Organizing Your Move: Tips for a Smooth Transition

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Who gets excited to pack up their home for a move? Yeah, we didn’t think so. We can all agree moving is not the most fun thing to do. It’s a big job that requires a lot of time and work. There are ways to reduce the stress of planning and executing your move. We are sharing our tips to help make your move as smooth as possible!

Prep for Your Move

Before you start gathering the moving boxes and packing up, it will be very helpful for you to develop a plan. This will not only help with the packing process, but will prove invaluable when you and all your things reach your new destination and the unpacking begins.

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  • Create a moving folder to house all the documents related to your move in one, easy to access place. Remember, it’s about to get a little wild in your house.
  • Create a moving checklist with a timeline with all the important dates and tasks related to your move. This will help you stay on task and not forget anything important, like changing your address or activating your utilities.

5 Tips to Declutter for Your Move

As you have likely figured out decluttering is a HUGE first step in all things pro-organizing. When it comes to moving, it may be one of the most important steps. Decluttering before your move will help you start fresh in your new space with only the things you actually need and want. This can be particularly important if you are downsizing. You will want to start this piece of the process early to give yourself enough time to do it properly without feeling rushed.

  • Use a room by room approach
  • Sort items into the keep, donate/sell & trash categories
  • Consider the one year rule – if you haven’t used or worn something in a year, let it go
  • Consider the size of your new home when deciding what to keep
  • Digitize your paperwork & photos – you will have less clutter and a digital backup should anything get lost

Tips for Organized Packing & Unpacking

Finally, we are ready to start packing! Our rooms are completely decluttered and we are only packing our items we truly use and need. To help you stay organized during this process, we have outlined a step by step approach. We will use the same room by room approach that worked so well when we were decluttering.

  1. For each room, clearly label each box with it’s contents and the room it belongs in.
  2. You can use a color coded system as well. Give each room in your new home a color and use labels & tape with the corresponding color to mark each box. Direct movers to the carefully labeled boxes to ensure everything ends up in the correct room upon arrival.
  3. Pack your most infrequently used items first & keep your everyday items separate to be packed last and placed in your personal vehicle for quick retrieval on day 1.
  4. Don’t forget to plan for a smooth move for your pets too! Be sure to have their food & treats as well as a collar with your contact information. Place them out of the way of the movers so you won’t have any escape artists.
  5. Take inventory of your items and snap a photo of any valuables just in case anything gets lost or broken.
  6. Use removable labels for handling instructions for electronics & furniture if you are using a moving service.
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The more decluttered and organized your are as you prep and pack up your current home, the less stressful the unpacking process will be.

Moving is a big job! If you don’t want to do it alone, we can help! Check out our Packing & Unpacking services.

How to Maintain an Organized Space

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Have you had your home professionally organized? You may be wondering, “How do I keep this magic alive?” During your organization session, you likely had systems implemented to keep the space in good shape. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, spaces become cluttered and disorganized over time. The reality is we actually live in our homes and use all our things, right? Maintaining the organized space will require an ongoing effort and a commitment to the cause. So how do we do that?

5 Ways to Maintain Your Organized Space

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  1. Create a Routine
    • Establish a regular, consistent time to revisit and refresh the space. Some spaces, like your kitchen & pantry, may require daily attention.
  2. Designated Homes
    • Return items in your home to their proper places after each use.
  3. Declutter Regularly
    • Set aside time as needed to consistently declutter your spaces. This can be monthly or even seasonally.
  4. One In, One Out
    • For every new item that comes in, one must go out. Putting this rule into practice will help prevent clutter so you can spend less time decluttering. This is also the difference between getting organized and staying organized
  5. Review and Adjust
    • Life is ever changing so be flexible. Allow room for adjustments of your organizing systems needed.

– Pro-Tip from Organized Jill –

I like to “put the kitchen to bed” every day. In the evening, I make sure the dishwasher is loaded, the sinks are emptied and sanitized, the countertops are wiped clean, and any trash is disposed of. Having a clean slate to start the next morning fresh has such a calming effect.

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Existing in an organized home environment is essential for productivity, mental clarity, and overall well-being. If you establish good habits and incorporate good strategies, you can be successful at maintaining your space. Stay focused on your goals and celebrate your progress along the way.

