As a professional organizer, I’m often asked what season is our busiest. While every season has a reason to be busy (i.e. back to school, holiday prep, spring cleaning, etc.), we always see an influx of questions and requests related to upcoming moving and house renovation projects. Last week we kicked off the official first days of summer with a two-week packing/unpacking/organizing project, and we’re looking forward to helping other busy families with moves, renovations, and overall home organization projects over the next several months.

In a couple of weeks my husband and I will be headed on a long trip to pick up the girls from summer camp and go on a family vacation. I’ve been on my fair share of 2- and 3-hour rides, but we’ll be tripling our time spent in the car each way (my husband’s idea) and I’m already playing tetris in my mind thinking about everything that we’ll be bringing (and picking up once we get the girls) and how we’ll get it all to fit.

I’ll admit it: I skipped a lot of spring cleaning this year. Maybe you did too? With my girls heading off to sleepaway camp in a few weeks, I knew that I would be focusing my energy on touching literally every bit of my home and getting it organized (plus, it will serve as a nice distraction from how much I miss them!). My husband is thrilled that with our free time I am going to be organizing our home from top to bottom (ha!) but I reminded him that I am not aiming for perfection with this decluttering yet just trying to make a dent in the things I didn’t get around too during spring cleaning. The summer months are the perfect time to open the windows and tackle the areas that have been on the to-do list.

As soon as Memorial Day hits and the warm weather is constant, our family spends the majority of our free weekend time at the pool. Whether you’re a pool-goer like us or you’re planning a fun trip to the beach this summer, an organized bag is a must-have to corral the essentials. So long are the days where I could just toss in sunglasses, sunscreen, and a good magazine for me and call it a day. If you’re a parent like me you know that we double as pack mules and some days it feels like we’re carrying everything but the kitchen sink in our totes.  

While I can’t necessarily lighten your load, I am here to share with you how I organize my bag so that the essentials are always easy to find and so that I can have everything I need (and some things that I might need) in one spot.

My girls are heading to their first summer of sleepaway camp this year, which has brought a lot of emotions (they’re beyond excited, but Jon and I already miss them!). Once we made the decision that they would be headed out for a month of adventuring and lifelong memory-making, it hit me that there would be a lot to get done to prepare. I’ve packed my kids for plenty of family travel and quick trips, but never for such a long time period, so it was time to get in full-on organizing mode!

When I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, I was given a list of things that I could no longer eat, ingest, apply to my skin, etc.*. To say that I was overwhelmed would be a vast understatement, as the list was not only extremely long, but also included a lot of ingredients that I wasn’t familiar with. After further research, I realized that the ingredients that were found in my shampoo, lotions, storage containers, down to the type of cotton balls I use were no longer safe for me to use. Around the same time of my diagnosis, I saw an ad on Instagram for Brandless. Have you heard of the company?

I remember years ago during one of the first days of summer after my girls had started elementary school I heard the dreaded words: “I’m bored”.

As adults, it’s common to walk into our closet and complain that we have “nothing to wear”. I’ve been there, my clients have been there, and chances are you’ve been there on a regular basis as well.

See, for kids, their version of our closet complaints is oftentimes their play space. So many options, but for (what seems like) the majority of the time nothing seems appealing. More than likely, there are dozens of toy options at their disposal and yet as parents we hear the dreaded “I’m bored!” more often than we would like. It can be frustrating to stare at a room full of puzzles, board games, dolls, legos, and more, and  think about how they can’t find something to do, but it’s possible that it’s not what the options are but how they are being stored. Yes, believe it or not organization–or lack thereof–could be the culprit behind your kid’s boredom.

Is it just me or does it feel like I was just talking about back to school organization? How are we only one month away from another school year coming to a close! I’m probably a broken record at this point, but where does the time go? Before I know it my girls will be packing up and heading off to camp for the summer (don’t worry, packing lists and prep on that topic are going to be on the blog soon enough), but I’m trying my best to stay focused on the now. I know that once summer comes that means farewell to our school routines, after school activity drop-offs, and evening quizzes of spelling words that I can barely pronounce!

Have you ever felt that your home’s square footage–or lack thereof–was keeping you from getting organized? While I can’t help to change the footprint of your home, there are many ways that design and organization can help to maximize the usable (and visual) space in your home. Take a peek at the tips below and let me know which design and organizing hacks you are going to use to transform your small space. I promise you that even the smallest hacks can be life changing and change the way that you live and operate in your small space.

I remember years ago when I hosted my first yard sale. The neighborhood was hosting a big event where you can go between driveways to shop, making it the perfect opportunity to clear your home of unwanted items once and for all. My girls were excited and ready, because with yard sales meant a lot of fun, like lemonade stands, learning about money, earning money, and finding new homes for old things. I had organized all of our items into boxes, did an insane amount of decluttering (okay, a little more than usual), and what happened? It rained.