, parts of the kitchen, gift wrap center, and command center.  Before: Playroom The home had many unpacked boxes that were not in the correct room and items that needed to be purged. One of the first steps was making a whole house pass to quickly find items to donate and put items in their correct room. The client also had bags of donations ready to go that we were able to take and donate for her. Throughout the process, we brought empty cardboard boxes and trash to the apartment trash/recycling center and donations to the local donation center. The playroom had many toys and books. It was tough for the mom to declutter since so much had already changed for her daughter. We coached her through letting go, and she successfully purged 5 boxes of books, among other items. Home Organizing RevealedThe finished product was truly transformational. The playroom can now fit many toys, stuffed animals, and books by utilizing vertical space. Boxes are unpacked, and items are where they belong. There's room to move around, and everything has a home. We transformed this empty entryway into a functional and beautiful command center. We used items around the home as well as some new items such as coat hooks, a shelf with baskets, desk organizing supplies, and a marble dry-erase board. Their new command center allows them to easily find what they need when leaving home and returning, allowing transitions to be more joyous and less stressful.  Before: Command Center  After: Command Center The daughter loved her large stuffed animal collection, but it took up so much room. We needed to utilize the vertical space in the playroom. We installed a fun stuffed animal crate to store her collection, two tall shelving units (and safely secured them to the wall) with added baskets, a craft cart to make art creations, and magnetic boards to display her art and other important papers.  Before: Playroom  After: Playroom The new tall shelf with baskets, a stuffed animal cage, and an art cart use vertical space to allow many items to fit in this playroom. Her existing frozen storage system works well to hold smaller toys like dolls and doll accessories. She has room for all her toys, a play kitchen, a place for her and her friends to sit and do art, and ample floor space.  After: Playroom The daughter can now move, dance, and play around her room. Her new mermaid bedding makes it extra special.
The daughter was so happy with her new playroom, where she could make art, play, and hug her stuffed animals. She is now able to sleep in her own organized and cozy bedroom. The mom feels like she can function again and that this can finally start to feel like their new home. What's Next?Thank you for joining us in this project transformation. We're so happy for this family and wish them the best in their new apartment! Learn more about our Packing & Unpacking Services here.
Tired of clutter but too overwhelmed to get organized? Download our organizing guide to get a good idea of how we'll help you let go of clutter, organize your belongings, or start fresh in your new home. Warmly, Sandi  Clutter is stressful. If your home feels like a mess, you might feel like a mess internally too... not a great feeling. Clutter can make finding what you need difficult. You lose things often and always feel like you're in a rush. You don't want to invite friends over and live in fear that someone will "swing by" and see the state of your home. You know that clutter is taking a toll emotionally, but did you know that clutter is costing you more than just your mental well-being? It's also expensive! Read ahead to see what all that clutter is really costing you. 1. Cost of Re-buying Items You Already HaveYou swear you bought more sunscreen for your kids, but you can't find it anywhere. You decide to just buy another tube at Target. Later, you end up finding that you already had not only one tube from last summer, but you bought a 2-pack last month, as well. Now you have FOUR tubes of sunscreen, and they'll definitely expire before you use them all. When we get you organized, you'll have a home for your kids' sunscreen so you know exactly where to look to see how much you have left and when you actually need to buy more. No more buying duplicates and wasting money on items you'll never have time to use up.  2. Cost of Long-Term Storage RentalsAre you spending money to rent a storage unit for items you don't use or are hoping to sell one day? Months pass, and people often don't even remember what’s inside. How much money (and mental energy) are you wasting by holding on to these items? It can be very freeing to give yourself permission to let it all go, and it will save you a monthly bill!  3. Cost of DelaysDo you have piles of mail that you dread opening or that get lost on your cluttered countertops? When you do open them you're hit with a bunch of bills that now have late fees. These fees can be avoided if you create a system for opening mail and keeping up with it- email included! We love creating systems for clients' mail and decreasing the mail that comes into the house. We work with clients to turn those paper statements and bills into paperless. We help set them to auto-pay so you never miss a payment and don't incur late fees. One possible way to MAKE money by opening your mail: we've had clients find uncashed checks in the mail that have been sitting around for months. These checks can expire, so you want to make sure you're not missing out.  A Better Use of Your Time & MoneyGetting organized frees up time, and time is money. Could you spend that quality time with your kids, spouse, or friends? Could you use that money on experiences that will last a lifetime in the form of memories and photos to look back on, instead of spending it on storage units or duplicate items?