If you need a hand maintaining your organized space, we’re here to help! 
Are you local to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and surrounding areas?
Contact Organized Jill for a complimentary consultation.

The Power of Decluttering

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We live in a time and in a world overrun with stuff. We all have too many things. Clutter doesn’t just fill up our homes, it fills up our minds as well. It is hard to peacefully exist in a space where there is no room to move or think. 

Sometimes the clutter in our homes gets out of hand and ahead of us before we even realize what is happening. This can lead to a feeling of overwhelm and uncertainly of how to regain control of the situation. Learning how to begin the process of decluttering and learning how to let things go can be difficult to do. There are often sentimental attachments to many of our things. While the process may be difficult, the end results payoff. 

8 Mental & Emotional Benefits of Reducing the Clutter

Reduces Stress

Reducing your clutter will alleviate the stress and overwhelm you feel, changing to a sense of order and control.

Creates Order

Eliminating the visual chaos in your home will decrease the feeling of being surrounded by disorder and create a feeling of calmness

Improves Focus

A clutter free environment leads to fewer distractions allowing you to concentrate on the task at hand.

Increases Productivity

Streamlining your environment will reduce procrastination and you will spend less wasted time searching for things.

Enhances Mood

Living in clutter free space will make you feel better overall and improve your mental well-being.

Promotes Mindfulness

Assessing and taking stock of your belongings will create a greater sense of awareness that will likely extend to other areas of your life.

Encourages Letting Go

Letting go of physical clutter can help you learn to let go of emotional baggage or clutter as well.

Improves Relationships

A warm, welcoming space will be something your are pleased to share with others making hosting guests more enjoyable.

Decluttering your home isn’t just about getting rid of your stuff. Improving your mental and emotional clarity by improving your physical space will help you feel happier and more fulfilled in life.

If you don’t know where to start, working with a professional organizer may be a good solution for you. A professional organizer can remove the overwhelm and help guide you through the process. Sometimes the best first step is asking for help.

If you need a hand with your decluttering journey, we’re here to help! Are you local to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and surrounding areas? Contact Organized Jill for a complimentary consultation.

Why Hire a Professional Organizer?

Does it feel like you are in a constant state of clutter? If you find that you are overwhelmed with the amount of stuff in your home, it may be time to consider working with a Professional Home Organizer. Professional organizing is a service provided by individuals who use their talents and skills to transform clutter into organized, useful spaces for your home and your family.

Quote from Jill Moore owner of Organized Jill, a professional home organization company serving Winston-Salem, North Carolina and surrounding areas.

A professional organizer can assist you with tackling the job of decluttering and organizing the spaces in their home. They are skilled at optimizing your spaces and creating more functionality in places like your closets and pantries. They can assist you with sorting through all your “stuff” like clothing, toys, collections and everything in between. The end result is a tidy, organized and functional space you may not even recognize was hiding under all that mess.

Five Benefits of Working With a Professional Organizer

  1. Professional organizers have the expertise and experience to efficiently declutter and organize your spaces. They can implement effective organizing techniques and storage solutions. Additionally, their approach is tailored to your specific needs and preferences.
  2. A professional organizer brings an objective perspective to the process. They have no emotional or sentimental attachment to your things. This allows them to guide you in making decisions on what to keep and what to let go of. This can be a tough process made easier with the help of a professional.
  3. Working with a professional organizer can be a big time saver for you. While it may seem feasible to tackle organizing projects on your own, the process can be time-consuming and overwhelming. A professional organizer can streamline the process as they know how to prioritize tasks and work efficiently to help you achieve your goals.
  4. Working with a professional organizer will provide you with accountability and motivation to keep focused through the process of decluttering and organizing. They will offer guidance and encouragement to help keep you on track, and ensure that you achieve your organizing goals.  
  5. The long term benefits of working with a professional organizer can be very impactful. Your organizer will optimize your space, maximize storage and create systems that are easy to maintain in the long run. Once the work is complete and your space is decluttered and organized, you’ll likely experience increased productivity and overall well-being.

Pro-Tip from Organized Jill

When searching for a home organizer, check to see if they are professionally trained or certified. Jill Moore, owner of Organized Jill Professional Home Organization in Winston-Salem, advises that training and education is advisable for this industry.

