Today I wanted to show you how I organize all of my travel size items.

These are items that I get for free or close to it when I pair them with my coupons at the store (I seem to collect quite a few). I also receive many free samples in the mail, which are usually travel size.

This is how I keep them organized:

1. I weed through the items and get rid of the ones that I don’t want or need (and likely only “purchased” because they were free), and then I put all of the extra overflow into our stockpile in the basement.

What’s left goes into this one bin, which sits in our linen closet.

Having this basket, organized, prevents us from having to go all the way down to the basement to get a new item when we run out of something.

2. I have containers/baskets inside my basket to corral those really small items, such as shampoo sample packets.

I also keep the following items in our basket:

- Hair Spray
- Body Wash
- Toothpaste
- Shaving Cream/Gel
- Lotion
- Deodorant
- Mouthwash
- Hand Sanitizer
- Facial Cleanser

It’s so much easier to have this one basket with ready to use items in our linen closet, as opposed to having them in a jumbled mess in the basement.

How do you organize your travel size items? Please share in the comments.

Have you been struggling with getting organized this year? If so, you’re not alone. There are hundreds, if not thousands of people out there, trying to get their lives organized and not having any luck.

There could be many things standing in your way of becoming organized. Or, it may only be one thing. Whatever the case may be, you need to identify what is preventing you from having any success with the organizing task(s) you wish to accomplish.

Below are 3 reasons why you may not be able to get (and stay!) organized.

1. You have too many things to organize.

When you start out with an audacious list of things you want to organize, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and just give up – often before you even begin the organizing process.

I understand the desire to get it all done right away so you don’t have to worry about it again, but in all honesty, thinking like this will only end in failure.

Make a short list of no more than 5 things you want to get organized and then prioritize that list, numbering each task by importance. Then, tackle one organizing project at a time until it is completed. That’s when you can move on to the next task on your list.

When you see yourself making progress, it’s much easier to continue, so don’t try organizing everything all at once.

2. You think it will take too long.

People use the “I don’t have time” excuse for everything. Clipping coupons, cooking from scratch… how are we all so busy that we aren’t able to give ourselves just a bit of time to make our lives easier?

Organizing does not have to be a long process and a huge chore. Despite what many people think, you can actually get a lot done in as little as 30 minutes.

Want to organize your kitchen? Tackle one area for 30 minutes per day until the kitchen is completely organized. The fridge one day, the drawers another, then the spice cabinet… keep going until everything is the way you want it. If you feel up for a 60 minute organizing spree one day, go for it!

Just remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day – and a home can’t be completely organized in a day either.

3. You think it costs too much.

It’s true that many organizing tools can cost heaps of money, but guess what – there are cheaper alternatives out there that you can use instead. You don’t have to go to a fancy organizing store and spend $100 on a few bins and small organizing gadgets. There are plenty of ways to organize your home for much less.

The first place you want to look for organizing supplies is actually right there in your home. Glass jars, shoe boxes.. even empty egg cartons. These items are great for organizing items such as baking supplies, photos and jewellery.

Most dollar stores also have a fantastic selection of organizing tools & supplies (I buy most of my small bins from there!). The quality of these products has actually improved quite a bit. So much so that sometimes I find that for certain products, the dollar store item is even better than what you would find from a big box store, such as Walmart!

If you’re trying to get organized, the key is to start small. Organize one thing at a time, and remember to reward yourself for every project you complete!

Organizing is not something that you do once and then forget about. If you want to live an organized life, you need to realize that organizing is a continual process and is something you will have to work at every day.

Please share your favourite organizing tips in the comments.

A reader recently sent in this question:

Help! Do you have any hacks as to best store bras to save space? I have no room in my dresser, and no room in my closet to hang them. They are taking up so much room just sitting on my dresser.

Do you have any ideas for this reader? Please share in the comments!

Have a question you’d like to ask the readers of MrsJanuary.com? Send an email.

In an attempt to get more organized this year, I have decided to revamp my current home management binder so that it functions better for our family. The first one that I made would sit on my desk for weeks – unused, because it wasn’t organized the way I needed it to be in order for it to really improve our lives.

I spent a few weeks in December deciding what I wanted in my new binder and think I have come up with a plan that will work much better for our family going forward.

What is a Home Management Binder?

A home management binder is a one-stop shop for all of your family needs. It is filled with lists, charts and calendars for managing your home, your finances and your life. It is an invaluable resource for me and without it, I would be completely lost!

How to Create a Home Management Binder: Supplies Needed

- Binder (I currently use a 1-inch binder, but you can use any size you want)
- Page Divider Tabs
- Page Protector Sheets

That is pretty much all you need to get started, however, you may also want to include a zippered pouch to hold a pen, pencil, highlighter, etc. or other items like sticky notes and baseball card holders (to hold business cards).

