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.

Organizing can be seem overwhelming for a host of reasons like lack of time, not knowing where to start and when you throw children into the equation, I know that it might sound and seem impossible. You’ve probably heard me say it before, but I stand by the belief that homes do not (and very likely will not) always be neat, but they can always be organized. And, organization with kids is possible. Here are some tips on how to organize everything kid related, from Toys and Food to Homework and Art.

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.

We’re kicking off December with our first ever organizing gift guide! We know that there are a ton of gift guides floating around online during this time of year, so we made sure to carefully select products that: (1) we know you’ll love; (2) are on the practical side; (3) aim to tame the clutter in the recipient’s life, not add to the clutter. Whether you’re shopping for a picky teenager or want to pick something special up for yourself, we hope that our list helps you find just what you’re looking for.

I recently partnered with Gilt City DC and right now and Organized in a Box (OIAB), my home organizing DIY toolkit, is on MAJOR sale! I am so excited for all of you and for the first time (and probably the last), OIAB is 44% off and OIAB MINI is 40% off. But why purchase OIAB now? Besides the fact that OIAB is on sale (and who doesn’t love a sale?!), I know a lot of you have been thinking about getting better organized with the holidays coming and/or need a really thoughtful gift to give someone that doesn’t end up as clutter but actually helps prevent it.