A professional organizer will be well worth the investment, both for your home and you. You will likely find that you can breathe easier in your organized, efficient and stress free environment. You deserve to enjoy the time you spend in your home!

If you need help with your decluttering journey, we’re here to help! Are you local to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and surrounding areas? Contact Organized Jill for a complimentary consultation.

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A House is like a Garden

With the spring planting season soon upon us, you’ve no doubt spent some time outside preparing your flower beds and gardens: removing leaves, clearing out fallen branches, and pulling weeds. But just as our plants need an ordered space to thrive, so too do we as people need an organized home. After all, a house is like a garden.

Spring offers the opportunity to not only clean your cottage, but a chance to clear your clutter. Sometimes it can be difficult to identify where that clutter is. Take for instance the junk drawer.
Somewhere along the line, we collectively decided that all kitchens should have what is affectionately referred to as the “junk drawer”. But why do we insist on keeping items that we’ve deemed as “junk”? Why not use the space productively to store items that we need to have within convenient reach? Do the kids like to color in the kitchen?

You can easily turn the junk drawer into a small art supply space for crayons and markers with a few simple organizers. Now, expand that concept beyond the junk drawer. What other spaces in your home could serve a better purpose instead of being filled with items we don’t care for or need.
Throw out the rules when it comes to what should live where and instead set up your home in a way
that works for you and your family. Reduce the distance from the storage area of an item to the usage
area for the item. For example, one of my clients exits her home on a daily basis through the basement
out to the garage. Everyday, she was carrying her shoes up two flights of stairs to be stored in her
bedroom closet just to bring the same pair of shoes back down the two flights of stairs the next day to
head back out to her office. By relocating her shoe storage system to a freshly decluttered closet in the
basement, she reduced the amount of time spent each day moving the shoes up and down throughout
the house. A conveniently placed hook nearby the shoe storage created a simple “drop zone” for her
purse and jacket.
So how can you get started today? Think about the amount of time spent each day looking for an item,
how many items have to be moved out of the way to access the one item in need, and how many of
those moved items you can probably live without. Imagine how easy it would be to flow throughout your
home if it was simplified and decluttered.
One tip that I share with my clients is to start small. For instance, instead of decluttering the entire
bathroom, declutter the shower. Remove empty product bottles, dull razors, unraveling loofahs, old
toothbrushes, and forgotten bath toys. Making a big impact on a small area can often inspire you to
continue the decluttering process.
If you’re not sure where to begin, or how to go about the sorting, decluttering, and organizing process,
or need an extra pair of hands and a fresh perspective, a professional home organizer can be an
invaluable investment that will pay dividends for years to come as you enjoy a soothing, simplified space.
I hope your spring will be a wonderful time spent enjoying your home, and your garden, without the
stress of weeds and clutter.

If you need help with your decluttering journey, we’re here to help! Are you local to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and surrounding areas? Contact Organized Jill to schedule your complimentary consultation.

Professional Level Decluttering

Have you ever wondered about professional level decluttering? Do you ever wonder what if a Professional Home Organizer, like myself, showed up at your house right now there’s a handful of things they’d immediately throw out without a second thought. Interested in what those things are? Keep reading!

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Top 5 Items to Declutter

Item #1: Flimsy Kitchen Utensils

You know what I’m talking about. That spatula you bought from IKEA when you moved into your first apartment. Promotional mugs. The cheap wine openers you’ve collected from holiday parties. The knife you got at Target that bends every time you try to slice an apple. If the utensil doesn’t serve its purpose…then it no longer serves you. Time to go!

Item #2: Clothes That Don’t Fit

Like everyone on the planet, I have been many different sizes in my life. If my team and I have organized your closet, then you know that we call these clothes “bullies”. We always ask our clients, “why would you want bullies in your closet? I want my wardrobe to make me feel good about the way I look today.” Even if I get to some magic number someday, it’s going to look different. Because time & gravity. 

Item #3: Broken Items

Have you ever had the intention to fix a broken toy, mend a garment, fix an appliance and then life gets in the way? Before you know it, 6 months have gone by. The item is either long forgotten about, or has been replaced by now effectively making it “clutter”. Let it go and move forward. 

