A lot of my organizing tips are specific to an area of the home (like the kitchen, playroom, or under the sink), but there is a common area that we are all touching on an everyday basis: our email inboxes! While this area of your life doesn’t fill up with the same type of clutter that you see around your home, the impact of the disorganization in this area can be just as frustrating and difficult to navigate and honestly one of the most difficult areas to organize.

To be completely honest, garages are one of the most difficult areas for us to get excited about. We are less concerned with making the space “pretty” with products that tie into the home’s aesthetic and more focused on figuring out how to make the pieces of the puzzle fit together in a way that makes it both visible and possible to access, which can sometimes be tricky in such a tight space. Here are our 6 tips for how to get started, what to consider, and how to make the most of your space to create a functional garage.

Like many families are currently experiencing, the beginning of summer signals the end of the school year and with that comes the beginning of a schedule (or lack thereof) that is far from our typical September-June routine that we’ve nailed down over the years. Despite all of the chaos and excitement from the last couple of weeks, I want to get back on track so that I can enjoy summer (which officially started yesterday) and I am already feeling behind in my Type-A mind. Here are some tips to help your summer be a little more organized. Things like making a plan, organizing to-dos and keeping lists around the house will make a world of a difference for you.

Closets are area that for many seems to be too big of a beast to tackle for many reasons. With kids, it’s inevitable that systems will never be perfect. In order to create a system that will be successful for you and your family it is important to think about your needs, identify how you and your children use the space, and figure out what you want for it to look like. Here are some of the tried-and-true tips that I incorporate into my client’s homes and that would work in any tight space, from dorm rooms and studio apartments to older homes with teeny storage spaces.

When I walk into an awkwardly-shaped room or tiny closet that I know is not functioning best for the client I am forced to get creative with the existing space (especially if it is not an option or within budget to change the layout of the space). So, I maximize the area that is available. Here are some of the tried-and-true tips that I incorporate into my client’s homes and that would work in any tight space from dorm rooms and studio apartments to older homes with teeny storage spaces. Choosing quality over quantity, investing in double-duty pieces, adding color and texture pieces are all key in getting the most out of your small space.

Packing is not a fun task, but–similar to organizing–when you create a system to help get the job done you are not only going to cut down on the time it takes to get ready for a trip, but you’ll also spare yourself the stress, second-guessing, and overstuffing that is commonly associated with it.  Creating a packing list, planning outfits in advance, and preparing for just-in-case moments will make your travel experience go a lot smoother.

You have invested time and money into your home and it ideally should be the place where you love to spend time and not a home where you find yourself avoiding areas just to stay sane. So, what can be done? Is it actually possible to fall back in love with your home? Some of my tips to clients include coming up with a strategic plan, us the products that you love to help organize and work from there. As you go through your home and identify problem areas and work through solutions, you may find that you have a bunch of stuff that you no longer like, need, or want. You may feel wasteful just giving it all away, but remember that there are so many ways for others to use items that are in decent condition. Plus, the positive feeling from giving back may make the whole process even better for you.

As the mother of two 9 year old twin girls I have quickly learned how hard it is to keep track of all these small moments but I have also learned how important it is to hold onto first art projects and old pictures. My family likes to use Savor, a company that creates beautiful keepsake boxes to curate the items that we want to preserve. We love that The Library: School Years Keepsake Box includes a Birthday Survey–an easy way to track and look back on changes from last year. For kids, each year can feel like a lifetime and it’s easy for them to forget what happened when they were younger.

In this time of Thanksgiving, I want to thank you for supporting Rachel and Company.  Whether you are a current client, past client, potential client, newsletter subscriber, have purchased our DIY product, Organized in a Box, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.