Binder Categories

The number one question I am asked about my home management binder is what I keep inside of it. This is really a personal preference – everyone’s binder is going to be different from the next person’s. With that said, here is a list of categories you may wish to include in your binder (I have bolded the categories that I am currently using):

- Calendar (One for each month of the year)
- Miscellaneous
- Freezer Inventory
- Pantry Inventory
- Stockpile Inventory
- School Information/Schedule(s)
- Master To-Do List (weekly, monthly, seasonally & yearly)
- Monthly Budget
- Contacts
- Travel Checklist
- Daily Docket (to-do list for the day)
- Online Login Information
- Important Date
- Stock-Up Price List
- Produce Buying Guide
- In Season Produce Guide
- Yearly Goals
- Automobile Maintenance Schedule
- Shopping List
- Menu Plan
- Favourite Recipes
- Food Ideas
- Gift List (to track gifts purchased through the year)
- Mail-In Rebate Tracker

I suggest grouping things together as much as possible, to keep things organized. Here are a few examples:

Shopping > Shopping List, Stock-Up Price List, Produce Buying Guide, In Season Produce Guide
Food > Food Ideas, Menu Plan, Freezer Inventory, Pantry Inventory, Favourite Recipes

Tips For Using Your Home Management Binder

In order to get the most out of your new organizing tool, it’s very important to actually USE the binder that you just created. This means you will probably open it up every single day.

Here are a few tips to ensure you are getting everything accomplished that you need to:

1. Make it easily accessible. You’re not going to use it if you don’t know where it is or it’s on the other side of the house and you don’t feel like going to get it. Keep your binder in the area of your home that you are in the most. For me, that’s my office, so my binder sits on my desk. A friend of mine keeps her binder on the kitchen counter. Wherever you decide to put it, make sure you’re able to grab it at a moment’s notice.
2. Make it pretty. Okay, so this isn’t exactly necessary, but I find that the more plain and boring my binder, the more I don’t want to look at it. I added some colourful printables and cute binder cover and now I actually feel happy flipping through my home management binder.
3. Re-evaluate often. Don’t create your binder thinking that it’s a one time deal and you won’t ever have to change the way that you use it. You should always go through your binder every 3 months or so and remove things that aren’t working for you (and/or add new things that you think may help). A new baby might mean a new category for tracking food intake and bowel movements (hey, some people like to track that kind of thing!). Your first family pet might require a pet sitting checklist.

My home management binder is the one thing in our home that really helps keep us organized throughout the year. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to consider giving one a try.

We have a wide assortment of free home management downloads for you to print and use in your binder.

How do you organize your home/life? Please share your tips in the comments!

I’m not the only one constantly thinking about organizing this time of year – right? There’s just something about getting a fresh start in the new year that makes me want to de-clutter and organize every space in our home.

I get so into it that I even offer to help friends and family organize their homes and most of the time they say yes because they “have no idea how to get organized“. My mom always tells me that she never knows where to begin because there is just so many areas in her life that need organizing.

I’m here to tell you that changing your habits so that you can live a more organized lifestyle is not hard – it just takes a bit of discipline.

Following are 5 easy ways to get organized.

1. Set goals.
Goals are always important when you want to accomplish something, so setting one or more organizing goals is a good first step.

If children’s toys have taken over your home, one of your goals may be to find a good organizing system for those. Maybe you are always missing appointments and need to find a way to better organize your time. Whatever issues you have in terms of organization, set goals to fix them.

2. Set up schedules and timelines.
Setting goals is great, but if you don’t give yourself a deadline for completing them, it’s more like wishful thinking, because those goals aren’t likely to be met (not in a reasonable amount of time, anyway).

Once you have set your goals, determine some dates for completing them and then schedule time once per week (or bi-weekly) to work on your goals, until they have all been met.

3. Organize one thing at a time.
Although it’s tempting to want to completely organize your entire home and life in one shot, it’s near impossible. Cramming too many organizing tasks into your schedule will leave you exhausted, overwhelmed and likely frustrated.

Pick one organizing goal from your list and work away at that one until it’s completed. Then, move on to organizing task #2.

4. Invest in quality organizing supplies (sometimes).
Organizing supplies can be pretty expensive. The key is to know when to invest and when you can go a cheaper route.

When it comes to organizing bins for small items, I always suggest going to the dollar store. They have a huge selection or bins available for a few dollars or less and they work just fine for many organizing projects.