Item #4: Long Ago Expired Items

The expiration umbrella has a lot of items under it. I’m talking food in the fridge, spices in the cabinet, medications in the bathroom, even makeup on your vanity. If it’s expired, or you didn’t even like the product, toss it. If not for the sake of decluttering, then for the sake of bacteria.

Item #5: Paperwork & Cards

We live in a magical time where we can stop paperwork from flooding our kitchen counters. Sign up for electronic billing, statements, news. Any time you have the paperless option, take it! 

Go through your file cabinet and toss (or shred) expired policies, long ago paid bills, and even greeting cards that are just signed “from Bob”. Listen… if Bob couldn’t be bothered to write a meaningful message about how special you are to him, it’s ok to let that greeting card go. Keep the ones with meaningful messages in a memory box. If there are cards from people who are no longer in your life, it’s ok to let the card go to the wayside. 

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It can be daunting when you start the huge task of decluttering your home, especially a a professional level of decluttering. However, there are some things that can be tossed (or recycled) on sight. If you need additional assistance with decluttering your home, we’re here to help.
Happy decluttering!

The Elephant in the Room

I would like to discuss a very hot topic, the metaphorical elephant in the room, that has been circulating the internet & the  Professional Organizing world with all kinds of comments, likes, & criticisms; I am referring to the latest Kardashian pantry that is #pantrygoals for some people and #cringe for others. If you haven’t seen a pantry like this before, here is one picture for you to check out. This is one section of a much (much, much) larger pantry. 

An organized kitchen pantry - Organized Jill, professional home organizing, Winston Salem North Carolina and surrounding areas.

As a Professional Home Organizer, I love and appreciate a good “glamor” pantry. I appreciate the hours of planning, the aesthetics of the product selection, and the final layout of all the inventory. When I organize a pantry for my clients, whether the homeowner chooses to have me add organizing products or not, the pantry will always end up categorized, decluttered, zoned, organized, labeled when appropriate, and have color coded soda cans (because I’m extra like that). 

But all that inventory…This is where things go awry. I help a LOT of families with lots of children who frequent Costco and the grocery store weekly, and none of them keep this much inventory on hand. This is enough food for a small army. 

I know this is a weird time that we are living in where sometimes our favorite foods aren’t available in the grocery store. But 90 cans of soup is too much soup. That’s enough soup for a very long time. If you can’t eat that much soup before it expires, it is not a “great deal”.

I have removed more dusty forgotten cans of food that expired YEARS ago when cleaning out pantries than I would like to admit. “But, Jill, its canned food… it’s fine”, you might be thinking. Here’s my logic on that; if a can of soup sat in your pantry for several years collecting dust before it expired and you didn’t eat it then, and then sat in the pantry for another few years still uneaten, it is highly unlikely that you are going to eat the 10 year old soup now. 

As much as I love the aesthetics of this pantry, I don’t like the wasteful message that it promotes. (Here’s that elephant in the room again) The hundreds of meticulously aligned cookies, the copious amount of cake stands that would make a bakery blush, and product just for the sake of product.

Friends, there is a lovely area that rests between Pinterest-perfect & practical where the two ideas should meet in harmony. And that is going to look different for every single person reading this email because everyone’s lives are different, their schedules are different, the amount of time they want to spend maintaining a pantry is different. And that is OK. 

Let me know your thoughts ~ I would love to hear what you think about the Kardashian pantry, or chat pantries in general. Because I love all pantries, big or small, and all things organizing pantries. If you need help with your decluttering & organizing journey, we’re here to help! Are you local to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and surrounding areas? Contact Organized Jill to schedule your complimentary consultation.

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Let me know your thoughts ~ I would love to hear what you think about the Kardashian pantry, or chat pantries in general. Because I love all pantries, big or small, and all things organizing pantries. If you need help with your decluttering & organizing journey, we’re here to help! Are you local to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and surrounding areas? Contact Organized Jill to schedule your complimentary consultation.

A Good Time to Declutter

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Do you ever just feel it in your bones… it’s a good time to declutter. This past weekend was an unusual weekend… It was the first time in a very long time that I was not working on Sunday. And what will I be doing on this day off, you might wonder. Perhaps sleeping late, or going to brunch. Maybe getting a long overdue mani/pedi?