Spending our time with people we love and doing things that bring us joy is what life is all about. Decluttering and organizing your home isn't just about putting things into pretty containers, it's about changing your life for the better. Looking for more professional advice on how to declutter your space? Read our decluttering guide here. If you're looking to bring some orderliness and structure to your daily routine, we can help! Download our organizing guide to get a good idea of how we'll help you let go of clutter, organize your belongings, or start fresh in your new home. Until next time, Sandi  At Hello Simplified, we know that no two clients are alike and that every home and lifestyle has unique challenges. That's why we cater plans unique to each person's end goals. We have some rules we live by, tried and true methods, and on the flip side, we have some advice for what not to do when organizing your home. Read ahead for ten things you should stop doing for an organized home! 1. Making Your Home Pretty but Not Functional.We all want pretty homes - especially entryways that are aesthetically pleasing and make good first impressions. However, when we sacrifice looks for functionality, we are left with a dysfunctional home (and unorganized)! Make sure even beautiful spaces tie in function, such as an entryway table with a bowl for keys, a coat rack next to the door, or even a shoe rack. If you’re going to take your shoes off at the door, no matter how pretty you’re trying to keep the space, put the shoe rack there! It will look better than a pile of shoes in the corner.  2. Organizing Before Decluttering.One thing that won't solve your disorganization problem is buying a bunch of organizing products. That's part of the solution, of course, but in order to organize your space, you need to get to the root cause, which is almost always too much “stuff”. Editing and decluttering your home, then organizing, is the only way to maintain an organizational system successfully. You’ll be able to find the items you actually use and love, vs. always sifting through clutter and searching for those items.  3. Skipping Labels.Organizing your items in bins and packing stuff away is great - until you need to figure out what's what and where is where! Make sure you label your containers and baskets. This is not only important for remembering where stuff goes, but it also keeps you accountable. For example, if you have a bin labeled oil in your pantry, then there is no excuse not to put the oil back in that bin. Labeling also helps keep the rest of your family accountable for helping too. If you’re the only one who knows where everything goes, you’ll be the only one putting it all away. Let others help you maintain the organization you took so long to create!  4. Not Corralling Cords.Even a tidy space can appear undone if there are messy cords. Using a cable box cord organizer is easy and can keep your electronics safe, make maintenance more accessible, and remove the eye sore that a bunch of cords causes! 5. Putting Off Tidying Up Until Tomorrow.Everyone has hectic days and seasons of life that are busier than others. However, we also know that letting a mess go unbothered will result in more of a mess, and eventually, it will become too overwhelming to tackle. Instead of letting things get out of hand, dedicate an hour or two a week to decluttering, tidying up, and putting things back where they belong. Even better if you can do this for a few short minutes daily!  6. Trying to Organize it All in One Day.You know the saying, don't bite off more than you can chew? This applies to home organizing! It can be very overwhelming to organize; the larger the space, the more time you'll need. Make sure you set time aside to do portions of your home, then take a break. If you feel decision fatigue (the deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after a long session of decision-making), then it's time to step away and come back later when you're refreshed. 7. Not Completing Tasks.On the other hand, after you've sorted your items and decided what's happening to each item, complete the mission as soon as possible. This means never keeping bags of clothes for charity or boxes for friends inside your home to deliver later. If possible, do it now and finish the process. Take the trash out, text your friend's photos of the items you think they’ll want, load your car with donation boxes, etc... You've already come so far - don't be bottled down now by donation and trash clutter.  10 bags of client clothing donations. We take donations that day so you don't have to worry about it! 8. Trying to Sell Instead of Donate.We often fall into the trap of, ‘if I love this item it must have a lot of value’. Unfortunately, that’s not usually the case. It’s easier to say we’ll try selling the item later or hold a yard sale, and it goes right back into storage (with the giant task of a yard sale now looming over our heads). Make the decision now; either post the item to sell or let go of the guilt and donate it. It can help to set a limit, such as, if I can realistically sell this item for $50 or more, I will post it. If not, I can let it go. Your time is money. Don’t waste hours setting up a yard sale or posting items online if you’ll only make a few dollars and stress yourself out in the process.  9. Expecting Instagram-Level Results.Who doesn't want a closet that looks like a boutique or a pantry straight out of HGTV? However, the reality is most of us have to organize within the confines of what systems we already have. And that is perfectly okay! Being organized and clutter free is better than perfect.  10. Organizing in an Unattainable Way.If your kids are not going to put their toys away by color - don't organize them like so! Make sure you create systems that make sense for you and your family and how you do daily tasks. This goes for all areas of the home; even if you saw a closet on Pinterest that you want to emulate but know you'll never be able to sustain, don't do it. Find a system and routine that works for you and one you can commit to keeping up with.  Is This All Too Much? Hire a Professional Organizer Instead!Wow, that was a lot of steps to get your home organized. We get it! Taking the time to declutter, sort, and organize every space in your home sounds totally overwhelming. That's where we come in!
We'll coach you through decluttering so it's a breeze and then your team of organizers will do the rest. We'll create systems in your home that are functional and beautiful. Sound too good to be true? It isn't! Read our guide to learn more about how we can help. |
About UsAt Hello Simplified, we specialize in helping clients going through big life changes. We offer home organizing services and packing & unpacking services. Read through for tips on how we help our clients feel less overwhelmed and more in control of their busy lives and homes. Archives
September 2023
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