If you are looking for larger organizing bins and carts to store items such as clothing, art/paperwork, wrapping paper etc. – I highly recommend spending a bit more money and purchasing decent quality bins (Rubbermaid is my favourite brand). I have purchased cheaper bins in the past and have had many items ruined because the lids didn’t secure well enough and dirt or moisture would get inside.

I also suggest investing in a good quality label maker. When it comes to organizing, labels are your best friend and you will need to make them often. Pick a label maker that will last you a long time (I use this label maker).

5. Never stop organizing.
If your plan is to get organized in general and not just to organize one particular space in your home, you need to realize that staying organized is a way of life. It’s something you will have to work at every single day. Of course, with time it becomes easy and like second nature. You just have to make it to that point.

For example, in order to ensure that we have home cooked meals every night (well.. almost every night), I need to have an organized kitchen. This means that I need to make sure I put my dishes, cutlery, kitchen gadgets and small appliances back where they belong after I use them. I need to have labels in our kitchen cupboards so that my husband and helpful guests know where to put things when they are tidying up.

Keep up with your organizing, because, trust me, it doesn’t take long for things to become unorganized and out of control again.

There are so many benefits to being organized. Not only will your home be clean and clutter-free, but you will also save money by knowing where everything is in your home and knowing when your bills are due.

The most important thing you can do is just get started. Tackle your smaller projects first and then move on to the big ones. This will ensure that you see progress and progress is one of the best motivators!

I’d love it if you shared your organizing tips in the comments!

photo credit

Many people put down “get organized” on their list of New Year’s Resolutions, and there’s a good reason for that – life goes by much smoother when you are organized.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed – try not to. You don’t have to organize everything in your life at once. Becoming a more organized person is something that takes years and years of practice. It’s worth it though, I promise.

Here are a few things you may want to consider getting organized in the new year.

1. Finances
If you haven’t yet created a budget, the new year is a great time to do so. Having a budget in place for your family is crucial if you want to live within your means, pay off debt and save for the future.

2. Purse
This is an item that tends to get cluttered rather quickly, especially if you have children and need to cram diapers, wipes, toys and a change of clothes in there. Make your daily outings go by smoothly with an organized purse or diaper bag.

There are many great purse organizers on the market that can help you keep everything neat and organized, but the most important thing to remember is to keep like items together. For example, gift cards in one spot, cell phone in another, snacks in another, small toiletries (hand lotion, lip balm, etc.) in another, etc.

3. Inbox
It’s easy to end up with a messy and unorganized inbox if you ignore your emails for as little as one day – and it can seem overwhelming to dig yourself out of that giant heap of messages.

Make it a goal to have a completely empty inbox every evening. When you decide to de-clutter your inbox, stick to the “read and react” system. Once you open an email, you have to read it and then decide what to do with it (delete, reply, or move to another folder to respond to later).

4. Entryway
Make your home feel welcoming when you first walk in the door by removing all unnecessary items. A mirror on the wall, a small-medium table, a shoe rack, floor mat and small-medium bench are really all you need. If you don’t have a hall closet, some simple hooks on the wall are a great way to organize jackets, bags and umbrellas.

If you have quite a few items to corral by the front door, it may be a good idea to place a small dresser in your entryway. Fill the drawers with smaller items, hiding as much as possible to keep your entryway feeling clean and clutter free.

5. Stockpile
If you use coupons and have built a stockpile in your home, keep it under control by making sure that everything is organized. If you add items to your stockpile every week like I do, it doesn’t take long for things to get out of hand if you don’t have a strict stockpile organization system in place.

Keep like items together, put new items at the back and keep an inventory of what you have on hand , so you don’t end up purchasing more than you need.

I suggest going through your stockpile at least once per month – checking for items that may be close to expiration, and making sure to use them up or donate them to a local charity.

6. Vehicle
Start the year off right with an organized vehicle to take you from place to place.

Nothing stresses me out more than getting into a vehicle and seeing a bunch of takeout containers, receipts and papers, stray toys, and a big mess of reusable bags taking up residence all over the floor.

Have a bag handy for trash and empty it whenever you leave the vehicle. Keep an air freshener in your glove compartment and give a light spray every once in awhile to freshen things up (or hang an automobile freshener over your rear-view mirror).

My friend Laura has some great tips for organizing your vehicle.

I encourage you to choose at least one thing from this list to organize in the new year. I promise that if you do, your life will be much less stressful. It’s amazing just how much an organized space can change the way you feel every time you see it (in a good way!).

A word of advice: If you do plan to tackle everything on this list, only attempt to do one thing at a time. Trying to do too much at one time is a surefire way to become overwhelmed and give up completely. Once you have completed one thing, move on to the next, and so on and so forth.

What do you plan on organizing this year? Please share in the comments!