None of the above. It’s a good time to declutter my own house, of course. Believe me when I say that it’s been a while and is overdue. Even as a Professional Home Organizer, sometimes time can get away from me. We’ve recently had to have a series of unwanted home repairs and in tending to these items, we’ve been forced to pull all the stuff out that had been lurking in the forgotten corners of my attic, garage, and trickling residually throughout other areas of my home. And now that a lovely pile of “stuff” is sitting in my guest room staring at me, I have no choice but to declutter it because before I know it, summer guests will be coming my way. 

As I was looking at the pile and thinking about how these items had been shoved in the corner totally forgotten about, I can hear myself in my head saying the same thing that I tell my clients on a daily basis…If it’s been sitting in a corner totally forgotten about, you probably don’t need it. Old storage bins from my college days, a mountain of bedding from when we used to have 15 friends come and stay with us all at the same time at the beach YEARS ago, all kinds of miscellany that I can absolutely live without, various travel bags that don’t fit our travel style anymore.

But here’s where it gets tricky. Although those things may be easy for me to say goodbye to, there is one item that has somehow escaped many, many decluttering sessions over the years. And that item, is my bicycle. That I haven’t been on since about 2009. Somehow it made the cut in the move from Virginia to North Carolina, and has been hanging dutifully from a hook in the rafter since. I’m not sure why this one item has survived all the decluttering. I’m not sure how much longer the bike is going to remain there. I know I should donate it to someone who enjoys riding bikes so it can have a little more love in its lifecycle. I see some soul searching in my near future to figure out what the right course of action is for me & my bicycle. And sometimes, even a Professional Home Organizer has that one item that we might not be ready to turn the page on.  

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If you need help with your decluttering journey, we’re here to help! Are you local to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and surrounding areas? Contact Organized Jill to schedule your complimentary consultation.

The Ketchup Drawer

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This week, it is time for a kitchen intervention. I would like to talk about kitchen drawers and a phenomenon that I see in 98% of homes that we organize. And that is the ketchup drawer. An entire drawer in kitchens that people across the Triad (and elsewhere, too, I suppose) have decided to dedicate exclusively to extra ketchup packets, soy sauce, and Chick-fil-A dipping sauce.

What has caused this to occur? Why have we all declared that ketchup packets deserve a place of honor in our limited kitchen drawer space? Do we not all have a perfectly happy bottle of ketchup in our refrigerators and a backup Costco sized ketchup in the pantry? Of course we do. And yet, the ketchup drawer exists. Believe it or not, I’ve been in homes where multiple kitchen drawers are dedicated to ketchup packets that remain untouched and unloved and totally forgotten about. 

In the world of limited kitchen drawers, how did ketchup merit an invite. I get it, we all hate to be wasteful and Chick-fil-A isn’t open on Sunday for that chicken dipping happiness, but imagine the possibilities in a world where extra packets just end up in the trash. Gasp, I know.

What if by throwing out years worth of packets, we freed up space for kitchen tools we actually want to see & enjoy and have easy access to. What if we had a lovely spice drawer or coffee pod drawer. Maybe our foil rolls & ziplocks could be more accessible in that drawer. Perhaps our spatula collection could be spaced out and breathing. Truly, the possibilities are endless. 

Professional Home Organizer Winston Salem, The Ketchup Drawer

Friends, my home organizer challenge to you this week is to say GOODBYE to the ketchup drawer. Think about the things in your kitchen that bring you joy and what you’d like to enjoy in that coveted drawer instead. If you need help with your decluttering journey, we’re here to help! Are you local to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and surrounding areas? Contact Organized Jill to schedule your complimentary consultation.

Back To School Organization

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It sometimes can seem that as soon as that last bell rings in June, it’s already time for back to school organization. Before you know it, you will be bombarded with all the new supply lists from teachers, and faced with the tasks of preparing your children’s rooms for the back to school shuffle. Summer just seems to go by more quickly each year. The back to school shuffle can throw anyone’s schedule and sense of normality into a tizzy. While creating morning routines and schedules – and easing into them a week or so before school – are great ways to prepare, they tend to be highly personalized to each family and household needs. But fear not! Here are some ideas and tips that can help make your back to school organization before the new school year a bit more seamless.

10 Organizing Tips for Back to School

1. Curate Your Entryway

Establishing a spot in your entryway for everything your kids need to get out the door is a great way to get organized. Not only does it keep everything in one spot to grab as you head out, it helps keep down clutter at the end of the day. Ideally you will want to create a spot to hang backpacks, coats, and lunchboxes. If space allows, using a bench and having a spot for shoes can really help cut down on clutter and the time (and effort) it takes to get the kids out the door each morning.

2. Create a Shared School Calendar

We are 100% in the digital age and many of us rely on our technology to schedule our weeks. Once your schools have published their academic calendar, look over it and put any notable dates in your phone’s calendar app. It often helps to create a new calendar and color-code it so you can see exactly what you need at a quick glance. Don’t forget to share the calendar with anyone else that helps you or your kids during the school year.

Pro Tip: Schedule notifications for the Sunday before the dates of picture days, early dismissals, and no-school days to keep you prepared.

3. Inventory Clothing

Without a doubt, your kid(s) have outgrown some of their clothing this summer. They’ve likely stained and worn out a few items as well. Before you go out and buy new items for the school year, sort through their closets and drawers to pull out what’s no longer useful. This will help make space for new items and allow you to take inventory of items that are needed.

4. Use Pantry Organizers in the Fridge 

Plastic organizers are a massive help in the pantry, but you can also put them to great use inside your fridge. It’s a great way to organize the various items you’ll put with daily lunches – cheese sticks, yogurts, etc.. This is also an easy way to separate these items to create a “don’t touch” area to help minimize those times when you try to pack a lunch and have magically run out of something. 

5. After School Routine Clock

The time after school can be a vacuum where plans seem to vanish and order turns to a chaotic free-for-all. Look over your after-school activities and evaluate how your family best operates in the afternoons. You’ll need to use a mechanical clock that you can take apart and replace the face. Once you have your clock apart, create a color coded face with each color representing a segmented time for a specific activity. If homework is something that is routinely assigned, make a segment of time just for that. If there’s no homework, keep the routine by making it a reading time. Other segments to consider are free time, dinner prep, prepping for the following day, and bedtime.

6. Homework Stations

If your home does not have the space to create a permanent desk for your kid(s) to do their homework at, then consider making a modular solution that can be setup anywhere – but creating a go-to spot would also be preferred to create a consistent environment. . Most of the time you’ll just need the basics like a flat surface for writing and a container for utensils. Gather the supplies your child will commonly need, then organize those things in something like a desk organizer. Keeping everything organized in containers will help your family setup and remove the work station with ease.

7. Meal Prep to Save Time

Use the weekend to your advantage and meal prep on Sundays. Having everything (or mostly everything) ready will help make the evenings a breeze. Additionally, having most of the meals prepped can make asking for help and adding dinner prep to a chore chart a lot less daunting for your family. You can apply this for school lunches as well.

8. Create a Supply Stash

What should you do with all the extra supplies that don’t need to go to school? Don’t put them in your kids’ craft area. You’ll likely need these supplies at some point in the school year and having them on-hand will save unplanned trips to the store for the random glue stick. Use an organization system that separates the supplies by type or by child and store them in a place that is out of the way.

9. Get Ready for First Day Photos

We all love first day photos. They’re a great way to commemorate a new stage of your child’s journey. Now is the perfect time to start scouring Pinterest for inspiration and start preparing any signs, props, hair styles, or anything else you would like to feature. 

10. Organize Lunch Boxes

Have you ever made your child’s lunch only to realize the lid for a very specific container has gone missing? I think we’ve all been there to some extent. Create an organization system that is specifically designed for lunch boxes and containers. Yes, it’s taking away some of your pantry or cabinet space, but having everything separated (that is, not with all the other reusable containers) will make those “off” mornings a lot easier.

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If you need help getting your home (and family) ready for the school year, we’re here to help! If you need help with your decluttering journey, we’re here to help! Are you local to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and surrounding areas? Contact Organized Jill to schedule your complimentary consultation.